I have found myself over the last few years living more and more in harmony with the cycles of Mother Nature and wanting to share that expression with my kids and husband.
I have been honouring and celebrating the seasonal quarter days of the year; Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, for some time now and I am really happy to now offer this in an event for children and families.
Our first event was on December 17th 2023, just before the Winter Solstice, the longest and darkest night of the year, where acknowledged the season of Winter and found light within it and us all.
I’m very grateful and happy to collaborate on these events with two wonderful Catalan women and experienced facilitators Aina of Moviment Ciclic and Berta Vives. It’s important to me, that these circles are Bi-lingual English and Catalan (Tri lingual with Spanish too if needed), as I really want to reflect and be part of the culture I live in and the traditions and language that is spoken here.
All our events are held in the forest of the Serralda Litoral in Cabrils, Maresme, Spain, where there is a wealth of beautiful natural places. It seemed only right to take these events outside into the natural world where big groups of children are naturally more relaxed and to really be able to honour the natural world.
The next event planned is for mid March to celebrate the Spring Equinox as the Wheel of the Year turns again to usher in Primavera. More information will be coming soon. If you would like to find out more or book for this event please drop me an email.
But for now here is some info and pictures from our Winter Solstice event to give you a taster of what it involved.
I was excited to collaborate with Aina @ainacomamala and Berta @psicodescans for a trilingual event - English, Spanish, Catalan- for families, to honour the longest nights of the year, just before the Winter Solstice, to connect with nature and the deep season of Winter that we in.
We brought families together in a magical place in the forest behind Cabrils, El Laberinto de Piedras, to celebrate and to remember even though we are in the longest, darkest nights, there is so much light still to be found everywhere and especially within our children. Their little lights that shine so bright ✨💛
✨We warmed ourselves with hot chocolate, mulled wine (vino caliente) and snacks for the kids.
✨We played games, sung songs and moved and danced with music
✨Using the nature around us and recycled materials we then created Winter Solstice Nature Lanterns
✨Once the sun set, we walked the Laberinto de Piedras in a quiet and mindful way (as much as possible with kids anyway) to observe the nature around us as we cycled and spiralled inwards.
✨Once we reached the centre of the Labyrinth, the candles were lit and placed inside the lanterns that we have created. We made wishes for ourselves, our family, our community and the world. We sang This Little Light of Mine, I’m going to let is Shine as we walked in a lantern parade out and around the Laberinto.
I felt so happy to be creating this event with these amazing collaborators and my kids and husband around me. It was really special. There’s so much busyness and hustle and bustle in modern day life, some how slowing down, getting into nature, acknowledging the seasonal shifts and adding a deeper meaning by remembering the ancient roots of Pagan/ Celtic/ Catalan celebrations really resonates with me. These celebrations ceremonies for families bring me a great deal of peace and connection, not only in my own life to the natural world but also to my children, my friends and my community. 💛✨