Practical & radical wisdom for healing cycles, sex, contraception & abortion. Scientific & soulful inquiry, creative & critical thinking. Plants, pleasure, & power.
🌷 SZ equinox missive🌷springsprangsprung🌷
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Equinox Blessings, Dear Reader! It feels like a time of equal light & dark, not just in the sky. Grief & praise. Joy & horror. Whimsy & despair. All of these feel alive in me as I sit to craft my quarterly museletter. I just returned to my nest in Astoria from a trip to Portland, Oregon where I led the third Blessing Our Bleeding: Plants & Practical Magic class at Hedgerow Herb Co. Each class focused on a single plant & how it may bless our experiences of bleeding during menstruation, peri-menopause, & postpartum from all types of pregnancy release. Before facilitating the class I took a walk in the Lone Fir Cemetery. The unseasonably warm weather had me sweating in my wool tights while I strolled. The cemetery is a place I spent quite a bit of time when I lived in inner Southeast Portland during my 20s. It is also an arboretum; aka a tree museum! The magnolia trees lit up the sky with stunning explosions of vibrant, luscious blossoms. Magnolias are one of the oldest flowers on the planet, around 95 million years old. These magnolia petals were already starting to drop; the blossoms were nearly spent. In mid-March. Many of my beloved cedar trees in the cemetery also showed obvious signs of drought. As I typed those words, my body involuntarily took a deep breath, & let out a huge sigh. The magnolia blossoms in all their glory & tragedy embodied the paradox of the moment. The grief & praise, the joy & horror, whimsy & despair. I was feeling low when I showed up to teach my class. Witnessing the impact of drought & unprecedented warm weather, along with a number of other personal & collective griefs, were weighing heavily on my heart & mind. Blessedly, the participants’ reflections during opening circle of the class lit me up. Folks who attended the full series spoke to the power & positive impact of my teachings not only their own lives, but the lives of their communities & kin. They shared that my teachings empowered them to support their friends, clients, & siblings during their times of need. This reflection healed & centered me deeply. I tapped my chest softly with my fingertips while listening to their words of praise & appreciation, silently & somatically helping my heart to open & receive their appreciations fully. With sincerity & reverence, I give thanks for the opportunity to steward life-changing wisdom during these extraordinary times on the planet. May it be a blessing. Ask Aunty Sammy! Sometimes you don't wanna call your mama. You don't wanna call a doctor. You wanna call your anarchist animist citizen scientist Aunty Sammy! Aunty loves you! Aunty cares. Aunty is a witch who bows to no man, modality, or industry. Ask Aunty Sammy consultations skillfully weave science & soul to support your unique journey of healing & liberation. Every conversation with Aunty points you back to your own power & inner knowing. One client shared the following feedback about her experience receiving mentorship from me: "Sam invites you into a safe, transformative space with her witnessing.
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She brings knowledge, warmth & an invitation to deepen into your own unique womb wisdom.
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Sam's ability to listen & ask the unasked questions helped me explore my womanhood. The invitation she offered to connect to my body in a whole new way has been life-changing.
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If you wish to learn more about women’s health, yourself & the mystery of feminine power; Samantha is a powerful guide & teacher!"
