Spirits of place are our closest neighbors in the larger web of relations, those whom we most impact and are most impacted by. In addition to our human kin, they include animal and plant relations, mountains and rivers, ancestors of the land, the elders who bring rain and storms, stone people, elementals, local deities, nature spirits, and other strange old powers whose bodies we perceive as the natural world.

We invite you to join nearly 20 ceremonial leaders and teachers of diverse backgrounds this October 22nd-23rd for a full weekend of embodied learning, interfaith dialogue, and co-creative ritual on the theme of honoring spirits of place.  

On Saturday we'll gather from 9:30am to 6:00pm at the Unitarian Center in San Francisco and on Sunday we'll circle at one of four locations on the land in and around the City (e.g., San Bruno Mountain, Golden Gate, Mount Tamalpais Pacific Coast) for inclusive, earth-honoring rituals co-led by our conference presenters. For an early list of presenters see: www.earthmedicine.org/2011-conference. 

Early registration (before September 1st) is $65 and includes a year membership with the Alliance. To register please visit: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/183067. Spaces are limited to 250 participants. We hope you can join us!

Our lives here in the San Francisco Bay Area ride on the back of the North American and Pacific Plates, massive sheets of Earth's crust that in turn rest upon thousands of miles of viscous and molten metal and stone.

We will gather over the Calaveras fault in the western foothills of Mt Hamilton, traditional territory of Ohlone peoples and now a county park in Santa Clara County. 

This community ritual will emphasize our relationships with fire in the earth, magma, the transformative heat in our bones and the marrow of the world beneath our feet. We will greet and ritually feast the powers whose dancing here is expressed through earthquakes.

Please meet by 11am at the main parking lot of Joseph D Grant County Park and plan to stay for the duration of the gathering. Be prepared to pay the park entry fee (carpooling encouraged) and for being out in the elements for a few hours (mixed sun and shade). We will walk less than a mile total. Suggested donation is $20-40 and all are welcome.

If you look at the map for the park on the Santa Clara County website, we're meeting at the Stockman's Group Picnic Area and walking in from there to the Halley Hill Observatory Area. See our events page or, if you use Facebook, check under Earth Medicine Alliance for any updates. 

We're happy to share another new interview through the Voices of the Earth Project!  This offering is through our earth-honoring ritual and ceremony series.  

Chandra Alexandre is an initiate of the dark goddess in India and the founder and a spiritual leader of the SHARANYA community (www.sharanya.org), Daughters of Kali, and Kali Vidya (www.KaliVidya.org), organizations dedicated to engaged spirituality for social justice and transformation through (r)evolutionary shakta tantra. For our interview with Chandra click here.

The Voices project is looking for volunteers! To learn more about the project or get involved, contact project director Elaine Gast Fawcett at: elaine@fourwindswriting.com