Spiritual workshops

FORTHCOMING WORKSHOP

MYSTERIES OF THE SPRING EQUINOX: SATURDAY 17th MARCH at Treadwells, 33 Store St, London WC1E 7BS       11 am to 6 pm

This workshop will give an intensely personal and experiential dimension on the ancient traditions and modern celebration of this festival. The Spring Equinox has been and continues to be celebrated around the world and the return of the sun with its associated symbolism of the egg, the snake, the hare and the dragon has much to offer us to kick start our creative passion for the forthcoming year.  The day includes an hour’s powerpoint presentation, seminar discussion, craft work, meditation and a one hour ceremony at the end of the day. Email Treadwells to book: info@treadwells-london.com  or call 020 7419 8507    Cost £35

RECENT WORKSHOPS

IMBOLC 2012

At Imbolc, we created sacred space, learned how to embed our everyday lives with sanctity and spiritual purpose, made a crios brid and crosogs, created the three realms of the Celtic otherworld and called upon the three aspects of the Goddess Brigit, all of whom gave their blessings on the spiritual seeds we intend to sow this coming year.  The ceremony was both moving and enlightening and I thank all those who came who made it so.

A CELEBRATION OF YULE

At Yule, we sang pagan carols (well everyone else did as I lost my voice half way through – a million thanks to all of you who listened to my hoarse whispering!), we performed a Treadwells Mumming Play, we chanted a Hymn to the Sun, wrote Yule revelations, new year affirmations and explored the themes of renewal and rebirth. Our candelight meditation reflected the sacredness of the day.

‘Thanks for an absolutely superb day at Treadwells today. The ritual, in particular, was breathtakingly beautiful’ Phil

UNDERSTANDING THE MYSTERIES OF SAMHAIN

At Samhain, we looked at both classical and modern philosophical writings on death; we talked about endings and what we fear and looked at the alchemical significance of the nigredo.  We explored ancient and modern traditions and folklore surrounding the season and our ritual was moving for all of us in its own unique way. My thanks to all who made it so.

∞ Seventh  in a series of workshops at Treadwells on the Wheel of the Year

UNDERSTANDING THE AUTUMN EQUINOX

At the Autumn Equinox, a very vibrant and ‘willing to be out of their comfort zone’ group explored the traditions surrounding this festival which included the eleusinian mysteries, the Dionysian mysteries, stories of the Wild Hunt and the tale of Cerridwen and her chase of Taliesin.  That we had both fun, wisdom and a profound ritual at the close of the day is testament to the energy of the group and their willingness to let go and explore what transformation really is.

UNDERSTANDING LAMMAS

At Lammas we looked  at the traditions surrounding the harvest of the corn, the ancient Greek Eleusinian mysteries of Demeter and Persephone , the sacrifice of John Barleycorn and the story of Lugh and his significance at this time. We explored the meaning of sacrifice and what it means to each of us , dwelt on what we had individually sown this year and what harvest it had brought us and we celebrated with song and created magic . My thanks to all who made the day so special.

‘Thanks again for a lovely day yesterday and a very enjoyable insight into the Lughnasadh rituals’ Tracy

THE RITES OF THE SUMMER SOLSTICE

The Summer Solstice is a time for celebration; for valuing what we have and acknowledging our achievements.  The God of the Sun was worshipped from ancient times and in many pantheons: Apollo, Helios, Lugh, Balder, Huitzilopochtli, Sol, Ameterasu, Sulis and in Egypt there was a different god for the rising, midday and setting sun as well as one for the sun travelling through the underworld at night.  What can we learn from these ancient traditions and beliefs? This workshop includes the creation of sunwheel talismans, discussions on the astrological sign cancer and its connection with the ancestors, the home and where we feel we belong;  a meditation to enter into the world of the faerie, said to be apparent us at this sacred time and a ritual to welcome the God of the Sun to our own inner world.

BELTANE WORKSHOP

At Beltane, we looked at the origins of festivals marking the coming of spring; the Green Man and his origins in ancient civilisations, the ancient Goddess of Love,  customs and traditions of the Jack in the Green, the May King and Queen, the Maypole and the Garland as well as current pagan practices today. We explored themes of abundance and joy in our lives, love in many aspects and forms, how to identify, discover and embrace love, beauty, harmony, truth, understanding and pleasure and our ritual, apart from the beltane fire setting off the fire alarm (what would Beltane be without a fire Christina gamely acknowledged!) was a celebration the deep connections we had made with each other during the day.

‘Just wanted to send my appreciation for the May workshop at Treadwell’s: so much in there, thank you, and the making of the web of wyrd was quite beautiful.’ Anne

SPRING EQUINOX WORKSHOP

At the Spring Equinox Workshop, we discovered the origins of the festival of Oestre, spring festivals from ancient civilisations – touching on the orphic mysteries and rites of Cybele, celebrations in ancient egypt and mexico and our own longbarrows and stone circles,the rainbow serpent legend in Australia, the serpent voudou god associated with St Patrick and we traced the symbolism of the hare, the cosmic egg, the wand and modern pagan practices. We explored the themes of the spiritual warrior, the spirit of Ares and Mars and how to awaken our own courage and purpose; liberating our creative power and finding inner balance. We created rainbow dragon wands, painted eggs with symbols and our very lively ritual included many of the above themes. ‘I have just come home from your amazingly wonderful, thought provoking and enriching Vernal Equinox workshop at Treadwell’s. It was lovely to meet you. You are such a deep, kind, warm and loving person. Thank you so very, very much for such a special day.’ Cass

IMBOLC

The Imbolc workshop included a one hour lecture on the traditions, origins and customs of the festival, the origins and legend of Brigid, her connection with the serpent and the sacred fire, the roman vestals and ancient hearth traditions. We explored themes of the hearth fire, maintaining our own flame of passion and creativity, transformation and purification, sacred space and planting ‘spiritual seeds’ . We read and wrote poetry, explored healing, self healing and the gifts of the human, plant and sacred realms. The ritual was a sacred, quiet and deeply devoted space that incorporated many of the above themes. ‘

‘It was wonderful to be in a room of fellow souls: I was humbled by how beautiful and authentic everybody was and it was such fun making the garland, too’ Anne

First in a series of workshops at Treadwells on the Wheel of the Year