Greetings All
At Summer Solstice, the longest day, we begin again to move towards balance at Autumn Equinox. Longest day, longest night, perfect balance, are all states we experience in our journey through life to be embraced, learned from and danced with. For me this wonderful piece from Charlotte Davis Kasl says it all:
Life is often messy, uncertain, and unpredictable. Sometimes it’s a string of troubles that seem to never end. That’s normal. Ups and downs are normal. Being ill on occasion is normal. Feeling peaceful and happy is normal. Occasional low-energy days are normal. According to Chinese medicine, it is accepted as natural that we fluctuate from being in balance to being out of balance. Peace of mind comes from not attaching a great deal of significance to either state. We simply note our moods and physical states and gently move toward balance as best we can, accepting it all as part of the flow of life.
May 2020 bring you all you wish for, hope for and work for and may all your dreams come true. 2020 is a ‘4’ year – a number that represents connection of mind-body-spirit with the physical world of structure and organization. Four symbolizes the safety and security of home, the need for stability and strength on a solid foundation of values and beliefs.
Blessings.
JANUARY encourages our Wylde Moon on Saturday 11 and OBOD members gather for Druid Mini Camp on 18 and 19.
ALERT! FEBRUARY is a very big month with two brand-new events – Chakradance on Wednesday 19 and Mary Bumby’s Hive of Story on Friday 28; a newly-designed Shake, Rattle & Roll – Ripening workshop on Sunday 23 as well as regular events – Lughnasadh on Sunday 2 and Tribal Moon on Sunday 9. Please scroll down for further information. I’d hate you to miss out on the fun.
PLEASE NOTE: I no longer have a land line so please remove 04-2399234 from your directory. My only number now is 027 206 8876.
Wishing you a magical 2020.
The Woolshed awaits your wonderful presence.
Love, light and laughter,
Pamela /|\
Here at The Woolshed we are embracing Zero Waste as much as we possibly can. So if you are bringing a snack or a meal in a plastic container for one of our gatherings, can you please make sure you take the container away again, along with any leftover food that came in it. Preferably, you will have found a solution to not needing a non-recyclable plastic container.
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DRUID MINI-CAMP
18 – 19 January
(Wellington Anniversary Weekend)
at The Woolshed
*The main camp will be Saturday and Sunday, but you are welcome to join unofficially Friday afternoon or evening for Movie Night.
Druid Camp is for members of the Grove of the Summer Stars only. However, if you are a member and would like to ‘sponsor’ a non-Grove member then please let us know. This would mean being responsible for them throughout the time of the camp.
Our theme this year will be deepening our experience within the Grove. At the Grove meeting it was decided we need time as a Grove to have discussions on a few specific topics regarding the future development of our Grove. A program is being developed to encompass discussion times, opening and closing ceremonies, plus time to explore the wonderful flora and magical places at the Woolshed and time to walk the labyrinth.
There is:
- plenty of space for camping
- two outdoor cabins available, one double and one twin (potential for a third person to sleep in there if everyone happy to be squished)
- one indoor room available upstairs with a king single and one double bed on the sleeping platform which might suit a family.
Pamela has kindly offered the inside room and the cabins to be available at no charge and you will need to bring your own bedding. If you would like to reserve a room or cabin, please contact Pamela directly.
If weather is too bad for the campers, there is room inside for 10 marae-type foam mattresses that can be spread out in the upstairs space.
If you choose to arrive early, please keep in mind, you will need to self-cater for Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast. Friday evening may be a good time to order pizza. To keep costs low we will have a potluck dinner on Saturday night.
Cost is expected to be around $24 per adult (i.e. $12 per day). This will cover Saturday lunch, Sunday breakfast, Sunday lunch and cleaning products. Each attendee will also need to bring a contribution to the evening meal on Saturday.
Registration information for camp as well as a form for role holders and volunteers to sign-up will be available shortly. In the mean-time, please email any enquiries to Linda.
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SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL!
