Ancestral Healing Teacher Training:

Ancestral Medicine is an organization that encourages the embodiment of animist values and practices in ways that are culturally healing, non-dogmatic, and accessible to people of diverse means, ancestries, and geographies. We are not a non-profit, NGO, spiritual community, or consensus-based organization; we are a business incorporated in the U.S. state of North Carolina that aims to be sustainable, to care well for our staff and the participants in our offerings, and to further cultural healing. Our Core Values (https://ancestralmedicine.org/core-values/) are: Animist, Antisupremacist, International, Accessible, Courageous, & Kind. For more see: ancestralmedicine.org/about.

Our team is committed to facilitating and guiding the Ancestral Healing Teacher Training in professional and values-driven ways. Training and policy details are below and also in the Ancestral Healing Practitioner Training Manual. All trainees accepted in the program will be provided with the Ancestral Healing Teacher Training Manual at least one week before our orientation in August 2025. By participating in this program and signing this document, you agree to the terms outlined in the manual. You’ll have a chance to read over the manual and ask any questions about what’s in there before the training starts, but we’re not sharing it yet simply because we’re still creating it for this first cycle of the training.

Both during and after the training process, teachers and teachers-in-training are warmly encouraged to participate in ongoing educational and community opportunities through the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Network; however, active involvement in various optional Network offerings is not actually required to fulfill or to maintain your certification as a teacher.

Post-training requirements are largely those of being a practitioner. You’ll complete the report-in every two years to keep your practitioner certification in good standing. You’ll be expected to engage in the usual continuing education requirements for practitioners. Starting in 2026 this every-two-years form will include a short section for teachers and teachers-in-training. We have not yet determined what, if any, additional Continuing Education requirements there may be for teachers in the Network, but they will be very modest (perhaps one 90min group meeting with AM staff and other teachers every two years).

Please carefully review the informational page about the training on our website (https://ancestralmedicine.org/ancestral-healing-teacher-training/) as well as the FAQ section

The primary intent of the training is for you to learn to independently guide all aspects of Ancestral Lineage Healing Intensives, a three-day immersive process for transmitting the Ancestral Lineage Healing process in the context of group teaching and ritual. During this training you’ll focus on teaching skills, mastery of content addressed during intensives, deepening your capacities as a ritual leader in a group setting, and the practical aspects of planning and carrying out an in-person intensive.

This training has three phases.

• - Phase One: September - December 2025
• - Phase Two: January - June 2026
• - Phase Three: Because this phase depends on your capacity to plan and guide these events, the timeline for completion of the training process will vary.

Certification is earned upon completion of all requirements, plus final approval by Shannon and Daniel.

The training overview is as follows.

PHASE ONE: FOUR MONTHS, SEP - DEC 2025 (16 weeks)

The focus is on learning and moving toward mastery of the foundational curriculum and core material while identifying areas for personal growth in your roles as a ritualist and group facilitator.

• - Eight pre-recorded lessons (60- to 90-minute, every other week)
• - Eight live, 90min Q&A calls (90-minute, every other week)
• - Eight small-group practice sessions (90-minute triads, every other week)
• - Two total individual mentorship sessions with Shannon (30 minutes each)
• - Track growth edges through peer, mentor, and personal notes

PHASE TWO: SIX MONTHS, JAN - JUN 2026

The focus is on mastery of the various elements required to successfully lead an intensive.

• - Complete 20 hour-long peer practice sessions (in pairs/dyads) to move toward mastery of the 10 content segments (2 practice sessions each for the 10 content segments).
• - Complete 10 peer sessions in 90-minute triads (7 focus on refining cultural skills and 3 on effectively teaching songs).
• - Attend (or listen after) to three 90-minute teachings co-led by Daniel and Shannon (e.g., difficult attendees or supporters, rowdy spirits, other forms of intensive-related chaos).
• - Guide 10 ancestor circles, at least 5 of which must be in-person (each with 4-13 attendees). Some previous experience may count toward this requirement and flexibility may be extended by the AM team if local conditions don’t allow for in-person circles.
• - Craft 4 substantive offerings for the spirits. At least 2 must involve 4 or more living human participants (e.g., during ancestor circles); at least 2 different approaches to offerings must be explored; and at least 1 shared about in the training discussion space.
• - Complete two additional 30-minute mentorship sessions with Shannon (now at 4 total).
• - Attend at least three of six monthly 60-minute group supervision sessions with Shannon.
• - Continue to track learning and growth edges through peer, mentor, and personal notes.

