Ongoing Events
Welcome to the Community! (It’s Free!!)
The Gaian Congress Community strengthens our bonds and provides camaraderie to support our spiritual journeys.
Unlike solo efforts, the group’s collective energy enhances meditative experiences and co-creation. Coming together amplifies our vibrational field, unites our spiritual allies, and creates a powerful support network.
As our Subtle Allies remind us, “Imagine what we can do together”—our individual strengths multiply in unity.
What Gaian Congress Community Members Say…
Monthly Workshops
The Dark God with Dr Megan Rose
Saturday March 15th, 10-11:30am Pacific
For many the idea of the Dark God evokes the fear of a sinister shadow figure of ill-intent. However, darkness is neither evil nor malicious. The Dark God holds the potent male aspects of that which is hidden, repressed, and/or rejected in our collective unconscious, as well as the fecund richness of our depths.
Cost: $35
MORE INFO
The Dark God has many faces and many names. He is the Horned One, the Lord of the Animals and the Green Man. He is the Wild Man, an erotic trickster unfettered and unencumbered by doctrine or rules. He is the Liminal King, an edge-walker and guardian of the thresholds. And he is a Lord of Death, the leader of the Wild Hunt and a Faery ruler of the Otherworld.
In this introductory class we will explore a few of the key archetypes of the Dark God, demystifying some of his aspects that are often misunderstood or vilified.
As an introduction, this class is designed to prepare the way for a deeper dive into his forms and forces in the Dark God course—coming April 2025!
with Megan Rose, PhD
Dr. Megan RoseTranspersonal Psychologist. Pagan Scholar. Ecospiritual Minister.
https://www.drmeganrose.com
Deepening Your Relationship with Plant Spirits with Jan Kinsey
Saturday April 19th, 10-11:30am Pacific
Join us in shamanic journeys to meet a plant spirit that wants to work with you throughout this next year. You will explore what its medicine is for you and how you can develop a relationship with this plant.
What are the different shamanic tools we can use to deepen our kinship with plants? What is a plant totem/ally? What are the different forms that communication can take? How do we bring forth the healing medicine of a plant on all levels?
Cost: $35
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In this workshop, you will
- meet a plant spirit that will work with you this coming year.
- find out what its medicine is for you.
- explore how you can deepen your relationship with this plant.
- and possibly: meet a helping spirit that can help you in your plant work.
We will set up times for follow up meetings.
Jan Kinsey has taught this workshop at Plants enChant and at the Northwest Herbal Fair.
Jan Kinsey has been one of the organizers for the Fairy & Human Relations Congress for close to 20 years. He is a shamanic practitioner who is passionate about working with the spirits of nature, especially weather spirits and facilitating plant ceremonies with Pacific Northwest medicinal plants. Jan has facilitated plant initiations with Oak, Yarrow, Hawthorn, Goldenrod, and Devils Club. Originally from Norway, he now calls Cascadia home.
In his healing practice, Jan utilizes shamanic healing practices and energy work to address underlying causes that are manifesting as dis-ease or emotional imbalances. He has worked in medical clinics that specialize in treating auto-immune and chronic illnesses.
https://www.shamanismworks.com/
https://soundcloud.com/shamanism_works
https://www.facebook.com/ShamanismWorks
https://www.instagram.com/shamanismworks_jan.kinsey
The Power and the Presence of the Dark Rider: Traditional Southern Crossroads and Liminal Magic with Orion Foxwood
Saturday May 17th, 10-11:30am Pacific
The belief that there is a powerful intercessory spirit or deity that dwells at physical thresholds, transition points and intersections, is a common theme in the folk beliefs and magical practice traditions of Africa, Europe and in the American South.
In this workshop, Orion will share lore of the crossroads, its magic, its roads and its Master; and how to find and work with them. He will share music, poetry, lore and practices to introduce you to the spirit he knows as the Dark Rider. This is an introductory session with further work and direct contact sessions planned if there is adequate interest.
Cost: $35
MORE INFO
Orion Foxwood is a witch and an Elder in Traditional Craft and is a Southern and Appalachian Conjure man. He is a high priest in Alexandrian Wicca and teacher of Faery Seership and co-creative magic. An author and lecturer, he has given talks extensively across the United States for nearly 30 years and has taught and co-lead tours in the United Kingdom. He has taught at the Fairy & Human Relations Congress many times starting in 2006.
The belief that there is a powerful intercessory spirit or deity that dwells at physical thresholds, transition points and intersections, is a common theme in the folk beliefs and magical practice traditions of Africa, Europe and in the American South.
The most common being the crossroads where roads, foot paths, horizontal and vertical forces (such as the planetary poles and rotation), the living and dead (graveyards) and/or geological states (such sea, land, wind etc) intersect. These places are often described by those who know their secrets as being “claimed by all yet owned by none” – where reality, causality, liminality and possibility are present but beyond the clutch of time, limitation and the usual rules of consensus thought.
