Initiations: A Life of Ritual
Practices for Living and Dying
with Dr. Daniel Foor
May 2022 – March 2023
Begins May 1st
Curriculum
One
Lesson One: Infancy, Voice, and Invocation
- Explore sacred aspects of conception, birth, and early childhood
- Consider the role of language and culture in early development
- Focus on the ritual skills of prayer, song, appeal, and invocation
- Learn tangible ways to utilize and strengthen invocation practices
- Enjoy resources on stages of consciousness and early childhood
Two
Lesson Two: Childhood, Boundaries, and Safety
- Explore key developmental milestones and challenges of childhood
- Gently reflect on your early life in light of your personal boundaries today
- Affirm connections between physical, psychological, and spiritual safety
- Learn effective practices for establishing ritual safety and boundaries
- Enjoy resources on animism, childhood, and ritual for young people
Three
Lesson Three: Embodiment, Pleasure, and Being Whole
- Explore the mysteries of incarnation and embodiment over a lifespan
- Affirm body, sex, and pleasure positivity in support of embodiment
- Reflect on remedies for the fragmentation of soul, power, and psyche
- Engage in practices to welcome back and celebrate aspects of self
- Enjoy resources on non-duality, embodiment, and cultivating presence
Four
Lesson Four: Adolescence, Courage, and Calling
- Consider youth rites of passage connected to the ability to call in new life
- Explore connections between accountability and accessing guidance
- Reflect on experiences with authority and connection to authentic power
- Practice ways to directly access reliable spiritual guidance and support
- Enjoy resources on youth rites of passage and ethical development
Five
Lesson Five: Early Adulthood, Devotion, and Feeding Life
- Explore love and devotion as foundational to spiritual development
- Learn ways to intentionally cultivate heart courage and tenderness
- Reflect on the healing power of relationships, human and otherwise
- Enact love and devotion by learning tangible, ritual offering practices
- Enjoy poetry, art, and other resources on devotion and the sacred
Six
Lesson Six: Limitation, Sorrow, and Choosing Love
- Consider how little we control and the sacred functions of pain and limitation
- Explore impacts of personal loss and tragedy on soul-level development
- Reflect on the courage required to choose compassion over resentment
- Practice ritual skills to receive, regulate, and metabolize grief and sorrow
- Enjoy resources on lament, heartache, and love in response to suffering
Seven
Lesson Seven: Midlife, Destiny, and Cleaning House
- Explore pragmatic frameworks for awakening and adult development
- Reflect on the process of clarifying, accepting, and living personal destiny
- Learn ways to identify and resolve blocks to more authentic expression
- Practice safely communing with and incorporating benevolent forces
- Enjoy resources on physical embodiment and communion with the powers
Eight
Lesson Eight: Early Elderhood, Warriorship, and Legacy
- Consider the myriad of challenges that follow from embracing destiny
- Learn about hazards, ritual protection, and the need to guard legacy
- Assess your current level of risk and willingness to address concerns
- Practice partnering with supportive powers to increase ritual protection
- Enjoy resources on evil, malice, self-defense, and sacred warriorship
Nine
Lesson Nine: Power, Reckoning, and Making Amends
- Reflect on meanings and right uses of both worldly and spiritual power
- Consider the benefits of courageously facing any unresolved wounding
- Learn ways to honestly assess your life and make any needed repairs
- Practice calling back personal power from past mistakes and traumas
- Enjoy resources on power, imperfection, and responsible leadership
Ten
Lesson Ten: Elderhood, Humility, and Mending the World
- Consider elder rites of passage and pathways for ongoing cultivation
- Affirm the power and importance of joy, levity, play, and irreverence
- Learn to anchor identity to more stable ancestral and ecological sources
- Ritually turn toward and recommit to alleviating the suffering of the world
- Enjoy resources on elderhood rites of passage and responsibilities
Eleven
Lesson Eleven: Eclipse, Dying, and Becoming Ancestor
- Explore death of the body as a rite of passage to becoming ancestor
- Learn ways to further support ego death before physical death
- Continue to soften unhelpful binaries and to access unitive states
- Practice steady communion with elder forces for more effective service
- Enjoy resources on the ancestralization process and post-death journey
Twelve
Lesson Twelve: Awakening, Wisdom, and Becoming What Is
- Explore teachings on consciousness after dying and becoming an ancestor
- Learn pragmatic ways to prioritize soul cultivation over the lifespan
- Reflect on your life through the long view of increasing love and wisdom
- Practice experiencing personal center as opening to the ground of being
- Enjoy resources on the far reaches of human development and potential
Lesson One: Infancy, Voice, and Invocation
