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Witch Hares and Wondrous Bodies
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In collaboration with Stanmer Sauna Garden and sauna storyteller Fleur Hemmings, we are delighted to present our witch hare sauna storytelling day.
An immersion into wild witch hares and other shapeshifting myths, the day will include a sauna storytelling session with Fleur, some witch hare storytelling in Stanmer's famous Earthship with incredible storytellers Deb Winter and Stacia Keogh, and a wild witch hare ritual led by artist and ritualist Elizabeth Jane Lovely.
What is Sauna storytelling?
A space to enjoy the simple, elemental pleasures of flame, stone, leaf, steam and word, we will gather in Frith, the beautiful barrel sauna at Stanmer Sauna Garden for an immersive, tenderly curated and nourishing two hour sauna session. Fleur will tell us the story of the White Hare, accompanied by seasonal scents, herbal sprays and warm shoulder rinses, ice, leaves and body treatments.
Fleur Hemmings is a storyteller of 30yrs experience. She has brought sauna master practice and traditional oral storytelling together to create the unique art form of sauna storytelling. She leads wonderful immersive, sensory storytelling experiences in saunas all over the UK.
What will happen?
We'll start the day by gathering in Stanmer's Earthship, an award winning green building and one of only two "earthships" in the UK.
After an opening circle, we will hear stories from incredible storytellers Stacia Keogh and Deb Winter; Stacia will be telling a wonder tale of witch hares and bergamot, and Deb bringing a reclaimed Hedgewitch, Hare and Moon tale from West Wales. Whilst listening, participants will be invited to use the art materials available, and craft shapeshifting adornments for the witch hare rite. We will then be guided to the Stanmer Sauna Garden for our sauna session.
After lunch, we will gather in the Earthship for a facilitated somatic sharing circle in response to the stories. From this, we will be guided by by ritual facilitator Elizabeth Jane Lovely to move into preparations for a Witch-Hare-Bone-Mother procession through the stunning landscape of Stanmer Park.
How much will it cost?
The cost for the full day is £100. At the moment, we are able to offer 2 reduced price / or *creative exchange tickets, so please get in touch if cost is an issue. We are also offering a pay it forward option, if you would like to make it possible for us to offer further reduced price spaces.
*At StoryCommons, we value and pay our artists but we don't want cost to be prohibitive to taking part. Creative exchange tickets are a chance to offer something non-monetary in exchange for being there. It could be purely practical, like helping out on the day, or bringing your own creativity as an offering, for example, if you are an artist, sketching the storytellers while they are telling. If you'd like to ask about or offer for one of these places, just get in touch.
What are the benefits?
StoryCommons workshops offer collective, community spaces to explore story. As well as witnessing incredible performers and being nourished by ancient sauna mastery in the incredible environment of Stanmer Sauna Garden, you will be immersed in a safe and co-creative space to collectively reweave our relationship to body and to story.
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Who is it for?
Our story days are for anyone with a love of story. We have incredible diversity of participants, from teachers, storytellers, artists to business folks. All are welcome if you come with a desire to gather together with story.
These sessions are for adults, but we have a family story day coming up on January 12th.
Please note that all StoryCommons events are queer friendly and trans-inclusive, and aim to be as inclusive as possible. We are not a space that supports prejudice or discrimination of any kind. Please get in touch if you'd like to ask more.
Buy your ticket
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What do people say?
Some testimonials from StoryCommons events.
"It was an absolutely wonderful dive into stories."
"Beautifully guided and held, I really appreciated the movement and breath work integrated throughout."
"There was a real sense of supportive group cohesion - a strong sense of community."
"I feel supported to bring of myself in a way that is both expansive and nurturing."
"A delightfully creative, feeling space in which to explore fairy tales, inviting an embodied response that allowed the stories to circulate amongst us in unexpected and revealing ways."
"I loved just how alive the stories were in the space - and in the spaces in-between."