Simply put, the Interspecies Roundtable is a gathering. Hosted by us humans and populated by a different species and their ambassadors each meeting. An opportunity for curious folk to pull up a seat around the table and stay awhile. A place for relationship building, a real ‘get to know ya’ kinda space. A detour from the cultural conversation that views animals as anything less than kin. To remember/restore invaluable interspecies relationships and symbiotic alliances, especially between humankind and particular animals. As we all find ourselves thoughtfully woven into the fabric of earth.

For now our intention is to connect with the animal kingdom, although who they are in relationship with are welcome: from flora to fauna to element, ancestor and beyond. Everyone joins with their expertise/experience so we may all bask in something bigger than the sum of our parts. Each participant brings their unique skills, body, biology, atmosphere, ecosystem, lens, medicine, relationships and stories to the space.

More specifically, the 'Roundtable' is both informal and intentional; an interdisciplinary, interspecies and symbiotic approach to becoming more acquainted with species with whom we share a world. Within this space of deep listening, we will be translating reflections/requests from animal guests while also learning ourselves how to align more elegantly with our landscapes, discovering joyful purpose there. To pause, take note and recall a shared mythology. Each meeting will also produce something tangible: biological information, meeting minutes, channeled sound, archived themes, participant reflections, inspired art, a recording and potential calls to action. Although the emphasis is not on the product, but on building a legacy of interspecies community and friendship.

No prior animal communication experience is required to attend. You are welcome to be an observer or dive in with us by sharing your unique gifts and communications. This is even an opportunity to expand your human and animal communication capacities in such a supportive nest. All preparations are handled by founding members of the group. And if you feel inspired to offer something to the space (i.e. scribe, artist, etc.), don’t hesitate to reach out!

‘Interspecies Roundtable’ has been gestating since 2020. You might have heard whispers about it at other Fauna Speak events. Reading this right now might awaken a desire for connection within yourself. I spent two years co-visioning it up in my heart with the animals, waiting for just the right time ripe with human collaboration. I am so excited to witness this dream breathe and move amongst us!

My whole life I have craved a kinder world that considered our fellow earth dwellers. It is quite easy to feel despair on our planet, to experience helplessness in relation to human apathy, habitat loss and dwindling biodiversity. The animals have certainly been keeping my chin up about all these things, kindly suggesting how to navigate the emotional and physical ripples surrounding these phenomena. It surely takes patient fortitude to learn the systems of our earthen home and find appropriate ways to be in relationship with them. I have infinite gratitude to the interrealm and animal elders who continue to support and inspire my journey.

As humans return to a role of stewardship and deep kinship with all of life, I was inspired to curate a space that fosters clear communication, connection and reciprocal sovereignty. To create something that not only impacts participants, but can also be shared with folks in the future who hope to learn more about a particular species. To open doors for a wider population of humans interested in these realms of relating.

Make animal friends and human ones when you pull up a seat at the table. We meet six times a year, join anytime!

From this page you can book as a participant, observing participant, or contributing supporter. As a contributing supporter, you can invest in the legacy of this project even if you choose not to attend the gatherings.

Email me if you would like to contribute to the Interspecies Roundtable from your unique skill set of gifts or have any general questions: faunaspeak@gmail.com

Future gatherings are listed on my ‘Events’ page

Our connection with the Cervidae family (the antler'd ones) two Sundays ago felt the most festive activity yet. But the parting gifts still continue to melt and mesh into into my being. Just as an antler'd one stands majestically in a field, so they now inhabit my own fields in a far more pronounced way. A buck even physically came right up to my door the other morning!

We connected with Deer, Caribou (Reindeer), Elk + Moose at home and across continents. Cervidae practiced a distinct way of expanding our hearts and cradling our spirits. Each carry a unique blend of sky (antler) and earth (hoof). Reindeer was particularly palpable in reminding the ways our watery bodies crystallize and store memories. And for how long they have been a part of our own memories, many of us since childhood and beyond. It feels like a new depth to re-experience and freshly understand their medicine in this season of the year when they are most celebrated, and at this specific juncture of our collective journey. They have been knocking at my heart-door and nuzzling at the sinew of my lineage explorations for a while now, and it was a true honor to more formally invite them in amongst such exquisite interspecies company. 

Thank y’all so much for gathering one week ago with the Elephants. I remain in awe of their skill in delicately stepping into our human experience while sharing the intricacies of their own. How they string our memories and hearts together with their long trunks, relax us with the breeze of their ears; simply feel the earth. 

In so many ways, I had more questions than when I began last Sunday, left both inspired and frenetic with the rich overlap of our mutual need + desire. 