- Explore sacred aspects of conception, birth, and early childhood
- Consider the role of language and culture in early development
- Focus on the ritual skills of prayer, song, appeal, and invocation
- Learn tangible ways to utilize and strengthen invocation practices
- Enjoy resources on stages of consciousness and early childhood
Lesson Two: Childhood, Boundaries, and Safety
- Explore key developmental milestones and challenges of childhood
- Gently reflect on your early life in light of your personal boundaries today
- Affirm connections between physical, psychological, and spiritual safety
- Learn effective practices for establishing ritual safety and boundaries
- Enjoy resources on animism, childhood, and ritual for young people
Lesson Three: Embodiment, Pleasure, and Being Whole
- Explore the mysteries of incarnation and embodiment over a lifespan
- Affirm body, sex, and pleasure positivity in support of embodiment
- Reflect on remedies for the fragmentation of soul, power, and psyche
- Engage in practices to welcome back and celebrate aspects of self
- Enjoy resources on non-duality, embodiment, and cultivating presence
Lesson Four: Adolescence, Courage, and Calling
- Consider youth rites of passage connected to the ability to call in new life
- Explore connections between accountability and accessing guidance
- Reflect on experiences with authority and connection to authentic power
- Practice ways to directly access reliable spiritual guidance and support
- Enjoy resources on youth rites of passage and ethical development
Lesson Five: Early Adulthood, Devotion, and Feeding Life
- Explore love and devotion as foundational to spiritual development
- Learn ways to intentionally cultivate heart courage and tenderness
- Reflect on the healing power of relationships, human and otherwise
- Enact love and devotion by learning tangible, ritual offering practices
- Enjoy poetry, art, and other resources on devotion and the sacred
Lesson Six: Limitation, Sorrow, and Choosing Love
- Consider how little we control and the sacred functions of pain and limitation
- Explore impacts of personal loss and tragedy on soul-level development
- Reflect on the courage required to choose compassion over resentment
- Practice ritual skills to receive, regulate, and metabolize grief and sorrow
- Enjoy resources on lament, heartache, and love in response to suffering
Lesson Seven: Midlife, Destiny, and Cleaning House
- Explore pragmatic frameworks for awakening and adult development
- Reflect on the process of clarifying, accepting, and living personal destiny
- Learn ways to identify and resolve blocks to more authentic expression
- Practice safely communing with and incorporating benevolent forces
- Enjoy resources on physical embodiment and communion with the powers
Lesson Eight: Early Elderhood, Warriorship, and Legacy
- Consider the myriad of challenges that follow from embracing destiny
- Learn about hazards, ritual protection, and the need to guard legacy
- Assess your current level of risk and willingness to address concerns
- Practice partnering with supportive powers to increase ritual protection
- Enjoy resources on evil, malice, self-defense, and sacred warriorship
Lesson Nine: Power, Reckoning, and Making Amends
- Reflect on meanings and right uses of both worldly and spiritual power
- Consider the benefits of courageously facing any unresolved wounding
- Learn ways to honestly assess your life and make any needed repairs
- Practice calling back personal power from past mistakes and traumas
- Enjoy resources on power, imperfection, and responsible leadership
Lesson Ten: Elderhood, Humility, and Mending the World
- Consider elder rites of passage and pathways for ongoing cultivation
- Affirm the power and importance of joy, levity, play, and irreverence
- Learn to anchor identity to more stable ancestral and ecological sources
- Ritually turn toward and recommit to alleviating the suffering of the world
- Enjoy resources on elderhood rites of passage and responsibilities
Lesson Eleven: Eclipse, Dying, and Becoming Ancestor
- Explore death of the body as a rite of passage to becoming ancestor
- Learn ways to further support ego death before physical death
- Continue to soften unhelpful binaries and to access unitive states
- Practice steady communion with elder forces for more effective service
- Enjoy resources on the ancestralization process and post-death journey
Lesson Twelve: Awakening, Wisdom, and Becoming What Is
- Explore teachings on consciousness after dying and becoming an ancestor
- Learn pragmatic ways to prioritize soul cultivation over the lifespan
- Reflect on your life through the long view of increasing love and wisdom
- Practice experiencing personal center as opening to the ground of being
- Enjoy resources on the far reaches of human development and potential
What's Included
- Lifetime access. Course content and call recordings will always be available through your account even after the course ends.
- Over an hour of pre-recorded content per lesson. Three lessons each season, twelve total, each includes new teachings and practices, closed captioning, downloadable PDF transcripts, and mp3 audio.
