Rites of Passage

Retreats

Rites of Passage Retreats

Rites of Passage are traditionally referred to as ceremonies that mark the important transitional periods in a person's life, such as birth, puberty, marriage, having children, and death.

Rites of Passage honour the ending of one cycle of life and bring into awareness the transition of beginning the journey into another aspect of growth.

These rituals and teachings signify a turning point. Our familiar roles, behaviours and beliefs are questioned as we are invited to step into another way of life.

Simply, Rites of Passage are communal ceremonies that give witness to the inevitable and necessary transitions and changes that mark the passage of a lifetime.

For many of us, these moments have not been celebrated and acknowledged. It’s time to reclaim their power.

These Retreats are born from a calling to offer the space to give witness to and create for ourselves our own Rites of Passage.

Let us return to the wonder and sanctity of what it means to be held, supported and inspired by our cycling natures.

 

Midlife Retreat

    ‘MIDWAY on the journey of this our mortal life

 I found myself in a dark forest, 

Where the right way was wholly lost…’ 

Opening to Dante’s Divine Comedy

28th September - 3rd October 2026
4-6 spaces available

Midlife marks a profound shift in our experience, a time of uncertainty and dislocation as past identities and old beliefs drop away, and we find ourselves in a time of confusion and crisis - as if at sea or lost in the mist. This could occur at age 35, 44 or 65 for each of us - or resurface several times during our lifetime. 

This discomfort signals we have embarked on a rite of passage, an initiatory process into the second half of our life, where questions of our purpose, deepest longings and limitations need to be welcomed and acknowledged. 

This course starts with a ritual crossing of a threshold into this liminal space where together we’ll journey through the following terrain: 

  • The Inanna myth of descent and rising as a map for this process

  • Walking our unique ‘life labyrinth’ and marking its various crossroads

  • A ceremony to let go of the past, to grieve its losses and open to what is waiting to be born

  • Acknowledging our shadow selves and befriending our unmet needs

  • Exploring our life purpose and the legacy we want to offer

  • Recognising our mortality and limitations - welcoming in the Elder or Hag, and their wisdom

At the end of the four days together, we will end by stepping across another threshold and with a feast, marking our re-emergence back into life.

 Please note this retreat is for all genders as we feel it is important to explore the menopausal and midlife journey together.

Menarche Retreat

For those of us who are born with a womb, our first bleed or Menarche is a poignant, delicate and precarious transition.

We emerge from the cradle of being a child and into our next great journey where we learn to navigate the context of our lives whilst honouring the call to become our unique self.

Menarche is not only a point in time, but a transitional period that asks us to connect to the hormonal tides of ourselves in relation to what we are exposed to. We are in a state of flux and it will take time to find stable ground.

Menarche needs to be acknowledged. To be witnessed in all its fragility, courage, potency and volatility. Menarche requires a compassionate holding by community so that the caterpillar may dissolve and emerge as the butterfly.

16-21 March 2026
4-6 spaces available

The Retreat Journey:

In Springtime, the natural world will be a guide on this journey, as it blossoms with the delicate potency of new beginnings.

Whether you were celebrated and acknowledged at your Menarche or not, you are welcome. This retreat is a way to build relationship with yourself and surrender deeper into an embodied sense of the wider community of life. It is a time to heal and give reverence to the life within you and the life that holds you.  

  • We begin by connecting with the cosmic wonder of our own Soul Seed.

  • We will revisit, celebrate and grieve the story of your Menarche and give witness to the stories of others.

  • We will dream into our Soul Seed, as a way of weaving its fragrance into our lives and healing our personal stories.

  • We will create our own Menarche ceremony to honour our individual and collective journey.

  • We will commit to nourishing ourselves as we return from retreat, bearing with us the gift of our unique genius.