Home to Her

In this particularly rich conversation, I’m joined by Sophie Messager, author of the new book The Beat of Your Own Drum (Womancraft Publishing). A former reproductive physiologist with a PhD, Sophie traded her microscope for a medicine drum after experiencing the transformative power of an empowered birth. Her decade-long journey as a doula, birth educator, and author of Why Postnatal Recovery Matters deepened her exploration of the rhythms surrounding women’s transitions.Now a holistic life transition mentor, Sophie guides women through significant life thresholds – from birth to perimenopause and beyond. Her unique combination of scientific expertise and spiritual insight allows her to serve as a compassionate space holder for those seeking to harmonise their analytical and intuitive selves. On this episode we explore:The complex and intersecting themes of sacred feminine wisdomThe journey of reclaiming women's power, and the transformative role of drumming in spiritual practicesSophie’s personal experiences from her Catholic upbringing to her journey as a doula and holistic life transition mentorThe historical context of women's roles in drumming and spirituality, and how reclaiming this practice can be an essential step for women in owning their voices and power in a patriarchal society.Key TakeawaysSacred Feminine wisdom is applicable in all areas of life.Understanding women's power from a feminine lens is crucial, and women’s sacred stories can help us do this.Sophie fascinating journey from science to holistic practices, and how it demonstrates that we can hold space for both.Drumming can be a powerful tool for women's empowerment.While the history of women and drumming is often overlooked, it’s real – and your birthright to know about.While women often feel scared to drum due to ancestral trauma, trusting yourself is the key to spiritual growth and personal evolution.Creating your own drum can be a transformative experience – but you can also start with a storebought one. You don’t need lessons or a prescriptive path to start.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Sacred Feminine Wisdom03:05 Exploring the Journey of the Sacred Feminine05:21 Sophie Messager's Spiritual Background11:09 Reclaiming Spirituality Beyond Catholicism19:52 The Role of Birth and Death in Feminine Wisdom24:32 Embodying the Divine Feminine27:26 Navigating the Journey to Menopause28:24 Embracing Cycles and Rest30:25 The Journey to the Drum31:51 Drum Microdosing: A New Practice37:28 Reclaiming the Drum: Women's History42:42 The Power of Drumming in Birth49:40 Empowerment Through Intuition and Expression✨ Explore. Connect. Come Home to Her. ✨If you’d like to know whose ancestral lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: native-land.ca.If this podcast or my book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine has inspired you, I’d love for you to leave a review—it helps others find this work and keeps these conversations flowing.Stay connected with me and our growing community:🌸 Follow along on Instagram @hometoher for reflections and details on upcoming episodes.🌿 Join the Home to Her Facebook group to share stories, ask questions, and explore the Sacred Feminine in community.Want to go deeper? Visit www.hometoher.com to:·      Download your free eBook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power·      Explore my award-winning on-demand course Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story·      Learn more about 1:1 coaching, small group programs, and upcoming events💫 Ready to reconnect with your authentic feminine power?Book your free 30-minute discovery call on my website and let’s explore what’s possible.Mentioned in this episode:Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story Online Course: Now on Sale! How much of our collective herstory do you really know — and do you know why that matters so much to how you live your life today? If you’re curious, check out my self-paced online course, Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story. It’s a six-week journey into the Sacred Feminine — Her lost herstory, Her spiritual wisdom, and Her deep relevance for your modern life. Inside, you’ll find: • Fascinating stories, images, and evidence of the Sacred Feminine — much of which you’ve likely never encountered before • Guided meditations and movement practices • Journaling prompts and storytelling exercises • “Mind food” resources to inspire your ongoing exploration • And so much more Right now through the end of the year, you can save 10% with the code Podcast10. Visit www.hometoheracademy to learn more and register! On Demand Course

