While four centuries of invasive colonialism have left the days of beneficent and trustworthy rulers far behind, on that day, we heard Éire, the earth, trees, and animals at Uisneach encourage us to keep the magic of infinite possibilities alive in our hearts. More than a dozen of those who participated in the Ireland retreat joined us again to start the Alchemical Constellations training at Menla.

Emily and Dan planted the seed that sprouted into this year’s training more than a year ago. Our vision was to call in a diverse and global set of Hearthtenders and alchemists in training who were interested in awakening the heart of humanity to love through embodied liberation. Constellations are much more than a therapeutic method practiced by following a sequence of steps. They challenge every facilitator to overcome the limits of their own good conscience. These are the imprints of belonging that unconsciously demand ethnic, cultural, national, religious, and political loyalty. As facilitators, to walk the brutal and blood-stained road of another’s lineage, we must be willing to see, acknowledge and assimilate our own shadows of racism, colonialism, sexism, misogyny, patriarchy, anti-Semitism, ableism, classism, violence, etc.

One of the founding principles of Constellations is that while we feel our conscience as a voice that tells us what is right and what is wrong, it actually serves belonging. Our conscience is clear when we protect our continued belonging to our group and we feel a guilty conscience when we fear our right to belong is threatened. This felt sense of belonging is inherited through the lineage, binding us to our families, our people, to the land of our ancestors, to where we live and who we know. In the shadow of belonging lies rejection of others, outsiders who feel threatening to our way of life, even our survival.

The demise of the Gaelic kingdoms came when their lands fell under English rule. By the 1800s, the draconian policy of landlords expelling entire communities drove hundreds of thousands of Gaelic-speaking Scots and Irish into exile.

One such man was Donald Smith, a highlands farmer who was cleared from his land together with his extended family. He settled in a tiny village in the Hebrides, where he was forced into fishing and very quickly lost at sea. His daughter Mary was only two at the time of her father’s tragic death. Her daughter, Mary Anne MacLeod was born on the Isle of Lewis, which local historians described as “indescribably filthy” and characterized by “human wretchedness.” At 19, she left Lewis by herself and emigrated to New York City, where she married the wealthy son of a brothel owner. Together, they made a fortune from owning slum housing. Named after her drowned grandfather, Mary Anne MacLeod’s son, Donald, is the President-elect of the United States.

While this history may seem obscure, and the facts largely forgotten, the largest demographic in the MAGA movement are also descendants of the Highland Clearances. There is no better illustration of how fractal patterns of trauma exert themselves in future generations than the lineage of Donald Trump.

Through the lens of Constellations, the victorious candidate reflects the good conscience of the voters. Politicians win, not because of their policies, but from their ability to convince their supporters that they will uphold what is right. In this voting cycle, the values that won were greed, wealth, and othering. Even while knowing that the entirety of humanity is staring down extinction threats from war, violence, and environmental disasters, the United States voted in an oligarchy of billionaires whom they believed most likely to defend prosperity from impoverishment. 

Gone are the days of ancient kings serving as custodians of the land. The new authorities have cleared the ancient forests on every continent. Today, it is money whose deep roots descend into deposits of oil and technology that stretches towards the infinite heaven-less outer space. Because nearly half of the trainees were born outside the United States, they recognized how the US election reflects similar political and social movements globally. The embrace of greed and wealth fuels economic and military power everywhere. 

This is where the training started: with unpacking how the limits of our own good conscience deprive us of the freedom to be our true selves. Constellations reveal the unseen ones who were cast out from belonging and forgotten, yet remain active in the imprints of cellular memory. In a year’s time, this group of heart alchemists will have learned how to facilitate Constellations in group and one-to-one and discover anew the magic of moving fluidly between physical reality and sacred spaces, as they travel in those liminal places between dimensions, liberating and awakening the heart of humanity to love. 

In the quiet of reflection and integration, we reach for our roots and in the courage of transformation, we rise. As the holiday season and new year approaches, it brings with it the opportunity to choose—what to release, what to embrace, and how to grow.

We are honored to share two powerful invitations with you, designed to guide your journey inward and onward: