Who are the dead, and what do they have to do with our vocation, the climate, or navigating our modern lives? It turns out that they have a lot to do with all of those things, and in this conversation with writer and educator Perdita Finn, we dive into how wonderful and natural it is to collaborate with those on the other side.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend!

To connect with Perdita, visit:
*takebackthemagic.com 
*wayoftherose.org 
*Follow Perdita Finn on Facebook and Instagram 
*Take Back the Magic on Substack for essays and gatherings on working with the dead

For more information about Ancestor Speak, click here: https://awildnewwork.com/ancestor-speak 

To chip in financially and support the show, visit: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman

104. Working With the Dead, with Perdita Finn

What does it mean to die while we live? How can attuning to our own inner cycles of life, death, and rebirth help us to access more joy, truer work, and a deeper trust in how things unfold? I talk about all of this with today’s guest, Lindsay Mack, founder of Tarot for the Wild Soul. 

To connect with Lindsay’s work, visit: https://www.tarotforthewildsoul.com/
To learn more about Lindsay’s upcoming course, Intuition as a Spiral, visit: https://www.tarotforthewildsoul.com/intuition-as-a-spiral Listeners can use the code DEATH at checkout to receive 5% off of enrollment!

For more information about Ancestor Speak, click here: https://awildnewwork.com/ancestor-speak 

To receive the Mid Autumn Seasonal Snapshot on October 25th (or to get future ones), click here: http://eepurl.com/hy8wbT

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Resources mentioned on the show:
Going with Grace, with Alua Arthur
Laziness Does Not Exist by Devon Price

105. Gently Letting Go, with Lindsay Mack

Orb weaver spiders create strong, spiral webs suspended in space and wait for what they need to come to them. What can we learn from them as we travel further into the darkest time of year, when we’re asked to let go of our pursuits, ambitions, linear thinking, and Summer ways of being in the world?

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Resources mentioned on the show:
The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart

106. Spider Wisdom: Living the Spiral

If the Autumn is the great dying, and Spring is the great rebirth, what is the Winter? It is the time in-between, after death and before something is born again. In this episode, we explore why this period between the Winter Solstice and the first stirrings of Spring invites us into a great dreaming, where we tend to our inner soil, our deep visions, and trust that new life will come when it’s time.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

To learn more about my book, Winter at Work, visit: https://awildnewwork.com/winteratwork

112. Entering the Winter Otherworld

Welcome to the first episode in our 2024 Winter Season, where we’re exploring our vast connections. What does it mean that your body is composed of over 50% water? What do you already know about what it means to be hydrated, fierce, fluid, and purifying? Why are things so arid in our culture? This is some of what we explore in today’s episode!

To learn more about the upcoming workshop series on Caliban and the Witch, my 1:1 program, or other offerings, visit https://awildnewwork.com/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Resources:
About King Tides: https://www.oregonkingtides.net/
King Tides Fact Sheet: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2014-04/documents/king_tides_factsheet.pdf
Quote by Aurora Levins Morales, from her book “Silt: Prose Poems”: “This is the ceremony of our cells, each one a sip of water, a tiny ocean, a bubble on the bloodstream, inside our skins, beading up on our faces, trickling down our sweaty backs, dripping from our weeping eyes, offerings to the world. Then let the water in you call to the water in me. Let the water in our veins call to the water in the world, one river, one ocean, one rainstorm gathering over the dry places, ready to pour down quenching relief for the thirsty, and we are all of us thirsty.”

113. You Are the King Tides

My guest today, Osprey Orielle Lake, speaks clearly about the limits and possibilities of this moment on our planet. In this conversation, we talk about how dominant culture needs to shift in order for us to respond more intelligently to what the Earth is communicating to us. We also discuss women’s role in this work, Indigenous leadership, and exciting possibilities happening in the climate justice movement.  

About Osprey: Osprey Orielle Lake is the founder of Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN), an organization whose mission is to protect and defend the planet, particularly through the work of women who have typically been unheard and undervalued by policymakers. Her book, The Story is in Our Bones: How Worldviews and Climate Justice Can Remake a World in Crisis, casts a wide net that embraces global Indigenous perspectives and modern science to discuss topics such as humanity’s origin, society’s relationship to nature, and the imperative need to halt and reverse climate change.  

To connect with Osprey, visit: 
https://ospreyoriellelake.earth/ 
https://www.wecaninternational.org/   

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman   

Other resources mentioned: 
Composting Capitalism: https://awildnewwork.com/composting-capitalism  Living the Seasons Journal: https://awildnewwork.com/shop/living-the-seasons-a-journal-for-surviving-capitalism-and-bringing-the-medicine-of-autumn-into-your-life

130. Worldviews, Women, and Reckoning, with Osprey Orielle Lake

Most of us are feeling ready for a deeper wisdom–one that truly comes from the Earth and from our wise ancestors–and Old School Nate’s work takes us there. We talk about how to see one another’s gifts, the value systems of capitalism v. the natural world, why the Autumn is a potent time to change our belief systems, and more. 

