Italy's Witches And Medicine Women and My Birthday

How did I get here?  Why Guardia?  A question I turned over and over in my mind after I took possession of my first property. 

I reseached the "herstory" of the Janare, the witches who were really medicine women using ancient traditions to heal.  Unfortunately many were deemed devil workers and burned at the stake.  Attrocities against women and healing our divine feminine nature have been huge themes in my life and I was drawn to Her energy in the hills, valleys and rivers.   This started me looking for clues to try to understand my big question... Why Guardia?  That's when I discovered Karyn Crisis....   http://www.karyncrisisheals.com/

I felt there was a bigger purpose for me behind being led to this magical land.  Seeking answers, I found Karyn's website.  She was a medium, artist, musician and translated Italian books about the stories of the Italian medicine women and their cures.  I was intrigued and immediately contacted her, maybe a reading would shed some light on my greater purpose.    We connected right away and she could sense a deeper spiritual meaning for me.  She suggested I meditate and write, continuing to ask God and my spirit guides for signs and clues. 

A few months later, Karyn contacted me.  She was coming to Italy to write a book on the ancient traditions of Italian women healers and asked if she could stay in my spare room and if I could help her organize a driver and meetings with local healers.    Little did we know, this is how my little tour business would begin.

I was fortunate to tag along with her to Benevento, Guardia and San Lupo searching for clues of the old traditions and connecting with women who were using local herbs, olive oil and prayer to cure and heal.   It was a magical experience for me.  Karyn went on and wrote and published her book Italy's Witches and Medicine Women and we stayed in touch meeting in San Francisco from time to time.   Then she went on to create  The Golden Bough School  offering online classes on mediumship and healing remedies she learned in Italy.   And I went on to create My Casa in Guardia Sanframondi, an apartment rental on Airbnb and My Sweet Life in Italy, a boutique tour company  for travelers who want to experience authentic life in rural Guardia.

We collaborated again on my birthday last Friday when Karyn brought her first group of young women students to Italy and she asked me to organize a full day in Guardia.  We did it! and it was magical.  12 young women descended on Guardia, we met at Dolce Pasticceria Dolci Delizie for a typical Italian breakfast,  cappuccini e cornetti.

After breakfast we took a walk down to Piazza Castello where we began our guided tour of the historical center.  Rossella was our guide and her daughter, Vera, translated for us as we navigated the charming historical center and told stories of the Janara and Streghe that Rossella remembered from her childhood.   We visited the Castello, Ave Gratia Plena and the Butterfly museum, a beautiful metaphor for our theme of transformation and change as the butterfly emerges from the chysalis.

After our stroll through the historical center, we visited Cantine Foschini where Adelina prepared a feast of typical homemade dishes for lunch and we celebrated my birthday with a beautiful homemade cake.

After lunch we had a moment with the sweet nonna Filomena who invited us into her lovely home to witness the olive oil remedy to heal malocchio.

The rest of the day we visited another healer and took a trip up to the mountain to surround ourselves in the beautiful nature around Guardia.

If you are planning to visit Italy, do plan to spend a couple days off the beaten path to visit authentic Italy.  I can plan guided day trips or longer excursions for you in and around Guardia Sanframondi which is about an hour and half from Naples, Pompeii, and the Amalfi Coast....and more!    I have a 10 day cooking and culinary trip comming up soon.  Stay tuned for stories about our exceptional experiences.