Ignite the Spark
Dream your year into being
an online retreat from The Way of The Buzzard
Purchase the Replay
Ignite the Spark
Dream your year into being
an online retreat from The Way of The Buzzard
Saturday 4th February 2023, 9:30 - 17:00 (UK time)
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everthing better.” Albert Einstein
This is a replay of the live daylong event that you have ongoing access to and can watch anytime
Spring begins at Imbolc, the ancient Celtic fire festival celebrated at the beginning of February. This special time of year has been celebrated for thousands of years: ancient stone circles are often aligned with the Imbolc sunrise.
Imbolc is the perfect time to create space and begin to give energy to your vision for the year ahead.
At this turn in the wheel, the early spring flowers are showing their faces. The snowdrops have pushed their noses up through the earth, and the blackthorn blossoms are just moments away from lighting up the hedgerows. Birds are beginning to explore their nesting sites, and the evenings are getting a little brighter day by day. The abundance of spring is a few months off yet, but there are stirrings. We can feel the promise of the warmth returning and new life bursting around us.
In our Gregorian calendar, there is the expectation to set new year resolutions at the beginning of January. Some people have success with this, but many don’t. Energy-wise, this isn’t the best time to envision our year ahead and set goals. Nature is hunkering down and resting. But, give it a month, and everything changes as we see the first signs of spring emerging.
So rather than the beginning of January, Imbolc is the best time to begin to vision our year ahead and give energy to our dreams: to stir from our deep winter rest and push our fingertips up through the soil towards the light.
Our day-long early spring online retreat
Come and join us for the day to work with this next turn in the wheel of the year.
It will be a gentle day, helping you immerse in the early spring energies, creating just enough space to focus on what this coming year might bring.
There will be an immersive, meditative video encapsulating the energy of this special time of year as nature begins to awaken. We will lead guided activities to help you look ahead to the coming months and find your focus for the year. You will tune in to the deep wisdom held both within you and in nature. Specifically, you will work with the element of air to help find your inspiration and identify anything that might be holding you back from dreaming your ideas into being. You will have the space to find your focus and step into the coming year with a fresh outlook and renewed vigour.
There will be shamanic journeying, creativity time, reflective time and nature time, and a ceremony to set your intentions going forward.
We will run this event through Zoom. We will record this retreat, so if you cannot make it on the day, you will have the replay by Tuesday 7th, February. You will also have ongoing access to the recording and all the resources alongside this event, including the nature connection video and the printable workbook, so you can revisit the content whenever you like.
Many of you might have attended our online in-person events before. When we gather, even for just a few hours, remarkable things can happen. We create space for the messages to come through and an opportunity to draw on the range of spiritual tools available through the shamanic and nature connection toolkit.
This daylong experience will allow you to deepen into exploring the tools we use on our spiritual path. During the day, we will work with two of the four foundation topics we teach in our Mystery School: shamanic journeying and aligning with the natural cycles, and some of the mini-course topics: ceremony and deep nature connection. We will also be teaching working with the elements and the practice of sigil making.
come and join us to:
Why learn from us?
Between us, Jason and Nicola, we have trodden this path for many decades, finding our way forward to a new way of being in the world.
We have learned how to hear the quiet voices within us and from the Otherworlds, guiding us along the way, and from this we have moved from being in stagnant and unfulfilling work to fully embracing our creativity and discovering the true depths of ourselves and the joy that this can bring us.
Because of this we are excited and passionate about working with others who desire to come back to the earth and carve a new path for both themselves and the wider community.
We are delighted to be able to bring you this special experience as we immerse in the early spring energies, drawing on the age-old practices of Shamanism and nature connection to seek our spiritual guidance.
What others say
Here are some reflections from participants who have attended our online retreats in the past:
I had an amazing time and thoroughly enjoyed every single minute
“Before the online retreat, I felt stuck and unable to move. The weekend sounded really interesting and something that I wanted to do. I had an amazing time and thoroughly enjoyed every single minute, having re-discovered me, thank you!
I have loved learning all about animal and plant medicine, journeying to faraway lands, and exploring my inner creativity, which has now burst forth and wants to be acknowledged at last.”
Hilary
I feel so glad to have a place where I can go to plug in and recharge
“I have been feeling very up and down emotionally, and I wanted some time for me to receive.
After the weekend, I felt peaceful, restored, stronger, grateful, creative and ready to face the week of work again.
Thank you so much. I have been feeling gratitude throughout this week for the special space that you held/hold for so many of us. I feel so glad to have a place where I can go to plug in and recharge”.
Emma
The weekend was magical
"Your online event looked interesting, and I liked the idea of a shamanic approach based on our own traditions, myth and landscape and not one that has been imported from another culture.
I was excited to come along and, at the same time, a little nervous as generally I am used to "going" to events rather than online, and so I was unsure what it would be like.
The weekend was magical, and the space was held well with kindness and care. Despite it being online, it worked and had depth. I am very moved and grateful to have been a part of it."
Rijusiddha
What will the day involved?
This day-long event is rich with content from the shamanic and nature connection toolkit, and it is an opportunity to work with the transition from winter into the early onset of spring.
Activities will include shamanic journeying, nature connection time, ceremony and working with the elements.