Introducing The Interstitial: short episodes intended to explore the spaces in between the last episode and the next. My latest conversation with Danielle Dulsky got me thinking about two things: magic and purpose. Here I consider the role of magic in our lives, as well as what it means to lean into our singular purpose during times of chaos and change. Key Takeaways: Magic can empower us to co-create our lives.We control the stories we tell about our experiences.Reclaiming our relationship with magic is a deeply human and feminine act.In chaotic times, focus on what is yours to do.Purpose can manifest in various forms, not just one.Living with care and presence is sufficient.Our contributions are part of a larger narrative.The divine feminine operates in deep time and rhythms.Trusting our guidance is essential for personal growth.✨ Explore. Connect. Come Home to Her. ✨If this podcast or my book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine has inspired you, I’d love for you to leave a review—it helps others find this work and keeps these conversations flowing.Stay connected with me and our growing community:🌸 Follow along on Instagram @hometoher for reflections and details on upcoming episodes.🌿 Join the Home to Her Facebook group to share stories, ask questions, and explore the Sacred Feminine in community.Want to go deeper? Visit www.hometoher.com to:·      Download your free eBook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power·      Explore my on-demand course Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story·      Learn more about 1:1 coaching, small group programs, and upcoming events💫 Ready to reconnect with your authentic feminine power?Book your free 30-minute discovery call on my website and let’s explore what’s possible.Mentioned in this episode:Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story Online Course: Now on Sale! How much of our collective herstory do you really know — and do you know why that matters so much to how you live your life today? If you’re curious, check out my self-paced online course, Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story. It’s a six-week journey into the Sacred Feminine — Her lost herstory, Her spiritual wisdom, and Her deep relevance for your modern life. Inside, you’ll find: • Fascinating stories, images, and evidence of the Sacred Feminine — much of which you’ve likely never encountered before • Guided meditations and movement practices • Journaling prompts and storytelling exercises • “Mind food” resources to inspire your ongoing exploration • And so much more Right now through the end of the year, you can save 10% with the code Podcast10. Visit www.hometoheracademy to learn more and register! On Demand Course

On this episode, I’m joined again by Danielle Dulsky, a prior Home to Her guest, as we explore the themes of women's wisdom, the significance of fairy tales, and the role of storytelling in shaping our understanding of the world. Danielle’s new book, The Night House: Folklore, Fairy Tales, Rites, and Magick for the Wise and Wild, serves as a focal point for our discussion, as we consider the connection between creativity, magic, and the feminine experience. We also talk about the hidden and sometimes subversive power within fairy tales, the importance of shadow work, and how these stories can help us navigate the complexities of modern life. We also talk about why Danielle believes we each have one important thing to do in this lifetime, and why it’s so important to protect our creative potential in these uncertain times. As Danielle says, “we need to get weirder.”Key Takeaways·     Everything we know about power has been defined by cultural structures.·     Women's wisdom and power have been minimized and pushed underground.·     Fairy tales hold hidden wisdom and power for women.·     The Night House explores the connection between fairy tales and women's experiences.·     Stories can be a way to access and embody our full power.·     The structure of The Night House reflects a journey through shadow and light.·     Asking questions about stories reveals insights about our lives.·     The current cultural moment calls for a return to women's wisdom.·     Magic exists in subtle forms and is often dismissed in modern culture.·     Storytelling shapes our understanding of the world.·     Finding our purpose and protecting our creative potential are two of the most important things we can do during these uncertain times·     Embracing our own weirdness is the key to coming up with new solutions for all the challenges facing usSound bites"Fairy tales hold hidden wisdom and power for women.""Storytelling shapes our understanding of the world.""Embrace the weirdness of life."Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Sacred Feminine03:01 Exploring Women's Wisdom and Power05:52 The Night House: Unveiling Fairy Tales08:44 The Structure of The Night House11:36 Shadow Work and Fairy Tales14:03 Connecting Stories to Personal Experience17:02 The Importance of Timing in Storytelling19:34 The Role of Magic in Our Lives25:38 The Compartmentalization of Magic31:58 Exploring the Realm of Magic35:55 Tending to Our Unique Purpose41:01 The Power of Storytelling45:51 Embracing the Weirdness of LifeIf this podcast or my book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine has inspired you, don’t stop here. Visit my website, www.hometoher.com, to:→ Download your free eBook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power→ Explore courses, coaching, and upcoming programs→ Book your free 30-minute discovery callFollow @hometoher on Instagram and join our Facebook community to stay connected and inspired.

