Earth My Body: A School to Priestess the Sacred Wild
We begin in the threshold of Samhain. Will you walk through into the path of the priestess?
Through the mists of time, priestesses have tended to their communities through weaving connection to the seasons of the sun and moon and life, by co-creating with the elements and the herbs, by being guardians of holy places of land and water. In Kildare Ireland, Brigid’s priestesses tended to the sacred flame, ensconced by a nemed, a sanctuary of oak trees. They presided over celebrations of life and death, of transition and renewal, of protection and sanctity. And so may we.
Even though many of the original rites have been lost through colonization and patriarchy, in Earth My Body, A School to Priestess the Sacred Wild, we will tap into the ever-living flow of resonance, waiting to be remembered. We will reclaim practices inspired by the Irish Wisdom Traditon and Brighid’s priestesses to tend to our own communities.
We will restore the sacred feminine as we restore our own sacred wild, coming back into intimacy with the land, who is our body.
Join me in this yearlong immersion to become a ritualist, learning ritual as has been taught to me by my teachers of human and more than human ones on this land in the west of Ireland. Join me and a small community of seekers to learn the ways of the priestess: the secrets waiting to be revealed by land, sea and sky, the magic of the herbs, the guidance of our group of Sacred Warrioresses: Brighid, the Morrigan, Sheela na gig, Maeve, Gobnait, the Cailleach and Mis.
It is by holding our communities in these old ways that we can support the dismantling of the patriarchy and the distraction and oppression of capitalism. We will actively participate in being part of the 3.5% that will enact sustainable change in our society by eschewing dominant culture and living fully and wholly into what is possible. We will remember that the Earth is our bodies and our bodies are sovereign, as is the Earth. We will ripple this remembering out into the world.
We will meet at our own altars via Zoom for a year to learn and celebrate together, to rage and be still together, to grieve and laugh together. We will meet in person at my hearth in the west of Ireland for a week to co-create with land, sea and herbs.
At the end of our year you will receive a certificate as a Priestess to the Sacred Wild upon completion of:
o Herbal Spiritual Art project
o Ritual design and execution
o Ritual tool kit
o Ten hours of community hospitality
You will dedicate to a Sacred Warrioress to journey with you through this immersion and beyond. You will claim being a Priestess of an aspect of life (such as shadow, death, grief, the well, the land, beauty) and weave in rites and practices to offer this to your community.
This is a space of grace for women and women-identifying folks.
GATHERINGS:
We will meet monthly (12 gatherings) for instruction and connection, plus we will gather eight times for ritual celebration honoring each of the sacred turnings on the Irish Wheel of the Year. We will spend a week together in Ireland to make magic with the land, waters, the more than human ones and each other. A supply list of herbs that we will be working with will be provided a few weeks before we begin and you are responsible for procuring your own herbs to co-create with. as priestesses have done to invoke magic and imbas (wisdom offered by nature) and deep nourishment for body and spirit.
We will meet on Sundays from 10AM-12:30PM MT/ NOON- 2:30PM ET/ 5PM- 7:30PM GMT. Please plan on attending all gatherings. In the event you need to miss, we can record the session for you,
9 November 2025: Samhain
23 November
7 December
21 December: Winter Solstice
11 January 2026
8 February: Imbolc
22 February
8 March
22 March: Spring Equinox
12 April
3 May: Bealtaine
17 May
7 June
21 June: Summer Solstice
No gatherings in July: idir ait
2 August: Lughnasa
16 August
20-27 September: Pilgrimage to Ireland
25 October
RECIPROCATION:
$250 per month (via monthly recurring credit card payment)
$200 non-refundable deposit to hold your spot sent via Venmo or PayPal
10% discount on monthly recurring investment available to Tonja’s long-term students (within the past two years) or in combination with another offering.
TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT PLEASE:
Email Tonja (tonjareichley@gmail.com) sharing why you are drawn to this immersion and what you hope for in committing to this community and these practices for a year.
Send $200 deposit to Tonja via Venmo (@Tonja-Reichley) or www.paypal.me/tonjareichley
