Soul tending is the practice of re-membering.
Not simply remembering what happened.
Re-membering is the continual restoration of relationship among what has been cleaved from our being.
Soul parts.
Body.
Land.
Ancestors.
Dreams.
Community.
Kin.
None of these exist in isolation.
Neither do healing or mending.
Every act of tending restores relationship.
Every restored relationship changes the lore.
Every change in the lore creates new possibilities for body, family, community, and land.
This is how cultures evolve.
Not through perfection.
Through participation.
The commons is not only a place.
It is a way of belonging.
It lives wherever relationship is restored.
Soul tending is how I practice that restoration.
It is the work I share with people who are ready to bring home what has been separated, tend what has been forgotten, and participate in weaving a more life-giving lore.
We don’t heal apart from one another.
We re-member one another.
Every act of re-membering returns relationship to the world.
The world becomes more whole because relationality has been restored.
Relationship is the original medicine. Soul Tending sessions are where we practice it. Together, we listen to body, dreams, ancestors, land, and soul until relationship begins to restore itself.
From Elder to Ancestor
Nature Kinship for All Seasons of Life
2025 Nautilus Silver Award Winner
A practical guide to becoming a good Ancestor by being a fit elder
Meet Kelley
S. Kelley Harrell, M. Div.
Kelley Harrell is an animist, author, deathwalker, and death doula held by Tuscarora, Woccon, and Sissipihaw land. For the last 30 years, through Soul Intent Arts she’s helped others ethically build thriving spiritual paths. Her work is Nature-based, and centers soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes, animism, ancestral tending, and deathwork. She hosts the podcast, What in the Wyrd, and also writes The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season. Work with her in the Runes for Change community or in her intensive soul tending training, The Spirited Path. Full bio.
#beyourcommunity ~ #youareecosystem
elder well, die well, ancestor well