Adwoa Kudoto & Sena Kugbega
Drums, Dance, Songs And Culture From Ghana
Adwoa is Ghana’s only recognized female Master drummer. Adwoa is from Cape Coast (West Africa) and has been teaching drumming and dance since she was 13 years old. As a young girl growing up, she always knew what she wanted to do, but women were not allowed to drum. Adwoa managed to break through the obstacles she faced and this struggle has made her so unique! Her fame, talents and skills in performing and teaching are known locally and internationally.
In 2000, Antoinette Adwoa Kudoto received an award from the Arts Critics and Reviewers Association of Ghana (ACRAG) as the Only Versatile Female Master Drummer in Ghana. She has also received honors from both Television Africa, International Center for African Music and Dance, and Center for Intercultural and Talent Development. She has enjoyed traveling all around the US and Europe sharing her culture with others – both drumming culture and Ghanaian culture in general. In Cape Coast, Adwoa is the leader and founder of the group, Nyame Tsease African Traditionals, comprised of young and talented drummers and dancers in Cape Coast, Ghana. Adwoa and her daughter, Sena, will be teaching.
Sena Kugbega is from Cape Coast, Ghana, (West Africa) and has been teaching drum and dance since she was 13 years old. As a young girl growing up, she always knew what she wanted to do. Sena has traveled extensively with her mother, award winning and recognized as “the only female master drummer in Ghanaâ€, Adwoa Kudoto. They have traveled throughout the US teaching and performing in Washington, New York, Atlanta and California. Growing up, Sena was always willing to learn: learning how to have fun drumming and dancing. Drumming and dancing has always been part of her life and culture and she does it with enthusiasm and joy! All Levels
Afia Walking Tree
Djembe Dunun Fevah!*
Want to see how djembe and dunun rhythms speak to each other? Want to strap on your drum and learn proper technique? Want to play for dance classes? This class is for YOU! Excel in your Djembe and Dunun playing with body postures (sitting and standing), rhythm placement, hand precision techniques, introductions, accompaniments, and solos. Fine-tune rolls, flams and ambidextrous playing. We will explore Guinea, Jamaica, and original Walking Tree rhythms. This class is great preparation to drum for dance classes. We will have a blast moving and drumming together getting more into our SKINS. *Course Prerequisite: Course taught at intermediate level. Newbie and Beginning drummers are welcomed to observe/witness. *Course Prerequisite: Course taught at intermediate level. Newbie and Beginning drummers are welcomed to observe/witness. Intermediate, Advanced*
Gourd Song Shekere
15 naked gourd and shekeres available on a first come, first served basis. All Levels
Alexandria Nichandros
Middle Eastern Movement
Come experience the power of our bodies moving in unison, for no reason but our own enjoyment. Together we will build intergenerational community and practice body acceptance.Open to all levels, all abilities, all bodies, and all ages, bellydance is an ancient expression and celebration of feminine strength, power, spirit, and form. Safe and welcoming for first time dancers but still challenging for experienced yoga practitioners and athletes alike, bellydance is low or no impact and builds stamina, flexibility, and musical timing.
Bringing your mind in touch with your body, this class is a blend of Raqs sharqi (Arabic style), modern Turkish, and classic American Cabaret. We honor the tradition of bellydance as a solo improvisational dance style, grounding you with alignment and community so that you can find your own personal expression.
Amikaeyla
Elemental Medicine Woman ~ The Wisdom of Spirit Sound
Working with sacred chants and songs to call to the natural spirits and ancestors, we delve into the knowledge from various global traditions. This workshop teaches the ancient tradition of singing with large groups in what is known as a circle song. Utilizing the traditions of various cultures, both ancient and contemporary, we focus on developing and improving playing techniques and our own rhythmic vocabulary, and together, we experience the unifying and revitalizing effects of group playing, toning, and singing. All Levels
April Lea Go Forth & Ann Sanchez
You N’ Thoz Womenz
Native drum is more than a percussion instrument; it holds the heart beat of Mother Earth and a woman’s natural expression. We will focus on “place†with some topics of: being called, responsibility, heart and prayer in songs. Romanticism of Native drum will be dispelled and we will straight up “kick itâ€. Drum space and sticks are limited to 15 singers.
The session will address basic drum protocol and terminology of push-up, second/step, honor beats, pick-up and tail. Participants will learn song categories, use, vocables versus language and making payment for songs.
