Welcome people of cloth and thread to…

DISTAFF WAYS

A Threefold Alchemical Healing, Seership Training & Ritual Fiber Arts Exploration w/ the Wisdom of the Spinners & Weavers

(in person/online hybrid)

Within the ancient sisterhood of the Spinners & Weavers sit the Fates or Morai - Clotho, Atropos, and Lachesis - the keepers of the threads of Life and destiny. Distaff Ways - the ways of cloth and thread, loom, and needle - offer the wisdom of the healing story, the gift of magical word, the guidance of the Otherworld, and ways of weaving with and as the spirit of Change.

Through this three-part, in-depth training, you will be introduced to seership practices, alchemical healing techniques, ritual fiber arts, ceremony and experiential allyship with the Spinners & Weavers. Besides being deeply threaded with the Fates and benevolent ancestors of cloth and thread, our work is also entwined with the Serpent, the Bee, the Spider, and the Spirit of the Living Earth Herself as teacher and guide.

Throughout our practice, particular attention will be given to tending threads of connection both within the energetic body and with the alignment of Spirit within, as well as with all our relationships in both the seen and unseen worlds.

This work will bring insight and foresight as it assists you through ceremonial healing rites to be utilized for self and others as a way to embody and bring about great change.

This is a deep study in an intimate container.

What is a Distaff?

A distaff is a staff or paddle like object that is used to hold raw fibers (wool, flax, cotton etc.) as they are being spun into yarn. The distaff became a symbol for women's work as, historically, women had been known to be the ones to spin the threads and work the fibers. Therefore, Distaff also came to be used in reference to the mother line or female branch of the family tree, as opposed to the Spear or male side of the family.

We work with the distaff as a means of healing and clearing the mother line and finding a source of deep nurturance through an embodied invitation to work with ancient, benevolent ancestors of our distaff lines.

We work with the distaff to rework the threads spun off our lifelines, our storylines, and as a way to claim the art of healing the fibers that weave our lives. 

We will work with both the energetic and physical tool of the distaff as well as the drop spindle and loom to reinforce the magical pathways that open when we craft and touch the tangible gifts of creating beauty in form. We will also work with fabric, needle and thread as a means to shift the fabric of reality and to “needle out the pestilence and mend the divides”.

The Structure:

This course takes place through three modules: 2 online and 1 in person in Santa Fe, NM.

For our in person module, we’ll gather for a 6 night, 7 day fully residential artist in residency immersion to engage with healing practices, create ritual loom weavings, fiber arts pieces and hold group ceremony.

We will conclude with a group gallery showing in the town of Santa Fe to showcase the weavings and various fiber arts we make as well as offer an immersive ritual that will be open to the local community.

Our coursework includes:

  • Ritual use of the sacred tools of the Distaff for healing purposes

  • Merging and achieving deep trance states

  • Working with the Black Mirror for Oracular Seership

  • Ritual Dreamwork & Social Dreaming/Dream Weaving

  • Ritual use of the Sacred Loom

  • Ritual use of the Veil and the Skirt

  • Work with the interior Stars & Roses and bodily Nektars

  • Womb work

  • Gnosis/Working body herself as guide

  • Nervous system tending

  • Somatics, Embodiment and Movement practices

  • Integrating our insights, healing gifts and shifts in worldview through written and spoken word and ritual craft making.

  • Working with the Healing Story

  • Optional visit to our bee yard to work with the honeybee as a guide to weave between worlds.

