What We Carry: A Community Grief Circle
In this two-hour circle, we will co-create a container for the grief that lives in our bodies and hearts: grief for personal losses and grief for the state of our world. All experiences of loss are invited to participate, including changes and transitions, death, pain from our past, sorrow for the suffering of the world, loss of community and connection, and anything else that needs witnessing.
Drawing from the teachings of Francis Weller, Joanna Macy, and in humble recognition of the human practice of communal grieving across many cultures and traditions, we will weave together explorations of grief through movement and somatic practices, poetry, song, and sharing and deep listening.
We will practice remembering how to hold grief in community, cultivate space and respect for the pain and suffering in our world, and deepen connection with one another, the earth, and our web of teachers/mentors/ancestors/guides.
A community grief altar will be co-created for honoring loss and cultivating capacity and space for grief to flow through. Participants are invited to bring objects that cultivate a sense of connection (to loss or to hope) and that hold personal or collective meaning to place on the community grief altar. Examples include photographs, items of remembrance, dried or live flowers, stones, or written prayers.
Comfortable, loose clothing is encouraged, and a journal is welcome if you'd like to write.
No prior experience with grief work or ritual is needed — only a willingness to show up.
This circle is not therapy — it is community. There is no pressure to share or perform. You may witness, move, weep, or simply breathe alongside others. All of it belongs, and all of it is welcome.
If you have questions about the event that would help you decide if it is the right space for you, you can email virg@prismaticartscounseling.com
Virg
Augoustatos
Virg (she|they), MA, LMHCA received their Masters in Clinical Mental HealthCounseling with a concentration in Drama Therapy from Antioch University Seattle. They are certified in Traumatic Bereavement Care through the MISS Foundation and recently completed their first research project, “The Embodiment of Grief: An Ethnodramatherapy on Grief, Loss, and Bereavement” alongside colleague Sarah Olbrantz (MA, LMHCA). A background in performance art and circus entertainment fuels their playful therapeutic approach. They are a creative arts therapist and trauma-informed yoga facilitator who believes in storytelling, mindfulness, and embodiment as sacred tools for individual and communal healing.