www.ardantane.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n(PP)<\/strong> I have worked with my Shaman Guide in Houston several times and I found that difficult even in person, I have to hand you Kudos for being able to write this book with the details and in depth detail that you were able to give.\u00a0 How long did it take to write and did you have any problems writing it?\u00a0 Any shadows bothering you or your psychic abilities playing games or your spirit guides not cooperating?\u00a0 I know I had problems while reading the book hence the questions.<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> It took nearly 6 years to complete it. As you said, it is a complex and challenging subject, to say the least.\u00a0 I put myself through everything I suggest the book and my family became test subjects as well!\u00a0 Each chapter presented its own unique lessons for me but the Shadow chapter was the most surprising.\u00a0 I share a bit about that in the opening of that chapter.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say that when I journeyed to finish up the chapter, I found some surprising aspects of Self that really needed healing \u2013 ones that I had been previously \u201cunaware\u201d of.\u00a0 It\u2019s so easy to kid ourselves, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n(PP)<\/strong> When writing, \u201cDancing the Goddess Incarnate\u201d, how did you pick those 9 Goddesses?<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> That book was so much fun to write.\u00a0 It was also very therapeutic for me during some extremely difficult years.\u00a0 Dorothy and I each had an idea for a Maiden-Mother-Crone\/Goddess book that we have been kicking around for a couple of years.\u00a0 When we decided to combine our ideas, we had a list of goddesses that we planned to include.\u00a0 Of course, our plans are not always what needs to be.\u00a0 We quickly discovered that some of our planned goddesses weren\u2019t really interested but others that we had not considered had strong ideas about the chapters that became theirs.\u00a0 So I would have to say that we didn\u2019t really pick the 9 goddesses, they told us who should be in the book.<\/p>\n(PP)<\/strong> How did this book come about?\u00a0 Will there be a sequel?\u00a0 I see several questions asked all over the Internet from readers asking you this question so now is the time for an answer LOL.\u00a0 The readers want to know.<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> It all started when I was flipping through some old ideas I had for a Maiden-Mother-Crone book.\u00a0 At the time, I was firmly entrenched in the Mother stage of life and Dorothy had already written \u201cIn Praise of the Crone\u201d.\u00a0 I gave her a call and asked if she had any interest in such a book.\u00a0 She told me about her old, filed-away idea and this book just flowed magically from that point.<\/p>\nAs for whether or not there will be a sequel, I doubt it but one never knows.\u00a0 I\u2019ve said \u201cno\u201d several times only to have that book I said \u201cno\u201d to pester me until I finally wrote it.<\/p>\n
(PP)<\/strong> Well, for the sake of your fans everywhere I have to join in and say that I hope your \u201cno\u201d someday soon turns into a yes.\u00a0 I have never had so much fun reading a book and getting to know 9 Goddess as I did reading, \u201cDancing the Goddess Incarnate\u201d.<\/p>\n(PP)<\/strong> I noticed that you are also a home schooling mom and have a book out about that, as well as, a cookbook.\u00a0 Would you like to tell us about those?<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> \u201cPagan Home schooling\u201d came directly out of our home schooling experience.\u00a0 When I started home schooling, there was so much that I had to search and explore and figure out for myself.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want other parents to have to \u201creinvent the wheel\u201d so I put it all into a book.\u00a0 The other thing that I love about that book is that I was able to include many of the exercises and games that I couldn\u2019t fit in \u201cPagan Parenting\u201d.<\/p>\n\u201cFestival Feasts\u201d is my new cookbook.\u00a0 My family and I love to eat great food so learning to cook it was a fun and natural progression.\u00a0 That book contains a full 5-course menu, plus a special beverage, for each of the eight Pagan holidays and the New, Full, and Dark Moon phases.\u00a0 It also goes into food selection, preparation, feast planning, and ways to make the recipes your own.\u00a0 My husband and I gained 15 pounds while I was writing this book and it was all worth it! My son keeps asking when I\u2018ll do another one.<\/p>\n
