Moon Weavers Facilitators

Meet the wāhine of Moon Weavers, weaving together many strands of knowledge, skill, and lived experience.

Alice

Counsellor & Natural Health Practitioner

I am mother to 3 beautiful young people, living in Foxton with Duncan in a home we made ourselves, on land that we are caretakers of. I grew up in Taranaki, very close to the Waitara river, and feel a very strong connection to this area.

I have been a member of Rites of Passage Foundation for many years and am passionate about Celebrations and Rites of Passage being in our lives at regular intervals. I see that when we mark stages and celebrate our stories, we are more connected with ourselves and others, healthier, and our communities become more supportive and caring. 

We have so many amazing women around looking for self-understanding, for how they can contribute to the world with their unique qualities. Many of us did not experience being valued and honoured through rites of passage. Moon Weavers to me is a chance to come together as women, to experience the richness of crossing a threshold while being held by other caring and experienced women. It’s also to support bringing rites of passage and celebration back into our communities in a rich, spiritual and meaningful way. 

I have experienced my own rites of passage, and am trained in natural health and counselling. 

My joy and sense of contribution come alive when around others who are finding and connecting with their inner strength. Moon Weavers offers the chance for women to take some time to mark where they are at in their lives, to celebrate themselves, and to be held as they experience their own rite of passage. I want to see that every woman has the opportunity to mark and celebrate their own crossing of thresholds.

I love being in nature, experiencing being held while connecting with the elements - an integral part of celebrating rites of passage. My greatest joy is being in a natural environment, where my playful spiritual parts can be.

I bring love and care for others, as well as much excitement about being in the rite of passage space with women.

Jane 

Teacher, Creative Facilitator & Musician

I’m a mother, a fun & creative facilitator, and community weaver. I am a registered teacher, a committed life learner and advocate of self directed education. Through this lens I have created and run a Nature School, where I get to hold space for children to rest in who they truly are and come back to themselves. I live in Ashhurst, Manawatū. I am a musician, ceilidh dance caller, kids yoga teacher, keen tramper and have written a book about self-directed education. 

I bring the fun, the music, dancing, yoga & games. I love the deep and connected as much as I am naturally drawn to the light and fun elements in life. I offer clear communication, an open heart, an empathetic ear & an intuitive approach. 

I bring a lived experience holding space, facilitating & teaching in various spheres, using music as a tool for connection and emotional expression & community leadership. 

I feel deeply drawn to working with women in every season of life. This time of menopause and beyond, in particular, can be a time of huge transformation. Many women are navigating shifts in identity, purpose, relationships, and self-trust., I believe supportive spaces with other women can help make that transition more conscious, connected, and empowering. There is so much wisdom, creativity, and clarity emerging during this time, yet few spaces that intentionally honour it. 

What excites me most about Moon Weavers is the incredible team of women that I feel so honoured to be a part of - facilitators and participants. The wealth of experience, skills & aroha. The huge commitment and generous gifting of themselves to dream, plan, work hard, celebrate and hold space.

Ganesha

Midwife | Nourishment & Sacred Healing Art

I am an Australian born Mother of two boys drawn to Aoteaora for the wilderness and the autonomy gifted to Midwives. I am at peace by the water or with my bare feet touching the Earth. Some call me a bit of a birth nerd that gives a hug that feels like you are wrapped in a warm blanket!

Moon weavers provides a window into the rites of passages that seemed to be skipped over in our industrial domesticated world. Many of us know that something has been missing and now we journey to rewild ourselves. This is a path I am still traversing as I balance motherhood, work and my own relearning. My role in Moon Weavers is container creation and nourishment. Whether through kai prep, space clearing/ cleansing or just sitting in korero I am there to ensure a safe space for you to lean into curiosity, vulnerability and re ground. As a Midwife these are skills that come into play as I support primarily women cross the birth threshold, crossing into the beyond bringing baby’s spirit earthside. Extra training in birth art and Tul’ix indigenous arts bring an extra layer of creativity and sacred healing arts. My style of facilitation is grounded in practical reflection, intuition and open hearted flexibility. I am often guided by the feeling of the group, their questions and move the structure to meet them where they are while still covering any key information.

I am so excited to cross thresholds, call in joy, movement, tears and create connections with women. These are my hopes for moon weavers 2026. Let us sit together by the fire, dance with our feet touching the ground and I also offer you a full hearted hug if that is what you need. 

Taransay

Teacher, Artist & Healer

I’m Tara- one of the many passionate wāhine on the Lifespan Rites facilitator team. 

Drawn to the powerful moments when life asks us to change, my work is devoted to honouring the sacred thresholds of the human experience—the times when something is ending, something new is emerging, and we are invited to meet ourselves anew.

Inspired and forever learning through the rhythms and elements of nature, I weave together bodywork, energy healing, plant medicine, ritual, and creative practice to create spaces (and artwork) where transformation can be felt, witnessed, and embodied.

As a qualified primary school teacher, I hold a deep respect for the lifelong process of learning and becoming. 

As an artist, curiosity, creativity, and care also shape the way I guide and hold space.

Through ceremony, ritual, and presence, I invite people to slow down, listen deeply, and mark life’s transitions with meaning—so they can step forward feeling more connected to themselves, their path, and the living world of which they are intrinsically part of.

It is an honour to be bringing this important mahi back into our communities.

