Benedicaria Training

I'm thrilled to offer you this 20 week long in-depth exploration of Benedicaria, the Blessing Way of Southern Italian Folk Medicine. Indigenous European traditions not only still exist, they are thriving. It is my privilege to share what I know of them. 

A new round of this training begins February 12, 2025. Registration is now open for that class. Upon registration, you'll be sent an email with confirmation. A week before the start of the class you will receive instructions for accessing the class on the Benedicaria website with its own private class forum.

Each Wednesday at 11am I will present a live, hour long class on zoom and then post a link to the recording of that week's class offering on our Benedicaria forum. You can watch the class at any time that is convenient for you and as many times as you wish, within the week.

"Benedicaria is a term that links religious faith, from the dawn of time, to our physical well-being."

I first learned about "Doing a Little Holy Thing, or Fa Lu Santuccio" from my family of origin - my mother, aunts and grandmother. We had no special name for these practices at the time, it was simply the way things were and what we did. In recent years, I've been greatly influenced and taken deeper into this ancient indigenous tradition by elder woman in my ancestral village in Southern Italia who still practice the old ways. I have been blessed to spend an average of 3-4 months under their tutelage each year, since 2004.

I've created this program to be inherently experiential...I want you to shake loose ancestral memories. I want to help you open the portal into connection to our collective inheritance - bloodlines, language, culture and spirituality.

Benedicaria The Blessing Way of Southern Italian Folk Medicine is specifically designed for those of you with Southern Italian roots, many of whom have longed for reconnection to ancestral ways and have asked for such a course of study. However, it is not necessary to have roots in Southern Italia to benefit from this class, as it is, at heart, both a cross cultural exploration of Old World European indigenous spirit medicine and a deep dive into personal spiritual/ancestral terrain. As we say in Italia, "this is not solely Italian history it is human history."

Below you'll find the bare bones outline of the course. At the start of each week I will post the class outline as well as the homework/research/inner work assignments and writing prompts that are suggested for each week's lesson and will also include resources/links and print additions, as and if applicable. Active participation in the forum is strongly encouraged but not required.

Each week’s class audio file is at least an hour long and may run longer. They are full and generous lessons, with information pulled from countless sources, highlighted with my own experience and learning over a life time and flowing with precious, ancient prayers and rituals.

During the training we will employ art, rhythm, prayer, poetry, mold clay and work on several Intentional Creativity projects to enhance integration of what we are learning. There is also an additional, entirely optional Painting Integration Process that takes place alongside this class for those who are interested in participating.

NEW! Integration Painting Process

Here is the Benedicaria Class Outline:

Lesson one  

ORIGINS

Our Lineage as Healers

The Flower of Josephine

Naples and the Sirens: Ancient Myths and Stories

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Regno della due Sicilie)

