You can experience this journey through the Celtic year as a year-long journey or as stand alone weekends, as each one dives into a different theme and body of practice.
The Calling
At this time on Earth, we are in a collective winter where the old world is dying, no longer fit for purpose, and the new world is not yet clear. We are in the space between, the idir ait, as our Celtic ancestors called it, and we need new ways for making sense of ourselves in this time between times in our life, between identities, between relationships, between homes, between paradigms.
What if there was a map for elegant dying, conscious chaos and creating new beginnings that we could use to navigate this time in-between worlds?
With the Celtic map of life and time, we see that even the most challenging experience has a place. From despair to joy, from hate to compassion, from death to birth, all the strains of our humanity are welcome and have a home in the larger indigenous cycles of life.
Join your trailguides Lydia Campbell, Hamish Mackay-Lewis and the land at The Asha Centre as we weave our way through the darkness and renewal of winter, the seeding of new beginnings of spring, the flourishing of summer, and the honouring of autumn.
Our modern society tends to relate to the land in terms of what it can give us and what we can extract, rather than how it speaks to us and how we can work together with it in reciprocity.
This programme will invite you into a different story, one of interrelationship, mystery and soul.
This journey is taking place on English soil, in the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, a home of Celtic culture for hundreds of years before it was brutally invaded and colonised. Providing a metaphorical and literal back drop is the fact that over the wall behind The Asha Centre was where a large battle between the Celts and the Romans took place.
”You do not have to be Irish to have Celtic ancestry. I’ve been looking to far off lands to learn of indigenous ways of being, but I need look no further than the land beneath my feet. I am British. Celtic genes, consciousness and culture lie deep within me, which I can now look to and authentically call my own.” Hamish Mackay-Lewis
Some aspects that we will be exploring are: ritual, embodiment, breathwork, movement, coaching, nature-based facilitation, music, poetry, reflective practices, meditation.
How can the wisdom of nature resource you, regardless of where you find yourself?
What is the wisdom of our ancestors and how does it relate to modern evolution?
Who were you before you were colonised or coloniser?
How can you apply seasonal wisdom in your everyday life?
What is the land asking of you?
What are you longing for?
Dates
Winter - The Renewal - 1, 2, 3 December 2023
Spring - The Beginning - 9, 10, 11 February 2024
Summer - The Flourishing - 3, 4, 5, 6, May 2024
Autumn - The Honouring - 20, 21, 22 September 2024
Arrival at Fri 4pm and departure at 3pm on last day (Sun/Mon)
The flow of the programme:
The Beginning - Spring - Imbolc
We move from winter into springtime, into Imbolc. Creativity needs a vacuum and so having embraced the vacuumous gift of winter, we have the space to consciously seed new ideas. We listen to what we want to say YES to and what we then have to say NO to, in order to focus our intention, attention and resources to have impact in the world.
The Flourishing - Summer - Bealtaine
We move from spring into summer, called Bealtaine in these lands, where we step out and flourish, we take risks and venture out of our comfort zone, giving shape to the intentions that we set in spring. Using the high vitality of summer we find capacity and build the life that we want to lead, trusting the deep listening we did during winter.
The Honouring - Autumn - Lughnasadh
We move from summer into Lughnasadh, to autumn time, a time of harvest, of celebrating and gathering what we have done so far, bringing the cycle to the final stillpoint for this year. So often in our modern western culture today, we jump from summer to summer, from high productivity to high productivity, without allowing ourselves the space to look back at what we’ve done, to enjoy our accomplishments, to store our confidence and faith for when we might lose our way. This encoding of gratitude and joy for what we have accomplished, as well as the release of expectations for what we haven’t completed, is the gift of Autumn.
The Renewal - Winter - Samhain
Like all life, we begin our cycle in the void, in the darkness of Winter time letting go what we no longer need. Here, in Samhain, we explore the stillness of winter and the first seeding of our creative spark - the shard of first light on Winter Solstice. In Winter we work with honouring and releasing the past, closing and grieving old relationships and projects, relinquishing paths, habits and identities. And then we learn how to be humble and be in the unknown. Winter shows us how to let things die well so that life can be born and reborn.