The spirit dwelling there is seen as the opener and closer of the ways (roads of life) and its names (and gender) vary depending on the local tradition or that of the petitioner/ magic worker and include Papa Leba (New Orleans Creole spelling), the Devil, the Crossed Man, the Dark One, the Trick Doctor, Jesus-on-the-Road and the Dark Rider to name a few. His power, and his capriciousness is legendary and it is both feared and revered. However, there are traditions and techniques for revering, encountering, and employing his power safely and effectively. Likewise, there are times and means to approach his crossroads where luck, love, life and death meet.
In this workshop, Orion will share lore of the crossroads, its magic, its roads and its Master; and how to find and work with them. He will share music, poetry, lore and practices to introduce you to the spirit he knows as the Dark Rider. This is an introductory session with further work and direct contact sessions planned if there is adequate interest.
At the thinning time when shadows move apart.
Sadness fades and frees the haunted heart.
Four roads from everywhere to somewhere meet.
At a crossroads, where spirits and conjure greets;
Four roads from everywhere to somewhere meet,
Let us walk the magic road with practical feet,
The way is open……………
(by Orion Foxwood)
Heartbeat of Folk Magic with Tommie Starchild
Saturday June 21st, 10-11:30am Pacific
With the growing interest in the practices of magic, American southern folk magic has received growing interest. There are books written, on-line courses, and classes available in increasing numbers. What is difficult to glean from these sources, is the culture in which these practices grew out of. American southern folk magic is a collage of indigenous, African, and European folk practices, in varying amounts depending on region, local cultures, and even within individual families. So, what is the Heartbeat of Folk Magic? In this workshop we’ll explore this question and dip into the culture of living magically. Folk magic is a magic of necessity, a magic born out of the needs of traditionally disadvantaged communities. What does this mean, and how did this impact and inform the practices? And, what it means when it is said that folk magic is a magical practice rooted in a conscious connection with your natural surroundings and not a religion.
Cost: $35
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Tommie StarChild, a spirit worker, witch, and an initiate in the Anderson Feri mystery tradition. They were born with faerie companions (Simms), gifted with spirit sight, and comes from a family of conjure workers. StarChild is also a teacher, presenter, published writer/artist, owner of Moonshine Magic. They have over 34 years experience as a witch, over 21 years as a Feri initiate, professional spirit worker full-time for 17 years, and have been an apprentice, for the past 13 years, at the House of Brigh Faery Seership Institute with Orion Foxwood. Tommie StarChild had worked from 2008 – 2020 – as a spirit worker, reader/spiritual counselor, intuitive and Reiki healer, and preformed services of conjure and witchcraft, in their former business “My Authentic Self;” they also founded Sacred Moon, Sacred Self – Temple of the Old Ways (classes and workshops on practice of the old ways). For the past 5 years Tommie StarChild has been the proud owner of Moonshine Magic, a Mystical Boutique, located in the historic mining town of Julian, California.
https://www.instagram.com/moonshinemagicjulian/
Sasquatch Shamanism – Spirit Helpers of the Middle World with Jan Kinsey
Saturday August 16th, 10-11:30am Pacific
Shamans from the Himalayas and the Americas will often refer to Sasquatch as the original shaman. They are the ones who taught shamanic skills to the humans. They appear throughout the world, and are known by many names; Yeti, Yowie, Skookum, Wild Man, Yeren (China), Sasquatch, Skunk Ape, Big Foot, and many more.
In this workshop we will learn the basics of working with them as spirit helpers. We will explore why they might want to work with us, how you can develop and deepen a relationship with them, and the different forms that communication might take.
Cost: $35
MORE INFO
In this workshop, you will be
- introduced to a sasquatch who is wanting to work with you.
- address the elements of building strong relationship with them, and what forms communication can take.
- given suggested resources
“Although the journey is perilous, the ability of the shaman to be in a special and particular relationship with the elements, the creatures of nature, and the spirits from the unseen world, makes the shaman an invaluable member of his or her social network. Through the wisdom and work of the shaman, social and environmental crises can be mitigated and the possibility of survival increased.”
– Joan Halifax: Shaman – The Wounded Healer
Jan Kinsey has taught 3 years at the Spiritual and Psychic Sasquatch Conference near Colville, WA.
Jan has been one of the organizers for the Fairy & Human Relations Congress for close to 20 years. He is a shamanic practitioner who is passionate about working with the spirits of nature, especially weather spirits and facilitating plant ceremonies with Pacific Northwest medicinal plants. Originally from Norway, he now calls Cascadia home.
In his healing practice, Jan utilizes shamanic healing practices and energy work to address underlying causes that are manifesting as dis-ease or emotional imbalances. He has worked in medical clinics that specialize in treating auto-immune and chronic illnesses.
