RavenWood Forest Retreat

A place to listen deeply to the Earth and the wild spirit within.

RavenWood Forest Retreat is dedicated to deep healing, authentic self-expression and the nurturing of Sacred relationships between the Earth and Her creatures.It is Valerianna's personal sanctuary, and it is also a place for you to come root into Mother Earth, listen and re-connect with the essential nature of yourself. RavenWood offers a variety of ways for you to explore and do your personal work here, both individually and in community.

We are located in Chesterfield, Mass in the foothills of the Berkshires. Natural beauty abounds and an abundance of wildlife share the forest here. This year the lunamoths and polyphemus moths have visited frequently!

Phone: 413-296-0330 email: valerianna@verizon.net

We offer:

~ Individual healing sessions

~ Workshops

~ Individual and Group Retreats in the Yome

(Scroll to bottom of post for rates and information)

~ Women's Circle

~ Men's Circle

~ Celebrations of seasonal cycles rooted in Earth-based spiritual traditions.

Valerianna offers ~

Individual Healing Sessions:

~ Shamanic Sound Healing: Using voice, drum, rattles, flutes and ocarinas, crystal and Himalayan bowls and any number of Sacred Sound instruments, you are

washed in the healing vibrations of sound. Based on your individual needs, we set an

intention for the session and use the energy of sound and ritual to release, heal,

connect, and ultimately bring peace and balance to the seeker.

~ Dream Visioning: Using the creative skills of an artist, teacher, Priestess/Wild Woman, gardener and woman close to the cycles, seasons and creatures of the

Earth, Valerianna holds space for you to explore a particular question, idea, or

dream. Working closely with Earth Medicine, we address where you are in your seasonal cycle of manifestation, what Animals might be good teachers, and what stories you hold no longer serve you. Valerianna supports you to find the clarity,

radical self-acceptance and tools to create the cauldron to manifest your goals.

*At RavenWood or Phone sessions available.

~ Spiritual Counseling/Mentoring: With many years as a seeker, ritualist, Priestess, teacher, and unofficial counselor for all, Valerianna can offer a wide variety of tools,

practices and skills for the spiritual seeker. Work with Sacred Sound as a spiritual

path, creativity and Sacred Art, Earth Wisdom, Ritual and Ceremony, Storytelling, and

Journey work to name a few.

*Apprentice/work-study possible

*Phone sessions available

Ritual and Ceremonies ~ in groups or for individuals:

~ Rites of passage

~ Seasonal Cycles

~ Women's Mysteries

~ Sacred Sound and Story

Group Events:

~ Sounding Spirit Circles: Improvisational sound circles utilizing voice and a variety of sacred sound instruments, storytelling, journeying, prayer and ceremony. Call for

schedule.

Valerianna Claff is an artist, teacher, sound healer, storyteller, ritualist, Wild Spirit and steward of RavenWood Forest Retreat. With over 20 years teaching experience, Valerianna combines her lifelong exploration of creativity, spirituality, music and healing to invite authentic self-expression and deep transformation. Her studies and exploration of shamanic and vibrational healing techniques led to the development of her own form of shamanic sound healing.

She completed the Priestess Path Apprenticeship with ALisa Starkweather and has been a facilitator there since 2000. Valerianna presently teaches art at Clark University and the Rhode Island School of Design. She gardens, creates art in her studio and with the land, offers private healing sessions and rituals celebrating seasonal cycles. She listens deeply to the stories of the land and offers her sanctuary at RavenWood to those in need of a sacred healing space in the embrace of the sweeping hemlocks and the wild spirits of the forest.

