ninfe
Preparing to descend
A Sacred Immersion into Thresholds, Ritual, and Ancestral Rhythms, preparing for the journey to the underworld.
In Palerm | Segesta | Erice
12-19 September, 2026
During our time together in Ninfe we step into the sacred rhythms of Sicily, where the nymphs guide our passage through life and transformation—through presence, ancient sounds, rhythm, and ritual.
This is an immersion that is palpable, visceral, and emergent with the energy of land, people, and place.
Our ancestors held containers for initiations and rites of passage, for grieving, for transforming that was not prescriptive, instead they were containers of witnessing. In contrast our modern world rituals feel unembodied. Births, baptisms, marriages, deaths—all have become industrialized and performative. The deeply human need for ritual, for rites rooted in land and lineage, has been lost. In the wisdom of our lineages, women led these rituals by creating rhythms of presence, practicing emergence with the energy of what is, and holding space with drums, vocal sounding and song, and ceremony to release grief. At one time these rituals were not only performances they were on the edges, those who witnessed became part of them, and that is how collective changemaking becomes.
What if we could remember these practices? What if living and dying, entering love, or stepping into personal or relational transformation could be ancestrally nourished, embodied, and rooted in land and lineage? What if our bodies could relearn the rhythms of being both the keeper of thresholds and the one held by threshold keepers?
What if the answer was in the circle?
This is the longing at the heart of NINFE: preparing to descend—is an invitation to embody the mystical threshold keepers within us all.
It is not a class, or a quick fix; it is a lifelong practice. And you will not learn it all in the 8 days. But your body will receive what it needs if you remain present and open. You will become a vessel for what you are meant to carry with you.
There are no instructions, only space to re-member ancient wisdom, rhythm by rhythm. We will be extremely placed-based in these teachings and practices — which come straight from the land and the people of the land, and shared with us by Barbara Crescimanno.
Become-With the Nymphs
Led by Barbara Crescimanno and supported by Radici Siciliane, NINFE draws on the deep wisdom of the Ninfe of Sicily—the midwives, healers, dreamers, witches, and oracles who tended thresholds of change at ancient water sites, caves, and sacred spaces. These liminal beings dwelled between worlds, inside and outside, guiding others through the cycles of life: maiden, mother, crone, love, death, and rebirth.
In this immersion, you will:
Connect with the Ninfe and the ancient ways of holding thresholds
Engage with collective mourners and grievers, honoring the cycles of life and loss
Encounter the Donne di Fora and other sacred women lineages
Participate in rituals at thresholds, navigating above and underworlds, seasons, and life transitions
Practice frame drum rhythms, ritual dances, and ceremonial songs
Embody and integrate new wisdom and oracular ways of being in daily life
Everything will place-based and centered in the spirit of Palermo and Western Sicily (Segesta and Erice area)
Your Journey
You will move through sacred spaces, thresholds, and liminal landscapes—both within and outside yourself.
You will…
Explore sacred fonts, underground temples, and labyrinths with intention and presence
Learn the history of the nymphs and their connection with collective mourning in Palermo
Participate in drumming, movement, and ritual, immersing in the magical, in public ritual in Palermo
Ritualize with the nymphs at sacred temples, water sites, and other ancestral places in Erice and Segesta
Connect with plants, waters, oracles, and underworld magic, integrating your practice with natural elements such as the sea, salt, and springs
Together, we will:
Form circle and community, creating a container for shared transformation and emergent space holding
Work with Sicilian drummers and practitioners who are from and surrounded by lineages who practice this form of knowing
Eat, drink, and bask in Sicilian sun, sea, and energy. Wonder and explore Palermo. Be present to the magic. Time travel on the island.
Carry home a living rite, a mystical experience to integrate, embody, and trust – there is no instruction book, but your body will hold and remember.
This is a space to learn, receive, and give—to become what you have longed for and to re-member the culture and magic within you, sharing it within community.
What Is Included
Guided rituals and teachings (in drum, song, ritual, myth and more) with Barbara Crescimanno and container holding and ancestral integration with MB/Radici Siciliane
Transportation and entrance fees to sacred temples, fonts, and mystical sites
Workshops on movement, song, ritual, and threshold practices
All breakfasts, three lunches, and three dinners
Circle gatherings, community rituals, storytelling space
Transportation around Palermo, to Erice and Segest, and back to Palermo for your departure.
Translation so Barbara can teach freely in her mother language (Italian).
Curated gift to support your immersion
What Is Not Included
Accommodations on the evening of the 8th of September - which we suggest getting because we meet in the morning on the 9th until the morning of the 16th of September.
Transport from airport (to city center where we meet on the 9th- though it may be possible to drop you off at the airport on the 16th if timing is aligned—or you may want to stay another evening in Catania.
Ferry to and around Lipari island (approx 100 euro total)
6 meals (out of 21).
Your Invitation
Step into the threshold, embody the Ninfe, and honor the ancestral rhythms of Sicily. Reconnect with your body, ancestors, and community through this deeply transformative rite of passage.
In Ninfe we will practice:
~ Embodying
~ Presencing
~ Being emergent
~ Entering Sacred sites as guests and listeners and those who offer
~ Playing drums in rhythm together
~ Holding the drum in accordance with the body and land
~ Tending to the circle, in community, and immersing ancestral story, presence and witnessing
SPACE LIMITED TO 8 GUESTS
all cultural lineages welcome
Questions?
What city do we meet in for this immersion? Catania.
Learn about our cultural agreements here.
Learn about redistributing money in Sicily here.
Want to know which immersion is right for you? Click here.
Want support traveling before or after Radici immersions? Send us an email.
About Barbara Cresimanno
Our teacher and co-guide
Barbara is a native Sicilian independent researcher, author, teacher, mythologist, ritualist, drummer, singer, and dancer—a keeper of feminine ancestral wisdom. She guides us through the dances, drumbeats, and songs of the Ninfe—the sacred threshold keepers who harmonize the realms of fire, water, and the underworld, still present in Sicily’s mountains, caves, rivers, and seas.
About the Ninfe
The Nymphs are liminal beings bridging human, animal, and divine worlds. Revered in Mediterranean mythology, they are guardians of forests, waters, mountains, and guides through life’s profound transitions. Midwives, mourners, healers, rhythm-keepers—they embody the “in-between”, connecting inner worlds, the underworld, the human, the more-than-human, and the cosmos.
By awakening their stories and rhythms, we reclaim ancestral practices that honor life’s thresholds—birth, death, grief, and transformation—and reforge our connection to the cosmos.
Testimonials
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MaryBeth did such a beautiful job of accompanying the group of us into an open journey full of rich experiences.It has become a significant value along the path of discovering who I am. I felt a deep level of connection immediately to the land, and to the people drawn together with me.
~N.G., 2024
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Just come on the trip. If you’ve been thinking about it but you’re not sure you’ll fit in for whatever reason, take a chance - come on the trip. This island has so much to teach you if you are willing to receive it, and it’s will be a beautiful experience.
~S.N., 2024
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The spirit of the Sicilian people- warm, generous, exuberant, and resilient. Every experience was deeply embodied - I felt so connected to my flesh and blood, the land, the ancestors.
~A.S., 2024