Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Marianna Iverson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Marianna , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My work is based largely around integrating the wisdom of the soul with nature based practices of healing. My parents gave me a great gift in the way that spirit, depth, and nature connection were held as values in our family system. I learned from a very young age to be comfortable in the woods, to trust my own intuitive senses, and to prioritize spiritual connection. I remember a small ritual that my family did every time we left a camp spot. We children would be asked to scour high and low to remove every piece of evidence that humans had been there. Leaving the land better than we had found it. We would gather, thank the land for holding us and say goodbye as we tumbled into our old station wagon. Four little humans waving and calling out “goodbye lake, thank you!” These early memories of being in reciprocity with the land, and for knowing our place of belonging in the world deeply influenced my work and my capacity to be with other humans as they dive into their own nature connection practices.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a Soul Guide, ceremonialist, and facilitator, dedicated to supporting women navigating grief, disconnection, and burnout—women who long for a deeper, more purposeful way of living. Through my soul guidance practice, women’s circles, workshops, and retreats, I offer a space for healing, transformation, and reconnection.
My path to this work was born from my own journey of unraveling and renewal. A period of profound upheaval—marked by divorce, betrayal trauma, selling my home of 15 years, and beginning again from the ground up—became the catalyst for my awakening. It was in this breaking open that I discovered another way to live: a way deeply connected to Spirit, grounded in truth, and held by the wisdom of nature. This, I believe, is our natural way of being—one that so many have forgotten but can still be reclaimed.
In my Soul Guidance Sessions, I walk alongside my clients to uncover the root of their pain and help them reimagine their life’s story. Too often, we are trapped in narratives that no longer serve us—stories that shape our choices and keep us bound in suffering. Through expanding intuition, deepening relationships with nature, releasing stagnant energy, and rediscovering their innate gifts and soul wisdom, my clients experience profound transformation. I offer single sessions for those seeking clarity and support, as well as The Spiral Path: A Journey to Self and Soul—an immersive eight-week program designed for deeper healing and growth.
I also facilitate community women’s circles in the Portland, Oregon area—monthly gatherings rooted in nature connection and traditional council practice, where every woman’s voice is honored. These circles provide a sacred space for women to come together, drop into their hearts, and cultivate a community of support—something so many long for in a world where too often, we feel we must navigate our struggles alone.
Some of my most cherished moments come from the reflections of the women I’ve worked with:
“I don’t know how I would have made it through this time in my life without you.”
“I had no idea how deep this was going to go, or how much I truly needed it.”
“I said no yesterday, and I wasn’t afraid—because I know that I have me. And that’s enough.”
This work is more than a calling; it is my life’s purpose. Witnessing women step into their truth, reclaim their power, and embody lasting change is the greatest reward I could ever receive. I am honored to serve in this way and to walk this path with those who are ready to remember who they truly are.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
My path has been anything but conventional. I have not walked a straight road, and my journey has been shaped by deep struggle. I was a teenage mother, a high school dropout, and battled substance abuse for many years. To step into this work of healing, I first had to unlearn the story of my own “not-enoughness.” I had to release the belief—instilled in me throughout my youth and early adulthood—that success could only come through a conventional path, through a traditional college education.
Yet, I am a deep thinker and a passionate learner. My education has taken many forms—ones that have profoundly shaped me. I became a yoga teacher, immersed myself in the study of mysticism, spent two years traveling back and forth to Canada to study at Stephen Jenkinson’s Orphan Wisdom School, and trained in council work and nature mirroring with the School of Lost Borders. If I were to add it all up, I could hold a graduate degree by now.
But the true work has been in claiming my own path. I have had to validate my intelligence, recognize my capacity, and break free from cultural standards that tried to define my worth. It hasn’t always been easy, and at times, I still wrestle with those old stories. But I no longer believe that conformity is necessary for success. I have laid down the shame I once carried about my struggles, and now, I see them for what they are: the very experiences that have shaped me into a woman of depth and power.
It is through these struggles—once my greatest sources of shame—that I have found my strength. They have given me the ability to meet others in their suffering, to offer a hand without judgment, to be relatable, humble, and deeply human.
Again and again, in my work, I see how suffering is the doorway into spirit. Rarely do we seek transformation when life is smooth and easy. It is in the moments of unraveling, when we are thrown into our own darkness, that we are given the opportunity to rise toward the light.
Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?
If I were starting my business again, I would choose this path without hesitation. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the work I am meant to do in the world. Offering spiritual guidance in a field that is not widely understood comes with its challenges—not only do I build my business and online presence, but I also educate people on what I do and why it matters. When those challenges arise, I return to a core truth: this work is my calling. That knowing must be enough to sustain me through the difficult moments.
When I first stepped into the role of guiding women into their depths through soul work, I realized that all of my gifts converge here. My love of mythology, my poetic mind, the wild child in me who finds solace in the forest, the wise one who listens deeply and holds space for truth—everything I cherish most about myself is in service through this work. I spent years searching for my purpose, and to have found this path, to now be walking it, feels nothing short of miraculous.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.seedsofthesacred.com
- Instagram: @mariannaiversonceremony
- Youtube: @seedsofthesacred-mariannai9044
