For many writers and artists, shame is detrimental. It can hold you back for years, or even a lifetime.
In this workshop, I will show you how you can transform your shame into a powerful creative force. Through a combination of astrology, mythology, and writing exercises, I will help you turn your monsters into the ultimate muse.
Persephone, Pluto and Power is a 90-minute-long workshop, launching on March 3rd. The workshop will be pre-recorded, so that you can engage with and move through its content at your own pace.
In this value-packed workshop, I share all the secrets I’ve learned in my years as a writer and astrologer. By the end of this workshop, you will: • understand the role of shame in creativity • work intimately with your shame through powerful writing exercises • have actionable tools to clear shame blocks • utilise archetypes and symbolism to help you journey through shame and transform it into power
Who is this workshop for? • You do not need any prior knowledge of astrology or writing to gain immense value from this workshop. It is designed for people at all levels, from beginners to those who have been writing for years. Shame can stop us in our tracks at any point in our journey. I am here to guide you through the underworld, and teach you how to alchemise your shame into creative power • This workshop is open to people of any gender, but there is a focus on feminine archetypes and experience
Are you ready to transform the monsters under your bed into a muse?
It is time to allow your shame to transport you to a deeper level of creative power!
If you’ve loved the first two books in the Gypsy Moon trilogy, then you’ll be pleased to know that the final book, Flowers in Her Hair, is now available. Copies can be bought from online retailers, good bookshops, loaned through your library, or for signed copies visit my website.
In due course, I shall be uploading some videos to my YouTube channel where I’ll share about my writing life, what inspires my writerly self, and upcoming projects.
If you’d like a signed copy, do let me know (in paypal notes) if it is for someone else.
https://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/All-three-square-.jpg12001200Veronika Sophia Robinsonhttps://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo-1.pngVeronika Sophia Robinson2021-12-02 11:05:162021-12-02 11:05:16Flowers In Her Hair by Veronika Sophia Robinson
As we descend further into the chill of Autumn, my thoughts shift to an upcoming script I’ll be writing: A Sagesse Ceremony. Sagesse is from the French, and means ‘wise’.
I recently officiated a funeral for a woman who, when due to retire from the NHS, was given a certificate to say she could keep working. She stayed in that job until 75, and then continued working in private care right into her 84th year. Stories like this are few and far between. Of course, some people can’t wait to retire. This could be because they hate their job, or have fabulous hobbies they want to spend more time on, or they simply don’t need to work because they’re financially secure. But what we don’t tend to talk about as a culture is what happens when we reach society’s Use-By Date it has assigned us. More often than not, Culture offers the elderly a nursing/care/retirement home. So long they’re comfortable and fed, let’s keep them away from the rest of the world and out of sight. We certainly don’t want to be reminded about what’s down the track for us at the end of life, do we?
One of the reasons for the rapid deterioration of the elderly is because they’re no longer valued. They’re not considered an asset and so with that loss of purpose, what else do they have to live for? Studies show, for example, that hands-on grandparents live longer and are healthier than those who don’t have such interactions. In the moving book, Being Mortal, we read about how people in care homes where there are indoor plants, pets such as cats, dogs or even a lorikeet in each resident’s bedroom, visiting children, and vegetable gardens they can tend, usually come off most or all medication and thrive. Why? Because they have a sense of purpose. Each day there is a focus, a job to do, something or someone to observe or care for. It’s pretty much common sense, but this is so fundamentally lacking in many options for the elderly.
I had a conversation a year or so back with a man in his early 70s who was reluctant to retire from his business because of the lack of purpose he’d be facing. He wanted to do something with all the knowledge and expertise he’d spent a lifetime accumulating. Where was he to leave and share that experience, he wanted to know. Some elderly people volunteer in charity shops, and others befriend the lonely. On the whole though, culture shuns those who are no longer of use.