PHASE THREE BEGINS WHEN YOU COMPLETE ALL PHASE TWO REQUIREMENTS

This phase begins on a rolling basis, as you complete your Phase Two requirements.

• - Co-lead two 3-day intensives, co-leading each intensive with another teacher or teacher-in-training. Groups should be 6-18 people. Successful completion of two co-led intensives is expected before guiding solo.
• - Lead two solo smaller intensives, each for a small group of 6-12 people.
• - Lead two solo medium to larger intensives, each for a group of 12-24 people.
• - Complete 13 total mentorship sessions with Shannon. This consists of a 30-minute session before and after each of the 6 required intensives plus a final 30-minute mentorship session to complete the training. These are $60 per session ($120/hr), totaling $780. Note: These sessions are the only training element not included in the base training cost.
• - Continue to track learning and growth edges through peer, mentor, and personal notes.
• - Optionally attend monthly group supervisions, available at no cost through 2026.

IMPORTANT PHASE THREE REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES

• - Pricing: During Phase Three and beyond, you keep all proceeds from your public teaching. However, we do require that you adhere to the organization’s general guidelines regarding how you price your intensives (both during the training phase and beyond), as it’s important to us that our ethics around accessibility remain consistent and that the value of these gatherings remain clear. Pricing guidelines will be clearly outlined in the training manual and may change over time. Any financial split between co-teachers and supporters will be up to you to determine.
• - Feedback: We will provide feedback forms so your participants may share about their experience. You’ll be required to share this link with all participants after each intensive you guide during your training process. Responses will be viewable by you and the AM team.
• - Supporters: For intensives with fewer than 12 people, supporters are welcome. For co-led intensives with 12 or more participants, we encourage including supporters. For solo intensives with 12 or more participants, the inclusion of supporters is required.

What follows are the ten elements in the public Code of Ethics (in bold) for the Practitioner Network. Although there are professional guidelines that may be spelled out in more detail in the Ancestral Healing Teacher Training Manual (in progress), these remain the foundation for the ethical practice of Ancestral Lineage Healing. As such, they are included here for a refresh when establishing clear agreements in advance of this training.

1. Ancestral healing practitioners prioritize personal well-being in ways that enable them to effectively serve others. This includes being willing to ask for and receive support.

2. Ancestral healing practitioners sustain active and generative relationships with their ancestors and seek to embody the principles of ancestral and family healing.

3. Ancestral healing practitioners model cultural self-responsibility, fairness, and respect and do not discriminate with regard to ethnicity, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, mental or physical ability, political views, nationality, immigration status, or socio-economic background.

4. Ancestral healing practitioners adhere to the Ancestral Healing Practitioner Code of Ethics and related agreements, as well as ethical codes and agreements relevant to their credentials, professional associations, and other forms of service in the world.

5. Ancestral healing practitioners commit to proactive communication, personal responsibility, and regard for impact when navigating relational and structural power differentials with clients, students, practitioners and colleagues, and Ancestral Medicine teachers and staff.

6. Ancestral healing practitioners maintain and affirm healthy boundaries and practice active consent in sessions and teachings and in discerning when, how, and with whom to offer their services.

7. Ancestral healing practitioners encourage others to relate directly with their supportive ancestors and cultures of origin and foster cooperation and mutual respect among colleagues and practitioners from other traditions.

8. Ancestral healing practitioners seek to resolve conflicts in proactive, direct, and generative ways. This includes using established channels for conflict resolution, avoiding gossip, and encouraging good outcomes and repair.

9. Ancestral healing practitioners commit to a path of life-long learning and professional growth. This includes participating in continuing education, inviting feedback, and welcoming support.

10. Ancestral healing practitioners practice respect both for diverse types of human ancestors as well as for our other-than-human kin, seen and unseen, terrestrial and beyond.

1) Ancestral Medicine, Inc. (AM) disclaims responsibility for any consequences suffered by any student or client or from their students or clients, including in any course of study or healing arts practice that trainees might take on after studying with AM. By signing below, I agree to indemnify AM harmless from any and all loss or damage AM might suffer as a result of any claim, demand, cost, or judgment arising out of a trainee’s study with AM.

