NEWS NOVEMBER 2009
Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies
Moving into Winter with Gratitude
This is the time of slowing down, of letting go as the trees do, and watching the leaves fall with grace into a still and silent peaceful place. Over the summer, we have seen many miracles, people bravely stepping into the circle, asking for healing, for power, for connection, for Life, and offering to help. Each time this happens we witness a blessing, a miracle, and the power ripples through the Circle in many ways we cannot always see. Thank You for this. May we put our Trust in the Spirits in the Winter months to come, and always make Space for them to work in our Lives.
UPCOMING COURSES AND EVENTS THIS WINTER
Annette is teaching The Shaman's Journey in Copenhagen, 27-29 Nov. This will be her last basic til next Autumn.
Jonathan's final course this year is the Shamanic Practice Weekend at Åsbacka on 5-6 Dec, where we will be working with the theme of Gratitude. There are only a couple of places left so if you are interested, get in touch soon at courses@asbacka.org We will be continuing with these weekends in 2010, working with new themes suggested by the Spirits. The dates will be in March, July, September and December and will be announced soon.
Finally, the next meeting of the International Shamanic Community is in London on 7-8 Nov. There we will continue to create the vision and organisation for people who have worked with the Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies. We hope that there will be a dedicated ISC website up at the beginning of 2010, and will send out information about this when it is ready.
We hope to meet with you soon and to sit together in the circle.
COURSES AND EVENTS IN 2010
Information for 2010 courses has now been put up on the coursepage.
Jonathan is offering Life & Death in the end of March, Spiritual Ecology as summercourse, and running a new retreat at Åsbacka in April called Rhythms of Life. He will also be teaching in Ireland, UK, Russia and Hungary.
In England Annette will be teaching Song in February and Seiđr in September In March she will also be teaching a brand new course in Holland, Seiđr Craft. It is a special weekend also inviting people with no previous shamanic training.
NEWS AUGUST 2009
Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies
HARVEST TIMEAnd now it is harvest time.
The Sun’s light is golden like the fields
after the grain is gathered in.
Standing here, as the leaves on the hazel change
from green, to yellow to brown, we ask,
“What are we harvesting?”
May whatever you harvest help you
In the Autumn days ahead,
The Days of Balance
Basic Workshops ~
Jonathan’s next basic is in London, October 16th-18th.
Annette has a basic workshop in Copenhagen, in Danish, September 11th -13th.
If you know anyone who is interested in coming on a basic with us, please let them know. Most people come on our courses through your recommendations, something we are very thankful for.
Advanced Workshops and Retreats ~
This Autumn Jonathan and Annette are offering several advanced courses, both in Scandinavia, Ireland, and the UK.
Shamanic Practice Weekend at Åsbacka, September 19th-20th. Theme: “Nourishment,” taught by Jonathan in English, assisted by Zara.
Sjælens Stemme (Spirit Voice - Shamanic Singing), September 25th-27th, Copenhagen, taught by Annette in Danish.
Peace and Power, in County Sligo, Ireland, September 30th - October 4th, taught by Jonathan and Liam Glenane in English.
Shamanic Counselling 1, Poulstone Court, Hereford, UK, October 20-25, taught by Jonathan.
Please Note: The final Shamanic Practice Weekend at Åsbacka in 2009 will be the December 5th- 6th - more information on the theme coming shortly.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Steve Nobel from Alternatives (www.alternatives.co.uk) in England has just interviewed Jonathan for a podcast which is available online for free. In this wide-ranging telephone interview, Jonathan talks about shamanic initiation, the web of power which connects us all, the role of the shaman in the 21st century, and many other aspects of shamanic spirituality and practice. You can listen to and download the interview here.
In September, Jonathan and Nicholas Breeze Wood, editor of Sacred Hoop magazine, will be presenting a workshop, The Way of Blessing, at the third conference held by the Society for Shamanic Practitioners in Dorset, UK. The dates of the conference are September 10th -13th. For more information, please see: www.shamanconference.co.uk
On November 7th - 8th the newly formed International Shamanic Community will have its fourth general meeting at St. Luke’s House, Kew, London. The ISC is made up of people who have worked with Jonathan and Annette who have formed a self-organizing community of shamanic practitioners. The community is open to anyone who has worked with Jonathan or Annette and who wants to be a member of the community, regardless of what country you live in.
