Women’s Creative Retreat in Ireland

An Immersion of Myth and Magic

A Chairde,

On a Monday morning, are you seeking a transformative experience that connects you deeply with your soul’s calling and the ancient wisdom of Ireland? Phew, that’s a whopper of a sentence, but I’d love to share details of my upcoming creative immersion with my wise companion artist on this path, Aoife Lowden.

What: Aisling Áes Dána—Dreaming Your Dán with the Otherworld Retreat for Women

When: Sunday, September 29th to Thursday, October 3rd, 2024

Where: The Sacred Boyne Valley in Ireland’s Ancient East (beside Dublin)

Your Hosts: Jennifer Murphy and Aoife Lowden

There is a sublime Old Irish word, Dán, that, like many Gaelic terms, holds profound and hidden meanings. It encompasses the idea of a divine gift from the gods, an art form, a poetic talent, and one's destiny.

Your Dán is your soul’s gift.

It's uncanny that Dán is pronounced like “dawn” in English because embracing your Dán—your soul's gift—marks the brightest and most golden dawn you will ever experience in your life.

We know that in these fractured times, following our Dán can feel like a lonely road. Both Aoife and I hold community at the core of our values, so we are curating this space for us to walk together.

What Myth are You Living?

This question—asked to himself—changed the course of Swiss Psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s life. Jung did not mean myth as fabrication, what modern society would have us believe as something our primitive ancestors made up, rather he meant the story ALIVE within us, bursting to be lived.

‘I took it upon myself to get to know “my” myth, and I regarded this as the task of tasks.’

C.G. Jung, The Red Book, Liber Novus

Myth isn’t about the past, it’s about the present. Our ancestors believed that each of us is born into this world carrying a Dán, our soul’s gift—a rare magical gem seeded inside of us that we gift to our community in our own unique way. In Western mysticism, the Greeks called the art of bringing our Dán into being, poiesis, the forebear of the word, poetry, meaning ‘to make’, ‘to bring forth’ our soul’s gift. 

The ancient Irish structured their tuatha, their tribes around this belief with the Áes Dána, the ‘People of the Arts’, the poet-seers leading society along with the King in sacred union with the Sovereignty Goddess. This is symbolic of the union of feminine and masculine principles within us to live out our soul’s gift.

Our ancestors warned that although this seed dwells within us all, not everyone will answer their soul’s call. Many creative lives remain unlived.

‘For the origin of poetry and knowledge is in everyone physically, but in every second one it does not shine forth. In another it does.’

The Cauldron of Poesy, a mystical 8th-century Irish text about our Dán

Your Dán Myth Cycle

This intimate retreat is a threshold moment, a before-and-after opportunity, to live and immerse yourself in your Dán by cycling through your own myth cycle. A myth cycle is a collection of myths that speaks to a greater cosmology, to the essence of what it means for your soul to be alive at this time. Through the meeting of myself and Aoife’s Dán, we have developed this map to guide you into yours.

Our creative immersion will model this cycle day by day. Here’s a little of what to expect.

Day 1: Aisling—Dream

• 14:30 - Pick-up from the airport to our retreat space at Rock Farm, an organic farm on the grounds of Slane Castle

• 15:30 - Fáilte, Welcome, and landing with snacks

• 18:00 - Delicious feast together cooked by our onsite chef

• 19:30 - Opening circle exploring psyche and the dreamworld through a mythic Irish and Jungian lens, mugwort journey to the Otherworld

Day 2: Brú—Womb

• 08:00 - Collective dreaming circle

• 09:00 - Breakfast

• 10:00 - Workshop on megalithic temples, pilgrimage, and accessing the creative Imbas of the ancients, ‘wisdom that illuminates’

• 13:00 - Lunch

• 14:00 - Pilgrimage to Brú na Bóinne (‘Womb of the White Cow’), the megalithic temples of Newgrange and Knowth, Widdershins Ritual

• 17:00 - Return to Rock Farm for free time

• 19:00 - Dinner

• 20:00 - Sharing circle on the tomb womb

Day 3: Anam Chara - Soul Friend

• 08:00 - Collective dreaming circle

• 08:45 - Breakfast

• 10:30 - Workshop to unite with a creative ancestor from Irish mythology as the otherworldly ‘patron’ of your Dán

• 13:00 - Lunch

• 14:00 - Time to dialogue with your creative ancestor

• 17:00 - Sauna with the Goddess Boann on the banks of the Boyne River

• 19:00 - Dinner

• 20:00 - Sharing circle on creative ancestor dialogue

Day 4: Breó - Fiery Arrow

• 07:30 - Collective dreaming circle

• 08:30 - Breakfast

• 10:00 - Pilgrimage to the Hill of Tara

• 13:00 - Lunch at the Hill of Tara

• 14:30 - Devotion to our Dán inauguration ceremony with a special guest

• 19:00 - Pick up from Tara

• 19:30 - Feis, Feast

• 20:00 - Céilí celebration with traditional dancing

Day 5: Slán agus Beannacht, Bye and Blessings

• 07:00 - Rise and shine!

• 07:45 - Breakfast

• 08:30 - Closing and integration circle, final offering to the land

• 11:00 - Airport pick-up

What you will receive…

• A one-of-a-kind transformative immersion into the creative heartland of Ireland to tend to your soul’s longing. This retreat is a rare gift for your soul.

• From two devoted facilitators in Aoife and Jen who are highly-skilled in their respective Dán, their soul’s craft.

• A safe and nurturing space to creatively play and rest in beautiful eco-house accommodation in the ancient town of Slane, on the banks of the Goddess Boann, the River Boyne.

• A place to nourish your bones with organic and locally sourced meals provided by our onsite chef.

• All admission and guided tour fees for sacred sites and excursions.

• Airport transfer to and from Rock Farm and transport for all trips.

• Additional special guest for our Devotion to our Dán inauguration ceremony at the Hill of Tara.

• Pre-retreat online gathering including preparatory teachings and materials.

• Post-retreat integration period and celebratory gathering online.

Due to the intimate nature of this retreat, we have only eight spaces available.

The application deadline is midnight, Sunday, July 28th.

For full details and to access the application form, please click below, which will direct you to Aoife’s website.

We would love to see you and your shining soul there!

Croí isteach,

Jen x