You're invited to enjoy a magical weekend of renewal and transformation in mystical Mt. Shasta, beginning Thursday July 18th at 5:00pm, and ending Sunday July 21st at 1:00pm.  Spiritual seekers around the world come to Mt. Shasta, long regarded as one of the seven sacred mountains. Graceful, magical and deeply powerful, Mt. Shasta is an immense energy center for spiritual transformation and expansion.

You'll drink deeply from wild waters, explore sacred sites long known for their abilities to create heightened states of awareness, craft herbal tonics with plants we collect from the wild, sing songs and eat delicious food.  Each day you will be immersed in experiences that will expand your capacity to consciously relate to the many forms of life and energy that surround you, and help you to re-remember your Wild Free Self.

Each morning we will meet at our retreat center in Mt. Shasta - it's a sweet little home on five acres, dotted with powerful standing stones, wildflowers, a barn and a fire circle just a few minutes from the city center of Mt. Shasta.

Depending on weather and timing, specific activities planned for each day may change, but over the course of our time together you will most definitely experience:

• Field trips to sacred sites and energy vortex sites on the mountain, including a day hike to one of the most pristine alpine meadows on the planet, rich with Wildflowers and dancing streams
• Visits and long drinks with Wild Waters
• Engaging your Owl Eyes, Deer Ears, Raccoon Hands & Dog Nose
• Moonlight discovery walks
• Sunset celebrations with fire circles, song, story & music
• Lively discussions, gardens, medicine wheels & labyrinths
• Herbal medicine making, including flower essences, balms & sacred oils

Daily Itinerary 

Thursday 19th

5:00 to 9:00pm (ish):  We'll meet at our retreat house for a delicious dinner where you'll have the opportunity to meet and socialize with our retreat family.  You'll receive your workshop materials and retreat "goodie bag" containing all the special tools you'll need for the weekend's events, celebrate the sunset, and close the evening with stories and song around the fire circle.  Please bring your folding chair, a blanket, drums, rattles, and/or other musical instruments if you wish.  , review our plans for the next few days and receive your retreat "goodie bag" containing all the special tools you'll need for the weekend's events.     

Friday 20th

9:30 to 4:30-ish:

About these waters:  Sacramento Headwaters have a strangely calming effect on people who come to this power spot.  There is a vortex energy here where it is said that when one sits by these waters, one can learn faith in the perception of the universe and all that is within it.  Angelic beings have been seen here and people from all over the world have reported healings.  The common thread of restoration and health flows from accepting one's intrinsic perfection just as one accepts the flowing waters.  These headwaters are formed by a large spring of pure water rushing up and out a rocky hillside and into a moss-lined sparkling pool.  The water quickly spills out over the rocks and begins the Sacramento River.  This power spot is rich with energies that begin a vast eco-system of many living systems.

Next, we'll spend an hour or so at the Gateway Peace Garden, a land that is consecrated and dedicated to world peace.  Here, you can enjoy the Mother Mary and Quan Yin Meditation Gardens, walk a living flower labyrinth, create a prayer flag and leave your own special prayers for peace.  

After the Peace Garden, we'll make our way up the mountain to Panther Meadow.  We'll enjoy our picnic lunch and spend the rest of the day in various sacred spots and energetic vortices, including a visit to the Medicine Wheel and the source spring known as the "Mouth of God."

Following is an excerpt from the Sacred Sites guide to Mt. Shasta:

Panther Meadows is a sacred site that all the Native Indians revered for its power, medicine and tranquility.  Native Americans consider the springs that run throughout upper and lower Panther Meadows to be sacred power points.  At an elevation of 7600 feet on Mt Shasta, Panther Meadows is a magical place revered as an ancient destination point for spiritual seekers.   Panther Meadows is inside a special vortex within the larger vortex of Mt Shasta itself. It is considered a doorway between dimensions. The indigenous Wintu & Karuk Natives used this place for reflection, vision quests and meditation.   Ascended Masters, including St. Germain with his panther, as well as angelic beings have been seen here.   Many have experienced the elemental energies of the elves, fairies, gnomes, nature spirits as well as seeing "Pan," who rules the nature kingdom. There is a sacred power point spring called Upper Panthers Meadows Spring with ancient rock formations consisting of rock altars and medicine circles surrounding the meadow.  The springs's headwaters originate in Upper Panther Meadows and are called the "Mouth of God" by the natives.  These springs are the beginning of the McCloud River.

We'll do our best to be back at the retreat house by 4:30 so that you have plenty of time for dinner and a rest.