The Wheel of Segais Personal Reader Kit Workshop
held last month was a great success. While participants gained more confidence in using their Personal Reader Kits, the day expanded into much, much more! The whole group participated in each other’s readings and this encouraged wonderful conversation on individual issues and morphed into helpful life coaching sessions with lots of laughs and cheers! Now for the next bit.
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The Wheel of Segais meets the Labyrinth
I had put together a set of ‘way-showing’ cards, taking single past, present and future statements from the 12 segments of The Wheel of Segais. In addition I had created a second set of ‘Wisdom Cards’ using all the great seasonal quotes I had gathered over the years, many of which appear in the Reader Kit booklet.
Now we get to the fabulous part! When each participant was clear on the personal question they wanted to ask the Salmon of Wisdom, they then chose one card from the ‘way-showing’ stack and one card from the Wisdom stack – no peeking yet. Then out to the Labyrinth they went. At the entrance to the Labyrinth they read their ‘way-showing’ card and were asked to apply it to their personal question as they walked the first half of the Labyrinth. When they got to the centre of the Labyrinth they were asked to read their ‘Wisdom’ card and then make their way out of the Labyrinth. Wow! When people returned they kept saying things like, “How does that work?”, “How did it know?”, “How can this be?”, etc.
A ‘fun and fathom’ workshop indeed! Participants got so much from it that it was decided we would do this four times a year in 2020 on the segment of the Wheel that builds momentum before each Cusp of Risk. So,
‘Shake, Rattle & Roll’ Workshops
10am – 4pm at The Woolshed:
Sunday 23 February - Ripening
Sunday 24 May - Reflection
Sunday 23 August - Affinity
Sunday 22 November - Alignment
These workshops will not only be for those who already have a Personal Reader Kit or are thinking of getting one and would like to know more, but for any of you who would like to ‘live treefully’ for a while.
Bring a contribution to lunch and I will supply coffee, tea and some sweet wickedness for morning and afternoon breaks.
Bring your own Personal Reader Kit along or, if you don’t yet have one, there will be some spare ones to practise with.
If you would like to purchase your Personal Reader Kit on the day, there will be a special offer price of $90 just for the workshops.
Let me know if you’re thinking of attending.
pamela@thewoolshed.com
or 027 206 8876
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ARACHNE’S WEB
Arachne is the Spider Goddess who weaves the Web of the World and, sitting at its centre, receives all knowledge that vibrates along it. Here are a few ‘vibrations’, i.e. interesting workshops not held at The Woolshed that I think you might be interested in, or upcoming events at The Woolshed not yet in the Calendar.
(Please contact Pamela if you would like an appropriate event displayed here.)
MINDFULNESS COURSES with Rachel Tobin
Rachel has some wonderful Mindfulness courses coming up in February.
Saturday 15 February
MOVING INTO MINDFULNESS 10am-4.30pm
1-day mindfulness and qi gong retreat
Hobson Crescent, Wellington
Saturday 29 February
NATURAL EASE 10am-4.30p1-day mindfulness and awareness through movement retreat
Paekakariki (venue tbc)
For more information go to: http://www.theartofmindfulness.co.nz/
TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEYS THROUGH SACRED LANDSCAPES
Itineraries for all 2020 tours now available
Linda Marson and Jamie George would love you to join them on one or more of next year's spiritual travel
adventures:
- Enchanted Ireland: 16-25 May - a magical mix of megaliths, myths and music in the land of the faery faith.
- Sacred Scotland: 26 May - 4 June - sacred sites and landscapes in the islands and highlands of Scotland
- Merlin's Britain: 1-10 July - in the footsteps of King Arthur and Merlin to Stonehenge, Avalon and Cornwall
- Mysterious Wales: 17-26 July - a mystical tour in the land of dragons, druids and saints.
