The Old Ways: Plants, Myths & Celtic Shamanism for the Autumn Equinox
With Wendy Dooner & Rhonda McCrimmon
Sunday 20th September // 10am - 4pm
£85
Immerse yourself for a day in native Scottish folk tradition...
The equinox arrives twice a year. For one day, the autumn equinox brings light and dark in equal measure before the balance tips once more toward darkness. This day retreat is a chance to step out of ordinary time and the chaos of everyday life, and spend a day at Wild Gorse on the Belladrum Estate, immersed in native Scottish folk tradition: its stories, plants, practices, and ways of knowing.
We open the morning with teaching on the old ways of marking time, including the Coligny calendar and how our ancestors tracked the year through the changing length of day and night. Then bring to life the mythology of the Cailleach and the Bodach, including the dance, also known as ‘The Cailleach of the Quern Dust’ that tells their story. We follow with a session on hawthorn, covering its folklore, medicinal uses, and spiritual significance in Scottish tradition. After that, everyone takes time in a sit spot, finding their own place in the land around Wild Gorse and simply being there.
After lunch, provided by Wild Gorse Kitchen, we will spend some time on saining, an ancient Scottish practice of blessing and protection, and participants will be guided through making their own saining wand from local herbs that they can then take home. The day closes with a hawthorn tea ceremony. Sitting with hawthorn in this way is an embodied experience of its medicine and messages, the kind of knowing that goes beyond reading about a plant. This flows directly into a healing circle, a space of rest and nourishment to close the day.
What you'll leave with:
A handmade saining wand made from local herbs, ready to use at home.
A real introduction to hawthorn, one of Scotland's most sacred plants, its history, its medicine, and a direct experience of its qualities through ceremony.
A grounding in the old ways of tracking the year and how they can reorient us in modern life.
You will also leave with the stories. The Cailleach and the Bodach are part of the living mythology of this land, and knowing them changes how you see the season turning. These old stories offer a map, a kind of guidance for navigating modern life and finding your way back into flow with the natural world.
Most people leave a day like this feeling genuinely refreshed. There is something restorative about spending a day in the land, with good teaching, doing things with your hands and your senses with other like-minded folks. Scotland has a rich folk tradition, and days like this are a reminder of how much of it is still available to us.
This day is for anyone who feels drawn to the land and its plants, the seasons, and the old stories of this place. You might already have an established practice, or you might simply be curious and want to learn. You don't need any background in Scottish tradition, shamanism, or herbalism. This is an inclusive and welcoming space. Everyone is welcome, whatever their background or level of experience.
Wendy Dooner is a medical herbalist, shamanic practitioner, and best-selling author of Plant Spirit Herbalism. With over twenty years of clinical experience working with people through herbs, folk wisdom, and spiritual practice, Wendy brings together science, tradition, and a deep knowledge of the plant world. She is a passionate educator whose teaching is rooted in the belief that a relationship with plants is available to everyone, wherever they live.
Rhonda McCrimmon is a Celtic shaman, seer, and bestselling author, and the founder of the Centre for Shamanism. Her books include The Cauldron and the Drum and The Celtic Wheel of the Year, and her work has been featured on BBC One and BBC Radio 4, as well as in The Guardian. Rhonda has taught thousands of people to access the wisdom of Celtic shamanic tradition, and brings that depth of knowledge and practice to everything she teaches.