The Brigante

The Diaspora, the New World and the Loss of

Culture, Language and Tradition

The Importance of Reclamation & Reintegration 

The Sibyl of Cumae

Lesson  two

ANCIENT CULTURE

A Personal History

Tribal and Goddess Culture

Other Goddesses, Tribal Deities and Totems

Introduction to the Healing Temples and the Cult of Asclepius

The Crescent Moon Bear / Orso della Luna Crescente

Lesson three

THE BENEDETTI

The Blessing Way – Fa Lu Santuccio

We are the Benedetti

The Practices: Novenas, Incense, Healing Tools and Rituals

Death and Dying

An Introduction to Italian Traditional Herbs and their Uses

Lesson four

MEDITERRANEAN MEDICINE

The Cosmic Tree

Four Temperaments Theory

The Salerno Medical School

The Flower of Medicine / Flos Medicinae

The Four Humors

Tissue States

The Garden of Minerva

The Snake Goddess 

Lesson five

DREAM AND HEAL

Preparation Rituals

Dream Interpretation and Diagnosis

Dreams, Divination and Clairvoyance

Herbs for Dream Enhancement

Rituals for Entering and Engaging in the Dream Space 

Lesson six

MAGNETIC MYSTERIES

Baltic Amber in Antiquity and its use as a Protective Substance

Negative Ions, Health and Protection

Red Coral – Magnetism, Ley Lines and Power Points

Sacred Spaces, Sacred Geography

Holy Water – Healing and Protective Stones

Iron – Magnetic Poles

Power Points – Pilgrimage

Choosing a Place for Prayer and Ceremony 

Lesson seven

RITUAL AND CEREMONY

Ritual, Ceremony and Sacred Connection

Finding Sacred Space

Prayer

Constructing a Ritual 

Lesson eight

PRACTICUM

Spirituality, Religious Practice and Culture in Italian Folk Medicine

Rituals Amulets / Brevi

Formula Prayers and Chants

Herbs and Animal Substances – Practice and Application

Folk Remedies from the Calabria Region

Sacred Days of the Catholic Calendar

Specific Cures Associated with the Feast Days

Weaving Together Religion, Earth-Based Spirituality and Pre-Christian Ritual

Health and Spirituality: The Power of Suggestion 

The Janare  

Lesson nine

PROTECTION AND SPIRIT HEALING

Malocchio: The Evil Eye

Charms and Amulets

Hand Gestures – Magical Tools and Prayers

Healing and Cleansing Practices

Pulire, Purificare, Limpido

Other Forms of Protection

Creating a Brevi Bag 

Lesson ten

LEARNING TO SPEAK

OUR ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE

Drumming, Singing and Dance

Tarantismo

Argismo

Tammurriata and the Madonna

Zampogna

The Bear Mother  

Lesson eleven

THE MADONNAS

The Divine Feminine and Biognosis

Interconnection and Hidden Knowledge

The Great Mother, Goddess Tradition, Tammurriata and the Madonna

Madonna Montevirgine

Madonna della Neve: Our Lady of the Snow

Madonna dei Cerri

The Black Madonnas

The Sorrowful Mother

The Rosary

Madonna di Canneto / The Goddess Mefitis

Lesson twelve

THE REBEL SAINTS

The Rebel Saints

Prayers, Patron Saints and Canonization

San Padre Pio

Santa Lucia

Sant’Antuono

San Cono

Sant’Anna

San Rocco

San Ciro

San Michele

San Biagio

Santa Rita

Santa Monica

San Giovanni

Santa Hildegard von Bingen

Santa Teresa di Lisieux

Santa Giovanna D’Arco

San Giuseppe

Traditional Food Offerings to the Saints

Holy Cards 

The Virgin Martyrs 

Lesson thirteen

HOLY SPIRIT OF THE HEARTH

Vesta, Goddess of Home and Hearth

The Vestal Virgins

Cleaning as Spiritual Practice

Domestic Tools as Sacred Objects

Plants, Icons and Mary Gardens  

Lesson fourteen

SACRED CELEBRATIONS

The Wheel of the Year

Winter Solstice

Epiphany

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Giorni Della Merla

Candelora

Menerva’s House Blessing Day

St. Joseph’s Day / La Festa di San Giuseppe / Fathers Day

Spring Equinox Celebrations

Beltane / May Day

Summer Solstice / Mid-summer’s Night

Corpus Christi

Lammas

Celebration of the Assumption

Fall Equinox

All Hallow’s Eve to All Souls Day

The Nativity / Natale / Christmas 

The Four Archangels 

Lesson fifteen

RECLAMATION

Bringing it all Back Home

Reclaiming and Reintegrating our Many Centuries Old Prayer

Magico / Religious

Dream, Dance, Music, Herbs, Foods and Healing Traditions

Back into our Daily Lives

Reclaiming our Original Languages

Sharing our Heritage,

our Inheritance, our Ancestral Traditions

Please note that some lessons are part 1 and part 2.

