Maiden to Mother Retreat
Navigate the transition from adolescent psychology to adult psychology
Sacred Womens retreats are suitable for:
Those who heed the call to Mothering the world by growing beyond the dependency of youth and towards the generativity of midlife and beyond
People raised in families or systems where emotional nourishment was absent & have taken immense amounts of responsibility for others at the expense of developing their inner child
Mothers or caregivers who feel they’ve had to sacrifice your own needs, creativity and sensuality only to find themselves exhausted or numb
Gaining an understanding of the cultural wounding to the feminine and how to move into an empowered, healthy expression of it
Those looking to embrace the midlife rebirth to reclaim their lives, find greater balance and lay the foundation for the eldership passage
Womens Healing Retreats
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The Surrounds
Work inside or take time outside in the elements to soak in birdsong and nature
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The Space
A tranquil, restful space with bushland views and access to starry skies
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Local Walks
Chase waterfalls after dark on a local spectacular floodlit night walk in Katoomba
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Local Waterfalls
Our retreat centre is within walking distance of healing Mini Ha Ha waterfall
Spiritual Retreats for Women
Testimonials
For years I have felt like I’ve been living but haven’t been alive. Over the last couple of months, that feeling was becoming more than overwhelming, where I knew I needed to do something before my coping strategies would end up killing me.
Randomly found this retreat and booked, 3 days. Yeap - needed more then what Marcus and Ginny offers as standard.
Marcus and Ginny have absolutely changed my life. Their caring and relatable nature, hospitality, active listening, safe space holding, responses and guidance, (as if they had known my story more than I knew it), experience, knowledge with the “airy fairy” spiritual side but also the research / evidence / references, resources and guidance for when I left the retreat - everything, is something I’ll forever be grateful for.
Marcus and Ginny saved my life! And I can’t wait to book in more private, group and courses with them soon.
-Karina Joanna
If you are 'real' about your healing journey or simply are walking to the beat of your own drum 🥁... No matter where you are at - Ginny & Marcus will meet you there. Marcus & Ginny are Masters in their fields. You won't find better.
- Gabrielle V
Totally unique in its approach… you get their one on one attention, time and expertise and you feel nurtured and cared for. It’s far different from anything I’ve ever experienced in my life. They’ve both worked their magic. The yin and the yang have come together and it’s something I’ve never experienced before. This is unique. This is a diamond amongst a load of pebbles.
- Michelle Southan
Women’s Wellness Retreat
Program Outline
Day One
Morning Sessions 9:30am - 12:30pm
You'll gain a deep understanding of what the Maiden (child/innocent) archetype and phase of life represents while exploring the healthy as well as imbalanced relationship you have with your Maiden. This session will also explore how patriarchal conditioning is imposed and how we can untangle it.
Mid Morning Session
The second aspect of the Maiden involves the breaking open or woundedness we all encounter, also known as our Orphaning. Each of us wrestles with this polarity tension differently resulting in particular challenges to resolve and find our gifts through.
Psychologist Eric Erikson felt that if we don't fully integrate or take on the growth of a developmental passage it will trip us up later on in our lives. This session will give you the opportunity to reconnect with exiled parts of yourself and help shed any impediments from stepping into the fullness of the Mother archetype.
Lunch 12:30pm
Afternoon Session 1:00pm - 4:00pm
Breathwork is a valuable tool that helps to bypass the rational mind and work through blockages and outworn beliefs or trauma stored in the body. For those who have not explored this modality before I guide you through the process in a gentle and supportive manner.
Alternatively, you can explore your soul blueprint through either an astrology reading or a numerology reading.
Waterfall Walk (Optional) 4:00 - 6:00pm
Should the weather and your energy levels be accomodating, you can use this time to take in a nearby bushwalk to our local waterfall.
Alternatively, you might indulge in some art activities or enjoy one of the more physical activities we host (mountain biking / stand up paddleboarding).
Dinner 6:30 - 7:30pm
Enjoy a home cooked, organic meal or travel out to try one of Katoomba’s local dining facilities.
Evening (Optional) 7:30pm onwards
There are a range of optional evening activities for you to enjoy, such as listening to or reading poetry, life stories, or enjoying a thought-provoking film or inspiring documentary. Other options include self-guided meditation and yoga.
Day Two
Breakfast 8:30am
Enjoy a homemade breakfast, tea or coffee on the verandah whilst the kookaburras and other local birds sing.
