About AuroraStar

Hi, welcome to my page. I’m Sam, owner and founder of AuroraStar Holistic Therapies & Training. If you have landed here then do have a look around and I hope what I offer resonates with you. I don’t like to be pigeon-holed these days so it’s very difficult to keep on top of all the things I offer and put them all in a “website” friendly way, so if there is anything you wish to ask me, or need clarifying, please just email me and let’s have a chat! So, on with the “about me”…..

I created AuroraStar in 2008 with a desire to empower people and help them achieve harmony, health and well-being. After suffering from my own health issues, I sought to treat myself as naturally as possible, beginning my journey into a holistic approach to lifestyle wellness management. Reiki was my stepping stone, and continues to be the foundation and underpinning of all my holistic work. This led me to want to help others in the same way, providing them with the overwhelming benefits that a holistic lifestyle can bring. Having worked in the industry for a number of years now, I am fully qualified to NVQ level 3 , VTCT standard, insured, and registered with the Federation of Holistic Therapists.

With a wealth of experience spanning over 30 years in the health, beauty and fitness industry, I have an in-depth knowledge on the capability of the body and all it can accomplish if given the correct tools. So many health problems can be overcome or eased through holistic therapies, ensuring our quality of life is greatly enhanced. I am now trained in many different energy modalities and holistic therapies, and weave all of these into my work. Whether you are in need of simple relaxation or deeper healing, I offer a treatment that will suit any requirement, and training that will allow you to empower yourself to follow your own healing journey. I like to think I sit nicely balanced between the “woowoo” and the grounded!

Picture of Sam Lacey

Holistic is a choice. Holistic is a journey. Holistic is about ‘being whole’.

I work intuitively, nothing stays the same in our lives or in our bodies and so every treatment with me will be different, as I utilise all the skills and modalities that I’ve learnt over the years to give you a truly unique and personal healing experience based on what you need in that moment. I believe we all need to take responsibility for our own health and healing and so what I bring to the session to give to you are the tools that you need to empower yourself to allow that to take place. As I travel this path I am constantly evolving, and learning, there is always a new course to learn, write and teach!! I work with energy on many levels, and bring this into all aspects of my healing and training work. I have trained in many different modalities, and bring all of these into play when working with you, from herbalism, plant magic, to energy work, meditation, mindfulness and breathing techniques, to working to retrieve your power animal Shamanically to strengthen you spiritually, balancing the chakras and hopefully sharing some useful tools and techniques that you can take home and implement in your own lives – all of these things are looked at when you come to me for healing.

In 2018 took my Level 3 Award in Adult Education & Training,  which enabled me to proudly be a tutor for Vitality Holistic Therapy Training . Through this, I gained an even deeper knowledge of my profession; constantly learning new and exciting holistic techniques. I love being a tutor as it enables me to pass on my passion for holistic therapies and all the skills I’ve acquired onto others.

2020 saw me launch AuroraStar Holistic Therapies & Training School, striking out independently from, but still having close links with, Vitality, to bring even more high quality holistic therapy training to the Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and surrounding areas, taking on tutors that have the same high standard, and passion that I do. As well as training in a large range of holistic therapies I offer refresher days and mentoring sessions and teach Reiki fully from level 1 to level 3 as well as offering refresher days and mini add on energy workshops.

All of my courses are insured by Wellbeing Insurance, which means you can obtain insurance to practice professionally.

AuroraStar Holistic Therapy & Training courses are accredited and validated by AHTT, and VHMBT, and endorsed by the APTL which means they meet the highest industry standards.

Exciting News for the AuroraStar Holistic Therapies & Training School

2020 was an exciting year for AuroraStar Holistic Therapies and Training School as we branched out and went into collaboration with other teachers within the industry who hold the same high standards and values that I am so proud of at AuroraStar, and so have two amazing, highly experienced, intuitive and all round lovely tutors who teach my courses. One right here in Bedford, and the other up in Yorkshire. Check out my holistic training page to see more details about this.

