Stones and StarsPilgrimage in Portugal
Check back after COVID-19 travel restrictions are lifted. Join us where megaliths meet the Milky Way as we turn our “quality of attention” toward the stars in Portugal’s vast Alentejo plain, home of the world’s first designated Starlight Reserve and the Neolithic landscape known as the Iberian Mesopotamia. We step into the threshold between heaven and earth in this weeklong pilgrimage as we turn our attention toward the heavens to explore the energetics involved in the celestial alignment of standing stones, and come into resonance with megalithic portal stones for the reciprocal transfer of information. We examine astrological archetypes and star myths that map the underlying patterns of creation, reconnecting with ancient ways of knowing as we explore our own embodiment of the cosmos and the wisdom within it. We meet in the UNESCO World Heritage city of Evora to begin our journey deep into the dark core of Portugal's Alentejo region. Known for a high concentration of Neolithic-aged megalithic monuments, this ancient land was home to Lusitanian, Celtic, Roman, and Moorish peoples, and has been a place of human settlement since the Stone Age.
We will spend our week in Alentejo’s Starlight Reserve, where we linger comfortably for five nights in rural lodgings to take in sacred sites by day and starry skies by night, contemplating the pattern of the universe. We return to Evora on our final day for a ritual encounter with the one of the oldest and largest stone circles in Europe.
Earn Graduate Level Academic CreditOpen to everyone over the age of 18, this Earth Shamans pilgrimage is also offered for graduate level academic credit in partnership with The Wisdom School of Graduate Studies at Ubiquity University. Contact the University Registrar for additional academic requirements and to pay the university fee for academic credit.
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Explore Other Ways of KnowingWe call all adventurous and curious souls interested in an experience of land energetics and exploring sacred sites, or who seek a deeper engagement with new places beyond what the average tourist sees. Earth Shamans Co-Founders Calen Rayne and Laura Esculcas take us on explorations into other ways of knowing in Stones and Stars.
Rev. Dr. Calen Rayne is a Unitarian Universalist Lay Community Minister and Spiritual Director in Buxton, Maine In both his Spiritual Direction and Earth Medicine practices, Dr. Rayne draws on experience and training in following disciplines: labyrinth, reiki, kaballah, meditation, energy healing, Himalayan singing bowl, earth energies, feng shui/space clearing, dowsing, contemplative brush, Egyptian Bio-geometry, alchemy, sacred geometry, Druid geomancy and medical intuitive work. He has trained with alchemists of the first religion of the Himalayas (nameless religion), known as “patterns of heaven and earth” or “sacred conventions.” Dr. Rayne serves as President of Healing and Expressive arts chapter of UU Society for Community Ministries and is a member of Spiritual Director’s International, American Association of Pastoral Counselors, Association for Transpersonal Psychology and American Academy of Religion.
Laura Esculcas is a leadership and spiritual development coach, Advanced Certified Labyrinth Facilitator, a member of the Veriditas Faculty, and holds both an M.A. in Wisdom Studies and a B.A. in Chemical Engineering, and a guide to sacred sites in Portugal. In workshops and pilgrimages, Laura invites participants to explore practices for experiencing sacred space in our secular time. Originally from the US and having worked in Silicon Valley for over 10 years in high tech operations and management, Laura moved to Portugal to pursue her dream of an integrated life lived as a shared sacred journey. She lives near Lisbon with her husband and son.
Join us for two weeks in Portugal with our Mystical Portugal and Stones and Stars back-to-back Pilgrimages.
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Welcome to Portugal's Alentejo!The vast Alentejo (literally "beyond the Tejo") spans south of Lisbon from the Tejo River to the Serra de Monchique, and from the Atlantic coast to the Spanish border. Alentejo, the Iberian Mesopotamia, is home to standing stones, medieval villages, ancient olive groves, world class wines, and the world's first designated Starlight Reserve, making it the perfect place to contemplate our relationship with the earth and the cosmos.
Our home base, Monte Saraz, is a rural eighteenth-century 'monte' (a typical Alentejo farming estate) which has been restored to its original state. We will have full use of this comfortable and quiet retreat composed of separate farmhouses and a main building with suites. Please note that the hotel is not included in the pilgrimage price. See your registration packet for complete details.
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A sneak preview of scenes from this pilgrimage...
Pilgrimage Registration InformationRegistration Fee: TBA
Early Bird: TBA Included:
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