Today we’d like to introduce you to Shannon Nicole.
Hi Shannon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The world is rapidly changing, and many people, including myself, have left organized religion.
Change can be incredibly liberating and profoundly unsettling.
I believe that when we outgrow the old structures that provided containers for us to celebrate birth, death, and all the pain and pleasure in between, we have to create new rituals that meet the moment.
Humans need ritual and ceremony to create meaning and to remember what is truly important to us. One of the oldest archeological findings was a flower ceremony for a burial.
I am not a birth doula or a death doula.
I am a LIFE DOULA.
The world is in labor,
and I am a midwife of the moment.
From my own journey out of the church, out of ministry, out of patriarchal religion, I have woven a tapestry of nature-centered, ancient wisdom traditions to meet modern times into my work of creating ceremony for life’s important moments.
For all the PLEASURABLE moments that need celebrating, like birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers, first menses, weddings, anniversaries, pilgrimages, promotions and the like.
And for all the PAINFUL moments that need honoring like divorce, empty-nest, menopause, chronic or terminal illness, living funerals, and death.
I am your Ceremonial Artist and Wisdom Weaver, here to mark the moment with the beauty it deserves.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
MY TIGER FACE STORY:
Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, retold a Ramakrishna fable about a tiger cub whose mother died and ended up being raised by goats. The tiger spent many years believing it was a goat among the herd until one day, it met an elder tiger who questioned how the tiger was living. The elder tiger proceeded to take the young tiger down to the river and upon seeing it’s reflection in the water, the young tiger awakens to it’s true identity.
Profound as that is, the story doesn’t end there. It continues with the elder tiger offering the vegetarian young cub meat for the very first time. Upon taking a bite, the young tiger nearly chokes to death, serving as a potent metaphor.
When you’ve been living a lie and feeding on lies for so long, the “truth” can be hard to swallow.
We often think of self-realization as a one time event. In reality, it’s more like slowly turning on the lights for someone who’s been asleep in a dark cave. It takes time to adjust to the light.
You embark on a life-long journey of unlearning and releasing what was never you in the first place.
Water is a reflective energy that provides us the opportunity to face our reality. Once we see our true reflection, we have a choice. Go back to what we have always known or venture into the wild unknown…
In Chinese Astrology, I am a Wood Tiger, so this story is particularly potent for me. I was raised in an extreme fundamentalist religious community which never fit me. Over the last few decades I have been doing the work of rewilding my soul and excavating my divine feminine.
When I left my spiritual community with my husband 20 years go, we both knew it was the right thing to do, yet neither of us were sure where this journey away from our upbringing would take us. We had devoted our lives to being leaders in this cult-like, fundamentalist church, but upon awakening we became the outcast “prophets” of our community and in our families.
We found ourselves with a small child, following us on a path into the Great Unknown. This journey wasn’t for the faint of heart. It was full of steep cliffs and arduous descents, passing through many lonely deserts and shadowlands before it led to new horizons. We had a few token friends that also took the difficult “Hero’s Journey”, but if I am being honest, I found myself missing the support of community when times were rough. The work of breaking generational patterns of abuse, can be very isolating, but it doesn’t have to be.
From this difficult journey, I began my work in the world, reclaimed my voice and use my art to tell my story. I offer Chinese Astrology Readings to help people connect to their authentic nature.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Ceremonial Artist and Wisdom Weaver who creates immersive art ceremonies that explore the soul’s nature of wonder. The poet, Cole Arthur Riley, describes how wonder increases our capacity to love ourselves, our neighbor, and the stranger.
WANDERLUST MEETS SACRED ART
My travels, spiritual wanderlust and awe of nature’s beauty have inspired me to create sacred art experiences that foster connection to self and the collective consciousness thru ceremonial circles of wonder. I weave wisdom traditions from different cultures and the earth-based practices of my ancestry to provide a safe place for soulful reflection. Shannon Nicole creates all kinds of unique immersive, interactive ceremonial art experiences incorporating natural elements, candles, mirrors and sacred objects to create mandala portals that serve as a beautiful and meaningful center piece to your event. Participants are involved in adding to the mandala or disassembling it as a ritual of release. Her events are interactive experiences that awaken the senses. Experience the magic of a custom mandala for your special event, women’s circle, retreats, festival, psychic fair, art show, yoga training, birthday party or rites of passage ceremonies like, mother’s blessing/baby shower, bridal shower, engagement or wedding, living funeral/celebration of life ceremony.
CREATIVE COVEN
In 2025, I began a Creative Coven, A circle of women who weave wonder into everyday living thru art and creative ritual. We meet online or in-person to celebrate the Wheel of the Year by partaking in ceremonies that awaken your imagination and attune you to your own sacral cycles and rhythms. It is an open group that welcomes any curious soul.
WANDERLUST RETREATS:
In October of 2025, Shannon will lead a Big Sur Wonder Retreat. This caravan adventure is more than a retreat. It’s an invitation to awaken your wanderlust! A journey to one of the wildest coastlines in California to witness Mother Earth in all her untamed splendor and to remember your true nature. This retreat is the beginning of her Wanderlust Retreat series. In 2026 she will begin leading small groups of women on Soul Pilgrimages in Iceland, Glastonbury, U.K. and along the divine feminine trails of the Camino de Santiago in Europe.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
It all began with National Geographic. I remember pouring over the pages of the magazine as a child and feeling ignited by wanderlust. Distant lands and peoples intrigued me. During my teenage years I began using magazines to collage and envision a future filled with wonder! A big, beautiful world was calling me to go experience it, and so I did. I studied abroad in Europe, taught English in Asia and travelled extensively throughout my 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. My curiosity about the world led me out of the religion I was raised in and onto an ever-expanding spiritual journey. I followed my bliss by studying Intercultural Communication, World Religions, Goddess Mythology, Western & Eastern Astrology, Yoga, Ayurveda, Tarot, the Esoteric Enneagram, Nature Therapy, Contemplative Practices and Soul Shadow Work, because often the most difficult voyage is the one within. In 2025, I turned 50 and I can’t wait to step into the power of this wild and wonderful phase of being a woman.
Pricing:
- May 30th: Art of Arousal event at Sesshin Art Gallery in Encinitas
- June 9th: Energetic Enneagram Event at The Nurture Collective in Encinitas
- October 14th-18th: Big Sur Wonder Retreat
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wildheartpilgrimage.com
- Instagram: @wild.heart.pilgrimage
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WildHeartPilgrimage/
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/shannonnicolebobo
Image Credits
Wanderlust Photography by Shannon Nicole @wild.heart.pilgrimage
