Welcoming 2020 and the dawn of an epochalypse …

“2020 is Momentous.Impactful.Significant.

The year ahead is epochal.

We might even call it an ‘epochalypse’.

An ‘epoch’ is an age or an era.

Apocalypse” means “revelation” - to uncover, to disclose, to reveal”.

Virginia Rosenberg

Dear Friends

As 2019 draws to a close I find myself back where my year began at the beautiful Beara Peninsula on the south-west coast of Ireland. And what a year this has been. As the psychologist and computer scientist J.C.R. Licklider said

“People overestimate what can be done in one year, and underestimate what can be done in ten.”

And as we cross the threshold into a new decade I realise how much has happened for me personally and professionally in those past 10 years.

It has been a decade of Metamorphosis. A time of letting go and letting come. A time of exploring new maps and following clues and cues. A time of navigating many inner and outer milestones. This decade really was the best of times and sometimes - the worst of times. I discovered that my own sense of purpose really comes alive in times of crisis. Things fell apart. Golden threads were revealed. I took a road less travelled and somehow found my way home.

This road was marked by personal and political signposts.

A terrible beauty was born in my homeland of Ireland when the much heralded boom went bust and we had to beg for a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. I boarded a plane home from Iceland as our country was forced into the clutches of the troika. A headline from The Irish Times read ‘Was it for this?’ and I was reminded of the title of my friend Andri Snær Magnason’ s book ‘Dreamland: A Self-Help Manual for a Frightened Nation’. As our country collapsed into socio-economic breakdown, the stronghold of the Catholic Church also weakened amid scandals and corruption. I witnessed the crumbling of the old order and a space slowly emerge for new ideas, new stories and new beginnings.

I threw myself into cultural activity and collaborated with great hearts and minds to initiate the ireland : iceland project, The Office of Non-Compliance, Pilgrimage Project and Wonderlust. Our intention was to creatively activate the spirit of our times so that we can take better care of ourselves, each other and this place we call home. In 2011, I joined forces with Clare Mulvany and Ciara Cavanagh to launch The Trailblazery. Our manifesto read.

“We need a population that is willing to rock the boat, stand up, be non-compliant with the status quo. So we are taking the opportunity to showcase what is possible when individuals stop asking for permission and step into making their own dreams and ambitions a reality.”

— THE TRAILBLAZERY

The Trailblazery first took flight as a creative gathering for people who blaze trails in their own spectacular or intimate way. We created a platform for people who blaze trails and hosted experiences all over the island of Ireland inhabiting government buildings, historic prisons, decommissioned courthouses, masonic lodges, university campuses, abandoned warehouses, festival fields and sacred spaces. We launched landmark projects like Rites of Passage, We Need to Talk about Ireland and The Freedom Project live at Kilmainham Gaol.

This was a time of potent creativity inspired by increasing socio political turbulence in Ireland and beyond. We witnessed the needle drop into our collective psyches like some kind of Cultural Acupuncture making way for revelation, healing and eventual restoration. It has been curious to observe the creative patterns that emerge from the inside out and the outside in. We are all part of this weave - one great mandala of interconnection moving from one epoch into another….

Timelines

The Queen comes to Ireland, followed by Barrack Obama - “Is feidir linn”, yes we can…

Dr. Savita Halappanavar dies as a result of a ‘medical misadventure’

Catherine Corless reveals that 796 children died at the Sisters of Bons Secours mother and baby home in Tuam, Co. Galway.

Apologies are made to the ‘troubled women’ of the Magdalene laundries who were forcibly detained and made to work without pay between 1922 to 1996.

Pantigate - Drag queen Panti Bliss appears on RTÉ the national broadcaster which led to political discord, media blackouts and a Pet Shop Boys single.

Ireland becomes the first country in the world to pass marriage equality by a public vote

The Irish State sets out to commemorate the hero’s journey of 1916.

Waking the Feminists - a grassroots movement is founded by Theatre-maker Lian Bell in response to the lack of female representation in The Abbey Theatre's programme to mark the centenary of the 1916 Rising.

