Shows
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingRe-Release: The Meaning of Time With Becca RichToday’s episode is a rerelease of the beautiful conversation I had earlier this year with Becca Rich, in celebration of her hosting the 2025 ‘Living in Sync Roundtable’, during which I will be a guest speaker. You can find more details below.Becca Rich is a trauma-sensitive, certified holistic coach with a background in engineering and mindfulness, who teaches Holistic Time Management. In this episode, she shares with us her wisdom on the meaning of time, the role of control, how we can honor the cyclical nature of our bodies within our digital calendars and so much more...
2024-12-0457 minBelonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingThe Meaning of Time With Becca RichIn today’s episode, I am joined by Becca Rich - a trauma-sensitive, certified holistic coach with a background in engineering and mindfulness, who teaches Holistic Time Management. In today’s episode, she shares with us her wisdom on the meaning of time, the role of control, how we can honor the cyclical nature of our bodies within our digital calendars and so much more. She also coaches me on the part that grief plays in experiencing loss of time and freedom, especially with having a child.Tune in to hear more from us on:Th...
2024-02-1453 minBelonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living”WTF did I just do?” - a conversation on Rewilding with Hillarie MaddoxIn today’s episode, our guest, Hillarie Maddox, interviews me (Becca) to get some personal updates on the journey of rewilding and all that unfolds when we take the steps that brought us from the dream to buying and living on our land. I open up to vulnerably reveal some of the grief, the questioning and the spiral of regret that happened when we initially landed on the farm and how we had to really speak the dream alive again each night so that we could move through that resistance. Both Hillarie and I share the trials and triumphs th...
2024-01-3155 minBelonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingSharing Rituals with Our Children with Waverly DavisWaverly Davis a multidimensional twin mama, facilitator of sacred spaces + sounds, artist, and podcaster residing outside of Charlottesville, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains on unceded Monacan territory.In this episode, we discuss how we incorporate the sacred into motherhood by embedding rituals into our daily lives and threshold moments.Waverly also shares her birth story and how a plant ceremony called her to a more sacred life. Then we journey through her rituals & practices for tending to her nervous system in challenging moments and how she co-creates sacred space with her kids.
2022-11-2159 minBelonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingFrom a tech-paced career to an earth-paced life with my husband Tim PiastrelliSo much has changed since I last had my husband Tim on the podcast. We became parents. We decided to leave California. We bought a house in upstate New York.It feels like almost everything is different since that last episode three years ago. So this week I’ve invited Tim to come back to the show for an open conversation about our family and how we navigate change.Together we discuss why having our daughter was a catalyst to slow down, how we handle the tension between his tech-paced career and our earth-paced life, an...
2022-09-121h 07Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingLessons from my journey with delayed postpartum depressionWhile I often talk about mothering on the podcast, it’s been a few seasons since I shared a personal reflection on being a mother. So this episode of Belonging is a solo episode where I open up about my journey with delayed postpartum depression.In this episode, I talk about struggling with anxiety and rage, realizing that I was taking out my anger on my partner, being diagnosed with PPD, trying meds that helped and then didn’t help, microdosing psilocybin to support extended breastfeeding, and finding my way forward with as many questions as answers.
2022-07-1128 minBelonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingBeing Alone in Nature with Nicole AntoinetteNicole Antoinette is a writer, podcast host, and community-builder who is super into long-distance hiking. In this conversation, she tells us the story of how long solo hikes have become her spiritual & devotional practice.Together we explore the power of facing fear and discomfort, the lessons gained from embracing loneliness, and the self-trust that comes when there’s no one else to ask for answers.Our conversation is an invitation for the hikers and non-hikers among us to consider how we can deepen our devotional connections with the land and ourselves. The lessons Nicole shares su...
2022-05-301h 05
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living92. Winter Rituals & PracticesI've gotten several audience questions about seasonal rituals, so in this episode of Belonging, I thought I would address seasonal rituals for the time that I'm currently in: rituals around winter.First, I invite you to notice what winter looks and feels like where you live (not everywhere looks like a Bavarian ski village in December). Then, I invite you to notice what winter is energetically in your body. Reframing winter as the dream time. I also share my rituals of being dreamy and doing less, being with fire or flame, working with pine essence, winter kitchen magic, sauna or...
2021-12-2027 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living91. Making & Keeping Adult FriendshipsThen Belonging Podcast episode is about adult friendships — how to cultivate them and why they're so dang hard to create and maintain. I dedicate a whole chapter to community in my book, Root & Ritual, particularly as it relates to friendships, but it's one of the topics I get asked about most, so I thought I'd bring it here to the podcast as well. I share about the importance of human connection (even if you're an introvert), making meaningful connections, feeling mistrust in building new relationships, the practice of fertile listening and witnessing, the lingering effects of the Burning Times, disclosure an...
2021-12-1328 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living90. Rites of Passage for All of UsI've gotten some questions from Belonging podcast listeners about rites of passage, especially if you've left a religion that previously offered a sense of rites of passage and ritual, or how to cultivate rites of passage when we don't have that religious or cultural foundation. This is something I've touched on before on the Belonging podcast, and I'm sharing my thoughts now after going through a major rite of passage myself. I share how I'm fulfilling my need for ritual and community witnessing around pretty important things that are happening in my life, what to do when you're feeling a...
2021-11-2927 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living89. How I don't find balance in my daily lifeIn this episode of Belonging, I'm sharing what my life looks like now on the other side of birth for any of you who are wondering what life looks like as a new parent or who are struggling to find the elusive balance. I share how I (attempt to) balance business, mothering, self-care, and partnership, what motherhood looks like now one year in, how my greatest lesson in this time is patience, my feelings of panic from aging and time passing, and how I deal with feeling incompetent and like I can't keep up.Find show notes for this episode...
2021-11-1526 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living88. Returning to a relationship with the living worldSo many of us are desiring tools and methods to connect with the land we live on. In this episode of the Belonging podcast, I share ways that I'm building a relationship with the living world after feeling like I've lost it since entering motherhood. I share about the colonial construct of "nature," the history of enclosure and the separation of humans from the natural world, holding an animist view of the world, tuning into the land you're on throughout time, being in relationship with the land by grieving the loss, and practices for connecting with the land.Find show...