- Extensive additional resources. Each lesson is accompanied by an intentionally curated resource section of relevant articles, websites, interviews, additional videos, and more.
- Private course connection space. Tended by course supporters, this is a space to ask questions about the lessons, connect with other participants, and share experiences from your corner of the Earth. No public social media or additional login required.
- Two integration and personal support calls per lesson. Co-led by experienced ritualists in the AM Practitioner Network, these hour-long calls (24 total) include time for questions, concerns, complementary teachings, and deeper participant embodiment of course material.
- Teaching and practice calls with Dr. Foor. Each of the twelve lessons are accompanied by a live hour teaching with Daniel (recorded for playback) followed by 30 minutes of ritualist-facilitated breakout groups, including optional affinity spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+.
- Practice and ritual skills calls. Each lesson is also accompanied by a call focused on strengthening ritual skills. Recorded for playback, these are co-led by experienced ritualists in the AM Practitioner Network.
- Weekly hour-long BIPOC and LGBTQ+ calls. Commitment to cultural wellness through these two discussion spaces and hour-long affinity-based community calls (six gatherings each season for each group).
- Commitment to global inclusivity. Perspectives from around the world reflected in the course material, live discussions, course supporters, and a weekly Asia and Oceania community call.
- Ability to write in questions on course material. In addition to over 30 hours of optional live calls and teachings per season, participants can write in questions for Daniel and other call leaders.
Additional Features for Full Course Participants
- Monthly New Moon Rituals. Guided by experienced ritualist and AM Staff, Shannon Willis, these are spaces for direct ritual practice to deepen with course teachings in the vessel of supportive community.
- Community calls between seasons. All three community calls (Asia & Oceania time-zone friendly, LGBTQ+ only and BIPOC only) will continue between seasons for all year participants every other week.
- Four extra live teaching calls with Daniel and supporters. Mid-way between each season (and several weeks after Winter completes), Daniel will anchor a live hour teaching call with small break-out groups.
- Private connection space for year participants. In addition to the seasonal discussion spaces, full course participants will enjoy a dedicated group to support community and the year-long journey.
Participants in a short course (seasonal series) may register for the full course (year-long) at any time to receive access to the year-long participants discussion space, all remaining full-course gatherings, and the recordings for any previous extra live teaching calls with Daniel.
On Life as Ritual
Frequently Asked Questions
The twelve lessons and accompanying practices are designed around a full year journey linked to the seasons and human lifespan. Each season complements and build on the previous. In this way, registration for the full course is the ideal form of engagement.
Only participants who register for the full year will receive access to:
- Teachings with Daniel and supporters held between seasons
- Community calls held between each season
- Monthly new moon rituals (led by ancestral healing practitioner, Shannon Willis)
- The social connection space for year participants only
Registration for the full year is also the best value in terms of total cost for the course.
That said, you are welcome to register only for the spring season (or any other season) to still access most features (see “What’s Included” above), and you can always upgrade to the full course at any time. If you join for or upgrade to the full course part-way through the year, you’ll receive access to all previous recordings and all full-course benefits moving forward.
This course is organized around four seasons over the course of a year (May 2022 – March 2023). We being the spring series in May here in Northern Hemisphere, and we acknowledge this is the start of the autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Aside from the seasonal difference, all other lifespan and course content applies. Each season will have three lessons, released two weeks apart, and then a six-week slower period between seasons.
At Ancestral Medicine we use EDT Eastern Daylight Time (New York/Toronto) as our anchor time zone and include two other international times for reference. Consider this tool to compare time zones or add your own – just be sure to change the date and time for accurate conversion.