(PP)<\/strong> Kristin, As I said before you were raised by a deathwalker can you tell our readers a little about what a deathwalker is and a little bit about your life and your family.<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> A deathwalker fulfills many roles in his or her family and community.\u00a0 First and foremost, this is the person that guides the dead into the next world and passes on messages between the living and the departed. Deathwalkers may also perform rites of passage, act as grief counselors, work toward a conscious death for the dying, and more. I teach a deathwalking class at Ardantane every other year but there are some serious pre-requisites because this is an experience that can drop you right in the middle of all your fears, beliefs, and shadows. It is incredibly humbling.<\/p>\nThe deathwalker is tuned into the departed.\u00a0 We know when someone passes because they often show up at our house, frequently before we get a phone call informing us of their passing.\u00a0 They don\u2019t need to knock on the front door, call you before showing up, and they seem to forget about personal privacy.\u00a0 Everyone that lives in the home of a deathwalker, learns to recognize the signs of uninvited, non-corporeal guests. To be honest, in spite of the occasional craziness, growing up that way made Death a very natural and normal part of life for me and my son.\u00a0 We don\u2019t fear death because we know what lies beyond this life and we know that our loves ones are never truly gone.<\/p>\n
(PP)<\/strong> I know you have a busy schedule starting for 2009, would you like to discuss your speaking appearances?<\/p>\n(KM) <\/strong> I cut back on my teaching at Ardantane a bit this year so, at this point, I only have three classes at Ardantane: Path of the Shaman (Shamanism 101) on Feb 28-Mar 1, Plants, Bones, Spirits, and Stones on August 22-23, and Deathwalking on Nov. 21-22.<\/p>\nI\u2019ll be speaking at 4 festivals (so far) this year: Pagan Unity Festival in Tennessee in May (www.paganunityfestival.org), Sacred Well Interfaith Celebration in south Texas in early October (www.sacredwell.org), Celebrating the Goddess Rising in New Orleans in mid-October (www.nolapaganpride.org), and GreenSong Grove\u2019s Samhain Celebration, also in mid-October (www.greensonggrove.org).<\/p>\n
(PP)<\/strong> Where can our Readers purchase your books?<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> They are available at any of the online booksellers and directly through the publishers. Many local bookstores also carry them but that seems to depend on the area and the store owner. You can always ask your local bookstore to order them for you.<\/p>\n(PP) <\/strong> I know right now you have a new book out called \u201cMagick, Mystery, and Medicine: Advanced Shamanic Healing\u201d, which I will be reviewing in our March 2009 issue.\u00a0 Would you like to give our readers a little insight what to expect?<\/p>\n(KM)<\/strong> This is the follow-up to \u201cThe Book of Shamanic Healing\u201d.\u00a0 It includes topics I wasn\u2019t able to delve into in that first book and contains material that has not been well covered in the shamanic literature to date.\u00a0 It also includes more first-hand case studies and stories.\u00a0 I would say that this book is a more advanced book than the first healing book.<\/p>\n(PP) <\/strong> Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Kristin Madden?<\/p>\n(KM) <\/strong> Only that I appreciate every reader, every person that has attended one of my workshops, and everyone that is working toward their own healing more than I can say.\u00a0 Healing begins with each of us. When we can begin to live our lives from a place of integrity and wholeness, our actions radiate out to help create a better world.<\/p>\n(PP)<\/strong> Kristin, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with Pagan Pages.\u00a0 I know this is a very busy hectic time with the 2009 starting, your school, your traveling schedule, and most importantly your family time.\u00a0 I appreciate it very much.\u00a0 Spending time with you and reading your books is a very enlighten\u00a0 and soul awaking\u00a0 experience.\u00a0\u00a0 I am currently reading your new book as I spoke about and can\u2019t wait to see where it takes me.\u00a0\u00a0 I am confident that I am about to find out more about myself that I either (a) didn\u2019t know or (b) where hidden deep and was afraid to let come forward and let go of and be free of.\u00a0 I look forward to the journey ahead.<\/p>\n(KM) <\/strong> Thank you so much for speaking with me and for all the work that you do!<\/p>\nIt is always a pleasure spending time with you, and your work and energy you give to the Pagan Community goes without speaking.\u00a0 I have to say I am enjoying your new book very much and can\u2019t wait to get with you once I have finished it.\u00a0 With that, Pagan Pages looks forward to talking to you in a few months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Earlier in the month of January I was honored to speak with author Kristen Madden regarding her experiences, writing talent, her teachings, and where her path leading her in the months ahead.\u00a0 Kristin Madden is a leader in the Shaman community not only as an author of several books, but also as the Dean of Ardantane’s School of Shamanic Studies, and a Master of the Avatar and a Druid, a tutor in the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, and a member of the Druid College of Healing.\u00a0 I found her to be a very remarkable and rememberable person who brought a spark into my life and while reading her books, I can tell you she left a piece of herself with me that will always be with me.\u00a0 I hope you enjoy getting to know Kristin as much as I did.\u00a0 Kristin will for sure become a regular visitor to Pagan Pages as our years grow.\u00a0 Now on to the Interview. Pagan Pages\u00a0 (PP) I have to ask you this only because it affected me so much while reading \u201cThe Book of Shamanic Healing\u201d.