2021-11-0131 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living84. Layers of Liberation in the Web of Being with Kathryn FinkThis episode of Belonging is a swapcast with Kathryn Fink of The Heart is a Cauldron. Kathryn believes in a world where each of us lives in deep connection — with our wild soul, our purpose, and our place in the wondrous web of being. To magic this world into reality, they sew an untamed array of seeds into the soil of their work as a mentor, podcaster, and queer mystic — weaving together animist ethics and enchantment, trauma-informed Buddhist psychology, transformational coaching, reverence for the mythic spirit and ancestral folkways, a devotion to justice, and a lifetime of living in the limi...
2021-05-311h 44
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living83. Wild Soul Runes with Lara Veleda VestaLara Veleda Vesta is back on the Belonging podcast, continuing the threads of our conversation from a couple years ago and introduce her new book, Wild Soul Runes: Reawakening the Ancestral Feminine.Lara is an artist, author, storyteller, and educator transforming chronic illness into a path of healing and reclaiming. Her research interests include ancestral connection and disability as initiation. She shares her journey with mythtelling, folk magic, ancestor lore, and ritual practice with her Patreon community and through classes at the Wild Soul School.Together in this episode, we talk about Lara's process with writing and illustrating her new...
2021-05-1749 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living82. Mothering as Ancestral Reverence with Megan McGuireMegan McGuire is a mother, partner, permaculture gardener, and ritual weaver living on the lands of the Dakota people near Kaposia. Her ancestors have tended the Mississippi River for many generations, and she continues to steward this river in her day job as a biologist with the federal government. Megan is on a long journey to reclaim the earth-honoring practices of her European ancestors — especially their seasonal rituals and holy days — and to wed these practices to her local bioregion. She seeks to belong herself to the land and waters through devotion, ritual, and activism.Together we talk about finding belo...
2021-05-031h 04
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living81. Natural Rhythms & Regeneration for Breaking the Collective Trauma Spell with Rachael MaddoxWe are living in a time of collective trauma and that is exactly what I'm talking about with my guest, Rachael Maddox, in this episode of Belonging.Rachael Maddox is a trauma resolution educator, coach, and guide who’s helped hundreds of humans move from sexual, complex or developmental trauma into pleasure, power, and trust-filled relationships. Rachael teaches and mentors other coaches, healers, and therapists who are devoted to trauma-informed, radically inclusive, pleasure-positive approaches to changing lives and culture.Together in this episode, we talk about how we are living inside prolonged panic of collective trauma right now, how to de...
2021-04-191h 01
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living80. Of Blood and Belonging with MaryBeth BonfiglioMaryBeth Bonfiglio joins me on this episode of the Belonging podcast to talk about the many commonalities we have in our ancestral connection work and lives. MaryBeth is a writer and a practitioner of ancestral folk magic of her ancestors (from Sicily and mainland Italy). She is deeply devoted to knowing and understanding her roots and learning their ancient and not-so-ancient ways of being together, and with the land. She also gathers people on her ancestral land of Sicily to anchor in the earth, village practices, food stories, ancestral arts, dance, music, and celebration—all within community.Together we talk ab...
2021-04-0558 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living79. Reciprocal Relationships and the Foundation of Doula Care with Bethany GurrolaThis episode really feels like I'm inviting you into my home and into a relationship that has been really vital and nourishing to me and that is with Bethany Gurrola of Alma Rising.Bethany is my post-partum doula, but as we talk about in this episode, the relationship and support system we're building is really so much more than that. It's built on a real sense of reciprocity. So in this ongoing exploration of what it means to be in deep community, grieving the loss of the village, and navigating a way back to re-villaging, Bethany and I realized that...
2021-03-221h 10
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living78. Non-Linear Reciprocity and Skills to Traverse Change with Jessie HarroldThis conversation is another tender one for me. I find as I'm navigating these initial months of motherhood (and in the absence of being able to have lots of community come over to my house), I'm having the essential conversations here on the podcast.The wonderful Jessie Harrold joins me in this episode to talk about major life transitions and the skills we need to traverse change. Jessie is a coach, women's mentor, and doula who has been supporting women through radical life transformations and other rites of passage for over a decade. She works one-on-one with women and mothers...
2021-03-0856 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living77. Mothering the Mothers with Rachelle Garcia SeligaToday on the Belonging podcast, I am joined by Rachelle Garcia Seliga. Rachelle is a Mother, Wife, and Midwife who has spent the past 18 years working with women and families, in service to woman-centered/ family-centered birth, health, and Life. She is deeply invested in the revitalization of community living as the most important medicine of our times. All of her work is dedicated to midwifing a cultural shift — honoring our innate wisdom, personal authority, and the sanctity of Life.This conversation with Rachelle was one I deeply needed to have in one of the hardest weeks of my postpartum journey. He...
2021-02-221h 04
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living76. Embracing the Dark Moon with Sarah Faith GottesdienerI get so many questions about working with the moon, so I could think of no one better than the Moon Witch herself, Sarah Faith Gottesdiener, to join me on the Belonging podcast and talk about moon work.Sarah is a queer artist, teacher, business owner, and psychic tarot reader. She has written, edited, and distributed 10 books about the moon (you many know them as the Many Moons workbooks). Her most recent and comprehensive book, The Moon Book: Lunar Magic to Change Your Life, came out in December 2020.Together in this episode, we talk about being in a dark moon...
2021-02-081h 03
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living75. On (re)Parenting that Heals with Nic StrackIn my first interview back after having my babe, it feels so fitting to be talking to the delightful Nic Strack as I begin to navigate the parent path.Nic (pronouns they/them) is a Whole Human Parenting Coach, supporting parents to honor and embrace the fullness of their own & their child’s humanity. In working with Nic, folks have opportunities to cultivate self-awareness in order to live and parent in alignment with their integrity.Nic got me thinking about parenting and re-parenting, and I'm finding there's such a deeper piece in their work — in reflection of self and the way...
2021-01-251h 02
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living74. {Solo Episode} Re-ritualizing your life during a major life transitionI'm back for the first episode of 2021 and my first solo episode after giving birth to my baby, Atlas. I'm in this place where all the rituals I held before having a baby feel a little foreign in my system. In this episode, I'm sharing a who I am becoming now, how I'm navigating this major life transition, and how I'm re-ritualizing my life in what really feels like the beginning of a second lifetime.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/re-ritualizing-life/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the...
