Wildwood Sisterhood
mystery School
A 12 Month Companionship with the Earth’s Rhythms Seeking Meaning & Mystery through
Sacred Phenology, Applied Mythology, Eco-Spirituality, and the Power of the Feminine Circle
Registration Opens October 1, 2025
2026 Cohort Begins January 11, 2026
Step into the Wildwood Sisterhood, here the forest becomes a sanctuary for your deepest self. Like the Handless Maiden in the Grimm's tale, who found healing and strength among a circle of women in the woods, we gather in this sacred space to reconnect with our inner essence and restore the parts of ourselves that have been cut off. In the heart of the Wildwood is a Hut, where we seek and find communion with ourselves, the Sacred, and the mysteries of the natural world.
Join us in this journey of sisterhood, where, through solitude and togetherness, we mirror the ancient paths of mystics who found the Divine in the embrace of nature. Here, among the mythical trees, we will recover our truest selves and nurture the wild, untamed spirit that resides within each of us. Here, we will grow back our hands.
“If we surrendered to earth’s intelligence
we could rise up rooted,
like trees.”
Starting January 11th, 2026
Embark on a transformative 12-month journey within the Wildwood Sisterhood Mystery School, where each month we gather to explore the sacred mysteries and wild rhythms of the Earth as they are revealed through the old stories and the perennial pattern of the seasons. Our monthly sessions are rituals rooted in the cyclical wisdom of nature, guiding us through the profound shifts that occur as we move through the storied seasons within our bioregions. These gatherings are an invitation to re-wild our lives and souls, reconnecting with the ancient story-codes and seasonal wisdom that speak to the heart of our beings.
The Wildwood Sisterhood is rooted in the conviction that myth and story are essential guides for our lives.
Through our year-long work together, we:
Deepen our capacity to engage myth as a primary orientation—a way of seeing and making meaning in the world. This is a beginner level entry into the fields of applied mythology and spiritual ecology. By the end of 12 months, you will have a working understanding of mythic archetypes and how to apply their story-codes to your life. Through the practice of story phenology, we will track and trail the subtle shifts and tectonic moves within stories, integrating the stories that live within and around you in the form of your own Personal Mythology Wheel.
Return to the natural world as mirror and companion, reading its seasons, rhythms, and beings as part of our own storied journey. Our year long engagement with the Sacred Phenology Wheel is an essential tending to recovering the wild lexicon of story that shows up through roots and shoots; fur and frond; feather and weather patterns. You will come away from this journey with a deeper integration and practical engagement with myth and ecology.
Foster ritual and rhythm as grounding practices that shape both daily life and communal belonging. You will develop integral nature-based spiritual "practices of place” that attune your daily life to the greater seasonal story being told around and within you. Suggested personal rituals and ceremonies will also be provided as ways to reconnect to the sacred and sovereign holy-landscape within you.
Together, we invoke the story-round—a practice of faithful devotion and a lens through which to locate ourselves in the great weave of personal and collective life. When we live with a mythological lexicon, we remember who we are and when we are. When we neglect the old tales, we risk forgetting.
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Our journey is held within the embrace of a nurturing sisterhood circle—a contemporary haven akin to the "hut in the woods" from the German fairy tale "The Handless Maiden." Here, like the tale’s heroine who found healing through the guidance of mystical Wood Sisters, we support one another through the trials and triumphs of self-discovery and empowerment.
This sisterhood is a sanctuary where we share our experiences, weave our stories, and support each other in the deep work of recovery, restoration, and spiritual awakening.
Our monthly gatherings become a ritual in their own rite as they request our full presence and participation in the life and ground we inhabit.
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Inspired by the Mystery Schools of ancient Greece and Rome, the Wildwood Sisterhood offers a space for spiritual initiation that transcends the intellectual and practical approaches of modern life. We delve into the mystical and applicable truths embedded in the fabric of mythical stories and the wild cadence of nature. Our school is not a rigid system or organization (you will not be receiving a certificate of completion), but a living, breathing circle of companions committed to eco-spiritual awakening. Here, we honor the many expressions of the Divine, drawing inspiration from the rhythms, stories, and spirits of the Earth.
The Wildwood Sisterhood is a modern expression of Mystery Schools. While our temple may be virtual, we will endeavor to foster Socratic conditions where lessons and longings are held in tandem as seeds, planting them within our inner-nature and allowing community and conversation to help them grow.
The Hut, our on-line resource space, will offer monthly reflections and practices guided by the wisdom of nature's seasonal expression; personal myth prompts that will help one develop their own sacred story; and rituals and personal ceremonies to honor the calendar of the Earth.
A bit more on Mystery Schools...
