Journey to Ireland:

Healing Herbs and Sacred Sites

September 17-27, 2008

“Come away, O’human child, To the waters and the wild, With a fairy hand in hand…” W.B. Yeats

 Join us on a journey of connection in Ireland: connecting to ourselves by opening up to the mysteries of the sacred sites of the Burren, Tara and Bru na Boinne, connecting to spirit through meditation, journaling and ritual, and connecting to nature by pampering ourselves with pure products and learning about the bountiful and wild herbs.  All are very welcome.

Highlights:

Opening ritual at sacred well in the mystical landscape of the Burren on the west coast of Ireland.

Newgrange and Knowth

Storytelling and ceremony on the Hill of Tara

Seaweed baths and body wraps

Celebration of ancient wisdom at Loughcrew

Autumn equinox ritual

Day on Inis Mor, largest of the Aran Islands

Exploration of the sea swept sacred sites of Sligo

Gentle, inspirational hiking in Coole Park, muse of William Butler Yeats

$2,250.00 includes all admissions, lodging most meals (on your own for one meal a day), spa services and transportation within Ireland.  Does not include airfare.  Note: When scheduling flights arrive into Shannon and depart out of Dublin.

For more information please call 303-263-7275 or email moondance25@hotmail.com or visit www.moondancebotanicals.com

Daily Itinerary

(subject to change)

Day 1: Wednesday September 17

Kinvara.  We will meet you at Shannon Airport for your morning arrival into the magical isle of Ireland!   To get grounded in this land, we will take a gentle, spirit-awakening walk in a mystical wood and be with some of the humble herbs and explore an ancient castle ruin.  We will get settled into our home for a week and have time for a rest, a walk to the bay or a stroll along the beach.   In the evening mists, we will have our opening ritual at a sacred spring hidden in the limestone landscape of the Burren. 

Day 2: Thursday September 18

Kinvara.  After a hearty and restorative Irish breakfast we will set out to explore Inis Mor, an island still inhabited by the Irish of days gone by.  We will visit the ancient Celtic fort of Dun Angus, perched hundreds of feet above the crashing Atlantic ocean.   At sunset, we will visit a dolmen and enjoy an Irish herb walk before supping at a Burren landmark, Cassidy’s, where we will enjoy local seafood and lots of Irish craic!

Day 3: Friday September 19

Kinvara.  We travel the short distance to Brighid’s Garden, explore the amazing Celtic Festival-themed gardens and enjoy a guided meditation.  There will be time for shopping and exploring Galway, one of Ireland’s most vibrant cities.  Lodging in an Irish Bed and Breakfast near the quaint, seaside town of Kinvara, we will partake in local hospitality including a session of traditional Irish music, if you please. Slainte!

Day 4: Saturday September 20

Kinvara.   To begin the day, we will each receive a luxurious and relaxing seaweed wrap including reflexology, with plenty of time to explore Kinvara’s picturesque Dunguaire castle and quay.   Tea will be taken at the Burren Perfumery and we will walk in their magical herb garden, learn about their distillation process in making essential oils (which they distill on site) and sample many of their natural bath and body products.  In the liminal twilight we will stand upon the sacred ground of Poulnabroune Dolmen.

Day 5: Sunday September 21

Kinvara.  We will enjoy a picnic along the coast road  to Doolin, traditional music capital of Ireland, and the Cliffs of Moher, stopping at craft shops along the way.   We will take a cliff side herb walk and harvest rushes to make a Brighid’s cross.  At a hidden dolmen with sweeping views overlooking the Burren, we will celebrate an autumn equinox ritual, embracing the abundance in our heart and spirit. 

Day 6: Monday September 22

Kinvara.   Prepare to be inspired in Coole Park, the muse of many of William Butler Yeats poetry.  We will read  his poetry and bring along our journals for reflection as we sit under the famous copper beech, the Autograph Tree, or on the same stone benches that Yeats and his other literary contemporaries would have sat.   We will learn about the sacred Ogham trees and create a piece of natural art to remember today by.

Day 7: Tuesday September 23

Sligo.  Traveling north to the land of Knocknarea and Benbulben, we will visit the Neolithic site of Carrowmore with its many stone circles, dolmens and sacred sites.   Some of us may decide to hike up Maeve’s Cairn and receive the blessing of this feisty, sovereign goddess and others may enjoy a day of shopping in Sligo.   To complete the day, a luxurious seaweed bath awaits at the famous Celtic Seaweed Center. 

Day 8: Wednesday September 24

Slane.  A brief visit to the mystical waterfall of Glencar will set our spirits a flight before we leave Sligo to head east.  A special tea break at a personal herbal garden will continue the magic of the day.  As we near the sacred center of Ireland, the Boyne River Valley, the air will seem to change.  Home of Bru na Boinne- Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth- ritual centers built over 5,000 years ago, filled with astrological significance and Neolithic art.  We will reside at a working farm near Slane Castle and within walking distance to the Hill of Slane (through an enchanted forest which we were warned not to walk through after dark!).

 Day 9: Thursday September 25

Slane.  Today will be spent exploring, experiencing and opening ourselves to the joy of Tara, seat of the ancient high kings of Ireland as well as many myths and legends of the gods and goddesses.  We will stand at the Stone of Destiny and hear it sing to us.  We will visit the Fairy Hawthorne Tree and Grainne’s Circle and be enchanted by the living myths that reside here.  The afternoon will be spent at nearby Loughcrew (or Hill of the Hag) filled with stone circles, neolithic art and much magic.  We will celebrate, through ritual, the ancient wisdom of the Crone as we absorb the power of this land into our heart, body and soul.

Day 10: Friday September 26

Slane.  Explore Dublin: the parks in St Stephen’s Green, the Natural History Museum, shopping, Temple Bar, Trinity College.  Return to Slane for a farewell feast and celebration.

Day 11: Saturday September 27

Morning departure out of Dublin Airport.

 Your hosts on your journey are Carl and Tonja Reichley who have spent many days of learning, reflection and joy on the sacred soil of Ireland.  Both have studied in Ireland with a traditional Celtic herbalist and they own a natural bath and body boutique, celebrating the power of the humble herbs, in Denver Colorado where they reside with their daughter Clary.