Aileen Peterson AKA Juniper Wren Bjorndottir (Bear's Daughter)

[educatedindian]

Got a request about her.

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http://www.brighidshearthchurch.com/wren-bjorndottir-head-priestess
Juniper Wren Bjorndottir, Head Priestess
....I'm Aileen Peterson, AKA Juniper Wren Bjorndottir ("Bear's Daughter"), and it's my passion to Serve and to be a Channel for Healing. After eleven years of studying women's mysteries and priestessing, ten years as a dancer, eight years of studying birthwork, and learning various healing and nutritional modalities over the last five years, I started my business, Lady Moon Wellness (originally 13 Moons of Matrescence). And after struggling the last couple of years with my inner self as the political climate has shifted in regards to alternative healing and childbirth, I dedicated my work to the goddess Brighid and decided to create Brighid's Hearth Church....

My Patron, the Celtic goddess Brighid, the Lady of the Flame, the Great Bear Mother, adopted by the Christians as St. Brigit, called me to this work. My fifth-great-grandmother, an Edwardian-era Indigenous Midwife who served her local First Nations community, called me to this work. My traumas and healings, my births and my losses, called me to this work. And I dedicate myself and my work to You.

I consider myself a Spirit-Initiated Shamanic Midwyf and Independent Traditional Birthkeeper, Womyn's Wellness Coach, Intuitive Healer, Freebirth Facilitator, Holistic Full-Spectrum Doula, & Pregnancy Release Companion.

I hold the following credentials and training:
  >> CNA training
  >> North Carolina LMBT license #11913
  >> Nurturing the Mother Fertility Massage Specialist Certification
  >> Prenatal Massage Certification
  >> Reflexology training
  >> Ayurvedic Warm-Oil Massage training
  >> MamaMuse (un)Midwifery Mentorship (6 months)
  >> Folklore Foods Traditional Nutrition training
  >> Lazy Lady Living Permaculture Design Certification
  >> Holistic Doula Certification through the Matrona
  >> Currently finishing up my Holistic Midwifery Diploma (1 yr) through the Matrona
  >> Phlebotomy Technician Certificate
  >> Alternative Home Abortion Care Provider training
  >> Kundalini Reiki Level III Attunement
  >> Credentials of Ministry (Ordained Minister)
  >> 9 years of Dance Study

Other areas of study that I have been focusing on over the years include: priestessing, shamanism, general herbalism, women’s herbalism, alternative and energetic healing modalities (crystals, sound therapy, etc), ceremony and ritual for the childbearing years/rites of passages, Mother Roasting/postpartum services (such as bellybinding, ceremonial baths, placenta medicine), herbal vaginal steams, babywearing, cloth diapering, cosleeping, extended breastfeeding, traditional midwifery practices from around the world, various cultures and languages, waterbirth/prenatal dolphin encounters/dolphin-attended birth, rewilding and primitive ways of life, ancestral nutrition, primal movement, bellydance and dance for birth, and others.
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I'm not sure why her being a dancer should be a midwife credential.
Phlebotomy means she takes blood samples at clinics, blood banks, etc.
Doula is a practice from India and the Mideast.
"Edwardian-era Indigenous" is a little strange phrasing, and there's no tribe named.
Don't think I've ever seen "cloth diapering" as a credential before.

She does a "shamanic extraction" for baby's colic here.
https://www.theprimalmother.com/single-post/2015/07/29/It%E2%80%99s-all-about-the-bread-whole-grain-home-baking
Seems a mangling of Tibetan beliefs with Euro paganism.

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https://www.theprimalmother.com/about
Besides self-study I have trained through Tierra Soul, LLC/MamaMuse, La Matrona School of Quantum Midwifery, and travel for clinicals throughout the year.

?

Besides birth, I am a Reproductive Justice and LGBTQ activist, and have an interest or training in, or practice myself: nutrition [particularly primal/indigenous/wild foods diets and Weston A. Price/Sally Fallon-style traditional nutrition], permaculture and ‘feralculture’, spirituality [earth-based pagan and shamanic practices], alternative and energetic healing modalities [massage, Reiki, crystal and sound therapy, etc.], natural movement [vs. ‘exercise’], and off-grid and green-living.