Spring lessons are released on the Saturdays of April 30th, May 14th, and May 28th. The live call schedule for all Spring participants is:
- Opening Ritual (90 minutes, recorded)
- Sunday, May 1st, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Monday) NZST
- Teaching with Daniel & Supporters (90 minutes, recorded)
- Tuesday, May 10th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Tuesday, May 24th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Tuesday, June 7th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Full Year Participants Only – Thursday, July 7th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Practice and Ritual Skills (60 minutes, recorded)
- Tuesday, May 3rd, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Tuesday, May 17th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Tuesday, May 31st, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Wednesday) NZST
- Integration and Personal Support (60 minutes)
- Thursday, May 5th, 8pm EDT | 10:00 (Friday) AEST | 12:00 (Friday) NZST
- Thursday, May 12th, 3pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Friday) NZST
- Thursday, May 19th, 8pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Friday) NZST
- Thursday, May 26th, 3pm EDT | 10:00 (Friday) AEST | 12:00 (Friday) NZST
- Thursday, June 2nd, 8pm EDT | 21:00 SAST | 07:00 (Friday) NZST
- Thursday, June 9th, 3pm EDT | 10:00 (Friday) AEST | 12:00 (Friday) NZST
- Asia & Oceania call *open to all* (60 minutes)
- Every Friday, May 6th – June 10th, 10pm EDT | 10:00 (Saturday) SGT | 12:00 (Saturday) AEST
- Full Year Participants Only – Friday June 24th & July 8th, 10pm EDT | 10:00 (Saturday) SGT | 12:00 (Saturday) AEST
- BIPOC-only call (60 minutes)
- Every Sunday, May 8th – June 12th, 4pm EDT | 22:00 SAST | 06:00 (Monday) AEST
- Full Year Participants Only – Sunday, June 26th & July 10th, 4pm EDT | 22:00 SAST | 06:00 (Monday) AEST
- LGBTQ+ only call (60 minutes)
- Every Sunday, May 8th – June 12th, 3pm EDT / 22:00 SAST / 06:00 (Thursday) AEST
- Full Year Participants Only – Wednesday, June 22nd & July 6th, 4pm EDT / 22:00 SAST / 06:00 (Thursday) AEST
Full-year participants are also invited to join for New Moon Rituals led by ancestral healing practitioner, Shannon Willis (60 minutes)
- Monday, May 30th, 4pm EDT / 22:00 SAST / 06:00 (Tuesday) AEST
- Tuesday, June 28th, 4pm EDT / 22:00 SAST / 06:00 (Wednesday) AEST
This course is open to anyone seeking an embodied relationship to time, life cycles, and ritual arts. The teachings and practices are not exclusive to any one tradition, and the frameworks are meant to be flexible enough for people to adapt to their own style and traditions.
As with all of Ancestral Medicine’s offerings, we take a core values approach rooted in animist sensibilities that’s not about belief, dogma, or adopting any particular kind of identity. The focus is on becoming a more loving and ethical human in relationship with the rest of life.
Since this course is so focused on ritual practice, the structure of the course has been made more spacious for practical integration, and how much time you can make for practice in your own life is entirely up to you.
As far as the time commitment for the lessons and live calls themselves, there are two weeks between lessons, three lessons per season. So every two weeks, you’ll need about 90 minutes to engage with the lesson video itself, 90 minutes for the teaching call with Daniel followed by practitioner-facilitated breakout groups, and you are also strongly encouraged to attend the Practice and Ritual Skills call for focused support and review of each lesson. This does not include the additional calls (see the FAQ about the schedule above).
There are more live calls and course features than you’ll have time to engage. Remember you have lifetime access, all the live calls are optional, and effective learning is also spacious and enjoyable.
“Initiations: A Life of Ritual” weaves an understanding of life cycles and human development with foundational ritual skills, all through a culturally mindful and internationally inclusive approach. While there is a shared focus with the previous Foundations of Ritual course on building practical ritual skills, this course has been greatly expanded in content and scope. 12 lessons (rather than 8 in the previous course) are spread across a year-long immersive journey of practice and learning, with several more regular live calls added to the course schedule (see the above FAQ for the full list of calls) to support interactive learning with trained course supporters and other participants.
The content itself is much more rooted in psychology and in an awareness of life cycles and the importance of rites of passage. It’s more comprehensive overall while still retaining the focus on practical ritual skills that can be adapted to suit the unique context of each participant. Also, those who register for the full year rather than just one season also receive additional support during the transition weeks between seasons.
All opportunities to connect and engage with other participants, whether through the small breakout groups, discussion in the connection space, or in any of the live calls, are entirely optional.
While ritual practice can be solitary affair, there is great value to be found in being in ritual with others. Additionally, most participants find a sense of camaraderie and support through engaging with others seeking to reclaim animist values in the modern world.
Once you log into the course and join the connection space, you will see separate private spaces for BIPOC and LGBTQ+. To join, message the course supporter facilitating that community call and they will add you to the space where you’ll then have access to a private discussions and the zoom link for the weekly call. This process is to help course supporters familiarize themselves with who is participating in these affinity spaces and calls.
We trust participants to self-select mindfully and decide for themselves if these spaces and additional calls (including the affinity-based breakout groups that follow each of the teaching calls with Daniel) are for them and will support their experience of the course. To learn more, please visit this page: https://ancestralmedicine.org/bipoc-lgbtq-calls.
