What Story Are You Telling at the Threshold?
Ancient wisdom for modern crossings with irreverent elder Ingrid Kincaid
What happens when we approach life’s transitions as sacred exchanges rather than obstacles to overcome?
In this conversation, I sit with Ingrid Kincaid —rune reader, author, and self-proclaimed “irreverent wise woman”—to explore what it means to romance the threshold. Together we unpack how the word “romance” originally meant storytelling, and how the stories we tell ourselves about change shape our entire experience of crossing through.
Ingrid brings the kind of wisdom that only comes from decades of sitting with people in their transitions. She reminds us that every threshold crossing requires sacrifice—to go outside, you must leave inside. But here’s what struck me: it’s a two-way passage. The question becomes not just what you’re leaving, but whether you’re leaving or arriving.
We explore how the liminal space—that in-between place—exists because of the extremes, not despite them. As Ingrid explains through the runes, each symbol holds both ends of what it represents: life holds death, birth holds endings. The binary creates the gift of everything that can exist in between.
Perhaps most urgently, we dive into why we desperately need elders to step forward in these times. Not to step aside for younger generations to “fix” everything while still benefiting from what came before, but to translate ancient truths for modern crossings. This is wisdom that’s been slow-cooked until it truly nourishes—the kind that unfurls over time rather than offering quick fixes.
Ingrid reminds us that resistance to change means we’ve lost the romance, we’ve closed our curiosity, we’ve stopped truly living even while we’re still alive. Her medicine takes time to percolate, revealing itself when you’re ready to receive it.
This conversation is for anyone standing at a threshold, wondering how to meet it with something other than dread or the desire to rush through. Come discover why the story you tell about your crossing might matter more than the crossing itself.
Guest Bio:
Ingrid calls herself an Irreverent Wise Woman, a storyteller, a trouble maker, an eccentric creative who has lived many lifetimes by dwelling in the realms of the real and the imaginary. She has earned degrees in wisdom, intuition and determination by being curious, and always asking questions. When others see a wall, Ingrid opens a window.
Life for her is an adventure, not a prison sentence. She is an internationally known author, teacher and mentor, a respected elder in the community who provides spiritual counseling and intuitive guidance, both in person and virtually. When she’s not traveling, Ingrid can be found at home in the Pacific Northwest, at the confluence of two rivers, in sight of two volcanos.
Find more about her work at: IngridKincaid.com or at her Substack publication.
What would you talk about if you weren’t afraid? What truths would you tell?
Women of the Always is a trusted companion that invites you on a yearlong adventure exploring 26 individual topics, topics that are playful and provocative, challenging and controversial and unique to what it means to be a woman living in a world defined and dominated by men.
This book was birthed from a question. “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life? The world would split open.” - Muriel Rukeyser, political activist. This question touches the lives of women all around the world. I invite you to consider another question.
What would it feel like to live your own life, not someone else’s idea of who you should be or how you should behave?
It’s time for women to remember who we are.
The Breeze at Dawn - Rumi
The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth
across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
