Hagitude: Reimagining the Second Half of Life

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I am a longtime appreciator of Sharon’s work and have taken her classes and seminars. Until this book I would have said that I didn’t feel much of a divide; her ideas have excited and validated me. In her trademark mythopoetic style of writing sharing deeply researched folk legends from our very own British Isles, and with a wild and deep attachment to these lands she inhabits, this book will remind you of just how powerful and transformative this midlife journey we are in truly is. I recently had surgery turning me into a hag, un infertile woman, so this felt like the perfect book to read. I loved all the folklore and stories about elderly women. In some way it rekindled my love for old stories and myths. I want to read more. I really liked all the "shed the old, embrace the new", the rebirth into a different sort of being, the hag (with an attitude). This dynamic book sets out an approach to ageing, that is not about staying at all costs young but instead advocates harnessing your power, learning from myths, archetypes and role models, and plotting a liberating new path to an elder (as opposed to elderly) woman. Bring on inconvenience, I say.’ Hagitude is already becoming a beloved cult classic, as a myth-infused manifesto for the possibilities for life from middle age onwards.’

If you’re standing on the threshold of menopause and looking for support to navigate this intense and transformative alchemical journey, this program is for you. Author of A Wild Soul Woman and Reclaiming the Wild Soul, a 2015 Nautilus Award-winner, Mary’s writings have also appeared in numerous other publications and anthologies. Through her books, courses, and talks, she reaches creatives, change-makers, and seekers who long to awaken to their most courageous and Earth-connected selves and have the impact they desire. Moya will offer us a workshop on working with the energy of Death. Moya has been apprenticed to Death for a lifetime, beginning with a brush with Death as a child in a near-drowning experience; subsequently, she worked as a nurse in Complementary Therapies with a Specialist Palliative Care Service. She now consciously walks with Death by her side – which, she considers, makes every step sacred. Moya considers Death to be her greatest teacher and friend, and her life is enriched by the presence of Death.There isn’t enough information about elderhood, for those interested. There certainly isn’t enough written in a positive framework about women who age, nor enough mythical introductions which aren’t preaching from the current fashion of witchstagram (again many who are authentic get drowned out by trolls, who have the patience of a pamphlet) Today, Mary teaches classes in Gaelic song and its surrounding culture, mostly online. She specialises in The Keen (Irish Funeral Lament) and Fairy Song. She holds certificates in Vocal and General Education, Shamanic Studies and Sound Therapy. She also has an MA in Chant and Ritual Song and a PhD in Traditional Irish Song Studies, which she began at the age of 60. She is currently working on a book about the Irish Keen.

During this workshop, Moya will share her understanding of the energy of Death, and we will explore the ways in which we can welcome this energy into our lives so that we can live more fully. Really, really hated the part where she tried to reserve the unmodified word woman for only cis women. Woman is an umbrella where cis and trans women sit together. A wonderfully inspiring rallying cry, an eloquent and engaging offering of a world of hope and possibilities to all the women about to enter or who are already in, the second half of life.’

I’m honestly amazed that someone who speaks out against the patriarchy and who values women’s spaces and who sees how truly marginalized women are cannot see the how her perceived threat - by THE most marginalized segment of society - mirrors the way men under patriarchy are threatened by the women they oppress. It may be the first time CBC or BBC book recommendation and interviews have let me down. Hagatude is almost in it’s entirety a memoir of their menopause and post-menopausal life. Did I need to know about their husband’s midlife crisis, NO. Did I really need so much information about their cancer, NO. Not more than as a transition point that made them face their own mortality and thus an intro into the next elder woman archetype. Anne is a Jungian analyst based in England, and is the author and co-author of seven books, including her groundbreaking 1993 volume, The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image, with Jules Cashford. Her latest book is The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul. She is passionately interested in the fate of the Earth and the survival of our species in this critically important time of evolutionary change. Her work is devoted to the recognition that we live in an ensouled world, and to the restoration of the lost sense of communion between us and the invisible dimension of the universe that is the source or ground of all that we call ‘life’. Yet again, a book meant solely for women that caters to trans-identified males. This book is about MENOPAUSE and the life women live after. Something a male will NEVER have to go through and will NEVER understand. I loved this book up until chapter 12, when she prattles on about trans-identified males and their ideas of womanhood (a male can't understand womanhood utside of stereotypes and sexist media) which has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE POINT OF THE BOOK!! She also cites the UK organisation "Mermaids" which has been recently proven to use fake statistics, overtly lie to children, actively encourage medical/surgical intervention to minors, and uphold very regressive ideas of gender roles (stereotypical femininity = woman, stereotypical masculinity = man). Any credibility she had as a "feminist" or pro-women is gone. Hagitude unearths the stories of the little-known but powerful elder women in European myth and folklore, inspiring readers to imagine that the last decades of our lives might be the most dynamic of all. This moving and uplifting book will inspire a new generation of female elders: women who have reclaimed their Inner Hag, matured into their own unique brand of hagitude and who are ready to pass down their deep feminine wisdom for the benefit of the wider Earth community.