Post Roundtable, that very familiar feeling of human helplessness when confronted by the enormity of something began to creep in (especially featuring earth’s largest terrestrial mammal). Thankfully I have learned to be patient with this feeling, following love into the subcutaneous of what can primarily present as dread, grief, self-loathing, the list goes on for us humans.. Also, the elephants and other confidants immediately filed in, employing their amazing listening as I began to sift through the bigness of it. Ants with their ability to parcel + carry, whales with their long history of surmounting the odds; both were present for me, but surprise guests at the Roundtable, too. Oh the webs they weave! 

A recurrent feature of Roundtable that leaves me speechless (almost:) each time is the opportunity to truly experience the medicine of an animal family amongst human friends. I was particularly stunned by Elephant’s presence in the space. I knew of their ability to hold our bodies close enough to their bodies where we understand it’s safe to feel, but I was amazed by the quality and quantity of things they seemed to lovingly exorcize from my body’s universe. My journey with the whales has me no stranger to this, but now to experience it terrestrially was something of unspoken magnitude, like a symphony.  

The elephants brought me into my feelings, as they do, but in line with their nature, they carried me to some of my deepest, gnawing griefs: inequity amongst species, impediments to migration, water contamination, lack of communication, dearth of heart-leaders and generally, love. Things I quickly realized were exactly what the elephants mourned too, grieved publicly even!

It was an honor not only to be a recipient of their medicine and mothering (a vulnerable joy in experiencing that amongst others), but to experience an invitation of further collaboration, across continents even! Continents that all greet the sea, embracing the water that connects us and reminds us of our mutual desire/origin. And that’s where they flood me with that unparalleled elephant strength, too. That one is allowed to feel both small and big simultaneously, just how ant teaches us how to start a journey - one bit a time. 

I am forever in devotion to the resilience, fortitude and protective nature of elephantkind. The African and Asian Elephants the only living descendants of Proboscidea. Us all learning and relying upon the fossils of their ancestors who roamed our continent, even. Grateful to feel them whispering into my much smaller ears as I write. 

Stay tuned for Elephant weaving into and their medicine inspiring upcoming Fauna Speak events, including March’s Animal Communication Practice Group where we will focus on shelters, sanctuaries, conservation + migration. 

And please enjoy FayePatrick’s Elephant sound channeling as an opportunity to receive support, and perhaps lend it in reciprocal generosity.

Journeying with this cohort of raptors on Sunday was a wild ride; the nuance and themes continue to permeate my earthy-flesh and carry my spirt upon warm thermals.

The gentle, parental nature of Eagle surprised me a lot. In recent years of close relationship, I had increasingly considered their intensity in the realms of family, guidance and courtship. But it was experiencing their loyalty to legacy and tradition that gave me wings this past Sunday. Their duty of imparting to the next generation of Eagle the way within the way of discerning the individual’s unique path while cloaked in a costume of feathers they collectively share (even room for showmanship and expression). I love all that wiggle room within the container of tradition that we have felt lacking in many human interpretations of inherited legacy. Perhaps they, too suspected we needed a gentle parent to encourage the bigger risks and leaps of faith required of us at this time, all upon a foundation of nest + kinship. That we craved an elder to recognize our deepest dreams and desires in a way no one ever had. Amongst all that, it simply felt good to be welcomed into the nest..pulled in amongst their wings..towards their beautiful, feathered bodies..with the breeze of the treetops cool in contrast to their warmth. Their hatchlings by our side.

I was similarly surprised by Hawk, but boy was their contrast astounding. I became so quickly / acutely aware of the layers of life and strata of earth they stewarded, both as individuals and species beneath an umbrella of Buteo. Yet also transported immediately to this fusion of inner world and underworld that felt fantastical, limitless and uniquely raptor. Vulture is involved in the underbelly of things in such a unique way as neither predator nor prey, yet Hawk finds themself propulsive and immersed in both these paradigms. Participating daily in the process of ushering in endings with benevolent speed and precision, inextricably entangled in the web of life. As if they follow the web’s threads in flight (with those same threads following them). They are skilled participants in an act most of us would dare draw near. Resulting in an all-seeing nature in their eyes. An unmatched intensity. A helpful guide to our inner worlds and greatest fears. The parts of us we have forgotten. How keenly they can see and detect our worlds. As soon as we are in their sights, we are sized up yet supported. It’s no wonder how frequently they come to us humans as surreptitious guides and personal totems.