Arisika Razak
Healing Ancestral Lineages: Oppression, Healing and Revisioning the Future
Everyone has ancestors that we’re proud of and ancestors that harmed us or of whom we’re ashamed. In this workshop we’ll share stories of ally-ship from the past and healing stories from the present. We’ll use writing, movement, story-telling and ritual to invoke a positive and inclusive future that holds in love all our descendants, all our relatives and all of life. We’ll explore our connections to the lands of our ancestors – and the lands we currently live on – celebrating the ancestors who support our liberation and releasing those ancestors with whom we cannot yet be reconciled.All Levels
Ava Square
West African Dance for Self Reflection
Dancing brings a certain amount of blessed inner joy to the dancers, drummers, and those watching. It also brings inner contemplation. Knowingly or through the unconscious.
In this class we will dance to our hearts content and also intentionally check in with ourselves. We will celebrate the beauty that movement creates as we connect with rhythm, soul, and each other.
Our movements of body and spirit will guide us along thought provoking paths of expression. Paths that include the opportunity to explore and share our rich and vital inner messages with each other.
A safe space to move body, mind, and spirit!
Avotcja
When Ancestors Speak Through Rhythm
It’s all about La Palabra Musical, The Music Of The Word, the Rhythm that speaks in us & through us & our responsibility in using this most sacred of gifts wisely. Be ready to write, bring your instruments & be prepared to surrender your egos to each other & the Music of the Word. I want to unlock a waterfall of poetic metaphors as strong as any Rhythm you’ve ever heard played on the Drum & see where it takes us!!! I’m ready, are you? All Levels
Barbara Borden
Voice in the Beat
For beginning and intermediate drummers who want to add and/or explore further voicing and drumming at the same time. Yes, it is possible to sing, chant, tone, drone, sound or rap while you are drumming…and a whole lot of fun too! Many indigenous and tribal people, shamans, rappers, singers and drummers know the power, joy and call to spirit of this moving combination.
In this session, drummers will have the opportunity to begin the practice of adding singing, chanting, toning, sounding, talking and rapping to simple but groovy beats. We will begin by exploring sounds made with our voice while keeping a simple, steady pulse with our body. Then we will talk actual words and/or your own made-up-on-the-spot language. From there we’ll go into learning some simple grooves and add toning and droning. Next, we’ll dive into a bit of rapping with an appropriate groove. And, finally, a Yoruban chant titled Babala Gumbala, as well as a profound round of Row, Row, Row Your Boat that we’ll sing and drum. More chants/songs will be explored as time permits.
Beware…The vibrations from your voice and drum may cause you to enter a blissful state!
Carolyn Brandy
Fundamentals of Rhythm
This class will focus on basic understandings of rhythm and beat for all musical instruments & especially percussion. What is the beat? What is rhythm, the upbeat and downbeat? What is syncopation? How do these ‘rhythmic accents’ feel in our body? We will also look at concepts such as clave and polyrhythm. This is an excellent introduction to your wonderful weekend of drumming, singing and dancing at Born To Drum.
Afro-Cuban Conga!
Come learn a few of the popular and charismatic Cuban Conga rhythms that are played for Carnaval all over the island. The Conga (and the Conga line) is an infectious rhythm played all over the world! Especially good for Bass drums (toms, surdos, dunun), snare drums, bells, congas and ALL other drums and percussion. All levels welcome!
Orisha Songs, Stories and Philosophy
Come learn about Orisha who are the natural powers of our planet: the wind, medicines, ocean, farm lands, rivers, lightening, and many more. This beautiful and profound philosophy and culture was brought and preserved in this continent by the Yoruba people during the diaspora.
Christina Tavera
Ofrenda/Personal Offerings Class
In this class we will have a hand on experience of making a personal offering or ‘Ofrendas.’ Ofrendas are thousands of years old, and come to us from the Andean region of South America. The ofrendas are created in gratitude for blessings received, or made to ask for blessings. They are made with colorful seeds, beans, flowers and crystals, no two are alike, all are beautiful self-expressions of gratitude. The making of the ofrenda is a ceremony, this class will be held in a container of sacred silence and connection. Once completed, each participant will have their own completed ofrenda. Participants should bring 2-3, or more, of the following elements to incorporate into their offering: (1) cup, each in separate bags – rice, lentils, corn, beans, colored candy sprinkles, or lavender.
