Welcome to The Bardo
The Bardo is a six-week, ten-session writing program for writers and Word Witches looking to express themselves through the art of writing.
This program is for you if…
You desire to build a writing life
You want to claim or reclaim the word of Writer in your life
You long to connect or reconnect with your inner creativity
You wish to build writing rituals in your life
You carry the seed of something to say
You have felt disconnected from your creative process or voice
The name “Word Witch” calls to you
With Poet, Writer, and Witch, Kate Belew.
WHY WRITing?
There are many reasons to write.
Sylvia Plath said it like this, “I want to write because I have the urge to excel in one medium of translation and expression of life. I can’t be satisfied with the colossal job of merely living. Oh, no, I must order life in sonnets and sestinas and provide a verbal reflector for my 60-watt lighted head.”
Zadie Smith said, “Writing is my way of expressing – and thereby eliminating – all the various ways we can be wrong-headed.”
In the words of Gloria E. Anzaldúa, “Why am I compelled to write? . . . Because the world I create in the writing compensates for what the real world does not give me. By writing I put order in the world, give it a handle so I can grasp it. I write because life does not appease my appetites and anger . . . To become more intimate with myself and you. To discover myself, to preserve myself, to make myself, to achieve self-autonomy. To dispell the myths that I am a mad prophet or a poor suffering soul. To convince myself that I am worthy and that what I have to say is not a pile of shit . . . Finally I write because I’m scared of writing, but I’m more scared of not writing.”
And Anaïs Nin, “Why one writes is a question I can answer easily, having so often asked it of myself. I believe one writes because one has to create a world in which one can live. I could not live in any of the worlds offered to me — the world of my parents, the world of war, the world of politics. I had to create a world of my own, like a climate, a country, an atmosphere in which I could breathe, reign, and recreate myself when destroyed by living. That, I believe, is the reason for every work of art.”
For every writer, there is a reason that they feel compelled to put the pen to paper, to write poems, craft prose, explore narratives, and voices, and experiences. The Bardo was created for you, to support you on your writing path. Discover your why…
The Bardo is For…
The word witches
The spell casters of language
For those who have hidden their artist heart away
For those who are looking to create in a community
For those looking to learn from experienced writers and facilitators
For those who want to communicate their story/brand/business more clearly
For those who want to reconnect with their voice
For those who have a story to tell
In this dynamic, never-before-experienced creative container, I've invited my favorite teachers Grace Belew, Xenia Viray, Danielle Dulsky, Kara Rota, Kristin Lisenby, Brandi Amara Skyy, people who have taught me to come to share this space with us.
After the five weeks together, you will…
Leave with the tools to build a writing life
Learn about supportive practices for creative courage
Craft a deep connection to your intuition
Come to know new poems, quotes, prose
Be given a wealth of prompts and explorations
Meet storytellers, poets, and writers, much like yourself.
Receive feedback (if you desire) on your written work.
Join a writing community.
"The Bardo is a special space, impeccably structured and thoughtfully executed by Kate with care and attention to detail. Whether you're looking for writing inspiration, tips on how to better navigate the industry, a community to share your work with, or all of the above - this is it. What I loved most - both about the structure of the course and Kate as a facilitator - was the diversity of tools and breadth of techniques that were brought into the fold. I struggle with the woowoo, with the mystical and the astrological. But this course does a beautiful job of weaving together different approaches - from nitty gritty nuts-and-bolts writing suggestions to spiritual discussions about how to get your butt in the chair and your pen to the page. It all served to motivate and inspire me." - M.
