Soul Tending
EMbodieD soul tending through nature
Becoming Spring
In seasonal change, we cheerlead the ecosystem as it does its thing, because when we’re more intentionally part of it, IT can be bigger.
The Body Awake
Miraculously Recover or Die Last week was the 22nd anniversary of my awareness of the politics of form, and that anniversary hasn’t been without ripples. It was the anniversary of my initiation into chronic pain, autoimmune disarray, and what would become a 15-year...
The Risk of Apathy
It’s time to internalize that Apathy is depression. It’s a life force. It’s alive, and Apathy functions as a container, a holding place for feelings so big we don’t know what else to do with them.
Pluriversal Sowilo
Pluriversal SowiloRepeating History and The Broken Path In writing The Weekly Rune last week, a nuance came up in it that I wanted to explore further, though was outside the scope of the actual runecast. I will elaborate here. Please come along with me and share your...
Dying Well in Community
Dame Cicely Saunders, midwife of the hospice movement said, “You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life, and we will do all we can, not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.” Similar can be said about...
Reconciliation and the Dead Time
The Dead TimeSince I began blogging at Intentional Insights in 2004, I’ve shared personal spirit encounters as a lead-in to the Dark Time. In many earth-based spiritual traditions, the progression to the darker time of the year is a seasonal observation of Shadow,...
Deathwalking Fear
I’ve had a new deathwalking class in the works since last fall. and one thing after another has stalled it. Curious that the thing stalling it now is death. As such, it’s an opportune time to talk about some of the aspects of deathwalking that should be animism 101,...
Thursday Betwixt – Modern Challenges in Ecstatic Trance (Part 3)
It's been a whilesince I wrote in the Life Betwixt series. To be honest, I've not had a lot of branewidth to do so, though the experiences I've had offroad with health crisis of the last 2-3 years have taken all of my spiritual teachings even deeper. Turns out, that...
#metoo, Animism, and Ancestral Trauma
This post contains references that may be triggering for survivors of patriarchy. During the public display of Dr. Ford's personal life, an older article (by Sharon Blackie) circulated on the rape of the well-maidens. It offers deeper insight into the Celtic story of...
My Response to DIY Shamanism
A dynamic I see often brought up in shamanism forums is the projection that shamanism is and should be DIY, or it's not authentic. (Ranting ahead.) Somewhere along the way modern shamanism internalized the idea that the shamanic path is done alone. Whether it's that...
My Response to “How Do I Meet My Animal Guide?”
This question is another that I see often in shamanism forums. The revelation of animal guides has spread far beyond mere shamanic trope. I see it brought up in tarot forums, groups focused on general spirituality, paganism, divination... It truly is the new,...
My Response to “How Do I Get Started in Shamanism?”
Without a doubt, this the question I see most often in shamanism forums. Online, in-person, in the checkout line (seriously, that happened, once), people ask me at least once a week how to get started in shamanism. For the sake of not answering it evermore, I'm...
The Question Everyone Asks About Shamanism
"Do I have to work with Shadow to be a shaman?" It's true. I bet I've been asked that question more than any other, over the last 25 years. That and "What's my life purpose?" The funny thing is, we can't know the answer to one without resolving our issues with the...
Life Betwixt – Depression in the Shaman’s Life
Throughout the Betwixt Series I've emphasized that shamanism isn't called 'fire in the head' for no reason. It's inextricable from mental illness because we culturally can't honor hearing voices and engaging trance states without also projecting judgement onto sanity...
Life Betwixt – Deathwalking
So many people have contacted me since I blogged about my experience in February of this year, when the planetary Watchers told me that we need to be prepared to deathwalk Midgard (Earth). Likewise, after I posted early in September about planetary soul loss, many...
S. Kelley Harrell, M. Div.
I’m an animist, author, deathwalker and death doula. For the last 25+ years, through Soul Intent Arts I’ve helped others to ethically build thriving spiritual paths as fit, embodied elders, who upon death become wise, capable Ancestors. My work is Nature-based, and focuses soul tending through the Elder Futhark runes, animism, ancestral healing, and deathwork. I’m author of Runic Book of Days, and I host the podcast, What in the Wyrd. I also write The Weekly Rune as a celebration of the Elder Futhark in season. Full bio.
#beyourcommunity
elder well, die well, ancestor well
Elder Well
So that you bear your unique gift to the world.
Die Well
So that you leave the planet better than you found it.
Ancestor Well
So that your descendants never elder alone.
We don't heal in isolation,
but in community~S. Kelley Harrell