Testimonials:

I took this class because I wanted to know more about the Benedicaria tradition because my family line is from southern Italy. I also wanted a way to better connect with my ancestors, especially my grandparents who died before I was born. 

At the end of the class I was struck by how each person talked about a need having been met. All different needs. Gail is preserving and curating a bridge to an ancient yet also modern sense of Self. If you take this class, you will discover healing traditions, prayer, history, art, an insider understanding of the southern Italian and ancient pre-Christian traditions of the Madonna, and more.

Gail has an incredible depth and presence as a healer. She is also an artist and a mystic with an original mind and a scholarly bent. To experience this all at once was a pleasure. This class brought me to a place of private prayer and insight, and is helping me to better honor those who have gone before me, as well as those who are still with me. The part that is staying with me is like this new room in my devotional self where I am also connected to the land where my ancestors came from. I feel it every day. I feel like I am holding hands with a group in spirit. Molto Grazie! D. Dunbar

Gail, I cannot thank you enough for how hugely meaningful this journey has been for me. This class fleshed out for me the specifics of Southern Italian culture that I just did not have.  I have a renewed connection to the ancestral Madonnas, to the oak tree, to indigenous devotional practices and most importantly to myself.  I feel a sense of belonging and self acceptance that was missing in my life before I took this class.  I loved what you brought to us and my life has been fundamentally changed because of it. I hope to study with you again. J. Salerno

More:

“I just finished listening to the first recording, and oh my heart. I can't begin to say the stirrings in my soul this class has evoked. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the beauty, the wisdom and the richness of what you shared. I feel so blessed that I get to bask in your light. With so much love."

“What an incredible lesson!  Thank you for your generous sharing! I am honoring the grief and holding prayerful space for our ancestor’s suffering.”

“What a tremendous gift!”

“I started listening last night at 8:00pm and couldn't turn it off--beautiful story at the end, Gail.  I also loved the resources on the links.  I'm savouring them over the week!”

“Thank you for the beauty and depth of your transmission . Listening to you speak brings me back home, Gail. Thank you.”

“Lesson 3 was a masterpiece!  Thank you <3"

“Listening to the latest recording tonight it felt like medicine for my soul. Honoring the ancestors through this remembrance and having the subtle magic of my grandmothers echoed, is so special.”

“Wow! What a powerful lesson. It has touched my heart and I have no doubt its lessons will continue to pour forth as I delve into the writing for this one.”

“Best thing ever! I look forward every week ♥️”

“With each audio lesson and exploration into the study materials I am more and more aware of just how held I really am in this journey. Thank you for your genuine facilitation, Gail.”

“Soooo good!”

“I am moved to tears, a nostalgia, a relief. I have been studying traditional world systems of healing for what seems like forever...Ayurveda, Chinese and Japanese traditions, American Indigenous practices, Middle Eastern mysticism...and here, in my blood and bones. you revive my roots. It is like Christmas morning!”

“Our ancestors possessed such wisdom!  I’m astounded by all I’m learning and realizing about who I am and where I come from!”

“What a beautiful and rich lesson, Gail, I am in awe once again.”

“…Lesson 11 was so powerful. The ending reflection, that  The Madonna magnifies and radiates all the elemental magick and power back at us, vibrated through my veins and deepest knowing. Grazie!”

“So very rich, thank you.”

“So grateful for this lesson today!"

“Savoring each precious lesson!”

“I am thankful for the guidance and thoughtfulness from all of you on the forum! It's really a form of reclaiming what has been lost. Thousands of years of our ancestors living in Southern Italy, relearning it all..I wish I had more time in the day to work on the class but even the amount I have, has been beyond rewarding.”

“Gail, you’ve created the loom, giving a structure for reconnecting to the beautiful, rich threads of ancestral life ways and traditions of sud Italia, rewearing the ancestral fabric.”

“What a gift and a treasure to have this way to reconnect with what has been lost and to do it in the presence and in communion with such lovely people…"

Cancellation Policy: There are no refunds after the course begins.