Syncing with the Celtic Seasons

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

You are invited to Mount Shasta Hestia Retreat Center to listen to the messages from the land and bring your awareness to the beginning of seasonal shifts in a series of personal retreats offered this year at the beginning of August, and November. 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 of autumn and winter.

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 autumn 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...

• private sound healing session with Joy, blending guided breathwork, body/nature awareness, and intention setting, with specific resonance for releasing ancestral trauma and rooting into ancestral healing.
• together we will tune into the energy of the night of Samhain with a 2 hour meditative walk in the dark blending Celtic contemplation practices, forest bathing, and the celestial sounds of alchemy crystal singing bowls.

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 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.