A Nine-Month Journey for Peri-Menopausal through Post-Menopausal Women
The Wise Woman is the Visionary, the Seer, the Intuitive, the Matriarch, the Guardian, the Medicine Woman and Healer. And for most of us in the modern world, she is missing.
This nine-month journey is for women in the peri-menopause through post-menopause years who hear the undeniable call to finally and fully step into your fullness, truth, and medicine as a Wise Woman.
We meet one full weekend per month from October 2026 - May 2027 on the wild lands that are Spirit Hollow.
This immersive is a unique weaving of personal/group nature-based depth work, honing your midlife medicine and a communal rite of passage—a container to relinquish masks, old roles, harvest your life wisdom and fortify your soul gifts in the sacred and potent Wise Woman life cycles.
As we know, with the loss of the wild mature feminine and our rites of passage, the Wise Women are absent. This is inside-out work to repair, retrieve, and bring this vital medicine into our relationships, communities, and the collective.
The life stage of Wise Woman straddles Mother through Crone and often lies forgotten or buried or even actively suppressed by the dominant culture. Despite pervasive messaging that we diminish as we age, this is actually a time when a woman is at the height of her agency and power.
Our work in Root and Bone is about owning that we were MADE for these times of unraveling. We were born to authentically show up for our communities as wise women or true elders.
Do you feel a strong YES to the following questionS?
Are you in a time of deep transition, physically, emotionally, and soulfully?
Do you feel like your center of gravity is shifting or has shifted from taking care of personal/family needs to serving the greater world?
Are you feeling a need to CLAIM creative power arising within you, from your body and from the Earth?
Do you feel ready to finally shift patterns of hiding out or sidestepping your truest expression and sacred gifts as an older woman?
Are you hungry to shed the false stories or roles you’ve taken on to step fully into the wild, wise woman you’re being invited to embody/become?
Do you crave building community and collaboration with other women in these life cycles - to cultivate a web of wise women walking?
Do you have some unattended grief about aging and the shifts occurring in your body or your family structures?
We will explore together these and other questions together.
BringinG the Wise Women to Life
Many of us who enter this season of life know we’re called to a threshold – a time to honor or release what’s no longer needed for the Way ahead, to give rise to the woman we have become and lean into who we are being called to become (what’s still in the Mystery).
We carry both a yearning and a commitment to remember the power in this life passage. We know that the older woman is vital to Life, full of the wisdom that comes from years of experiences, full of capacity to tend to the greater Earth Community.
Yet few of us have the containers we need in the Wise Woman/Matriarch life stage - to retrieve the profoundly personal and essential wisdom this passage brings.
Even though the dominant culture speaks endlessly of loss, degeneration and diminishing value in the aging woman, we know this is a potent time of transformation and possibility, of huge reservoirs of creative life-force energy and desire to serve all of life.
We know that damage has been done to all stages of the feminine experience over centuries, just as Earth herself has been degraded. We know that the fabric has been torn and twisted.
Root and Bone is about repairing and reweaving us both personally and collectively into a new tapestry of strong, inner-connected, Earth-sourced, multi-faceted matriarchs who are resilient, empowered, resourced and ready to bring our gifts to the world with new intensity and direction.
This nine-month journey is designed for those hungry to step more fully into their soul wisdom, and the gifts only they can bring to a world hungry for Wise Woman Medicine.
Through tapping into the heart of Gaia and reclaiming our elemental power in wholeness, a deeper well of our unique medicine, gifts, and capacity for love and service reveals itself. We remember ourselves as the sacred guardians of life, and this life becomes the very elixir we offer as a healing for the world.
“Root and Bone was one of the most beautiful and impactful programs I have ever participated in. I was moved and changed on a profoundly deep level. I laughed, cried, danced, sang, listened, journeyed, and grew - and I had so much fun doing it. I cannot imagine a program that is better facilitated or more magical.”
~ Angela B.
OuR PracticeS IncludE.
Sharing stories and wisdoms
The Way of Council
Ritual and Ceremony
Wanders and time to connect with land and other- than-humans
Personal depth work and group container work
Deep imagination journeys
Soulcentric Dreamwork
Visioning and expressive arts
Myth and movement
Shared meals and Saturday Supper
Sacred Adornment
Four facets of Wholeness
Dance for all beings of these times
A 24-hour solo in the forest
A Rite of Passage
2026 -2027 DATES
Phase One: Re-membering and Sourcing — Weekends One - Three
October 2 - 4, 2026: Gathering the Bones; Remembering Wild
November 6 - 8, 2026: Unlocking Buried Wisdom; Recovering the Mature Feminine
December 11 - 13, 2026: Belonging to Self, Belonging to Life; Sourcing the Depths of Our Power
Phase Two: Initiation and Reclamation — Weekends Four - Six
January 8 - 10, 2027: Answering the Call; Uncovering Your Midlife Soul Gifts
February 5 - 7, 2027: Stalking the Predator; Claiming Ourselves as Wise Women
March 5 -7, 2027: Gaining Fluency: Anchoring and Expressing Your Wise Woman Medicine (Mythos)
Phase Three: Rooting, Honing and Offering — Weekends Seven - Nine
April 2 -4, 2027: Bringing Wisdom to Life; Honing the Art and Skill of Vision
April 30 - May 2, 2027: Harvest: Weaving and Co-Creating the Path Forward
June 4 - 6, 2027: Crossing the Threshold; Return of the Wise Women
We’ll gather together on Fridays at 7 pm (arrive between 5:00–6:30 to get settled) and will wrap up on Sundays at 3 pm.
