🤩 You asked, we listened! 

We’ve transformed the beloved “Accessing Transcestral Wisdom” workshop.

The 2 hour workshop is now a five week deep dive!



Why?

The popular 1-day workshop has been revamped as a 5-week immersive experience supporting transgender and nonbinary people people in beginning and/or clarifying a spiritual practice with their ancestors, including their transgender, nonbinary, gender non-conforming and transgender-affirming ancestors both known and unknown!

There’s no politician, legislation, or transphobe who can take away your sacred connection to your transgender and non-binary ancestors aka “transcestors.” In a time where things have been increasingly difficult for transgender, non-binary, and gender expansive folks, we want to help you access the infinite, expansive, and brilliant resource of transcestral wisdom and connection.

Meet The Facilitators

Photo of Eli Lawliett (a white person with a beard and glasses wearing a blue button down shirt)

Eli Lawliet, Ph.D., (he/him) is The Gender Doula (link) - offering full-spectrum support to folks who are transitioning, questioning, or exploring their gender.

He also uses his broad training to create workshops, classes, and resources to help gender expansive folks thrive. The scope of his work is broad, but the foundation is deeply rooted in transness as a spiritual practice.

He lives in Los Angeles (Kizh & Tongva land) with his partner, three cats, a dog, and four snakes. Find him on IG @thegenderdoula (link).

Photo of Isazela Amanzi (a Black person wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans with short locs)

Isazela Amanzi, M.S.Ed, CYT (they/ze/he) is the Director of Sacred Pollination at Transgressive Medicine (link), offering energetic healing support and energy work education for counter-colonial spiritual seekers. Applying their training in tantric yoga, western reiki, hoodoo divination, education, and child development, ze facilitates year-long skill-building immersions, workshops, and self inquiry resources to help people (especially neuroqueer & genderqueer people) thrive. He lives in Los Angeles (Kizh, Tongva land) with his partner, plants and typewriters. Find them on IG @transgressivemedicine (link).

Is this course for me?

  • Are you transgender, non-binary, genderqueer or gender expansive?
  • Have you longed to connect with your ancestors who share your lived experience with gender, but felt intimidated by the process?
  • Or maybe you already have an ancestral practice, but it has felt isolated from your gender experiences or transgender and nonbinary community?

If so, this class is for you!

Join Eli, Zel and your amazing gender-expansive cohort for a life-affirming five weeks together!

Tell me more!

Accessing Transcestral Wisdom is five-week deep dive with four interactive content modules and one community integration week; we’ll learn about what it looks like for transgender and/or nonbinary people to develop an ancestral practice in general and with transcestors specifically.

This class will expand on the topics covered in the original October 2023 workshop, and will also include:

  • experiential learning & practice sections each week
  • options to connect and build relationship with fellow students through small groups
  • affinity-based processing spaces.

It was a wealth of information! I'm interested in more focused workshops that dives deeper into the topics.

Chelsea

October '23 Workshop Registrant


Zel and Eli offer an amazingly accessible and heart-felt journey into transcestral connection and ritual. They share in a way that is both deeply insightful and liberating. I can't wait to join their next workshop!

Dau Windwater

October '23 Workshop Registrant

Why Join?

This workshop helped me to conceptualize not only ways to connect with ancestral practice among people I'm genetically related and culturally connected to, but also to re-imagine ways of cultivating connection with the trans ancestors who have gone before me. Learning to center myself and my practice with understanding what I was looking for - and the constant reminder of the reciprocity of the relationship and the necessary nature of showing gratitude & offerings - helped to make me feel a little more equipped to begin my practice with slow, steady, achievable steps that will hopefully grow into a fruitful and healing practice! I'm so grateful to have found this workshop at this time in my life!

Brodie Lobb

October '23 Workshop Registrant


Ancestral veneration and ancestral connection are popular topics within gender non conforming communities. Yet many people are overwhelmed by the idea of connecting with their ancestors—and rightfully so! Accessing Transcestral Wisdom will help you navigate conflicting information about ancestral communication and culturally specific approaches to ancestral connection. Learn and practice with us to gain clarity about “what *is* and what *is not* right for me?”

We believe that all transgender and non-binary people have the right to access and receive the myriad benefits of ancestral relationship while building community with other transgender and non-binary people and while countering the destructive effects of colonialism on our bodies and cultures. As transgender and non-binary people, we may require extra community support in our ancestral practices for several reasons: 1. Ancestors may feel out of reach for those of us who have fraught relationships with our families, cultures, and traditions. 2. Practices may feel inauthentic because colonialism & racism have either forcefully disconnected us from or inappropriately connected us to cultural ancestral practices. 3. Ancestral connection is rooted in somatic practices, which may feel overwhelming for people struggling with dysphoria and embodiment.

Ready to Join?

This workshop is open to transgender and non-binary people of any spiritual or religious background (including none!), as we focus on what ancestral connection can mean for each of us based on our different contexts and social locations.