4:30 - 7:00: Dinner & Rest Break

7:00 - 10:00ish (optional): Bundle up for an evening of stargazing, music playing, singing and drumming around the fire circle at our retreat house, and enjoy the opportunity to take a solitary night walk in the light of the almost full moon (further instructions and guidance will be provided).  Bring drums, rattles, or musical instruments if you play one ~ we'd all love to hear your songs! You're also welcome to opt out and rest, journal or spend time with your thoughts if that feels more appealing. 

Saturday 20th

9:30:  We'll meet at the retreat house and carpool up the mountain to the parking lot at the Old Shasta Ski Bowl.  From here, we'll enjoy a moderately easy, sometimes challenging hike to South Gate Meadows - one of the most pristine alpine meadows in the world.  The hike will take us through a variety of ecosystems and terrain, with many breathtaking views.  South Gate is home to a thick carpet of heather, dwarf huckleberry and wildflowers, and cut with dozens of knee-high cascades that flow from sacred, clear wild springs near Thumb Rock.  This hike is approximately 3 miles roundtrip (though it often feels like more), and reaches elevations of 8,200 feet.  You'll want to wear sun protection, bring plenty of water, and perhaps bring a walking stick. We can fill our water bottles in the meadow springs before our return hike.  There's lovely shaded groves for our picnic lunch, and we'll make herbal medicine in the form of flower essences from the meadow's wildflowers.  (Note: This is one of my favorite places in all of the world, and the first time ever that I've taken a retreat group to this special spot.  I'm honored and excited to share this magic with you.)

Again, we'll do our best to be back at our retreat house by 4:30pm for our evening dinner break.

4:30 - 7:00pm:  Dinner & Rest Break 

7:00pm until. . . :We'll meet at the retreat house again to celebrate sunset, begin the magic of making herbal oil infusions with our collected ingredients (which we'll leave out to infuse in the moonlight), and enjoy a last fire circle of stories, song and ceremony. 

Sunday 21st

9:30 to 1pm-ish

We'll spend our last day together at the retreat house crafting our herbal medicines & prayer bundles, and bottling and labeling our new botanical allies.  We'll come together once again in circle to share highlights from our weekend's experiences, sing one last song together, and close our circle.  You're welcome to spend extra time on the grounds of our retreat house before you begin your journey home.

Throughout the weekend, my friends Miguel and Nina Mesa will be available at their beautiful crystal shop, Sacred Seeds, in downtown Mt. Shasta to help you explore and select crystals and minerals for your personal transformation.  

The Details  

Cost

Cost is $300 - $333 per person (sliding scale - pay what you can within this range), and includes a healthy vegetarian dinner on Thursday night plus healthy vegetarian lunches on Friday and Saturday, nourishing herbal teas in the evenings, and all workshop supplies and materials. This amount does not include lodging expense.  MasterCard/Visa accepted via PayPal, with an additional small service charge. 

Lodging

Many types of lodging are available for all budgets, from the KOA Kampground (awesome mountain views!) to guest houses, hotels, and B & Bs. The Mt. Shasta Chamber of Commerce has an excellent listing on their web site at http://visitmtshasta.com/lodging/ 

Things to Bring

• Folding camp chair and blanket (if you wish) for our sunset celebrations and fire circles. The evenings can be chilly on the mountain, even in July. You might also enjoy having a chair for meditations and group work at the sacred sites we visit. Some of these sites will require short hikes, so make sure your chair is easy to carry if you choose to bring one along.
• Sunscreen & perhaps a sun hat 
• Water Bottles. I recommend bringing extras to fill with fresh living spring water from the Sacramento River Headwaters so you can take some of this amazing water home with you.
• Paper or journal, with an extra pen.
• Drums or rattles, if you wish, and your musical instrument, if you play one
• A favorite poem or story to share around the fire  
• A walking stick (optional)
• A day pack
• Mosquito repellent if you're one of the people that the little darlings find particularly tasty

We'll laugh, learn, play & grow.  You'll return home with a renewed sense of connection, gratitude, and deep appreciation for the unique place you hold in life's tapestry.

To register or for more information, please email Julie or give her a call at (707) 268-0608.   Directions to the retreat house will be provided upon registration and payment.

About Your Retreat Facilitator

Julie Caldwell, MA, ATP®

Julie Caldwell is the proprietress of Humboldt Herbals, her 15-year-old herbal apothecary in Old Town Eureka.  She has enjoyed facilitating experiences on Mt. Shasta for decades.  Julie's "formal" education includes a BS in research psychology, a MA in contemporary American poetry, and many many herb classes.  Her first serious relationship with a plant began over 40 years ago at age 5, when she became great friends with a wild black cherry tree that her granny called Crazy Doug.  She continues to enjoy a long history of spiritual exploration with wise ones from various traditions around the world, and is devoted to helping people connect with Plants and Spirit through herb walks, tea drinking, medicine making, stories and laughter.