Soul Midwife – End of Life Skills Practitioner

I am also an End of Life Skills Practitioner, – a Soul Midwife (we go by many names, Death Doula, Doula for the Dying, Death Priestess, Death Walker etc.).  I provide holistic spiritual comfort and support to those who are dying, and their families, as well as training, to help people understand and reconnect with the ancient knowledge that we all have within us to be able to sit with our own loved ones and offer them support.  I was a Butterfly Volunteer (a companion for the dying) at The Lister Hospital in Stevenage, and I volunteered at Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes. Together with my friend, Simone Mcpherson, we have set up Angelic Aurora End of Life Charity Foundation. We are in the process of registering as a charity!

Using our skills and knowledge of energy, therapies, working and vigiling with those at the end of life and with life limiting illnesses, we will go into homes of people that can’t get out to hospices, or who just wish to remain in their own homes and still want to have the enjoyable, relaxing and gentle experience that holistic therapies can bring for them. We believe in helping people have the gentle peaceful death that they want, at home, or wherever they wish it to be, and that the family and community can come together to make this happen.

Picture of Sam Lacey

Death and dying make people so afraid – because we don’t know what to do, how to behave, we are seeing more people shipped off to hospital to die, often alone. Hospital is not the place to die, people do not want that. Hospitals are in the business of helping to fix people, they are busy places, sterile, and not comforting. But we know that it can be a scary and daunting task to help someone die at home, and this is where we can help. Contact us for more details;  angelicaurora122@gmail.com

As an End of life Skills Trainer I run workshops that teach some of the ways in which we work as End of Life Practitioners, helping to empower people to support someone who is at the end of life by sharing some of the gentle and compassionate skills that we practice, as well as sign posting and helping to navigate the way through the red tape, holding a safe and gentle space for the sharing of our stories. This course is aimed at anyone who wants more knowledge, reclaiming and RE-membering these ancient skills that we all once were connected with. It is ideal to give you more confidence if working with those at the end of their lives, whether that is personally or professionally. I hold these workshops online or face to face.

I also am passionate about us having the conversations about death and dying with our families and loved ones well before we need to – one of the most empowering things you can do for yourself, and the deepest act of love for your family and friends, is to plan for your own end of life – it can be as simple as having a conversation about it, down to the full nitty gritty of advance decisions and funeral planning! To this end, I run “Death Cafes”, having these conversations over a cuppa and a slice of cake, and Wellbeing days, as part of my co run charity, Angelic Aurora. We are recognising a real need in the community for people of all ages to come and talk about their experiences – death affects everyone, and there are now more young people experiencing death and grief first hand, so we held our first “Grief Cafe” specifically for young people aged 16 to 25 to come together to talk about and share their experiences together in a safe supported space (less “tea and cake”, more “snacks and fizz”!!), which was so well attended, and a really humbling experience. To find our more about these events and when they are run do check out my EventBrite page,.

I am also planning a couple of workshops where we can get together and start working on those advanced care plans,  a mini workshop to guide people though end of life skills and energy protection & grounding  – which are ongoing and evolving So watch this space for more info on that!!

Green Witch Hedgerow Herbalist

I work with Mother Nature, plants, herbs, and the energies of the land to provide holistic healing, and to help reconnect people with the ancient wisdom that is inherent within us all. I provide magical and herbal healing remedies, bespoke herbal tea blends and tinctures, workshops and hold seasonal women’s healing circles, not only face to face from my beautiful cabin, but also in the amazing and magical spaces of the Clophill Centre in Bedfordshire.

I also still hold space virtually via zoom for the regular wheel of the year online ritual and meditation events.

I work within the folk medicine and Wise Woman tradition, using simple, gentle but none the less powerful remedies. I can provide mentorship and support to help empower you and guide you on your magical journey, and will use this knowledge and wisdom of the plants in my healing treatments.

I can also help you set up a “magical garden”  – that will contain herbs and plants that are healing and resonate with you, and teach you how to safely use them. For more details on this click here; Hedgerow Herbalist.

The Cabin

Elemental Celebrant

As part of my ongoing journey into knowing and growing myself in 2020 I undertook training in Glastonbury, at the Goddess Temple on the Isle of Avalon, the heart chakra of the world and became an  Elemental Celebrant.