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The Woolshed is a place to celebrate Spirit in Nature and warmly welcomes community participation. Here we celebrate the turning of the Wheel of the Year in Aotearoa New Zealand by holding Festivals appropriate to the seasons approximately every six weeks. These are the two Solstices (Winter and Summer), the two Equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) and the four Quarter Festivals – Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh (when we hold a Camp) and Samhain. The four Quarter Festivals are for Grove members only and the Solstices and Equinoxes are open to all who wish to connect with the land and Her tides and times. We also have a native tree-planting programme and are always keen for offers of help for our frequent ‘working bees’. Our organic gardens and orchards also respond positively to extra hands.
A women-only group meets monthly on the Full Moon.
Also, if you would like to walk the hills and the bush on the farm then give us a ring –
027 206 8876. I’m sure we can accommodate you.
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PROGRAMME FOR JANUARY
11 (Saturday 7pm) ) Celebrating
the Divine Feminine –
Wylde Moon
18-19 Druid Mini-Camp (2 days)
PROGRAMME FOR FEBRUARY
2 (Sunday 11am) Lughnasadh /
Te Waru
9 (Sunday 7pm) Celebrating the
Divine Feminine – Tribal Moon
19 (Wednesday 6-8pm)
Chakradance with
Monique Leerschool
23 (Sunday 10am-4pm) Wheel of
Segais – Shake, Rattle and
Roll - Ripening
28 (Friday 7-8pm) Mary Bumby
with Tanya Batt
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CELEBRATING THE GODDESS: EXPLORING THE DIVINE FEMININE
7pm at The Woolshed
The focus of the evening is one of ‘Exploring the Divine Feminine’ and the role of the Goddess and her ‘workings’ within ourselves and in our lives.
On Saturday 11 January we claim our true selves at Wylde Moon and on Sunday 9 February we honour our Full Moon ‘Tribe’ at Tribal Moon!
A contribution to ‘supper’ would be appreciated. The Full Moon rituals are for women only. If you’re new and would like to attend just give Pamela a call on
027 206 8876
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LUGHNASADH / TE WARU / FIRST FRUITS / LEAN TIME
Sunday 2nd February 11am
at The Woolshed
The time of Lughnasadh is a time of beginning of reaping – of revelling in the height of summer, and yet of recognizing the reality of death-in-life – for soon Autumn will come, and with it darkness and the cold. So it is a time of rejoicing, but also of preparation for times ahead. The theme of sacrifice is important at this time, and Lugh undergoes death and rebirth in a sacrificial mating with the Goddess, which shows the intimate connection recognised in these festivals between human fertility and the fertility of the land.
At this season we are faced with divergent meanings, depending on which cultural tradition we look at. In the European grain cycle of wheat and barley, it is the beginning of harvest, and the first loaves of bread are offered to the Great Mother. In the Maori cycle of the kumara, it is not yet harvest; in fact – far from being a time of plenty - it is te waru patote, the lean month, when the staple crop is at its scarcest.
PLEASE NOTE: The Quarter Festivals (Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhuinn and Imbolc) are for members of the Grove of the Summer Stars only. The Sun festivals (both Equinoxes and both Solstices) are open to all.
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There are only four rules
for The Woolshed
Come with an open heart
Come with an open mind
Leave your prejudices at the door
Along with your shoes
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AWAKEN YOUR CHAKRADANCE
With Monique Leerschool
6-8pm Wednesday 19 February
at The Woolshed
Cost: $40
Do you feel like you need to shift some old energy to move forwards in your life?
I am running a Chakradance© class for a small group who are ready for some inner transformational work. We will explore the seven chakras using free-form dance, music, pulsing to the energy of each chakra, guided imagery, and mandala art. Bring your curiosity to explore your inner world and you may be surprised about what you discover. See www.chakradance.com
After discovering this rainbow dance journey for myself, I became a certified chakradance facilitator.
This group will be limited in size so please let me know as soon as possible if you would like to dance or would like more information by e-mailing me at moniquel@contact.net.nz
Hope to see you there!
Monique Leerschool
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MARY BUMBY’S HIVE OF STORY
with Tanya Batt
7-8pm Friday 28 February at The Woolshed
On March 19,, 1839 the very first honey bees, Apis Mellifera, arrived on the shores of Aotearoa. The name of the person who bought the two straw skeps of bees will be forever etched in your mind because of its almost story book quality – Mary Bumby.