Morning Sessions 9:30am - 12:30pm
Drawing on examples from mythology and developmental psychology, we will look at the adulting tasks of caregiving while balancing self-care and our need to individuate, self-actualise and undergo the heroine's journey into wholeness.
Mid Morning Session
This session involves understanding the sacred and strong model of Mother (adult) compared to the enfeebled version inculcated by the overculture. You'll be invited to contemplate what your unique contribution to society might be beyond the narrow role of supporting yourself and your loved ones.
Lunch 12:30pm
Afternoon Sessions 1:30pm - 4:00pm
Choose from either
a) A tarot reading to draw on both our subconscious and the collective conscious to relay messages that your rational or conscious mind often overlooks
b) A reiki or energetic healing session to help release any lingering blockages and ground the new energies which have come in during your stay
c) Explore your soul blueprint via an astrology reading or a numerology reading.
Cost: $590 for a 2 day womens wellness weekend. $50 off for a weekday program.
Inclusions: Our retreats include accommodation, meals, workbooks, counselling and activities.
Optional session of bibliotherapy. Learn more about our bibliotherapy service.
Location: Katoomba, Blue Mountains NSW.
Your Facilitators
Click on the + sign below to learn more about the backgrounds of the counsellors you’ll be working with
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Ginny’s training in guiding and supporting others began with her hairdressing career where she informally coached, listened and offered support to the thousands of clients she came to know both in Australia and abroad.
After navigating a crisis period where she had to take control of her life and steer it in a healthier direction she found her calling to work with people who were also ready to reclaim their life.
In addition to following Buddhist practices and doing extensive studies in self-development, she complemented her self-education with formal studies in Youth Work, Community Services and a Bachelor of Social Work.
Finding Breathwork to be a transformative form of healing she has done much training in it and continues to deepen her practice. Ginny is also trained in Theta healing.
Taking an intuitive approach, Ginny found a gift for interpreting the messages offered by tarot cards, working as a spiritual healer and being a clear vessel for the collective unconscious to work through.Having undertaken her own Maiden to Mother development, Ginny is passionate about others navigating this instrumental phase of life.
After undertaking this retreat, Ginny is available to offer ongoing counselling if you’d like to build upon the work completed during your time with us.
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Marcus studied social work and education at university, grounding that knowledge by working in a diverse range of roles as an adult educator and caseworker.
Through his time at Rudolf Steiner College, he realised the importance of holistic education and the need to focus on the whole person in contrast to the compartmentalised approach of institutions.
Deepening his knowledge by studying humanistic psychologists such as Abraham Maslow and Carl Jung and spending time in the Jungian community, he gained further insights into the value of depth psychology.
After running a variety of workshops in Australia and overseas he launched his initiative known as Writes of Passage Retreats, in the belief that contemplation, nature, carefully curated ideas and guidance is the ideal means for people to look at life with greater possibility and unearth their own dormant potentiality.
With archetypal psychology being the domain of the feminine, Marcus has undergone his own passage to come into healthy relationship with the feminine and develop a passion for helping others navigate this major development shift.
Female Retreats
From Maiden to Mother
An initiation to heal and move beyond the maiden phase of development and into the strength and centredness of the mother.
William Shakespeare declared that “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”
The three acts of a theatre performance correlate with the three adult development phases.
Similarly, the female journey is that of maiden, mother and crone (male equivalents being the buck, father and sage).
Developmental psychologist Bill Plotkin argues that 80% of humanity is stuck in the adolescent phase of maiden or buck.
Dorothea Dooling contrasted the mythic view of life with the anaemic counterpart of conventional success or dry rationalism, saying:
A human being is born to set out on this quest, like a knight of Arthur’s court… how terrible to think of not being the hero of one’s own life; this is the role for which each of us is cast, no matter how unsuccessfully we play it. And if the part seems too big, if we picture the hero as being indeed “more than life sized”, it is because our own daily life has dwindled, become less than real, and only pygmy proportions seem natural to us.
Novelist Julian Barnes captured the emptiness of mainstream living in his book The Sense of an Ending with the elderly protagonist saying:
What did I know of life, I who had lived so carefully? Who had neither won nor lost, but just let life happen to him? Who had the usual ambitions and settled all too quickly for them not being realised? Who avoided being hurt and called it a capacity for survival? Who paid his bills, stayed on good terms with everyone as far as possible, for whom ecstasy and despair soon became just words once read in novels? One whose self-rebukes never really inflicted pain? Well, there was all this to reflect upon, while I endured a special kind of remorse: a hurt inflicted at long last on one who always thought he knew how to avoid being hurt—and inflicted for precisely that reason.