CJ Grossman
Art Classes BTD 2019: Gratitude Book
How wonderful to be able to write a gratitude book in such a heart-filled setting! This is a wonderful book for affirmations too. You may also bring quotes you want to include. This workshop will teach you to make a lovely book with words of gratitude and simple, colorful painted strokes to signify representations of natural objects and feelings. An alternative will be to TELL YOUR OWN STORY! We will use prompts and unique questions to bring to mind experiences you can record to tell a meaningful story. We will decorate our book with fabrics cj has collected from around the world. No experience necessary.
Corrina Gould, Lisjan/Ohlone
Living on Ohlone Land, Ohlone Culture and History
Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are always in relationship with Indigenous peoples by being on their ancestral homelands. Corrina will tell stories of Ohlone culture and history as well as give updates on current Indigenous women led campaigns, including the fight to protect the West Berkeley Shellmound, an ancient village and burial site.
Debbie Fier
Basic Skills: Instruments and Rhythms of the Middle East
Come enjoy the wonderful connection that we will create in our circle of drummers! We will warm up and then move into learning drum technique and Middle-Eastern rhythms and instruments dumbeks/darbukas, riqqs (egyptian tambourines) and tars (frame drums).
Class is open to all levels. It is a basic skills class so is very accessible for beginners. Bring your dumbeks, riqqs, tars and hand percussion – all other hand drums are also welcome! There will be a limited number of drums to borrow on a first come first serve basis. Come enjoy the power of the drum!
Friday Night at Evening Fireside: Living in the Rhythm, an Exploration of Body Percussion
We live in our bodies each and every day, and the body is the original instrument, made up of pulses, beats and more. Come play as we tap, snap and clap our way into a playful rhythm zone. We will work with a variety of rhythms, starting simple and progressing into more challenging rhythms. Be prepared to have fun, stretch your limits and become immersed in the joy of being in your body in rhythm!
Denise Solis & Julia C. Cepeda & Taller Bombalele
Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba: Stories Through Songs
Resistance, expression, connecting to the spiritual
Percussion And Song
This class will focus on role of the songs in the tradition of Bomba by learning some of the traditional songs and contemporary songs and delving in what the role of the song is in the tradition. Participants will also learn about the more common rhythms that accompany the songs we will workshop. The focus will be on the songs and the percussion of Bomba. We encourage students to attend the second workshop as well, where we will add the dance piece, as it all fits together with intention. All Levels
Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba: Your Story Through Dance
Your conversation with the Drum. Dance Class with Percussion support. This class will focus on the dynamics of the tradition of Bomba dance from the perspective of the lived experience of maestro Julia Cepeda, member of La Familia Cepeda and 6th generation Bomba dancer. Students will learn the basic steps and the structure and improvisation approach to Bomba dancing for two rhythms in the Bomba spectrum. For students who took the Percussion and Song class and prefer not to dance, they may join as percussion support for the class. All Levels
Elizabeth Sayre
Afro-Cuban Batá
The batá drums of Cuba are a beautiful facet of the collective musical genius preserved and still developing in Afro-Cuban communities in Havana and Matanzas. The batá drums salute the revered forces of nature known as orisha, as well as ancestors, and are part of a living spiritual tradition. They have also over time become part of the national cultural heritage of Cuba.
This class will introduce a bit of history (or herstory–crucial in the case of the batá for women students and players), correct posture and hand technique, several fundamental rhythms, and some relevant orisha songs, depending on students’ interests and requests.
At least one year of hand drum study and knowledge of typical 6/8 bell patterns or clave are recommended for this workshop. The batá have their own hand technique (similar to congas and bongo, but also different) and require the constant development of listening skills. Students at all levels are welcome: beginners will have a crash course in the batá; intermediate and advanced players can try a drum or part they haven’t played before.
Please bring batá drums (no other type of drum) and maracas (or a similar type of shaker with a handle and a clean sound). Some drums will be provided for those who don’t have them!
Isabelita Papa
Communication, Intimacy and Sensuality Workshop
This play workshop is a juicy connection to deeper intimacy and a spiritual path in union with the Divine Feminine. We start by slowing down arriving at the present with the beginners mind. Empty our mind, our cup. Truly savor the gift of our connection with each other. The workshop includes: Conscious active listening, Empathy Dyads, Ritual eye gazing, and non-sexual, sensual touch. To create a safe container, strong boundaries will be implied. Singles and couples welcome.
Jeni Swerdlow
Opening Celebration Drummm Circle
Bring your drum, rattle, voice or booty (or all of the above) for a joyful kickoff to Camp! Jeni will get us in the mood to groove and as we raise our energy to the sky. Together we will beat as ONE. Drums will be available to play if you don’t have one.
Drummm Yourself Free: Finding Your Groove!