“I found the Bardo last fall after following Kate on IG and the description pulled me in. I knew that this was where I needed to be but I wasn't in the space to participate at the time. When I got the email that The Bardo was open again, I jumped at the chance. Kate creates an atmosphere of calm, ease, authenticity, and vulnerability. From day 1, our group felt like a community. This was very much due to Kate’s effortless ability to make everyone feel seen and valued upon meeting her. Working with her was one of the biggest joys and benefits of the program as she infuses her knowledge and intuition from multiple modalities. The guest instructors were all amazing and I really enjoyed the variety among them. They all brought something unique to the table. I left every class with my mind reeling and my pen scribbling with ideas. All the instructors were open, kind, and created a collaborative environment for us to explore together. The Bardo was a safe space to let my guard down so that I could reconnect with creativity. A place where I could rediscover my confidence as a writer. I've been a writer and a poet my entire life but had lost my way- this space healed me in a number of ways. The thing about the Bardo, is that it gives back to you what you give to it. If you surrender to the program and your scared creativity, you will meet yourself in so many new ways. If you’re thinking about joining, follow the call. Who knows what is waiting for you inside The Bardo?” - D.
What is the bardo?
A six-week, ten-session writing program dedicated to the magic of language, the in-between, and the liminal. The Bardo is held in the in-between of the internet.
The roots of The Bardo are from the Tibetan word Bardo, which is a translation of the Sanskrit term antarābhava , which means “existence in the interval”, referring to the period between death and rebirth. You can learn more from Joanna Macy, eco-philosopher, Buddhist scholar in their article with Emergence Magazine here.
“In The Bardo, there is the potential to forgive the unforgivable, to say the unsaid, to see The Unseen, to love the unloved, to let go of all the things that cause us pain. The Bardo suspends us in its spaciousness for just long enough to open us to higher wisdom. Its energy does not belong to Earth as we know it, but rather to the cosmic network of which we are a single thread.” -Kim Krans and The Wild Unknown Archetypes Deck
And while unrelated, it conjures up alongside it the word Bard meaning, "ancient Celtic minstrel-poet," mid-15c., from Scottish, from Old Celtic bardos "poet, singer," from Celtic *bardo-, possibly from PIE *gwredho- "he who makes praises," suffixed form of root gwere "to favor."
WhO is the bardo For?
The Bardo is a space for beginners, seasoned writers, and those of you who have become disconnected from your craft. This is a writing space for those who are looking to carve out dedicated time to your writing and storytelling, ultimately developing your creativity and storytelling powers. The Bardo is for you if you feel called to write more creatively, passionately, and with fewer blocks (knowing better to address them). The Bardo is for you if you’re looking to claim the archetypes of Storyteller, Writer, and Artist in your own life.
The Bardo is about the possibility.
It’s possible to feel supported in your creative practice.
It’s possible to connect to your voice and honor your voice.
It’s possible to feel embodied in your writing practice and copywriting endeavors.
It’s possible to tell stories that support your vision, your business, your brand, and your life.
It’s possible to feel confident in how you create.
It’s possible to learn to connect with your intuition through practice, through storytelling.
It’s all possible. All that is needed is showing up.
The Magic of Writing Community
While writing can be solitary work, sharing it can be a joy. Plus accountability! It’s a way to carve out time for yourself to write.
Our Community Consists Of…
Expert Writing and Storytelling Instruction
Guided Meditation Recordings
Conversation and Discussion Around Creating
Live Group Calls
Q&A With Professional Writers and Storytellers
A Slack Channel During the Program
A Weekly PDF and Guide to the Program
"When I was young, writing felt natural and fun. As an adult, I lost touch with that side of myself as I learned a fear of evaluation and became busy with the responsibilities of life. I came to The Bardo in hopes of healing my broken relationship with this mode of expression. Here, I learned so much about the emotional and personal side of writing. I was surrounded by folks with different experience levels and perspectives on writing. The lessons and prompts lead me to create a piece of writing that I was proud of for the first time in ages. I left with new inspiration and a road map forward." - J.
What to Expect
The first session is Wednesday, February 5th. Each class will be 90 minutes in length. There are five Wednesday evening sessions beginning at 7:00 pm EST each week. There are also five Thursday afternoon programs running from 12:00pm EST. There will be a one week break in the middle of the program from February 20th to March 5th. Find the detailed schedule below! Workshops with be recorded and will be accessible to you at any point during the program.
