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Tour Itinerary
Short Version
See itinerary at right  for details

IRELAND

A Seabhean Celtic Journey

Departure: September 21 - 29, 2010

with an Optional Extension to Dublin and Newgrange

September 29 - October 1, 2010

Locally Hosted by International Teacher and Facilitator Amantha Murphy

Join your Sisters for a journey to enlighten, enrich and nourish your soul.  This is a journey introduces you to the way of the Seabhean. The Seabhean is the wise woman who crosses the path between the worlds. She holds the presence and abilities of the Shaman and the wisdom of the wise Cailleach.

The Shamanic tradition goes back over many thousands of years. Each clan or grouping of people held in reverence the Shamanic Way. This Way allows a person to Journey into these worlds for healing, for answers, for visions, which brings a sense of continuity, wholeness and integration for self and for the clan.

The Cailleach holds sacred the Mysteries/Rites of Passage for women and for the clan. She reminds us of who we are and the sacredness of passing on our tradition. Re-weaving, Re-membering, Re-trieving allows us to Re-claim our Passion and our Power.

  Retrace the footsteps of the ancient people of the Great Goddess!  Her timeless spiritual presence is waiting to meet you!

Your Celtic and Shamanic Host in Ireland

Amantha Murphy: “I grew up spending my summers in Kerry with my grandmother, a midwife and healer, who opened my awareness from an early age to the essence of the Mother, the Land and Her Nature.” Amantha started her spiritual work 39 years ago as a clairvoyant and moved on to trance mediumship. She developed many tools along the way with her spirit and ancestral teachers guiding. Amantha is a Mother and Grandmother and lives in Kerry, Ireland with her two younger children, working primarily with the Land, Rites of Passage, Ancient Goddess Pilgrimages and Shamanic Healing.

TOUR ITINERARY
(B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)

Day 1, Tuesday, September 21: Depart from Home / To Ireland
Depart this evening for Shannon International Airport, Ireland. Please arrange your flights to arrive no later than 11:00 AM to meet with your airport transfer to Killarney. Very important: If you are interested in only the Main Tour, you should book roundtrip flights in and out of Shannon. If you plan on extending your tour to include Dublin, you will fly into Shannon and out of Dublin.
Note: Body Mind Spirit Journeys will be happy to assist you with your flight plans.

Day 2, Wednesday, September 22: Arrival in Ireland /

Tour Begins / Grange Stone Circle / Welcome Dinner (D)
Morning arrival in Ireland where you meet your escort and guide, Amantha. You board your motor coach and depart the airport en route to Killarney. You’ll stop at the Grange Stone Circle, the largest stone circle in Ireland. A grange is the name given in Ireland to a ring-fort or stone circle. The word "grange" is an English rendering of the Irish word "Grian", which means "Sun". This relates to the theory that stone circles in Ireland were connected with sun worship.  Then continue to your charming Irish hotel in Killarney, home base for your time here in County Kerry, in southwestern Ireland. Rest and settle in before your Welcome Dinner at the hotel. Overnight Killarney.
 
