A 5 Day Pilgrimage Retreat for women to remember the way of the wells, awakening to the living consciousness of water and the wisdom that is carried in our bodies of water.

Spring Equinox 2026

18th to 22nd March

Rainbow Cottage, County Louth

Water is consciousness, it carries the codes of creation and speaks the language of the soul. When we connect to the source of water, we access the source of all life and the power of creation. This can help us to remember who we are as we are 99% water in the liquid crystalline molecular structure of our bodies.

The Spring Equinox is on 20th March, marks the time of mid-Spring and it invites rebirth & renewal, to revitalise and unite the polarities of darkness & light, water & fire, feminine & masculine. This retreat is carefully curated to allow you to tend to the body, mind & soul with deep nurturing, gentle transformation and strengthening the roots.

We begin on 18th March, which is known as “Sheela’s Day,” Síle Na Gig with her open vulva displaying the sacred portals represents the Cosmic Mother. Her stone statues marked the entrance to ancient temples and early Celtic Churches, a remembering of the entrance to a sacred place and holy temple. This is the perfect time to honour our own body temples, reclaiming woman as holy, accessing the portal of the inner well and allowing life to flow through us.

An Inner Pilgrimage of the Sacred Wells

You will be guided into tending to the inner well and walk together in pilgrimage to Sacred Wells in Ireland. We will spend time in a beautiful cottage nested in the Cooley Mountains and surrounded by the Irish sea, drinking well water and enjoying dips in the river.

There will be a "Tigh N'Alluis," Irish Sweathouse Ritual to open and close the retreat, remembering the ancient ways of the ancestors & healing waters, warming the bones, purifying our bodies & minds whilst connecting to water in its forms of liquid, ice & steam. We will gather the waters from local wells, the rivers & the sea to pour over the granite stones and receive the deep healing of the waters, trees, plants & minerals in the steam.

Each day we will begin with tending to the inner well through guided meditation & gentle movement before taking pilgrimage to holy wells in the local area with trusted local guides & elders along the way. We will make space for sharing creativity together in the evenings with songs, poetry, storytelling, womb tending & deep rest.

Water connects us to source, from the mountains through the rivers to the holy wells and the depths of the ocean, to follow the way of the wells is to explore the great mystery of unknowing. Water has a way of softening the hard edges of the mind, in what we think we know and opening us to a far greater expansion into living wisdom. She can also sweep away false beliefs like a torrent as water is a powerful force that can create life or bring death, inviting us to surrender into divine grace.

Water is woven into mythology across the world, and there are few places that know it as well as the land of Eruí, the land of the Goddess, Ireland is infamous for its connection with water from the seas to its loughs, rivers and holy wells, which can take us as far back as the times of Atlantis and Lumeria.

There are few rivers or natural bodies of water in the land of Eruí than do not carry myth or stories, or at the very least some indication of their significance through their name "As Gaeilge", in Irish. This is especially the case as all major rivers in Ireland are named after a Goddess, such as the "Abhainn na Bóinne," the Boyne River which named after the Goddess Boann and flows to the Irish Sea.

Her name translates to "White Cow" and in mythology she is said to have created the river from the magical well of Segais, known as the "Well of Wisdom" which was surrounded by 9 sacred hazel trees. Stories like this give a window into contemplation of just how important water is far beyond the source of life, but interwoven into a higher level of consciousness that is available to us on this planet.

What you will receive

2 x Irish Sweathouse Rituals
Pilgrimage to Holy Wells in Ireland with Local Guides & Elders
Evenings of Storytelling, Poetry, Songs & Sharing by the Fire
Daily Gentle Somatic Movement Practice
Daily Meditation
Daily Guidance & Contemplations with the consciousness of Water
Nourishing Vegetarian Meals & Drinking Well Water
Single Bed in a Shared Room (Twin, Triple & Quad options available)
1 x Group Preparation and 1 x Integration Session (Online)

Registration

Early Bird Registration is available until 12th January

£180/€200 off

Discount Code: LIVINGWELL

Earlybird: £1300/€1480

Full: £1480/€1680

This retreat is limited to a small group of 9 women to ensure a more intimate experience,

early booking is recommended.