I have been featured in the Pagan Families’ Birth Guardian Series and as a guest speaker for OurRedTent.com and Birth Works! podcast webinars, have been published in SQUAT Birth Journal twice, and have had my booklet “Rituals & Meditations for Pregnancy Release” included in an 800-page instruction and information manual for those training in alternative abortion support and provision.

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Am I correct in that "alternative abortion support" is DIY abortion, or done by others besides doctors in clinics? If so it seems incredibly dangerous.

[Defend the Sacred]

Claiming to be dedicated to a Celtic goddess but to be a shaman with a Norse-ish name is as big a red flag as all the ridiculous pretendian claims ("Edwardian Indigenous?" LOL). She also looks way too young to be trusted to midwife anyone or anything, or to have learned any one of the many modalities she claims to now be expert in.

Kundalini Reiki Shameon Sabbats are neither Native nor Celtic. This is just another newage dabbler trying to prematurely hang out a shingle just to make money off people. It's not going to go well for her.  She's probably going to harm anyone who thinks she knows what she's doing when it comes to midwifery or any healing modalities, and all the stuff she's saying about spiritual traditions is laughably wrong. But it's not going to be funny if anyone is stupid enough to trust her to help birth their babies, or to help with any serious health problems. Fraud. And given the areas she's trying to work in, a potentially dangerous one.

[ska]

Defend the Sacred points out that "Kundalini Reiki Shameon Sabbats are neither Native nor Celtic."

I would like to add that this pretendian crap that Peterson is perpetrating also has nothing to do with Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism or other spiritual and philosophical traditions from India.

Also, the notion that "doula is a practice from India and the Middle East" is not accurate.  The term was coined by an American scholar and lactation activist in the late 1960s.  It was developed to reflect the transhistorical observation that, in many cultures, a birthing woman was attended to and supported by women.

[Defend the Sacred]

I would like to add that this pretendian crap that Peterson is perpetrating also has nothing to do with Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism or other spiritual and philosophical traditions from India.

Also, the notion that "doula is a practice from India and the Middle East" is not accurate.  The term was coined by an American scholar and lactation activist in the late 1960s.  It was developed to reflect the transhistorical observation that, in many cultures, a birthing woman was attended to and supported by women.

Thanks for adding that.

Additionally, Ms. Peterson prominently displays her "minister's license". Um, it's from the one-click "ordination" site, the Universal Life Church: https://www.themonastery.org/ordination  So, that's the basis for her "church." Click.

Lingo like "Spirit-initiated" generally means "no Elders, no training, no accountability in community. But a vivid imagination. Ah do what Ah want."

[educatedindian]

In the DC area it's unusual for either doulas or their clients to not be Arabic or South Asian.
Unlike those regions, almost no training required in US. Wiki:

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There is a lack of standardization and oversight of doulas, with multiple organizations providing different courses with varying requirements.[24] There is no formal or universally recognized certification process or training requirements, and anyone can refer to themselves as a doula.[23] No academic credentials such as a college or university diploma, or high school equivalency are required.[9] . Doulamatch.net, an online referral page for doulas, has offered a list of items that students should look for as they begin looking for training. Amy Gilliland, a researcher on doula care and culture, also lists some qualities a training program should have. [25] Some theorists have stated that it may take college level work or more in depth online education in order to provide some of the communication skills that may be necessary.[26]

Being a doula does not specifically require any medical training, although it is not uncommon for doulas to have received certification or medical training of some kind.[9] In North America, training generally takes the form of a two- to three-day seminar and some experience with childbirth.[27] Trainees may have hands-on practice with various techniques used during childbirth, including maternal positions and movements, relaxation and breathing exercises and other measures that could be used for comfort. Certification can occur through organizations at various levels (local, national or international) and some require positive evaluations from medical professionals. Certification may also require, in addition to attending a training course, time spent working or learning about maternity care and childbirth classes and possibly a written exam.[2] Some doulas train through distance education[8]