History minus Herstory.

So what about OurStory?

The 2016 National Census takes place in Ireland on April 24, the precise anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.I collaborated with my great friend and sometimes partner in crime Mari Kennedy to excavate what Brene Brown calls ‘Data with Soul’.  We created Census of the Heart inviting anyone living on the island of Ireland to participate. .

Census of the Heart is a prototype project that set out to capture the emotional state of a nation. While the National Census asks who we are, Census of the Heart wants to know how we are. We decided to get straight to the heart of things by asking you to tell us about your experience of being alive in Ireland in 2016.

Census of The Heart is now a unique repository of knowledge that holds the intimate hopes, regrets, fears and dreams of almost 12,000 people in Ireland. Our alternative census presents an opportunity to explore & investigate the relationship between who we are and how we are and places the human experience at the centre of our enquiry.

I embark on an intensive training with Thomas Hübl as part of The Pocket Project – a global movement dedicated to deepening our understanding of collective and intergenerational trauma.

Timelines continued

Donald Trump is elected President of the United States.

The #MeToo movement is unleashed

Irish women’s stories are still waiting to be heard.

And when it happened, the floodgates opened.

In 2018 the Irish People vote 67-33 in favour of right to repeal the Eighth Amendment, at once ending a long divisive debate about the availability of abortion services and ushering in a new era of a woman's right to choose.

A Swedish school Greta Thunberg skips school to protest outside parliament for more action against climate change.

Extinction Rebellion: We are facing an unprecedented global emergency. Life on Earth is in crisis: scientists agree we have entered a period of abrupt climate breakdown, and we are in the midst of a mass extinction of our own making.

In the wake of #Repeal. #Ibelieveher and #MeToo we launch Moon Medicine in 2018 as an invitation for women who are ready to harness their inner power and reclaim their wild feminine nature. Hundreds of women will gather in circle on every Full Moon across 2019.

In 2019 Solstice is born. We invite people to come together to share a sense of belonging and participation with our wild selves and the wild world that nourishes us. Solstice is a rewilding experience for ‘ancestors in training’ set in the heart of the Dublin Mountains. We set out to weave human connection with nature, conversation, movement, music, crafting, food, meditation, ritual, ceremony and other creative experiences. You can read more about this project here

I am now in deep preparation for Moon Medicine Academy 2020 - a modern Mystery School, Business School, Hedge School and School of Life. This year-long heroine’s journey is a deep dive of discovery, illumination and transformation that supports the elevation and creative expression of women all over the world. We are being called as creatrixes - artists, activists, householders, entrepreneurs, visionaries, trailblazers, healers, coaches, teachers, mothers and sisters to midwife an emerging future. This shared future requires women to rise up, step into their power and lead. The world needs our medicine, creativity and inspiration. The doors close on January 06 which is The Feast of the Epiphany and Nollaig na mBan here in Ireland ( Women’s Christmas). There is still time to join me and a stellar line up of international trailblazing women if you feel the pull….

As I sit here in Beara looking out towards the Atlantic Ocean, I wonder what the epochalypse will bring?

This is the end of an era. The best of times and the worst of times. My intention is to move slowly and follow the golden threads as they appear. Some people say we are entering a renaissance of epic proportions. I am reminded of the great Clarissa Pinkola Estés’ clarion call….

My friends…we were made for these times. One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. When a great ship is in harbour and moored, it is safe, there can be no doubt. But that is not what great ships are built for.

I would like to thank all of you who have joined me on this maiden voyage. It has been a brilliant adventure. Thank you to my dream team and our courageous mentors, partners, sponsors and stakeholders. Thank you to our trailblazers, luminaries and guides. Our Moon Medicine women, our audiences and loyal followers.

The ancient Skellig islands are here on the horizon.

May the force be with us in 2020 and beyond.

Blessings to you all.

We look forward to blazing bright trails with you in the near future.

onwards

Kathy xox

PS: To receive your copy of A Trailblazer's Guide to the Universe click here