Walking Awake into the Celtic New Year

If you feel a deep connection to Nature, have an interest in Celtic Spirituality, and a longing to be amongst the stunning autumn foliage at Kirkridge, this annual weekend retreat may indeed call you ‘home’ to the mountain.

Throughout our weekend together we will explore some of the many surrounding lessons and gifts available to us as we ‘walk awake’ together into the Celtic New Year.

In Nature it is the time of year when the woodlands transform: Leaves begin to turn into vibrant colors and float to the forest floor as the trees prepare for dormancy. Animals are busy gathering, storing, and filling themselves with food as they prepare for hibernation and the approaching cold winter months. The hours of daylight are becoming shorter and shorter.

On the Celtic Wheel of the Year: we are entering the time of Samhain, the last of the three Celtic Harvest Festivals and the return of the dark half of the year.  The ancient Celts believed everything began in the darkness hence why Samhain is referred to as the ‘Celtic New Year’.  In realms of Celtic Spirituality, it is a time when the veil between differing worlds becomes its thinnest. A ‘betwixt and between’ period of ‘no-time’ when the spirits of the ancestors, those recently passed, and the world of the Fae might slip between the veil to communicate with us.

An annual event, as in Nature, each year this retreat offers something uniquely different to those who attend. The weekend will ebb and flow according to the energy of the group, the weather, the Land, and Nature’s offerings. Structured group gatherings may include sessions on various aspects of Celtic Spirituality (past and present) with attention on the Celtic New Year and the honoring of the ancestors, nature walks with focus on recognizing and connecting with the ‘seen and unseen’ in Nature, and the continual weaving of the history and mystery connecting this mountain range and the Isle of Iona, Scotland. The weekend will also include an eclectic mix of ritual, ceremony, morning mediations, time to walk and wander, song, and poetry.

Additionally, on the Saturday evening all will have the opportunity to attend Columcille Megalith Park’s memorable Samhain/Celtic New Year Celebration* set amongst its torchlit Standing Stones. All attending are welcome to dress up in their best Celtic or Halloween attire for Columcille’s event, if they wish.

How to prepare for this magical weekend?:

Be sure to bring your love of Nature and your curiosity about Celtic Spirituality, Kirkridge, Columcille, and Iona.

Sessions will be held both indoors and outdoors so please come prepared to walk along Kirkridge’s wooded paths and amongst the standing stones of Columcille.

A more detailed itinerary will be sent to those registered a few weeks prior to the event.

*If planning to attend the Columcille Megalith Park’s Samhain Celebration, there is an additional $10.00 pp suggested entrance donation to Columcille which will be collected by retreat facilitator during the retreat prior to event.