BEALTAINE PILGRIMAGE

Friday 23rd April - Sunday 2nd May 2010
Immersing ourselves into the Land of Eiru



"She calls to us and we answer ". 
The Mother is calling you home, calling to a place within, where we can
rest awhile, knowing we are being held and fed, loved and cared for,
filling us, as we drink from the chalice, so that we may carry forward Her
love/our love into all aspects of our lives.

As part of your journey upon the Way; this Pilgrimage, we will gather the
threads and weave ourselves whole: as women, as Sisters, as powerful and
light-filled Souls. We will sing and chant, we will dance and move and
there will be times when we will hold the silence and bear witness.

We start our Pilgrimage connecting with the Fairy Queen - moving on to the
Great Mother - being blessed by Bridget and finishing with Maebh the great
and wild Goddess of the land, Patroness of Bealtaine.

We come together to hear the pulse of Her nature and the beat of Her Heart
through the inner and outer landscapes of Herself/ourselves. In this
ten-day Pilgrimage we first take space for inner work to prepare us to walk
the body and connect with honour and openness to the Great Goddess in Her
many phases and places. We will also take space each day for inner work and
creating a space of safety to allow those aspects of our nature to emerge,
flow and integrate, allowing ourselves the opportunity to be fully who we
are in joy and in life.

Each Pilgrimage is unique in that we follow the flow of the group dynamic
and what emerges is always beautiful and ever unfolding, therefore we have
an itinerary, which is changeable according to the needs of the group. We
come together as women, we walk a while-together awakening to our selves
and our many faces and we move on as sisters, connected through laughter,
loving, sharing and openness.


Fri. 23rd:
Day 1) Pick-up from Shannon airport at 9am, or local guest house, at
9:30am. From here we will be moving on to the Grange Stone Circle for our
opening ceremony.
Next we visit Lough Gur, followed by lunch in Bruff. We then move on to
Killarney, stopping en-route for a blessing of the waters at Briget's well.
Here we take time to unpack before an early dinner.
The Grange Stone Circle is dedicated to Ainé, Sun Goddess and Fairy Queen.
It is here, at the summer solstice, that the first rays of the sun move
through the two dolmen stones into the centre of the largest stone circle
in Ireland. The goddess Ainé is beloved of her people and guards the Land.
Behind this stone circle we have Lough Gur, which Ainé is believed to have
formed. We have stories here of a sacred tree within the lake, which
magically arises every seven years and holds the fabric of Ireland together
upon her branches. The area around Lough Gur has been inhabited for at
least 5,000 years and the first Neolithic houses to be found in Ireland
were excavated here.


Sat. 24th : 
Day 2) A day of inner work, bringing forth the presence of the Seabhean
within us all. The Seabhean is the ancient One, the wise crone, who holds
the energy of the weaver, shifter and dreamer, who can travel between the
worlds and access the energies held deep within. We will connect with our
ancestors and totems. We will journey to that place within to honour that
which we will carry out onto the land, preparing  ourselves for our journey
and our opening to our communion with Her.


Sun. 25th:
Day 3) The City, Gobnuit and Sheela-na-gig
We will visit the City, place of one of the four great cities of the Tuatha
Dé Danann, the Gods and Goddesses of our land.
The Tuatha Dé Danann were known for their magic and worshipped the Mother
Goddess Anu. It is at this place that they placed two cairns atop the
mountains behind the City and saw them as the breasts of Anu. It was here
they worshipped her. Much later, when the first Celts came and conquered,
the four great cities of the Tuatha Dé Danann arose from the land and moved
into another plane of existence: many say they moved to  below the land
Herself. From here we move on to visit Gobnait's well, one of the oldest
wells of pilgrimage in Ireland and a Sheela-na-gig. The Sheela-na-gig is a
stone carving of a naked woman touching herself with a look of glee or
wildness upon her face. Most were broken up during the reformation and some
small ones still exist around Ireland, mainly on the ruins of old churches.
The Sheela-na-gig has become a symbol for many Irish woman as the right to
choose and is becoming re-named as the Sacred whore.


