An 8-week immersive — September 13 to November 1, 2026
Heart unmasked
Eight weeks exploring the death process of the systems within us that perpetuate harm — within ourselves, in our relationships, and in the world.
𓋹 — the soul's descent, where the spark of creation is found.
All with the guidance of the Ancient Egyptian journey into the underworld, the Duat — the soul's journey through rebirth, the world of the shadows, where the spark of creation is found.
I. DESCENDING INTO THE DUAT
THE VESSEL
The Duat is the soul's journey through rebirth.
We begin with ceremony to descend into the underworld, connecting with the land, the elements and the ancestors as they support us on this journey. We create space to explore your relationship with your heart — the guide to alchemy — and whatever arises as this journey can be one of challenge.
Together we will explore our own individual shadows and the ways they perpetuate collective belief systems rooted in fear. How are we complicit? It is only through seeing this that we give ourselves choice to do something more in alignment with, and in service to, humanity.
We meet the shadow as alchemists — through our bodies — so we can learn the tools to embody a truer expression of our souls.
The body is the vessel.
We are containers — porous, ancestral, ancient. Alchemy asks us to honor the vessel before we attempt the transformation. Tend the body. Tend the breath. Tend the heart that holds the fire.
Nothing transforms what it does not first hold.
II. WHAT IS ALCHEMIZING THE SHADOW
Breaking it down to see the gold within.
You will learn what the shadow is, how it is formed, and where it reveals itself in your life. You will also meet your true expression and begin to relate with these aspects of yourself.
When we make space and create the right conditions to meet the shadow, we can break it down to feel and see the ways it expresses itself — and why. By being in its expression and attuning to the emotion held in our hearts, we become alchemists.
With the support of the true expression of ourselves, we bring this gold — this medicine — forward. Developing new neural pathways, beginning to embody the wisdom held within.
This prepares us for the journey into the underworld with all the tools an alchemist needs: proper preparation of the body, connection to the ancestors, wisdom of the elements, and a strengthened relationship with the original alchemist — the fire of our hearts.
𓂀 — Carved into stone, carried in the body, remembered by the soul.
III. WHY SHADOW ALCHEMY MATTERS
Our collective shadows are being revealed for a reason.
Most of us don't know our shadows are present, or how much space they take in our lives. We push them down, away. This only makes the shadow take a greater hold — until we find ourselves continuously acting from a place rooted in wounding.
When we alchemize the shadow, we see beyond its role and explore the ways it is reinforced by ancestral, cultural, and societal patterns. Helping us see — this isn't just ours.
It is time to act from a place aligned with your truest soul expression — not the wounding.
Our collective shadows are being broadcast on our screens. Each of us has a role in perpetuating them. It is our responsibility to take accountability — to begin to change them by changing the patterns within ourselves, then in relationships, then in our communities. So new creation can take form.
THE GUARDIAN - DUAT, PLATE II
THE SPIRAL
Descent is not linear.
We spiral inward — meeting the same shadow at deeper octaves, recognizing the pattern, releasing another layer. Each revolution returns us closer to the center, closer to the gold.
what is the structure and format?
We will meet weekly over 8 weeks. The first two sessions will be focused on tending and preparing for this journey. We cannot dive into the deep end without properly acknowledging the significance of this journey. That means tending. Tending to the body and the heart.
Before the third week, each of you will have the opportunity to meet with Mona to do your timeline. This will reveal the shadow that you will work with through these 8 weeks.
From here you will be guided to explore the relationship with your shadow and an aspect of your true soul expression. Each session afterwards, we will work with the shadow and the true expression through the lenses of the elemental, the ancestral, and the cultural/collective.
Not only will you leave with tools to begin working with, relating with, and alchemizing the shadow, but you will also feel a more embodied expression of your soul, and feel inspired around the kind of alchemy needed for the collective.
Opening ceremony and commitment
Meeting the Heart
Meet the Shadow and True Self
Elemental Aspect and Alchemy
Ancestral Aspect
Cultural/Collective Aspect
Bonus Session
Closing Ceremony
who is this journey for?
This journey is for anyone who is tired of repeating the same patterns, or feeling stuck in their wounding.
It is for people who already have spiritual and mindfulness practices in place and are looking to deepen and expand their practice.
It is for those who see the collective shadows revealing themselves and feel themselves being called into the alchemy.
This is for those who are committed to the journey of embodying the wisdom of their souls, over and over again.
Meet your guide for the Journey
Mona Abutaleb
Mona is a an alchemist and practitioner of integrity. She walks the earth embodying the connection and balance between the underworld (subconscious/waters) and the waking world (conscious/earth). She is a weaver of webs between both worlds in her work with clients one on one as well as in group facilitation. She trusts and believes that healing always happens in community, no matter how hyper-individuated society gets. What moves her is curiosity and a belief that sacred wisdom is held within our bodies and that this sacred wisdom guides us to live in integrity with our soul. She believes that when we live in integrity with the wisdom of our soul, we can act in integrity with the new way of the world. She does this through earth and body-based practices, guided by ancient egyptian mythology, and elemental shadow work.
Mona owes her practice and “work” to her body, her ancestors before her, her immigrant family, and the teachers she’s had the privilege to learn from in this life. As a Somatic Therapist, her practice focuses on touch and the power of co-regulation and safety that can happen from being in contact with another. Again, healing happens in community.
Mona is currently living on her ancestral lands in Cairo, Egypt. You can learn more about her in the about page.
