Charlie McGuire (1941 - 2008)

Charlie McGuire left this Earth plane on May 15, 2008. She was a powerful model of conscious dying. Being on this journey with her was a profound teaching and as a good friend stated "may we live as gracefully as Charlie died." Charlie has been a great medicine woman, mentor and visionary to many and she continues to teach us in her death. She is loved by many and she will continue to infuse us with her great love, light and wisdom as we carry her legacy forward on the Buffalo Woman Ranch.

A Reluctant Goodbye
by Linda Kohanov

... At the same time, we were awaiting news of another transition. Our great friend and Epona Advanced Instructor Charlie McGuire was preparing to leave this world, and the sadness was overwhelming at times. Epona Apprenticeship Program co-founder Kathleen Ingram was able to travel to the Buffalo Woman Ranch in Colorado to offer support to Charlie and her longtime companion Robbie Nelson, also an Epona Approved Instructor. While Charlie’s courageous battle with cancer was coming to an end, Kathleen reported many luminous moments and much deep wisdom that Charlie was able to share during her most challenging times. In our brief yet treasured phone conversations, Charlie was optimistic, loving and upbeat, which took tremendous energy out of her in those last weeks I’m told.

As founder of the American Holistic Nursing Association, Charlie brought many people to a deeper understanding of true healing. She was also one of my greatest personal mentors. I met her the morning after Rasa’s son Spirit arrived unexpectedly in 2002. She and Robbie were among those volunteers who took care of the tiny premature foal who wasn’t expected to live through his first week. To watch Spirit gently groom his own mare six years later, to stay up many nights waiting for his first foal to be born, was especially poignant knowing that Charlie was leaving. Her faith in Epona nourished me during my most trying times. When I felt discouraged, betrayed, and exhausted by the challenges of managing this international organization, she offered valuable, hard-won advice and encouragement from her experience starting the American Holistic Nurses Association, which truly was no picnic for her at times either. And she quite simply believed in the Epona vision so strongly that her confidence and dedication were infectious.

Once in a blue moon, we get to meet a special being who nourishes our souls and inspires us, offering unconditional support. When our beloved horse Noche passed away, Charlie left a workshop with well-known author Angeles Arrien to attend his funeral. “Noche was one of the most evolved teachers I’ve ever known,” she told me. “How could I miss his memorial?” Four years later, rubbing Panther’s massive belly, staring at the Big Dipper blazing above her foaling corral, I was trying to figure out some way to make that trip up to Colorado to see Charlie one last time. After all, she was one of the most evolved teachers I had ever known, a true medicine woman. Charlie’s and Robbie’s innate understanding of and enthusiasm for the intuitive/shamanic aspects of the horse-human relationship are, to a significant extent, responsible for encouraging me to create an advanced initiatory workshop like Keeper of the Mysteries. Ironic that she joined the ancestors shortly before its debut.

Charlie passed away on May 15 with a waxing moon rising in Scorpio—and a blue moon at that. I will miss her warmth and strength, her Texas drawl, her sometimes bone chilling power and honesty, her endless compassion, courage and creativity. A part of me still expects to be able to call her up anytime and chat. A part of me can still hear her resonant voice as clear as day, urging all of us on, supporting us in following our dreams, embracing the deeper mysteries of life, making life on planet earth better for all beings.

Charlie, always the trailblazer, you are the first Epona instructor to ride a spirit horse into the Great Mystery. Say hello to Noche for me. And if you ever feel inclined to visit me in that fertile landscape of dreams hovering between the worlds, I’d love to hear about your latest, greatest adventure. Namaste my teacher, my dear friend. And happy trails…until we meet again….

"Don't hold back." ~ Charlie McGuire