Writing ceremonies for those transitioning between working or reproductive life, and what’s on the other side of that, is done so with immense reverence, and with the intention of honouring all that has gone before, and how that shall be mindfully carried into the future in such a way that the Cloak of Wisdom is wrapped as a regal shawl of worldliness. Such a ceremony may be titled: wise crone; sagesse; menopause; Saturn return, for example.
The elderly are the libraries of our culture. We’ve already seen the impact of kindle on bookshops, and social media destroying face-to-face communication; how long will it be before care homes are considered a ‘waste of space’? Changes happen incrementally in our world. Things come and go: people, trends, inventions, values. When parents/grandparents are no longer an integral part of family life, they deteriorate. But you know what? So do we. We lose the vital opportunity to have our lives enriched.
When I come across someone in their 90s who is positively thriving, it’s always because they have a rich and purposeful life: they’re avid gardeners, bakers, have a firm family life, volunteer, are still driving and therefore independent, and so on. They’re not sitting on a sofa watching Jeremy Kyle.
Think about the elderly people in your life whether they are family, friends, neighbours or even strangers you pass. When was the last time you stopped and talked to them? Really talked to them. Not about the weather or some external thing, but about what their dreams were/are, their passions, their regrets, their loves, their losses. What makes their heart sing? If you don’t have the time or inclination to care about such people, just remember this: one day you’ll be old, and there may not be anyone around to value your life’s journey. Maybe you’ll be shunted away without anyone giving a damn as to all you’ve learnt and can pass on to others. What makes a life meaningful (goes the reading I sometimes share at funerals), is not what we learn but what we teach.
So, when you’re old, will you be wise? Will you feel impotent because there’s no one interested in all the experiences you’ve garnered and life lessons you’ve mastered? What shall you do with your three score years and ten of ‘life’?
When I teach celebrant students, I say that the most important part of this job is our ability to listen. It doesn’t matter a jot if you’re the world’s best writer, performer, have good business sense, are a whiz at marketing, or have fab social skills or thousands of likes on Facebook. If you can’t slow down, keep your mouth closed other than to ask caring or insightful questions, then you miss laying the strong and vital foundations of all ceremony work. If the same truth was applied to our cultural approach to the aging, oh how different society would look.
(*silent and listen contain the same letters)
For my part, it will be my immense privilege to start creating a Sagesse (wise woman) Ceremony for a lady transitioning into being an elder in her community.
Veronika Robinson is a Heart-led Celebrant who has been officiating ceremonies since 1995, and is a Celebrant Trainer in Cumbria where she offers private tuition in all aspects of celebrancy. She’s also the editor of The Celebrant magazine. Veronika is currently President of the Association of Independent Celebrants.
As the rise of celebrant-led ceremonies grows in the UK, more people are coming across a celebrant at work, and if the celebrant is good at what they do, then the observer may be inspired to pursue that career path.
Fortunately, there are many training organisations available. However, it is important that you choose one that matches your ethos, and don’t make a decision purely based on price or location. There are many, many factors to take into account with your training, and that also includes after-course support. An expensive course does not necessarily mean an excellent training programme. Too many would-be celebrants are left flailing and seeking out a second training course because their ‘expensive’ one was inadequate, and didn’t do what it said on the tin. It’s easy to be lured by words like ‘government diploma’, ‘professional’, ‘institute’, etc. It could be that you’re paying for modules on how to write an email or use a Word document, or writing essays on the history of funerals. A good course should teach you to BE A CELEBRANT. It should inspire your creativity, empathy, imagination, and excellence in forging client relationships.
Also, consider why so many organisations offer separate courses for wedding/naming celebrancy and funeral celebrancy. My view, as a celebrant of 23 years, is that they don’t need to be offered separately, and that it is merely a way for organisations to ‘earn more money’.
When looking at different training courses, ask questions. Lots of questions!
For example:
. how many face-to-face contact hours are there? (minus the time for meals/refreshments)
. what is the experience of the tutors? (do they pride themselves on quality services over quantity?)
. is there voice training by a qualified voice coach? What does that involve? Is there ongoing voice training as part of your fee?