It could be argued that the path of the feminine helps us enlarge our existence to incorporate that of higher purpose, the poetic, the path of the heart, exploration of the soul and a mythic orientation.
One of the great tragedies of a patriarchal culture dominating for so long is that the feminine approach has been devalued and overlooked.
Our Maiden to Mother retreat provides an initiation into healthy adulthood in order to prepare for our golden years, that of eldership or cronehood. It is designed for those aged 19-40.
In addition to this program, we offer a number of retreats designed to help you navigate each developmental phase leading up to elderhood.
“In ‘maiden’ my heart was one-room flat. In ‘mother’ it’s a mansion, it has to hold so much and another.”
Blue Mountains Retreats
“Great things are done when people and mountains meet;
this is not done by jostling in the street.”
- William Blake
Take in a local stargazing tour at night
Rejuvenate in the Blue Mountains natural wonders
Retreats NSW
Art Retreat
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Astrology Retreat
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Birth Your Business Retreat
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Boost Your Business
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Breath Work Retreat
Intensive 2 and 3 day breathwork programs to help you release trauma and energy blockages. Breathwork Retreat
Career Retreat
Take a mini sabbatical to determine your ideal career & how to actualise it. Career Retreat
Couples Therapy Retreat
A program to enrich or revive one's relationship. Couples Counselling Retreat
Family Constellations
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Family Healing Retreat
A program that explores the mother/father wounding and overcoming our imprints. Family Healing Retreat
Healing Retreat
Our healing retreat takes you through a range of modalities such as energetic healing, breathwork, transpersonal counselling & more. Healing Retreat
Health Retreat
Our health retreat takes a holistic approach to optimise your body, mind and emotional health. Health Retreat Blue Mountains
Life Purpose Retreat
Finding your life purpose is like the hub of a wheel, everything radiates out from it. Life Purpose Retreat
Love Retreat
Instead of gaming love, master the game of love by understanding your core needs and the blocks between you & a lasting connection. Singles Retreat
Maiden to Mother Retreat
An initiation to heal and move beyond the maiden phase of development & into the strength & centredness of the mother. Women’s Retreat
Men's Retreat / Women's Retreat
Integrate your divine feminine & divine masculine to find inner wholeness, sustain fulfilling relationships and obtain greater life direction. Sacred Union More
Mental Health Retreat
A program which focuses on working through mental health issues in a more holistic way that mainstream methodogies. Mental Health Retreat
Midlife Crisis Retreat
Midlife crisis presents us with a great opportunity to transition from the morning of life into the afternoon of life. Midlife Retreat
Mystical Retreat
A week long intensive where you learn the art of astrology, numerology, tarot & sacred geometry. Mystical Retreat
Rewilding Retreat
Recalibrate with nature, technology, yourself & your place in the world. Reconfigure your life in a radically simple and integrated way. Rewilding Retreat
Sacred Geometry Course
Create sacred geometry, learn the 9 numerology archetypes and explore your soul blueprint. Sacred Geometry Retreat
Self Discovery Retreat
A retreat centred around understanding yourself at the deepest level to integrate who you are with the life you live. Self Discovery Retreat
Self Love Retreat
Ideal for singles working on relationship patterns & those who could use some self care & greater appreciation for who they are. Self Love Retreat
Silent Retreat
Our silent retreats help you attain greater clarity through a calmer mind and clearer perspective. Silent Retreat Blue Mountains
Spiritual Awakening Retreat
A program to explore spiritual awakening and the process of understanding & expressing your soul aspect. Spiritual Retreat
Tarot Retreat
A Jungian retreat exploring the major arcana #0-3.Depth psychology & archetypal integration through a tarot course. Tarot Retreat
Wealth Retreat
There is an energetic aspect to money often overlooked. Explore the psychology of money & take a holistic approach to managing it . Wealth Retreat
Wellbeing Retreat
A retreat involving creative expression, life guidance, relationship exploration & activities - tarot, breathwork, counselling & more. Wellbeing Retreat
Writing Retreat
Each of us has a unique and interesting story to share. This program looks at writing your life story beginning with childhood. Writing Retreat