Common English: If others experience harm from you in the course of your practice, Ancestral Medicine is not legally responsible for your actions. We strongly encourage all practitioners to have their own professional liability insurance.

2) Should circumstances arise that were not previously known in which it becomes apparent that AM can no longer back a teacher-in-training/teacher, through a violation of any of the Code of Ethics or through any other not-already-specified need to end the mentorship relationship, AM reserves the right to revoke certification, cease mentorship, remove the individual from internal communications, and end all organizational endorsement.

Common English: Just as any teacher-in-training/teacher can step away from involvement, it’s also true that Ancestral Medicine can break contact and endorsement and set a boundary at any point.

3) The Agreements and Understanding set forth, and any and all claims or causes of action (whether in contract, tort, or statute) that may be based upon, arise out of, or relate to these Agreements and Expectations, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

Common English: If there is a need for legal action, it will occur in the state of North Carolina.

Tuition. The cost for the full training is $3,750 USD. A courtesy reduction of $250 USD is available for those who are able to pay in full when you register.

Payment Methods. Payment can be made through our website by credit/debit card or Paypal.

Payment & Recurring Plans. Upon acceptance, we ask that you register (meaning, sign this agreement, select a plan, and make a first payment) within 30 days.

Payment plan options are as follows. We strongly prefer to not create custom payment plans outside of the following 11 options. At checkout, you’ll choose one of the following.

No deferment:

• - $3500 in one payment
• - 3 installments: $1250/mo
• - 6 installments: $625/mo
• - 12 installments: $312.50/mo
• - 18 installments: $208.34/mo
• - 24 installments: $156.25/mo

Deferment:

We’re committed to keeping the training as accessible as possible. If you’d like to defer 50% of the cost until you begin to guide intensives (during Phase Three of your training), you may do so. The first 50% ($1875) may be paid in as many as 24 monthly installments, which amounts to $79 per month. If you go this route, your options at checkout will be as follows.

• - $1875 in one payment
• - 3 installments: $625/mo
• - 6 installments: $312.50/mo
• - 12 installments: $208.33/mo
• - 24 installments: $78.13/mo

When you begin to guide intensives that are also profitable, we understand you may at the same time acutely need that money to live, so it’s tricky for us to set a precise dollar amount or percentage on what we expect you to pay toward your balance in advance. As a bare minimum, the lowest 24-month installment ($78.13/month) would continue for an additional two years. But if you’re making money on intensives, we do expect you to make earnest effort to proactively pay off the training balance and to be in dialogue with our team about this. If you select a deferment, you agree to hold things in this spirit.

By completing your registration, you’re committing to complete your financial obligation.

All payment plans are automatically debited monthly. In the event of pre-emptive cancellation from your side, the contract will be broken. If you wish to increase payments or otherwise adjust your payment plan, please just be in touch.

If life conditions change for you in ways that make fulfillment of your obligations impossible, you agree to proactively communicate with our team about what options may be possible.

If you need a cost reduction and/or scholarships funds from Ancestral Medicine, this gets worked out on a case by case basis, and we are trying to adhere to the 11 available payment plans for this training (see above). We still expect any who receive further cost reduction and/or scholarship support to still honor all other agreements in this document surrounding payment.

Refunds. Full refunds are possible if requested before August 1, 2025. From August 1 until the start of the training, we will refund the bulk of your tuition, but we will retain $350 to cover administrative costs. Ancestral Medicine will not grant any refunds after this date.

Non-Completion of Training. In the unlikely event you and Ancestral Medicine part ways after the first retreat and before the training completes, we will proceed as follows:

• - If you choose to leave the training, we still expect you to pay for the training. You will be responsible for completing all payments for tuition according to your payment plan. If financial agreements are broken, AM reserves the right to pursue legal action.
• - If we ask you to leave the training before Sept 1, 2025, we’ll issue a full refund minus a $350 fee. If we ask you to leave any time after the first retreat begins, full payment for the training is expected.

Our team is made up of caring and reasonable people and we reserve the right to make exceptions to any of these agreements on a case-by-case basis.

By signing here, I agree to follow all agreements, understandings, and policies in this document.