A Mystery School is an ancient institution or tradition focused on the exploration of spiritual, mystical, and esoteric knowledge. These schools offer teachings and practices that are considered "mysteries" because they delve into the hidden or inner aspects of life and the universe—truths that go beyond the ordinary and Western understanding of reality.
The Wildwood Sisterhood Mystery School seeks to unveil the wisdom that is contained within stories, the strata of the land, and the particularities of the seasons. We aim to reawaken and reconnect to the sacred guidance that is mirrored and modeled through the natural and storied world.
Key Aspects of a Mystery School:
Spiritual Initiation: Mystery Schools often involve initiation rites, which symbolize the transition from ordinary awareness to a deeper, more profound spiritual understanding. Initiates are gradually introduced to sacred knowledge that is not readily available to the public. A rite is essentially a ritual that moves one into a sacramental and/or enchanted worldview. Through the use of stories, and personal and collective earth-based rituals, we do the work together to shift our consciousness and spiritual life into one that is profoundly ecological and enstoried.
Esoteric Teachings: The teachings of Mystery Schools are usually esoteric, meaning they are meant to be understood only by a select group of people who are spiritually prepared. These teachings often include meditation, rituals, symbolism, and the study of ancient texts.
While this may be true of mystery schools of old, the Wildwood Sisterhood Mystery School's framework is truly accessible to everyone. Eco-theology and Spiritual Ecology undergird the teachings, both modalities informing a profound sense of collective and mutual belonging, as well as an understanding that we are all nature. The communal lens makes this not so much esoteric, but understandably outside of the modern Western worldview.
Ritual and Ceremony: Rituals and ceremonies are central to Mystery Schools. These practices are designed to help initiates experience spiritual realities directly, often involving symbolic acts that represent deeper truths about the cosmos and the self.
Myth and Symbolism: Mystery Schools use myths and symbols to convey spiritual truths. These stories and images are not just metaphorical but are seen as gateways to understanding the deeper aspects of existence. Our use of story and myth comes through Applied Mythology and a narrative psychology approach.
Transformation: The ultimate goal of a Mystery School is the transformation of the individual. Through the teachings and practices, initiates are guided towards enlightenment, self-realization, or a higher state of consciousness.
Modern Interpretations:
Today, the term "Mystery School" is sometimes used to describe spiritual or esoteric groups that carry on the tradition of teaching hidden or sacred knowledge. These modern Mystery Schools often blend ancient wisdom with contemporary spiritual practices, aiming to guide participants towards personal and spiritual transformation.
In essence, a Mystery School is a place of profound learning and spiritual growth, where initiates explore the deeper mysteries of life and the universe in a structured, often ritualistic, environment.
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Through rituals, mysticism, and myth, we embrace the deep, cyclical wisdom of nature to enrich our lives and souls. Each season offers its own unique teachings—whether it be the fertile creativity of spring, the full bloom of summer, the harvest of autumn, or the introspective rest of winter. As we move through these sacred seasons, we allow the Earth’s natural rhythms to guide us in our personal and collective stories, cultivating a deeper connection to the more-than-human world.
Students will gain knowledge and experience on various ways to integrate ritual into their daily and seasonal lives as a way to practice “story-code” postures, sacred practices that are offered like bread-crumbs through stories, offering integral clues for how we are meant to move through the world.The ritual practice of sacred phenology invites a feeling of profound emplacement, while also providing a mirroring application of sensing into the seasons of our own inner-nature. Students will come through the year with a deeper sense of self and meant-for-ness as a result of attuning to the sacred particularities of place and story as expressed through bioregional seasonality.
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The Wildwood Sisterhood Mystery School is a sanctuary for unconventional inner exploration, echoing the solitude sought by religious mystics who found communion with the divine in nature. Our approach is grounded in eco-spirituality and eco-mythology, recognizing the natural world as a vital source of wisdom and connection. As we gather in this sacred space, we awaken to the profound truths that lie within and around us, supported by a community of like-minded women who are committed to walking this path of spiritual awakening and transformation.
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Over the course of the year, the Wildwood Sisterhood will explore the archetypal themes of Home, Departure, Initiation, and Return. We will court the story, The Handless Maiden (or The Girl Without Hands), as our primary text, which will encourage us to reflect on the narratives that shape our lives and the deeper stories we inhabit.
Together, we’ll map our own personal mythology, grounding it in our relationships with the places we call home. When we understand where we are, we also begin to understand why we are.
This work will help us uncover the stories we live by and recognize which ones may need an ecological evolution. Using the Personal Mythology Wheel, we'll delve into questions of identity ("Why am I?"), direction ("Where am I going?"), and purpose ("Why am I going there?") as we align our personal myths with the greater web of life.
