Ancestral Tour of Ireland
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| Day/date/time | September 22 - October 1, 2011 |
| Cost | $2750. Early commitment discount of $2590. A $1000 deposit will secure your place. Deposit is non-refundable after August 1, 2010, when the final payment is due. |
| About the trip | The Anam Cara Program of Spiritual Development and Healing offers an unhurried journey through the verdant beauty that is Ireland. As legendary spiritual center of Europe, Ireland has been a destination for Pilgrimages for time out of mind. Indeed the Irish have used pilgrimage as their vision quest for millennia. Our journey will step away from the crowds and well-worn tourist destinations to find the ancient places of still living spiritual presence. The deeply feminine energies of these places have transformed lives in unbroken tradition from the earliest days of honoring the Goddess through the Christian era. Now on routes less travels they are enlivened when honored in ceremony, prayer or silence. And, in turn evoke ancient and ancestral memory, healing and spiritual renewal in those who attune to them. Each participant will journey with her or his personal intentions. To give support for our journeys we will use meditation, story, ceremony and group sharing. We spend multiple days in most accommodations allowing us to be more settled while maximizing our time on the land at the sites. Day 1 September 22-23 Galway and Mayo Meet at Shannon Airport to travel by first class bus to beautiful Lough Corrib and Connemara in Co. Galway. We will pause at the exquisite Brigit’s Garden, a contemporary complex honoring the great Celtic goddess and saint, for lunch and orientation to the feminine aspects of Celtic tradition. We’ll hear stories of Brigit and make her rush crosses. Our journey continues through the rugged mountains of Connemara to our lodging in the lovely coastal village Westport. A complimentary dinner at our hotel and an evening at your discretion awaits. Day 2 We begin our second day at Ballentubber Abbey, the medieval monastery that is the start of many a pilgrims journey to the top of Coach Patrick. Before we begin our own ascent on this Fall Equinox, we’ll take in the history and legend of this famous sacred mountain as the most western home of the sun goddess long before St. Patrick found cause to expel the snakes of Ireland there. Thus, as we so often find, the pre-Christian and Christian bridge with great power and spiritual force on the same ground. Day 3 This is the day for the wild in all of us. We’ll peruse the territory of Grace O’Malley, the pirate queen of the O’Malley Clan. A formidable ship’s captain and leader Grace refused to submit to English domination, leading to a meeting with Queen Elizabeth on equal terms. Our next stop is Knock Shrine, where a miraculous visitation by Mother Mary, Joseph and St. John the Baptist took place in the late 1800s. Piles of crutches and such speak to the healing powers of this holy well. On to Sligo for the night. Day 4 and 5 September 24 – 25 Sligo The ancient Celts build their sanctuaries of stone and trees. As most of the sacred groves are gone now, the stones carry the memories and history. In Sligo we will explore the largest complex of ceremonial megalithic structures in Ireland. Centered in Carrowkeel, Carrowmore and Queen Madb’s Cairn, the complex includes dozens of passage cairns, caves, stone circles and dolman laid out in astronomical detail. These complexes were the sites of several legends of the Connacht region. They are great access points for ancestral memory and their energies have the transformational power of the sacred feminine. In the shadow of this complex lies a holy well of unusual serenity were we will pause to refresh. Sligo is Yeats country, so we’ll explore his contribution to Irish literature and history. Day 6 September 26-28 Donegal Now in Donegal and Glencolmcille, the famous sanctuary and pilgrimage site of St. Columba, the great Irish Saint and founder of Iona. It was here that Columba waited before being exiled from Ireland and cast adrift with his 12 monks to find a place from which he could not see Ireland – Iona. As contemporary pilgrims we shall follow the turas or stations of prayer laid out on the starkly beautiful Donegal landscape. We return by way of Adara with its many shops specializing in Donegal tweed and Aran sweaters. Day 7 We’ll begin our day at Grainan Aileach, an ancient sun temple to Grainne, the sun goddess. A magnificent drum shaped stone enclosure, it later became the inaugural site of the O’Neils, the kings of Ulster, and, for a long period, all of Ireland. We follow and active ley line linking Grainnan Aileach to Beltany Stone Circle where we will tune in to the greater mystery of this alignment We return to Donegal town for dinner and music. Day 8 September 29 Roscommon Now we travel south via the landing point of the Tuatha de Dannan, the magical ancestral race of Ireland. They are said to have materialized from the clouds on a Mountain in Leitrim, and, after ruling for several hundred years, joined the Sidhe in the hollow hills…the Faeries. On to Rathcroghan the seat of power of the Connaught Kings and Queen Madb’s court in Roscommon. Madb is a warrior queen of great power who expresses the freedom and courage of woman in Irish culture. We’ll explore her legacy amid the cairns and Owennagat Cave as access point to the Otherworld. Day 9 September 30 We return to Shannon, via Cooley Park the former estate of Lady Gregory. She and her visionary compatriots of the day, Yeats, Signe and others, kindled the Celtic Renaissance that brought Irish tradition and culture back from the brink of extinction in the early 1900’s and fueled their nation’s final push to independence. We owe much of what we have learned on our journey to their efforts. We’ll share a final complimentary meal together at Bunratty and harvest the fruits of our journey together. Day 10 October 1 Shannon Depart Shannon. Tour Director : Nancy Lee-Evans, PhD, director of The Anam Cara Program. Nancy teaches, lectures and writes on Celtic tradition and spirituality. Cost: $2750. An early commitment discount of $2590 is available until May 15. A $1000 deposit will secure your place. Deposit is non-refundable after August 1, 2011 when the final payment is due. Credit Cards Accepted: Registration can be found at www.nancylee-evans.com. Refunds will be charged a processing fee of 3% if paid by credit card. Tour includes:
Email: nancy@nancylee-evans.com Phone: (907) 345-6760 Mail: The Anam Cara Program 66665 Fry Ct., Homer, AK 99603 Web: www.nancylee-evans.com for more information about the tour and the Anam Cara Program.
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For more information, call 907-345-6760.
