VENUS UNBOUND
Ritual II: Mary Magdalene & The Lover


A Lab for Archetypes, Desire and Radical Self-Authorship

with Anna Valeska Pohl

Venus Unbound evokes a state of being that is free, liberated, unruly, unapologetic and shameless — a force no longer restricted, but fully in its power.

Together we go on a quest.

We work with archetypes that have long been shamed, feared or controlled, from Venus to Mary Magdalene, from Lilith to the Sirens, from the Good Girl to the Lover, the Witch, the Warrior or the Whore.

Each session opens a different portal into the work.
We move within a shared ritual structure: entering the space, descending into personal and collective material, moving through a central ritual, and returning.

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Ritual II: Mary Magdalene & The Lover

At the center of this session: Mary Magdalene and The Lover — figures that move between devotion and desire, tenderness and exposure, longing and agency.

Venus Unbound understands the personal as political: the ways we experience desire, shame, love and voice are shaped by social, cultural and historical forces. The ritual space becomes a place to question, shift and reimagine these structures. 

Drawing from feminist thinkers such as Audre Lorde and bell hooks, as well as myth, poetry and collective imagination, we explore:

- What does it mean to love?
- Where do devotion and desire meet?
- What are the tensions between love, shame and power?
- What is the power of grief and remembrance?
- To what extent is love political?

Through writing, embodiment and symbolic action, participants are invited to create their own gesture of remembrance, release and transformation.

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Venus Unbound is a collective laboratory for the unruly — a temporary community where we support each other in exploring desire, resistance, care and radical self-authorship.

No previous experience is necessary. Participants are free to engage at their own pace or to observe.

Language
The workshop will be facilitated in English, while participants are welcome to share and express themselves in German or English.
Der Workshop wird auf Englisch moderiert. Beiträge und Austausch sind auf Deutsch oder Englisch möglich.

What to expect
The workshop may include:
- short introductions to mythological narratives and feminist texts
- guided group reflection and collective inquiry
- embodied exploration of archetypes through movement, voice and body awareness
- writing exercises
- ritual-based practices
- partner and group exercises
- guided meditation or imaginative journeys
- collective sharing and closing reflections

What to bring
comfortable clothes for movement and a notebook for writing exercises

Date & Time
Saturday, May 23
11:00 – 16:00

Suggested participation fee:
30€ / 50€ / 70€ sliding scale

Drop in or registration:
annavaleskapohl@gmail.com

About the facilitator:
Anna Valeska Pohl is a Berlin-based performance artist, writer-director and philosopher. She is the founder of the performance collective bambule.babys, a breeding ground for unruly femininity and queer futures. Her most ambitious work to date is the Baby Paradise Trilogy, a multimedia body of work on trauma and taboo, featuring a “Barbie doll–playing sex worker”.
As an educator, she creates temporary communities for poetic resistance. She has worked with diverse groups including artists, students, queer youth, refugees and incarcerated individuals.

Instagram:@annavaleskapohl
Website: www.bambule-babys.de

Photo credit:
Anna Valeska Pohl, photographed by Kelly Tatham