Kite was newer to me; their aesthetic, athleticism and quick movements leaving me in awe (from mere description). Particularly with the ability of many to catch insects in flight. Anyone who can catch and consume a dragonfly has my full attention. Kite embodies abundant adaptability, going sometimes in an opposite direction to maintain balance towards ultimate equilibrium. ‘Whole balance,’ they whisper. A descriptor that keeps coming from them is ‘spongey.’ To sink in, feel held, embrace the experience and pleasurable wildness of life. The sponge of earth and earthly experience accommodates all this in an alchemical equation of heaven + earth, or land + air through their bodies.

Which brings me to this overarching theme of groundedness and continued embodiment Accipitridae dropped into our laps from on high. You wouldn’t necessarily suspect that the ones we associate most with flight may be the prime candidate to instruct us about earth. But they unanimously communicated how absolutely connected they are to the earth at all times. By sight or sound; by consuming what gives them the very energy to sustain the flapping of their wings, but also the thermals and updrafts that carry and guide them with grace. Only the ones with larger and more powerful wingspans can journey across open water; it is the energy produced and interacting with a textural landscape that gifts them flight. Which imparts to my heart so much great hope for symbiotic technologies that glean and reciprocate energy in contrast to leaving bereft. How much to learn from the ones already in relationship with these tenants. 

We spoke of migration and what encourages it, which was completely inspiring in and of itself. The mobility of birds often leaves us in awe and even envious, and I think that is how it is intended. They reveal daily how flight it possible, but also that mobility amongst realms and travel between them is just as possible and intrinsic to spirited life (something Eagle highlighted with the invitation into their nest). Bird vocalization, bird flight, bird movement, bird metabolization, bird synthesis of available energy - you can consider me a continued and forever student of their ancient and diverse knowledge of earth/air and the adaptations necessary for us all in bringing forth the paradigms we vision.

With Vulture continuing to move silently, peacefully in my atmosphere, I will leave you with an excerpt from a book our Accipitridae expert guest Jon Kauffman shared with us:

“I gazed across the sun-drenched Sonoran streaming past the car window and thought about turkey vultures—not just C. an aura birds, but all of them, out there, everywhere. I thought about folks perched on hawk-watch towers in Pennsylvania, Cape May, California, Mexico, and Costa Rica, and all the folks driving North America’s interstate highways, and folks on the beaches in Ecuador, or walking a vineyard in Chile, or fishing the Elk River in West Virginia, or working in an office in downtown Miami, or tending cattle in Venezuela, or hiking Canada’s boreal forest. Turkey vultures are a common denominator—they unite us, they remind us that our lives are not endless but perhaps our chemical bodies are, and that once we’re here, we’re a part of it all, this great big world and its natural cycles of birth and death, of rebirth and resurrection.

- VULTURE: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF AN UNLOVED BIRD by Katie Fallon

One final theme I shall mention that we reflected on this past Sunday centers on the taxonomy of Accipitridae, which includes Old World Vulture but not the New World Vulture many of us are familiar with (including Turkey mentioned above, currently assigned to Stork lineage). We talked about the biological and spiritual niche Vulture fills and instructs unanimously all over the world (absent only from Australia and Antarctica). The congruence of culture, biology and ecological niche is such a fun exploration. It was also neat to experience spaciousness or gray areas in human efforts to make sense of life biologically and spring back into the heavenly nature of what comprises us and what we are trying as humans to do down here amongst some truly incredible creatures. Creatures brimming with purpose and curious to collaborate. 

In flyways and super highways of hundreds of thousands of migrating birds, 

Kristen

PS - My new favorite bird migration term/life metaphor: pinching point (perhaps like the center of an hourglass where everyone must funnel through for a variety of conditional reasons)”

I am still straddling timelessness following our Panthera container of connection. Over three hours deep and ten participants wide, we humans gathered from South Africa, Netherlands, United States and Canada, spanning space and realm. Moving amongst stars and through political borders with this genius genus, experiencing the freedom of heart wildness affords and confirming our yearn to return to that expanse. Even further discerning what ‘wild’ means for our own kind AND kind of love. 

Panthera primed my thoughts in preparation for this gathering, and all members have been undeniably lurking since. Leopard from above, limbs dangling. Tiger, camouflaged and close. Jaguar in the shade (of course). Lion, sure-footed / heart-centered. Snow Leopard staying particularly near (like a confident parent). Especially in moments of (surprise) deep grief surfacing, they emerge clear and calm from behind snowy veils. Letting me borrow their tail to dry my eyes and warm-what-feels-frigid. A bond between us brought more to the surface that seems to highlight what Roundtable is all about: elevating these interspecies connections for mutual support. 