. how is your work assessed to see if you are suitable to be a celebrant?
. does the course give certificates to anyone who attends, or only to those whose written and practical work is outstanding?
. what practical experience does the course offer you?
. will you have the opportunity to write ceremonies?
. what experience does the tutor have in creative writing?
. does the course teach you how to create and choreograph rituals?
. what experience do you have on the course of officiating a ceremony?
. does the training take a holistic approach?
. does the tutor have experience in a wide variety of settings?
. what written material is available as part of your training?
. what post-course support is available?
These are important questions to ask. Don’t throw your money away on the first course you see. Research your options well.
If you’re looking for a mind, body, soul approach to celebrancy, I invite you to consider my training course. Ask me any questions you like. My course isn’t for everyone, but for those who intuitively feel that celebrancy is a heart-led vocation rather than an administrative job. ~ Veronika x
Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training
Recommended by the Association of Independent Celebrants (AOIC)
Comprehensive and in-depth practical training course in creative, heart-led, authentic celebrancy.
♥
Learn to create, write and officiate all types of ceremonies with confidence, care, commitment and grace.
Founder and Facilitator: Veronika Sophia Robinson
Veronika Robinson is an experienced, working celebrant. She trained in New Zealand in 1995, where she was registered to officiate legal wedding ceremonies, and has been officiating ever since. Veronika has had the privilege of officiating in New Zealand, Australia and England where she has written and led all manner of ceremonies, including weddings, handfastings, blessingways, namings, divorce healing, miscarriage memorial, conscious conception, funerals, memorials, wise crone, menarche, and house warmings.
She’s also an author (fiction and non-fiction), journalist, public speaker, workshop leader, and metaphysician.
Veronika is delighted to be a celebrant for Gift of a Wedding, a charity which provides weddings for couples where one of them is terminally ill.
She is also President of The Association of Independent Celebrants, and is the founder and facilitator of Penrith’s first Death Café which seeks to open up honest discussion around death and dying.
Training Options:
Certificate in Celebrancy
Certificate in Advanced Celebrancy & Ritual
Post-course support is ongoing, and there are opportunities to shadow experienced celebrants.
Include the study and practical experience of:
♥Understanding ceremony structure. If you know how to create one type of ceremony you can create any ceremony (hence the reason this course encompasses funerals, namings, weddings, and other rites of passage).
♥Recognising the skills and qualities necessary for personalised and professional, heart-led, celebrancy.
♥Funerals and Memorials (Understanding grief, family disputes, working with funeral directors, creating meaningful farewells, cremations, burials, eco-burials). In the five-day training, you may be able to include a visit to the crematorium or a funeral director. Both private training options may also include shadowing Veronika at a funeral or family visit.
♥Weddings, Handfastings and Vow Renewals
♥Naming Ceremonies (for babies, children, adults, and transgender people who wish to have their new identity formally honoured)
♥Other rites of passage, such as menarche, blessingways, sagesse (wise crone), new business, divorce healing, and more.
♥Understanding the legalities around death, funerals and marriage (e.g. the difference between a registrar and a celebrant)
♥The difference between a heart-led celebrant and other types of celebrants
♥Indoor and Outdoor Ceremonies
♥Creating Sacred Space
♥Setting Intention
♥Creative Writing
♥Script Writing
♥Word Medicine
♥Storytelling
♥Performance
♥Archetypes in Storytelling
♥Symbols, Rituals and Altars
♥Ceremonial Herbs
♥Working with the Four Elements
♥Body Awareness
♥Celebrant Well-being
♥Understanding the role of the Community Celebrant
♥Voice development and coaching by Paul Robinson (this is required as an ongoing commitment by students via Skype after the initial training)
♥The Four Sacred Archetypes of Building Your Celebrancy Brand
Applicants
Applications are invited from people who are committed to developing awareness of self and others, willing to train to an excellent level, are creative, independent, inspirational, authentic and courageous, and wish to consciously create beautiful ceremonies in their community.