***About Old School Nate:
Old School Nate is a wizard following the ways of his Wise and Well Ancestors. He has been on the path of learning how to make Village in modernity, welcoming others through their inborn Gifts, and tending to the Land since finding out he was born just fine the first time.***

(Update, December 2024: Unfortunately, Old School Nate and I (Megan) have parted ways and are no longer in touch. I can't wholeheartedly recommend his work at this time, but if you'd like to reach out to him about a divination, you can still do so at the contact information below): 
Instagram: old.school.nate
Email: oldschoolnate108@gmail.com***

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

***Other resources mentioned:
Episode 111 with Rainer Baumorr (fka Ben Murphy): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/111-invoking-kinship-with-ben-murphy/id1437555777?i=1000638304510

132. Stone Wisdom for Dire Times, with Old School Nate

In this episode, I’m sharing some of what I’ve learned about how we can aspire to have roots as deep, large, and well-connected as the wise women of our lineages. I explore how our lives might change if we knew how to fully inhabit where we are, remembered how sleep helps us grow roots, and could be more stable in the face of these wild times.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 

You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Resources mentioned:
Needing More: A 4-week pilgrimage into darkness: https://mailchi.mp/awildnewwork/l9o6i3uzyo 


134. We Need Grandmother Roots

Fear isn’t bad or useless, but when it grips us regularly, it can be helpful to learn how to thaw.  In this first episode of the Winter 2025 season of the show, I share an overview of how we can relate to the sensation of feeling frozen and find natural, generative ways to move through it. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Other resources mentioned: 
*One on one and small group guidance: https://awildnewwork.com/guidance
*Winter Visioning class on January 30th: https://awildnewwork.com/events/2025/wintervisioning 

138. Natural Ways to Unfreeze Fear

Edgewalking is a gift desperately needed in these monochromatic times. If you're here, you're probably an edgewalker. In this deep-Winter episode I'm talking about the necessity of edgewalkers, Deer as edgewalking mentors, and what it might mean to move between worlds and make medicine from our journeys.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Other resources mentioned: 
*One on one and small group guidance: https://awildnewwork.com/guidance


140. To All the Edgewalkers

The Spring season is a masterclass in how to grow, and on the podcast, we'll be exploring the theme of "Growing into Village." In this first episode of the Spring 2025 season, I'm exploring what Village is, where it went, and what The Fool can show us about how to step toward a new way of living in a good way. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 


143. Answering The Fool's Call

Rites of passage are essential functions of healthy human communities, but what are they, really? And how do they work? In this conversation with one of my own rite of passage guides, Tina Burchill, we discuss rites of passage and their role in village life, the specific kind of rite of passage that Tina guides people through, and the power of "the well sealed vessel."

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

About Tina:
Tina Burchill trained as a wilderness vigil guide with leading mythologist Dr Martin Shaw, graduating in 2018, the same year she gained an MA in Myth and Ecology. She has continued to work under the umbrella of the School of Myth in Devon, where she is also a member of the core faculty team. She also has a small homeopathic practice (she qualified in 2005) alongside working as a consultant in event management, and writing work. Her previous career in journalism included working as a freelancer in the UK for national magazines and newspapers.

Read Tina’s article, "Seeking defeat and growth through wilderness vigils" here: https://adventureuncovered.com/stories/seeking-defeat-and-growth-through-wilderness-vigils/ 

Learn more about Dr. Martin Shaw and the School of Myth here: https://drmartinshaw.com/

145. The Well Sealed Vessel, with Tina Burchill

How can we stay true to who we are and what we're meant to do while also allowing others to do the same? It's not always easy, but it's essential for growing into Village. In this conversation with spiritual mentor, Human Design guide, and writer Uma Girish, we explore how our soul paths can converge, separate, and weave something important together.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

To connect with Uma, visit: https://umagirish.com/ 

Her latest book, Sacred Fire: Memoir of A Marriage will be available from May 19, 2025 everywhere books are sold. You can find it at books.by, on Amazon, or at https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sacred-fire-13?sId=7829bebb-922c-402f-8298-a8ce73401d59


146. Co-existing as Our Most Authentic Selves, with Uma Girish

In this conversation with writer and reparationist Hilary Giovale, we discuss the beautiful journey she went on to write her latest book, "Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair." We talk about what it means to be a good relative in these times and the repair that's possible when we face the truth about our collective histories. 

