Skip to content

Home
GRIEF & TRAUMA SUPPORT
Trainings
- Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Online Training – Level 1
- Sacred Body // Wild Grief Workshop
FREE RESOURCES
CONTACT

Offerings

Office Hours with Josea & Jane - Jan. 22 & 27

Team Meet & Greet on Zoom - Jan. 29

$37 - 2 hour Online Introductory Class on Navigating Grief

return from the underwold online course

Dark Woods Grief Support Group

Soul Song retreat

Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Training

winter solstice online ritual

join my newsletter community

sign up for monthly musings on the art of navigating grief & trauma

Follow along

@darkwoodsofgrief

The Second Gate is the grief of the unloved places

The Second Gate is the grief of the unloved places — the parts of ourselves that were rejected, shamed, exiled, or simply never welcomed in the first place.⁠
⁠
These aren’t just the obviously wounded places.⁠
⁠
They are the authentic, alive, beautiful parts that learned to make themselves small because the world around them — a parent, a culture, a religion, a classroom — didn’t have the capacity to receive them.⁠
⁠
Yet these parts don’t disappear when they are banished. They go deep underground.⁠
⁠
And from underground, they quietly shape our lives…⁠
⁠
To read the full article go to Dark Woods of Grief on Substack @joseatamira⁠

I've been working on a series about the 6 Gates of

I've been working on a series about the 6 Gates of Grief as articulated by Francis Weller (5 Gates) & Rachael Rice (6th Gate). As Francis Weller writes: “Grief and joy are not only not opposite emotions, they are companion emotions. Each time we welcome our grief, we deepen our capacity for joy.”⁠
⁠
This is the paradox at the heart of the First Gate. Grief is not the enemy of a beautiful life. It is the proof of one.⁠
⁠
The depth of what we feel when something is lost is a direct measure of how fully we allowed ourselves to love it.⁠
⁠
Our tears are, as Martin Prechtel says, a form of praise.⁠
⁠
The First Gate invites us back inside. All the way inside.⁠
⁠
Read the full piece and follow along as we move through all six gates on Substack @ joseatamira ~ Dark Woods of Grief

I thought I was feeling uninspired when i started

I thought I was feeling uninspired when i started writing this morning, which just goes to show what the practice of commitment does for us. I think it turned out pretty 🔥 This is Part Four of a seven-part series exploring the Six Gates of Grief, a framework developed by Francis Weller and expanded through the work of Rachael Rice. If you’re new here, you can find the earlier parts in the archives and read the full article on my Substack ~ Dark Woods of Grief @joseatamira

We are wounded in relationship, and we heal in rel

We are wounded in relationship, and we heal in relationship.⁠
⁠
We need each other and community to heal. ⁠
⁠
When our pain is held & witnessed with compassion in community, it transmutes into medicine for the world.⁠
⁠
From wounds to gifts – we can walk each other home.⁠
⁠
Vulnerability takes certain conditions to be expressed - the main one being we need to feel safe enough. ⁠
⁠
I’m thinking about all the things blooming and growing at this time of year. Underneath the soil is a network of support. The roots grow deep and connect to one another and to mycelium networks that allows the plant to thrive.⁠
⁠
I say this often but it bears repeating: we need each other's support to do this work. Just like the plants need the mycelium need the trees...⁠
⁠
The other beautiful thing about vulnerability is that when we come together as a group we grow braver and stronger together. Sharing our stories gives others courage to do the same. And being witnessed in a non-judgemental space with compassion while learning the essential skills to navigate grief and trauma, allows us to feel supported and rooted as we do this work.⁠
⁠
When you think about times in your own life when great healing has occurred, what elements were present that allowed that to happen? ⁠
⁠
What do you need in order to feel safe enough to get vulnerable?⁠ What factors influence that? What opens you up and what shuts you down? ⁠
I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Facebook-f Youtube Linkedin Instagram

work with us

Intro to Grief Work Session
Everyone Welcome Grief Support Group
BIPOC Grief Support Group
Black Women’s Grief Support Group
Return from the Underworld Course
Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Online Training
Soul Song Retreat

Intro to Grief Work Session
Everyone Welcome Grief Support Group
BIPOC Grief Support Group
Black Women’s Grief Support Group
Return from the Underworld Course
Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Online Training
Soul Song Retreat

resources

Podcast
Substack
Contact

Podcast
Substack
Contact

free newsletter

Receive musings on the art of navigating grief & trauma here

© 2026 The Dark Woods of Grief. All rights reserved.

Site by Ali Rand Design

Home
GRIEF & TRAUMA SUPPORT
Trainings
- Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Online Training – Level 1
- Sacred Body // Wild Grief Workshop
FREE RESOURCES
CONTACT