All of our lesson videos will have closed captioning, as well as a full transcript and additional downloadable audio-only versions. Live calls will have automatic AI-generated closed captioning enabled, and the recording will be available after the call is over, accompanied by a full transcript a few days later.
Accessibility is one of our core values at Ancestral Medicine. If you have needs not met here, please feel free to reach out to us with requests or suggestions at info@ancestralmedicine.org and we will do what we can to accommodate.
Effective ritual practice and embodied learning can be a powerful and full-bodied experience. At times, this can bring up strong emotions and participants should be prepared for that possibility. While Daniel’s teachings are informed by his professional training and experience as a clinical therapist and the offerings strive to move from a trauma-informed approach, our offerings are never a substitute for mental health support/interventions or other kinds of physical medicines.
That said, we endeavor to provide as much support as possible within ethical and logistical limits. If any of the course topics or practices have been personally activating or stress-inducing in ways that call for additional support, please go first to what you already know to be helpful to you in your life. In addition and in complement to all those things, you might also consider the trained ritualists in the Ancestral Medicine Practitioner Network as one valuable resource. Most are available for one-on-one sessions, and many are willing to provide low-cost sessions to support financial accessibility.
New for this course, we are offering weekly Integration and Personal Support calls every Thursday (see the schedule in the earlier FAQ). Anyone who feels they might benefit from a group container dedicated to sharing experiences that have come up during the course are welcome to join. As with all calls for the course, this one will be held and guided by trained ancestral healing practitioners. The course connection spaces were also created to help participants find and offer communal contact and support.
There is no expiration on your access to the course materials and live call recordings after the course completes (only the Teaching Calls with Daniel and the Practice and Ritual Skills calls are recorded). Just log into your Ancestral Medicine account at any time in the future and you’ll be able to repeat or continue with any part of the course. Please note that those who have not completed their payment plans may have access to the course withdrawn.
We do not provide a certificate at the conclusion of the course, but some have requested such a record for professional purposes. While we can provide this, such a certificate of completion would not have any official standing since our courses have not been formally approved for continuing education credits. The course is intended for personal education and enrichment, and as such, our intention is not to train people to guide ritual for others through the material presented here.
The regular registration for the full year can be divided into 6 payments of $200 USD/month. In addition, there are also two sliding scale registration levels offered, each one with a 6-month payment plan option. And if your needs exceed the sliding scale options, you can also apply for a scholarship. Applications will close for scholarships on April 23rd at 7pm EDT. Learn more about those options here.
There is also the option to register only for the Spring series teachings if you are not ready (or otherwise unable) to commit to the full year, also with sliding scale and payment plan options.
If there is any reason you wish to withdraw from the course, due to a change of schedule or other circumstance, or simply because you do not resonate with the material, you have a full 30 days from the release of the first lesson to request a full refund. The very last day we will honor full refund requests is May 31st. This only applies to those who have registered for the full-year.
For those who are registering for the spring season only, you have until the day before Lesson Two is released, Friday, May 13th, to request a full refund.
To request a refund, simply reach out to: info@ancestralmedicine.org.
We’re happy to help with any additional questions. Just reach out to info@ancestralmedicine.org and someone from our team will be in touch usually within 1-2 day. If you have general questions, you may find your answer on our Frequently Asked Questions page.
Investment
Regular Full Payment
-
This investment supports the full cost of course production and the labor of our team, as well as allows us to extend financial access to those with fewer resources and less access to wealth in a global context.
Sliding Scale - Sustainer Level
-
This investment allows to cover the cost of course production and the labor of our staff and course producers.
Sliding Scale - Supported Level
-
This investment is available for individuals with fewer resources and less access to wealth to join at a further reduced rate.
If you’re not satisfied with the course after having engaged at least one lesson, we will grant you a full refund within 30 days of the beginning of the course.
Scholarship Options
If the sliding scale options above, including payment plans, are beyond your current financial means, we offer additional scholarship options. These options are limited and we trust applicants to apply for the option they require based on present needs and context. Please read the description and then fill out the form linked above to be considered. Scholarship applications will close on Saturday, April 23rd at 7pm EDT.
Four Seasons of Ritual
Conception through childhood. Themes include voice, invocation, boundaries, pleasure, and living from wholeness and embodiment. Learn More
Adolescent to early adult. Themes include accessing spiritual guidance, passion and devotion, and working with grief and loss. Learn More
Midlife and early elderhood. Themes include clarifying destiny, sacred warriorship, making amends, and right use of power. Learn More
Elderhood through post-death. Themes include humility, service, ego death, rejoining the ancestors, and stabilizing love and wisdom. Learn More