"Valerianna is a woman of immense power, able to hold tremendous love and compassion for deep, utter transformation. She's the real deal. The witch in the woods. The one who whispers to the Hemlocks and sings into the deepest places in the collective soul. She is a dreamer, and the dream she is weaving is one of peaceful relations, of knowing one's truth, of trusting time and staying present. Valerianna creates magic with a healthy dose of irreverent humor that keeps it real. She has been a friend, a teacher, a sister, and a healer to me. In my times of deepest transformation, she has stayed in the room with her grounded presence trusting my own inner knowing while listening to her own direct line to spirit. " Elena Zubulake

Offerd by RavenWood Community healers:

With Anneliese Mordhorst

Pilates/Movement Education

Anneliese is passionate about movement and offering lessons to people of all abilities. She is a trained Pilates Instructor with a rich background in somatic movement methods including Body-Mind Centering® and Continuum Movement and contact improvisation. Anneliese currently offers private and group lessons in Movement Education and the Pilates method. Lessons are individualized to the needs of the client, focusing on whole body awareness, breath,movement coordination, core strength and exercises addressing areas of chronic discomfort.

* Schedule with Anneliese - anneliese@slashmail.org

With Gene Hall

Four Afternoons at

RavenWood Forest Retreat

Awaken and deepen your spiritual connections

Gene loves and learns from the natural world. His early interests, including Native American culture and Buddhist

meditation, have led him to a grounding in his own European ancestors’ roots and traditions. For the past 15 years, he has studied with R.J.Stewart, Scottish author and teacher, and is authorized by R.J. to teach Inner Temple Traditions classes. At RavenWood Gene offers workshops from R.J.Stewart’s body of work. They include practical exercises, guided visualizations, and meditation forms which can awaken and deepen ones spiritual contacts; with teachers and guides in the Solar realm above, and with Faery Cousins in the Earth below. At RavenWood, Gene also offers men's circle.

~ Inner Temple Traditions* Meditation

August 9, August 23, September 13 - 2 to 5 pm

Attend any one or all three

These three afternoon sessions, presented by Gene Hall, offer an opportunity to experience

spiritual communion with the Four Inner Temples and work in the timeless Inner Convoca-

tion of priestesses and priests. Practicing these simple and practical exercises, guided visual-

izations, and meditation forms for five to ten minutes each day can make profound changes

to one’s awareness.

* The Inner Temple Traditions is a line of teaching created and mediated by R J Stewart, Scottish author, musician, and teacher. This form of spiritual initiation was taught to R J by his mentors W G Gray and Ronald Heaver, who were both major figures and spiritual adepts in the Western Tradition in the 20th century. R J has developed it in his books and classes over the last 30 years. Gene has studied with R J Stewart for the past 15 years, and is authorized by R J to teach Inner Temple Traditions classes.

~Men’s Circle at RavenWood with Gene

September 27 - 2 to 5pm

This afternoon gathering, facilitated by Gene Hall, is a call for men to come together, share, challenge, and discover in a respectful and supportive manner. Through ongoing ritual, council, chant, and journey we seek new understandings about those male qualities that no longer serve us, about those that have been lost generations ago, and about those that we can rediscover, create, and embody anew, to better serve Life in these times ahead.

Meditations and Men’s Circle, $5 to $35 (sliding scale) each day

For more information about the workshops and their location, contact

Gene at 978-509-6834 or gene@earthdrum.com

Retreats in the Yome

We are excited about our new Yome workshop and retreat space. It is tucked into a sacred grove of hemlocks with easy access and with a presence of the deep forest. This is not the most flattering photo, it is dressed up now with flags and torches. The inside is cozy with blankets on the earthen floor and back jacks for comfortable sitting. RavenWood Forest is amazingly quiet of human-made noises, and full of birdsong, frog songs and whispering stones.

On retreat here you can explore the 11 acre forest, walk the labyrinth, sit in the garden, walk down the road to the fields and pond or drive to the Chesterfield Gorge, swim at the bend, and receive a healing session. You can choose a quiet retreat or receive a Guided Retreat to help you sink deeply into the Earth during your time here. You might begin the day withSound Healing Session with Valerianna or a Pilates/Movement Education session with Anneliese. Or choose a Ritual Retreat with Valerianna in the forest with drum, sounding, journeying, movement, Sacred Art and ritual. If you stay the night, you may choose to have Valerianna offer Sacred Sound and Story before you dream.