The Bardo Classes will be taught by me, Kate Belew (with additional speakers and guests such as Kristin Lisenby, Danielle Dulsky, Xenia Viray, Kara Rota, and Brandi Amara Skyy)! These classes will contain writings, discussions, new ideas, inspiration, prose, poems, and prompts. Each workshop will give you guidance through generating creative works and will give you tips and workflows through crafting a regenerative writing practice in your own life.
Guest Teachers will host six of our ten workshops. Each of these guest teachers has been a teacher to me in some way. They are writers, poets, and magic makers, and will craft a creative writing class perfect for the liminal space.
A Weekly Guide will be provided to you in PDF form. This PDF works to support you on your journey through The Bardo. Each week you will have prompts given to you, catalysts for creativity, and support in meandering through the teachings of our guest facilitators.
Recorded Meditations and Breathwork Sessions from Grace Belew.
Community! Our Slack channel will be open during the six-week program and will be a place to make new friends, share work, and connect.
Our Schedule
The Bardo - six Week, Ten Session Writing Program
Wednesday, February 5th-Wednesday, March 13th
Class ONE: Welcome to the Bardo
Wednesday, February 5th, 7:00 pm EST With Kate Belew
Welcome to The Bardo. There will be death and rebirth cycles, ouroboros, oracular manifestations, finding your feral, engaging with writing rituals, working with the world of publishing, meditation, word witchery and the divine reminder that you are a writer. Together, we’ll open The Bardo. You’ll set intentions, creative commitments, meet your creative community, and begin writing.
Class TWO: Storytelling Magic
Thursday, February 6th, 12:00 pm EST, With Kristin Lisenby
Books are a quiet kind of magic. They are portals crafted from pen and ink, page-long spells that provoke and glamour. A good story is sentient, powerful enough to raise the dead, and therefore, writers are travelers who journey beyond the margins of time and space. For the poets and word witches, writing is a reminder that we are alive. Writing is also an invitation to let go and honor the unseen. In Storytelling Magic, we’ll visit the fields of the unwritten and pen a never-before-scene chapter from that place. We’ll dig into our creative soil, marry the tangible with the imaginary, and cultivate inspiration using books as our guides. Bring your curiosity, your questions, and a book for bibliomancy.
Class Three: Creative Ecology: Creating in Alignment with Your Nature
Wednesday, February 12th, 7:00 pm EST With Xenia Viray
Nature is brimming with creative templates, and diverse models for making, evolving and adapting. In this workshop, we will examine how ecological models can inform our creative practice, clarify our definition of creativity, and experiment with nature’s elements as storytelling archetypes. From these explorations into nature's creativity, we will assemble a creative toolkit to resource ourselves as storytellers and realign us with our true potential as natural creative beings.
Class Four: Channeled & Automatic Writing
Thursday, February 13th, 12:00 pm EST with Kate Belew
What can our writing reveal? Much like tarot, pendulums, or tea leaves, poetry can reveal messages. The divinatory arts have been called upon by artists for centuries to peer beyond the veil and connect with the muse. Pull back what we see as "meaning" to gaze behind the sentences, the poems, and the nuances of language to receive messages from the subconscious. In this workshop, you'll be guided to channel and divine all through the medium of poetry. We'll discuss Automatic Writing, what is it and how do we do it?, channeling: opening the channel, listening, intuition as a poetic practice and divination, and the power of a perfectly chosen word.
Class Five: Wild Writing: Writuals to Set Your Writing, Creativity, & Feral Free
Wednesday, February 19th, 7:00 pm EST, With Brandi Amara Skyy
We are all born wild, creative, and free. Then something happens—perhaps life, maybe heartbreak, possibly something more systemic, quiet, or mundane—and we forget what was once instinctual—poetry, whispering to Oak trees, drawing down the Moon with our words and the cosmos with our voice. Burdened and overwhelmed, we unknowingly bury our feral, witchery, and creativity alongside a graveyard of our Wild Dreams—our biggest hopes and visions for ourselves—to be everything everyone else expects us to be. And yet still . . . something stirs. Something yelps to be heard. Hear it? Something calls, pings, and pricks at us to let us in. Will you answer? This class is about letting that something, the buried call of our wild desires, back into our lives and creative expression through writuals, rewilding ourselves and word witchery, and praxises to get you/i/we/us writing (and living), wildly and free. This is how we build an authentic, sacred, and long-lasting writing life. Our 90 minutes together will include an introduction to the Wild Writing life, journaling to reclaim your wild, crafting personal writuals, and creating a sacred, safe writing space for your words and heart to land. And of course a few surprises and magick. There will also be time to ask any questions you have about the material; living, writing, and showing up authentically; rewilding blocks, or anything else that comes up.
