Walking Awake into the Celtic New Year: A Weekend Retreat

 Friday, November 1st - Sunday, November 3rd, 2024

This annual event tends to sell out rather fast. If you'd like to attend, be sure to register early! 

This weekend retreat will be hosted by Kirkridge Retreat and Study Center at their Farmhouse facility in Bangor, PA. Surrounded by wooded trails and within walking distance of Columcille Megalith Park (a Celtic influenced standing stone park with over 90 stones!).

If you feel a deep connection to Nature, have an interest in Celtic Spirituality, and a longing to be amongst the stunning autumn foliage, this weekend is for you! 

Throughout the weekend we will explore some of the many surrounding lessons and gifts available to us as we 'walk awake' together into the Celtic New Year. 

In Nature: It is the time of year when the woodlands transform: leaves begin to turn vibrant colors and float to the forest floor as the trees prepare for dormancy. Animals are busy gathering, storing, and filling themselves with food as they prepare for hibernation and the approaching cold winter months. The hours of daylight are becoming shorter and shorter. 

On the Celtic Wheel of the Year: We are entering the time of Samhain, the last of the three Celtic Harvest Festivals and the return of the dark half of the year. The ancient Celts believed everything began in the darkness therefore, Samhain is referred to as the 'Celtic New Year'. In realms of Celtic Spirituality, it is a time when the veil between differing worlds becomes its thinnest. A 'betwixt and between' period of 'no-time' when the spirits of the ancestors, those recently passed, and the world of the Fae might slip between the veil and communicate with those left behind. 

This weekend's schedule will ebb and flow with the energy and interest of the group. Structured group gatherings may include sessions on various aspects of Celtic Spirituality (past and present) with attention on the Celtic New Year and the honoring of the ancestors, nature walks with focus on recognizing and connecting with the 'seen and unseen' in Nature and weaving the history and mystery that connects the mountain location of the retreat with Isle of Iona, Scotland. The weekend will also include an eclectic mix of ritual, ceremony, morning meditations, time to walk and wonder, song, story, and poetry. 

Additionally, we will have the unique and memorable opportunity to attend Columcille Megalith Park's Celtic New Year Celebration* amongst the torchlit standing standing stones on the Saturday evening. You may even wish to dress up in your best Celtic or Halloween attire for this event!  

How to prepare for this magical weekend?: 

Be sure to bring your love of Nature and your curiousity about Celtic Spirituality, Kirkridge, Columcille, and Iona. 

Sessions will be held both indoors and outdoors so please come prepared as we will walk amongst the wooded paths and standing stones. 

A more detailed itinerary will be sent to those registered a few weeks prior to the event. 

*If planning to attend Columcille Megalith Park's Samhain Celebration, there is an additional $10.00 pp suggested entrance donation to Columcille which will be collected by retreat facilitator during the retreat prior to the event.  

Cost for this Weekend Retreat is offered on a sliding scale of $500, $375, $250.

To register:

Please proceed to the Kirkridge website page for this event or by clicking here