Ever wondered what to play in a drum circle or music jam? Curious about how to get a groove started? Want to improve your musicality and play more dynamically in any style? In this playful rhythmic exploration we will…
- Discover how to find & play around the pulse in any groove.
- Learn some of the basic “universal rhythms†found across many cultures & drumming styles.
- Develop skills for listening & responding to music “in the momentâ€.
- Learn rhythm games & tricks for getting into the groove.
- Explore how to express your own authentic “voice†on the drum.
- Discover easy ways to “solo†or improvise within a groove.
- Create a “dialogue†with other drummers in an ensemble.
Please bring your favorite drum and a hand-held percussion instrument (shaker, bell, claves, tambourine, etc.) if you have. There will be extras available. All levels are welcome!
Jennifer Berezan
The Healing Ecstasy of Sound, A Transformative Chant Circle
Experience chant and song as a form of medicine and a tool for healing and transformation. We will chant and sing for ourselves and each other to awaken joy, healing and help us connect to our own deepest wisdom. All levels
Jnana Gowan
Despacho Ceremony – Creating A Gratitude Bundle
Thursday we come together with our highest forms of thanks & gratitude to begin the Born to Drum Weekend together. Jnana Gowan, Healer & Ceremonialist will lead us in the creation of a despacho, or gratitude bundle. This is a contemporary rendition of ancient Andean ceremony. By using ritual offerings, or “foods†such as seeds, flowers, incense, crystals and more, we will make a beautiful mandala-like art piece as a gift to the natural world. As we create this “shamanic pizza†we offer prayers & thanks for the many gifts that we receive from the Spirit Realm. When prepared and offered with love and sincerity, the bundle restores balance & harmony to our lives. It is a beautiful celebratory ceremony and a powerful way to begin the drumming weekend.
Gong Meditation and Healing
Kanchan Dawn Hunter
Deepening Our Connection To Mama Earth: Plants, Drums and Womb Magic
Sit with your sisters in a sacred circle with plants as our guiding allies and learn the rhythm of your sacred Earth Song…. the rhythm that connects you to Mama and how to use it to heal your life and all of life that you touch.
Please bring a drum, a bell, or any other hand held acoustic percussion instrument.
We will be making a medicine bag to complete the ceremony so you may want to bring a small healing stone or talisman to add to your creation.
Plants and medicine bag materials will be provided.
Larissa Montfort
West African Dundun Dance
Drum while you dance, dance while you drum. Dundun dance is an art form from the Baga women of northern Guinea. We will learn several stick patterns and dance simple moves around the drums. Build your coordination and technique. Dununba and sangban drums are preferred due to size. Kenkeni drums are also welcome. No lifting of your drum is required during the dance. There will be several loaner drums available. All levels
Leilani Birely
Sacred Dancer-Sacred Drummer
Hawaiian Hula Dance is prayer in motion supported by the ipu/gourd, rattle, and drum. Learn more about the stories of the indigenous Hawaiian people/Kanaka Maoli and the current start of affairs on the Land of Hawai’i Nei. We will explore how the drum and dance are a union of Spirit/Akua Wahina in motion. Through our ancestral ceremonial practices we invoke our Mana/Spiritual power and receive the blessings of Laka the Goddess of Hula. Chant the E Ho Mai to open your Ike-your psychic sense and ability to see and know the seen and unseen messages of spirit. Leave with a deeper meaning and understanding of your gifts and Kuleana/responsibility as a Sacred Dancer and/or Sacred Drummer. No previous dance experience needed. Please bring a sarong/pareo if you have one.
Mabiba Baegne
Dunun (Bass Drums) from Guinea
Those drums are the heart of the Malinke rhythm: the bass drum are made from hallowed tree trunks cut to a cylindrical shape and covered with cowhide at both end: the musician strikes the drum with a wooden stick on one hand, while the other hand simultaneously holds a metal stick that is used to strike an iron bell attached to the drum. The Dunun comes in three different sizes. The names of the drums are: Kenkeni, the smallest and the keeper of the time; Sangban, the middle one is the heart; Dununba gives power and heat to the rhythm as well adding great rhythmic dimension; the bells bring another tonality and fill the space between the beats. In some regions they play one or two. Only in Kurussa and Kankan region, they play all tree Dununs and bells. All Levels
Melanie DeMore
GULLAH STICK POUNDING: ANCESTRAL RHYTHM
This tradition and the rhythm, the vibration we create together, was and is, a conduit to freedom and wholeness. Take away the drum, we become the beat; the earth beneath our feet….everything drums. Pounding reconnects us to our ancestors and we, in turn, learn their stories and pass them on. It is the re-aligning of the global heart, the re-learning of the sacred song. When we pound together, our cells remember that we are connected to all things alive. There will be singing, movement and pounding.
