Whispers of Merlin’s Mountain

Invitation

We invite you to embark on a three-night initiation, sparking you to become the magicians that you truly are, going beyond the mundanity to live life as a mythic journey.

You will be invited to “look again” to see the Celtic wonderland with new eyes, opening an inner portal to its richness, magic, and aliveness.

On our journey we will rediscover the ruins and lost realms of our ancestors, meeting allies and teachers along the way – sometimes in unexpected guises – to assist us in our quest.

Our journey will culminate in ascending Merlin’s Mountain. And who knows, if we are lucky, we may hear his whispers.

Description

Merlin has many faces; wizard, arch-druid, shaman and shapeshifter, poet and prophet, seer, astronomer, healer, and guide of ancient kings. However you experience him, he is a powerful presence in the collective psyche, and one which can be called upon to assist us in our personal development, spiritual evolution, creative expression and indeed all aspects of our lives. Merlin calls for the balance of nature and culture, and by connecting with his essence we may bring greater balance to ourselves and by extension the world at large.

In this initiation we will work with a variety of practices to open this connection. Each of the three days will offer a drop of “awen”, or poetic inspiration, that ambrosial elixir of inspiration said to give birth to bards, mystics, and poets. The aim is to release ourselves from the stories which bind us to perceived limitations and to open the way for more vibrant, empowered, and magical ways of being to arise. We will work with stillness and silence, wild walks in the extraordinary local landscape, nature immersion, subtle communication, live performance, and storytelling. These activities will support us to receive the guidance, wisdom, healing, and whispers of nature, including those of Merlin.

For those who aspire for deeper initiation we will make invitations to challenge yourself and tap into your inner wildness from cold water immersion to wild walks at night.

Our intention is to balance our time between experiencing Merlin in his natural home – the great outdoors, and spending time in the beautiful spaces of Trigonos, including storytelling evenings in the cosy, fire-lit library. There will be feasting, there will be sharing, there will be playfulness and mindfulness. There will be space for you to relax and enjoy the wonders of Trigonos retreat centre and the surrounding area, to reflect, journal and process in a supportive environment. Inspiration may find you in unexpected moments. If you are keen to attune to the flow of awen for your own creative projects this retreat may open the way.

We look forward to meeting you in the place where myth and magic meets the present, for what promises to be a rich and transformative time.

Activities

Storytelling – Including myths and histories of Merlin/Myrddin and his associations with the land we tread. Opportunities to begin to develop your own storytelling skills.

Performances – Including ‘Into The Dragon’s Womb’, letting the ancient myths wash over and work on you.

Conversations – Talking to ancient archetypes and beings to awaken forgotten knowledge.

Poetry – Learning to see the landscape and our life expression with the eyes of a poet. To playfully read and write easy poetry.

Cold water baptisms – Purifying and catalysing the natural wildness.

Meditation – Harnessing traditions such as zen, knowing that the druids would have employed similar techniques.

Journaling – Learning to write in a stream of consciousness, accessing deeper places within.

Plant whispering and radical listening

Wild walking – Learning to walk through the forest with the presence of an indigenous person.

Rituals and ceremonies

Facilitators

Buzzard

Buzzard is a modern-day Seer and Bard. He is the son of two traditions: Zen and the Druidic mysteries: having spent 20 years in Asia working and learning Zen, in 2018 he was initiated ‘Buzzard’ on rites of passage and pilgrimage through the Celtic lands. He is passionate about leading vision walks/pilgrimages and designing initiations, teaching us how to see and engage with the land in a different way, and has led them in Asia, South America, and the British Isles.

In recent years he has moved back from Asia to live on the lands of his ancestors in Conwy near Snowdonia, Wales. He is proud to be a second-generation practitioner of the Celtic mysteries and Merlin, following the footsteps of his mother Denise. He is in communication with indigenous elders around the world and believes we are at a poignant and prophetic moment of history where all the tribes need to fly together to fulfil our human destiny…

In the world of corporates and muggles, he goes by the name of Benjamin J Butler (www.benjaminjbutler.com) and is known as a Futurist, advising the leadership of numerous organisations including the United Nations, Horasis, American Renewable Energy Institute and Ubiquity University. He has spoken extensively around the world.

Lucas Davey

Lucas is a trained druidic bard, published author (of The Whispering Pearls), nature and visionary artist and forest gardener who is passionate about this ancient and sacred landscape we inhabit, its wildlife and our connection and relationship to them.

Adopted at birth, he has always held a fascination with both our personal and collective historical and cultural ‘roots’, particularly with exploring and revealing those alchemical pathways, places and stories of our past hidden or lost to the mists of time.

In line with his family’s tradition (his great grandfather founded The Byre Theatre in St Andrews, Scotland), Lucas turned his bardic talents to creating Into the Dragon’s Womb, a production he recently performed to rave reviews on the Goddess Fyr Stage at this year’s Medicine Festival. Into the Dragon’s Womb is more than just theatre, but explores the actor’s role as shaman, plunging the audience into a mythological deep-dive which, as one audience member wrote, “touches the core of who we are, reminding us of our role and responsibilities within the greater web of all beings”. For further information go to https://www.dragonswomb.com/

Milly Jackdaw

In 1996 Milly had a profound and unexpected encounter with Merlin whilst meditating in the eye of the neolithic, chalk figure carved into the side of Whitehorse Hill. Milly subsequently fulfilled her dream of becoming a professional performer and worked as such with an environmental children’s theatre company. Milly also facilitated workshops and ran nature-based residencies in London primary schools.

A relocation to Wales in 2007 initiated a deepening of her interest in storytelling and since then she has created 11 full length storytelling shows as well as telling stories in a whole host of settings, formal and informal, inside and out. She has studied Welsh Mythology, trained in field ecology, plant whispering and animal communication, is a trustee of ecological restoration charity Coetir Anian, and has completed a rewilding apprenticeship.

This year Milly has been supported by Arts Council Wales to research and develop a storytelling performance based on the tales and histories of Merlin. The resulting show was showcased at Beyond the Border Storytelling festival and Aberystwyth Arts Centre and will be toured next year. For further information go to www.millyjackdaw.com/blog