“I was hungry for some sense of the sacred, I think, from quite a young age.” - Isla Macleod, Ceremonialist, Ritual designer, Soul guide and Companion at the thresholds

From her yurt in the vales of Somerset, Isla Macleod lives close to the rhythms of the land; following the turning of the seasons and tending what is needed. A ceremonialist, ritual designer, soul guide and companion at the thresholds, Isla’s work is rooted in a lifelong longing to remember what is sacred and to help others find their way back into relationship with the natural world.

Her journey has taken her through the study of history, photography, shamanism, indigenous traditions, ceremony and ritual, including a formative period living in solitude in the ancient woodlands of Sussex, where nature became her teacher. It was here she “re-wilded” herself and returned to a conscious and alive relationship through ritual with the more than human world and her indigenous ancestors.

In this conversation, we explore the question that has guided much of her life and work: what gives meaning to human life? We talk about belonging, lineage, ritual and the sacred, and what it might mean to cultivate a more intimate, meaningful and reciprocal relationship with the Web of Life.

We explore nature as teacher, the importance of seasonal rhythms, and the possibility of bringing ceremony into the everyday. We talk about the stories we have inherited, the need to re-enchant the world, and how changing those stories might allow us to imagine different ways of living as humans on Earth.

The conversation also moves into darker territory: grief, death, endings and the underworld. Isla reflects on the discomfort of being alive during a time of profound ecological and societal change, and how learning to be with darkness, uncertainty and loss might create space for something new to emerge.

Bio

Isla Macleod is a ceremonialist, ritual designer, soul guide and companion at the thresholds, supporting others to create meaningful spaces for times of transition and explore the bigger questions that life asks of us.

Isla’s work is an exploration of how we can reclaim the ancient human practice of ceremony for contemporary life and reimagine our relationship with the more-than-human world. Facilitating retreats, pilgrimage, crafting workshops and a tapestry of seasonal, community, and individual ceremonies and rites of passage, Isla is devoted to restoring the sacred in our everyday lives.

In her book Rituals for Life, she shares practical, creative and nature-rooted rituals for bringing greater meaning to both extraordinary milestones and the ordinary moments of being human.

Based in Somerset, Isla’s offerings are deeply rooted in the living landscape, natural wisdom and cycles, and remembering the ways we belong to the earth.

Website: https://islamacleod.com/

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Resources

Hermes Amāra Foundation — Rob Burbea

Carolyn Hillier

Mac Macartney

Daniel Foor

Glennie Kindred

Sharon Blackie

Grace Hempshall

Leigh Brooks - Firebelly Films - Magic in the Mundane

Gaia House

Embercombe - The Journey

Rooted Healing

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com