Unlike any other training course in England, this focuses on the importance of ongoing personal development, and takes a mind, body and soul approach to celebrancy and ceremonies, as well as recognising the importance of ongoing skill building.
The foundation of this celebrant training is based on integrity and self-awareness.
Please email for a booking form: veronikarobinson AT hotmail DOT com
https://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/vr9.jpg768768Veronika Sophia Robinsonhttps://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo-1.pngVeronika Sophia Robinson2018-10-27 17:47:082019-05-01 13:57:56Celebrant Training: Essential questions to ask when choosing a training organisation
Heart-led Ceremonies Celebrant Training is recommended by the Association of Independent Celebrants
Celebrant training facilitated by Veronika Robinson and Paul Robinson
Being a celebrant is a deeply rewarding vocation. Are you ready for a new career?
Comprehensive and in-depth practical training course in creative, heart-led, authentic celebrancy.
Learn to create, write and officiate all types of ceremonies with confidence.
“Celebrant Training Course
This weekend, what I saw you model so beautifully, was how to step into responsibility with gravitas and humility and lightness.
The way you wear responsibility is like an invisibility cloak, with reverence and respect for the magic. It seems you wear this mantle with such grace, and heart, and with such outward-facing love that Responsibility it is not carried as a burden of the ego, but gently shepherded as a sacred honour bestowed by spirit.
Framed like this, I feel profoundly different about Responsibility. Humbled, not afraid. Ready to serve.
Heartfelt appreciation for the kindness in your listening.
Jennifer
Whitley Bay
April 2018″
Group Training
15th and 16th September 2018 | Glassonby, near Penrith, Cumbria
Places strictly limited.
Celebrant Training Fee
£650
30% (£185) (non-refundable) due upon booking
Balance of £465 (non refundable) due no later than 25th July 2018.
This fee includes:
Two-day intensive and practical tuition on all aspects of celebrancy: 7.30am to 8.30pm both days
A copy of the book Heart-led Ceremonies (the art and soulful practice of creating, writing and officiating ceremonies) by Veronika and Paul Robinson. This complete guide to celebrancy is available exclusively through this training course.
Nourishing wholefood plant-based meals and refreshments (breakfast through to dinner, both days)
Follow-up Skype sessions (or face to face in Cumbria)
Certificate (upon written completion of three ceremonies and presentations, and active participation in the training course)
Upon satisfactory completion of the course, participants are eligible to join the Association Of Independent Celebrants, and immediately receive professional and indemnity insurance for celebrancy work worldwide.
This comprehensive course is set over a two-day weekend, and includes:
Learning to create and define space, both indoors and outdoors
What it means to ‘hold the space’
Setting intention
Understanding symbols and rituals
Crafting personalised ceremonies
Ceremonies: Blessingways, namings, weddings, funerals, memorials, housewarmings, etc.
Word Medicine
Voice work
Presentation
Body awareness
Skills of a celebrant
Qualities of a celebrant
Emotional quotient
The metaphysics of marketing yourself as a celebrant
Sacred connections: your ideal client
Care of the celebrant
The creative celebrant
The intuitive celebrant
Please note this is an interactive weekend, and all participants will be required to take part in role play, voice development, presentation, and video work.
Private Celebrant Training
As well as offering group training courses, we also offer private training throughout the year.
One-to-one celebrant training fee is £500 *includes lunch, but not accommodation
(This is actually two tutors to one student)
Upon receipt of payment we will arrange mutually convenient dates/times to suit. The private training runs for 20 hours, and you can choose to do this over 2 days or up to 4 days. It is held in our cottage in Glassonby, near Penrith, Cumbria.
Applicants
Applications are invited from people who are committed to developing awareness of self and others, willing to train to an excellent level, are creative, independent, inspirational, authentic and courageous, and wish to consciously create beautiful ceremonies in their community.
Unlike any other training course in England, this focuses on the importance of personal development, and takes a mind, body and soul approach to celebrancy and ceremonies, as well as recognising the importance of ongoing skill building.
