Meet Shonagh Home | Teacher, Guide, Author & Poet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shonagh Home and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shonagh, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I would have to say its uniqueness and my consistency of care with each client. I began nine years ago hosting individual clients in my home for 5-day retreats that offer an intimate, safe and deeply nourishing experience that is catered to the needs of each man or woman who attends. I do deep psycho-spiritual work with clients where we address shadow material, patterns, and all the contributing factors that are continuing the issue at hand. One of my clients calls this, “multi-dimensional nourishment,” as there is the opportunity to journey deeply inward in addition to the “delving” we do with regard to exploring root causes through talk-therapy, the use of cards as a way to cull from the deep psyche (as opposed to divination), astrology, and other unique ways of looking deeply into the soul. While retreat centers and clinics are cropping up everywhere my work is modeled after the traditional medicine woman who had a household where she tended her patients with her healing knowledge. I also do Zoom sessions and often work with a client for a number of sessions before they attend an actual retreat. I have quite a few people who have been coming annually for years who see this as their personal “reset” where they can address what needs attention and set goals moving forward. This is a calling and truly has been my heart’s work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I went to art school earlier in life for interior design and when I hit 40 I did ten years of immersive spiritual study with superb teachers like Dr. Brugh Joy, shaman and Mayan priest, Miguel Angel Vergara, Psychotherapist and Sound Healer, Tom Kenyon, and others who taught with integrity and held the wisdom of many years experience and application in their field. I was an earnest student of the mystery and will be for the rest of my life. I did not set out to do the retreats I’ve been hosting these nine years, I was conducting private Skype sessions consisting of shamanic work and psycho-spiritual counseling, and I’d written two books, Ix Chel Wisdom and Love and Spirit Medicine. I assumed I would write more books and continue my private sessions until one of my clients asked if there was any way she could fly out and stay with me for a few days and soak up my knowledge, and experience an inward journey to the spirit teachers. I found a beautiful place for us to stay in the Washington Rainforest where we spent 3 days together. The experience was life-changing for her, as she was able to move through some personal material, and the following week I mentioned what I’d done to another client only to have her declare she wanted to have the same experience. This happened a couple more times and it became apparent that this vocation chose me and I began the process of crafting a more formal outline of what the retreat would consist of. I brought my extensive research into psychology, shamanic practices, traditional food wisdom, natural law and much more to my offering, providing for those intrepid souls a very unique and personal opportunity for growth and expansion in the safety, beauty and comfort of my home. I am a modern medicine woman and I am inspired and informed by my own Celtic heritage, echoing the path of the ban draoi (dree) and fili (a Celtic medicine woman and seer poet). I have a beautiful new book coming out April 10th titled, Poetic Whispers from the Cauldron of the Otherworld, that flows with poetry and chapters on the beautiful faerie-lore of the Celts, the training of the seer poets of Old Ireland, and my own apprenticeship to the mushroom teachers of Nature for the past twelve years.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, I live in northern Virginia in horse country and it is absolutely beautiful here. I would take my friend into Middleburg for the afternoon. Middleburg is a beautiful historical town with brick sidewalks and lovely old one and two-story buildings that have retained their charm over the last 2-1/2 centuries. There are wonderful restaurants and good shopping and the surrounding area boasts vineyards and antique shops and little cafes. The Goodstone Inn and Restaurant is a personal favorite for dinner, as is the Red Fox Inn and Tavern. We would definitely spend an afternoon in Leesburg, which is also historic and charming with a couple of good restaurants, cafes and lovely shops. Dinner at King Street Oyster Bar for sure.

I walk 5 miles every morning and love to hike so we would definitely do a nature walk. Franklin Park is in Round Hill and offers a 3-mile loop trail through lush greenery. Also, Raven Rocks at the Blackburn Trail Center has a 9-mile trail, which is a great workout and just gorgeous.

Of course D.C. would have to be included and the Smithsonian would be a great choice and of course a walking tour of the monuments. The architecture is just beautiful there and I would definitely want to take my friend to Union Station, which is so pretty and a treat for the eyes, at least the outside and the main hall. The food in D.C. is superb and I love Zaytinya, which offers delicious Lebanese food and Rasika is fantastic for Indian. La Refuge in Alexandria, Virginia (a few miles south of D.C.) is another favorite for French food and we would definitely explore that wonderful city.

Charlottesville, Virginia is a couple hours south of me and would be fun to visit. We could stay at the Oakhurst Inn, a boutique hotel by the University of Virginia, which is in a bustling and fun area with shops and restaurants. I would recommend Maya for delicious upscale southern cooking.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My late teacher, Dr. Brugh Joy, was a John’s Hopkins trained MD who walked away from an illustrious career to teach. He was Jungian-inspired and a brilliant teacher, focusing on dreams and shadow. He had a following of psychotherapists and doctors as well as intrepid seekers like myself who were ready to broaden our understanding and appreciation of the human mystery. His seminal book, Avalanche: Heretical Reflections on the Dark and the Light, brings the shadow side of our nature into the light of understanding in a very profound way. I had just three years of immersive instruction under Brugh and I’ve carried that forward into my psycho-spiritual work with clients. As someone who has been highly intuitive since childhood, my work with Brugh further developed my ability to see into the psyche. He was my teacher for this lifetime and I will be forever grateful for what he opened me to.

Website: www.shonaghhome.com

Instagram: shonagh_home

Youtube: The Mushroom’s Apprentice