  • Curation of a gallery show and offering of immersive community ceremony

What past participants are saying…

“Distaff Ways provided a container that allowed for me to go very deep in with this work. I am still feeling the effects of what was dreamt, seen, experienced and unwoven in that time. For example, one of the journeys I experienced in this container has been guiding me and has been pivotal in ushering me into a rebirth. I also want to comment on the depth and levity that Nico brings to this work; it is a much needed pairing in these times and Nico embodies this.” - Nicole France-Coe, fiber artist, Trickster-Priestess, facilitator

"Distaff Ways was a beautifully facilitated experience - I felt that I was participating in a work of art! The space was held with a profoundly caring and respectful energy and I felt safe to go deeper into my own process in the liminal realms. At the same time, I was able to connect and share with others and feel part of a community, which I really valued. There were multiple dimensions and threads to this expertly delivered course, and I completed it feeling enriched, transformed and truly delighted, with much to take away.” - Mia, artist, therapist

“About a year and a half ago, I stumbled upon a weekend dreamwork course led by Nico. Being new to dreamwork practice, and to liminal arts in general, I did not know what to expect. What I experienced sparked a curiosity, an awakening, an intention to listen inwardly and to connect with allies and ancestors, which I had never felt before. Inspired, I signed up for Distaff Ways. Over the following months, I met and sat in community with an incredible group of women while we explored a range of healing and seership practices.  Nico expertly provided a safe container that lovingly held us throughout. I’m still unpacking all that I learned, and am so grateful to Nico for the opportunity to nudge open doors and see beyond what I had through were my boundaries.” -  Jamie, Environmental Scientist & Indigenous Community supporter

The course will take place both online & in person in Santa Fe, NM…

*New Dates:

Module 1:
online August 30 - September 1st

Module 2:
online October 4th - 6th

Module 3:
in person, November 11th-17th
Santa Fe, NM

Online Timings:

  • Friday:
    12-2:30pm MT

  • Saturday:
    8-10:30am MT (break)
    & 12-2:30pm MT

  • Sunday:
    12-2pm MT

Homework and ongoing practice held within an online platform between live sessions.

The Material:

Module 1 (online August 30 - September 1st):
Atropis, Clotho & the Honeybee
We begin by tending to the raw fibers our lives are made of - we loosen our grip on rigid identities, past stories, release and get free for the work ahead. We call upon the scissors of Atropis to help us clear our path and our entanglements. We call upon Clotho to offer us back to ourselves and gather up the raw life force, the fibers from which our lives are spun. We ask the sweet honeybee to land us deeply in community and teach us what it is to weave between worlds. The architecture of the unseen world is set and explored as is the Chaos of opening to the otherworld and the fathomless possibility that lays therein. We work with Dream, and the sacred tools of the Distaff, the veil, the skirt and the body and breath as the entry point to the magical.

Module 2 (October 4th - 6th):
Lachesis & Black Widow
We call upon Lachesis as guide to know our measure, to find our shape, the expression and form that wants to arise. We ask Black Widow to hold the threshold of our becoming. We tend the arc of vision, purpose, support, the right slack/tension, opening and closing the aperture, becoming the hollow bone. We find our anchor points while also keeping with movement and all that is asking to be brought forth from the void. Black Mirror and Dreaming open us to deeper connection to the Void. We become the threshold between past and future ancestors and we clear our storylines, timelines, life threads. We also work with basics of the Distaff Healing and practice this method with our companions.

Module 3 (in person artist in residency November 11-16th):
Atropis, Clotho & Python
We gather for a 6 night, 7 day fully residential retreat to engage with healing practices, create ritual loom weavings, stitch work and hold group ceremony. We call upon Atropis to help us seal in and birth new form as well as retrace our steps back to Clotho and the ouroboric opening between death and birth. We work with the unraveling, the coming apart, to be woven and stitched back together in a new form. We invite Python to guide us and work her serpentine force into the healing practices and we offer. We deepen in the practice of Distaff Healing and practice hands on healing. We conclude with a group gallery show in the town of Santa Fe to showcase the weavings, quilts, and stitch work we create as well as offer an immersive ritual meets performance art piece that will be open to hold the local community.

About your guides:

  • Nico Wolf (Nicole Haciba Burke) is a healing practitioner, trans-disciplinary artist, writer, guide and facilitator of dreamwork, ceremony, embodiment practices, Earth wisdom ways and animistic-based healing work. Her work incites rebellion against the status quo and invites fellow humans toward endless curiosity, courageous authenticity, compassion, and connectivity.