2021-01-1131 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living73. Braided Blood with Yaya Erin Rivera MerrimanYaya Erin Rivera Merriman is a Plant Spirit Medicine Practitioner specializing in sacred plant medicines for communication and relationship. Believing strongly in the necessity of hybrid medicine to meet the unique challenges of modern life, Yaya is engaged in the continued study of Plant Medicine, Active Dreaming, and Goddess Traditions from around the world as gateways into the richness of direct personal experience of uncurated reality. A Devotee, Artist, and Mother of primarily Taino and Irish descent, Yaya offers multi-dimensional, plant medicine assisted, sex-positive prayer spaces, and healing experiences designed to help you integrate all that you have encountered on...
2020-11-3050 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living72. Finding Freedom from Narcissistic Abuse with Madison MorriganFor this vast, wide, deep, multi-layered topic of Belonging I've got a powerful conversation to share that I had with Madison Morrigan. Madison is a life coach and speaker whose work is centered on self-responsibility and full expression. She coaches ambitious and creative womxn to shed layers of old programming that are keeping them small so they can finally come home to their true selves. Madison is also someone who has left the evangelical church, grew up in a household of narcissistic abuse, and has recently come out as queer, so she's been doing a lot of personal work in...
2020-11-161h 00
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living71. Longing to Be with Luna Grace Isbell-LoveLuna Grace Isbell-Love is someone who has been in my orbit for a while. You'll hear at the beginning of the interview that I invited her on the Belonging Podcast and she said, "Yes! I've been waiting for this." Luna is a truth-telling, shadow-walking, trauma-informed, nervous system exploring woman of devotion. Her work lies at the intersection of exploring what it means to be both human and holy, welcoming the full spectrum of life: the agony, the ecstasy, and everything in between. Luna is devoted to social justice advocacy, working primarily with the addiction recovery and incarcerated communities, through the...
2020-11-0254 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingBeing as Belonging: Part Two of a Special Hearthfire ConversationWe're continuing our very special, two-part conversation for you today coming to you from inside the Hearthfire community.Hearthfire is my virtual healing and support space for us to devote ourselves to this work of creating a life for ourselves that truly nourishes us. We seek to create lives that are in deeper integrity, that have us being better ancestors, that have us healing the wounds from living in systems of oppression that have us holding ourselves back in a time where our voices and our actions and our hearts are deeply needed.This episode is the second part of...
2020-10-2637 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingRemembering You Aren't Alone: Part One of a Special Hearthfire ConversationI have a very special, two-part conversation for you today coming to you from inside the Hearthfire community.Hearthfire is my virtual healing and support space for us to devote ourselves to this work of creating a life for ourselves that truly nourishes us. We seek to create lives that are in deeper integrity, that have us being better ancestors, that have us healing the wounds from living in systems of oppression that have us holding ourselves back in a time where our voices and our actions and our hearts are deeply needed.This episode is a recording of one...
2020-10-1943 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living70. Born on the Living Room Floor: Our Birth StoryIn this tender episode of Belonging, I'm sharing the story of the birth of my daughter, Atlas. To help me piece together all that happened (because parts are already beginning to fade and other parts exist for me outside of time and space), my dear friend and new doula who was with me through the whole process, Nisha Moodley, joined me to guide us through the conversation.Together, we weave the story of what happened over the course of my 48+ hour labor — sharing moments of celebration, moments of grief and fear, and moments that happened outside of my awareness. As I...
2020-10-121h 41
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living69. Motherhood, Grief, and the Grandmother Hypothesis with Amber Magnolia HillAmber Magnolia Hill is the woman behind Mythic Medicine and the Medicine Stories Podcast for people who year for knowledge about herbalism, deepening ancestral connections, and remembering what it is to be human upon the earth. She helps folks drop the cultural lies, disconnection, and disempowerment, and remember that the old ways are in our bones. I first met Amber at the Spirit Weavers Gathering where she was teaching an herbal body oiling class. Her Medicine Stories Podcast has featured so many conversations that have really shifted my perspectives and given me a deeper understanding of being an ancestral being...
2020-10-051h 14
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living68. Dreams as Nature Naturing Through Us with Toko-pa TurnerI've got a much-anticipated conversation to share with you today with Toko-pa Turner, author of the bestselling book Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home which explores the themes of exile and the search for belonging. I named this podcast Belonging before I came across Toko-pa's book, and then once I learned of it and as more and more folks shared her work with me, I felt more of a love and resonance for Toko-pa and I knew I would have her on the podcast someday.Toko-pa is a Canadian author, teacher, and dreamworker. Blending the mystical tradition of Sufism in which she...
2020-09-2153 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living67. Resilience as a Practice with Lola PickettI'm so happy to bring you this conversation with my friend and former mentor, Lola Pickett. Through her courses and programs, Lola empowers empaths and sensitive folk to rewire their brains, bodies, and behavior for internal and external resilience — shifting from self-repression to soul-expression. She is the published author of the Wild Messengers Alchemical Tarot and founder of EMPATH*ology™—an emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual resiliency training program. Her offerings blend cutting-edge neuroscience with trauma healing, herbalism, permaculture, ritual, and play to create powerful and lasting results.I invited Lola on the Belonging podcast to talk about resilience — you'll hear in...
2020-09-0756 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living66. Radically Claiming your Needs with Mara GlatzelJoining me in this episode of the Belonging podcast is Mara Glatzel, an intuitive coach, writer, and podcast host who helps perfectionists and people pleasers reclaim their sovereignty. Her superpower is saying what you need to hear when you need to hear it, and she is here to help you believe in yourself as much as she believes in you.I invited Mara on the Belonging podcast to talk about a topic we really bond over, which is overcoming the patterns and behaviors of overworking, people-pleasing, perfectionism, and instead claiming our needs in a really deep and radical way. There's...
