Born to be Wise: 10 Years of the Wise Woman Weekend

All women are welcome to Glenstal Abbey this August to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Wise Woman Weekend. This is a very special gathering for women of all ages. This weekend festival offers women a chance to explore their creativity, spirituality, health, well-being and to celebrate the feminine in nature and ourselves. The theme for this year’s Wise Woman Weekend is “Emerging Anew” and this is reflected in the workshops on offer, given by highly skilled and experienced facilitators.
 
The Wise Woman Weekend has traditionally been held at Bealtaine in May, but this year, we are celebrating in August at Lughnasadh: the Celtic festival that marks the beginning of harvest. This being the Wise Woman Weekend’s 10th anniversary year, we are truly celebrating the harvest. As Wise Woman Weekend is run entirely on volunteer input (all the organisers and facilitators give their time and talents as a gift) we are harvesting the fruits of the work of the Wise Woman Weekend founders and volunteers over the past 10 years. We honour our ancestors, the women who came before us and gave freely of their time and energy to call this wonderful event into being. We celebrate the present, and the gifts that the current Wise Woman Weekend vision team bring to carry and sustain the event. We are also looking forward to the next ten years of Wise Woman Weekends!
 
Wise Woman Weekend itself is emerging anew this year. We are continuing a journey around Ireland, that brought us from Co Leitrim to Gurteen College, Co Tipperary last year. This August we will be in the school at Glenstal Abbey. This wonderful building is a magical blend of old and new: half-Hogwarts, half palace-of-light! There is even a tree growing out of an old stone wall inside its glass walls! The grounds are beautiful, with mature trees, nature walks, ponds, river and a Lady Garden.
 
As well the workshops, there are many other activities, including: the opening and closing ceremonies and ritual; a collaborative art project; an emotional rescue/quiet meditative space; early morning stretching and late night gong bath; the Made-it-Myself art and craft market; a talk by a wise elder woman; sister groups for support and networking. On the Saturday night, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary at the Wild Woman Banquet and Open Mic Night. This an opportunity to dress up as the goddess you truly are and share your talents with a supportive and friendly audience. At previous Wild Woman socials we have been entertained with stunning poetry, song, comedy, stories, belly-dancing and more. The nine workshops offer plenty of choice for nurturing mind, body and spirit, and include something for all tastes - yoga, writing, dance, drama, shamanic, spiritual, creative and crafty. 
 
Breaking Free  a shamanic workshop with Amantha Murphy.
Creative Energy Healing - honouring the earth and its gifts with Sherrie Scott.
Gud Enuf Woman - what it means to be good enough, with Una Egan.
Let the Beauty we Love be What we Do - poetry, chant and movement with Tribal Call.
New Seasons of Growth - a combination of yoga and journalling with writer Grace Wells.
My Journey on a Stick - a nature-crafty exploration of life’s journey with Tracy Tobin.
Sacred Chant & Dance with circle dancer Derrie McGahon.
Starting from Scratch, how we can choose to create our lives anew, with storyteller Ruth Marshall.
What Would you Hang on the Branches of your Dreaming Tree? A craft workshop with Annah Knight.
 
Our full programme is available on our re-vamped website. Have a look at http://www.wisewomanweekend.com/ for more details on the venue, workshops, facilitators, etc, and to see some gorgeous pictures from last year’s Wise Woman Weekend.