In this conversation, Dr. Lisette Ostrander and I explore the intricate relationship between feminine wisdom, sexuality, and pleasure. We also talk about the cultural narratives surrounding women's sexuality, the importance of creating safe spaces for exploration, and the need to reclaim pleasure as a vital aspect of life. Key Takeaways:* Feminine power includes the ability to celebrate and sustain life, along with the ability to access deep wisdom found within the body * Cultural structures have historically excluded women's input on power* Embodied wisdom teaches us about pleasure and connection.* Sex and pleasure are integral to understanding feminine wisdom.* Cultural narratives often vilify women's sexuality and pleasure and have done so for a great deal of recorded history.* Creating safe spaces is essential for exploring sexuality.* Eroticism is about seeking pleasure for its own sake.* Life experiences significantly impact sexual experiences.* Women often face challenges related to desire and intimacy.* Self-exploration and understanding one's body are crucial for empowerment.Chapters00:00 Introduction to the Sacred Feminine03:22 Exploring Feminine Power06:39 The Journey of Sexuality and Pleasure11:50 Cultural Influences on Sexuality18:22 The Complexity of Women’s Sexual Experiences23:32 The Intersection of Life and Sexuality29:34 The Role of Safety in Sexual Encounters35:38 Challenges Women Face in Sexuality40:03 Men's Perspectives on Sexuality47:28 Empowering Women to Explore Their Sexuality51:31 Practical Steps to Embrace Sexual Pleasure57:04 New podcast outro 062625 - 6:26:25, 5.23 PM.mp3Notes about this episode: * Lisette and I referred to the Home to Her podcast episode, Becoming a Land Steward with Belinda Liu: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/68a392e1-b9c3-4b9c-9a70-5aa9994ad55c* We also discussed the Hestia retreat centers - you can learn more about them here: https://www.hestiamagic.com/ * I referenced the virgin-whore dichotomy so many women face; you can find a description of this here: https://www.modernintimacy.com/the-psychology-of-the-madonna-whore-complex/* Lisette referenced the work of sex and relationship therapist Esther Perel. She also mentioned two books: The Erotic Mind, by Jack Morin; and Women's Anatomy of Arousal, by Sheri Winston

On the latest episode I'm joined by Rebecca Korn, a former ballerina and pre-med prodigy turned powerhouse wealth strategist. After flipping personal heartbreak into a mission, she now guides women to outplay patriarchal money systems and build seven-figure futures—combining feminine embodiment with iron-clad strategy. Through her company, Rise Reign Rule, her work has already minted five millionaires, with more on the way.Key takeawaysThe sacred feminine is a powerful force that can guide women in their personal and professional lives.Money should be viewed as an exchange of energy, not a source of stress or shame.Women often excel at giving but struggle with receiving; it's essential to practice receiving.Balancing masculine and feminine energies is crucial for personal empowerment and success.The journey of self-discovery often involves embracing both the feminine and masculine aspects of oneself.Creating structure in one's life can enhance the flow of feminine energy.Emergence is a vital aspect of the feminine; allowing space for creativity and intuition is essential.Why we need to stop waiting for permission to take up space or assert our needs.The relationship with money can be transformed by viewing it as a tool for empowerment and connection.Episode Notes: You can learn more about Rebecca and her work at her website: www.risereignrule.com. Find her on social media @risereignrule. Rebecca mentioned the medical school founded by the world's richest woman. You can read about it here: https://time.com/7303692/alice-walton-school-of-medicine-new-medical-school/About Home to Her:If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/  You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.If you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review! Check out the Home to Her YouTube channel for video episodes.For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, check out my on-demand course Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story, and download your free ebook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power. You can also learn more about 1:1 coaching opportunities, appearances, upcoming small group programs and more.