Ancestral Hybridity: Sacred Bridges Between Human and Beyond-Human Realms with Summer Starr
Saturday September 20th, 10-11:30am Pacific
Throughout history, humans have shared a deep, intertwined relationship with the beyond-human. From Celtic traditions where sovereignty arises through a sacred union with the land, to practices of spirit marriage, to the presence of souls entering family lineages with beyond-human past-life connections, the boundaries between human and beyond-human have often blurred. Family crests adorned with lions and dragons or tribal affiliations with bear or wolf reflect these profound interweavings of consciousness. These relationships are not merely symbolic; they are designed to sustain our lineages and teach us how to live in sacred reciprocity with the land.
In this workshop, we will explore practices for building ancestral connections through intentional and respectful ritual protocols. Together, we will call in our beyond-human ancestral connections—be they from the past or the yet-to-come. Through this work, we will learn to engage with these relationships to address negative ancestral imprints and restore balance to the lands our lineages have inhabited over time.
Cost: $35
MORE INFO
Bio coming
Spirit worker and ancestral guide.
Making Kin (my healing portal): https://www.makingkin.com/
Earth Light Essence (healing essences): https://www.earthlightessences.com
Bio-regional Animism: Expanding the Scale of Our Healing Work with Lauri Shainsky PhD
Saturday October 18th, 10-11:30am Pacific
In our time together, we will contemplate and explore how changes of scale in time and space alter our shamanic and animistic experiences and exchanges with Earth, Nature, and Other realms.
As faery folk, we are familiar with conversing with a tree. Here we experiment with listening and conversing at a more expansive level – communities of communities across topography, geography, centuries of human history, and beyond.
Cost: $35
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We ask, how do we form connections and networks of wisdom and healing at these levels? How can we develop new languages/modes for communicating, listening to, feeling what is happening in the natural physical and metaphysical at bioregional scales. Discover what kind of different capacities do you have to sense flow of matter, energy, history, love, spirit through these larger systems.
Lauri Shainsky has been studying shamanism since 1997. Her Ph.D. is in Ecology. She has taught wilderness awareness skills, tracking, birdsong, sound healing and was a core instructor in The LightSong School of Shamanic Studies and Energy Medicine.
https://shamanicsoundhealing.com
https://soundcloud.com/redstonesong
https://www.facebook.com/ShamanicHeart/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBJ7ELSFwD8xWySGMkXry2Q
Checkout some of our past workshops to get a taste of the variety offered!
Gaian Congress Community Special Series
Yoga for Nature Communication with Lindsey Swope
Wednesdays 9am PT/12pm ET, March 5th – April 2nd, 2025
Do you feel stuck or blocked in your efforts to communicate with the beings of Nature? Or just ready to take things to a higher level?
It may not be a question of a new meditation technique, it could be that the energetics of your physical body are limiting your connection.
This yoga series will cleanse and energize the various systems of the body to facilitate our connection with fairies, elementals and other subtle beings of Nature.
60 min classes, online via Zoom
Cost: $60
MORE INFO
Topics are:
Ground and Center – we can’t meet another until we truly know ourselves, so we start by practicing getting our own energy fields into a clear and coherent state
Strengthening the Nervous System – We will re-member our original energetic anatomy, the central column of Light along our spine, to strengthen our inner communication system and support our ability to connect with beings of a different vibration.
Opening the Heart – the heart is the main communication gateway, a strong and supple heart can both give and receive with ease
Energizing the Electromagnetic Field – our bodies are surrounded by an electromagnetic field, often called the aura. This field of energy is where impulses from subtle beings first land on their way into our consciousness. Enhancing the energy of our field makes it easier for their communications to be felt and recognized.
Expanding into Joy – fairies, devas and other subtle beings of nature live in the higher vibration of joy. Building our capacity to live in joy makes it easier for us to connect with them.
The class will be taught at a fairly gentle level with options given for more intense movements. Each class will include some breath practice (pranayama), warm ups, a kriya or cleansing set, a short meditation and some time for discussion to share our experiences.
Each week participants will be given a short, 5 minute exercise to practice throughout the week to help integrate the changes.
They say it takes 40 days to establish a new habit, this course will take us through 35 days, with an extra 5 days of practice at the end you should be well on your way to a whole new relationship with your nature allies!
“Lindsey’s teaching is clear and well-paced. Her choice of poses and her guidance on breathing technique truly help me in my practice to align with Spirit and connection with the subtle realms. She includes nuggets of knowledge about the body’s energy that enhance the class experience but do not interrupt the flow of movement. Her depth of commitment to her practice and connection to Gaia are palpable. This is a yoga experience that will continue to teach me.” – from 2024 participant
Lindsey Swope started her practice of yoga in 1986 and has been teaching since 1997. She took her first class in shamanism in 1995 and has been deepening her connection with the subtle beings of nature since then.