Mon. 26th:
Day 4) Grandmothers' Circle, R&R, retail therapy in Killarney.
This morning we will visit the Grandmothers' Circle for a ceremony and
releasing. The Grandmothers' Circle is the only stone circle surrounded by
a ring of trees. The small circle of seven stones is a place of deep magic
and power and we will ask the Grandmothers to guide us on our journey.
The afternoon is a time for rest and relaxation. You might like to shop and
I can also arrange for bodywork and/massages if you would like. Please let
me know beforehand.


Tues. 27th :
Day 5) Travelling to Kildare. Evening walk on the bog fields.
Today we travel to Kildare, stopping in Killaloe for our lunch and visiting
a little-known site, sacred to Brian Boru, last High King of Ireland. It
was here that he would ask his Seabhean to scry for him before going into
battle. We will stay at a lovely organic farmhouse for the next two nights
where Julie, the owner, will spoil us with her wonderful cooking and care.
Colm, Julie's husband, will take us out onto the Turf Fields and share with
us of its growth and uses.


Wed. 28th :
Day 6) Bridine Sisters - Bridget
Today we have the privilege to spend a day with one, or perhaps two, of the
Sisters of Bridget, Sister Mary and/or Sister Phil. These nuns hold the
flame of Bridget and women visit from many countries to pilgrimage here.
The Sisters hold the bridge between the Goddess and the Saint and we will
have the pleasure of the Sisters' company as they take us out to visit the
Ancient Fire Temple and the Bridget Wells. We will also be doing some inner
work with the Sisters.


Thurs. 29th:
Day 7) Travelling up to Sligo, stopping en-route at Rathcroghan.
Today we travel up to Sligo. We will visit Rathcroghan, place of Maebh the
Great Earth goddess who later became the Goddess of the province of
Connacht. Maebh was, and is still, known as the wild and passionate
sovereign Goddess of Tara. Homage to Maebh has been known to exist for over
four thousand years. It is here at Rathcroghan that the Kings, whom Maebh
or one of the Priestesses of Maebh had chosen, by coupling with them at
Bealtaine in the 'Bán Fheis' Rites, lie within the mounds. We will also
visit the waters of Eithne and Fedelma.  
We conclude our day, settling in, at our guest house.


Fri. 30th :
Day 8) Triple Circles and Carrowkeel
Today we will visit the three Stone Circles in honour of Maiden, Mother and
Crone. Sligo holds 65% of Ireland's megalithic sites and today you will
understand why! The land lies in such a way as to have a wonderful  expanse
of light, from both the sky and sea, reflecting one upon the  other. These
triple stone circles have been here for close to five thousand years.
After lunch we visit the Pinnacles, the cairns at Carrowkeel and the hut
clusters known at Doonaveeragh Neolithic village. Here we are transported
back approximately 5,000years. This spectacular site is believed to be one
of the main points of energy in Ireland and you can certainly 'feel' this
when you are there.
In the evening, in celebration of Bealtaine Eve we will have a seaweed
bath, a Bealtaine fire and hopefully get up to mischief and merriment...
The baths are by the beach looking out onto the Atlantic. Seaweed has long
since been known as a purifier and healer. It opens our lymph glands and
rejuvenates us. We will be blessed by the land, the sea, the fire and the
air this day.


Sat. 1st:
Day 9) The Glen. We next travel down to Clare.
We bring ourselves to our Closing Ceremony, deep within the Glen,
connecting with our ancestors and looking at what we have grown through and
what we are choosing now to carry onwards with us upon our journey,
recognising the interconnectedness of all, thanking the great Goddess for
Her gifts and lessons.
Lunch and a couple of hours in Sligo town before we journey down to Co.
Clare for our last night together. Tonight we will dinner out with
traditional music and song.


Sun 2nd :
Day 10) Early start to Shannon Airport for sad farewells, till we meet
again.

INVESTMENT: 2000 EUROS
This includes all accomodation and inland travel; all breakfasts, five of
the dinners and two lunches; entrance fees and Seaweed baths. Not included
is airfare and personal insurance.

for booking, please go to the 'Booking' page

painting by Seabhean Artist Helen O'Sullivan: whispersartgallery@eircom.net