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Payment Plans are available or if you need to make an alternative payment arrangement e.g. different currency, please email firetreealchemy@proton.me
Deposit is required to secure your place, with the remainder due one week prior to arrival or in cash on arrival.
If you prefer to be in a twin room, there is an additional charge of £45 pp per night, please email for availability
Additional nights booking for B&B are available at £65pp per night
Additional transport to/from Dundalk Rail/Bus Station is available at 3pm on Arrival & Departure Day, this is £10 per person for each journey
Transport to/from Ireland & Retreat Location is not included, our location is just one hour away from Belfast or Dublin. Newry Train Station or Dundalk train/bus station are approx 25mins away, local taxi services are available.
Deposits & Payments are non-refundable

Example Day Schedule

8am Gentle Somatic Practice

8.30am Breakfast

10am Meditation & Tending to the Inner Well

12 noon Lunch

13pm Depart for Sacred Wells

5pm Arrive at Cottage

6pm Dinner

7-9pm Evening of Sharing by the Fire

Arrival Day (Wednesday)

3.30-4.30pm Guests arrive

5pm Welcome Circle

6.30pm Light Dinner

8pm Irish Sweathouse

Closing Day (Sunday)

8.30am Breakfast

10am Inner Well Closing Circle

12.30pm Lunch

2-3pm Guests Depart

Facilitators

Tara is an Irish woman and Ban Draoi, Alchemist, Facilitator, Mystic & Poet. She weaves together consciousness and Earth wisdom, harnessing a profound connection to nature, source & the elements through meditation, sound and somatic movement.

Tara began her path with nature & source at a very young age, often finding solace in plants, animals, landscape, sea and ritual, growing up connected with the lands of Ireland and Scotland. She has travelled to Peru, Brazil, Mexico and Guatemala, weaving the connection with her deep roots in Pre-Celtic lineage with other indigenous lineages.

This particular path connects spirits, ancestors, plants and lands together in order to facilitate an accelerated approach to source connection, transformation and accessing the self healing ability. In this time of rapid change and the impact on the earth as well as its inhabitants, a new approach is needed that is infused with the great wisdom of these ancient traditions.

Tara guides individuals in reclaiming their sovereignty and supporting the evolution of the soul. With a deeply practical approach to life, she embodies the living ecology of being as nature itself, inviting others to co-create a vibrant New Earth with hearts ignited and hands in the soil.

Explore more about Tara’s Work: Illuminating Wisdom Substack

Ari Liakeas has had a lifelong interest in dance and movement, taking inspiration from her mother. She has explored various cultural forms of movement, dance, and yoga, but Arabic dance particularly resonated with her soul, feeling inspired, uplifted, and empowered by the movements and the music.

She realised the deep connections of this form of dance to the feminine goddess aspect of life, and how the movements can bring profound health and healing to women on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. Through dance and yoga, Ari has found her own transformative path to healing trauma deeply embedded within the body and soul.

Since 2016, Ari has been working professionally as a bodywork therapist and has worked in various settings such as clinics, spas, athletic events, charitable organisations and corporate environments. In 2018, her work took her worldwide, and in 2020, she founded Stellar Therapies to share her bodywork healing, dance and yoga expertise, running studios in southern Albania & Scotland and retreats worldwide.

She believes in creating an inclusive space for people to share and connect, a safe environment to celebrate community, reconnect with the self, and bring joy and healing on all levels.

Find out more about Ari’s work: Stellar Therapies

Our Pilgrimage Guides

Author, teacher, spiritual guide, healer, way-shower and pioneer; Dolores Whelan has blazed a trail in her lifetime to provide a potent understanding of the value of ancient wisdom and ignite appreciation for Celtic spirituality and the waning traditions of indigenous Ireland. Bridging worlds ancient and new, she has forged new paths and opened old ways.

The Celtic Spiritual Tradition is a way of perceiving the world, and a way of being in the world.

Dolores believes that the deep truths held within the soul and psyche of Ireland are now ready to re-emerge. Her work endeavours to support this awakening, both within the land and the people. Dolores is not nostalgic about ancient times and traditions; however she seeks to explore how this ancient wisdom can form the basis of a value system upon which a new society can be built she believes this is a crucial task for our time.

Find out more about Dolores Whelan’s work at www.doloreswhelan.ie

You can purchase her book Ever Ancient Ever New

Sandra Nelson is a Life Coach with Neuroscience, Usui Reiki Master and Spiritual Intuitive Reader. A Priestess of Manannan Mac Lir Irish Sea God, she is actively a peace creator and keeper, based permanently in Ireland. Sandra facilitates multidimensional spiritual healing through a combination of spiritual map reading, by thorough investigation and unweaving of deconstruction of thinking before weaving through the Creation of Unique and specific prayer rituals, space holding and prophesy art, storytelling and poetry.

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Sacred Wells Womens Pilgrimage Retreat - Ireland