Join us in this sacred circle, where the wild, the mystical, and the deeply personal intertwine, offering a journey of soulful discovery, emplaced empowerment, and feminine connection that will resonate in the depths of your soul.
“Talk of mysteries! Think of our life in nature, daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! The solid earth! The actual world! The common sense! Contact! Contact! Who are we? Where are we?”
What You’ll Gain from the Wildwood Sisterhood
Your $1500 investment unlocks a 12-month journey designed to root you in story, spirit, and community. Over the course of the 2026 year, you’ll receive:
A lived practice of applied mythology through the heroic-round/story-round, giving you tools to understand your own life as myth. Guided by The Handless Maiden tale, we will deepen into the profound wisdom within this particular story, engaging it as a springboard for curiosity for the story of our own lives.
Your own personal Mythology Wheel, a compass for ongoing spiritual growth and direction.
The creation of a Sacred Phenology Wheel, mirroring your Mythology Wheel, to track your rhythms with the seasons, cycles, and wild patterns of the living earth.
Practical wisdom in eco-spirituality, eco-mythology, dark-positive spirituality, sacred phenology, and nature-based practices that help you thrive in rhythm with the living earth.
An ecosystem of relationships and community that becomes your storied “Hut”—a circle of healing, whole-ing, and belonging.
Monthly practice in the ancient art of Council, cultivating authentic community connection and soulful encounter.
Access to recorded sessions, guided reflections, practices, rituals, and downloadable PDFs to continue your story-work at your own pace.
A seasonal common text read together, alongside a curated reading list and bibliography to deepen your learning.
This yearlong commitment offers both structure and spaciousness—resources, practices, and community to support your ongoing transformation. For less than the cost of a weekend retreat, you receive a year of guided mythic journeying and community.
Applied Mythology for Practice and Community
The Wildwood Sisterhood teaches workable mythology—practical ways to apply mythic principles in your life, spiritual practice, or professional work. Participants learn to draw insights from myths and story codes, integrating them into personal reflection, therapeutic modalities, ritual leadership, or other sacred and spiritual endeavors. These practices support both individual transformation and the ability to guide communities, offering tools for meaningful connection, storytelling, and the embodiment of wisdom in everyday life.
Introducing The Hut—an online sanctuary within the Wildwood Sisterhood, inspired by the sheltering, transformative space of the Wood Sisters in The Handless Maiden. Like its mythic namesake, The Hut offers refuge, replenishment, and a place to re-member your wholeness.
Inside The Hut you’ll find:
Seasonal Guides to attune your practices with the turning of the earth and sky.
Monthly Reflective Prompts to invite deeper inner listening and creative discovery.
Rituals and Resources to support your unfolding transformation and soul-tending practices.
A Private Interactive Mighty Networks Space to share reflections, practices, and encouragement, weaving the bonds of sisterhood.
The Hut is both hearth and threshold—your sacred space for grounding in the wild, receiving nourishment and inspiration, and walking in step with the shared journey of the Wildwood Sisterhood.
The Wildwood Sisterhood mystery school may be for you if…
you yearn to harmonize your spiritual practices with the sacred rhythms of the seasons;
you seek a profound intimacy between your soul and the soul of the world;
you crave a mythopoetic and enstoried way of living;
you wish to cultivate a community rooted in mystical and spiritual connection;
you are ready to embark on a transformative journey that will heal, restore, and deepen your relationship within the wild and wonder-filled world.
During our monthly sessions, we immerse ourselves in the living myths and stories of the Earth, exploring seasonal archetypal themes and drawing from nature's imagery as a mirror for our inner and outer landscapes. In the warmth of our learning community, we seek to attune ourselves to the rhythms of the natural world and the wisdom of the wild that speaks with a storied and mythic tongue. Together, we pursue the age-old question explored in the mystery schools: “Who Am I and Why Am I Here?” The unique answers we find may lead us to a profound sacred eco-awakening, as timeless and relevant today as it was in the sacred temples of Egypt.
Our practices are rooted in eco-spirituality and eco-mysticism, designed to deepen our connection with the Earth, our personal mythology, and with one another. We engage in eco-somatic awareness, mythopoetic expression, and imaginal work, weaving together writing, ritual, and contemplative practices to align our souls with the cycles of story and nature. Practices including working with a sacred phenology wheel, developing a personal mythology wheel, and monthly rituals that will support individuals in recovering their own inner story that is ecologically placed.
Monthly sessions are two hours in length and held virtually via Zoom. Each gathering begins with a grounding meditation, inviting us to attune to the breath of life and the presence of the Sacred within and around us, creating the conditions to arrive fully and co-create a shared sacred space. From there, we engage the story arc of transformation—exploring how the archetypal stages of Home, Departure, Severance/Initiation, and Return illuminate our own enstoried lives. Together, we practice the ancient art of Council, join in conversation forums, and integrate creative and ritual expressions of each month’s archetypal theme that is revealed through our guiding story, “The Handless Maiden.”