The foundation of this celebrant training is based on integrity and self-awareness.
Facilitators
Veronika Robinson is a professionally trained and experienced full-time celebrant. She trained in New Zealand in 1995, where she was registered to officiate legal wedding ceremonies, and has been officiating ceremonies ever since. Veronika has had the privilege of officiating in New Zealand, Australia and England.
Veronika has officiated all manner of ceremonies, including weddings, handfastings, blessingways, namings, divorce healing, miscarriage memorial, conscious conception, funerals, memorials, Wise Crone, menarche, and house warmings.
She’s also an author (fiction and non-fiction), journalist, public speaker, workshop leader, psychological astrologer, and metaphysician. Veronika is delighted to be a celebrant for Gift of a Wedding, a charity which provides weddings for couples where one of them is terminally ill.
Veronika is also a committee member for the Association of Independent Celebrants.
She is the founder and facilitator of Penrith’s first Death Café, A Meaningful Farewell, which seeks to open up honest discussion around death and dying.
Paul Robinson has enjoyed a rich career as an actor, broadcaster, compere, voice over, ventriloquist, voice coach, singer and celebrant. He’s deeply passionate about self-development, and utilises the Enneagram of Personality Types as a path of personal growth.
Together, they combine skills to offer a one-of-a-kind training in heart-led, authentic celebrancy.
I just wanted to say how much I am loving reading your book Heart- led Ceremonies . It’s just a fantastic reference and makes me realise just how much we covered in a weekend.”
Penny April 2018
Private Celebrant Training
I loved every second of my training with Veronika and Paul. The guidance in all aspects, including the voice coaching, was spot on and both so welcoming. I laughed and I cried in equal measure. I want to do it all again.
They have also provided a wonderful sounding board for work I am doing which is very appreciated. I would recommend no one else x
Kate Simpson
Lincolnshire
April 2018
Private Celebrant Training
Hi Veronika
This is just a quick email to thank you and Paul again for your kindness and help – the training was brilliant, but made more special because you shared so much with me in such an unselfish way – your knowledge, experience, home and hospitality. And you both built my confidence in a genuine and caring manner.
The training was everything I hoped for and more – and I’m really looking forward to getting started.
You are two very special people, and I’m so grateful I found you.
Take care Glynis xx
January 2018
Private Celebrant Training
January 2018
Dear Veronika
Just a note to thank you so much for the wonderful experience recently with celebrant training.
It was so good to meet you and Paul, and I felt very excited and overwhelmed by the ideas and thoughts that you had inspired in me.
Although it was quite intense and emotional, I also found it cathartic and fascinating.
Look forward to keeping in touch and thank you again for a very memorable weekend.
Barbara
I felt honoured to be a part of the first heart led celebrant training last weekend. It was heart led in the truest sense of the words. I left feeling not only well equipped to step into the world as an independent celebrant, but also affirmed in my personal strengths and abilities. Veronika and Paul shared themselves and their extensive knowledge so generously with us all and sustained us with fantastic food, and all in a beautiful environment. Thank you both so much, it may sound odd to be said of a training course but this is something I will cherish for a long time.
Nicola Harrison-Swainston September 2017
Celebrant Training
As a recent graduate, I can heartily recommend this training course. Thorough, supportive, incredibly informative, and most importantly, “heart-led” – Veronika and Paul are amazing teachers!
Adrienne Cumbria
April 2018
Group Celebrant Training
“I would have to say heart and soul-led ceremonies. Both Veronika and Paul are abundantly giving of their knowledge, experience, and deliciously nurturing food!!
In a short intensive time, they passed on the celebrant gauntlet, inspiring and equipping us to be ideally the only sort of celebrants… ones that reach out from the heart with love, compassion and empathy.
Veronika and Paul you have beautiful qualities, way too many to list.
I deeply thank you both for one of the most precious times, that enhanced my life in so many ways, most of all giving me confidence to move on and put your teachings in to action.”
