A 13-Month Journey of Feminine Reclamation in the Presence of Horses.
The Four Seasons of Her and Herd
The power of a woman lies in her knowing of her cycles and how to move with them.
To be in tune with our cycles means we are in rhythm with ourselves and life, that we are empowered in how to hold our capacity, and we move in relationship to our own energy as opposed to outside conditioning or structures that deplete us.
To move in rhythm means to move with our wild nature and innate intelligence, that we are inspired by the cycle of life we are in, instead of feeling in loss of control or in resentment with the stage of life we find ourselves in.
To dance with a herd of horses, is to be reminded of the power of cycles, and how to read them in ourselves.
A herd moves in connection to their natural cycles as individuals and as a collective, horses as prey animals, need to operate in connection to their prey nature, to listen to when they need to rest, eat, and integrate.
We have in many ways the knowing of how to listen to our body rhythms and the wisdom of our energy and spirit.
We feel rushed by life, depleted by outdated holdings of a man made cycle, in this retreat we take back our power and knowledge of being in tune with our cycles in the way they are meant to be held for us.
The herd will guide us into deep listening, of reactivating pathways in our body so we know what it is speaking to us, to remember what it feels like to be led by intuition, and to look to nature to be our guides.
We will be joining with each moon, in each quarter, learning the partner with the energy of that space and to be in tune with the rhythms and wisdom of what each brings to us.
Each month carries a mythos, an element, a horse teaching, a rite of passage, and ceremonial practices that awaken ancestral memory and strip away the layers that never belonged to us.
With each month you will receive a ceremony of the month to honor that cycle, a horse wisdom video to bring the space of the herd into the space with us and journaling prompts to engage with what that moon and cycle bring into your life.
The 13 moons that we will be journeying with and what is in the space of them are:
1. Moon of the Wild Seed ~Primordial Maiden
Mythos: The untouched one, the soul before story
Archetype: Untamed Girl, Soul Embryo
Horse Medicine: Curiosity, sensitivity, herd play
Theme: Remembering who you were before the world told you who to be
Ceremony: Rewilding initiation; running barefoot with horses
Element: Air
Journey: Meet your original self, the pre-pubescent girl, full of her self knowing, before the first blood estrogen nurturing energies begin to change her focus, the one who was never tamed. How did horses feel to you as a girl? What was your relationship with them? How did they call to you back then?
Ceremony: Naming by the herd, silent recognition of the soul-self
2. Strawberry Moon~The red thread
Mythos: Blood awakens the underworld. She descends alone but returns with power. Red Girl, Threshold Walker
Element: Water
Horse Teaching: Rhythm, flow, womb-tide wisdom, initiation, leaving the wild girl behind, stepping into the red thread path. What was coming up for you? Did you rebel? Did you submit? Were you in pain? Did you go numb?
Practice: Drum beside an elder mare, listen to the beat of your own womb
Journey: Call back your first blood story, rewrite it in truth, reclaiming of a lost ceremony
Ceremony: Red thread initiation, a collective reweaving of blood rites ceremony, offering blood to the earth as reclamation of the sacredness of our bleed. Blood blessing story telling circle, Strawberries, the first fruit to ripen, they look like a tiny womb
3. Moon of Blossoming~Awakening Desire
Archetype: Aphrodite, Pleasure Seeker, the lover maiden
Horse Medicine: Embodiment, sensuality, presence
Theme: Awakening eros, reclaiming beauty and desire
Ceremony: Anointing the thighs, hips, and womb with oil in the pasture
Practice: Feeling the horse with your hand, perhaps being topless with the herd
Mythos: The erotic maiden awakens, She begins to burn with life force.
Element: Fire
Horse Teaching: Sensual presence, primal magnetism, Did you deny your pleasure or embrace it? Were there any events that fractured the sweetness of your becoming?
Journey: Descend into the yoni, the first point of pleasure, what do you hold here?
Ceremony: Dance under moonlight, Wear red
4. Moon of the Hearth~Young Mother
Mythos: She tends others and must learn to tend herself
Archetype: Nurturer, Seed Planter
Horse Medicine: Grounding, loyalty, caretaking
Theme: How do I hold life without losing myself?
Ceremony: Circle of tending – women caring for one another while with horses
Practice: Heartbeat to hoofbeat attunement
Element: Earth
Horse Teaching: Nurturing, structure, sustained care, Rhythm, Mooncycles, Patterns of behaviour, Patterns taking shape in life. What are you still holding? Is there anything longing to be birthed? Seeds of desire never ignited. Were your needs met? Is there anything longing to be held by the herd? No village to raise children, teachings from the herd
Journey: Into the heart cave, guided by a matriarchal mare
5. Moon of the Creatrix~The Maker of Worlds
Mythos: The fertile force builds life, not just babies but beauty, vision, and form
Archetype: Fertile Weaver, Manifestor
Horse Medicine: Momentum, trust, co-creation
Theme: Creation from the womb (not just babies)
Practice: Womb breathwork with mare companionship
Element: Fire/Ether
Horse Teaching: Momentum, Will, Co-creation, Allowing the creative force to move through you. Building capacity to hold more.
