Though this project has been years in the making, Ashtree Creative Collective came to be in April 2020.
Could it be that having the downtime during this stay-home period has helped me to see how my varied creative endeavors are interrelated? Let me explain.
Colorado based Regenerative Agriculture Advocate, Doula, Harpist, Wild Crafter and Ritual Weaver
If you’re looking to get involved in the growing regenerative agriculture and permaculture movements and live near Lyons, Colorado, you might find the nonprofit organization I am director of, Lyons Community Farm Project.
If you were looking for a harpist in the Denver, Colorado area, you might find me, along with several other wonderful harpists and vocalists.
And if you were looking for a Colorado-based postpartum doula after giving birth, you might find me, along with several other wonderful doulas.
And if you were looking to buy a lovely sacred candle or belly beads, you might find my offerings on Etsy, for example, and buy a sweet gift for yourself or a friend.
Velas Sagradas, Ancestral Healing Candles Barn building at Elk Run Farm Post Partum Portrait by Sophie Berard
But you would not know the underlying significance that weaves together everything I do.
Ashtree Creative Collective is the thread that weaves together a life of exploring the wild art of living. Birth and post-partum doula care, ceremonial music, dedication to plants through science and farming, wild crafting, and ritual weaving.
Ritual Weaver Based in Colorado
Saoirse (see-ur-sha) is a ceremonial singer/harpist, birth and postpartum doula, wild creative, farm hand, and ritual weaver. She has guided healing rituals for the last 7 years in a few different modalities. Saoirse was brought in to a path of studying the sacredness of plants 9 years ago through Brazilian lineages. She has continued to cultivate her relationship to the earth, the elements, the stars, and internal awareness through dedication. Saoirse has been given the incredible opportunity to study with indigenous elders from North and South America. Foundationally she has learned from these incredible and resilient lineages about living in a healthy way with the Earth and all of our relations. Thank you, truly, to the ancestors of these lands of the Americas and those that have carried on these traditions.
The gifts of these teachings have guided her into a deeper personal study of plants and herbs. Through this and other studies she has come to have a deeper understanding of the earth based traditions of her own Celtic and Nordic ancestry. A life long gardener, she found herself becoming a regenerative agriculture enthusiast 5 years ago, again connecting the traditional knowledge of indigenous traditions with the activism of food sovereignty. Her love of this wild, beautiful Earth eventually led her to study Environmental Science and Public Policy, an undertaking she is still working on. Saoirse is now also the Executive Director of an agricultural nonprofit, Lyons Community Farm Project.
As a birth and post partum doula, Saoirse has become an advocate for women’s healing and empowerment. She has aided women through the rites of passage into motherhood, which is seriously deep and transformational. Her plant studies and earth based ritual work informs the way she works with women before, during, and after giving birth.
Saoirse hosted The Goddess Grove at ARISE for 4 years. This is a women’s only camping and temple space where she and her co-creatress, Alexandra Tilottama Grajeda, facilitated women’s healing ritual work and created a safe container for women to connect with sisterhood, safety, and nourishment. The responses and beauty that came from this space and experience have been immeasurable. During this festival she was also responsible for tending the festival’s sacred fire and assisting with the coordination of The Red Tent.
During her mentorship with Willow Arleana, Saoirse learned Goddess ritual traditions from many different cultures, particularly Celtic and European. As well as meditation techniques and presencing practices to bring awareness to emotional turbulence. These practices blend well with shamanic womb and rewilding work. Willow taught Saoirse how to lead women’s rituals and create a safe and grounded container for women to feel supported.
Saoirse assisted Ixeeya Beacher, a women’s shamanic dance and ritual healer, for three years and in an ongoing basis. In this apprenticeship Saoirse learned more about facilitating women’s healing ritual, sacred and ancient dance practices, and women’s self care. She carries little gems of this ancient wisdom into the circles she leads. These teachings are meant to be shared so that we may all grow and heal, so that we may come back into deep relationship with our wombs as women, and so that we may relate with the earth in a deeply authentic way.