Class Six: Gathering Bones from Ash: Initiation, Tale-Tending, and Oracular Writing for Word-Witches
Thursday, February 20th, 12:00 pm EST, With Danielle Dulsky
Both witches and writers stand with one foot in the Otherworld. We listen. We look, and we find hidden omens tucked inside our own words. The word origin of “writer” is a “painter of signs.” Every poem that spills from our tongue might be a divinatory spell scripted by our wise and future self, a nod to the yet-to-be, a conversation with the life that longs for us as much as we long for it. In this 90 minute workshop, published author and storyteller, Danielle Dulsky, will invite participants to sift through the ashes that remain as the equinox looms, gathering the bones that house their core values, enduring desires, and timely witch’s wants, scripting spells of seership and manifestation from their own words, from the stories they have lived and wish to live, even and especially now.
Mid-Program Break February 21st to March 5th
Class Seven: A Special Guest Teacher TBD
Wednesday, March 5th, 7:00 pm EST, With a Special Guest Teacher
TBD
Class Eight: Entering The Bardo
Thursday, March 6th, 12:00 pm EST with Kate Belew
During the mid-point of The Bardo, we’ll gather and share. Together, we’ll address creative blocks and you’ll have the space to speak to what’s coming up with you and your work in The Bardo.
Class Nine: Publishing Magic
Wednesday, March 12, 7:00 pm EST With Kara Rota
An interactive conversation where we talk about the various paths to publishing and strategies for manifesting the agent, editor and publisher partnerships that are right for you and your work. From crafting a query letter and a draft proposal to what you should expect from the process along this way, this session with lots of space for open Q&A will help to demystify the traditional publishing process.
Class Ten: The Bardo Salon
Thursday, March 13th, 12:00 pm EST with Kate Belew
The Bardo is about living a poetic life, a life full of stories, and building a creative toolbox. In our last session of The Bardo, we will share our pieces, reflect, and set intentions for our creative lives as we leave the container.
"I’m so grateful for Kate for creating the space of the Bardo! A past life English major, there was a desire to reconnect to the feeling of a classroom workshop. The Bardo has offered the routine, community, and open door for new inspirations that I was looking for. A literal reference I sent to a friend of mine, “Kate is super cool and witchy, she starts each class with a card pull vibe to set the scene – I love it.” Thanks to Kate and her carefully crafted themed classes, and guests, and my fellow Bardo members, I feel I have been guided back to my sanctuary, the place where words play." - F.
Join this program and experience
Regenerated creative energy
Cultivation of a dedicated writing practice
Deeper self and creative confidence
Make new friends/accountability partners
Know that you are a Writer with a capital W
Have a collection of written works from the workshops
Connect to your inner Storyteller
Develop a mindfulness practice around your writing
Feel in touch with your intuition
Have a ton of fun
Pricing Structure
There are two tiers of payment for The Bardo. One tier includes a 45-minute 1:1 meeting with me. Both tiers include a payment plan.
Six weeks and ten sessions of professionally guided creative writing workshops
Prompts and exercises to help you connect to your inner storyteller
A Weekly PDF and Guide
Expert Guest Teachers are available for Q&A during their sessions
A Slack Channel dedicated to The Bardo for six weeks
Guided meditations and breathwork practices from Grace Belew
Tier #1: $444 for the program
Tier #1 covers the expenses of the program on the first tier of the sliding scale model
Tier #1: $500 for the program
Tier #2 includes a 1:1 45-minute call with me to review writing practices, discuss writing rituals, and review pieces as a part of the program. This is discounted $119 from my usual consulting fee). Calls will take place Monday-Thursday between 9:00am and 5:00pm EST during the seven weeks of the program.
