You Were Never Meant to Navigate Change Alone
You know something important happened. A shift. A crossing over. A moment that changed who you are. But when you tried to explain it to people, they didn't quite get it. Or they minimized it. Or they moved on too quickly.
So the transition sits unfinished in your body. You're holding it alone, trying to integrate a change that feels too significant to carry without witness.
Your transition deserves more than private processing. It deserves ceremony.
A personalized ceremony designed specifically for the threshold you've crossed.
Your Brain Recognizes These Moments As Neurologically Significant:
✺ The identity shift when you become your parent’s caregiver - and suddenly see them as fragile, realizing the roles have completely reversed.
✺ The biological transition into menopause - when your body is changing in ways that feel as though you’re becoming someone different, not just aging.
✺ The career completion after decades of contribution - whether you chose it or it was chosen for you, and you're trying to figure out who you are without that title.
✺ The empty nest recalibration - the house goes quiet and you're left asking who you are when no one needs you anymore.
✺ When a relationship is fundamentally changing - whether it's deepening, ending, or transforming completely, and you need to make sense of who you're becoming through it.
✺ The geographic shift - when moving isn't just about changing your address, it's about leaving behind who you were.
✺ The identity reassessment that surfaces around milestone birthdays - when turning 40, 50, 60 triggers questions about who you've been and who you're choosing to become.
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These transitions create what psychologists call "identity disruption." Without conscious acknowledgment, your brain can remain stuck processing the change indefinitely.
You can think about it endlessly. Talk about it with friends. Analyze it in therapy. But your brain is still waiting for something else - a way to mark that the transition actually happened.
What Ceremony Creates That Endless Reflection Doesn’t
Ceremony isn't more thinking. It's the opposite.
It's the moment your brain finally gets to stop cycling through the change and recognize it as complete. Ceremony is different from therapy or coaching. You're not simply analyzing the transition. You're marking it so you can move forward.
When Ceremony Is Designed Specifically for You
✺ Your nervous system gets a clear signal - instead of staying stuck in "something is changing but I don't know what," you're giving your body a definitive marker: that ended, this is beginning.
✺ You speak your truth out loud in witnessed space - not analyzing it with a therapist, not journaling privately, but declaring what this transition means while someone holds space for you.
✺ You become the one shaping the story - instead of feeling like this is just happening to you, ceremony makes you the person deciding what it means and who you're becoming through it.
✺ You create completion - your brain can stop cycling and recognize the transition as marked, allowing you to move forward instead of staying stuck in processing.
Images from Allison’s Artemis-themed 40th birthday ceremony
“Ceremony focuses attention so that attention becomes intention. If you stand together and profess a thing before your community, it holds you accountable. These acts of reverence are powerfully pragmatic. These are ceremonies that magnify life."
— Robin Wall Kimmerer
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How women feel before their ceremony:
✺ Uncertain about how to mark what happened - not sure if it deserves ritual or if that's too much
✺ Unsure how to integrate who they're becoming with who they were
✺ Like something significant happened but nobody really noticed or acknowledged it
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How women feel after their ceremony:
✺ Seen in their vulnerability and strength - validated and understood
✺ Clear about what they declared and who they chose to become through this change
✺ Able to return to that clarity whenever they need to remember what they claimed for themselves
Client Experience - Allison’s Ceremony
“I'm so grateful I found Skylar to create a custom ceremony for my 40th birthday. It was particularly important to me to mark this milestone for two reasons. I'd opted out of marriage and having children, which meant I missed out on the rituals our culture has in place to celebrate growth and change. And I'd been through a series of life transitions including career change, sobriety, becoming a caregiver, pregnancy loss, and spiritual shifts. All of these were significant but hadn't had a place to land and be thoroughly acknowledged by my family and friends. I was also looking for someone who could hold the space for me so I could just enjoy the experience.
From our first consultation, it was clear that Skylar listens so thoughtfully. She has a gift where she can effortlessly reflect back the deepest parts of who you are and what you need to express. She asked the right questions to get to the heart of what I needed the ceremony to be and then we worked collaboratively to make every aspect the perfect representation of who I am and who I am becoming.
After the ceremony, my closest family and friends asked why they had never met Skylar; they assumed, from the thoughtfulness of her presentation and how well she related my life and experience, that we had known each other for years. The fact that we'd just met each other in person that day is a testament to how extraordinary Skylar is at her craft. She sees you and what is most important to you and finds the best ways to reflect that back to yourself and others.
