Welcoming The Light: Plants, Myths & Celtic Shamanism for the Spring Equinox
With Wendy Dooner & Rhonda McCrimmon
Sunday 14th March // 10am - 4pm
£85
Immerse yourself for a day in native Scottish folk tradition...
Welcoming the Light. The equinox arrives twice a year. For one day, the spring equinox brings light and dark into equal measure before the balance tips towards the coming light of spring and summer. This day retreat is a chance to step out of ordinary time and the chaos of everyday life, and spend a day 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 we turn to Là na Cailliche, the old Scottish day of reckoning that falls at this exact point in the year, when tradition holds that the Cailleach makes her final wild sweep across the land before laying down her power and retreating to let the light back in. From here, Rhonda leads a spring equinox ritual to reflect on balance and mark this turning point for ourselves.
We follow with a session on primrose, one of Scotland's earliest and most significant spring flowers, covering its folklore and its role as the plant that opens the door to the rest of the flowering year. After that, everyone takes time in a sit spot, finding their own place in the land at Wild Gorse and simply being there.
After lunch, 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 nettle and dandelion tea ceremony, the first nourishing tonics of the year, traditionally taken to wake the body and cleanse after a long winter. This flows directly into a healing circle, a space of rest and renewal 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 primrose, one of Scotland's most significant spring flowers, its folklore, and a direct experience of the new season's first tonics 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 story of Là na Cailliche, and what it means to honour a retreat rather than a defeat. This old story is part of the living mythology of this land, it offers 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.