Luisah Teish

Luisah Teish is a storyteller, performer, ritual priestess, and author of several books and articles on African and African-American spiritual culture and feminist myth. She has been awarded a PhD in spiritual therapeutics. Teish is an initiated elder (Iyanifa—“mother of destiny”) in the Ifa/Orisha tradition of the West African Diaspora and holds a chieftaincy title (Yeye’woro—“beloved mother”) from the Fatumisa Compound (“the house of good fortune”) in Ile Ife, Nigeria.

Presentations by Luisah Teish

Friday Evening Activity:

Moon Ritual

This night the moon is in its last quarter. It is the perfect time to evaluate where we have been and where we are going. In this program Teish will conduct a moon ritual using the universal elements found in all cultures. Please bring regrets and fears, past accomplishments and future hopes, and writing utensils.

Saturday Evening Activity:

Sacred Storytelling

Our ancestors sat beneath the full moon around a fire and explained the sacredness of life, nature, and spirit though the art of storytelling. Their stories provided the guidelines for inner peace, spiritual education, and communal action. In the African Diaspora, myths and stories were housed in the body of cowrie shells, stones, seeds, and bones. When these are cast, the voice of the Divine is heard, and the community contemplates the mystery of creation, applying to contemporary life the wisdom that emerges.