Journey into the Winter Season
Through image and symbol, story and myth
Oct 25 - Nov 4, 2024
Would you like to enter the winter season more purposefully?
Find nourishment in fellowship as we gather around the hearth together…We warmly invite you into a space for reflection, creative exploration and communal connection, inspired by the rich symbolism of this meaningful time of year.
Embrace and prepare for the seasonal transition into winter
Join us on the Camino during the liminal days of the late October festival of Samhain. In Celtic mythology, this time was considered a threshold period, marking the symbolic end of summer and the beginning of preparations for the winter period. Gift yourself this special time and space to slow down and be present. Journey into the heart of winter’s mysteries through daily rhythm, ritual and craft.
Our daily rhythm will be grounded in morning reflection circles and themes that will be explored creatively throughout the day. We’ll journey through image and symbol, story and myth, connecting with the themes of thresholds, ancestors and the stories deep within.
Re-discover and connect with the natural environment and gifts of the land at this special time of year. Enjoy quiet walks foraging for pigments and other natural materials to use in our craft making. Create a personal visual journal inspired by all that you experience. Engage with symbols, timeless beauty, deep roots and meaning. Explore intuitive creativity; mark-making, leaf printing, paper embroidery and other creative techniques. Discover, draw and decorate ancient geometric symbols, like spirals, labyrinths and knots that we will encounter in our visits to sacred sites.
Special Visits
Discover intricate petroglyph designs etched into stone, come alive at sunrise.
Experience a dolmen with its astronomical alignments at Samhain midseason,
Collect pigments and make a labyrinth by the hermita of Santa Marina. Dug into the ground, by a boundary river and sacred oak grove where it is also where we will meet the mythical “moura” dwells deep in the earth.
Location & Accommodation
You will be staying in one of the most beautiful villages in all of Spain as voted by National Geographic.
Castrillo de los Polvazares dates back from Celtic time through to the 16th century. Enjoy stunning views at every turn. The retreat centre, lovingly restored in recent years, maintains its traditional architecture with heart and soul.
Enjoy delicious home cooked meals under the pergola shaded by an old vine and fruit trees. You will be staying in charming ensuite rooms at Flores, or at the nearby hotel (150m away) with stunning views overlooking the village, church and rural landscape.
You can expect to
Be nourished by a meaningful daily rhythm and community sharing.
Connect with place and nature as you dive deeply into the autumn landscape.
Experience ritual and creative contemplation through collecting, preparing and painting with foraged earthen pigments.
Create a beautiful visual record of your journey using all natural materials.
Play and intuit through co creating with the earth with mark-making, leaf printing, paper embroidery, gilding, simple book binding.
Reflect on and draw ancient symbols: spirals and labyrinths, Celtic knots, a solstitial calendar wheel, a tree of life design.
Visit sacred sites in breathtaking surroundings at this special time of year.
Enjoy one of the most beautiful villages in all of Spain on this ancient pilgrims path.
Is this retreat for me?
No prior skills or artistic abilities are required, only a curious and open mind. We welcome people from all walks of life, all faiths or none.
If the following describes you, then you are a perfect fit for this retreat:
I appreciate moments of quietness & times of reflection.
I give space to others and can listen.
I value community experiences as well as my own individual journey.
Preliminary Schedule
Arrival Day - Fri, 25 Oct
Arrival between 4 - 5pm
7pm: evening dinner and welcome
Day 1 - Sat, 26 Oct - Entering Liminal Space
Morning
Introduction to the schedule and themes. Guided entry into liminal space, a time of slowing down and leaving everyday life behind.
Afternoon
Building shared “temenos” through a group activity: a walkable labyrinth built together.
Evening
We will close our day with the poem “Dusk as beginning”.
Day 2 - Sun, 27 Oct - Celtic New Year - Preparing for Winter
Morning
Morning reflection circle: exploration of the themes of Celtic New Year, entering winter and introspection.
Morning activity: expedition into the local landscape to forage for pigments and natural materials.
Afternoon
Introduction to painting with natural pigments. Creating our personal journals.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 3 - Mon, 28 Oct - Connecting with the Land
Morning
Morning reflection circle: connecting to our foraged natural materials through symbolic visualization and imaginative storytelling.
Afternoon
Creating tools from our foraged finds; introduction to expressive mark making and botanical printing.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 4 - Tue, 29 Oct - Ancestors
Morning
Morning reflection circle: exploring the themes of ancestors and roots.
Morning activity: we will explore how our ancestors experienced the land and its rhythms across time.
Afternoon
Introduction to the solstitial calendar wheel in preparation for our visits to the petroglyphs and mid-season dolmens. Drawing 5000-year-old symbols including labyrinths, triskeles and other carved petroglyph motifs.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual
Day 5 - Wed, 30 Oct - Preparing for the Liminal Days: Thresholds
Morning
Morning reflection circle: we will connect to themes of thresholds, thin spaces, the limen, exploring these through story and myth.
Afternoon
Working with our hands, paper stitching our labyrinths and other motifs.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 6 - Thu, 31 Oct - Crossing the Threshold
Sunrise visit to the Samhain dolmen, weather permitting.
Morning
Morning reflection circle: continuing the theme of thresholds.
Afternoon
Introduction to the sacred geometry of woven Celtic knotwork.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 7 - Fri, 1 Nov - Ancestors’ Fire
Visit to the Visigothic monastery of San Miguel de Escalada.
Morning
Morning reflection circle: continuing the theme of thresholds.
Afternoon
Introduction to gold leaf technique. Use of gold leaf to illuminate our art works.
Evening
Ancestors’ fire ritual.
Day 8 - Sat, 2 Nov - All Souls
Morning
Morning reflection circle: introduction to the theme and symbolism of the tree of life.
Morning activity: art making or journaling and an opportunity to create a communal nature mandala.
Afternoon
Drawing the tree of life.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 9 - Sun, 3 Nov - Re-entry: Endings and Beginnings
Morning
Morning reflection circle: re-entry - endings and beginnings.
Morning activity: finishing our artworks and binding our journals.
Afternoon
Continuation of morning activities.
Closing circle.
Evening
Dusk poem and end of day ritual.
Day 10 - Mon, 4 Nov - Departure
Departure after breakfast