Read more about all our Autumn courses and retreats - in Scandinavia, Ireland, and the UK - here
NEWS MAY 2009
Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies
Summer is almost with us fully, and with it comes our offerings for the season. In fact, in this newsletter we have many special events, as well as courses we seldom offer, and many of them are away from the busy-ness, noise, and pollution of the cities. So please look and see if there isn’t something to help you to touch base with your natural shamanic roots. Step into power…
SUMMER COURSESJonathan has two BASICS during the summer - one in England in June and an extended one in Sweden in July. If you know of anyone who would be interested in learning about shamanism, please let them know. We rely so much on word-of-mouth to reach people, especially new ones, so anything you can do to help with this is greatly appreciated. Here is the info:
June 5-7, Totnes, England.July 16-19, Tokalynga, Sweden. Extended Basic.
June 12-14, Jonathan will also be teaching Into the Journey in London. The main emphasis of this powerful weekend course is on the Middle World journey-work of the shaman, experiencing sharpened intent, working together with others, and healing ritual. The simple practices will take you deeper into your journey.
There are still a few places left for Shamanic Healing , a thorough introduction to the classic work of the shaman, including working with the healing power of plants and shamanic extraction healing, at Tokalynga, southern Sweden (21-26 July)
Jonathan is also offering Shamanic Counselling 2 at his retreat center, Åsbacka, in southern Sweden, 23-29 Aug. This retreat opens the door to shamanic mentoring and guidance. If you have completed the Shamanic Counselling I training, this is the deepest going of all the courses Jonathan leads. This is the first time this retreat has been offered for several years, and will not be offered again until 2011 at the earliest. The remaining places are limited, so please get in touch soon if you are interested.
SPECIAL EVENTSISC Summer Gathering, 3-5 July
The International Shamanic Community (ISC) has been set up by and for people who have trained with Jonathan or Annette. Our vision is that this will help us support and nourish each other and our shamanic practice, to skill-share and network, find ways to take shamanism to the wider community, and collaborate on rituals and projects. The Summer Gathering will take place from 4pm on Friday 3 July to Sunday 5th, in Frylands Wood outside of Croydon, south of London, England. We invite both ISC members and interested shamanic non-members.
During the weekend there will be group journeys, medicine walks, community dances, blessing ceremonies, craft workshops, storytelling and music. Jonathan will be leading a healing ceremony on Saturday.
Seidr in ScandinaviaFor those interested in Seidr, the ancient Scandinavian for of shamanism, there are a lot of opportunities this summer in Scandinavia. In Sweden, Annette on June 22-23 will be teaching and leading Seidr at the Goddess Week. Then again, in Denmark, on July 28 at the International Asatru Summercamp. Both of these events are in English.
Also Annette’s course (taught in Danish) SommerSkovSejd 7-12 July an hour away from Copenhagen uses seidr as a way to learn about Power.
EMPOWERMENT: OUR SPIRITUAL INHERITANCE
This is the title of a brand new article by Jonathan, presented in the up-coming issue of the magazine Sacred Hoop. For more information, or to subscribe, go to www.sacredhoop.org
NEWS APRIL 2009
Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies
The power of Spring is on us again, the changing weather, touching the senses, waking feelings - the promise of fruitfulness. Are we blown around like last Autumn’s leaves in the gusts of March, or do we feel the sap rising up trough our deep roots from the Earth? Let’s join our hands together ~ and let the Power flow through us.
UPCOMING COURSES
SOUL RETRIEVAL, 8-12 April, Poulston - Jonathan's next workshop is "Soul Retrieval Training" at Poulston Court in Hereford, England. Taking place 8-12 April (Easter), there are still a few final places left.
