A communal sacred space for women
Grief Temple is a sacred space for women to hold and practice grief.
Using the power of writing, poetry, singing, altar creation and storytelling we create a somatic communal experience that invites you to slow down to ritual speed, be held in community and honor the role grief plays in our lives.
"We need to clear the pipes of grief to let joy flow."
– Sobonfu Some
why do we need this?
Grief is a practice, like yoga or meditation. It requests our attention, providing an opportunity to look at what really matters in our lives, who changed us, and what we dared to hope or dream. Culturally we treat grief as though it’s something to move through or past but in truth it’s constantly unfolding. If we love and care deeply about our planet, loved ones and community then we grieve. Grief is the price of love. And grief can be a doorway back into ourselves. By offering our attention through ritual we allow grief to keep flowing and metabolizing through our bodies.
Communal grief work helps us know we are not alone in our personal grief journey, we all benefit from tending to each other’s grief. We do this work collectively as preventative care, so that we can show up for ourselves, our families and our communities with more fullness and presence.
What can I expect?
Expect tears, laughter and to feel something. Through our gathering we co-create a space that invites honesty and reminds us that belonging is possible. Everything at Grief Temple is an invitation. If you need to sit quietly and take it all in , that is absolutely welcome.
We are co-creating these grief practices with each other and they will continue to evolve in community. Generally you can expect a few key pieces.
We'll begin by circling as a group around a central altar. We'll create a sacred container and make our community agreements. There will always be a time of sharing where each person will be given the chance to speak to something they are grieving. . This isn't a place to tell our full story of grief, rather it’s an opportunity to help each other see the variety of entry points people have into the shared landscape of grief.
Sarah Christine will lead us in song, no need to sing, feel free to sit back and be serenaded.
Gabrielle will enchant us with mythical storytelling exploring grief.
We will end with a small meal and connection with others as a way to ground before heading back into our lives.
The ways of ritual, circle, song and storytelling have been practiced by Indigenous peoples the world over for thousands of years. Grief Temple is a way to incorporate and honor these ancient methods of tending without appropriating any specific cultural practices. There are certainly strong influences from ancient Celtic practices, the grief teachings and offerings of Malidoma and Sobonfu Somé, and Francis Weller.
Who informs this work?
Registration
We offer sliding scale pricing which requires your active participation in determining how much you pay.
If you need support determining where you land on the sliding scale please use this visual graphic .
Your grief temple hosts
gabrielle wildheart
Storyteller
Gabrielle Wildheart (née Abbott) is a professional artist, teacher, and mythoanimist guide. Her vibrant artworks weave together symbols and mysticism to tell our sacred stories. Her ceremonial facilitation—rooted in Celtic Druidry, and Temple Arts—offers Yoni painting rituals, Temple Dance, Reiki healing, and Moon circles. A lifelong student of magic, she carries wisdom from lineages in animism, yoga, tantric dance, and energy healing.
Sarah Christine
Songstress
Sarah Christine is a classically trained visionary songstress, soulful siren, composer, multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, vocal coach, farmer, food activist and proud mother of three amazing humans. She is a passionate lover of life with an undeniable soul purpose to craft transformational experiences that cultivate deep personal growth and activate healing on the planet through music. For over 2 decades she has been devoted to facilitating sacred spaces for women in the realms of birth, rites of passage, song circles, workshops, private coaching and retreats. Sarah Christine lovingly creates a sacred container that supports the truth within each of us to be richly embodied and freely expressed.
Kristin Meyer
Grief Tender
Kristin is the founder of Grief Temple. She prefers to stand near thresholds with people whose lives are shifting, awed by the transformative power of deep witnessing; watching what is crumbling and what is forming. . She trained and worked as a death doula for several years in Seattle. Kristin currently provides 1:1 grief support for women at WA state women’s prison in Gig Harbor and is on the board of the Inanna Institute a non-profit that seeks to expand access to therapeutic grief work for those who are experiencing loss while incarcerated.