    For 10 years, Nico and her husband Ryan stewarded Golden Well Sanctuary - a retreat and regenerative farm in central Vermont devoted to re-potentiating our relationship with the living Earth through cultivating deeper and more meaningful connections between Nature, Spirit, Self and Community. After selling their farm in 2021, the couple moved to Brooklyn, NY for a year where they transitioned their work to School of Liminal Arts - a platform to house not only their offerings, but to expand into more creative collaborations. They explored Europe for a year and have recently returned to New Mexico where they plan to settle for a while.

    Born in Hong Kong to a Moroccan/Algerian mother and an Irish/Polish/American father, Nico’s work is influenced by a life of multiculturalism, travel, adventure and seeking new perspectives. In addition to nearly two decades in the healing arts, her experiences range from artist and fashion designer to beekeeper, organic farmer and ceremonialist. Nico has undertaken several formal apprenticeships in Japanese medicine and acupressure, Classical Shamanism, and Shamanic practice based on the wisdom of the serpent and the honeybee.

    Nico’s diverse background and multi-faceted worldview has inspired her to create spaces that elicit a deep sense of anything-goes-ness, belonging and freedom where the full palate of human expression and creative impulse comes to the surface. Through her group and private sessions, she ushers participants towards the transformation that can occur when finding oneself in unexpected and non-dual realities.

    More info: nicogoldenwolf.com

  • Accompanied by Nicholene Solomon

    Nicholene is a weaver of threads on the loom and in liminal spaces. She is trained as a clinical herbalist & flower essence practitioner with a BSN RN degree. She has worked with mothers & babies for 10 years in hospital settings and more recently hospice care. Nicholene is currently offering holistic healing sessions in Asheville, NC where she weaves together herbal support with Earth-based healing traditions to assist one on the path to health, harmony & transformation. She works with Maya abdominal massage, herbs, flower essences, sacred bee medicine, reiki, cupping techniques, folk traditions, plant spirit medicine, moxa & animistic healing practices/classical shamanism. Honoring the green, alive natural world around us and dancing in the mystery with the liminal arts with a divine feminine approach.

    Nicholene is an avid knitter, spinner and weaver. In fiber work, she strives to create beautiful and functional fiber goods; inspired by the flora & fauna of the Appalachian mountains and in deep reverence of Earth’s gifts. As the fibers are woven she is weaving the story of her grandmothers with the threads of the past, present and future. Woven with remembrance, intention, song and prayer as the magical dance of wool and cotton come together on the loom.

    Nicholene can also be found working in the garden, making herbal medicines, flower honey and tending to bees. Finding the beautiful gifts and healing of nature and remembering the interconnectedness of all things in the web of life.

    More info about Nicholene can be found at: weavingashrose.com

  • Accompanied by Melissa Word.

    Melissa is a textile collage artist, dancer, movement guide, grief and death doula, shaped by the wild aliveness of the landscape and culture of the South (Turtle Island).

    As a facilitator, she helps people heal their creative lives and explore their relationship to their bodies and mortality. 

    Her background as a professional dancer shapeshifted into creating experiences for others to get more in touch with their own way of moving, and a fulfilling textile-based art studio practice. Working with fabric and thread is its own kind of choreography. The materials have an aliveness that want to be expressed through movement, play, cutting up and mending.

    As a creative grief coach, she leads a seasonal online workshop for grief processing through quilting and hand-sewing--reimagining healing spaces as ones where our bodies, hands, and intuitive impulses guide the way.

    More info about Melissa can be found at: melissaword.com

Our home for the week will be…

An Oasis in the Desert

We will gather in a beautiful classic, adobe home set amongst the arroyos and piñon hills in the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The home features comfortable rooms, beauty filled common spaces and ample outdoor space with amenities including a swimming pool, hot tub and cedar wood sauna.

We’ll be 10 minute drive from historic, downtown Santa Fe. Should you choose to explore the area after or before our course, nearby day trips include Ojo Santa Fe natural hot springs (20 minute drive - we may even do a day trip with the group!), Bandelier National Monument (1 hour), Taos (1.5 hours), and Jemez hot springs (1.5 hours)

The closest airports are Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Denver, CO. It tends to be cheapest to fly into ABQ and Denver than to Santa Fe. There is cheap and easy public transport from Albuquerque to Santa Fe and we’re happy to arrange carpools or pick ups from town. Please reach out if you need help making travel arrangements.