2020-08-2455 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living65. Rising as the Well Ancestor with Lindsay MackIn this episode of the Belonging Podcast, I am joined by Lindsay Mack — a queer intuitive Tarot teacher, writer, and the founder of the popular weekly podcast, Tarot for the Wild Soul. She is also the creator of Soul Tarot, a radical reinterpretation and intentional utilization of the Tarot as a healing tool, one that can assist us in differentiating the noise of our brain from the truth of our soul.I first met Lindsay at the Spirit Weavers Gathering where she was teaching Tarot and we've been tangentially weaving closer and closer together ever since. Lindsay asked to come on...
2020-08-101h 01
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living64. Breaking the Good Girl Myth with Majo MolfinoI'm delighted a share a conversation with my dear friend Majo Molfino. Majo helps women birth their dreams and share their gifts without quitting their day jobs. She is a self-described recovering “good girl” and daughter of immigrants, and as of this episode, she is the author of Break the Good Girl Myth, which empowers readers to break free from their good girl conditioning and design a more purposeful life. She is also the host of the HEROINE podcast, which is a very good listen.Together, we talk about adult friendships and our own friendship history and how cool it's been...
2020-07-2756 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living63. Feeling Seen in the Wild with Asia SulerAsia Suler joins me in this episode of the Belonging Podcast. Asia is a writer, teacher, mystic, and herbalist who lives in the folds of the Blue ridge mountains. She is the creator and concoctress of One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company that offers lovingly handcrafted medicines and alchemical gateways of education. Her classes are a unique combination of western and energetic herbalism, stone medicine, earth-centered shamanism, and intuitive healing.I first found Asia on Instagram and as I've been doing pilgrimage over the last several years, so has she. I really love her perspective on the more-than-human world, how...
2020-07-1353 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living62. Normalizing Death and Interrogating our Unquestioned Beliefs with Rachael RiceRachael Rice is someone who I have held in high esteem for some time. She is first and foremost, an artist — depicting the world as she sees it and as what she sees coming. She's also a prolific writer, educator, and death doula. Her work lies at the crossroads of grief, radical togetherness, creative expression, death, learning, and magic. Rachael's art, writing, and speaking have really expanded my lens of the world as I work to decolonize my mind and awaken to a deeper, more real, more radical experience of this world. So I asked Rachael to come onto the Be...
2020-06-2956 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living61. Rituals for our Grief with Shauna JanzShauna Janz joins me in this episode of Belonging. Shauna is a sacred grief counselor who holds space for all the areas and intersections of grief — embodiment, rituals, ancestral connection, and the individual and group process. She is dedicated to tending belonging in our world — within ourselves, with each other, with our other-than-human relations and with the sacred. She creates space for reaching into the rough and beautiful places that are a catalyst for transformation and healing, personally and collectively. Her offerings are trauma-aware, somatic-informed, and culturally-inclusive and anchored in the resiliency of the human spirit, decolonizing, and animist values.Shaun...
2020-06-1554 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living60. Embodying the Priestess with Julie ParkerJulie Parker, Founder of The Beautiful You Coaching Academy, Co-Founder of Priestess Temple School, host of the Priestess Podcast, published author (her book Priestess is available for pre-order as of TODAY!), and speaker joins me in this episode of the Belonging Podcast.Together, we talk about the meaning of the word "priestess" and what it looks like to embody it in this world, ancestral pilgrimage and being descended from European lands while living in colonized Australia (where Julie lives), our collective longing for sisterhood and how to heal trust with other women, and leaning into discomfort in order to build...
2020-06-0155 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living59. Creation as Self-Regulation & Dreaming of a Better World with JumakaeJune Marisa Kaewsith, also known as "Jumakae," joins me on the Belonging Podcast today. Jumakae is a professional artist, wellness consultant, and storytelling coach who first roped me in with her TEDx talk and her powerful storytelling voice. I knew I wanted to talk with her on Belonging about her ancestral connection, but we dove so much more into the power of stepping into your ancestral identity in these times of the pandemic and ways to navigate these times of uncertainty — including envisioning the future in a different way.Together, we talk about how to stay rooted in times of ch...
2020-05-1850 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living58. Tending to the Ancestors with Gogo Thule NganeMuch of the curiosity around my work has to do with ancestral connection and ancestral practices, which is why I am so excited to share my conversation with Gogo Thule Ngane on this episode of Belonging.Gogo is a Sangoma priestess and healer guided by the elevated ancestors of her lineages from the Mossi of West Africa and Zulu of South Africa. She works as a diviner using ancestral shamanic practices and ceremonial traditions. Her healing practice offers workshops, ceremonies, and retreats from the perspective of ancient African cosmologies. She walks the path of a wisdom keeper devoted to preserving...
2020-05-0446 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living57. Web of Connection with Asha FrostIn this episode of the Belonging podcast, I am joined by Asha Frost, an Anishinaabe (Ojibway) Medicine Woman (member of the Chippewas of Nawash First Nation), Healer, and Spiritual Mentor. Asha wrote an article titled "Dear White Woman who wants to be like me," which went viral for many of the same reasons why it caught my attention: it's a powerful calling in around cultural appropriation.Together, we talk about Asha's experience as a First Nations woman of Turtle Island, having grandparents who grew up on the reservation and were sent to residential school, the ways carrying generational trauma shows...
2020-04-201h 00
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living56. Hope in the Age of the Anthropocene with Ayana YoungI'm thrilled to bring you a conversation with Ayana Young, a fierce warrior for the earth and fellow podcaster. I have learned so much from Ayana over the years about what it means to be alive in the Anthropocene (the Age of Man) and how to find hope in action. Ayana specializes in intersectional environmental and social justice, deep ecology and land-based restoration, and was a co-founder of the Environmental Working Group.Together Ayana and I talk about how she lives her life today in the woods of northern California and her commitment to a new way of being in...
2020-04-0655 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living55. Self initiation in the time of social distancing with Mimi YoungMimi Young is a shamanic practitioner and founder of Ceremonie, a shamanic and ritual-based brand, and although we scheduled this conversation before any of us knew the extent of where we would be during this COVID 19 outbreak, what we had planned to talk about is very timely during these moments of Physical Distancing.Mimi shares her experience of having a five-month bedrest when she was pregnant with her second child and what she experienced in the isolation of this time — including a deep meditation practice, an accidental introduction to shamanic journeying, and an initiation. We tie Mimi's experience to what ma...
