Living with Hummingbirds Workshop

September 12, 13, and 14, 2025 — Avena Botanicals, Rockport, Maine
Taught by Dr. Rocio Alarcón, with garden walks by Deb Soule
Cost: $395 (includes 2 dinners & 2 lunches)

Join us for a heart-opening weekend with Ecuadorian ethnobotanist and healer Dr. Rocio Alarcón, as we step into a sacred journey exploring the physical and spiritual world of hummingbirds — beloved messengers of joy and divine 'oracles of light'. Over three days, we will honor the hummingbird as a teacher, a healer, and a guide through ritual, science, and story.

What you'll learn and experience: 

• The Taxonomy of Wonder: Learn about the family, genus, and diversity (300+ species) of hummingbirds. Explore their shimmering physical traits, remarkable skills, and unique floral relationships that have shaped co-evolution across the Americas.
• Spiritual & Geographic Map: Trace hummingbirds across continents with both distribution maps and a spiritual map of the Americas — highlighting centers of abundance and sacred significance.
• The Ruby-Throated Journey: Discover the annual migratory miracle of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris) — and explore its physical and spiritual resonance across time and terrain.
• Sacred Connections Before & After Colonization: Explore the deep relationship between hummingbirds and Indigenous cultures — before and after conquest. Learn how spiritual practices survived, evolved, and continue to nourish communities.
• Rituals & Ceremonies with Hummingbirds: Participate in guided practices, including a candle ceremony honoring the hummingbird's color spectrum, and a plant-based aromatic ceremony to cleanse and uplift.
• Rocio's Hummingbird Oracle Cards: Engage in intuitive and guided readings using Dr. Alarcón's own Oracle deck — a beautiful invitation to meet other hummingbird species as spiritual allies.

Garden walks with Deb Soule: 

Herbalist Deb Soule will offer a few walks through the Avena Botanicals gardens, where she'll share the stories of flowers that attract and nourish hummingbirds. She'll also guide you in growing these plants yourself — whether in garden beds, pots, or window boxes — and teach you how to build rich compost and living soil to welcome hummingbirds into your own sanctuary.