You can read more about the work with soul retrieval in the article COMING HOME
SHAMANIC PRACTICE WEEKEND - "Fruitfulness", with Jonathan, 23-24 May, Åsbacka, Sweden - Our work at Åsbacka continues and it is wonderful to see so many of you coming here on courses and personal retreats. In May, there is another chance to attend a Shamanic Practice weekend, this time on the theme of Fruitfulness - bringing it to your life and extending it to the world. We will be exploring this springtime energy through a variety of shamanic techniques - journeys, medicine walks, nature work, ceremony, song and dance - and sharing the teachings in the circle to help deepen our relationship with our Spirits, ourselves and the world around us.
SUMMER FESTIVALS IN SCANDINAVIA
This summer, Annette will lead events on Nordic magic tradition on two Scandinavian festivals.
The first is titled “Völva, Oracle, Shaman and Noaide”, June 21-25, in Ångermanland, Sweden. Within this very shamanic theme of Swedish “Goddess week 2009”, Annette will do a short seidr workhop in Scandinavian/English, as well as lectures on “the History of the Cunning People”, and “the Völva´s Vision”, in English. Read more on the festival’s website: Here
The second is International Asatru Summercamp. July 25- Aug 1, on Mols in Denmark. Both Annette, and Swedish Sylvia Hild, will do teachings and workshop on a thematic day on seidr, in English. More info growing on the summercamp’s website here.
NEWS FEBRUARY 2009
Scandinavian
Center for Shamanic Studies
The days are getting longer once again - already! Even though snow is on the ground here in the North, the energy returns, and small buds begin to show themselves at the end of twigs. We stretch, and look at the days ahead. Every day counts. What will we do with them? Whatever it is we do, we hope our paths cross with yours in the months to come. May the returning Sun continue to brighten and warm your way…
NEWSThe Community of Shamanic Practitioners - In November a second meeting was held in London to further explore the development of a self-organizing international community of shamanic practitioners who have worked with Jonathan and Annette. It was an exciting success. Some thirteen workgroups have been established to look into such areas as support, networking, accreditation, supervision, mentoring, and skill-sharing. If you are interested in learning more and becoming a member, please contact Jane Shutt
The next meeting will be February 28th - March 1st in London. For information on this, please contact Kathy Fried
On 4-5 July there will be a Summer Camp Gathering of members outside London. For more information on this, please contact Gemma May
ADVANCED COURSES ~ Spring and Summer
Right around the corner is the first Shamanic Practice Weekend at Åsbacka on February 21-22, lead by Jonathan. The theme of this weekend is Receiving Power. We will use journeys, medicine walks, stone-council divination, singing, and dancing.
Jonathan will be leading four Shamanic Practice Weekends this year with a different theme each weekend. The next will be May 22-24. You can sign up for one or all.
For the first time in two years Jonathan will be teaching Soul Retrieval, April 8-12, in Herefordshire. You can read Jonathan’s article on Soul Retrieval here .Many of you have asked about the Shamanic Counselling II - Shamanic Guidance, and we are happy to announce that it will be held this summer, August 23-29, at Åsbacka. The course is limited to 12 participants and may not be held again until 2011. It offers a solid foundation for shamanic mentoring.
Annette will be leading Shaman Summer Seidr, a new course in the forest at Avnsø, Denmark, July 7 to 12 in Danish, and Shamanic Healing is the intensive summer course at Tokalynga, July 21-26, in southern Sweden will be taught by Jonathan in English.
BASIC WORKSHOPS ~ Spring
In England, The Shaman’s Journey is scheduled for Todmorden, Yorkshire, near Manchester, April 3-5 taught by Jonathan.
In Scandinavia, the first Basic Workshop will be March 6-8 in Copenhagen, taught by Annette.
PRIVATE SESSIONS AND RETREATS
Jonathan is now offering two and three day personal retreats at Åsbacka, for individuals and very small groups. He also offers shamanic guidance sessions when in London. If you would like to know more, please write to him.
Annette is offering supervision/counselling for individuals in Copenhagen.