The Exchange:

The cost of this course is $3000 (or 6 payments of $500)

Afterpay & Alternative payment plans available. Need-based sliding scale available, inquire on your application.

This includes instruction for all three modules, plus a week-long healing artist in residence retreat with lodging, 3 chef prepared meals per day, and inclusion in a group show in an esteemed gallery in Santa Fe.

Spots are limited, early registration recommended.

All levels of experience and all genders welcome, but identifying with having a wombspace - even if energetic - is a must.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The closest airport is in Santa Fe, NM which is about 1.5 hours away by car. Cheaper flights can be found into Albuquerque (2.5 hour drive) or Denver (4.5 hour drive). There are many campsites and hotsprings to visit along the way from each airport in case you’d like to make a stop. We are also happy to help you make travel plans including arranging carpools from airports. Just reach out.

  • The weather in Valdez, NM typically ranges from 50-80 degrees in July. The sun is hot, but well nestled in a river valley with a swim spot and plenty of shade in the trees. Nights are also pleasantly cool.

  • Besides putting lots of love, time and energy in organizing our retreats, we also have to make non-refundable deposits of our own in advance to make these events happen.

    Please note that your deposit is non-refundable. The balance of your payment is due within 30 days of the retreat. If that is not paid on time, we reserve the right to open your spot up to another participant.

    If you cancel up to 60 days prior to the retreat start, you will receive a full refund for anything paid beyond your deposit. If you cancel up to 31 days prior to the start of the retreat, you will not receive a refund but instead will receive full credit, towards any other program School of Liminal Arts is hosting in the same calendar year.

    No refunds or credits will be given within 30 days of the retreat or if you do not show up for any reason or choose to leave early for any reason.

    In the unlikely even that we cancel an event, you’ll be refunded in full. We are not responsible for travel costs.

    We highly recommend purchasing travel insurance.

  • • Warm and cool clothing options that are easy to move in

    • Walking shoes and/or hiking shoes with good ankle support if you plan to hike

    • Flashlight

    • Toiletries

    • Notebook and pen

    • Insect repellent and sunscreen

    • Bathing suit , river shoes and swimming towel if you wish to dip in the river

    • Slippers or indoor shoes if you need them (no shoes are allowed in most meeting spaces)

  • If you’re coming from lower altitude, expect a couple of days to adjust to being at high altitude - meaning you might be a bit tired when you first arrive. Valdez is at 7,400 feet above sea level. There are things you can do to prepare and help your body adjust including using chlorophyll extract. Check with a trusted naturopath for tips and dosage. Drinking plenty of water and being sure you have a good mineral balance is also helpful.

  • We’ll have a blend of active participation, time to socialize and time to rest. We’ll be spending a lot of time outdoors as well. Our days will start at 9am and go as late as 9pm with midday breaks to replenish.

  • We’ve hired a local chef to prepare vegetarian food with options available for gluten and dairy intolerance. If you have special dietary needs beyond this, please reach out. You’re welcome to bring what you need to be nourished but we cannot accommodate all dietary restrictions.

  • No problem, we got you and will meet you where you’re at.

  • Nope. We’ll be entering into altered states through breath, movement, sound and liminal arts practices. We will reserve the right to ask you to leave should you breach this policy.

  • We suggest you plan an extra day or two before or after the retreat to check out local hot springs. There are several natural ones close proximity to the retreat. We may even decide to go as a group one of the days we’ll be gathering. TBD.

  • We have 2 partial, work trade scholarships available, first come first serve. Email Nico to ask. We’re also offering payment plans in addition to Afterpay.

  • There are loads of airbnbs and hotels in the surrounding area. If you’d like to be connected with other attendees to play car shares and shared accommodations or side trips before or after the retreat, reach out, we’ll connect you.