\u00a0 While I was reading the book I found myself actually gong through a major transition in my life and it took me through some life changes that I was definitely surprised by.\u00a0 While I wanted to call you to get advice and \u201cHey what is happening here LOL, I didn\u2019t I just kept trekking on.\u00a0 I am wondering, do you get a lot of emails from readers asking your advice when they are reading this particular book? Kristin Madden (KM) I do get a few emails asking for advice and I try to respond to all of them as quickly as I can.\u00a0 I have been surprised at how many emails I have received requesting healing since that book came out.\u00a0 But to be honest, \u201cShamanic Guide to Death and Dying\u201d is by far the winner when it comes to eliciting reader emails. (PP) I know you were raised by a deathwalker and that you are the Dean of the Ardantane\u2019s School of Shamanic Studies.\u00a0 Was the book an inspiration from the school or before the school?\u00a0\u00a0 Can you also tell us a little about the school i.e. are their classes online, strictly in person only etc. (KM) The idea for \u201cThe Book of Shamanic Healing\u201d began well before the School of Shamanic Studies.\u00a0 It was something I worked on for 5-6 years before it was published. Some of the foundations of our classes are based in that book. The Ardantane School of Shamanic Studies is based at the Ardantane campus in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.\u00a0 Most of our classes are held either there or in Albuquerque but we do travel fairly frequently to teach when someone sponsors a class.\u00a0 I will be co-teaching Ardantane\u2019s first online class this year with the Dean of Healing Arts. This one is a Celtic mysticism class and it will lead to additional offerings in future years.\u00a0 For the certificate programs, up to 25% of the requirements may be \u201ctransferred\u201d classes from other approved schools or teachers. The School of Shamanic Studies does not offer instruction in any specific cultural shamanic path.\u00a0 However, the backgrounds of our instructors color their teaching and provide a unique addition to core shamanic methods.\u00a0 Our faculty includes authors, biologists, nurses, psychotherapists, professors, engineers and more.\u00a0 Their training ranges from indigenous shamanism to psychology, wilderness survival skills, Western and alternative medicine, various Pagan paths, and New Age technologies. We offer five levels of shamanic certificates:\u00a0 Shamanic Divination, Shamanic Practitioner, Shamanic Healer, Earthcrafting, Death and Dying Specialist, and Master of Shamanic Studies. (PP) When does the online course start and how can our readers find it for those that are interested, like myself? (KM) I expect that online course to start in mid-February.\u00a0 Readers can find more information by clicking the Calendar link at (www.ardantane.org) (PP) I have worked with my Shaman Guide in Houston several times and I found that difficult even in person, I have to hand you Kudos for being able to write this book with the details and in depth detail that you were able to give.\u00a0 How long did it take to write and did you have any problems writing it?\u00a0 Any shadows bothering you or your psychic abilities playing games or your spirit guides not cooperating?\u00a0 I know I had problems while reading the book hence the questions. (KM) It took nearly 6 years to complete it. As you said, it is a complex and challenging subject, to say the least.\u00a0 I put myself through everything I suggest the book and my family became test subjects as well!\u00a0 Each chapter presented its own unique lessons for me but the Shadow chapter was the most surprising.\u00a0 I share a bit about that in the opening of that chapter.\u00a0 Let\u2019s just say that when I journeyed to finish up the chapter, I found some surprising aspects of Self that really needed healing \u2013 ones that I had been previously \u201cunaware\u201d of.\u00a0 It\u2019s so easy to kid ourselves, isn\u2019t it? (PP) When writing, \u201cDancing the Goddess Incarnate\u201d, how did you pick those 9 Goddesses? (KM) That book was so much fun to write.\u00a0 It was also very therapeutic for me during some extremely difficult years.\u00a0 Dorothy and I each had an idea for a Maiden-Mother-Crone\/Goddess book that we have been kicking around for a couple of years.\u00a0 When we decided to combine our ideas, we had a list of goddesses that we planned to include.\u00a0 Of course, our plans are not always what needs to be.\u00a0 We quickly discovered that some of our planned goddesses weren\u2019t really interested but others that we had not considered had strong ideas about the chapters that became theirs.\u00a0 So I would have to say that we didn\u2019t really pick the 9 goddesses, they told us who should be in the book. (PP) How did this book come about?\u00a0 Will there be a sequel?\u00a0 I see several questions asked all over the Internet from readers asking you this question so now is the time for an answer LOL.\u00a0 The readers want to know. (KM) It all started when I was flipping through some old ideas I had for a Maiden-Mother-Crone book.\u00a0 At the time, I was firmly entrenched in the Mother stage of life and Dorothy had already written \u201cIn Praise of the Crone\u201d.\u00a0 I gave her a call and asked if she had any interest in such a book.