Penny B. April 2018
Group Celebrant Training
The recipe for a tasty independent celebrant training course is a measure of Fragrant Facilitation (try Veronika & Paul), Seasoned Students & Chunk of Time. Mixed together makes an inspired graduate celebrant.
Joyce S Cumbria
April 2018
Celebrant Training Course
The most amazing experience! Veronika is welcoming, calming, thoughtful, energetic, tireless and teaches in such a way that leaves you wanting more! Her heart-led methodology aligns perfectly with what I want to deliver as a Celebrant, and I can’t leave without mentioning her cooking…WOW! Her pear crumble is to die for please adopt me!
This course is suitable for celebrants at any stage of their career.
You’ll learn to enhance your writing style, and not only find, but celebrate, your voice. By learning techniques to free your imagination, your writing will set you apart from other celebrants in terms of style, tone, creativity, passion and flair.
Whether you’re new to celebrancy, or have been scripting ceremonies for years, this course will put a fresh slant on your work. Not only will you be able to create a rich and enlivened vocabulary, you’ll also be able to intuitively adapt it to the nature of your clients.
Learn to write visually, source ideas from the world around you, be constantly open to inspiration, discover reader identification, and take pleasure in developing your craft.
This CPD Creative Writing for Celebrants course is done via two Skype sessions (one hour each), and a series of ten writing assignments to be completed over three months.
This course is especially for celebrants who wish to be conscious, proactive, and inclined to become the best version of themselves. It is open to celebrants anywhere in the world.
You’ll need:
A laptop
Skype
Microsoft Word Document programme
Time to write
Commitment to completing the course
Course fee: £250
*A Certificate of Creative Writing for Celebrants will be awarded on successful completion of all assignments.
About your tutor
Veronika has been an international celebrant for 23 years, and is also an author, novelist and former magazine editor. www.veronikarobinson.com
Autumn begins weaving herself, and me, towards Winter. I drag my heels determinedly against the prospect of months and months of ice cold weather. And yet, those annual mists and mellow fruitfulness lull me with their charms. Foolish me, I whisper. Deep inside, though, I know the truth. The energies of this season serve to remind me to balance the light and the dark. As ever, my deepest nurturing comes in the silence. I take myself into that delightful realm of intentional solitude.
My evening walks through fields, woodlands, up lanes, to the stone circle, and across the ancient cemetery beckon me to welcome the inner dark. Endarkenment, surely, is just as essential as enlightenment? The rich earthiness of fallow fields speaks to me of the growth which emerges from the dark.
The cave of Winter taunts me, and my bones ache in anticipation of the cold, but I know, if I try, that I can step, gracefully, deep into the essence of what it means to live authentically in this world of dilemma. Autumn is here to teach me, gently, about death. What do I need to let go of in my life? These are questions for all of us, of course.
It isn’t random that we have seasons. Metaphysically, they speak to us of change. As we become more attuned to the cycles, we come to understand our inner self more.
The abundance of the harvest season amplifies the gratitude I hold deep within. Golden leaves flutter before me, symbolic of just how generous an act ‘letting go’ can be. Silhouetted trees, their leaves now friskily flitting about upon the chilly breeze, are a reminder that nothing in life stays the same. Of course, we can’t hang onto the beauty of Autumn! And perhaps, that is the whole point. The season of letting go serves to show us how beautiful it is to let ‘fade away’ anything that no longer serves us.
My walks are a gentle invitation to Mother Nature’s suggestion that we surely must die before we can be reborn. Conscious of change all around me, I take nurturing from the early sunsets which frame the sandstone church in the cemetery, and the smell of woodsmoke on the air.
Geese are on high, another reminder that times keep moving. With each rapidly passing day, I am reminded of my mortality. That I, too, shall die. My ego shouts ‘but there is so much left to live for’, and I agree (even if I’m not always certain what the point of life actually is). My inner alchemist just watches patiently, as always, knowing that no matter how much I forward plan and fill my diary, all I really have is this precious moment.
https://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSCF1930.jpg32164288Veronika Sophia Robinsonhttps://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo-1.pngVeronika Sophia Robinson2017-10-02 17:11:502017-10-02 17:15:46Surrendering to the Season
This year marks the 22nd anniversary of me being a celebrant. I’ve had the joy of officiating a wide variety of ceremonies across three countries.