To connect with Hilary, visit:
https://www.goodrelative.com/ or https://www.instagram.com/hilarygiovaleauthor/ 
To access her Guide to Making a Personal Reparations Plan, visit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1G-ufl_8ixdquMGrDziiBUBAANYKXrN7eHtjiE5aKTfw/edit?tab=t.0#heading=h.1kvofvfw6wns 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 


147. The Joyful Path of Repair, with Hilary Giovale

As our Springtime journey into the theme of "growing into Village" comes to a close, I'm sharing some thoughts about what your Gifts are, why they need to be expressed, and how they relate to making intact Village. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show once or monthly at: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

148. Your Gifts Make Village Possible

Welcome to the first episode of the Summer of Support! In this episode, I'm talking about why I think we need more-than-human sources of support right now, a new channel through which I'm calling in support, and ways to honor the Solstice on June 20th. 

Practitioners and resources mentioned:
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Sasha Davies (sashadavies.com)
*Natalia Kay-O'Brien (affinityprojects.net)
*Rebecca Heisterhoff (die-lichtung.art/home-english-version/)
*Craig Mod (craigmod.com)
*Tim Carmody (www.niemanlab.org/2019/01/unlocking-the-commons/)


149. Introducing the Summer of Support

In this second episode in the Summer of Support series, I'm sharing what I know about tracking: understanding where you are in your life's journey and navigating according to the signs and instincts that feel most meaningful to you.  

Resources mentioned:
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


150. Tracking: An Ancient Way to Navigate Life

In this third episode in the Summer of Support series, I'm sharing what I've been taught and have experienced with regard to working with our ancestors. We cover who our wise and well ancestors are, how they can help us, and ways to work with them.

Resources mentioned:
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 
*Malidoma Patrice Some's books, Of Water and Spirit and The Healing Wisdom of Africa
*Daniel Foor's book, Ancestral Medicine

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


151. Ancestors: The Cloud of Support Around You

In this fourth episode in the Summer of Support series, I'm sharing what I've learned about the five elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Nature, and Mineral. Working with these five elements and the one each of us carries as our primary element can show us more creative ways to move and grow in our lives. 

Resources mentioned:
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Further reading:
*The Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Patrice Some
*Power of the Five Elements by Charles A. Moss
*The Way of the Five Seasons by John Kirkwood

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


152. The Five Elements: You Always Have Options

In this final episode in the Summer of Support series, I'm sharing ways to reconnect and communicate with the land you're living on. Even in the midst of harm and legacies of colonization, the land seeks to know and be known by you. There are simple, easy ways to heal the severing of our relationship to the land that was brought about by civilization and capitalism, and I'm sharing many of them in this episode.

Resources mentioned:
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman 

Further reading:
*A Country Called Childhood by Jay Griffiths

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


153. The Land: Ways to Know and Be Known by Wildness

Welcome to the Autumn 2025 season of the show! This season's theme is "Living the Autumn," and in today's episode I'm sharing some thoughts about what it could look like to allow the Autumn to live through us, how that work begins now, and why this late Summer period is an excellent time to start over in an area of our daily life. 

Resources mentioned:
*Order a "Living the Seasons" Autumn journal: https://books.by/megan-leatherman 
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 

154. The Earth Says: It's Safe to Begin Again

In this episode, we're updating the definition of what the seasons are so that we can live into their full, bright magic. I share some new (to me) ideas about the Earth's relationship to Fire, the seasons as a response, and the lyrical beauty of living seasonally. 

Resources mentioned:
*One on one vocational guidance: https://awildnewwork.com/guidance 
*Order a "Living the Seasons" Autumn journal: https://books.by/megan-leatherman 
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


155. The Seasons Are a Song

Capitalism can feel so big and powerful at times, but what if it was actually inherently unstable, rotten to its core? What if the Earth could just eat it up, and what if our own bodies know how to compost its harms? In this episode, we explore what capitalism really is and the exciting idea that it can be composted.

Resources mentioned:
*Composting Capitalism (the class): https://awildnewwork.com/composting-capitalism 
*One on one vocational guidance: https://awildnewwork.com/guidance 
*Order a "Living the Seasons" Autumn journal: https://books.by/megan-leatherman 
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


156. Capitalism Can Be Composted

This guided meditation was created to support you in your embodiment of the Autumn and its clarifying, unburdening power. Light a candle, get cozy, and see what you discover in this practice. 

Becoming the Autumn: Guided Meditation

In this conversation with Elspeth Hay, we discuss some of the richest threads found in her book, "Feed Us With Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food." We explore how humans fed themselves before industrial agriculture, why humans are "the Fire animal," and some ways that you can reconnect to the woodland harvest this Fall. 

About Elspeth:
Elspeth Hay is the creator and host of the Local Food Report, a weekly feature that has aired on the Cape and Islands NPR station since 2008, and the author of Feed Us with Trees: Nuts and the Future of Food. Deeply immersed in her own local-food system, she writes and reports for print, radio, and online media with a focus on food, the environment, and the people, places, and ideas that feed us. You can learn more about her work at elspethhay.com and on Instagram @elspethhay.