Lena

Rites of Passage work, Connection to Nature & Bushcraft

Kia Ora, ko Lena ahau. 

I am from Kapiti and am studying in Wellington. I am excited to be becoming more  involved with Lifespan Rites as a community of women supporting women. I love the  magic of sitting in circle, supporting, laughing and sharing. I am passionate about rites  of passage for all ages and stages and hope to be part of this mahi throughout my life. I  have been involved with Rites of Passage Foundation in Golden Bay since age 16, when I went to Tides with my mama. I love the richness it brings.  

My childhood of Steina education gives me an eye for ceremony and celebration of life’s  stages/transitions. To be part of the facilitation team is such an honour as I have been  inspired by many women in this role before me.  

I bring my knowledge of the healing that nature holds and carry the call to connect with tai ao into this work. I have experience in bushcraft and nature connection work. I bring embodied experience of growth as taught to us by te tai ao.

Jessica

Family and Marriage Therapist, Life Coach & Somatic Work

I tend towards the playful and creative side of life and often say that laughing is my favourite. Alongside this joy, I feel deeply called to meet life and others in the sacred depths of the heart, where what is revealed is always beautiful. It is in this rawness of authenticity we uncover truth, tenderness, and transformation. I’m all about that.

Originally from America, I have lived in Aotearoa for the past nine years with my American husband and now feel deeply at home here. I hold a Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy and am a Certified Life Coach, Somatic Energy Therapist, and Somatic Dance Facilitator.

My work is devoted to creating safe, intentional spaces where women can soften, remember who they are, and honour the many phases of their becoming. It is a privilege to witness wāhine as they step more fully into their embodied wisdom.

My facilitation blends structure, intuition, and creativity to create spaces where women feel safe to explore their authentic selves. I’m passionate about the magic that unfolds when women gather with intention.  When we acknowledge, shed, remember, and celebrate the many phases of life.

Berylla

Elder | Nature Connector

I am looking forward to joining the Moon Weavers team in the role of an Elder.  I am in my early seventies and I bring you the gentle strength I’ve used to traverse life’s ups and downs … and the peace and beauty I harvest from my gardening hours.

My connection to the natural world has been a steady thread from childhood all through my life, offering grace and comfort as it leads me to collaborate with others who find joy in sharing the gifts of nature connection, through herbs, plant medicine, flower essences, healing touch, wilderness awareness, fabric arts, and more.

As I work with people of all ages and stages; preschoolers to the elderly; I watch as nature connection brings us into calmer states, piques our curiosity to learn more, reduces anxiety, builds confidence and fosters a sense of fun and aliveness.

As you move through your own thresholds and rites of passage, releasing what no longer serves, or stepping into a new chapter of yourself, I am here as a steady experienced companion.

Sharon

Women's & Family Work Facilitator | Health Practitioner

I’m Sharon, mother of three grown up children, originally from the South Coast of England, with the last 30 years spent in New Zealand. Currently living on the Kapiti Coast. My background includes organising and facilitating women’s retreats, working as a health coach and homeopath, and holding many roles in Playcentre. I’ve also facilitated SPACE (Supporting Parents as Childhood Educators) with new parents and babies. Before this chapter of my life, I worked in the corporate world as an IT consultant.

I am passionate about supporting significant life transitions. I attended Tides in Golden Bay with my daughter and have returned several times with the Rites of Passage Foundation. I feel passionately that such programmes should be available to all, to support families and communities mature and thrive.

I bring experience of sharing circles with women in all phases of life and love being in nature as a support and guide in this process.

I love working with passionate, talented and creative women to bring this program to life, and look forward to bringing women through this programme and building the community of women who can hold this space for more women in the future.

Ruth

Trauma Sensitive Yoga | Space holding & Deep listening

Kia ora, my name is Ruth and I’ve been part of the Lifespan Rites team since 2021. I’m a mother of two, and my daughter Ilana and I first participated in Moon Spiral that same year. We’ve both returned as part of the team every year since. I grew up in Toronto, Canada and moved to Aotearoa in 2006.
I’ve been teaching yoga for 25 years and have loved being part of women’s circles for almost as long. These days, I teach Trauma Sensitive Yoga and serve as a consumer reviewer for Midwifery Standards Reviews. I was also a La Leche League leader for 8 years. Outside of this, I enjoy sailing, which I learned a couple of years ago.
I bring experience and a capacity to hold space for deep listening - to one another in circle and to ourselves in community. I believe we were never meant to parent in isolation, and I’m grateful to be part of a group building community to share the journey of raising amazing human beings.

Ina

Rites of Passage work, Movement & Design

Kia ora, my name is Ina. I am part of the facilitation team for Moon Weavers 2026, alongside my mum, Alice.

I grew up in Foxton and now live and work in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. I have been involved in rites of passage work for over a decade, completing my own initiation as a young woman with Tides Rites of Passage in 2014, alongside my mum. Since then, I have participated in and supported many rites of passage programs, helping to hold and shape these spaces.

I feel deeply passionate about creating spaces where women of all ages and walks of life can come together—to connect, to witness one another, to learn, and to step into new versions of themselves.

To Moon Weavers, I bring my love of art and design, movement and dance, and my experience supporting women through rites of passage work.

Together, we hold a container of openness and discovery, trust, balance and freedom.