We will explore:

  • The general and specific benefits of ancestral and transcestral connection for you personally
  • Ways to start working with ancestors and trancestors
  • How to improve your existing ancestral practice
  • What bi-directional ancestor healing is, and how to engage with it
  • What it means to connect with ancestors when our lineage has caused harm
  • What types of ancestors and transcestors you can connect with
  • Practicing grounding, boundaries, consent, and protection in spiritual relationships
  • Practical skills such as altar building, using tarot and oracle cards, energetic boundaries, cleansing, and so much more!

Review the agenda below for a general idea of the class structure and content.

Questions? Contact [email protected] and [email protected]

2024 Cohort Begins In...

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What To Expect

5 weeks, 

4 classes

Includes course content, small group or solo processing, experiential / skill-building & Q&A. 

Integration 

Week

PGM & White Affinity groups in week 4 for processing personal & cultural experiences

Online Course 

Platform

Class recordings, PDFs, and other course materials will live in a Notion course portal.

What is Included?

  • 4 Live Modules - recordings available for 6 weeks (non-downloadable)
  • 4 PDF workbooks (downloadable)
  • Optional small group meetings/relational spaces
  • Live processing sessions in affinity groups
  • Weekly Q&A time with Zel and Eli

Agenda & Structure

This class will run for five weeks. We will meet every Wednesday in May from 5pm-7pm Pacific.

Tech information, community/brave space agreements, facilitator introductions, and land acknowledgement will be in PDF/pre-recorded video form.

Week 1

Introductions, Community Agreements, How We Starting Practicing with Ancestors (including Transcestors), What is Ancestral Connetion, Acknowledging Fears, Small Group or Solo Processing Time, Experiential Segment: Personal Histories and Lineages (Clarity & Concerns).

Week 2

Types of Ancestors and Ancestral Relationships - Types of Ancestors - Trancestors - Benevolent / Antagonistic - Non human / Nature / Animist - Cultural / Closed - Elevated / Open - Blood Related / Bio - Bidirectional Healing - Small group discussion time - Experiential

Week 3

How to Connect in Culturally Appropriate Ways - Ways to connect to trancestors/ancestors - We will cover several in class, and there will be an in-depth PDF - Small group discussion time - Experiential

Week 4

Zel will hold separate space for People of the Global Majority and Eli for White participants. This is a semi-structured week, which includes a guided somatic practice, reflection prompts, Q&A and time to creatively engage with cultural responsibility, social location, ritual creation, and choices about which ancestors to start working with.

Week 5

Grounding, Boundaries, and Protections for Somatic Practices - Boundaries - Consent - Avoid Reproducing Colonial Harm - Grounding, Cleansing, & Protection - Small group discussion time - Experiential

Investment

Tickets are offered at sliding scale. Note: Sliding scale is not a discount; it is a tool for economic accessibility. If you are unsure where you fall on the sliding scale, please see this graphic (link).

You can enroll via a one-time payment or on a 3 month payment plan. Please select the highest payment that is available based on your budget. This will ensure that those who need the lower end of the sliding scale will be able to attend, and that your facilitators will be compensated for their labor and expertise. Klarna & Affirm are also available for those using the one-time payment.

Community Tier

Actual Cost Tier

Abundance Tier

$165 OR 3 monthly payments of $55. 


For those who have a bit to exchange, but not enough to cover the actual cost without incurring financial harm.

$297 OR 3 monthly payments of $99.


For those who can afford to cover their own costs, this tier represents the actual cost of the course.

$444 OR 3 monthly payments of $148.


For those with discretionary income who can easily cover their own costs and have extra to give for scholarships.

By purchasing tickets, you agree to the Brave Space Agreements (link) & Terms and Conditions (link). Please note: refunds are not available for this course


Registration for our 2024 cohort has ended. Want to join our next cohort? Add your name to the interest list below :)


FAQ

This is a virtual class that will take place on Zoom. The presentation will include plain, high-contrast slides. Automated captions and transcript will be turned on. Chat will be open for non-speaking shares and cameras are optional. We value all levels of participation, and people will not be called on or expected to participate in any way that is inaccessible to them. Small groups will be available, but no one is required to participate in them. Those who chose not to participate in small groups will instead have extra solitary processing time with reflection questions. ♿ Have other accessibility needs? Use the contact button below and we will take your communication seriously. Deaf or HoH and reliant on ASL? We cannot currently provide ASL interpretation; however please contact us for a scholarship if you would like to attend with an interpreter present!

If you need a scholarship because the lowest payment tier would be financially harmful to you, please email Eli at [email protected]. There are five 100% scholarships available, and five 50% scholarships available; they are distributed via an honor system to our mailing list members! Black, Brown, Indigenous to Turtle Island and Abya Yala, and AAPI QTIs to the front! No need to include detailed information. If you are a white person, please include that in your email, and you will be added to a waitlist.

Can't make it live? The recording will be available for viewing for 6 weeks after class (no downloads). the tech information, community/brave space agreements, introductions, and land acknowledgement will be in PDF/pre-recorded video form.