2020-03-3051 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living54. Finding Connection in Isolation with Lisa OliveraLisa Olivera, a writer and therapist, joins me in this episode of Belonging to talk about showing up as yourself to make meaningful connection. This conversation weaves together what it really means to be human in these times and why it's so important to vulnerably share all sides of ourselves. Through her therapy work and writing, Lisa helps others realize that they can repair abandonment or loneliness wounds and really come into themselves.Together we talk about how to show up imperfectly and apologize and grow from our wounds and mistakes, how vulnerability and humanness and fallibility is so important...
2020-03-2357 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living53. Decolonizing Yoga with Constanza Eliana ChineaI invited Constanza Eliana Chinea, a Latinx certified yoga instructor, on the Belonging podcast to open up a bigger conversation happening in the wellness and yoga industry about decolonization, access, and privilege. Constanza Eliana not only teaches yoga, but she specifically works with yogis and entrepreneurs to decolonize their yoga practice, create equity for teachers of color, and build inclusive spaces in the yoga community.This episode is not here to tell you that you cannot practice yoga. In this conversation, Constanza Eliana shares what she's seeing in the yoga industry that's causing harm, how we can make this practice m...
2020-03-0956 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living52. So...I'm pregnantI’ve got something to share with you... As the sunlight grows, so does the little soul inside of me.This is so tender for me to share with you. I feel the fragility of life itself at all times right now. I feel the potential for life and death in every cell. I am intimately living inside of myself and so vulnerable when I am out in the world.I'm pregnant.And with hope in our hearts, our little one will be joining us by summer's end.It's been a deep and dark winter as my body has adjusted to...
2020-03-0224 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living51. Healing Anxiety with Kelsey MechAnxiety is something that feels so pervasive and yet still carries so much stigma. In this technology-obsessed age of loneliness, it seems as if everyone is experiencing anxiety—at least a little bit—but still feels so alone in the struggle. Anxiety can bring about a lot of shame and prevent us from feeling a true, deep sense of belonging—particularly within community.So in this episode of Belonging, I've got Kelsey Mech, a counselor and therapist in Victoria, British Columbia, joining me to speak about anxiety. So together, Kelsey and I are normalizing anxiety, talking about exactly what is going...
2020-02-241h 00
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living50. Healing and Supporting the Teen Years with Eliza ReynoldsIf you're here, listening to this podcast, part of you probably really wants to re-village or come back into community with each other. Part of circling in community is finding intergenerational spaces and that includes making space for our teens.So I invited Eliza Reynolds on the show. Eliza is the founder of Badass Girls, is a bestselling author, speaker, workshop facilitator, and professional mentor for pre-teen and teen girls. In this episode, we talk about pushing beyond the stereotypes of teenage girls, inner teen work vs. inner child work, the teenage years as an initiation, periods and body changes...
2020-02-101h 04
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living49. The Magic of Yoni Steaming with Kit Murray MaloneyI've been waiting to do an episode on this topic because it's a practice that I engage in every month: yoni steaming.Not long ago, I shared on my Instagram stories my practice of yoni steaming, and I have gotten so many questions since then, so I invited the lovely Kit Murray Maloney who is not only my friend and a Vaginal Steam Practitioner, but she is also the creator of the steam stool that I use (and love!).Together in this episode, we talk about the word "yoni" (and the cultural appropriation in ancient wellness practices), the what/why...
2020-02-0359 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living48. Hunger, Desire, and Fatphobia with Hilary KinaveyI've been longing to have a conversation about food and body and fatness and fat-phobia and healthism, and I'm so excited to introduce my guest to you today. Hilary Kinavey is a professional counselor, facilitator, educator, speaker, writer, and activist working to bring more awareness to eight-inclusive approaches, weight bias, body trust, and the intersections of activism and therapy. She is also the co-founder of BeNourished and The Body Trust Approach.In this episode, we talk about how our bodies are meant to change throughout our lives, but our culture doesn't prepare us for that, that health and fitness don't...
2020-01-2752 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living47. The Kindred Call of the Honeybee with Ariella DalyThe amazing Ariella Daly, aka Beekeeping in Skirts, joins me for this first episode of 2020. Ariella is a beekeeper, which isn't a title that fully encompasses all of her work—she works with the bees in a seer and healership capacity with embodied womb-centric practices.So in this conversation, we talk about the esoteric realm of the bees with ancient way of the Melissae (the oracular bee priestesses of ancient Greece), how Ariella views getting stung by a bee, what we can learn from the bees especially when dealing with the heartbreak of living in a time of ecocide, reclaiming th...
2020-01-201h 01
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal livingBONUS: Omen Days on Roots of LoreThis is a special bonus audio for my Belonging podcast feed because I was interviewed about the Omen Days for my friend and team member, Caitlin Brehm's podcast Roots of Lore. The bulk of my interview will be in her January 1st Roost of Lore episode, but because the Omen Days start today (December 26th), we thought it would be fun to share my portion of the episode here today.Roots of Lore is a podcast that explores the roots of fairy tales and folklore and this season is all about the folklore of winter and why this is such...
2019-12-2646 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living46. Healing from BurnoutI chose this time of year — the winter, waning time of year — to talk about something that I have experienced a lot of in my life: burnout. When we go against the energies of the season, especially in this productivity-focused culture, we experience a lot of burnout — and some of us don't even realize that's what we're experiencing or we resist identifying with being burnt out because burnout has been equated with failure.So today I'm sharing some thoughts on burnout and I'm bringing in a couple other voices to share their stories. We're talking about the symptoms of burnout, the ca...
2019-12-0943 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living45. The Wild Sacred Feminine with Morena Cardoso of DanzaMedicinaI took one of Morena Cardoso's Danza Medicina workshops for embodying the sacred feminine at Spirit Weavers a couple years ago and it was a profound experience in my relationship with my own body. Then, when I found myself circling with Morena for a Samhain gathering this year, I had to pull her aside to interview her for the Belonging podcast.This conversation goes deep. We talk about her embodiment work with Danza Medicina, working with the feminized experience while breaking down the oppressive nature of gender and the binary, Morena's perspective on what's going on in Brazil and her...