The Earth is calling us to remember, listen deeply and align with the energy and spirit of the more-than-human world. When we find peace within ourselves, we can more easily create peace around us. We do this work for all humanity, it is NOT SELFISH to want time away, time for yourself, time to be in nature. It is essential to our health and well-being as humans to nurture, heal and find time to dream. It is also essential to our survival as a species to come back to and I/Thou relationship with All That Is. We are in the times of great change. Its amazing that something as seemingly small as personal retreat time is a Radical Act of Self Love, and, for that matter, an act of love for all! At RavenWood, we celebrate the Wild Spirit that calls to you to come, be, heal and remember your Sacred Self.

Rates:

Personal Day Retreats : 10AM- 5PM

Open Retreats ~ $15-$35 sliding scale

Guided/Ritual Retreats ~ cost dependent on services received

Overnight Retreats ~ $25-$45 / per person

~ Come for the day retreat and stay over until 10AM.

~ Come in the evening, arrive at 5PM and leave by 5PM the following day.

~ Just for the night: in at 5PM, out at 10AM ~ $10 donation per person

Renting the Yome

The yome is also available to rent for your class, gathering or group retreat. Call for rates.

Phone: 413-296-0330

Email: valerianna@verizon.net

Wild Spirit Gathering

Summer Solstice Weekend

Saturday, June 20 & Sunday, June 21

at RavenWood Forest Retreat

in Chesterfield, Mass,

in the foothills of the Berkshires

Saturday, June 20:

Women's Healing Day

Ritual, Labyrinth, Forest Magic, Sacred Art & Sound,

Healing with the Land and Fire Council.

Private sessions offered all day:

Pilates/Movement Education & Maya Abdominal Massage

Nourish Your Wild Spirit in the beauty of majestic hemlocks, verdant mosses and a gathering of healers honoring women’s wisdom, ritual & community. Summer solstice, the longest day of the year, is a time to celebrate the gifts of the sun and the bounty of Mother Earth as plants take deep root and the growing season is well underway.

This time on Earth, women are returning to the ancient wisdom of our grandmothers. We have returned to rituals celebrating the cycles of the moon and sun, traditional healing techniques , herb craft, and practices that connect us with the land and our beauty. Saturday offers many ways to renew, retreat, and connect with soul-sisters and the Earth in a safe and sacred ritual space. Anneliese, Astrid and Valerianna each bring their own rich and colorful magic to the day, weaving a tapestry of deep healing and celebration of the wild spirit. RavenWood's magical forest is a sweet and gentle place to nurture your wise woman self and Sunday we gather with men and women to celebrate and welcome in summer.

On Saturday, retreat and renew on the land all day: walk the labyrinth, receive a healing session, make something at the art table, meditate in the moss garden, walk in the woods, drum and sing at the forest circle, read a book in the garden or the porch, bring your sketchbook or knitting, sip nourishing herbal teas, meet like-minded women, soak in the healing vibration of the hemlocks and ferns and listen to the singing of the tree frogs and the ancient whispering of the stones.

After dinner, we gather and share stories and women's wisdom at the evening fire council. Bring a story, poem, song, dance, or let one find you in the moment.

Sunday, June 21:

Sunrise Sacred Sound Ritual

Celebration Day- Open to all

• Sing, chant, and dance in summer with crystal bowls, drumming and sacred sound instruments with Valerianna and Joa
• Celebrate and retreat the rest of the day on the land
• Private sessions available with Anneliese and Astrid on Sunday

Costs:

Saturday: $35 for day including evening fire council circle. Private Sessions extra.

Sunday: $10 for Sunrise Ceremony and open retreat time on the land until 2pm

Registration:

• Register for either or both days with Valerianna. Pre-registration is preferred, however, if space is available, last minute registration is accepted by phone. Call 413-296-0330, or email: valerianna@verizon.net

• For Private Sessions: Pre-register with individual practitioners to make sure you get a spot, or sign-up on Saturday.

