Sacred Wand Workshop

The Sacred Wand workshop touches and works with grief and loss through creative expression allowing us to just be.

We need this in our community

In early 2018 I lost my brother very suddenly. Not only did I lose my brother, my father lost his son and my young nephew lost his father.

Last year was challenging to say the least, but sitting here, one year down the track, both my father and I are ready to open up our hearts and share the experience of deep grief, to help guide and move through such a challenging time.

I even made a video, explaining a bit more about the workshop, please see below 🙂

Family Unity

Today I want to talk about something we can do as a family, after the initial shock has hit and we somewhat start living a life again – even though nothing feels the same at all. Movement, honesty and allowing emotions to flow are the key points here, especially when there are children involved.

I am not a mother yet, but I do have an awesome nephew who has lost his father very suddenly at a very young age. I have made it a promise to myself to always be honest with him when it comes to what I am feeling, his mother is very much the same, so that he too can feel safe about speaking up what’s actually going on inside of him when things get difficult.

This Christmas was the first holiday without my brother, but we had my nephew. And it was awesome having him with us! It did get me thinking though, about how creative my father was with me when I was growing up. We were almost always making something, either sewing our own leather wallets, teddies, making jewelry, art or woodwork. Yeah, so my dad is pretty amazing. You’ll get to get to meet him if you sign up to the workshop – I’d sign up just to meet him! haha

While my nephew was in town, I wanted to make a ‘magic wand’ with him. A dear friend of mine had made one with wood and crystals that he had, and I was super inspired. So, off we went, me, my dad and nephew, to source the perfect stick and tumbled stones in the hills of Perth.

Simple Idea – Powerful Action

It was paramount for me that my nephew got to have really close key people involved in the process so that he could feel the support. At the end of the day, kids are going to pick up on what they are going to pick up, but we can only do our best to guide them. So with chosen family for this particular project, we managed to get all the things together that we needed. The best thing of course, my nephew loved it!

After the initial design was imagined by my nephew, I went to work on the stones with a ‘dremmel’ type drill (my dad is a dental technician, so he lent me his old drill, which was small and perfect to hold!), making sure that one side of the stones were rough and easier to stick on the wooden stick we had found. Any stones or crystals will do and everything was chosen by my nephew. There really are no limits and the aim of the game here is to allow exploring the magic of creation with the family or just for yourself.

Vision

My idea for this project was to somehow teach my nephew that magic can still be created even when life gets challenging. Life sucks hard sometimes, especially for a young kid who lost his father. I just want to mention that my nephew is doing remarkably well at this time and has really blown us all away. Again, we can never, ever anticipate the how the journey will unfold in these situations.

Keeping The Magic Alive

So while I was drilling my nephews name in his wand, it got me thinking about other families out there who have experienced loss of a loved one where a child is present. How do some families cope? Do they? What do they do?

So I have decided that I would like to create a workshop for families with children who have experienced loss, My vision is to see families come together in unity, create a wand in loving memory of loved ones transitioned and leave stronger, more connected and feeling more free to express themselves as individuals.

Even though I am not a qualified counsellor, I have run many workshops with both adults and children. I have also experienced a lot of loss in my time, as well as trauma resulting from it. At the end of the day, we all just want to feel okay with our emotions and safe in our beings.

What You Need

You can use anything really, but for me it was important to connect with the land together and find most of the items. The stones were gifted from my dear friend. The crystal was purchased and the feathers gifted as well, but if you go for a bush walk, you are bound to find some beautiful bits and pieces out there that will do just fine!

The glue I used was Epoxy Tarzan Grip from Bunnings – probably about $7. My dad recommended it as it holds the best. Please remember to roughen up the back of your gems, or whatever you are using, before sticking them. It just adds that little bit extra to help it really stick!

The string is Peruvian Wax String from a girlfriend of mine. My father taught me how to do the ‘lashings’, so no glue was needed. My dad was excellent in surveying the process, being a master of crafts 😉 Again, any string will do. Just do what feels right for you. It’s the process and journey which is the most important thing here.

The Finished Product

So here it is, the finished sacred wand. Not half bad for a first attempt! My nephew loves it and now he hopefully has a strong reminder of how special he is. We are all here for him.

Sacred Wand Workshop for Families Experiencing Grief

So I am starting to put the sacred wand workshop together, hoping to have something by winter this year, 2019. I will be facilitating the workshop with my father – again – me and him together, working our way through our own grief one year down the track. My vision is to create a safe space where my father and I can help be of support in a time that is beyond challenging.

I would like to open up for a conversation on if your family has dealt with loss and if so, what helped for you as an individual and as a family?

If you are interested in learning more about this upcoming workshop in Perth WA, please express your interest by contacting me directly here or leaving a comment below. I will get back to everyone with dates and times when I have a more solid outline of the workshop itself.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I would love to offer my support and welcome your feedback.

Big love to you all and keep the magic alive!

X

Betty B

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