If you have even an inkling that a personalized ceremony may be what you need, my advice is to just do it and let Skylar be your guide. If you choose a private Zoom ceremony, Skylar's presence as guide and witness is wholly impactful, but I'd also encourage, if you can, to open the experience to those closest to you so that you can be fully seen and celebrated. You won't regret it."
—Allison Smith
The Ceremony Process
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Discovery
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We'll spend 1 hour talking about your experience and what it means to you. Not a formal interview - more like a conversation where you get to speak your truth. We'll discuss location, timing, and whether you're gathering witnesses or keeping it intimate.
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Creation
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I design your ceremony around your specific story and what you want to declare about who you're becoming. The rituals, words, and moments of reflection are built for your threshold. If you're including community, I’ll include how they'll participate.
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Ceremony
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I travel to you and we gather in the space that makes sense for your transition - your home, a venue, somewhere meaningful. Whether intimate or witnessed, I hold the container as we move through what I created for you. Most ceremonies run 60-90 minutes.
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Integration
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A few weeks later, we talk about what's shifted and how the ceremony is landing in your daily life. This session helps you translate the experience into ongoing practice, so the threshold you marked keeps informing who you're becoming.
Your Ceremony Includes:
✺ 60 minute Discovery Session: We'll talk about your experience and what it means to you. What you want this ceremony to create and who you hope to be on the other side of it.
✺ Custom Ceremony Design: I'll design the structure and ritual elements specifically for your threshold moment, incorporating any community participation if you're gathering a circle of loved ones.
✺ Ceremony Facilitation: I travel to you and hold the ceremony in the space that works for your moment. Ceremonies typically run 60-90 minutes.
✺ 30 minute Integration Session: A few weeks later, we'll talk about what's shifted and how the ceremony is landing in your day to day life.
Optional Add-On: Professional photography to document your ceremony can be arranged for an additional fee.
Also Available Virtually: If travel isn't possible or you prefer the intimacy of your own private space, ceremonies are also offered virtually via Zoom. Learn about virtual ceremonies.
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Location & Investment
I'm based in Dutchess County, Upstate New York.
In-person ceremonies are customized based on your location, scope, and ceremonial elements.
Investment varies depending on travel requirements and ceremony complexity. We'll discuss specifics during your clarity call.
Want to Talk It Through?
Book a free 15 minute call to talk through what you're navigating and whether ceremony would be the right way to mark it. I’d be happy to help you figure out the best way forward for you.
Over a Decade of Witnessing Women Through Change
For more than ten years, I've been creating personalized experiences for women navigating significant life passages. What began as curating yoga and meditation experiences evolved into something deeper - the recognition that people needed witnessing for the threshold moments that practice alone couldn't address.
My background in meditation informs how I approach ceremony - I am skilled in creating trust, presence, and the right conditions for vulnerability. When you're facing your biggest life changes, ceremony meets you at the moments when you're crossing from one identity to another and need someone who understands the weight of what you're carrying and the courage it takes to set it down.
Every ceremony I create honors both what's ending and what's beginning. The structure is sound enough to hold complex emotion, personal enough to reflect your specific story, and designed to give you agency.
FAQ
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I'm based in Dutchess County, Upstate New York, and travel to you. Whether you're local or in another region, we'll discuss travel logistics during your clarity call. Ceremonies can take place in your home, a rented venue, or anywhere meaningful to your transition.
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Absolutely. Some women gather their circle of loved ones to be present, others prefer intimate one-on-one space. Both create powerful experiences. During our discovery session, we'll design the ceremony around what feels right for your particular moment.
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Each ceremony matches the energy that feels right for what you're marking. Some call for celebration, others for stillness and reflection - many include both. During our Discovery Session, we'll talk about the tone that fits your experience, so your ceremony feels authentic to what you're actually going through.
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Professional photography can be arranged as an optional add-on.
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Ceremonies are also available virtually via private Zoom session, including HD video recording and personal audio reflection. Learn about virtual ceremonies
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Ideally a minimum of 4-6 weeks to allow time for discovery, design, and any travel arrangements. If you're working with a specific date for your ceremony, reach out as early as possible.
Not quite ready to book, but feeling drawn to the idea?
Many women sense that something important happened but aren't sure if it needs ceremony. If you're wondering whether what you're going through would benefit from being marked this way, I've put together a guide to help you recognize the signs.
This guide walks through what your body and mind do when you're facing a change that needs more than private processing - and what to do about it.
When You’re Ready
When you’re ready
Book your free 15-minute clarity call
Considering virtual instead?
See how ceremonies work online