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Women in Focus: Juliet Vopěnka Navrátilová
May 13 | 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
The next edition of the Czech Centre’s Women in Focus series takes a unique turn—this time delving into the deeply personal and spiritual. Juliet Vopěnka Navrátilová, author, shamanic practitioner, Blue Badge guide, and anthropology student, shares her transformative journey from illness and emotional struggle to healing and empowerment. Through sensitivity, ritual, and connection, she redefines what it means to thrive in today’s world.
Juliet left the Czech Republic at 19 and spent two decades in London after a few years in Berlin. Her lifelong sensitivity, once a burden, became a strength during a deep “alchemical journey of metamorphoses.” This is also the subtitle of her second book, Cesta (ne)mocné Londýňanky (The Journey of a Power(less) Londoner), which explores trauma, healing, and shamanic calling. Her London life included work in Wandsworth prison and as a Blue Badge guide. With degrees in Social and Medical Anthropology from Goldsmiths and UCL, her study focused on consciousness, ecofeminism, and ritual. Her first book, Myslet srdcem (Thinking with the Heart), became a Czech bestseller.About the Theme of the Evening – An Empath’s Journey from Rags to Riches
In this edition of the Czech Centre’s Women in Focus series, Juliet Vopěnka Navrátilová offers a deeply personal and spiritual reflection on living with extreme sensitivity. Her “shamanic illness” became the turning point that redirected her path—from illness and emotional struggle to healing, empowerment, and purpose. In this context, “rags to riches” refers not to material wealth, but to emotional, mental, and spiritual abundance gained through self-understanding.
Through travels in Latin America and participation in shamanic ceremonies, Juliet came to see her empathic nature as a gift rather than a burden. Empaths—highly sensitive, neurodiverse individuals—often absorb others’ emotions unconsciously, leading to exhaustion and illness. By embracing her sensitivity, she now helps others reconnect with their intuition and inner power. As a shamanic practitioner, she also energetically cleanses homes and spaces. Her journey is one of transformation through ritual, awareness, and heart-centred connection.