Intake sessions include:
Aunty helps people cultivate healing & liberation with:
She also loves supporting other healing artists, educators, & activists with peer counseling & mentorship for:
See full the description of Ask Aunty Sammy sessions on my website. Or, if you're thinking DANG, I NEED TO CALL AUNTY ASAP! you can hop on it now-o-clock by scheduling a . . . It has been slow-going re-growing this starfish arm of my business after taking 4 years off from one-to-one client work to tend to my own healing. Would you help me get the word out? Send me client referrals if you've got `em, please & thanks! Relational wealth is how we survive the horrors (gestures broadly at fascism & capitalism). Thanks for sharing yours. Honoring the Animal Body With Audio Only Client calls & FoK Buddy Sessions are audio only. I am committed to strategizing opportunities that allow us to spend less of our lives sitting still staring straight ahead at a screen. I encourage my clients & students to be in their bodies during calls. Craft, kitchen witch, stretch, clean, or lay with legs up the wall. Let’s not sit still & stare straight ahead for the majority of our one precious life! Peri/Menopause & Sexuality with My FoK Buddy Dr. Evelin Dacker MONDAY 3/30 @ 10am PST Once a month I host a guest expert to discuss poignant topics related to reproductive & sexual healing & liberation. These conversations are completely unscripted. They're not classes, they're conversations between two deeply informed & passionate individuals. After my guest expert & I chat for most of an hour, I stop recording, & we open the call to Q&A & discussion with live participants. Members of the Fruit of Knowledge may attend FoK Buddy Sessions as a member benefit. Non-members can register a la cart to join live & also receive a limited replay. Members can also access recordings in the member archives. Our next FoK Buddy Session is: Peri/Menopause & Sexuality with Samantha Zipporah & Dr. Evelin Dacker MD​ MONDAY 3/30 @ 10am PST
Future FoK Buddy Sessions Registration coming soon. Join FoK to receive all the FoK Buddy Session Zoom links automatically every month, & gain access to the recordings in the member archives.
NEW Online Participant Privacy Policy For all of the FoK Buddy Sessions moving forward, I will only record the conversation with my guest who is being paid for their participation. After the recording has stopped, FoK members & a la cart registrants can ask personal questions knowing that only those present in real time will witness them. I will adhere to this policy moving forward to protect & respect the privacy of my online community & students. I have recently come to the conclusion that it is unethical to record & sell participants' personal stories & inquiries. This is especially true for the topics discussed in my work. Even if I were to create an explicit consent process for recording participant Qs, I know that the idea of an anonymous future audience witnessing them would impede full authenticity & feelings of safety. It will take me some time to replace FoK archive content, but that's just what I intend to do in the coming year or so. Meanwhile, I am not taking down the 15+ hours of recordings in the FoK archives just yet. However, I am committed to discluding audience participation in recordings that I then sell as business assets moving forward. What do you all think about this? Have you participated in online learning opportunities that were recorded & re-sold without your explicit consent? If you’re an online educator, how do you handle this issue & think about the ethics of “evergreen” content that includes audience participation? Upcoming In-Person Events With climate chaos & the fact that over half of my generation doesn't have a menstrual cycle by (usually uniformed) choice, I often feel like an old granny at a campfire telling a creation myth when I teach about the undisturbed physiology of the menstrual cycle. It sometimes feels like I might as well be talking about mermaids, because the cycle is so fantastical to so many folks in our culture. The ways the earth’s four seasons are happening are undergoing immense transformation as I type these words! Using the four seasons analogy to help explain the energetics of the menstrual cycle may become less & less relatable to future generations. Still, I am elated to tell the story of the menstrual cycle to pretty much anyone who will listen. Especially youth! I have two Cycle Ecology classes for tweens coming up that aren't open to public registration, but I am including them in this missive because they feel worth celebrating to me. I imagine that some of you reading this will also receive joy knowing I am teaching tweens about the cycle this season!
It not too early to make plans to join me for . . . .
Thank goddess for the returning of the light! Mercury is direct! Aries season, activate! The horrors persist, but so do we. So much love, y'all. If you have a moment to share, please hit reply & say hello to me! Writing to a vast anonymous internet audience can feel lonely & bizarre. Introduce yourself! Tell me why you chose to join / choose to stay on this list, & how or if I can be of service! What's being resurrected for you this season? How/are you celebrating it? In closing, I want to remind us that . . . When we keep rituals, Rituals keep us.
P.S. What I've been reading lately . . .
P.P.S. ​Enjoy this fb memory today: covering "Work From Home" by 5th Harmony during the first week of covid lockdowns, as a lil treat. |
Samantha Zipporah
Practical & radical wisdom for healing cycles, sex, contraception & abortion. Scientific & soulful inquiry, creative & critical thinking. Plants, pleasure, & power.