Mary Anna Bumby was the sister of the Reverend John Bumby, Wesleyan Minister and appointed Super intendent of the Mungungu Mission, Hokianga. Mary travelled out with him as a companion and housekeeper to New Zealand, bringing his favourite breakfast ‘tipple’ – honey for his toast, and the black Yorkshire bees that made it.
This piece was first developed and performed on site at the Mungungu Mission in the Hokianga to mark the 180th anniversary of the honey bees’ arrival. It involves a prophecy, a hive of story and plenty of cross pollination.
Suitable for open-minded types aged 8 – 99 years
Please contact pamela@thewoolshed.com or text
027 2068876 if you are keen to attend
‘Witty, educational, interactive and entertaining show, thoroughly enjoyable’
‘Tanya Batt enraptured Rotorua with her skilled storytelling and capability for educating while entertaining. She has embedded te reo Maori and NZ history into her show and shares a message of care and compassion for our environment with hilarity.’
More about Tanya at www.imagined-worlds.net
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THE WHEEL OF SEGAIS COURSES
The writing of ‘The Book of the Wheel: Living Treefully’ joyfully (mostly) continues. I’m aiming for publication in March/April so I can take some with me when I head off to Summer Gathering in Glastonbury at the beginning of June. Please sing awens for me to accompany the muse!
When I return in August I will start planning for another series of monthly Wheel of Change workshops for life enhancement as well as offering some training for Trainers. These will be in addition to the Reader training although they will use much of the same material and they will have Living Treefully to support them. They will be offered on line along with two get-together workshops per year. Please let me know if this would be of interest to you.
The Wheel of Segais is a simple but profound template for understanding the innate nature of the universe and our place within it. It allows us to perceive all that we are and all that we need as we experience the turning of the wheel of the year - the Four Seasons, the 12 streams or stages and the Well of the Salmon of Wisdom, the Well of Segais itself, in the centre.
If you would like a reading or a life coaching session in person, you can contact me at pamela@thewoolshed.com,
027 206 8876
Cost: Reading - $50 (30 mins)
Life Coaching - $200
(90 mins + follow-up)
Out of town or in another country?
Book an on line reading or Life Coaching Session through my website – www.wheelofsegais.com
You can also book your Personal Reader Training and personal Wheel of Change training or purchase a Personal Reader Kit through the website.
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LENDING LIBRARY AT THE WOOLSHED
The lending library (books on spirituality, druidry, wicca, paganism, ritual, etc.) at The Woolshed is now open for business. Unfortunately we can’t send books out so you will just have to come and visit us at The Woolshed to access this fine library.
The link for our online library database is: http://connect.collectorz.com/users/
woolshedlib/books/view
‘Check it out – many new titles have been added.’
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‘THE WOOLSHED’
is a farm of 136 acres situated on the hills of Pukerua Bay looking out over the sea and Kapiti Island. It is clothed in approximately 40 acres of native bush, including some of the last remaining stands of kohekohe on the Kapiti Coast. It is gardened organically – herbs, vegetables and fruit – and has three springs of clear water. It is a place of great peace, tranquillity and power. The original woolshed has been converted into personal living quarters as well as a work and seminar space.
It is a place for:
Study/Discussion Groups
Stress Management
Shiatsu and Massage
Total Pampering Days
Life Planning and Mentoring
Retreat
Meditation
Seasonal and Full Moon Celebrations
Wheel of Segais Readings
Pamela Meekings-Stewart is a:
Workshop Facilitator
- Four Elements/Four Seasons
- Wheel of Segais
Study/Discussion Group Facilitator
Life Planning Facilitator and Mentor
Retreat Facilitator
Marriage Celebrant
Civil Union Celebrant
Ritual Maker
Mythic Journey Facilitator
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The farm can be a little hard to find, so please telephone (you can leave a message on the answerphone) and I will send you directions on a clear and detailed map.
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