SPRING RETREAT: 2025

a sometimes silent retreat - beltane time, first days of May, a festival of flowers, a field of practice. even now, the world still blooms. especially now, we can’t forget the blooming. weave yourself into the year, water your heart.

 
 

May 1-4, 2025 at Hope Springs Institute

Appalachian Ohio

* kind humans welcome *

 
 

An invitation to linger on the precipice of new growth. The greening happens so slow, and then all at once. Can we pause, watch the leaves bud? Break free? Circle round, nestle in close, get quiet, listen deeply, find our voice again. We gather, make our offerings, root down, a whole cycle of blooming, ripening, harvest sprawls out before us. A field of practice. A temple of belonging.

Rest, Resource, Recalibrate.

Remember, Release, Reimagine.

A journey together, filled with poetry and pause. A journey together, from the quiet to emergence.

Days of spaciousness, connection and care, the folkwork of being together. The gentle freedom, your own cadence. Where our attention (and our dreams) travel to. The days grow longer, the sun stronger, we turn toward it, warm our faces in the light. We come with our humanity and our spirit hearts, lean into grief and uncertainty with care, be held by the land and each other, seen and unseen.

In contemplation and in circle, in silence and in story, we remember who we’ve been and who we are becoming. Who we can be together. Honor the past. Dream new futures.

Come as you are, in your human-ness, your human-mess.

Give yourself a break, a breath. Walk in kindness.

This is space for whatever needs space.

This is embodied, permissive, liberatory practice in service of a life of connection.

 
 

Join us for:

. spaciousness and rest

. heartfelt offerings, seasonal and elemental blessings

. portals to self & spirit, a refinement of meaning

. sometimes silence: a dreamy, connective space for anyone seeking a quieter way to be with themselves + others

. experiences of imagination and intuition

. story & song without perfection

. creative practice & play without expectation

. contemplative moments to stoke curiosity and inspiration

. unscripted and explorative opportunities for expression

. a sacred, intentionally held container for discovery and delight

. daily offerings, circle, and lots of poetry with Gwendolyn Ren

. sound & sounding, nature spells with Stacey Pickering

WITH OFFERINGS FROM:

breath + community keening with Libby Smith & more to be announced soon

no experience needed. all offerings are crafted with care and offered with love, and are, of course, completely optional.

 
 
 
 
 

Sometimes Silence:

Our retreat time will be hosted by Gwen and Stacey and held in the loving structure of “Sometimes Silence”, a flow between quiet, spacious days interspersed with circle practice and opportunities for intentional connection.

Subject to whim and weather, here is what I’m dreaming for this Spring gathering:

  • Arrival Day - a nourishing, grounding dinner. a gentle practice together, settle our bodies and our breath. meet each other. meet ourselves. set the tone and spaces of our time together.

  • Day Two - wake to quiet. morning fire. do the dance of sometimes, mostly silent - all day and that night. practice trusting the spaciousness. connect in/with nature.

  • Day Three - wake to quiet, and then let it rattle loose. morning fire. spaces of circle, emergent connections. find yourself in conversation or preserve your silence.

  • Departure Day - gentle morning, gentle practice. decide what to take back with you.

Another way to be together, this format offers a shift from the habitual: the ways we communicate, connect, find belonging. An invitation to come together with the intention of quietude but without rigidity, expanses of time without pretense, small talk, or expectation.

This sort of structure is profoundly permissive, and allows for our time to be a healing bridge between the personal experience and the communal one. We are, and this is, held in the spirit of restful connection.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Hope Springs, our sacred gathering site, offers access to 30 acres of protected forest and prairie including:

  • Walking and hiking sauntering trails

  • Three ponds

  • 11-circuit walking labyrinth

  • Outdoor fire pit 

  • Hot tub

  • Indoor fire place

  • Endless hot tea

  • Nourishing heart crafted meals

You can learn more about Hope Springs here: www.hopespringsinstitute.org/about

 
 
 

Spring Retreat is a 4 day, 3 night retreat lovingly held in Appalachian Ohio, on the land of the Hope Springs Institute.

Hope Springs, in Southern Ohio, is situated just outside the Serpent Mound Crater, where an asteroid or comet impacted Earth between 256 and 330 million years ago. Nearby are the earthworks of Serpent Mound, a prehistoric indigenous effigy.

The Institute uplifts the convergence of spirituality and ecology, and holds space for transformational experiences. Cared for as sacred gathering place for almost three decades, it is a powerful container for our time together.

Our main gathering spaces include an old, well loved Farmhouse, a circular Spirit House for morning meditations over the fire, and the studio, suited for stretching out and cozy afternoon rests.

 
 
 
 
 

Register for SPRING RETREAT

Guaranteed Single : $1500

Shared Room (full price) : $1300

Sliding Scale Registration (shared) : $1100 / $900 / $750

Post Capitalist Relational Pricing Model:

Payment Plans available (up to 6 months if you register in January!)

Notes on Sliding Scale.

Read the FAQ before booking.

Additional financial support may be available through The Circle Way grant program.

Scholarship funds may be available (Would you like to contribute to the scholarship fund? Please reach out!)

 
 

Includes four days and three nights at Hope Springs, all meals, offerings, special tokens and small delights. Travel to and from the retreat is not included. please read the FAQ before booking.

an atlar to Spring Retreat, featuring wild willows and photos from Rita Kovtun.