Holding space for ceremony and ritual in our busy 21st century world is ever more important, and is deeply healing.

Ceremony and ritual provide a way to connect, not only to others but to gain a better insight to our psyche, as well as offering deep healing and a safe, sacred space to just “be”. You do not need to be a Pagan or affiliated with any other religion to have an elemental ceremony. The only limit is your imagination!

Working closely with you I can create a meaningful ritual to mark important events along lifes colourful journey – baby naming, name changing, handfastings, vow renewals, letting go / rebirthing, eldering / croning / saging, passing over ceremonies (before a funeral and memorials), house and land blessings, new beginnings, divorce, Mother blessings and any other personal transitional rite of passage you can think of….using the 4 elements that make up the world and our bodies, air, fire, water and earth, with the celebrant at the centre holding the 5th element we work together to create something really magical and special, unique to only you.

I also use these skills to hold womens healing circle events, as well as online ritual and meditation events, following the seasons and cycles of the Pagan wheel of the year.

My training focused on inclusivity, on being able to offer ceremony and ritual to all and have worked closely with the LGBTQIA+ community, naming ceremonies in particular being really important.

Handfasting Celebration

Qigong

2023 has seen me qualify as a Qigong instructor. Many of the things I train in I do for myself first, because I can see and feel the benefits they bring, which then leads me to want to share them with you!

Qigong is being “rediscovered” as one of the most effective ways to harmonise our body, synchronise our nervous systems, prevent aging and keep a strong and supple. For more information on Qigong and where I am teaching it, check out my blog post “what is qigong” here, as I am not only running weekly classes, but also co hosting retreats with fellow practitioners.

Working with Social Media

Being true to my Aquarian nature, I love trying new things and exploring and experimenting with not only all things spiritual but also technological. The Linktree is an amazing app that allows you to keep all of my offerings in one place (as long as I remember to update it!) – so if you ever lose a newsletter or event, you can find it here!

Teaching Qigong

I have now stepped out into the world of podcasting – as The Holistic Witch. ..sharing my musings and ramblings about what it means to be a holistic witch in todays world, hopefully joined by many of the beautiful and wonderful people who I am privileged to walk this path with. I’d be honoured if you would join me on this new venture, and let me know what you think.

I believe we are always learning, and have much to learn and share with one another, no person is above another.

I believe in synchronisities and that the Universe will guide us to follow our Soul’s calling if we just listen and reconnect. If you have found yourself on this page then hopefully it means that we resonate on some level and you will be inspired to connect with me.

I send out a regular newsletter to coincide with the seasonal sabbats on the wheel of the year, so roughly every six weeks or so, which has all the things I’ve been up to and have planned, dates and links to join the online and face to face meditations, healing circles and ritual events as well as up and coming training courses, the occasional tarot reading, herblore, moon phases etc, I would love for you to sign up to it and join me in my musings.

Much love & blessings,

Sam Lacey aka AuroraStar Green Witch xxx

VTCT level3, AHTT, Award in Education and Training (AET) level 3, MFHT, Reiki Master & Teacher, End of Life Skills Practitioner – Soul Midwife, Hedgerow Herbalist, Elemental Celebrant IPHM Cert.

Affiliations

Member of Federation of Holistic Therapists
Wellbeing Insurance
Soul Midwife

Minimising My Effect On The Environment

At AuroraStar, I only use environmentally friendly products in all treatments and therapies, mostly raw organic coconut oil, or organic hemp, sunflower or grapeseed oil in my body massages, with bespoke aromatherapy blends created just for you, using high quality essential and carrier oils.

I care deeply about the earth, its creatures and the environment, and as such, try to use vegan, ethical and sustainable products wherever possible. This includes working with small sustainable product providers and companies who have the same ethos as myself, using sarongs and sheets instead of towels and couch roll where possible, sustainable bamboo washable pads  instead of cotton wool pads, vegan soy wax candles, washable muslin face masks and of course, recycling at every opportunity.