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Let us fall in love again and scatter gold dust all over the world.
Let us become a new spring and feel the breeze drift in heaven’s scent.
Let us dress the Earth in green and like the sap of a young tree,
Let the grace within us, sustain us.
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RUMI
Sacred Man Sacred Woman is:
An honouring and a ceremonial "war of beauty" between men and women. The annual summer event of the last 30 years at our wild nature retreat.
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Come to explore yourself, the mystery of the other, to love and grow, to find home and to have some fantastic out of this world time.
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With much hilarity and yet with authentic depth, a traditional “war” between men and women is declared. Taking to their separate camps, they separate into women's and men's circles. Only after a long day and night in their own sacred lodges do they emerge to meet again - to ritually engage.
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What can be learnt is beyond intellect. This is the old way.
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It is a delightful, delicate, precisely held space in which to explore your natural self and come really, really alive.
We invite you
Come and learn this ancient art of living at our annual summer ceremony. No experience is needed. Come alone or with your partner and renew life, yourself and your relationships. You’ll be someone else at the end!
You may feel OK as a man or as a woman and you and your relationships may be doing fine, but in this culture some part of you is likely to be aching with loneliness, knowing you have never been seen, part of you never addressed in the way your ancient heart has waited for.
Has she ever been really seen? Has she heard the praise that her soul aches for?
Has he honoured his adventure? Or has he betrayed himself`? Was his endeavour ever exalted?
Come away to this ancient fire,
Where the deepest soul of woman can be courted and praised, as is so long overdue,
Where he can find his healing, which he so badly needs, where his adventure can be blessed,
Where the Holy One can move freely in the gestures, songs and dances of men and women bound in fellowship.
Free yourself in this beautiful playful dance of polarity - which is delicious, deeply rooted and forever new.
It can’t really be described; it has to be experienced; you'll know if you take up the invitation.
Workshop Leaders
Ritual steered by Shivam O'Brien and Erika Indra, both steeped in this ritual now for many summers.
Practicalities
Arrival Time: 5 pm - 7:30 pm. There is a welcoming meal and tea at 7:30 pm
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Please make sure to arrive on site at the arrival time. We will ferry you and all your gear in our four wheel drive vehicles down the steep mountain road to the village (if you don't fancy the spectacular mountain footpath). This takes only a few minutes to drive but you will have to load everything into our vehicles with our help. Welcome to the Bhutan of Wales. You can have the full Himalayan adventure without ever leaving Britain.
Spirit Horse Mountain Retreat is set amidst 200 acres of wildest Wales, allowed through the Forest of Dreams (registered charity) to return to its natural original face.
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Please bring all your necessary bedding for you to be warm and comfortable. It can get very cold here at night, even in the summer. Alternatively, we do now offer and optional extra when booking your ticket. For an additional £45, we will provide a duvet, sheets and pillows for your stay.
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Please note, men and women will spend the ritual in separate lodges after the first morning of the retreat. The men's circle and women's circle will be re-united again at the end of the ritual. You are welcome to bring a tent to sleep in on arrival day and the last evening of the event.
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LGBTQIA+ Guidelines for Sacred Man Sacred Woman
For our LGBTQIA+ family, here's our guidelines for taking part.
Participants's Testimonials
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"I met me and then I met my beloved"
"It changed how I see men; and men and women together forever"
"I gave up long ago on men but after Sacred Man Sacred Woman a whole new adventure started, I live with a beautiful husband now, so many deep wounds became a thing of the past forever"
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FROM WOMEN
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“I’ve done a lot, and a lot of workshops, a real lot; but this is the tops”
“I’ve discovered ritual – I love this!”
“It wasn’t really just about men and women, it was about life, loving the earth, offering something back, being grateful and going beyond what I wanted and what I thought I needed for myself”
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FROM MEN
A Dervishes’ Song for Sacred Man and Woman:
We live together day by day,
this dangerous embrace,
this ocean of our longing
These loving kisses with wives and husbands we have never really met.
In the night of delight, full dark and softened in a thousand layers of ritual wrapped,
Warm tears flow over the carpet woven with tireless threads of praise words,
All stillness, deep hush, our story’s bitterness turns to an elixir,
A song like a river flows
A woman’s face glows bright - but not due to the hundred candles.
When beauty awakens, amidst intense praise, from her sleep,
The universe gets drunk again
And begins to dance.
At dawn the birds carry on the song.
Tonight there will be a feast, the faces of men and women will shine, we rest, because the food has already been blessed.
Bookings and Cancellations Policy
It is really helpful for us when running courses and events if you book in advance.
If we have to cancel an event, we will provide you a full refund without question.
If you need to cancel your booking, you can carry the value of your booking over to another event (subject to availability) or pay £100 admin fee, unless exceptional circumstances.