On the latest episode I'm joined by Emma Andrews, a highly-acclaimed intuitive, medium and intuition teacher. Emma's gift of seeing energy combined with her training in energy healing and somatic therapy make her 1-on-1 intuitive sessions a transformational force in many peoples' lives. In addition to working with individuals, she also leads retreats, teaches at festivals and is the creator of the popular online course “The Intuitive Method”. During our conversation, we cover: The extraordinary and heartbreaking message Emma received that opened up her intuitive giftsHow Emma defines intuition and why she thinks it's accessible to us allWhy Emma sees intuition as tapping into an ocean of intelligence - and why that ocean is inherently feminine in nature Emma's tips for any beginner who's wishing to cultivate their intuitionAnd much more! Notes related to this episode: You can learn more about Emma and her work at her website: https://www.emma-andrews.com/You can also follow her on Instagram @emmarewsHere are a few more details about this show and my work:If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/  You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work! You can also access the audio version of this episode here, or wherever you access your podcasts: https://home-to-her.captivate.fm/For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, check out my on-demand course Home to Herstory, Home to Your Story, and download your free ebook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power. You can also learn more about 1:1 coaching opportunities available.

On this short episode, I give a quick update on the show and where it's headed in the future, including: How my understanding of the Sacred Feminine has shifted and changed over the last decadeWhy I think accessing our most authentic power from within is the greatest effort we can make right now6 specific facets of female power, and how I’ll be exploring these in future podcast episodes Come listen and find out! Show notes: check out www.hometoher.com for more infoYou can book a discovery call with me here: https://calendly.com/lizchildskelly/30min

On this episode, I'm joined by Rebe Huntman, a memoirist, essayist, dancer, teacher, and poet who writes at the intersections of feminism, world religion and spirituality. For over a decade she directed Chicago’s award-winning Danza Viva Center for World Dance, Art & Music and its dance company, One World Dance Theater. Huntman collaborates with native artists in Cuba and South America, has been featured in Latina Magazine, Chicago Magazine, and the Chicago Tribune, and has appeared on Fox and ABC. She is also the author of a new memoir, My Mother in Havana, about her explorations in seeking not only her human mother, who died when she was 19, but also a deeper relationship with the Divine Mother.On this episode we discuss:How Rebe’s path to the Sacred Feminine revealed itself through her evolving relationship with Latin dance – including how she discovered that the dances themselves were originally invitations to the godsRebe’s transformational journey in Cuba, including her experiences meeting the Orisha Oshun, and Our Lady of Charity of El CobreHow Oshun, who originates from the West African Yoruba tradition, and Our Lady, who is considered an apparition of the Virgin Mary, are syncretized – and how this merging can give us a more holistic vision of mothers and women in generalRebe’s evolving relationship with her deceased mother, and why it’s both normal and natural to call on our deceased loved ones for supportNotes related to this episode:You can learn more about Rebe and her book at her website, www.rebehuntman.com.You can also find her on social media: Instagram @rebehuntman; Facebook @rebehuntmanauthor.We discussed the books the Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, as well as Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.Other related episodes include:Transforming a Paradigm of Domination with Riane Eisler - https://youtu.be/LSk4JRd6B8gHealing the Mother Wound with Bethany Webster (audio only) – https://player.captivate.fm/episode/6b4fbdc5-b85a-4dd0-ad63-ea2501eb493cExploring the Divine Feminine in African Traditional Religions with Lilith Dorsey (audio only) -  https://player.captivate.fm/episode/89f7cc91-8038-431f-8459-4cf57d172e35Here are a few more details about this show and my work:If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/  You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work! You can also access the audio version of this episode here, or wherever you access your podcasts: https://home-to-her.captivate.fm/For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher.And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, check out upcoming courses and download your free ebook 5 Ancient Secrets of Female Power.