In a few short weeks, September 16th and 17th, my husband Paul and I will be hosting our celebrant-training programme here in Cumbria. You can find more information here. www.veronikarobinson.com/celebrant-training
I am delighted to say that, due to popular demand, we will be running the course again on April 21st and 22nd 2018.
If you feel drawn to the vocation of heart-led celebrancy, do consider joining us. ~ Veronika & Paul
https://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Pearson_-200.jpg28014208Veronika Sophia Robinsonhttps://veronikarobinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/logo-1.pngVeronika Sophia Robinson2017-08-31 16:06:352017-09-07 18:21:58Could you be a Community Celebrant?
Recently, Paul and I went to visit Pete and Irene who own Limetree Nature Reserve where we used to host family camps when we owned The Mother magazine. It was so hard to leave there without having the urge to gather once again with likeminded people for a camp. SO…in case you don’t know, Paul, our daughter Eliza, and I are hosting a five-day family camp there next month.
Labyrinth at one of our previous camps
This camp will be different from our other ones in that we have caterers in so that we can spend our time with guests, and lead workshops and activities. But it will be the same as previous camps, in that there is a strong ethos towards creating a nurturing, safe and holistic family space.
Rocket Catering has an excellent reputation for providing wholesome, quality, nutritious food, and can cater for gluten-free, raw, vegan and vegetarian.
There’ll be an assortment of activities and workshops available (all optional). Limetree is such a magical place for the young and the not-so-young!
Mike and Petra’s Handfasting ceremony at one of our previous camps
The theme for this camp is: Celebrate Your Creativity.
When:August 18th – 22nd 2016 Where:Limetree Farm, near Ripon, North Yorkshire
Camp fees:
Adult: £95
Children aged 14 and under: £35
Children aged 15-18: £50.
This fee includes any workshops you’d like to attend, camping, lunch and dinner for four days. (BYO breakfast). I’m sure you’ll agree this is an excellent price for a family holiday!
If you are interested, download the booking form from here:
As I type these words, there’s a new Moon in Cancer: the zodiac sign of home, mother and nurturing. (And breasts, digestion, emotions, ancestry…)
Home is my favourite word, and indeed my favourite place. For me, it is a sanctuary; and I am quite content to spend my days tucked away in my home and garden. Just this morning, I was giving thanks that the majority of my work is done in the comfort of my home as I simply adore being here.
My thoughts are never far away from the love and beauty to be found in this place that I cherish, but probably more so than ever am I thinking about what home really means.
I left home at the age of sixteen, moving some two thousand kilometres away from the place of my childhood. I was ripe for adventure. Having been raised primarily in the countryside, I was itching to see the world!
My childhood home. Freestone, Via Warwick, Queensland, Australia
That itch I had to scratch so desperately doesn’t seem that long ago, and yet, here I am, watching my younger daughter, aged 18, venturing away from the family nest to see the world.
She’s travelling solo in Estonia at the moment, both intrigued and enchanted by being in a foreign country, but also experiencing moments of homesickness.
What is it about home that often draws us back? The nurturing touch of our mother or father? The comfort of feeling you don’t have to wear any masks? Familiar meals on the table? It’s probably all those, and more. Maybe, as it is for me, it’s being able to surround yourself with things that make you feel calm and at peace? Nothing like some beautiful music, flourishing pot plants and burning incense to make me want to get comfy on the sofa. Or what about that soothing cup of tea in the garden?
My daughters have often said that, to them, home is soup simmering on the stove.
