Keening Retreats:
aka
Breathe with the Banshee
Below is an example plan for a three day version of this event. This retreat can be modified to fit your schedule, genders, focus areas, etc, as needed.
Learn more at this video
Want to host this retreat for a group? Contact me to set up a plan.
The banshee is a frequency - and energy as old as life. Her songs are heard on the winds the blow across the lands and seas. The Banshee is seen as an archetypal energy of Badb, the great keener, who is one-third of the triple goddess of death - The Morrigan. The other sisters being Morrigan and Macha.
Often maligned by cultural memory, she is the omen that death is coming. But for this retreat, she is the energy of transformation. The banshee is wise, she is primal, and she is ready to support you in our surrender.
The banshee will guide our inner symbolic death - and show us the path to our regeneration.
Keening, or mourning/crying, has been suppressed for generations. This has caused us to disembody, taught us to distrust our emotions and disconnect from our instinctual nature. The keen lives inside all of us - Men, Women and non-binary people - and it needs to be heard.
The keen is your cry - your unfiltered sound - it could be
tears, silent screams, laughter, moaning, shouts or whispers... no matter how it "looks", it is YOURS, it is BEAUTIFUL and it is SACRED.
Arriving at our refuge, you will have time to unpack your belongings, get settled and then come together for our opening circle.
Our opening ceremony consecrates the energy of the retreat, celebrating the sacredness that joins together to share in the transformative journey. This space sets the expectations and tone for the weekend and invites you to share your intentions, so you may be witnessed in a safe, held and affirming space.
Then we dive into the mythology of the Morrigan and her medicine of death, honoring vulnerability, surrendering to the power within you. We will discuss the history and ceremony of Keening - so that you can all step into the energy of our ceremonial keen. The Goddess will come through with wisdom about ego death and honoring vulnerability, surrendering to the power within each of us. You will be presented the sacred symbol of the Veil and walk as "wise one in remembering" into the keening circle.
After the keen, we will join together for a nourishing dinner and then rest.
After our nourishing breakfast, we begin with gathering in circle and better understand the wisdoms of the seasons, the natural cycles, elements as we remember their power in our own bodies.
Lunch is provided and you are welcome to dine in a group or alone - with a couple of hours set for quiet processing, play, taking a walk, napping, etc.
After lunch, we will sit together in a cacao circle (though drinking is optional) to hold the journey your soulful heart is experiencing. The cacao circle will be a space of vulnerable visibility, and held after through a guided shamanic journey to walk the inner landscape of your soul-self with your power animal.
Weather permitting, we will have a new moon rebirth in the bay water, held by Sheela na Gig, remembering our Oneness with the mother waters, honoring who is being reclaimed and reborn from within. Sheela Na Gig is a primordial expression of the cosmic womb. This ceremony honors you in the great unbecoming and reclamation. Let us celebrate the divine oneness that you are rebirthing within.
After breakfast, we will gather in circle and listen to mythology as archetypal wisdom to help embodied the wise and well energy of masculine and feminine (or, yang and yin, sun and moon) in our lives... and consider what wisdom the relationships between the maiden/mother/crone and the warrior/father/elder hold for us to better know ourselves.
Lunch is the same - provided with ample time for processing
After lunch we will have a sacred fire ceremony while held by the wisdom of Brigid - triple goddess and saint. Gathering around the fire, we will each take a turn to honor the version of you who stepped into the journey, and who you are as you are leaving to return home. This holds space to honor your expansion with sacred joy, awareness, love.
After dinner, we will close with a gentle sound bowl healing session to support integration and relaxation. You will also receive a gift for integration time after the weekend is completed. This will be followed with quiet time to rest, relax or explore nature.
This is just the beginning - you will continue to integrate and expand in the days to come. Be gentle with yourself the next few days, dear sister. Schedule less - be present with your self and listen to your body.
Martha will follow up with everyone with a group email of after care suggestions a couple of days later.
Check out on Monday April 20:
Monday morning will have a casual communal breakfast before heading home. There is the possibility of an optional early morning/sunrise experience... but this is determined by the group Sunday evening.
Martha is a clear powerful vessel for the Goddess Mothers, ethical and integral, respectful of boundaries, and here to help guide you through an evolution of your spirit. Martha has multiple lifetimes guiding her work with Spirit, and been in service to the community as healer for over a decade. With a deep reverence for, and soulful connection with, the Banshee, Martha is prepared to guide you through a life-altering experience.
Kristina is a clear channel for Jesus and a wise woman who integrates body work with sacred energy healing. Her herbalist training reinforces her holistic approact to wellness in the body. Kristina will help hold the container of the weekend and supplement your experience with intuitively crafted healing infused drinks.
1- What fears/doubts are coming up - they are all valid and deserve to be heard. Remind yourself: "I do not have to address these fears right now - only witness them."
2- How have I been holding on to one aspect of maiden/mother/crone or warrior/father/elder in my life? What story is ready to be shed?
3- Who might I call on, Ancestor/Angel/Divine, to help me feel courage andsupport?
Martha will follow up with everyone with a group email of after care suggestions a couple ofdays later.
One month after our sacred circle, Martha will offer to schedule a follow up chat to ensure you are integrating as best as possible.
Time spent together is important, as it is when we celebrate each other and ourselves. You are welcome to gather in small groups, a full crowd or take alone time on the land, or nearby vistas.
There will be break time the wisdom shares, guided journeys, and ceremonies, to allow time for reflection and integration.