The wisdom of these cycles can be of great benefit to those of us today who are struggling to find meaning in the complexity and the challenges humanity is facing.
We want you to find Seasonal Alchemy useful and resourcing. We want these experiences to support you to navigate the cycles of your life and find ways to transform into ever deepening spirals of meaning, what sometimes feels like loops just going around and around.
These cycles give you unbridled permission to be wherever you are and creativity, knowing there is a purpose to every experience that you’re having, just as every being in the natural world has its own purpose.
Every private moment is a gift to the collective consciousness. We offer our rituals up in service to the greater good… as we are in the micro, so we support and shape the macro.
In our culture of over doing, over perfecting, over efforting, always being on, endless productivity and where our self worth is tied to how much we create and produce, this cyclical way of thinking and being is an invitation to disrupt that culture; it is an invitation to listen to and act from our hearts.
What will you walk away with?
A stronger relationship with the natural world.
Deeper awareness of the natural cycles of life that are alive inside you, as well as outside.
Practices that will resource your personal and spiritual development going forward.
A map to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities of daily life.
More connection with your bodily intelligence.
Friendships with kindred spirits.
A leadership approach that’s fit for the changing times.
Paradigm shifting perspectives to support new ways of being in relationship.
More clarity and vision around your own life.
Feeling rested and resourced after a fun weekend away!
“What is it from our ancient traditions that, if reclaimed, would enable us human beings to awaken to the magnitude and wonder of this world? And might this awakening allow us to live in a more conscious and connected way?” (Dolores Whelan - Author of ‘Ever Ancient Ever New’)
Cost
A non-refundable deposit of £200 is required to secure your place.
If you enroll upfront in the whole year, all four retreats, you receive a 10% discount.
We are offering 2 supported places per retreat for people who do not have the means to pay. Please enquire to find out more.
Winter - The Renewal - 1, 2, 3 December 2023
Spring - The Beginning - 9, 10, 11 February 2024
Summer - The Flourishing - 3, 4, 5, 6, May 2024
Autumn - The Honouring - 20, 21, 22 September 2024
Arrival at 4pm and departure at 3pm
YEAR LONG PROGRAM
Prices include 10% discount
£1080 sleeping off-site
£1557 shared room
£1917 private room
£2277 private room + as supporter
WINTER, SPRING, AUTUMN
£275 sleeping off-site
£395 shared
£495 private room
£595 private room + as supporter
SUMMER
£375 sleeping off-site
£545 shared room
£645 private room
£745 private room + as supporter
Guides
Lydia Campbell
Lydia is a teacher and evolutionary guide of the ancient-future ways of North-Western European lands, helping people to re-remember who they were before they were dismembered…. by life, by conditioning, by trauma, by all the things. She works as a coach, facilitator and mentor and has been immersed in the edge of transformational leadership for over 15 years, delivering retreats across Africa, India and Europe for thousands of attendees. Her work blends ancient wisdom from her native Celtic tradition with modern leadership wellbeing research and a healthy dose of no-bs, real-life grit.
Hamish Mackay-Lewis
Hamish is a nature guide, leadership coach and facilitator eternally committed to the wisdom and gift of the moment-to-moment experience. He has a varied and international background having served in the armed forces before going into the field of human development. A perennial student of personal transformation, for the past 12 years he has guided groups and individuals to bring a spirit of adventure into their lives, to look inwardly and honestly and to experience the mutually restorative relationship between land and people. At the heart of his work are the practises of presence, nature connection and breathwork.
Location
Seasonal Alchemy will be held on beautiful land at The Asha Centre, located in the Forest of Dean in the UK, Gloucestershire, GL17 0EA. Asha is a gorgeous blend of native countryside, a rose garden, a classic English house and a modern glass teaching space. Like us, it blends the old and the new to create an evolutionary space for new ways of being to emerge. To see more about the Asha Centre click this link.
Contact
If you have any questions about the programme please do get in touch through the contact page on this site. If you would like to register please do so by following the register button below.
“Working with Hamish feels like throwing open the windows and letting lots of fresh air and light in! He works his magic through connection and humanity and a quiet wisdom born of a real interconnectedness with the natural world and an eye on the distant horizon. It’s transformative!”