“When we heal ourselves, we heal the past, the present, and the future.”
Ancestral Healing Circle:
a Path to Reconciliation and Wholeness
Facilitated by Elaine Gast Fawcett, author, nature-based ceremonialist, and shamanic practitioner with a deep reverence for the natural world.
SOLD OUT FOR 2024
Have you ever wondered about your ancestors’ influence and impact on your daily life? While we may not have met our ancestors, their actions, choices, and experiences have shaped our family history and left an indelible mark on our present lives. Through our sacred Ancestral Healing Circle, we will connect and explore the challenges and blessings our ancestors have bestowed upon us, unveiling the intrinsic connection we share with our lineage.
Our Ancestral Healing Circle is a safe and grounded space where ten women will embark on a six-month journey to honor their ancestors—known and unknown. The Circle provides a safe space for participants to explore their ancestral roots and seek healing for themselves and their lineage.
By engaging in this ritualistic process, you can begin to understand how the actions of our ancestors have shaped our own lives and how an intentional, ongoing practice of ancestor reverence can provide a sense of connection, clarity, and well-being.
You will be guided by Elaine Gast Fawcett, a nature-based ceremonialist and sanctioned Mesa Carrier through the Pachacuti Mesa shamanic tradition. Elaine will help you connect with your ancestors through various activities and discussions by exploring rituals, storytelling, shamanic journey meditations, and other healing practices. This sacred practice offers a pathway to reconciliation, understanding, and wholeness by acknowledging the interconnectedness between past, present, and future generations.
Elaine studied ancestor reverence and repair practices with teacher and friend Dr. Daniel Foor, who wrote Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing.
What are Ancestral Healing Circles?
Ancestral healing circles are group gatherings that focus on creating a lived experience of connecting with well-in-spirit ancestors, and
exploring processes to possibly forgive and heal ancestral trauma.
Connecting with our ancestral roots is essential for our overall well-being, as unresolved issues from previous generations can—and do—manifest in present day. Our ancestors play a significant role in shaping who we are, and their blessings and burdens can be passed down through generations. Ancestral healing circles provide a safe and supportive space for women to explore their family history, gain new insight on any patterns or wounding that may have been passed down, and how it may be impacting their present lives. By courageously acknowledging the past, we open to the possibility of breaking the cycle and creating a better future for ourselves and future generations.
The circle acts as a container for sharing stories, expressing emotions, and witnessing each other. It also acts as a place to connect with wise, loving ancestors who can support us in repairing and forgiving any past harms along our lineage. Participants have said that creating an active, ongoing relationship with these bright ancestors can alleviate the feeling that we have to “go it alone” and provide a sense of interconnectedness, purpose, and clarity for this lifetime..
Note that while this ancestral healing circle will be a deeply supportive space, it is not therapy or a replacement for working with a licensed practitioner who focuses on trauma-informed work. If you find at any time that you wish to go deeper with healing ancestral trauma and how it may be manifesting in your current life, we will openly encourage you to seek that support outside of the circle.
Elaine Gast Fawcett
Elaine Gast Fawcett is an author, nature-based ceremonialist, and shamanic practitioner with a deep reverence for the natural world. Elaine crafts and facilitates customized ritual experiences that mark life’s milestones and that connect us with ourselves, each other, and all living things. As a certified life-cycle celebrant, Elaine has designed and officiated dozens of ceremonies, including new beginnings (weddings, new mama/baby blessings, new homes), endings (memorials, cord cuttings), and other important life transitions.
Elaine has extensively studied yogic philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, and Peruvian shamanism, and she is a sanctioned Mesa Carrier through the Pachakuti Mesa tradition. She studied ancestor work and earth and plant medicine practices with Dr. Daniel Foor, and served as an editor for his book Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing.
With a master’s degree in writing, Elaine brings a love of language and storytelling to every ceremony she co-creates, infusing it with meaning and intention, and holding space for healing, growth, and connection. In her working life, she is a communications consultant and a philanthropy advisor to families who give, and a recent author of a children’s book about the concept of having enough.
2024 SOLD OUT
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February Circle | Friday, Feb. 9, 2024
- Share the “whys” of ancestor connection and healing and what we’re curious about in our own family lines.
- Engage in a journey to assess our four bloodlines and connect with a safe, well-in-spirit ancestral guide.
- Create an ancestor altar at home and commit to a regular practice of ancestor honoring.
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April Circle | Friday, April 5, 2024
- Discuss ways to safely connect with ancestors, set boundaries, and tend to ourselves energetically.
- Engage in a journey along our mother’s mother’s line.
- Share stories, reflections, and insights from this particular family line, and identify opportunities for healing.