Payment Plans Available
Payment plans are available for two payments of $222 or $250.
Accessibility
I prioritize making my offerings accessible. If you require assistance, please write me a message to explain your situation and we can work together to find a solution. Two people will be given a scholarship to this program.
Your Host
Hi! I’m Kate Belew.
I’m a poet, writer, and Word Witch with an Aquarius Sun, Scorpio Rising, Aries Moon, and a Human Design Projector. I am currently based in Brooklyn, NY on Lenape land.
After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College’s Master’s in Fine Arts Program, I wanted to seek out and support non-traditional writing spaces. I know that everyone can be a poet and a writer. My work aims to celebrate and support the inner storyteller and creative spirit of the community. I have written with everyone from young children, people who have been impacted by the justice system, teenagers who had fled Syria due to persecution and were then based in Iraq, middle schoolers, college students, retreats and in support of continuing education.
You can hear me bi-weekly as the co-host of Magick & Alchemy, a podcast about witchcraft and ritual with Kristin Lisenby for Tamed Wild. My first book, written with Shelby Bundy and Tamed Wild, Wild Medicine (Sasquatch) was published in 2023, and my first solo book, Word Witch is forthcoming 2025 (Hachette). I completed a three-year apprenticeship in the Wise Woman Healing Tradition with Robin Rose Bennett, and am in my second year of apprenticeship in Robin’s clinical practice.
I am also a marketing consultant. I have helped countless brands and businesses craft their stories through developing copy, e-mail, social media, building websites, and storytelling. I am committed to hosting writing workshops that are sustainable, full of joy, vulnerable, brave, strange, and regenerative. You can learn more about my work here.
Your Facilitators & Teachers
Xenia Marie Ross Viray
Xenia Marie Ross Viray (she/they) is a creative catalyst, multidisciplinary artist, imagination healer and community weaver with a focus on human design and writing. Born as a brick and mortar business, Myths of Creation (the name of Xenia's collective body of work) is a container for experiments, writings, and gatherings at the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Myths core intention is to reconnect communities, ideas and art forms that have been separated in order to enrich the pool of imaginal possibility. Xenia believes that through reclaiming our imaginations we have the power to invent new systems, new ways of relating and to restore the creative ecosystem to its natural state of vibrancy and diversity in which all of our unique natures are honored and supported. Xenia's book The Universe is an Art Project is part workbook/part manifesto for the sacred role and responsibility of the innate creative power we have all been given.
Danielle Dulsky
Danielle Dulsky is the founder of The Hag School and the author of The Night House, The Holy Wild, Sacred Hags Oracle, Woman Most Wild, Seasons of Moon & Flame, The Holy Wild Grimoire, and Bones & Honey. A heathen visionary, painter, poet, storyteller, and word-witch, she teaches internationally and has facilitated circles, embodiment trainings, communal spell work, and seasonal rituals since 2007. She believes in the emerging power of wild collectives and sudden circles of curious dreamers, cunning witches, and rebellious artists in healing our ailing world, splitting her time between the whiskey-soaked streets of a Pennsylvania steel town and the untamed grounds of upstate New York.