Day 3, Thursday, September 23: Attunement / Paps of Anu / Ballyvourney (B)
After breakfast and Attunement, you depart for your drive through the lovely Irish countryside. You journey first to 'the City', nestled beneath the Paps of Anu, where you take time to commune with Anu, the Great Mother Goddess. Notice how the 'Paps' are the two mountains shaped like her breasts. Legend says this is where the Shining Ones, the people of the Great Mother Goddess Anu, lived. Open your heart to receive a blessing from them.  Then you continue to Ballyvourney Church in County Cork to see one of the remaining Irish Sheela-na-gigs, an ancient symbol of woman's freedom and creativity. They are sometimes associated with "hags" or the Crone and are often seen as the wild woman in Irish myth. The ‘Sheela’ is situated above a window on the south wall of the church. She is still visited regularly, especially each year on February 11, the feast day of St. Gobnait’s, a woman saint who built a convent in the area and was known for her healing powers with honey. During the pilgrimage rubbing of the image is part of the ritual. Perhaps you will also be able to touch and feel her, as you commune with her in meditation to honor the wild aspect of yourselves. Your last stop for the day is the local sacred well that has long been visited as a place of pilgrimage. Many of the sacred wells in Ireland were originally the sites of pagan shrines. The Celts believed the earth's waters were especially sacred and healing, that they issued from the realm of the Underworld Goddess who ruled both birth and death, and linked her domain with the upper world. The waters represented her eternal wisdom and her life giving properties. The common people believed that the easiest way for them to gain access to the Otherworld was through the divine springs and wells. Every well had its own guardian spirit or local goddess who presided over it. Here you will facilitate your sacred ritual, or "doing the rounds", during which you will encircle the well a certain number of times, while reciting your prayers and/or affirmations. You then offer water to the Mother Earth in thanksgiving, then to your own face, and finally you drink of Her lifeblood! (Bring a small plastic bottle and you can take some of the blessed water home with you!) After lunch on your own with the group at a local inn, you return to your hotel. You have free time until your late afternoon Sharing Circle to connect with your Sisters. Dinner on your own. Try some of the great local Irish fare. Overnight Killarney.

Day 4, Friday, September 24:  Ring of Kerry (B/L/D)

Your full day of exploration is around the world-famous Ring of Kerry, a winding scenic route on the Iveragh Peninsula that connects the communities of Killorglin, Cahersiveen, Waterville, Sneem, and Kenmare in south-western Ireland. Some say it’s the best that Ireland has to offer…with its romantic glens, towering peaks and constantly changing color. As you visit the various places and interact with the landscape, focus on your Maiden, Mother and Crone and see where and when you connect more fully with each aspect. What brings Her out? What keeps Her inside? Is She happy? Is She sad? Reflective? Joyful? This is an awesome opportunity to live the gamut of yourself today!

You’re on to ancient Cahergall Fort (Caher Gael) at Cahersiveen, built by the first Celts around AD 600. Like many ancient forts the local community used it as a supply of building material after it was abandoned around AD 900. The current reconstruction of the dry stone wall of the ring fort gives a good idea of what it might have looked like in its day. A small settlement of beehive huts was in the settlement; one is partially rebuilt.

You stop for your group lunch at the Smuggler's Inn outside of Waterville, (An CoireÁn - The Little Whirlpool), the premier coastal tourist centre on the Ring of Kerry. Afterwards, you’ll visit a nearby 5,000 year old stone circle, where legend says Amhairghin, the Milesian bard landed when he led his people to Ireland during the Milesian invasion. His magic was powerful. You take time to commune with his ancient energies.

 
Day 5, Saturday, September 25: In Killarney /

Seabhean Program Day 1 (B)

Today you get an introduction to the Way of the Seabhean.  The Seabhean is the wise woman who crosses the path between the worlds. She holds the presence and abilities of the Shaman and the wisdom of the wise Cailleach. Throughout time, there have always been women who have held sacred The Way. These were the light bringers, the keepers of the Lore and Land, the Holders of the Sacred Spiral Wheel, the wise old woman, the Cailleach, the Seabhean.  In this workshop you’ll use ancient pre-Celtic Shamanic paths to awaken again this aspect within you, journeying to the place of your ancestors and totems, using drumming, sound and movement. You will work with the Goddesses within the Pre-Celtic Wheel using their myths and stories to awaken within you your stories and place within your personal wheel. You’ll weave the web of your energetic bodies to live in the authenticity of your life, weaving the web of your physical bodies to create a web of holding within the group - weaving the Sisterhood of the Seabhean. You return to the hotel in the evening. Overnight Killarney.

Day 6, Sunday, September 26: In Killarney /

Seabhean Program Day 2 (B)

Today is a continuation of the Way of the Seabhean program. You return to the hotel in the evening. Overnight Killarney.

Day 7, Monday, September 27: Torc Waterfall /

Seven Sisters Stone Circle (B)
This morning you visit Torc Waterfall, in Killarney National Park, 60 ft high with surrounding trees, and views of the Lake area on the way up to the waterfall….yet another place of the fairies. As you relax beside the running water, take time to meditate and connect with the magical child inside, your Maiden who is in ecstasy and can sense and connect with the elementals!  