Journey: Womb-to-world….Birth something from your depths
Ceremony: Make a clay womb bowl and fill it with symbols of what you’re birthing, declare aloud all you have created in your life. Womb tending
6. Moon of Milk and Shadow~The Matrescence
Mythos: She is mothering, unraveling, becoming again
Archetype: The Frayed Mother, Self Lost
Horse Medicine: Reflection, Steadiness
Theme: The unraveling and rebuilding of self in mothering
Practice: “What parts of me have I given away?” “What did I ask for but never received?”
Element: Water
Horse Teaching: Reflection, containment, soft gaze, what have you learnt, what pearls of wisdom do you carry in your medicine bag. The shadow bag? Have you become aware of what you carry there?
Journey: Into the fragmented self to reclaim what’s been given away
Ceremony: Circle of tending, women care for each other as horses look on
9. Moon of Descent~Bone Woman
Mythos: She walks the underworld to gather bones and stories
Element: Earth
Horse Teaching: Still presence, tracking, inner sight
Practice: Night walk in the herd
Journey: Meet your shadow sister and ask her what she needs
Ceremony: Earth Altar of bones, feather, sticks, shells, driftwood…Items that have served their purpose.
10. Moon of the Stillpoint~Crone in Waiting
Mythos: She rests. The cauldron simmers. No action, only presence
Element: Air
Horse Teaching: Gaze, breath, patience
Practice: Lie on the ground near a resting herd, feel your bones against the earth
Journey: Into the void, what is gestating in the dark?
Ceremony: Dream weaving , each woman gifts a symbol to another’s dream
7. Moon of the Sacred Marriage~Hieros Gamos Within
Mythos: She marries herself. The dark and the light bow to each other within.
Element: Ether
Horse Teaching: Balance, polarity, harmony, Medicine bag/ shadow bag work.
Practice: Liberty work with horses, how your energy moves the herd.
8. Moon of the Autumn Queen~Maga Rising
Mythos: The harvest woman. She reclaims what was lost in service to others
Archetype; High Priestess
Element: Earth/Fire
Horse Teaching: Mature power, direction, discernment, the sword of truth
Practice: Walk with intention stones in your pockets, shed them as you let go of an old story of yourself
Ceremony: What truth do the women see within each other
11. Moon of the Death Mother~Winter of the Womb
Mythos: She is death and midwife of death. She surrenders all names
Element: Water
Horse Teaching: Release, truth, crossing over
Journey: Into the river of forgetting, what do you choose not to carry forward?
Ceremony: Death rite, funeral for an identity, a role, a story
12. Moon of the Oracle – Elder Seeress
Mythos: She speaks in riddles and dreams. She sees without eyes
Element: Ether
Horse Teaching: Knowing, prophecy, presence
Practice: Sit where horses have lain. Listen to what the land tells you
Journey: Down the spiral to meet the ancient one within
Ceremony: Oracle circle, each woman speaks her knowing to the next
13. Moon of the Weaver ~The Wombman Whole
Mythos: She has walked every path. Now she braids them together
Element: All
Horse Teaching: Freedom, integration, wholeness
Practice: Create your cloak of essence, woven from the elements, scents, sounds, and symbols of your year
Journey: Return to the beginning, meet yourself anew
Ceremony: Cloaking ceremony, walk between two horses as the village sees you whole
What is included in the journey:
Ritual and write up of each month and quarter, the symbolism of it, ritual, journal prompts and a herd video to deepen.
Quarterly calls with Abigael and Hillary to deepen the teachings of the space.
All content is recorded; you will have lifetime access to all course content and recordings to continue your journey as often as you would like.
A private online community space to deepen with community and circle of sisterhood.
We begin this journey on Imbolc February 1st as a potent day to begin our 13 moon journey.
Investment: Sliding Scale please choose the tier that feels most accessible and supportive for you financially.
Meet your Facilitators
Hillary Schneider
Hillary is the founder and lead facilitator of the Epona Rise Retreat Center and Horse Medicine Leadership Academy, she has been leading and teaching retreats and trainings with her herd for the last 13 years.
Passionate about bringing the teachings of the horses to impact the lives of humans, she has been devoted to her own vision and purpose of creating a space in nature where people can come and receive the wisdom of horses, the land and their own inner guidance.
She has over the last 13 years had the privilege of hosting and leading retreats for a range of people who are seeking to become more masterful in their experience of being a human with their own passion of personal and professional growth and development.
Abigaël Totty
Abigaël Totty is a mother of seven, a grandmother, a homeopath, a medicine weaver, and a daughter of earth who has walked with horses since childhood.
Horses have been her greatest teachers, shaping the way she listens, senses, and works with women. Abi weaves energy healing through homeopathy, ancestral healing, womb work, horses and ceremony into a grounded and deeply embodied way of holding others.
Everything she offers rises from a place of quiet depth, intuition, and lived experience.
She lives on Prince Edward Island in a leaky old farmhouse with her Husband and three youngest children.
She currently has two horses in her care Alrún a 3.5 yr old Icelandic filly and Monty a big hearted paint.