Brandi Amara Skyy
Brandi Amara Skyy (she/they/we/us) is a Poet, Author, Wild Dream Witch; and founder of The Wild Dream Journal Club who believes we all have a fire and Universe inside waiting to Big Bang its way out of us. They are the author of 8 books, including The Little Book of Drag (2022) and Be More Drag (2023) both published by Dog n Bone Books, Magick For Transformation (2024) published by Cico Books, and her latest work—a manifesto on using your art as activism called, The Artivist. Their work has been featured in BET, Curve Magazine, Global Grind, and Ofrenda Magazine (her first piece for BET went viral); and as a journalist, op-ed writer, TV anchor, and columnist for The Dallas Voice. She grew up under the South Texas Sun, rhinestone beaches, and full familia tamale-making kitchen table wisdom. As a double Leo, they have been everything performative under the Sun: Junior Olympic artistic roller-skating champion, cross-country touring belly dancer, and award-winning drag queen. Known as the “Queen of Firsts,” they were the first to publish books on female drag queens and spearhead the first haute drag magazine, GAG Magazine; have their neo-drag performance group open up for Lady Gaga; and win the first National Drag Pageant, Miss Diva USofA in 2014. As an Artivist, Brandi has been using her art as activism since 2005; has spoken on diversity inclusion to international companies like Southwest Airlines; lobbied Congress on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign while interning at the Women’s Institute of Public Policy and Research in Washington DC; and has marched, led, and help organzine many street marches. They hold a BA in Dance and an MA in Multicultural Women’s & Gender Studies from Texas Woman’s University. When they’re not busy being the change they wish to see, Brandi can be found deepening her creative and magickal craft, on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean, and/or obsessing over all things Lisa Frank and Dallas Cowboys football. Brandi resides on her native lands, known as Wimberley, Tejas, with her wife Candace, and their spoiled, papaleta Maltese/Shih-Tzu rescue, June. For more about Brandi and living your Wild Dream Life head over to her Wild Dreamer Substack community, brandiamaraskyy.com, or YouTube & Instagram @brandiamaraskyy.
Kristin Lisenby
Kristin Lisenby is a storyteller based in the Azores. She is the co-creator of the Little Witch Books and co-founder of Pointy Hat Press, an independent publishing house exploring Witchcraft and Paganism through a modern lens. When she’s not writing, Kristin shares her original stories via the Pointy Hat Press podcast and discusses mythology and witchcraft on Magick & Alchemy, a podcast by Tamed Wild. Her latest book, Telling the Bees, is a middle-grade fairy tale about a little witch, a curious invitation, and a sticky springtime tradition.
Kara Rota
Kara Rota is a senior agent at Thompson Literary Agency, representing nonfiction authors including activists, artists, witches, and revolutionaries. Before joining TLA, she worked as an Executive Editor at Chicago Review Press from 2019-2023, acquiring narrative nonfiction, music, and pop culture titles. Previously from 2014 Kara worked at Macmillan, acquiring and editing cookbooks, mind/body/spirit projects and other nonfiction for multiple Macmillan imprints including Flatiron and St. Martin's Press. She also served as director of recipe website and Macmillan portfolio company Cookstr.com. She lives in Evanston, IL.
Grace Belew
Grace is a careworker, breathwork facilitator, Mindful Practice teacher, and mental health advocate. Grace's practices are defined by much of her education and career in mental health as a Social Worker. Early on in her career she consistently found success using mind-body/ mindfulness techniques with individual clients and groups. However, she quickly learned these techniques (like many) needed to be adjusted for those she was serving. At the time she was serving clients living in shelter housing for women experiencing intimate partner violence. She began to make changes and create practices based on her client's identities, experiences, and specific needs. She found this created a better space for healing work and this began to change the course of her career. Grace received her BA in Human Development from Michigan State University and continued her education receiving her MSW with a focus in Clinical Mental Health from the University of Maryland. She then received her Social Work License and worked as a Social worker for a public school system and county government in the D.C area. Here she provided mental health services and led Mindfulness classes for numerous groups including Educators, Public School Employees, Public Health Employees, Mental Health professionals, and First Responders. She continues to serve this population by consulting on mental health programming and teaching weekly meditation and breathwork classes. Grace recently completed a 200- hour trauma-informed breathwork facilitator training from the Breath liberation society. Through this work, she created 'Practice with Grace' A Carework space rooted in mindful practice, guided breath, and meditation. Her goal as a careworker is to create a space that is gentle, understanding, and expansive. All services offered are adjusted based on client experience and need, and are offered at a sliding scale fee. Grace also works in tandem with therapists or mental health providers to offer you a supportive experience. As a careworker, teacher, and facilitator her goals are to create a healing space, to offer unconditional support, and to guide anyone who seeks to care for and prioritize themselves.