Snow Leopard is more solitary. One physical reason being the infrequent distribution of their food sources high up in Northern and Central Asiatic mountains. Yet I have a deep reverence for the spiritual lives of animals and others who live remote and resilient, maintaining the sacred in solitude. My gratitude to them extends beyond the farthest reaches of my comprehension. I loved learning how Snow Leopards leave marks along the path: conversations across time and distance. Displaying strong connections with the mineral kingdom, communicating in chemicals like plants. S.L. said to participant Antonia, “we’re not the ghost of a mountain, but its soul.” 

Snow Leopard left a giant imprint upon my heart. A print that has darkened rather than spontaneously appeared. I feel like they have encouraged me since to climb further up the mountain. More exposed to the elements yet stronger than ever and closer to the sun. I have actually felt for a long while like I live with a small Snow Leopard in Vaquita and a tiny-yet-big-spirited Jaguar in Orca. This was one of the fun sidebars of Panthera Roundtable as many of us live with our own ‘wee’ wild cats. Many participants had a lot of further confirmation what big cat or combination was an ancestor of their familiar felines. It was also sweet to bask in the idea that our house cats did not give up their notions of wildness to live with us, but rather daily consent to the relationship. A sentiment shared by guest speaker Wynter Worsthorne who spoke with us about her relationship and work with the White Lions of Timbavati. It was incredible to learn from the stories of individual lions and humans invested in the return and success of their unique lineage to their endemic homelands through sacred cooperation. 

It feels right to land these reflections with the Lions. Always reminding us of the holiness of life (especially in a time when even suggesting the sacred nature of existence can be counterculture). Encouraging the beauty/necessity of living and leading from our hearts on the journey to restoring balance within/without (a simultaneous act, the animals always say). It’s no wonder they have infiltrated the symbolism of revered civilizations and our own, to initiate those with the desire to lead, restore and roar in their hearts. Roaring being a distinguishing feature of Panthera, with the exception of Snow Leopard; they are the 'silent type'. 

Read more about Panthera’s biology, our conversations with Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar + Snow Leopard, as well as initiatives of sacred cooperation in this archive. And a special thanks to this genus for further revealing the potential of Interspecies Roundtable. And of course our contributors: biological facts by Rebekka, a membrane of channeled sound from FayePatrick, archives by Jessica HT and special guest Wynter Worsthorne. 

Being with Caprinae this recent Roundtable felt like a warm, ancestral hug. Body to body insight with a woven lineage of shared stories. We were joined by such an incredible spectrum of beings from Arctic Muskox and Desert Bighorn Sheep to Himalayan Tahr and Alpine Mountain Goat. Domestic sheep were especially present and insulating, thanks in part to our incredible expert guest, MaryClaire Geyer. MaryClaire has held thousands of sheep bodies balanced for years now in the shearing process as well as reverently working with the fiber of many breeds. Together we enjoyed a motion of energy flowing from their sweeping horns, along the back and out their tail. In that course experiencing their mythologies, a creation story, an ethos of generosity, discernment and a dedication to stewardship.

The rounded or sweeping crowns of Caprinae are so distinct from the pointed antlers of Cervidae (a favorite aspect of Interspecies Roundtable continues to be learning through comparison). With deer and others it felt more this heavenly connection from hoof to crown, upwards and outwards. Sheep + goat rooted us into earth in balance with the crown.

I remain in awe of the distinct physical and spiritual characteristics of beings evidenced in their diversity of appearance, skill, biology, place, diet, migration, etc. One look into the macro of a species and your mind may melt with the beauty of such precise order. Percolating perhaps a similar desire within to find our own time-honored place in the order of things.

The wild and domestic components of Caprinae fascinated us, also. Seeming to mirror the current, collective human consciousness in a way. Revealing the more wild ways we return to, the more these species are delivered to their own wild, sovereign and most useful ways. Wild is one of my favorite philosophies to consider as a communicator. In our modern world it can imply chaos. But all I have known of wild until this point is balance, and the acceptance of that balance the animals agree to or must find.

There was so much to cover. I wanted to spend more time on the physical and metaphysical components of rumination. How illuminating to speak to those with a full time job of chewing and digesting! With so much plant relationship to share, too.

Caprinae felt to be inviting us into something both ancient yet anew with current energies. In reflection, they have been helping us to bridge worlds in so many of our recalled histories. And they have quite literally been keeping us alive. It’s no wonder the sheep feel like a gracious mother. Consistently insisting we don’t have to go it alone. There will always be wool to clothe and cry into when the mother is honored. Sheep have a reputation for following, but I trust even more where they lead.