2019-12-021h 29
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living44. Speaking to the Earth with Natalie RossNatalie Ross of Earth Speak joins me on the Belonging Podcast today. As the title of her podcast suggests, Natalie is intimately in relationship with the earth and is in regular communication with the land through her intuition and the senses that we normally don't pay attention to or place value on in our modern world.So in this conversation, we talk about tapping into those senses, finding messages in the shadow aspects of our society (like reality TV and litter), learning how to ground and calibrate your energy (especially as a Highly Sensitive Person), and wrestling with the mindset...
2019-11-181h 17
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living43. Remembering How to Gather with Katina MercadanteOne of the most frequent questions I get is how to create a sacred gathering or a women's circle. I get it. It's hard to do and yet it's something all of us so deeply crave. So I invited my dear friend, Katina Mercadante, to join me on the Belonging podcast. Katina and I have been collaborating on sacred gatherings for years now. We started our monthly moon circle together and we've collaborated on ritualizing celebrations and gatherings from birthdays to Bealtaine festivities as well.In this episode, Katina and I talk about remembering and feeling those ancestral ways of...
2019-11-111h 15
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living42. Facing an Uncertain Future with Rachael AlaiaRachael Alaia joins me on the Belonging podcast for a potent and important conversation about facing an uncertain future in the midst of eco collapse, ecocide, and the grief and anxiety that comes with it. Many of us across the globe are experiencing more extreme weather and natural disasters (the fires here in California being just one example), and Rachael helps folx engage in body awareness, ecological sentience, and personal inquiry for personal planetary healing.Together we talk about the physiological response to trauma as a result of ecogrief, finding community to co-regulate and creating a plan for environmental disaster...
2019-11-041h 09
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living41. The Season of Samhain and the Wild HuntWe're here in the witchy time of year—of thin veils, of the Great Hunt, Season of the Witch, and of the beginning of the darkening times here in the northern hemisphere. So in this episode of Belonging, I'm talking about Samhain and what this time of year meant for the ancestors.I'm digging into what it means to embrace the dark side of the year, I'm sharing some folkloric origins of Jack-o'-lanterns, trick or treating, and ancestral offerings, Samhain as the new year in Gaelic traditions, and the preparation this time offers us for the winter ahead.Find show no...
2019-10-2824 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living40. Liberation and Ancestors in Mexico with Lorena AguirreMy dear friend Lorena Aguirre joins me on the podcast today. Lorena has a very popular podcast in the Spanish-speaking world called Con Amor, Carajo! in which she addresses those living within a deeply Catholic, patriarchal existence to spread messages of feminism and empowerment to those who do not benefit from these systems.Together, we talk about what Lorena's experience was like as a woman in patriarchal Mexico, her connection with ancestors (or rather, what I'm sure many can relate to, guilt over a lack of connection with her ancestors), the importance of Día de Muertos, and Lorena's work w...
2019-10-2153 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living39. The Unmothered Woman Sarah Durham WilsonIn this episode of Belonging, Sarah Durham Wilson (aka The Mother Spirit) joins me to talk about moving for the archetype of Maiden to Mother. We get stuck in idealizing the Maiden as a result of many things—including the Patriarchy and beauty industrial complex—and many of us struggle to rise into the wisdom of the Mother archetype (which doesn't necessarily mean literally having children).Sarah's work is to heal the Maiden wound so that womxn can rise into a healthy Mother archetype. Together we talk about that Maiden to Mother journey, the unhealthy traits of each archetype, what it m...
2019-10-1454 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living38. My Journey with MeditationToday's episode of Belonging is a solo episode where I'm sharing my meditation journey! Meditation is something that has come in and out of my life throughout my journey of belonging. I don't consider myself a "master meditator" by any means, but lately, it's something that's felt really strong in my practice.So, I'm sharing the meditation practices and tools that have worked for me, plus a guided meditation that you can do right now.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/meditation/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be...
2019-10-0727 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living37. Household Magic with Erica Feldmann of HausWitchToday I am so excited to have Erica Feldmann join me on the Belonging Podcast. Erica is the owner of HausWitch, a modern metaphysical shop in Salem, MA that blends magic, activism, and deep community.Erica and I talk about how capitalism wants to keep us out of close community (and so how circling closely with other folx is a form of resistance), how using the word "witch" serves historical anger (but also how we need to check our privilege in our ability to use this word without fear), the true importance of housework, and how we can bring magic...
2019-09-3059 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living36. Creating Nourishing Community with Nisha MoodleyI asked Nisha to join me today to talk about belonging in community. It's a big topic, but Nisha and I are in the same community. We used to live down the street from each other and we are in a circle of women that gather each month under the new moon. We’ve seen each other grow and change over the years, but have both been committed to creating meaningful and lasting community—no matter how hard and uncomfortable it can be. And, it turns out, it can be pretty uncomfortable to create healthy relationships, and it’s totally worth...
2019-09-091h 12
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living35. Lessons in Social Media Boundaries with Julie SantiagoI'm taking a turn as the one being interviewed in this episode of Belonging! I asked my friend, Julie Santiago, to interview me about my very recent decisions about social media and the role of Facebook and Instagram—particularly as it relates to my work. We talk about my recent decision to close a program I’ve been running for the past four years and what that has taught me and given way to in terms of the way we engage online.I wanted to give the real deal details of what I’ve been experiencing and thinking about, and I knew...
2019-09-021h 12
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living34. Another Way of Knowing with Sylvia LinsteadtI’m so pleased to be sharing a conversation on the Belonging podcast with one of my all-time favorite writers, Sylvia Linsteadt.Sylvia's words have been a deep salve to my heart and sense of wonderment in this work of re-enchantment with the wild. She has such a deep understanding of the living land, a term I really appreciate. Because for so much of my life, I couldn’t see nature as alive and living. And, if I did, I would often feel scared.In my work of reconnecting to the land, Sylvia’s writing has been a boon of courag...
2019-08-261h 09
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living33. Belonging to Spirit after Leaving Patriarchal Christianity with Barbara ErochinaThis episode covers such an important topic that so many womxn have confided in me about on my retreats and in our work together: a complicated relationship with patriarchal Christianity and a fear of engaging with spirit in a different way.I asked Barbara Erochina to come on the podcast with me to talk this out because she is a real deal expert on this.Barbara used to be an Evangelical Christian—once on the path to becoming a pastor—who has wandered on the journey to belonging and now works with a purpose of deep spirituality, liberation (especially queer libe...
