samhain retreat
Circling the well
we gather together,
bodies in space
We gather together to remember ourselves as part of the land and our ancestral peoples. Reweaving severed culture, plant kin relationships, and connection to our own bodies, we root down so that we may play our part in unspelling empire.
Circling the Well is a weekend in-person retreat for european descended settlers cultivating connection to ancestral culture & devotional relationship with land
We come together to reweave cultural lineage, reckon with our ancestral legacies, and reconnect with the sacred to support us in meeting this political moment firmly rooted in who we are and who we want to be.
We will engage in creative, ritual & somatic practices to cultivate relationships with land, plant kin, ancestors, and each other. Our time together will include embodied listening practices, personal reflection, community discussion, quiet time with the land, dreaming with the ancestors, explorations into relationships with plants, and more. Expect lots of time with each other, as well as the land and the kin of your lineage. There will be space for grief, for joy, for awe and for remembrance.
Throughout the weekend, we will be in the practice of deep, deep listening, devotion, being with what emerges from within, and collectively dreaming toward the world to come.
As with all of the work I facilitate, this offering is made in service to a world beyond whiteness and movements for justice & healing.
Join us in circle Oct 30 – Nov 1, 2026 at Bent Birch Retreat Center as we gather with likeminded community to be held, challenged and transformed through deepening with land, ancestors and lineage.
Hi, i’m rowan.
i’m a qt facilitator, folklorist, herbalist, somatic bodyworker and researcher. im a third gen settler living on n america / turtle island of Irish, Lithuanian, Scottish & Sicilian peoples. i believe deeply in the transformative power of anticolonial cultural reclamation, in service to a world beyond whiteness. join me in person as we remember our peoples, reconnect to the land and commit ourselves to the present work of dismantling empire within & without.
we gather together to listen & remember the land, our peoples, and ourselves.
DETAILS:
- We will gather in person for weekend work this coming Samhain season – Friday Oct 30 – Sunday Nov 1, 2026
We will be together Friday – Monday at Bent Birch Retreat Center in W. Massachusetts. Arrival time will be Friday late afternoon, between 4-6p ET, and we will begin together at dinner. Departure will be at 4pm on Sunday. - Retreat experience includes 6 meals (Friday dinner to Sunday lunch) & snacks as well as shared room accomodations are included. Camping is also an option for folks if that is your preference!
- Space will be limited for intimacy – approximately 10 people plus facilitators
- Price will be on a sliding scale as usual. The rate for this weekend based on retreat rental and food costs is $550 – $950, including all meals and shared-room accomodations.
- Participants will be asked to attend the entire weekend, staying for the duration and not arriving late//leaving early
- We will spend time indoors and outdoors, so please bring warm gear and other things like camp chairs, blankets, etc and anything else that will support your comfort and participation.
- For DJ and health of the group: folks will be asked to covid test twice in the week prior before coming; you will be asked to mask in all public spaces the week leading up to our retreat (grocery stores, bars, gas stations, etc); and will be asked to stay home if they test positive or otherwise are sick. Please mitigate your exposure so that we can all safely gather. On site, we will have air purifiers running in all indoor spaces.
Interested in participating? Fill out the interest survey, hop on the waitlist, and hear first when registration is formally open!
Registration will open in August 2026 – space is limited.
PS – Can’t make this date? Hop onto the waitlist to hear about future retreats in Spring (March) 2027.
why in person work now?
i’ve been doing this work online for 6 years, and lately ive been dreaming of the possibilities of doing this work in person together. i’ve been letting that call linger in the air, feeling what might be, open to seeing what emerges. facilitating the first cohort of wellspring: exploring the three cauldrons and embodied white supremacy only clarified the path forward for me: that in addition to offering work online, it’s also time to begin to move in person. to be bodies in a room together. to be on the same land, feet in dirt, head tilted up to the sky. to be sharing air, sharing voice, feeling each other as we connect to ancestors, to land, to plants, to spirit.
to that end, i’ve decided to be facilitate weekend in-person offerings around the same themes i host online. if you are interested in being a part of upcoming in-person retreats that weave ancestral plants, embodiment practice and ritual for european-descended settlers on turtle island, you can read more and add yourself to the interest list here: Circling the Well: Ancestral Reconnection Retreat