Nakeiltha (Nikki) Campbell
Basic and Intermediate Djembe With Dunun Support
Panamanian and Afro Colombian Rhythms with, Djembe Congas, Dununs.
We will share the historical context of traditional rhythms, and the fundamentals of each drum rhythmic pattern, songs, while utilizing the rhythms to build community and create positive social change. Beginners/Intermediate.
Panamanian and Afro-Colombian Rhythms With, Djembe Congas, Dununs
We will share the historical context of traditional rhythms, and the fundamentals of each drum rhythmic pattern, songs, while utilizing the rhythms to build community and create positive social change.
Neena McNair
Native American Plains-Style Drum (Mother Drum)
We’ll be sharing songs and respect for the mother drum indigenous to the Great Plains. We’ll make drumsticks, while discussing origin of materials, and share songs, rhythms and dances specific to this particular drum. We’ll also explore reasons women are called to this style of drumming and find another community of nurturing support. Please come share your knowledge and gather some, too. All Levels
Ouida Lewis
Jamaican Drum, Song and Culture
- History of Jamaica Traditional Rhythms
Exploring the basic Jamaican Folk Forms from the church to the Rasta movement. Beginners. - From the Republic of Congo Africa to Congo Town Trelawny Jamaica
Exploring the rhythms of Congo Town, Trelawny Jamaica. Intermediate. - Rhythmic Journey Reggae to Dance Hall
The evolution of a genre. All Levels.
Peta Robles & Gabriella Shiroma
Tucutu Taca!! Afro-Peruvian Cajon
The cajon is the most important percussive instrument in the coastal region of Peru and was originated in Afro-Peruvian music. This class will teach you the basic and most popular rhythms derived from the coastal region of Peru such as Festejos, Landos and Zamacuecas.
Afro-Peruvian Dance with Gabriella Shiroma!
Come learn the dances that the Cajon and Peruvian rhythms accompany!
Queen Hollins
Yoga Classes
7:00am – 8:00am
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
West African Dance Class
Queen teaches Nu Traditional Afrikan Dance Movement. She is visionary to a combination of ancient ancestral movements and modern concepts that fill each movement with intentions of physical, emotional balance and well being whereby self-empowerment via self expression unfolds harmony and the desired state of being. All Levels
Grandmother and Wise Elder Council
In this workshop we will create a Rites of Passage for entering into a new life cycle of wisdom and wonder.
Regina Wells
Embodied Movement
Warm, stretch and prep for whole-self drum, dance, song and healing. Connect to places inside you that drum, dance, sing and heal with effortless passion, physical ease and presence. Learn and create simple moves that lubricate joints, renew muscular elasticity, reduce strain and invite Goddess presence to pour through you with unhindered joy. Wear soft, loose clothes. Bring a mat, towel or blanket. Make brief notes if you like. All Levels
Regina Wells & Jnana Gowan
Calling Our Ancestors
Join Jnana and Regina for 90-minutes of deep embodiment. Be present on all levels: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and energetic. Recognize how being fully present provides a gateway to our ancestors who assist and protect us on our earth walk. Through breath-work, toning, movement and ritual, we will call in our ancestors and cultivate a potent relationship of love and support to strengthen us during these challenging times.
Renee Benmeleh
Vocal Improv & Body Music
From Bay Area Vocal Improv in the creative activity of making music, Renée, your supportive and joyful vocal guide invites you to an age-old practice: singing as a group. She creates an accepting and caring environment to sing and express your authentic emotions and sounds. Class includes rhythmic body music, vocal and movement games, circle singing, and improvised melodies. Any level of singing ability is welcome! Strengthening the capacity to improvise vocally is a non-threatening way to nurture the capacity to improvise in all spheres of life. Learning Vocal Improvisation gives participants, even total beginners, greater courage to speak up, to ask questions that may be difficult, create space for everyone’s voices and to listen, even when what is being said is challenging. We are always being asked to respond to change in our immediate environment. Let’s do it harmoniously while at the same time, having fun!
Besides being a lot of fun, there are many other benefits to singing. It improves your lung capacity, physical energy, mental alertness and posture while enhancing your feeling of relaxation. Singing also uplifts your mood, and confidence while strengthening your immune system.
