This was the first sacred art retreat I ever taught on-line. It was remarkably powerful (big learning curve for me!)
I am about to teach an in-person 5-day Sacred Art Retreat titled The Temple Priestess (in London UK) but some students have requested I teach that retreat again, but on-line, in the future. If you wish to express interest or share ideas with me, please press "Contact Us" (Top bar, second button from the left) and drop me an email!
The Bone Mother & The Wild Hunt
Facilitated by Imelda Almqvist
Prerequisites
My stand-alone art retreats are for people who have completed my 2-day Introduction to Sacred Art course as well as for people who have done my sacred art practitioner program and wish to continue working with others in sacred space, in a spirit-led way with a focus on profound and personalised ceremonial work
During this retreat we will explore how the forces of Creation are engaged in a cosmic dance with the forces of Destruction (and how the forces of Destruction are ultimately in service to Creation).
What is the role of loss and destruction in the creative process? What needs to be left out or let go of in order to create? How do we engage self-discipline and decide what to omit or release in order to make room for the new, for rebirth?
A similar process occurs in a human life: through our experiences and perception of “loss”, space is created for new beginnings.This process is continuously occurring on all levels: individual, collective and cosmic. To stay safe, we all constantly make decisions about what is “in” and what is “out”.
As the Winter Sun rises ever lower in the sky the Light withdraws in the Northern Hemisphere and Darkness grows across the land, we enter what many traditions deem a “Thin Time” or time of Thin Veil when our ability to sense the unseen worlds heightens. That keening sound we hear in the howling wind is the Wild Hunt riding out, sweeping up in its ranks the Dead as well as the Living who cross its path. Does the riding out of this Wild Host presage only a time of catastrophe and death, or does it hold within it the seed of regeneration? Is there a great cosmic clearing away that occurs?) What did it mean to our ancestors in the Northern and Western European traditions? What does it mean for our understanding of the cycle of creation, loss and regeneration today? What is our relationship to the Forces of Chaos and Destruction – how can we work closely with those powerful forces in midwifing processes of rebirth on Earth?
We will work with ceremony, ritual, journeying and art process to explore:
The mythology and cultural origins of The Wild Hunt and its relevance to our own life's journey and life cycle
The power of The Wild Hunt as a tool for change
The forces of chaos and their potential and their cosmic gifts
Correspondences between The Wild Hunt and esoteric beliefs from all over Europe
What happens when Life draws back into the taproot and everything around us appears to die?
The cycles of Life and Death, creation and destruction
The relationship between death, ecstasy, and creation
We will perform a Wild Hunt Ceremony where we ride with the Wild Hunt, watch the great Psychopomps perform their work and engage with (and harness) the forces of destruction for greater benefit of our planet and communities. In doing so we will clear pockets of stagnant energy where the new and innovate can gestate in embryonic form.
In doing this work we will build a personal relationship with these powerful forces and beings that we will take into our everyday lives. This partnership will continue to spark fresh insights long after we leave the workshop setting
>> Picture credit: Nathan Anderson, https://unsplash.com/
We will work with ceremony, ritual, journeying and art process to explore:
In doing this work we will build a personal relationship with these powerful forces and beings that we will take into our everyday lives. This partnership will continue to spark fresh insights long after we leave the workshop setting