Our time together is a dynamic blend of creating a container for deep work, storytelling, teaching, open discussion, Council, and collaborative exploration. Guided by the wisdom of the Earth and the myths that speak to our souls, we engage in practices that resonate with the themes emerging for each of us, with the aim of connecting with Divine Mystery so that we may truly, “Know Thyself!”
Over the course of the year, the Wildwood Sisterhood will explore the archetypal themes of Home, Departure, Initiation, and Return, using myth and story to reflect on the deeper narratives that shape our lives. By mapping your mythology, you will uncover the stories within you and the stories in which you live, grounding them in your relationships with the places you call home. As we discover where we are, we begin to understand why we are. This process will help you identify the myths guiding your life and those that may need an ecological evolution.
A key part of this journey will be the development of a Personal Mythology Wheel and a Phenology Wheel, through which we’ll pay close attention to the natural world’s unfolding stories. By working with the Phenology Wheel, you’ll track the wild guides—animals, seasons, landscapes, the whole more-than-human world—who are actively participating in your story and calling you to create new ones. The Phenology Wheel invites us to listen deeply to the language of the seasons and landscapes around us. As we intersect the Phenology Wheel with our Personal Mythology Wheel, a greater story will be revealed, aligning your own journey with the rhythm of the earth and the sacred cycles of life.
Through this integration, we will explore the essential questions of identity ("Why am I?"), direction ("Where am I going?"), and purpose ("Why am I going there?"), developing a storied framework that connects you to ancestral myths while discerning which stories you need to leave behind. This process will guide you through initiation and ultimately return you to your community with a sense of healing, wholeness, and wild wisdom.
“Truly feeling and giving voice to the affective significance and meaning of our bond with the earth may be a crucial basis for action to restore the earth and a sustainable life worth living.”
Step into the Wildwood Sisterhood and awaken the ancient, untamed wisdom within, where your soul’s story intertwines with the sacred rhythms of the Earth.
Mary DeJong is a trained ecotheologian, spiritual ecologist, eco-spiritual companion, and spiritual coach who comes out of the Christian mystical tradition within an animist framework. She holds a B.A. in English Literature; a Master’s in Theology & Culture with a focus in Eco-Theology and Eco-Psychology from The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology; post-graduate certificates in Ecology & Religion from Yale’s School of Forestry & Religion; and EcoPsychology and Advanced Applied Mythology from Pacifica Graduate Institute. She has completed the three-year cycle of the School of Celtic Consciousness with John Philip Newell and has received training through Animas Valley Institute in the Way of Council and Art of Mirroring.
Mary has studied under Martin Shaw, Sharon Blackie, Sophie Strand, and other contemporary story-carriers, developing an eco-mythos lens that intertwines tale and terrain, story and soul. This lens informs her work in the Rewilding Retreat program and the Wild Iona Journey, a heroine’s pilgrimage as a sacred, storied rite.
She has presented at conferences on sacred story, myth, and the storied pilgrimage round; contributed to Christ & Cascadia; and appeared on podcasts exploring sacred land, sacred story, and eco-mythological perspectives. Mary has also contributed to Spiritual Directors International through podcasts, webinars, and conferences, bringing eco-spiritual companionship into the broader conversation of spiritual rewilding as an essential practice. She is a guest instructor with The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology were she teaches on myth, eco-spirituality, and the ancient practice of pilgrimage.
A trained urban naturalist and Forest Steward through the City of Seattle’s Green Seattle Partnership, Mary integrates her ecological, mythic, and spiritual expertise into retreat leadership, pilgrimage guidance, and soul-centered formation practices. Learn more about Mary.
“As an eco-theologian and spiritual ecologist I understand how the stories we tell about the Sacred impact how we understand ourselves and our place in this world. When stories and cosmologies are told that continue to perpetuate our separation from our home planet, we will continue to be estranged, acting out in dominion and oppression. The emerging field of eco-psychology affirms that our holistic wellness is inherently connected to the wellness of the more-than-human world. The exciting intersection of this work is the deep looking into our personal stories and narratives of the Divine, and finding how the threads weft and weave through the lands of our ancestors, the trees of our childhood, and the rapidly changing environments of our present lives. How can we change our stories of disconnection into profound belonging? How does this narrative work impact radical social and cultural transformation? How will the Sacred Wild re-member yourself to your soul and the very soil of your life? A new story of reconnection, often discovered through a Wild Soul Guidance relationship, will strengthen one’s relationship with the natural world in profound and unexpected ways.”
“At the center of your being
you have the answer;
you know who you are
and you know what you want. ”
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