Past Facilitators
Raisa Tolchinsky, Jackie Braje, Amy Torok, Risa Dickens, Maia Toll, Robin Rose Bennett, Jennifer Elsner, Kristin Lisenby, Daje James, Grace Belew, Tyler Knott Gregson, Uli Beutter Cohen, Xenia Viray, and Shaina Phenix.
FAQ
Do I need to attend all workshops live?
No! This program is intended to support any schedule. Workshops can be listened to via recording. And you can tune into these workshops from any place as long as you have internet.
Do I have access to all materials forever?
The Slack and recordings from the workshop will end with the program, however, the prompts, exercises, and PDFs from workshops are yours to keep forever.
What Experience Do I need to have before The bardo?
No experience needed! Just a desire to write and create.
Testimonials
“The Bardo helped me realize that I don't need to be going through a lot to write beautiful things (dare I say: poetry!) Thank you Kate for putting it together. I had always thought I needed to experience drama to write and it's great to know that's not a requirement! I have a much better relationship to writing now!” - S.
”The Bardo is like a weird witchy biggest and best hug that urges you to write.” - T.
“If your soul is calling you to write, but you need a loving community for support and structure and a place to begin, come to The Bardo. Here you will find your writing wings.” -C.
“For a space all about weaving together words and telling stories, I'm absent of words to capture or do justice the magic of the Bardo. I felt dormant parts of myself come alive and will be forever grateful to this experience.” - T.
“If you find yourself mid-stride, between here and there on the great pendulum of transformation and self-actualization, step into the Bardo and be held. This is place for dreamers, a place for magic, a place where words dance and hearts are lifted. Even if you've never written a scrap of poetry or a paragraph of prose -- if you have the even the tiniest urge in your soul to CREATE - you belong here. These are your people. Come and be. Become.” -N.
“The Bardo is a community of writers and magic makers brought together by the Word Witch herself, Kate Belew. If you want to connect with other brilliant creators or be inspired along that path this is the place for you. This course is full of inspirational content, incredible speakers and a wonderful community. You will leave with a whole new set of tools to get your writing off to a great start or a whole new level.” -S.
"Kate is such an encouraging teacher and guide. The instructors were all uniquely inspirational and the class gives a wide arrange of perspectives from individuals that have found their creative paths. I did some incredible writing and tapped into areas that had been pretty dormant. Great space for writers no matter what the career level." - K.
"I'm not generally a workshop person, but every one of our teachers had a revelation for me and I loved our little community of word witches. I came to The Bardo to get my literary needle knocked out of its groove, and I definitely achieved that. Looking forward to reworking many of my experiments into a future book!" - S.
”I had the great fortune of meeting Kate Belew last October during a writing session. Since then, I have attended most of her online classes and follow her weekly poetry prompts with my own writing. Kate is a warm, compassionate, loving, authentic person and all of her traits come through in her classes. She knows how to make attendees feel safe and comfortable with her beautiful, easy-to-follow class presentations. She is well-versed in her knowledge and expertise in poetry, the language of the soul, myths, the wild and liminal places, archetypes, symbols, dreams, shadow work, witchery, the cosmic dance. Kate’s classes enabled me to write in a deeper, more meaningful way that connects me to my creativity and spirituality. She is an exceptional teacher for anyone who dreamed of writing but didn’t, seasoned writers, and those who want to get back to their wordcraft. I was blessed the day I found Kate! Thank you, Kate.” - V.
“What struck me immediately, was how Kate lead the group through the workshop with a rare effortless command of time. Her casual manner never fell into a lack of professionalism, leadership or maturity. Rather, it set the stage for feeling comfortable individually and as part of the group. From there, deep work and honest sharing was accessed. And just like that, the class came to a close. I either spent a minute with Kate or a lifetime. She held me and that space with fluency. It’s rare to witness confidence born from trust in one's self. It’s also a marvel.” - J.
“Kate is so knowledgeable and bright but that isn’t what makes her teachings so profound; it’s her vulnerability and authenticity. It’s contagious and everyone can feel it. So thankful I’ve been afforded the opportunity to learn and study with her. Your writing soul will thank you.” - T