2019-08-191h 06
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living32. Navigating Marriage, Spiritual Transformation, & Witchy Life with Tim PiastrelliMany of the people I work with come to me feeling "different" or "weird" and afraid of expressing their interests and spirituality to their partner because they're afraid of being rejected for it. Or maybe they wish that their partner could be more similar in their spiritual beliefs, but they're having a hard time relating in that way.So today on the Belonging podcast, I'm sharing a conversation I had with my husband, Tim, about building a life and relationship together as two extremely different people. We talk about what Tim thinks about all my "witchy stuff," how we communicate...
2019-08-121h 02
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living31. On Money, Worth & Capitalism with Thais SkyI've been getting a lot of questions about money and Capitalism and worth and how to have a relationship with these things as necessities while at the same time acknowledging that they are complicated and harmful structures. This is not a conversation that I've necessarily felt qualified to lead on my own, so I invited Thais Sky, a coach and therapist whose very work revolves around helping others heal the unworthiness wound, to join me. Together, Thais and I talk about the importance of not feeling ashamed or lazy or unworthy for taking a break, knowing that it inherently serves...
2019-08-051h 06
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living30. My Rituals as a Cyclical BeingI've gotten a lot of similar questions from listeners of what they'd like to hear me cover on this show. One of the main themes is that there's a curiosity about my personal practices and rituals—and I get it. It's fascinating to get a peek into how other people do things, especially if you're trying to figure out what works best for you. I hesitate to share my rituals very often because I want to be clear that this is just what works for me right now (and it will likely change before long). This isn't meant to be a...
2019-06-2428 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living29. The Magic of Human Design with Aycee BrownIn today's episode of Belonging, I'm talking about my current favorite modality for knowing yourself: Human Design. This is a powerful tool for helping us understand our best way to navigate throughout the world (similar to astrology, or Enneagram, or Myers-Briggs). I invited Aycee Brown to have this conversation with me. Aycee is a Human Design Expert (a Projector!) whose mission is making Human Design more approachable and understandable. Together we talk about the origin of Human Design, how it's a key to knowing yourself better, how different types interact with each other, and how you can put this information...
2019-06-171h 02
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living28. Defining success as a spiritual beingI shared an Instagram post recently about how I'm rewiring my brain to recognize success in the work I do now—even though it doesn't match up financially to where I was when I quit my corporate job. The response to my post was clear: you all want to hear more about this. So in this episode, I'm sharing my journey of redefining success for myself and reworking my relationship with the "hustle" mindset, with capitalism, with being able to slow down according to how my body wants to be in each season, and how I've realized what I'm compelled to...
2019-06-1031 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living27. Conscious Dying and Death Midwifery with Jerrigrace LyonsRecently, I went through a death midwife training, and it's something that I've been getting so many questions about ever since, so today on the Belonging Podcast, I've invited Death Midwife, Death Educator, and Founder and Director of Final Passages, Jerrigrace Lyons, to join me in talking about our simultaneous aversion and fascination with death. We're talking about conscious dying and how to consider our options to make choices around our own deaths and the deaths of our loved ones to truly connect with them and aid in our grieving process. And how this embracing and connection with death can...
2019-06-031h 17
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living26. Ancestral Constellations & Conscious Dreaming with Grandmother SarahIn this episode of the Belonging Podcast, I invited a dear mentor, teacher, and wise elder in my life, Grandmother Sarah Bicknell, to join me. Sarah has taught me so much about what many of you have been asking me to explore on the show, including working with my dreams and healing ancestral trauma through the work of Family Constellations. We talk about what constellation work is (including the power of healing sentences), the power of healing ancestral trauma, why it’s important to be a conscious dreamer, and how to develop a dream practice.Find show notes for this ep...
2019-05-271h 00
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living25. Shaking the Amnesia with Lyla JuneI'm so honored to have Lyla June joining me on the Belonging Podcast today! Lyla is an internationally renowned public speaker, poet, hip hop artist, and acoustic songwriter of Diné (Navajo) and Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) lineages. Her music focuses on intergenerational and interethnic healing. In this episode, she shares her journey with connecting to her European ancestry and how it conflicts but also supports her connection with her Diné and Tsétsêhéstâhese ancestry. Much of that journey is a beautiful lesson in forgiveness and compassion for imperfect ancestors who have carried deep trauma through the line.F...
2019-05-201h 10
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living24. End of a Lineage with Darla AntoineThis episode of the Belonging podcast is another throwback. Darla Antoine had come to me a few months before, identifying as both a First Nations Okanagan Tribal Member and as a descendant of Celtic ancestors, offering up her expertise in ancestral healing work through food and a sense of place. Being a woman of European ancestry with the same passions, I knew Darla would have so much to share in ways I could never possibly see or experience, so I was thrilled to hop on a call with her and listen alongside you.Find show notes for this episode here...
2019-05-0654 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living23. Moon Gardening with Erin Duffy OsswaldThe moon and I have a relationship, but there is still so much she has yet to share with me. And my garden? Each year, there are lessons to be harvested from the great losses, unexpected surprises, and joyful moments of gratitude that come with tending to one’s own plants. Joining me today on the Belonging Podcast is Erin Duffy Osswald. Erin is a certified Earth Medicine Practitioner and hedgewitch (which she defines in this episode) living in the northern lands of Great Falls, Montana. She has lived most of her life guided by Grandmother Moon, making it a de...
2019-04-2949 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living22. Discover Your Genealogy with Jaclyn WallachI talk a lot about connecting with and working with the ancestors, and many people have come to me confused as to what that actually means—thinking perhaps I'm some sort of genealogist. So I decided to welcome my friend, Jaclyn Wallach, who is a genealogical researcher on the show to really dig into the topic of researching your ancestry and gathering information. In this episode, Jaclyn shares her own deep journey into discovering her own ancestry and claiming her Jewish identity and lineage and then offers three in-depth steps for beginning the journey of discovering and connecting with your ow...