Just a few days ago, my husband and I were in Wales to help our elder daughter and her partner move into their first home together. I feel their joy to finally be away from student accommodation (they each have a year left of their university degrees) and to create a nest before their baby arrives in 5-6 weeks. It was so lovely to hear her voice yesterday as she described how nurturing it was to have their kitchen filled with bowls of fruit and vegetables. Oh how I felt her joy! Can’t wait to hear from her when she’s unpacked everything, and has her beeswax candles on, incense wafting through the rooms, and Mozart on the stereo.
It’s a rare person who doesn’t have a strong sense of what home means regardless of if their experiences are positive or negative. At the heart, though, of what it means to be human, is a part of us which seeks to be nurtured, loved and cared for. To feel safe and protected. When this need—and believe me, it is a deep, biological need encoded into every cell of our being—has been met, even if only adequately rather than abundantly, it makes it so much easier to then go onto nurturing the next generation.
I’m so thankful for the myriad ways my mother (and father) created such a nurturing, vibrant and creative home for me and my siblings. I have no doubt that it made all the difference to the way I was able to pass that onto my children.
So, I watch now, as one daughter creates her own home and crosses the threshold to motherhood (with tears of joy in my eyes), and my other daughter prepares to leave the comfy nest of home to make a home of sorts in the halls at University. My job, on the day-to-day practical level, of being a mother is almost done. The emotional side of being a mother is never going to be over!
Someone said recently that they couldn’t believe how calm I was given that I had one daughter, over a hundred miles away, just weeks from giving birth, and another travelling in a foreign country on her own. Calm? Hmmm. To be honest, I hadn’t given ‘worrying’ much thought before that point. My heart is split in three places, of course: there (Wales), there (Estonia) and here (Cumbria). But as for worrying about them, sure there are points of concern, obviously, but I am not riddled with anxiety. My girls were bathed in a nurturing and loving home, and raised to be thoughtful, mindful and independent. There will be bumps and scrapes along the path of life, but that’s the nature of living on this Earth. We get bruised, we get up and keep moving. While I’m on this Earth, they know I’m always here. When I’m no longer on this Earth, I will still be with them. I won’t be making soup or giving hugs, but oh how I will be loving them in ways that they can’t even begin to imagine!
And what of my home? What happens now? Who do I nurture when there are no ‘chicks’ in my nest? The beauty of going through the intense pressure-cooker world of parenting is that over the years you find yourself asking ‘But what about me? What do I need?’ Thankfully, I have become skilled at meeting my own needs. I am finding more and more that I have a lot of time to focus on what I love, enjoy, savour and need. No longer am I at the back of the queue, but wooo hooo I’m at the front! This is fun. I guess this is what it’s like for a kid in a candy shop. I get to choose anything I want.
This fortnight, with Eliza overseas, has given me a taster for life when she leaves home in two months. Yes, it will feel oh-so different. There’s no question that it will take adjusting to, and I will surely miss that radiant smile and her wise and witty chatting, but I am confident in my ability to make the most of the years ahead and my dedication to self nurturing.
The truth is, though, that long before I had children I would love to create beautiful and nurturing living spaces for myself. I honoured my need for healthy and vibrant meals, and created them from scratch. My rooms were filled with the sound of music. My friends would come for dinner. Home was, and still is, my foundation in this world. My garden and our cat still need tending to. I have books to birth inside these walls.
My husband is rather fond of curry, so I expect he’ll see that on the menu a lot more often when it’s just the two of us here. My main thought, though, is how quickly I can get used to shopping and cooking for only two people. Already it feels like there’s something major missing! However, I found myself standing in the speciality food section this morning and smiling: all those goodies I can get to experiment with in my cooking.
I am so grateful for these past twenty plus years as a stay-at-home mother, and being able to create a nurturing space for my family. More than anything, though, I am grateful that I can pass on the baton of ‘home, family, mothering, love and nurturing’ to my daughters, and for them to express that in ways that are meaningful for them.
The heart of our family nest
*** What does home mean to you? Do you feel that your style of homemaking and nurturing within the home is similar to how your mother/father created the home of your childhood? What are your favourite ways to nurture yourself?
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