Afterwards, you’re off to the Seven Sister's Stone Circle, a stone circle from the Bronze Age in Lissivigeen near Killarney town. These stones of the circle are known locally as the Seven Sisters, while the outlying stones are known as pipers or musicians. This is the place of the Grandmothers, where you hold a Sacred Ceremony to connect with the Crones. Return to your hotel where you have the evening free to sample some of the wonderful Killarney restaurants in town. Overnight Killarney

Day 8, Tuesday, September 28: Dingle Peninsula /

Sharing Circle / Farewell Dinner (B/D)
Your destination today is the glorious Dingle Peninsula with its wealth of early Christian sites and where you enjoy the rare beauty of the light and color of the Atlantic ocean stretching out before us. Your touring will also include the Garralus Oratory and the Celtic Christian beehive huts before returning to your hotel in the late afternoon when you are free to relax by the lake or explore the area on your own. Evening Sharing Circle at the hotel. For your last night in Ireland your Farewell Dinner at your hotel. Overnight Killarney.

Day 9, Wednesday, September 29: Tour ends / Depart Ireland / Optional Extension to Dublin & Newgrange (B)

Transfer to Shannon Airport for your flight back home, or take an optional tour to Dublin and Newgrange.

OPTIONAL EXTENSION TO DUBLIN & NEWGRANGE

Day 9, Wednesday, September 29: To Dublin (B)

Transfer to the rail station where you board your train for the journey across Ireland to Dublin, the capital of and largest city in Ireland, located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the center of the Dublin Region. A city with humble beginnings as a Viking trading port, Dublin evolved into a walled medieval city and then into an elegant Georgian metropolis with wide streets, gracious squares and great houses, neatly bordered by its two canals.  This part of your tour will be locally hosted. Check in at the hotel and then a tour of the city. Evening and dinner on your own.  Overnight Dublin.

Day 10, Monday, September 30:  Dublin / Newgrange /

Hill of Tara (B)

Today you’ll visit one of the world’s most famous archaeological valleys, the Boyne Valley, 30 miles from Dublin. Here the development of man can be traced back over 9,000 years to Neolithic times, with many well-preserved sites, buildings and monuments. The highlight of your visit is to one of Ireland’s most important sacred sites, the spectacular world-famous passage grave or passage Tomb of Newgrange with its kerbstones and megalithic art. Newgrange, with its sister sites Knowth and Dowth, were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and feature some stunning examples of megalithic art, including the beautifully carved entrance stone. Continue as you visit another of Ireland’s most important sacred sites, The Hill of Tara, which is said to represent the mother womb of Ireland. The Hill of Tara was once the ancient seat of power in Ireland – 142 kings are said to have reigned there in prehistoric and historic times. In ancient Irish religion and mythology it was the sacred place of dwelling for the gods, and was the entrance to the other world. Sitting on top of the King's Seat is the most famous of Tara's Monuments, Ireland's ancient coronation stone, known as the Lia Fáil or "Stone of Destiny", which was brought here, according to mythology, by Tuatha De Danann as one of their sacred objects. It was said to roar when touched by the rightful king of Tara. You have time to meditate in this powerful place to connect with the ancient and other-worldly energies. Later return to your hotel. Dinner on your own at one of the city’s local restaurants.  Overnight  Dublin.

Day 11, Tuesday, October 1:  Tour Extension ends / Depart Ireland (B)

Transfer to Dublin International Airport for your flight back home.

Please note: This itinerary is subject to change without notice due to circumstances beyond our control. Pre/post nights are available upon request. Travel insurance is highly recommended.  Some inclusions may not be available on indicated dates and dates may have to be adjusted.  Listed local Hosts and guides are subject to availability and will be hosting your itinerary wherever possible. However, due to scheduling, there may be some times when the local Host or guide is not available. If this occurs, BMSJ will provide a comparable and experienced substitute.

TOUR PRICES: 
** Bonus! SAVE! You will receive a 5% discount if ALL payments are made by check or money order. This discounted price is noted below in red.