Robbie Warren, Founder
Robbie Warren, Otter Woman Standing is a Shamanic Alchemist who serves as an intermediary between this world and the spirit world, she holds ceremonies, rituals and healing in partnership with the Spirits and Ancestors who have called her to this work.
As a child, Robbie’s experiences of receiving messages in dreamtime, empathic connections to nature, a knowing of other lifetimes and relentless curiosity, were the beginnings of her path as a healer.
Robbie has been blessed with unique insight and connection to the Spirit World. Her gifts have come naturally and have been developed through regular practice and nurtured through mentoring from gifted teachers and healers from around the world in Shamanic Journeying, Soul Retrieval, Ceremony, Ancestral Healing, Rites of Passage, Plant Spirit Medicine, Healing Work and Animism. Robbie is Twaza (initiate) in the South African ancestral tradition of the Sangoma healing lineage. The Ancestors and Spirits called Robbie and in working with them, she continues to expand her understanding of the other realms.
Robbie has tremendous creative energy and a sincere desire to seek cooperative partnerships. She has a talent for using her inspiration to uplift those around her. Robbie believes we all have the capacity to heal and wants everyone to live life to the fullest. Robbie has a keen insight into how people limit their own growth and she can help others break old patterns and gain new perspective on what is holding them back from receiving the fuller life they long for and deserve.
Her spiritual path has its roots in the mystical and visionary teachings of Joseph Rael, Beautiful Painted Arrow, and has expanded through Robbie’s training, shamanic experiences, and through her travels, into a practice she calls Earth Medicine. The emphasis of Earth Medicine is animistic and holds respect for all living beings, conscious connection to Spirit and a keen awareness of the lessons life has to offer. Her journey along this path has created many opportunities to serve as the bridge between Earth Medicine and the modern world as a Visionary, Teacher, Writer, Spiritual Leader, and Healer.
As a Visionary, Robbie was given the vision of this Fire Dance. This Dance comes from a time before divides existed in the world. This dance is steeped in the infinite Circle of Creation that predates man, and we Dance to expand beyond form, dogma and criteria. We Dance to bring the wholeness back to the humanity.
Robbie is the founder and principal teacher for Otter Dance School of Earth Medicine with programs offered online and, in person in the US, South Africa, Europe, and Iceland.
Otter Woman Standing
The Spirits in the Spirit Realms gifted Robbie the Name Otter Woman Standing. She works with Otter Medicine as well as other animal energies. Otter Medicine includes woman’s healing wisdom, sensibility without suspicion, guidance in revealing ones talents, psychic awareness, faithfulness, recovery issues, understanding the value of playtime, primal feminine energy, joy, playfulness, and prognostication. Otters are regarded as the masters of playfulness by many indigenous cultures. Observing an individual otter or a family of otters shows us that it’s possible to view life as a game to be enjoyed, rather than a burden to be endured. Living is not painful; it’s a gift. Life is too short to worry so much. Because of the otters’ exemplary home life, nobility, curiosity, inventiveness, and playfulness, Indigenous people recognized the power of the otter. Some of the most powerful medicine bags in certain cultures were made from the fur of otters. Otter medicine is so strong to some tribes that it is secret until you reach a certain degree of initiation. Working with otter can teach you about playfulness, nurturing, originality, inventiveness, nobility, curiosity, humanitarianism, companionship, and child rearing.
Brandy Winn, Co-Founder
Brandy Winn, the Cajun Mystic, is an apprentice to Robbie Warren, Otter Woman Standing, a Teacher, a Healer
and an Earth Medicine Ceremonialist. She is, at heart, a true Cajun: fun-loving yet driven, kind and hard working.
Her love of education and learning prompted her to pursue an MBA, a journey that created her first opportunity for international travel. In China, standing atop The Great Wall, Brandy had an epiphany that led her to begin a more personal spiritual journey, and her life’s purpose was planted: her pursuit of spirituality began.
Throughout her careers in corporate America and nonprofit work, travel remained a theme, exposing Brandy to diverse and vibrant cultures and opening spiritual doors along the way. It connected to the core of her being, a deep and abiding sense of service to Mother Earth and Humanity.
After a transformative trip to Burundi, Brandy began her journey with Robbie, first helping mold the inner organization of the burgeoning Otter Dance community, a role that allowed her to re-evaluate who she was, melding her business skills with her drive for being of service. The role presented Brandy with unique opportunities to not only hone and develop her skills, but also to grow alongside the community she was helping to grow.
When she became a student of Earth Medicine, taking one of Robbie’s early Shamanism courses, her sense of Service took on a new dimension: that of a Healing Practitioner and eventually Teacher. While Brandy deepened her understanding of Healing arts, she was also taking her communication and coordination skills to the next level as she became the International Coordinator for The Fire Dance, forging relationships and paving the way for so many Ceremonies abroad.
Otter Dance has continued to grow, in no small part due to Brandy’s wisdom and guidance, and doubtless would not be the community it is today without her.