Shakti Butler with Amikaeyla
Sound Healing and Radical Imagination
This session will take a look at Intergenerational Trauma & Healing as a way to create a space for engaging Radical Imagination. We need to heal together, dream together and tell the new stories about the future. What will children be able to create as a result of the seeds we plant today?
Sheree Seretse
Marimba From the Shona People of Zimbabwe
Come get your jam on with Marimba music from Zimbabwe. The classes can accommodate all levels of experience. “If you can move your hands and hear the tones of the keys you can play Marimbaâ€. The music is infectious and accessible. The ensemble format produces a huge sound of polyphonic melodies and polyrhythmic rhythms. A guaranteed joyful experience!
Explore Zimbabwean Drumming and Dance!
Learn some traditional basic and cross patterns on the drums and the dances that accompany the rhythms. Suitable for all levels of experience! Come join the fun!
Fireside Concert/Jam: Shona Drumming From Zimbabwe
Basic and cross rhythms from the Shona people of Zimbabwe. Come express yourself by playing improvisation with the establishment rhythms. FUN!
Sue Kaye – Suki
Basic Skills
This class will get you started on your journey as a hand drummer- conga, ngoma, djembe- Learn technique to get a good sound and to develop your ear for rhythm. We will also learn some drum songs to play as an ensemble from various traditions of the African diaspora.
Congolese Style Drum
We will study rhythms and songs from the Congo, which are the roots of a lot of Afro-Caribbean music. We’ll work on individual skills as well as playing in a group, and soloing! All levels welcome-check it out!!
Susu Pampanin & Amina Goodyear
Middle Eastern Percussion and Rhythms
- . Middle Eastern Rhythm Section Basics– overview of basic sounds, technique drills, rhythms covered TBD.
All levels and drums welcome, no experience required. - <Middle Eastern Rhythm Section- for experienced players.
This class will explore several rhythms used in traditional, dance, popular music, and focus on playing variations and dialogues between players. Mixed level, all drums welcome, but fast paced and focus on experienced players Quick technique review and drills. /li>
Vicki Noble
Transformational Healing Ritual
A special Community Healing Ritual with feminist healer Vicki Noble. Vicki has developed a ritual group form of vibrational healing that integrates drumming, chanting, and hands-on work in a participatory format, in which those in the community who are struggling with life-threatening physical ailments can lie down in the center and receive healing from everyone pres
Using a combination of voice, movement, drumming, and percussion, we will discover and move energy, individually and together, directing it as a force for healing toward the physical body, as well as the emotions, mind, and spirit. Within this framework of practical skills, we will practice the ancient shamanistic art of group ritual healing, wherein the laying-on of hands is performed on individuals by the collective of women.
This kind of intuitive and magical healing requires no initiation, no esoteric or elaborated forms, but asks only of each person that she learns to make herself available for the larger forces of healing to come through her. Individually or in partners, this sacred intention (the wish to alleviate suffering) is harnessed and directed for well-being. And collectively, when a group of women joins together in this desire to help, especially with the vibrational support of drumming and singing, the power is profound and oxytocin (the female “affiliative†hormone) is generated, lending itself to spontaneous healing of ailments and remission of dis-ease. This same power (what Vicki Noble has called “snake powerâ€) can be directed toward the healing of families or community, and can even be utilized for helping transform and heal what’s happening on the planet.
Sacred Play With the Motherpeace Cards: How to Navigate Life In Joy and Trust
Note from Vicki Noble:
In this workshop, we will play with the round feminist Motherpeace cards, created by me and Karen Vogel in the late 1970s, self-published in Berkeley in 1981. Motherpeace has gone around the world, engaging women everywhere in a common visual language of female-centered, communal reality. The 78 Motherpeace images were intended to revise world history, putting women back into it, and revision and reinvigorate the otherwise male-dominated system of Tarot. Besides the obvious focus on women, more than half the images in the Motherpeace cards feature people of color (mainly women), celebrating their ancient, tribal, or indigenous contexts.
When we created the Motherpeace cards, we broke form by making them round and feminist. However, we did not break the structure, so you can bring whatever knowledge you have from other Tarot decks to this one. Because the images are so dreamlike and visually complex, it is also equally possible to read them without knowing anything at all about Tarot. In the workshop, we will use the cards as an oracle in simple, direct ways, so that it doesn’t matter whether you have experience or not. It will be more about sharing and caring, what I’ve always called Sacred Play.
If you own a deck of Motherpeace cards, please bring them. Otherwise, I will have cards there for sale.