Syncing with the Celtic Season: Winter

Syncing into the rhythm of the seasons is a practice of noticing. Slow down enough to notice the sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic changes on the land and open your heart to the messages nature offers us on our inward journey.

You are invited to Hestia Retreat Center at Mount Shasta to listen to the messages from the land and bring your awareness to the beginning of seasonal shifts. In the Celtic tradition, cross-quarter dates mark the beginning of the season or midpoints between the solstices and equinoxes. These personal retreats at the beginning of the season will help you prepare for the upcoming season.

On a journey of healing with nature’s season as your guide, connect with the magical land at Hestia Retreat Center, ancestral territory of the Shasta and Karuk tribe. Allow your mind, body, and spirit to sink deeply into the seasonal shift for 4 nights and 5 days. Spend time with the land cultivating awe and gratitude, receive the physical and psychological health benefits of being outdoors, and connect with (your) nature. Building any healthy relationship involves time and active listening. Let the spaciousness of being with the land in “silence” be your teacher as you begin to perceive how trees talk, how the creek babbles, or how the birds beckon you to a place.

Preparing for Winter: Thursday, October 28 - Monday, November 1

We honor the descent into the darkness of winter in many cultural traditions: Samhain, Halloween, Día de los Muertos, and All Saint’s Day. For the Celts, Samhain marks the midpoint between autumnal equinox and winter solstice, the beginning of the new year, as well as the start of the dark half of the year.

To prepare yourself to welcome the darkness of this winter:

• receive tools to support building your relationship with nature, including the Gratitude Blooming Deck and self-guided meditations on the land.
• experince a 1hour private outdoor sound healing session with Joy, tune inward to allow the season to resonate in your heart.  Blending guided breathwork, body/nature awareness, and intention setting this moment in the season offers a chance for releasing ancestral trauma and rooting into ancestral healing.
• together in a 2 hour meditative walk in the dark (Samhain Sound Night Walk), we will tune into the energy of the night of Samhain, blending Celtic contemplation practices, forest bathing, and the celestial sounds of alchemy crystal singing bowls.

More about the Samhain Sound Night Walk, Sun. Oct. 31, 5:55pm

We will begin our Samhain journey by intentionally slowing down to allow our hearts and bodies to sink into our senses and to connect with the more-than-human world. Each person, at their own pace, will slowly “walk-the-rounds” of three of Hestia’s energetic circles. These three circles offer symbolic opportunities for interpretation on your walk: chakra points on the land for contemplating your inward journey, transition, and the void; maiden, mother, and crone; a beautiful stone labyrinth, a dancing oak tree, and fire scorched earth. Whatever meaning you make of the 3 circles, you’re invited to approach each with reverence and deep listening, as you’re gently guided by the sounds of singing bowls. The vibration/energy of crystal singing bowls can be impactful both physically on the mind/body and energetically on the subtle energy bodies. Gentle attention will be given to the heart chakra of each person walking to support your connection to the energy of the earth and the stars. End your Samhain sound journey by warming yourself with hot tea and letting go of what is no longer needed into a crackling fire by the creek.

Cost: The cost for this 4 night & 5 day retreat ranges from $1125-375 depending on which of the five lodging options you select and how many people are in your lodge.

Click on the lodging below to learn more about each space:

Mama Yurt

• 1125 for 1 guest
• 660, per person for 2 guests
• 575, per person for 3 guests
• 530, per person for 4 guests

Glamping Tent (only if you are ready to camp in the cold)

• 550 for 1 guest
• 375, per person for 2 guests

Solstice Moon Yurt (booked)

Mongolian Yurt (booked)

Eco-Cabin (booked)

Learn more about the magical grounds of Hestia Mount Shasta Retreat Center, at www.hestiamagic.com.

Please email me with any questions about this personal retreat: joyevansmsw@gmail.com

To register: Complete Hestia's Personal Retreat Form