Writing Retreat (Program #2)
This program looks at writing your life story with a specific focus on the exploration of your adolescence. Writing Retreat NSW
Yoga Retreat
Discover a range of eastern wisdoms such as yoga, mediation, chakras, ayurvedic health and more. Yoga Retreat Blue Mountains
Retreats NSW
Art Retreat
Discover your creative potential and explore a variety of artistic mediums. Art Retreat
Astrology Retreat
An introduction to astrology where you learn about the zodiacs planets, signs, houses and how they impact one another. Astrology Retreat
Birth Your Business Retreat
A new small business is started every 100 seconds. Learn how to take your passions and make your livelihood doing what you love. Small Business Course
Boost Your Business
Learn how to make your business thrive & contribute to positive social change. Business Course
Breath Work Retreat
Intensive 2 and 3 day breathwork programs to help you release trauma and energy blockages. Breathwork Retreat
Career Retreat
Take a mini sabbatical to determine your ideal career & how to actualise it. Career Retreat
Couples Therapy Retreat
A program to enrich or revive one's relationship. Couples Counselling Retreat
Family Constellations
Explore your Internal Family Systems to liberate yourself from inherited beliefs and intergenerational trauma. Family Constellations Retreat
Family Healing Retreat
A program that explores the mother/father wounding and overcoming our imprints. Family Healing Retreat
Healing Retreat
Our healing retreat takes you through a range of modalities such as energetic healing, breathwork, transpersonal counselling & more. Healing Retreat
Health Retreat
Our health retreat takes a holistic approach to optimise your body, mind and emotional health. Health Retreat Blue Mountains
Life Purpose Retreat
Finding your life purpose is like the hub of a wheel, everything radiates out from it. Life Purpose Retreat
Love Retreat
Instead of gaming love, master the game of love by understanding your core needs and the blocks between you & a lasting connection. Singles Retreat
Maiden to Mother Retreat
An initiation to heal and move beyond the maiden phase of development & into the strength & centredness of the mother. Women’s Retreat
Men's Retreat / Women's Retreat
Integrate your divine feminine & divine masculine to find inner wholeness, sustain fulfilling relationships and obtain greater life direction. Sacred Union More
Mental Health Retreat
A program which focuses on working through mental health issues in a more holistic way that mainstream methodogies. Mental Health Retreat
Midlife Crisis Retreat
Midlife crisis presents us with a great opportunity to transition from the morning of life into the afternoon of life. Midlife Retreat
Mystical Retreat
A week long intensive where you learn the art of astrology, numerology, tarot & sacred geometry. Mystical Retreat
Rewilding Retreat
Recalibrate with nature, technology, yourself & your place in the world. Reconfigure your life in a radically simple and integrated way. Rewilding Retreat
Sacred Geometry Course
Create sacred geometry, learn the 9 numerology archetypes and explore your soul blueprint. Sacred Geometry Retreat
Self Discovery Retreat
A retreat centred around understanding yourself at the deepest level to integrate who you are with the life you live. Self Discovery Retreat
Self Love Retreat
Ideal for singles working on relationship patterns & those who could use some self care & greater appreciation for who they are. Self Love Retreat
Silent Retreat
Our silent retreats help you attain greater clarity through a calmer mind and clearer perspective. Silent Retreat Blue Mountains
Spiritual Awakening Retreat
A program to explore spiritual awakening and the process of understanding & expressing your soul aspect. Spiritual Retreat
Tarot Retreat
A Jungian retreat exploring the major arcana #0-3.Depth psychology & archetypal integration through a tarot course. Tarot Retreat
Wealth Retreat
There is an energetic aspect to money often overlooked. Explore the psychology of money & take a holistic approach to managing it . Wealth Retreat
Wellbeing Retreat
A retreat involving creative expression, life guidance, relationship exploration & activities - tarot, breathwork, counselling & more. Wellbeing Retreat
Writing Retreat
Each of us has a unique and interesting story to share. This program looks at writing your life story beginning with childhood. Writing Retreat
Writing Retreat (Program #2)
This program looks at writing your life story with a specific focus on the exploration of your adolescence. Writing Retreat NSW
Yoga Retreat
Discover a range of eastern wisdoms such as yoga, mediation, chakras, ayurvedic health and more. Yoga Retreat Blue Mountains
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7 Seventh Avenue,
Katoomba, NSW
0402959946