Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living

Lara Veleda Vesta, storyteller weaving with myth, initiation, ritual practice, folk magic, and ancestral connection, shares the story of a long and debilitating bout of illness that she now views as a rite of passage for many things including her connection with her ancestors. We talk about how experiencing illness or loss can cause relationships to change in your life, the three phases of rites of passage, the power of naming yourself, and some incredible folklore surrounding death, transition, and runes.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/lara-veleda-vesta/Follow Lara on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veledavesta/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

I've been feeling the call to invite more voices on the Belonging Podcast to help me paint in perspectives of this journey of Belonging that are different from my own. In this episode, I am so excited to welcome Ash Johns who is a trans-cultural ancestral healing guide, psycho-spiritual coach, ceremonial priestess, strategist, speaker, and author. Ash and I are talking about what it means to be a good ancestor and connect with the bright and well ones, connecting to the land without perpetuating colonization, and working with the ancestors to heal the collective.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/ash-johns/Follow Ash on Instagram: http://instagram.com/ashinspiresFollow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

The moon is the ancient timekeeper of the year, and it mirrors the cyclical nature that we as humans move through—energetically, emotionally, hormonally, seasonally. It's so powerful to tune into the cycle of the moon. So I'm sharing how I work with the moon—both how she works in folk magic, but also how I see her reflected within myself.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/moon/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

I use this word, "sisterhood," frequently in my work and practice. It's one of the most powerful tools I've found for healing, feeling a sense of belonging, and deepening your relationship to self, but it's a practice and there are a lot of unhealthy models of sisterhood in media and popular culture. The best way to heal is often to confront the dark side of the matter, so in this episode of Belonging, we're talking about the dark side of Sisterhood to examine where the distrust, judgment, and cutting down comes from.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/dark-side-sisterhood/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

Today I'm talking about the importance of finding a sense of belonging in your body in a society that may not love and support the type of body you have in the way it deserves to be seen. This is a tender episode about how sometimes we can engage in unhealthy or harmful treatment of our bodies because we're trying to fulfill this need for belonging in a society that only leaves space for a select few.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/belonging-to-body/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

I've recently moved and am deep in the process of settling into this new home and infusing my magic and a feeling of sacred into it. So in this episode, I want to talk about that sacred hygge and finding belonging in the place where you live. This episode isn't just for people who are moving to a new place—it can apply to anyone whether you live in an apartment or house or you're buying or renting. It's about finding a sense of place and belonging on the land and where you dwell.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/sacred-home/Find this week's blog post here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/house-witchery/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

I recently took pilgrimages to Ireland and Glastonbury (mythical Avalon) to connect with the lands of my ancestors. So in this episode, I want to tell you about my experiences, how the calling to these lands came to me in dreams, and the deep medicine that comes with communing with the sacred sites of various lands.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/journey-to-avalon/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

In this episode of Belonging, I'm welcoming my first guest, Jenni Heffernan Brown, to talk with me about a subject that we've both experienced and supported each other through: miscarriage. We're talking about the multifaceted layers of grief, experiencing grief with a partner, allowing family and friends to (imperfectly) hold you when you're going through difficult times, and some things you can do to help a friend who is navigating the waves of miscarriage.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/miscarriage-grief/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

As we enter the winter season, let's take a moment to tap into the Ancestral folklore perspective of this time of year. As the days get colder and darker, it's important to lean into both community and rest. In this episode of Belonging, we're looking at some of the winter folklore associated with this season that the ancestors leaned on to cope with feelings of despair and darkness during the winter season. We're looking at the wisdom of the Evergreens, the Callieach, and the connection to light and fire.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/winter-folklore/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/

The holidays are upon us, so in this episode of Belonging, I’m talking about cultivating a more meaningful relationship with the winter holidays. This is the time of year when seasonally and energetically we really want to go within. But often we feel pressured, frenzied, and can cross boundaries in preparing for the season and getting caught up in the commercialized aspects of the holidays. So let's talk about setting intentions and planning for and cultivating a more meaningful, aligned relationship with these next few months.Find show notes for this episode here: https://beccapiastrelli.com/meaningful-holiday-season/Follow Becca on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beccapiastrelli/Credit for the phrase "be a good ancestor" goes to Arianna of https://www.quwutsunmade.com/My book Root & Ritual: Timeless Ways to Connect to Land, Lineage, Community, and the Self is now available wherever books are sold! My intention with this book is for it to be your guide to reconnecting with the earth, your ancestors, and your communities as you come home to your whole self. Despite our best efforts, our modern world leaves so many of us feeling isolated, unworthy, and alone. We’re unrooted from the land, untethered from our lineages, disconnected from our communities, and separated from our deepest sense of self. Root & Ritual is meant to be a pathway back to connection and wholeness through rituals, recipes, and ancestral wisdom. Find more information at: http://rootandritualbook.com/