This isn’t a workshop tied to the screen. There will be guided activities to carry out throughout the day, including an extended time out in nature, even if that is your balcony or back yard or garden. And there will be nature connection films to transport you into a very different space, bringing the wild into your home.
Here's an outline of our day together
- We will start at 9.30am and finish around 5pm (UK time).
- To settle into the day, we will begin with a grounding meditation and create sacred space by welcoming in the elements.
- Then, we will flex our creativity through a simple morning practice of reading poetry and allowing our collective words to flow through some creative writing and sharing.
- During the morning part of our gathering, we will begin by clearing away any blockages to the process we are about to embark on. There will then be space to vision what your coming year might look like. This will include a guided shamanic journey to help you gain insights into what you might focus on and give energy to.
- After a break for lunch, there will be a nature-based activity for the first part of the afternoon. This will be space to further refine your ideas and see inspiration from nature. There will be an indoor option for anyone who cannot go outside. Then we will work with the element of air through a nature video, to identify any blocks that might get in your way of achieving your dream this year.
- To round off the day, we will hold an intention setting ceremony, working with the practice of sigil drawing.
- Throughout the day, you will have the opportunity to interact with the other participants through our private Facebook group and the chat facility in Zoom.
What will the day involve?
This day-long event is rich with content from the shamanic and nature connection toolkit, and it is an opportunity to work with the transition of dropping into winter.
Activities will include shamanic journeying, nature connection time, ceremony, animal spirit medicine, and tree spirit medicine.
This isn’t a workshop tied to the screen. There will be guided activities to carry out throughout the day, including an extended time out in nature, even if that is your balcony or back yard or garden. And there will be two nature connection videos to transport you into a very different space, bringing the wild into your home.
Here's an outline of our day together
We will start at 9.30am and finish around 5.30pm (UK time).
To settle into the day, we will begin with a grounding meditation and create sacred space by welcoming in the elements
Then, we will flex our creativity through a simple morning practice of reading poetry and allowing our collective words to flow through some creative writing and sharing.
During the morning part of our gathering, we will focus on reflecting on the past year. There will be a nature connection video created especially for this workshop and an activity to take part in. We will then move our focus on the season ahead and consider what we are going to take into winter to incubate as we go to ground.
After a break for lunch, there will be a nature-based activity for the first part of the afternoon. Then we will work with animal spirit medicine to seek guidance to help us prepare for the winter ahead. There will be a guided shamanic journey shapeshifting into Bear during this session and a second nature connection video on the theme of ‘going to ground’.
To round off the day, we will hold an intention setting ceremony, drawing on tree spirit medicine, specifically the energy of the Yew.
Throughout the day, you will have the opportunity to interact with the other participants through our private Facebook group and the chat facility in Zoom.
JJoin us to immerse in the early spring Imbolc energies, drawing on the shamanic and nature connection toolkit.
Look ahead to the coming year and begin to give life to your dreams.
Spend time with like-minded people in community, getting that retreat experience away but without needing to leave home.
Yes, it will mean investing a little of your time and money and take yourself away from your everyday responsibilities. It may even feel overindulgent and raise a conflict inside you about whether you can justify giving yourself this space and investment.
If you find yourself debating in your mind whether it is right, then try dropping into your body and seeing how it feels. If the idea of coming along feels good, follow that impulse. Our gut feeling rarely lets us down.
Here are some of the words people shared about how they were affected by our previous online retreat:
Lighter, joyful, blown away, happy, uplifted, positive, energised, thankful, blessed, fulfilled, enlightened, elated, creative, relaxed, inspired, revitalised, hopeful, rejuvenated, connected, relaxed, confident, reconnected, focused, whole, balanced, compassionate, peaceful, restored, stronger, grateful, nurtured, belonging, amazing, exhilarated
There are so many benefits to joining us.
Here are our top 5.
A Homecoming
Something happens deep within us when we are in nature. When we still ourselves amongst beauty, we can hear ourselves more clearly. We come home. During this day, we will drop together into nature time and demonstrate it is possible to do this without even leaving home.
Seeking answers from the Otherworlds
The ancient techniques of shamanic journeying and deep nature connection have been used by humanity for tens of thousands of years. They are incredible and easy ways to access deep universal wisdom. Why leave it to your limited conscious mind to come up with all the answers!
Embracing Shamanic Tools
Working with shamanic journeying and deep nature connection, we will access life-changing tools that our ancestors used for guidance and healing.
Being in Community
Share soulful time with like-minded travellers who, like you, are seeking ways to become more expansive in a different world.
Setting Intentions
Without a clear intention, we don't know where we are heading. So, by deciding this and putting it out to the universe in a ceremony at the end of the day, we give ourselves the best chance of dropping into winter with ease and making the most of the dark evenings and more restful time.
Now you might be asking 'is this Ignite the Spark retreat right for me?'
If any of these intentions fit with you we believe you are ready for this experience:
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on the question to see our answer
Do I need any shamanic experience?
What are the timings for the day?
Will the retreat be recorded?
What if I can't get outdoors?
Is it even possible to have an online retreat at home?
If you would like any point clarifying, or have any questions you'd like answered please don't hesitate to get in touch. Email us at tina@thewayofthebuzzard.co.uk
© 2023, The Way of The Buzzard