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June Circle | Friday, June 7, 2024
- Engage in a journey along our mother’s father’s line.
- Share stories, reflections, and insights from this particular family line, and identify opportunities for healing.
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August Circle | Friday, Aug. 2, 2024
- Engage in a journey along our father’s mother’s line.
- Share stories, reflections, and insights from this particular family line, and identify opportunities for healing.
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October Circle | October 4, 2024
- Engage in a journey along our father’s father’s line.
- Share stories, reflections, and insights from this particular family line, and identify opportunities for healing.
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Ancestral Feast | November 1, 2024
- Practice ancestral forgiveness.
- Harmonize the four lineages and invite in ongoing blessings.
- Celebrate with an ancestor’s feast!
What to Expect from Our Ancestor Circle
SOLD OUT FOR 2024
These sacred circles are small to ensure that every woman receives the personal attention and connection they need, and membership is fixed, meaning you’ll meet with the same group of people over the course of the series. Circle members will have the opportunity to share and witness one another. Over the course of the series, you will get to know Elaine and the other circle members through six- 2-hour gatherings held in person.
Where: The gatherings are held indoors and outdoors (weather permitting) at beautiful private residences in Guilford and Essex
When: Fridays, six times per year on/near the New Moon (February, April, June, August, October, November) from 7:00- 9:00 pm
What: 6 circles of 2 hours (12 hours total)
Limited to 10 women participants
Our Ancestral Circle is facilitated by a practitioner who has engaged in more than a decade of ancestral healing practice, and can guide others through this practice in a connective and supportive way
Participants are encouraged to purchase the book Ancestral Medicine: Rituals for Personal and Family Healing, by Dr. Daniel Foor
Each month, we will provide catalyzing resources and activities based on our circle discussions
Total Investment: $400.00 before January 15, 2024 (We are offering a payment plan if needed- $200 before January 15th and the remainder, $200 due by February 1, 2024. ) $450.00 in full after February 1, 2024, and includes a beautiful journal specifically for this practice NOTE: This investment is non-refundable, regardless of whether you miss a gathering
Please contact us to arrange payment as well as with any questions you have about participating
We Will Explore:
Engaging in meditative journey work to assess and repair each ancestral line
Learning and sharing our ancestral stories with each other, including what we may have inherited
Creating an ancestor altar at home and ritually feeding the ancestors
Keeping a dream and discovery journal that details any ancestral contact and your experiences
Crafting an ancestral apology or forgiveness prayer, and practicing prayers/intentions for the living
Other healing processes including release rituals, rituals to maintain energetic boundaries, and a celebratory ancestor's feast
How To Prepare:
Ask family members and any older living relatives about stories of who your people are, where they came from, etc.
Gather what you know: names of people, places, heirloom objects, stories or songs, foods, plants, art, or medicines from your family or countries of origin
Begin asking your dreaming self for dreams/visions of your ancestors/ homelands etc, before you fall asleep at night
What To Bring:
A scarf or bandana to cover your eyes, a rattle if you have one, warm socks or slippers, a blanket & yoga mat
An object for the altar (i.e. an heirloom gift in your family, a plant or depiction of a plant you know as food or medicine, photos, etc)
An open mind/heart and attentive, focused disposition
The History & Science of Ancestral Healing
Ancestral healing is a practice deeply rooted in human culture for centuries. It is the belief that by connecting with and honoring our ancestors, we can find healing and bring more balance to our lives. This ancient tradition has been passed down through generations, evolving over time as science and spirituality intersect.
The concept of generational trauma has gained significant attention in recent years, shedding light on the profound impact our ancestors' experiences can have on our own lives. Epigenetic DNA, the chemical tags that attach themselves to our genetic material, has been found to carry imprints of past traumas.
Our ancestors' patterns of behavior and beliefs are deeply ingrained in our psyche, often manifesting as recurring themes or tendencies in our lives. For example, a person whose ancestors faced persecution may exhibit a strong desire for justice or an aversion to authority figures. These inherited patterns can be positive and negative, influencing our relationships, career choices, and worldview.
Recognizing the influence of our ancestors allows us to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and make conscious choices about the patterns we wish to perpetuate or break free from. By examining our beliefs and behaviors through this lens, we can perhaps identify inherited traumas or limiting beliefs that no longer serve us and create new narratives for ourselves.
Consider this ancestral healing circle as a place to begin. We cannot promise that you will heal all past ancestral traumas or eradicate intergenerational patterns that plague you. The circle is in no way a replacement for therapy or any trauma-informed work you may need. Yet, it’s a warm, supportive space to gather with the intention of ancestral connection and healing, and to learn some practices you can take forward into this journey of a lifetime.