Please come having eaten supper (or bring your own supper).
The DeTaiLs
We welcome all women to apply– cis, trans or otherwise – and nonbinary individuals who find their homes in women – and femme-centric spaces.
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All weekends will take place at Spirit Hollow in Shaftsbury, Vermont. Tucked in the Taconic Mountains of Southwestern Vermont, Spirit Hollow is situated on 100 forested acres and surrounded by thousands of acres of National Forest Land.
Our sessions will be held in our 30’ yurt and out on the sacred land. Tracey Forest lives with her family and animals in the geodesic dome on-site. Along with organic vegetable and medicinal gardens, Spirit Hollow has begun the process of building a food forest, to leave a food legacy for those yet-to-come.
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Commitment: As loving, devoted, and highly skilled guides, we will support you in all stages of this journey. We will hold you in a sacred container and push you toward the unknown, naming places you might be hiding from or hijacking yourself, as well as mirroring your strengths and powers. Expect nothing less than transformation.
We are committed to your evolution; likewise, we expect a full commitment from you in return. This journey will ask a lot of you–psychospiritually. It’s NOT for those who are currently in a healing crisis or actively in trauma response.
Registering means you commit to attend all nine weekends, arriving on time and staying until the end. Please make sure you feel you can commit to the whole nine-month journey and all sessions.
This journey is NOT for those who are currently unstable, in a healing crisis or in active trauma.
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Pricing: EARLY EARLY BIRD $3400 until May 15, 2026
$3900 full tuition
Payment plans are available. After making a $500 deposit, you can make quarterly payments*. Reach out with any specific requests.
BIWOC optional discount: We offer two half-tuition slots for BIWOC; please reach out for more information.
Group Info: We will be an intimate group of 10-16 women. We are devoted to holding a container that supports a rich experience for each woman and us as a group.
*We prefer four equal payments of the balance after deposit throughout the year on the following schedule:
September (first weekend)
November (third weekend)
February (sixth weekend)
April (eighth weekend)
Use this link to make those payments.
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Please fill out the below registration form.
Make a non-refundable $500 deposit to hold your place. You will also be asked to fill out a Health Form and Liability Waiver. Then a preparation packet will be sent to you so you can begin your journey!
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Spirit Hollow is a rustic retreat. Your options for lodging are sleeping in one of our two yurts (slumber-party style) or personal tents. We have hot outdoor showers (not available in winter months), an outdoor kitchen, and four outhouses for your use.
There is no additional cost for camping or staying in our yurts .
If you require extra amenities or more personal space, consider booking a room nearby.
There are plenty of inns and Airbnbs for staying in the area.
We recommend all of the following hotels/motels/inns, all within 20 minutes of Spirit Hollow:
Harwood Hill Motel, Route 7A, 802-442-6278
Governor’s Rock Motel, Route 7A, Shaftsbury, 802-442-4734
Serenity Motel, Route 7A, Shaftsbury, 802-442-6490 (closed in winter months)
Henry House Inn, Route 7A, N. Bennington, (802) 442-7045
Eddington House, A Village Inn in North Bennington, 802-442-1511
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Food: You will be responsible for your own lunches and breakfasts. We will be form meal teams for our meals on Saturday nights with dietary needs (allergies, intolerances) taken into consideration. Coffee and tea (creamers, sweeteners) will be provided all weekend long. Come having eaten on Friday evenings.
You will have access to a guest refrigerator and our outdoor kitchen in the warm months and our house kitchen in the cold months. We ask that all you bring simple foods for breakfasts and lunches (ones that don’t need to be heated) as we will not have time for cooking anything too elaborate. Potluck dishes should already be prepared (we will not have time for chopping and cooking—other than reheating). Please make healthy, organic choices for our group meals wherever possible, and keep in mind many are GF or vegan. A detailed welcome and preparation letter will be sent upon registration.
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After filling out the registration form, please pay a $500 non-refundable deposit is required (goes toward your tuition).
Make a deposit here.
Ceremony. Connection. Freedom. Witness. Support. Power. Wholeness.
Hear from sisters in the 2024 - 25 circle: Joan and Heather
So much gratitude to Zviyah at Moonshadow Media for the beautiful filming and editing!