Meeting the Dark God/dess: Cultivating a relationship with the Old Ones with Dr Megan Rose
Tuesdays May 6th – 26th; 5pm PT/8pm ET
60 min classes, online via Zoom, with readings and recordings available
Cost: $150 ($50 discount for Gaian Congress subscribers and students who took the Intro to the Dark God/Goddess class)
MORE INFO
For many the idea of the Dark God and Goddess evokes fear of something that is fierce, dangerous, even sinister. However, darkness is neither evil nor malicious. “Darkness is the only power in the history of the planet that has ever put the human agenda on hold,” states writer Clark Strand. And the deities associated with the Dark are beings of great depth, potency and transformation. They hold aspects of that which is hidden, repressed, and/or rejected in our collective unconscious, as well as the fecund richness of our potential to grow and change.
The Dark God/dess has many faces and many names. They are Primoridal Ones—who birth and shape the cosmos. They are Wild Ones—who fuel our creativity and desire. They are Edge-walking Ones—who oversee and guard the thresholds between the worlds. And they are Deathly Ones—who govern transformation and rule the Undercountry.
In this course we will build upon the foundations laid in the Dark God and Dark Goddess introductory classes to delve into the mystery of Darkness and the hidden treasure that lies there waiting to be uncovered. During this month-long journey, we will explore the key archetypes of the Dark Gods and Goddesses, demystifying some of the aspects that are often misunderstood or vilified. Through experiential practices and rituals we will encounter some of the faces and forms of these powerful deities and learn how to safely foster a relationship with them.
We need these un-making, covert Gods now more than ever—for they give us the velocity for change, resistance and bending the rules. They are not bound by polite etiquette, nor do they adhere to popular moralities. Instead, they teach us the potency of the human spirit to mine the depths of our unconscious to excavate its wisdom, harness its power, heal its wounds, and accept our imperfections.
Now is the time for us to draw from the transformative, rule-breaking wisdom of the Undercountry to fuel our action in the world!
Megan Rose, Ph.D., has a doctorate in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a master’s degree in religion in society from the Graduate Theological Union. She is an initiated ceremonial magician, a Druid, a Shakta Tantric practitioner, and a senior seer in the House of Brigh Faery Seership Institute. She serves as an ecospiritual minister and psycho-spiritual counselor and is the executive director of the Entheosis Institute.
What’s Included in the Gaian Congress Community
There are a series of posts every week to assist us in our roles as Bridge-Builders between the Realms.
First Monday:
10-11am PT
First Monday of the month is the Co-Creative Practice Circle. Topic for April 7th 10am Pacific time: What new Insights or Visions are available to me now? Neptune is now in Aries! Neptune is about our connection to the Divine, to the All That Is. Aries is about individuality coming into Being. What can we learn from this historic shift?
Monday Meditation:
Every Monday we share a short, simple exercise as a practice to connect with the Subtle Realms. It may offer a way to play with the current energies on the planet, or it may focus on deepening your connection with the Realms. (There are many people who share weekly guidance, ours comes from our Nature Spirit allies and is focused on helping us connect to the subtle realms of the planet and beyond.)
We strengthen the human/tree web of connection by tuning into a different tree each week. We get to experience their personalities, their gifts and their wisdom, as well as share some of our love with them to help them maintain their vital role on the planet.
Introducing #Gaiancalendar – We are taking the form of the Druidic calendar, also used by numerous other ancient civilizations, and creating our own calendar aligned with the world around us. We might name each month after a Nature ally, or come up with designations for each new and full moon. Or we may just summarize each week with a short phrase encapsulating its essence – what is blooming? What weather patterns are common at this time? It is a way to notice what is happening in the world, to also create a record to compare thru the years.
Wednesday:
2pm PT / 5pm ET
Writing with the Fae with Shoshana Avree. On Zoom, we meditate for about 7 minutes to tune into the Faery realm and meet a being that wants to share a story, then write without editing for 15 minutes to record the exchange. It’s a brilliant way to connect and learn!
Thursday:
Question of the week, to share experiences and promote introspection.
Feel Good Friday:
The energy of Gratitude and Joy helps us connect to the higher dimensions. This is an opportunity to share what is lighting you up, and in sharing that light it grows brighter!
Third Saturday:
10-11:30am PT
Monthly Workshop with Guest Speaker. These are recorded for later viewing. Presenters are scheduled up to three months out, if you have a suggestion for someone you would like to see please let us know! Workshops are $35.
Second Sunday:
5:30pm PT
Book Club discussion. We have read many of the classical books on connecting between the realms over the past couple of years! This is recorded for those that cannot attend live, and there is opportunity for on-going discussion in the network.
Join the Community for access to Practice Circles, Book Club and Weekly Meditations!