\u00a0 She told me about her old, filed-away idea and this book just flowed magically from that point. As for whether or not there will be a sequel, I doubt it but one never knows.\u00a0 I\u2019ve said \u201cno\u201d several times only to have that book I said \u201cno\u201d to pester me until I finally wrote it. (PP) Well, for the sake of your fans everywhere I have to join in and say that I hope your \u201cno\u201d someday soon turns into a yes.\u00a0 I have never had so much fun reading a book and getting to know 9 Goddess as I did reading, \u201cDancing the Goddess Incarnate\u201d. (PP) I noticed that you are also a home schooling mom and have a book out about that, as well as, a cookbook.\u00a0 Would you like to tell us about those? (KM) \u201cPagan Home schooling\u201d came directly out of our home schooling experience.\u00a0 When I started home schooling, there was so much that I had to search and explore and figure out for myself.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want other parents to have to \u201creinvent the wheel\u201d so I put it all into a book.\u00a0 The other thing that I love about that book is that I was able to include many of the exercises and games that I couldn\u2019t fit in \u201cPagan Parenting\u201d. \u201cFestival Feasts\u201d is my new cookbook.\u00a0 My family and I love to eat great food so learning to cook it was a fun and natural progression.\u00a0 That book contains a full 5-course menu, plus a special beverage, for each of the eight Pagan holidays and the New, Full, and Dark Moon phases.\u00a0 It also goes into food selection, preparation, feast planning, and ways to make the recipes your own.\u00a0 My husband and I gained 15 pounds while I was writing this book and it was all worth it! My son keeps asking when I\u2018ll do another one. (PP) Kristin, As I said before you were raised by a deathwalker can you tell our readers a little about what a deathwalker is and a little bit about your life and your family. (KM) A deathwalker fulfills many roles in his or her family and community.\u00a0 First and foremost, this is the person that guides the dead into the next world and passes on messages between the living and the departed. Deathwalkers may also perform rites of passage, act as grief counselors, work toward a conscious death for the dying, and more. I teach a deathwalking class at Ardantane every other year but there are some serious pre-requisites because this is an experience that can drop you right in the middle of all your fears, beliefs, and shadows. It is incredibly humbling. The deathwalker is tuned into the departed.\u00a0 We know when someone passes because they often show up at our house, frequently before we get a phone call informing us of their passing.\u00a0 They don\u2019t need to knock on the front door, call you before showing up, and they seem to forget about personal privacy.\u00a0 Everyone that lives in the home of a deathwalker, learns to recognize the signs of uninvited, non-corporeal guests. To be honest, in spite of the occasional craziness, growing up that way made Death a very natural and normal part of life for me and my son.\u00a0 We don\u2019t fear death because we know what lies beyond this life and we know that our loves ones are never truly gone. (PP) I know you have a busy schedule starting for 2009, would you like to discuss your speaking appearances? (KM) I cut back on my teaching at Ardantane a bit this year so, at this point, I only have three classes at Ardantane: Path of the Shaman (Shamanism 101) on Feb 28-Mar 1, Plants, Bones, Spirits, and Stones on August 22-23, and Deathwalking on Nov. 21-22. I\u2019ll be speaking at 4 festivals (so far) this year: Pagan Unity Festival in Tennessee in May (www.paganunityfestival.org), Sacred Well Interfaith Celebration in south Texas in early October (www.sacredwell.org), Celebrating the Goddess Rising in New Orleans in mid-October (www.nolapaganpride.org), and GreenSong Grove\u2019s Samhain Celebration, also in mid-October (www.greensonggrove.org). (PP) Where can our Readers purchase your books? (KM) They are available at any of the online booksellers and directly through the publishers. Many local bookstores also carry them but that seems to depend on the area and the store owner. You can always ask your local bookstore to order them for you. (PP) I know right now you have a new book out called \u201cMagick, Mystery, and Medicine: Advanced Shamanic Healing\u201d, which I will be reviewing in our March 2009 issue.\u00a0 Would you like to give our readers a little insight what to expect? (KM) This is the follow-up to \u201cThe Book of Shamanic Healing\u201d.\u00a0 It includes topics I wasn\u2019t able to delve into in that first book and contains material that has not been well covered in the shamanic literature to date.\u00a0 It also includes more first-hand case studies and stories.\u00a0 I would say that this book is a more advanced book than the first healing book. (PP) Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Kristin Madden? (KM) Only that I appreciate every reader, every person that has attended one of my workshops, and everyone that is working toward their own healing more than I can say.\u00a0 Healing begins with each of us. When we can begin to live our lives from a place of integrity and wholeness, our actions radiate out to help create…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n