Mystical Portugal: Labyrinths, Legends, and Sites of the Sacred Feminine

Look for us in September 2018

Join us on a soulful journey to sacred sites in the land of the Lusitani, or “people of the light,” the ancient Celt-Iberian ancestors of the modern Portuguese. On this pilgrimage, we journey to the western shores of Europe, to a place of refuge, rest, and renewal, where the Earth-based spiritual wisdom of the Celts is subtly woven into the fabric of the Portuguese culture and landscape.

A deeply feminine landscape is awakening in Portugal, and the spiral path of the labyrinth provides context for our encounter with the mysteries of the sacred feminine. The imaginal realm beckons us as we encounter legends of Our Lady, and engage with numinous sites where her archetypal presence, embodied in Mary, has been known. Through the wisdom of the labyrinth and the legends of Mary, explore your relationships with others, with yourself, with the Earth, and with Spirit. Join us in Portugal and learn to re-inhabit your soul.

Pilgrimage, like walking the labyrinth, is something we do simultaneously inwardly and outwardly. We will use meditation, movement, music, prayer beads, and various healing arts to open to the next step in our individual spiritual paths. We will meet daily in practice and group process to affirm and integrate our experiences.

We will visit and experience:

• Sintra, the Hill of the Moon, a verdant, archetypally feminine lanscape, where ancient wisdom is encoded in architecture, legend, and the land itself
• Fatima, and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary, home of one of the most famous Marian apparition and pilgrimage sites in Europe
• Alcobaça, where the largest Portuguese church, the Cistercian Monastery of Santa Maria, was founded and dedicated to Mary in 1153 by the first king of Portugal, in honor of St. Bernard of Clairvaux
• Nazaré, where the Shrine of Our Lady of Nazareth sits on the bluffs above the Atlantic Ocean, drawing pilgrims from all over Portugal to honor the mysterious and legendary statue of Mary and Child

We will stay two nights at the charming Chalet Saudade guesthouse in the heart of Sintra’s medieval village, and then travel to Fatima for three more nights based at the Luz Houses, a boutique rural hotel that is off the beaten path, yet walking distance from the Fatima apparation sites.

Ample time will be available for the exploration of nearby eclectic and quaint villages, for enjoying local gastronomical rituals of pasteries, café, and hearty, locally sourced meals, and for contemplative strolls and reflection at sacred sites.

This pilgrimage is offered through Veriditas and co-led by Laura Esculcas, about.me/lauraesculcas