Community Grief Tending Ritual

In Honour of Our Ancestors

We warmly invite you to gather with us this Samhain for an evening of grief tending, remembrance, sacred soun and community.

At this time of year, when we traditionally turn towards the ancestors and honour those who have come before us, we will gather as a village to make space for the grief we carry, grief for those we have loved and lost, for what has changed, and for the many things that have shaped our lives.

Grief has never been something we were meant to carry alone.

This will be a gentle, non-judgemental space where we can come together to acknowledge our losses, connect with what lives within us, and remember the love and belonging held within our grief.

We will begin with gentle practices to help us arrive in our bodies and prepare for the ritual, including somatic movement, breathwork and guided movement with Sacred Oils, followed by a journalling shuttle practice to help us connect with and explore what is present for us.

From there, Eartha Love and Jason Kalidas will guide us into a deeper heart centred ritual through the ancient musical tradition of Raag, prayerful meditation and sound.

Sounds of the Beloved

Eartha and Jason have lovingly created this offering around the ancient wisdom of Raag. A profound musical tradition in which sound is used to evoke and explore different emotional qualities and to create a space for connection with the heart and the divine.

This is an invitation to listen, to feel and to be held in the shared experience of sound.

Raag has its roots in ceremonial traditions of India, with each Raag carrying its own melodic structure and emotional quality. The intention is to bring musicians and listeners together into Raasa, the shared essence of emotion and feeling.

Jason will play the Bansuri, a low-pitched bamboo flute, accompanied by the rich soundscape of Tanpuras and harmonic drone instruments, creating an atmosphere in which we can soften, listen and turn towards the heart.

Poetic meditations and intentional prayers from Eartha's living gospel of love will weave through the evening, offering invitations to move beyond the busy mind and into a deeper experience of presence and connection.

“Grief has never been private, it has always been communal. Grieving, by its very nature, requires the presence of others. Through that gathering, we begin to remember the depth of our belonging and the healing power of community.”

— Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow

Coming together as a village

At the Sacred Death Centre, we believe that grief is not a problem to be fixed or something we need to hurry through.

Grief is one of the ways we experience love, connection and change.

Gathering together gives us an opportunity to remember that we belong to one another, that there is space for sorrow alongside beauty, for tears alongside laughter, and for remembrance alongside the living.

You do not need to have a particular kind of grief to attend.

You may be grieving someone who has died, a relationship that has changed, a chapter of life that has ended, or simply carrying a sorrow that needs somewhere to be witnessed.

Come exactly as you are.

We look forward to sharing this sacred time with you.

Much Love,
Lucy, Hannah, Ellise, Eartha & Jason

Please note

This is a community grief tending ritual, not a therapy group.

The practices offered are invitations rather than requirements, and you remain responsible for your own wellbeing during and after the gathering. Please seek any additional or follow-up support you may need.

If you are currently experiencing acute mental health challenges, we warmly encourage you to seek guidance from an appropriately qualified professional about whether this gathering is suitable for you and what support you may need.

Meet Your Guides

Jason Kalidas

Jason Kalidas trained in Raag music with his Gurus in Varanasi, India, and has been studying since 1996. He specialises in the Bansuri and collaborates with some of the UK's leading Indian musicians.

Find out more: www.jasonkalidas.com
Instagram: @jasonkalidas_bansuri

Eartha Love

Eartha Love is a mystic, teacher and guide with 25 years of training and experience alongside elders. She has founded two schools and developed a heart-centred modality rooted in her relationship with love, devotion and the sacred.

Eartha is currently building a sanctuary in Portugal.

Find out more: www.earthalove.com
Instagram: @thesunheartemple

Hannah Graceful Dawn

Hannah Graceful Dawn is a shamanic practitioner, teacher and keeper of sacred rites of passage, with over 27 years of experience exploring healing, belonging, conscious living and dying.

She is the founder of the Temple of the Myrrh Bearers Avalon, where she shares the ancient art of working with Sacred Oils in support of life's transitions.

Deeply inspired by indigenous wisdom traditions, ancestral teachings and her Welsh Druidic heritage, Hannah brings a devotional and heart-centred approach to supporting individuals and communities through transformation.

Hannah is also honoured to serve as a trustee of the Sacred Death Centre.

Lucy Lord

Lucy is the founder of the Sacred Death Centre in Glastonbury, Somerset. She is a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, End of Life Companion and community grief tender.

Her work focuses on restoring healthier relationships with grief, death and emotional wellbeing through education, ritual, compassionate support and community spaces.

www.lucylord.co.uk
Instagram: @lucy_love_loss_life

Ellise Toop

Ellise Mae Toop is a massage therapist, yoga and somatic movement teacher and Lomi Lomi practitioner based in Glastonbury.

Working within the Hawaiian tradition of Lomi Lomi, Ellise creates atmospheric ritual spaces where people can slow down, soften and reconnect with themselves through bodywork and loving presence.

She is passionate about supporting people through life's tender thresholds, including grief, burnout, motherhood and major life changes.

Through massage, movement and ritual, she invites people home to the wisdom of their bodies and the power of presence.