• Pilates/Movement Education with Anneliese: $25-$45 (for weekend) email for more information, rates and to schedule a lesson: anneliese@slashmail.org

• Maya Abdominal Massage with Astrid: $50-$100 sliding scale, email astrid@birthrootmidwife.com or call 360-630-8391

Testimonial: "RavenWood is an exquisite forest- it was a rare treat to spend time here. I experienced Valerianna as an authentic, clear, gracious and gifted healer." - Joan Hunt

Facilitator bios:

Anneliese Mordhorst is passionate about movement and offering lessons to people of all abilities. She is a trained PilatesInstructor with a rich background in somatic movement methods including Body-Mind Centering ® and Continuum Movement and contact improvisation. Anneliese currently offers private and group lessons in Movement Education and the Pilates method. Lessons are individualized to the needs of the client, focusing on whole body awareness, breath, movement coordination, core strength and exercises addressing areas of chronic discomfort.

Astrid Grove is a community midwife and herbalist whose passion lies in creating sacred space for women, men and children to honor and explore life cycles. She is deeply devoted to health and wellness. In her presence one feels a deep sense of calm, compassion, and wisdom. When working with Astrid, you receive the benefit of her experience and training in polarity therapy, herbal medicine, nutrition and lifestyle counseling, yoga and meditation, reiki, reflexology, holistic midwifery, and The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage^TM.

For more information, visit her website at: www.birthrootmidwife.com

Valerianna Claff is an artist, teacher, sound healer, storyteller, ritualist, Wild Spirit and steward of RavenWood Forest Retreat. With over 20 years teaching experience, Valerianna combines her lifelong exploration of creativity, spirituality, music and healing to invite authentic self-expression and deep transformation. Her studies and exploration of shamanic and vibrational healing techniques led to the development of her own form of shamanic sound healing.

She completed the Priestess Path Apprenticeship with ALisa Starkweather and has been a facilitator there since 2000. Valerianna presently teaches art at Clark University and the Rhode Island School of Design. She gardens, creates art in her studio and with the land, offers private healing sessions and rituals celebrating seasonal cycles. She listens deeply to the stories of the land and offers her sanctuary at RavenWood to those in need of a sacred healing space in the embrace of the sweeping hemlocks and the wild spirits of the forest.

Joa Agnello-Traista is a body worker and a voice and sound healer. She leads sound healing circles in Western Mass and Connecticut together with her husband, Julian Traista and other musicians. Julian is a sound-space maker, an instrument maker and a musician. Joa does sessions out of her home in Worthington and at an office in Florence. She is also a student of Wise Earth Ayurveda.

Additional information will be sent to you upon registration. Some details:

Food

• Bring a bagged lunch. Potluck dinner, grill will be available. (Bring your own plates, utensils, mug or travel mug)
• Nourishing women's herbal teas will be offered.
• Sunday there will be a light breakfast offering.

Rain

• RavenWood has several indoor spaces in case of heavy rain. Saturday will be offered as a Women's Healing Temple with Sacred Spaces to retreat, be in community and council with others, exchange healing work, meditate, experience Sacred Sound, and create Art. Private sessions will be offered all day with Astrid and Anneliese. Evening council circle will be held in the yurt. Sunday's sunrise ceremony will also be in the yurt.

Lodging

• Bed and Breakfasts: There are several bed and breakfasts nearby- Inn Nature at www.innnature.com, a bed & breakfast/yoga center. Seven Hearths, and the 1886 House are also just up the road. Check listings for Chesterfield, Worthington and Williamsburg for other options.

Tenting

• For the rustic wild spirit, tenting is allowed at RavenWood, free of charge for a spot on the forest floor. A short distance away, Indian Hollow Campground is a full-service campground. They require a reservation a few days before.