Resources mentioned:
-Class on November 11th: Discerning What Needs to Die: https://awildnewwork.com/events/2025/autumn-discernment 
-Needing More: a 4-week Pilgrimage into Darkness: https://mailchi.mp/awildnewwork/gd63pkceqy 
-To learn more about Eagle Creek: https://awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can also pitch in to support the show monthly at https://awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek or just send a few dollars as you can via https://www.buymeacoffee.com/meganleatherman. Thank you! 


157. The Woodland Harvest, with Elspeth Hay

Divination is a very old folk magic practice that helps us to receive useful information from the unseen, whether it's the divine, our wise and well ancestors, or our own intuition. Autumn is a natural time to use divination, and in today's episode I'm covering more about what it is and isn't, best practices, and how it can change your life.

Resources mentioned:
*Needing More: a 4-week Pilgrimage into Darkness: https://mailchi.mp/awildnewwork/gd63pkceqy 
*All my classes, events, and writing can be found at: awildnewwork.com
*Become a monthly supporter in Eagle Creek to access tarot readings, Needing More extras, and more: awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek
*Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100, by Max Dashu

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! 


158. Divination 101

In this conversation with the gifted author and artist Jacqueline Suskin, we discuss what she's discovered about creating in tune with the Earth's rhythms, how to prepare for Winter, and how she communicates with the land. 

To connect with Jacqueline, visit: https://www.jacquelinesuskin.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/jsuskin/ 

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can learn more about Megan's work and how to support the show at awildnewwork.com and https://awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek.

159. The Earth Shows Us, with Jacqueline Suskin

Whether it's letting things go like leaves falling from a tree or taking a sharp knife and making a kill, Autumn asks each of us to dance with Death. Among long-ago Anglo Saxons, November was called "Blood Month" or "Month of Sacrifice." In this episode, we explore different strategies for surrendering and/or slaughtering that which we cannot take into the Winter.

If you enjoyed this episode, please help get it to others by subscribing, rating the show, or sharing it with a friend! You can learn more about Megan's work and how to support the show at awildnewwork.com and https://awildnewwork.com/eagle-creek. 

Other Resources Mentioned:

*Needing More: Darkness Practice (Begins Nov. 30th): https://mailchi.mp/awildnewwork/gd63pkceqy 
*The "Living the Seasons" Winter Journal: https://books.by/megan-leatherman/living-the-seasons 
*Meant for More Small Group: https://awildnewwork.com/guidance 

160. The Hard Work of Blood Month

This guided meditation is designed to support you in taking aligned, intentional action in your career this Spring. In meditating on and feeling the power in our solar plexus, we remember what it's like to be self-directed and grounded.

If you'd like to dive deeper into meaningful change in your career this Spring, I invite you to check out my course, "Breathe New Life into Your Career: a course for Spring and early Summer," available now for download. Link to the course: http://meganleatherman.com/classes/breathe-new-life-into-your-career

Breathe New Life into Your Career: A Guided Meditation

What makes employees want to stay in a place, and what’s the appropriate inflow and outflow of talent? In this episode, we explore what the natural world might have to teach us about retention and what it takes to create a healthy organizational ecosystem. We cover:

*What it takes to do this work well
*The 3 major components of a healthy organizational ecosystem
*Ways to improve the well-being of your organization and make it a place where people can and want to grow

If this podcast feels supportive to you, please rate it and share it with others! You can also support the podcast financially on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/awildnewwork)! For $5/month, you’ll keep this work going and receive a special monthly bonus :)

Links to Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
*Register for “How to Prepare Your Career for the Winter Season,” a free webinar on Nov. 13th: https://awildnewwork.as.me/schedule.php?appointmentType=11709699 
*Sign up for the free 4-week course beginning on Nov. 14th, “Work as a Sacred Practice”: https://mailchi.mp/6843ad029e7b/workasasacredpractice 
*One of my favorite books about organizational health: “Reinventing Organizations” by Frederic Laloux

About Megan:
Megan Leatherman, MS, PHR, is the founder and director of A Wild New Work, an ecological career development agency based in the Pacific Northwest. As a career mentor, nature lover, writer and speaker, Megan has helped hundreds of professionals feel more aligned in their careers. She has a Master’s degree in conflict resolution, experience in Human Resources, and believes that our work can be a spiritual practice. You can learn more about her at http://awildnewwork.com/about.

24. Nature-based Employee Retention Strategies

Welcome to A Wild New Work. You'll learn about the Seasons, how the natural world "works," capitalism, animism, and what it can all mean for you and your life. Hosted by Megan Leatherman, a writer, mother, and teacher in the Pacific Northwest. Learn more on Instagram @awildnewwork or at awildnewwork.com.

A Wild New Work

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