The loss and exile of the feminine has tremendously impacted the foundation of Western cultures. This course explores the quest for regenerative pilgrimage toward sovereign, effective participation in Life through the incorporation of feminine wisdom. Cinematic and literary representations of female power have shifted dramatically, providing girls and women—as well as boys and men—more dynamic and authentic reflections of vital female presence, power, and wisdom. Moreover, fresh interpretations of women's classic literature help excavate long-buried roadmaps offered by our foremothers. Beyond the constructed triad of maiden, mother, crone, other archetypes have been missing from an incomplete model of the feminine in modern cultures.

This workshop is for anyone longing for the adventure and discovery—or deepening—of your own personal myth. Central to this exploration is recognizing and attending the exiled and degraded archetypal feminine of Western cultures; her loss has left a corrupt model where partnership was replaced with a legacy of incestuous and sacrificial shaming and violence, and an incomplete, wounded masculine longing for wholeness. Utilizing archaeomythology, gender studies, depth psychology, religious studies, literary fiction, and film, we can track how the exilic feminine--embodied, divine, and wise--returns bearing regenerative gifts.

By exploring both the internal, alchemical marriage of the feminine and masculine energies and wisdoms—in Jungian terms, personal individuation—and the external collective unconscious and partnership models for community and the environment, this advanced workshop weaves practical scholarship with your embodied, lived experience. Through the psychological acts of reading and writing via creative exercises and dialogue, this course calls you forward on your personal quest for regeneration and toward co-creative acts of community building.

Praise

PERSONAL MYTHOLOGY ANALYSIS

Having a mythical analysis reading with Dr. April Heaslip was a unique, thought-provoking, and moving experience. Due to her extensive knowledge of mythology, tarot, archetypal symbolism, and women’s psychology, our reading was complex and nuanced, thereby empowering me to face and process some challenging feelings and deep-seated fears. April’s compassionate, curious approach to the intense emotional material that can arise during readings encourages her clients to hold tensions, to explore, and, ultimately, to create themselves anew. Her work is bold, innovative, and transformational. For anyone who is seeking deeper self-knowledge, as well as the cultivation of self-love that leads to healing, I highly recommend a mythical analysis with Dr. Heaslip, a healer and scholar of the highest caliber. 

- Dr. Alexandra Dragin

Professor of English

April Heaslip is a true sleuth for the soul. She uses her insightfulness, intuition, and wide spectrum of knowledge to weave together the threads of a person’s story into a whole tapestry. April deeply understands the impact a person’s inherited family and ancestral stories have on their personal myth. She has helped me enormously to look at my personal story with new eyes and to make empowering choices with confidence.

- Dr. Annalisa Derr

Actress & Goddess Scholar

April's mythological reading and breakdown was so enriching. She really listened to my interpretations of experiences and asked lots of questions, helping me to process the information I was expressing. Using her charts simplified and clarified aspects of myself and my story. I feel more confident, aware, and in touch with myself moving forward after working with her. Using her expertise in mythology, astrology, tarot, and energy, I have been able to integrate different aspects of myself, moving closer and closer to more understanding and acceptance. I've gotten more out of my sessions with April than I have with other forms of “therapy.”

                               - Mallory Spencer

                                 Yoga Instructor

Academic

April has been one of the greatest mentors of my life. It is with her that I learned how to speak, the power of words, what strength showers are, and to be thankful for everything--including bills. I wish all of humanity could have the privilege of having classes taught by her (I had many--from Women's History to Gender + the Environment) or the one-on-one coaching and group work that I was blessed to be a part of with her. The world would be a more compassionate place.

                                    - Tara Cheney

Every so often, over my seven years of undergraduate work, I was privileged with a really outstanding professor, someone who took the time to get to know me, encouraged me, or inspired me. There are a select few who went above and beyond to encourage me to reach higher. Dr. Heaslip is at the top of my list of outstanding professors! I sincerely appreciate her encouragement and support. I am truly inspired by her and her work, so much so that I am actually changing the direction of my master’s and future career aspirations. 

-  Whitney Strohmayr 

I feel that Dr. Heaslip really got a grasp on who I am and what I am looking for in life, and that came across beautifully. I thank her for being an educator who invests in their students, for it is those educators who push us to continue reaching for our goals.

                                    - Lee Ann J. Bontrager

Dr. Heaslip’s Popular Culture course was hands down the best course I have taken at this university. To be frank, I initially was not excited about taking this course and expected it to be a chore since it wasn't directly related to my major. However, she brought both personal experience and genuine enthusiasm into the class atmosphere that provided an excellent learning environment for me and the other students. The course was so well constructed! Each module contained meaningful instruction and built towards the next like chapters in a book. Each rubric was clear and her feedback was beyond amazing. She is one of the only professors I felt truly connected with students and it felt like real classroom interaction. Her feedback, guidance, and encouragement has helped make the decision to pursue graduate studies easier.

- Mark-Anthony Delgado

Dr. Heaslip went above and beyond as an educator. Instead of letting me succumb to mediocrity in the final course of my undergraduate degree, she went out of her way to develop and execute a plan that encouraged me to dig deeper and truly excel in the course. Between the constant email communication and discussions over the telephone, Dr. Heaslip had an active role in helping me achieve my scholarly goal and finish my Bachelor’s degree on an incredibly high note. Additionally, Dr. Heaslip planted the seeds that would eventually inspire me to pursue a post-graduate degree. Had it not been for her encouragement, I doubt I would be pursuing my Master’s Degree. If you have the opportunity to study under Dr. Heaslip, I strongly encourage you to seize that opportunity.

- Patrick Quinn

Workshops

I highly recommend April's classes to anyone on the path of personal transformation and spiritual journey. Her classes balance beautifully the intellectual and the visceral, the academic and the feeling, the cerebral and the healing. She caters to diverse understandings and cares deeply about creating an experience from which all participants can derive value. She goes out of her way to make sure people get what they need and want from her classes, regardless of age, experience, or level of education. Her curriculum is well-structured to hold flexibility for themes that emerge from the lives and experiences of class participants. Her knowledge of mythology and psychology is rooted and integrated in a knowledge of self that couldn't be more apparent. Her ability to walk with others on their journeys through learning and healing comes so obviously from her ability to walk through on her own.

                                    - Dr. Hilary Booker

CEO, The Institute for Earth-Based Living

April is a goddess—of fierce intellect, of boundless curiosity for inner and outer exploration and growth, of deep mythological and archetypal understanding. I have been blessed to be on the receiving end of her knowledge and experience for many years, as a colleague and client, and I feel I could never learn all that she has to offer. Her ability to explain mythology and archetypes, to elicit meaning on so many levels and to relate them to our modern culture, continually blows me away. Her work connecting a person's astrological chart with archetypal wisdom and with all of the aspects of their life is nothing short of breathtaking. I love every moment spent in conversation with April because not only is she brilliant, caring and kind, she is fun and warm and truly cares about those in her orbit. She deeply wants to make the world a better place.

- Jenny Wood

Acupuncturist and Travel Guide

© April C. Heaslip, RegeneraTRIX. 2024. All rights reserved.

Website images used are in the public domain and attributed whenever possible.

Evocation and Chalice of Mystery by Odilon Redon