2019-04-151h 08
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living21. Opting Out of Linear Time with Stephanie BurgYou know I've been doing a lot of work in examining my relationship with my calendar and linear time, so I thought I'd invite one of my best friends on the show—who has these conversations with me often and who is healing many of these things in her own life as well—Stephanie Burg. Stephanie is a health and trauma-healing coach and therapeutic dance + meditation teacher. In this episode, we talk about opting out of the capitalistic, linear time world to choose self-care instead, how that's easier said than done, how our relationship with coffee is part of that jour...
2019-04-081h 27
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living20. Rites of Passage with Lara Veleda VestaLara Veleda Vesta, storyteller weaving with myth, initiation, ritual practice, folk magic, and ancestral connection, shares the story of a long and debilitating bout of illness that she now views as a rite of passage for many things including her connection with her ancestors. We talk about how experiencing illness or loss can cause relationships to change in your life, the three phases of rites of passage, the power of naming yourself, and some incredible folklore surrounding death, transition, and runes.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/lara-veleda-vesta/Follow Lara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v...
2019-04-021h 21
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living19. The Bright and Well Ones with Ash JohnsI've been feeling the call to invite more voices on the Belonging Podcast to help me paint in perspectives of this journey of Belonging that are different from my own. In this episode, I am so excited to welcome Ash Johns who is a trans-cultural ancestral healing guide, psycho-spiritual coach, ceremonial priestess, strategist, speaker, and author. Ash and I are talking about what it means to be a good ancestor and connect with the bright and well ones, connecting to the land without perpetuating colonization, and working with the ancestors to heal the collective.Find show notes for this episode h...
2019-03-111h 03
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living18. How to Work with the Phases of the MoonThe moon is the ancient timekeeper of the year, and it mirrors the cyclical nature that we as humans move through—energetically, emotionally, hormonally, seasonally. It's so powerful to tune into the cycle of the moon. So I'm sharing how I work with the moon—both how she works in folk magic, but also how I see her reflected within myself.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/moon/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritu...
2019-03-0427 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living17. The Dark Side of SisterhoodI use this word, "sisterhood," frequently in my work and practice. It's one of the most powerful tools I've found for healing, feeling a sense of belonging, and deepening your relationship to self, but it's a practice and there are a lot of unhealthy models of sisterhood in media and popular culture. The best way to heal is often to confront the dark side of the matter, so in this episode of Belonging, we're talking about the dark side of Sisterhood to examine where the distrust, judgment, and cutting down comes from.Find show notes for this episode here: https...
2019-02-2527 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living16. Belonging to Your BodyToday I'm talking about the importance of finding a sense of belonging in your body in a society that may not love and support the type of body you have in the way it deserves to be seen. This is a tender episode about how sometimes we can engage in unhealthy or harmful treatment of our bodies because we're trying to fulfill this need for belonging in a society that only leaves space for a select few.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/belonging-to-body/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the...
2019-02-1127 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living15. Making a Sacred HomeI've recently moved and am deep in the process of settling into this new home and infusing my magic and a feeling of sacred into it. So in this episode, I want to talk about that sacred hygge and finding belonging in the place where you live. This episode isn't just for people who are moving to a new place—it can apply to anyone whether you live in an apartment or house or you're buying or renting. It's about finding a sense of place and belonging on the land and where you dwell.Find show notes for this episode he...
2019-01-2126 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living14. My journey to AvalonI recently took pilgrimages to Ireland and Glastonbury (mythical Avalon) to connect with the lands of my ancestors. So in this episode, I want to tell you about my experiences, how the calling to these lands came to me in dreams, and the deep medicine that comes with communing with the sacred sites of various lands.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/journey-to-avalon/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect...
2019-01-0833 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living13. Miscarriage & Grief with Jenni Heffernan BrownIn this episode of Belonging, I'm welcoming my first guest, Jenni Heffernan Brown, to talk with me about a subject that we've both experienced and supported each other through: miscarriage. We're talking about the multifaceted layers of grief, experiencing grief with a partner, allowing family and friends to (imperfectly) hold you when you're going through difficult times, and some things you can do to help a friend who is navigating the waves of miscarriage.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/miscarriage-grief/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a g...
2018-12-171h 22
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living12. The Wisdom of Evergreens and the Cailleach in Winter FolkloreAs we enter the winter season, let's take a moment to tap into the Ancestral folklore perspective of this time of year. As the days get colder and darker, it's important to lean into both community and rest. In this episode of Belonging, we're looking at some of the winter folklore associated with this season that the ancestors leaned on to cope with feelings of despair and darkness during the winter season. We're looking at the wisdom of the Evergreens, the Callieach, and the connection to light and fire.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/winter-folklore...
2018-12-0337 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living11. Cultivate a Meaningful Holiday SeasonThe holidays are upon us, so in this episode of Belonging, I’m talking about cultivating a more meaningful relationship with the winter holidays. This is the time of year when seasonally and energetically we really want to go within. But often we feel pressured, frenzied, and can cross boundaries in preparing for the season and getting caught up in the commercialized aspects of the holidays. So let's talk about setting intentions and planning for and cultivating a more meaningful, aligned relationship with these next few months.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/meaningful-holiday-season/Follow Becca on...
2018-11-1936 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living10. Ancestral Connection through FolkwaysWe've talked about tracing ancestry through DNA, we've talked about non-linear ancestral time, and we've talked about ways to connect to your ancestry through pilgrimage and exploring the lands they came from or settled on. Now in this episode, let's explore the ways we can connect to our ancestry through folk ways—song, dance, story, and food.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/ancestral-connection-folkways/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Co...
2018-10-2938 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living9. Choosing the Journey of DecolonizationToday's topic might feel a little heavy and make you a little bit uncomfortable, but I'm asking you to trust me. We're going to dig into what decolonization is and how you can examine your own part in colonization, the part your ancestors may have played in colonization, and how to move forward to make things right today.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/journey-of-decolonization/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways t...
2018-10-2234 min
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living8. Ancestral connection beyond the DNA testWhen it comes to connecting with our ancestors, it's a lot deeper than mapping our genealogy or taking a DNA test. In this episode of Belonging, I'm digging into the why being able to map genealogy comes from an immense place of privilege, the beauty of making pilgrimages to the lands (both indigenous and otherwise) of your ancestors, and how to connect with your ancestors through dreamwork and ancestral foods, song, and dance.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/ancestry-beyond-dna/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good anc...
2018-10-0829 min