Workers, makers, do-ers, empaths, feelers, thinkers, resistors, allies, humans : please join us on Saturday, February 25 for A Burst of Light: Self-Care for Collective Resilience, a day-long gathering to nurture those on the frontlines of the struggle for a better world. This is the first installment in a quarterly event series. 

We will offer four classes that explore various paths to self and collective empowerment, ranging from herbal healing to using fashion as self-care. 

While holding space for anxiety arising from living in a consumer society eager to promote the fallacy that we are separate from one another, we affirm the sanctity of the Earth, the importance of heart-to-heart connection, and the power of collective visioning.

Come for learning, fellowship, mini-healing sessions, herbal tea and amazing vegan, gluten-free hot dogs by our food partner YEAH DAWG.

This event is organized by and for people of color, queers and those who love and support us. 

Sliding scale $20 to $85 (includes all four classes) 
Wheelchair accessible 

TABLING by ANTIDOTE Greenpoint
FOOD by YEAH DAWG
*Complimentary herbal tea

CLASS SCHEDULE

1:30 to 2:15pm
Health as Wealth: Kitchen Garden Remedies with Cheryl Brown 
It is commonly held that being healthy requires spending large amounts of money, carrying out complicated routines, and having surplus time. Nothing could be further from the truth! In this family-friendly workshop Cheryl will share simple, effective and budget-conscious plant remedies for optimal health that can be grown in an urban setting (in containers indoors, or outside) and found in your kitchen cabinet. We will use our senses--taste, smell, touch and sight--to identify common herbs and "weeds" that heal. We will also make a basic root tonic for winter wellness. 
Cheryl Brown is a seasoned urban gardener, permaculture designer and self-taught herbal practitioner. 

2:30 to 3:15pm
Cosmic Wellness: The Astrological Moon and Self Empowerment with Anais 
The placement and sign of our natal astrological Moon can give us many clues on how to access our power and maintain our emotional health. In this extremely difficult time in the world, maintaining emotional wellness is more important than ever. By focusing on the Moon sign in astrology we will learn how to nourish, understand and support our own emotional needs. This class is based on Western Astrology. Please bring a copy of your astrological birth chart (can be found by entering your birth time, date and place at astro.com).  
Anais is a cosmic astrologer, root priestess, healer and intuitive guide. She is the sole founder and creator of Mystical Mandrake Root.  

4:00 to 4:45pm
Fashion as Self Care: Methods, Intersections and Possibilities for Self-Actualization with Deloris
This workshop endeavors to spark a conversation about personal style as a tool for self-care. Through presentation and group discussion, we will explore the intersections of personal pursuits/interests and the socio-eco-political issues that inevitably influence our relationship to our bodies and our access to practices that nourish us. Deloris will draw on their personal experiences relating to race, economic status, fatness, ability and queerness to tease out the politics of comfort--and the creative potential of personal style.
Deloris Onwuka is a writer of words, a lover of clothes and the principles of personal style and a mathematician from Texas. Deloris now works in the worlds of arts/culture and social services in New York City.

5:00 to 5:45pm
Herbs for Resilience: Plant Allies for Times of Undoing with Laura Marie Ruocco and Jess Turner
Plants have powers that can reach us on both the physical and spiritual plane. In these times, as multiple ongoing, intersecting social and political crises come to a head, what wisdom can we glean from our plant teachers? How can understanding plants as teachers help us transition from fear and alienation to personal transformation? Challenging the individualism of mainstream "wellness" rhetoric, this class takes inspiration from Janet Kent and Dave Meesters' radical vitalism framework--which acknowledges the interconnectedness of all life on this planet. We root healing work within a social, political and ecological context, and a commitment to challenging all forms of oppression.
Laura Marie Ruocco is a Brooklyn-based herbalist. She believes that helping to reconnect people with plant medicine is integral to the work of healing ourselves and healing the earth. 
Jess Turner is an herbalist whose practice is focused on helping her clients harness the power of non-human nature to heal from the damage that systems of oppression wreak on the emotional and physical body.

HEALING SESSIONS

Reiki and divination [tarot] with Ashni
$30 for 30 minutes

Herbal consultations with Avi Rose
Sliding scale of $40 to $100+ for one-hour session with reduced rates available to anyone for whom this scale is still prohibitive

Medical astrology readings with Celestine Kibe
$25 for 30 minutes

Craniosacral therapy with Nomi Beesen
$30 for 30 minutes

Sessions that include Swedish massage and assisted breath work with Summer 
$10 for 15 minutes; $25 for 30 minutes; $50 for 60 minutes