PLANT SPIRIT SHAMANISM
THE RETURN OF THE SERPENT WORKSHOPS IN THE UK
WITH ROSS HEAVEN AND GUILLERMO ARAVELO
October 22-25 2008 and
October 25-28 2008
On these unique workshops – a true first in the UK - we explore our connection to nature and the folkways, medicines, and wisdom of our ancestors as we restore balance to our souls through the healing and visionary powers of ayahuasca, one of the world’s greatest teacher plants, which is said to be “born of a snake”.
Two workshops are offered (you can also attend both if you wish), with three ayahuasca ceremonies on each. We prepare for these by following the shaman’s diet, just as it has been practiced for thousands of years by plant spirit shamans and ayahuasceros.
We also purify ourselves with limpia: cleansing baths using flowers and herbs to refresh body and soul, change luck, confer spiritual blessings, and open ourselves to the healing that the vine of souls can bring.
Alongside the vine we also diet native plant mixtures for lucid dreaming, so we are better prepared for, and more receptive to, the spirit of the vine.
Shamanic practices, exercises, and attunements are used to deepen our connection to our enlightened ancestors and the natural world, and during our ceremonies, icaros - sacred chants of the Amazonian shamans - will guide our journeys and call the spirits of healing and vision.
The workshop component is led by Ross Heaven, an internationally-respected teacher of shamanism and the author of Plant Spirit Wisdom, Plant Spirit Shamanism, and The Sin Eater’s Last Confessions, highly-regarded works on the plant medicines of Peru, Haiti, and the native traditions of Britain, Ireland, and Wales.
Ceremonies are led by Guillermo Aravelo, a Shipibo maestro (master) and international expert on the vine of souls. The Shipibo are revered throughout the Amazon as “the masters of ayahuasca” and Guillermo is regarded by his peers as “the master’s master”: the highest authority on ayahuasca.
Guillermo is a master shaman, ayahuascero, and vegetalista descended from many generations of healers. In 1982, he founded the Application of Traditional Medicines Project (AMETRA) in Pucallpa, Peru, to collect information on plants and indigenous healing techniques. Through this project and his reputation as a healer, he has become a much sought-after speaker and ceremonialist at major international conferences, and is a consultant to many authorities on Amazonian medicines. He has participated in numerous documentaries about the Shipibo, including Jan Kounen's 2003 feature film, Renegade.
In 2004, he established Espíritu de Anaconda, a botanical sanctuary and shamanic healing centre in the Amazon where traditional Shipibo medicine is practiced. Guillermo’s mission and passion is to teach, revitalise, disseminate, and preserve the wisdom and practices of Amazonian plant medicine.
Ross Heaven was described by Guardian journalist James Shreeve as “the Joseph Campbell of our times”. He is a psychologist, workshop presenter, and the author of more than 10 books on shamanism, plant medicines, and the healing traditions, including Plant Spirit Shamanism, Plant Spirit Wisdom, and The Sin Eater’s Last Confessions.
He first visited Peru in the 1990’s to work with the ayahuasceros and curanderos of the Amazon and Andes, and with ayahuasca and San Pedro, the two legendary sacraments and teacher plants used by the shamans of these regions to heal the mind, body, and soul, and to unlock new levels of expanded awareness.
As well as leading workshops and ayahuasca ceremonies throughout Europe and the UK, Ross also offers others the opportunity to visit Peru as part of his Magical Earth and Cactus of Vision retreat programmes where participants work with indigenous healers and explore new consciousness through shamanic encounters with visionary plants. (See www.thefourgates.com for details of these Sacred Journeys).
Comments by Previous Return of the Serpent Participants
I feel lighter, as though all the stuff I have worked through is behind me. I am determined to have a happy life and have gotten to work on that immediately. Thank you for a really beautiful workshop. Sharon
I learned so much! I am feeling much more love and openness for everyone, as well as having more clarity and strength – exactly what I need! Kirsty, participant (three years running) and on The Magical Earth Adventure to Peru
How to express what the experience meant to me... well last night I was laying on my bed with my 18 year old daughter, who wanted to know what her Mum had been doing. I smiled at her and started to say something about it being a sort of retreat, and then something shifted and probably for the first time ever, I really told her what was inside me... I cried and laughed and hugged myself with the sheer pleasure of some of the memories, insights, and changes. She just sat there completely transfixed... it was the most honest conversation I had ever had with her - and probably the best example of what this experience has meant to me. I feel like when I speak with people, in fact in whatever I do, there is a feeling of communion and honesty that floods through me and I wonder if I will ever be able to bullshit again! This is a beginning of something profoundly real in my life and I am deeply grateful for the experience Amanda
I left feeling much lighter and happier, thinking of all the possibilities that lie ahead, a week later I am still feeling that way. I have been astonished daily and can honestly say, Ross was right, nature IS alive and is talking to us. I feel much more attached to nature and way more in-tune. So nature was saying “here, change the way you see things, focus on what you really want, and everything will come back to you in abundance, doors will open and everything will flourish”! Sharon
The sheer size and scale of my breakthroughs on the weekend are difficult to exaggerate. I feel different now - very much alive and very much in tune with what I want for myself and the world. Inside I feel great, in my head and my heart. I guess the key difference is how I feel: I know that the world and I fit perfectly into each other - which feels pretty damn cool. Thank you for enabling these changes. Ben, participant on this and The Magical Earth Adventure
The only thing I don't miss is the shamanic diet! Ooooh, dinners taste wonderful with salt! Loads of love, Jules
Workshop Itineraries – Both Events
(Timings are approximate)
Day 1
9-11.30am: Arrivals and registration
12pm: Circle meeting and introduction to plant spirit shamanism with Ross
1pm: Lunch
2pm-5.30pm: Workshops with Ross
6pm: Introduction to maestro Guillermo Aravelo
7pm: Meditation and reflection time
9pm: First ayahuasca ceremony with Guillermo, Ross, and Guillermo’s apprentices
Day 2
8am: Breakfast
9am: Ayahuasca visions: Meeting with Guillermo
10am: Circle meeting and discussion of ayahuasca experiences with Ross
11am: Workshop with Ross
1pm: Lunch
2pm-5.30pm: Workshops with Ross
6pm: Meditation and reflection time
9pm: Second ayahuasca ceremony with Guillermo, Ross, and Guillermo’s apprentices
Day 3
8am: Breakfast
9am: Ayahuasca visions: Meeting with Guillermo
10am: Circle meeting and discussion of ayahuasca experiences with Ross
11am: Workshop with Ross
1pm: Lunch
2pm-5.30pm: Workshops with Ross
6pm: Meditation and reflection time
9pm: Third ayahuasca ceremony with Guillermo, Ross, and Guillermo’s apprentices
Day 4
8am: Breakfast
9am: Circle meeting, discussions, and farewells with Guillermo and Ross
11am: Departure for those not attending both workshops.
Booking and Information
To book your place, please email ross@thefourgates.com for a free Information Pack.