On episode 100 of the Home to Her podcast, I'm joined by Ixchel Munay, who has spent more than 20 years walking the path of plant medicine, conscious living and supporting thousands of people around the world in her immersions and sessions to come home to themselves. Through her work, Ixchel draws upon her initiations with yoga, meditation, tantra, shamanism, magic, somatic therapy, dance, breath work, NLP, non-violent communication, permaculture, natural medicine, neuroscience and more. She’s spent nearly the past 20 years of her life based in Bali, the mystical land of her father’s ancestors. For the past four years she’s been spending half the year in Costa Rica devoted to creating Yacumama ("Mother of Water") - a regenerative community land project that hosts transformational experiences.On this episode we discuss: Ixchel's introduction to the Sacred Feminine via her experience meeting Amma, the hugging saint, and her work with a tantric master in BaliHer experience with plant medicines and the value they offer us currently, as well as why it's so important to approach them medicine with respect and via a credible teacherWhy she believes the feminine is the flow state that athletes describe, and how when we step into it, our divine path unfolds much more easilyThe ways women have been disconnected from our bodies, particularly through birth control and medicated childbirth Her work with Yacumama, and her vision for it in terms of land regeneration and as a cultural center to preserve and teach indigenous ways of beingNotes related to this episode: You can learn all about the upcoming programs at Yacumama here, including an upcoming wellness retreat for women, here: https://www.yacumama.love/ and on Instagram @yacumamaecovillageYou can connect with Ixchel via social media via her website, www.livingwisdom.one, and Instagram @ixchel.munay Ixchel and I talked about our experiences with Amma, the hugging saint. You can learn more about her here: https://amma.org/We also discussed the concept of a guru as a path to the Divine Feminine, a topic I explored with past podcast guest Arundhati Subramaniam: https://youtu.be/9reaJg3iTtwAnd here are a few more details about this show and my work:If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!You can also access the video version of this episode on YouTubeFor more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher. And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, download a free meditation and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest episodes.

On the first episode of 2025, I'm joined by repeat guest Joy Ladin.  Joy is a widely published essayist and poet, literary scholar, and nationally known speaker on transgender issues. From 2003 to 2021, she held the David and Ruth Gotsman Chair in English at Stern College for Women of Yeshiva University.Her gender transition and return to teaching in 2008 made her the first openly transgender employee of an Orthodox Jewish institution. Joy's experience of being poetically mentored by the Shekinah resulted in the completion of a book length sequence, Shekinah Speaks, published by Selva Obscura in spring 2022, which she joined me to speak about on this podcast in 2023. She's published several other books, including, most recently, a new book of poetry, Family, and Once Out of Nature, selected essays on the transformation of gender. And she is the recipient of the National Jewish Book Award for The Book of Anna.On this episode, we riff about:The concept of family, at both the individual and national levelsHow our personal narratives help us make meaning in our daily livesHow Joy's understanding of the Shekhinah, the indwelling presence of God typically gendered as female, has shifted since our first conversation in 2023The role of gender binaries in helping us relate to divinity Joy's perspective on the historical need for a transcendent God, and how both Jesus and the Shekhinah were responses to His limitationsWhat the Shekhinah can offer us in this particular moment in time Notes about this episode: You can learn more about Joy and all her work at https://joyladin.com/You can watch mine and Joy's first conversation here: https://youtu.be/XYi7LUiNHJ4You can also listen to this episode here: https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e1b56ad3-b881-458e-a9e3-e9fb1635760cAnd here are a few more details about this show and my work:If you’d like to know whose ancestral tribal lands you currently reside on, you can look up your address here: https://native-land.ca/You can also visit the Coalition of Natives and Allies for more helpful educational resources about Indigenous rights and history.Please – if you love this podcast and/or have read my book, please consider leaving me a review, and thank you for supporting my work!For more Sacred Feminine goodness and to stay up to date on all episodes, please follow me on Instagram: @hometoher. To dive into conversation about the Sacred Feminine, join the Facebook group, also @hometoher. And to read about the Sacred Feminine, check out my award-winning book Home to Her: Walking the Transformative Path of the Sacred Feminine (Womancraft Publishing), available on Audible and wherever you buy your books!. If you've read it, your reviews on Goodreads and Amazon are greatly appreciated!Visit www.hometoher.com to learn more about your host, download a free meditation and sign up for my newsletter to stay up to date on all the latest episodes.