YouR GuideS
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Tracey (KeyTurner) is a soul initiation guide, who is passionate about helping others step through the doorway into the mystical and the mythical, the sacred and the sublime, the earthy and the erotic, the dark depths and high heights. She is a fearless and compassionate facilitator who has “been to the mountain” and descended into the abyss to lament for the earth, to celebrate the beauty and pain and who knows the rich gifts that lie in the dark to be mined. She stands in the portal, holding a lantern, singing ancient songs, dangling a key, inviting you to step through into the vast landscape of your Soul.
Director of Spirit Hollow, the center where she lives and guides in SW Vermont, she is a healer and teacher, yoga teacher and singer of soul-stirring songs. She is a graduate of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies Three-Year Program (1998) in Advanced Shamanism and Shamanic Healing under the direct teaching of Dr. Michael Harner; also, she’s a Certified Yoga Teacher at the 200-hour level, having studied with transformational teacher, Shiva Rea.
With 30 years of experience guiding others, she been studying with Bill Plotkin for the last ten years. She is a Certified Level 1 Wild Mind Nature-Based Underworld Guide with the Animas Valley Institute. KeyTurner just graduated from the multi-year Soulcraft Apprenticeship and Initiation Program with Plotkin where she learned the nuances of Soul Initiation Guide and cultivated many tools to assist in the wholing and healing of this broken, beautiful world. Visit her at KeyTurner Forest
KeyTurner is a Certified Wilderness First Responder through Solo.
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Tish (MotherBone) is deeply passionate about reweaving rites of passage, the wild mature feminine, and soul-based journeys for women to access and reclaim their wholeness, vitality, true fluency, and creative force. She is devoted to Earth/the Great Web of Life and the remembrance of who we are and our sacred aim - to embrace and act from our roots and ancient spirit as intimately connected people to each other and the animate world.
Her unique body of work is a rich tapestry of 30 years of lived experience and guiding - her personal soul journey in the past several years funded an understanding and fierce commitment to the essential reweaving of our relational fabric and wisdom (art and skill) as women, including the vital reclamation of the Wise Woman/Matriarch.
Tish crafts and guides spaces for women in this life stage to claim the deep bone-knowing wisdom they carry and are being called to act on and in service to - spaces for women to step fully into their soul gifts, their medicine, their creative bodies of work and right leadership or eldership. In service to Beauty, Possibility, and Thriving Life.
We are the Ones. Visit her at Wise Woman Roots.
KeyTurner and Mother Bone
“THESE wise women are the guides for this amazing year long journey to track and reveal your deepest wisdom and unique gifts for this world. This program is not directive, there are no shoulds or have tos or lists of requirements for achieving wise woman status. When you show up fully with courage and curiosity, Key Turner and Mother Bone use their decades of experience to offer support and guidance (and so. much. love!) to help YOU remember who you are.”
~ Laura H.
WHY ROOT AND BONE?
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This Root and Bone journey has been a deeply profound, magical, and life-changing experience. KeyTurner and MotherBone have expertly guided us through rites of passage, ceremonies, council and celebrations with thorough support and safety. There was joy, abundant laughter, gentle invitations and deep healing. The guides helped us to discover our Wise Woman medicines and our paths to becoming the women we are meant to be in our next years of life. I have been left in awe by their skills, commitment and love. And if the above was not awesome enough, we also built a committed community of women that I am so honored to be a part of. I have been inspired by my sisters’ bravery, tenderness, creativity and love. If you feel called, I very highly recommend this nine-month journey.
Bobby Jean, “Edge Tender”
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As I entered menopause, I was feeling somewhat alone and adrift, even as I felt life and love pulling me to reflect on where I’ve been and where I’m called to share my energies in the next phase of my life. The circle of wisdom that our group of Root & Bone 2024/25 women created has become a model for me of how to reclaim ancient power and share it with one another and then the world. Exploring what it means to be a wise woman emerging, how the earth holds us, what embodiments we need for healing and wholing and how to honour this sacred, turning time in our lives CAN be done in community! I’m moving beyond this year feeling so resourced and aligned, supported and grateful, in love with my life and in love with Life herself.
Juleta
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“Don’t walk, but run, if you feel the need to figure out how to stand in your power in the in-between places between motherhood and crone. Somehow Motherbone and Keyturner climbed into my heart and my bones and heard the essence of what I needed and then gave it to me in ceremony, in meditation, and in an extremely well thought out and executed program to get to the heart of the matter. I’ve been walking in these spaces of personal growth and ceremony for many years and this pair does it better than most. If you feel called, listen, and you will not be disappointed."
~ Erica T.
“These guides are so fiercely loving, piercingly perceptive, and dexterous in their interweaving. They are models and holders of wisdom and you won't believe how far you travel with their guidance.”
— Gia N.
