Samhain Deep Rest Retreat – Descent
with Simon de Voil, Jamie Marich, and Polly Paton-Brown
Friday, October 31, 2025
3-5pm Ireland
11am-1pm Eastern
8-10am Pacific
Crossing the threshold means welcoming in the dark as a time of becoming more closely woven with the spiritual dimension of life.
Program Description
This mini-retreat is part of our four part Deep Rest series exploring the energy of seasonal turning points and the gifts of deep rest. Register for one of all or the mini-retreats. See the retreats for Autumn Equinox, Winter Solstice, and Imbolc/Feast of Brigid.
We live in times when it often feels like everything is coming undone. The Celtic hinge points of Autumn Equinox, Samhain, the Winter Solstice, and Imbolc offer the wisdom of living into a rhythm that honors the importance of times of rest as essential to our personal and collective wellbeing.
Samhain marks one of the two great doorways of the Celtic year. The Celts divided the year into two seasons: the season of light and the season of dark. Some believe that Samhain was the more important festival, marking the beginning of a whole new cycle, just as the Celtic day began at night.
This season calls us into the grace of descent. We spend so much of our spiritual lives trying to ascend. Descent is the path of having everything stripped away that offers comfort. In the mystical tradition, the descent is also the slow revelation of the true face and incredible mystery that is God. It is also the season to call forth the wisdom of those who walked before us. In the ancient Celtic imagination, this was considered to be a “thin time” when the veil between heaven and earth grew more transparent and the wisdom of our ancestors was closer to us.
Join us as we break open the invitations of descent and connection with those who walked before us through music, poetry, teaching, meditation, and reflection.
We will turn on closed captioning during the live Zoom session (which you are able to turn off in your settings if you find distracting) as well as provide a video recording with closed captioning available and a text transcript of the session within 24 hours. You will be sent a notification when this is ready to view.
You have lifetime access to all online programs.
Your Guides for the Journey
Rev Simon de Voil
Reverend Simon Ruth de Voil is an ordained interfaith-interspiritual minister, sacred musician, spiritual counsellor, and chaplain. His sacred work—both musical and interpersonal—explores themes of the inner landscape of the soul, the enchantment of the natural world, and the healing power of spiritual practice. As a chaplain and counsellor, Simon helps individuals and groups connect sacred presence with everyday life. Simon was born in Scotland, but now makes his home in the mountains of Vermont. He’s delighted to be called a stay at home monk and a “trans grandpa” to queer and trans youth. Visit Simon’s website here>>
Jaime Marich, PhD
Jamie Marich, Ph.D., LPCC-S, REAT, RYT-500, RMT travels internationally speaking on topics related to EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, LGBTQ issues, spirituality and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Northeast Ohio. Jamie is also the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness expressive arts practice. Jamie is the author of several books including Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015, with foreword by Christine Valters Paintner) and Process Not Perfection: Expressive Arts Solutions for Trauma Recovery released in 2019, heavily influenced by the growth she has experienced through her study with Abbey of the Arts! Now primarily a North Atlantic Book author, she has recently released Trauma and the 12 Steps: An Inclusive Guide to Recovery (2020), Transforming Trauma with Jiu-Jitsu (2022), and Dissociation Made Simple: A Stigma-Free Guide to Embracing Your Dissociative Mind and Navigating Life (2023). Their newest book is, You Lied to Me About God: A Memoir (2024). Visit Jamie’s website here.
Polly Paton-Brown, MA UKCP
Polly Paton-Brown MA UKCP worked for many years as a psychotherapist and trainer in the field of trauma. More recently, Polly’s focus has been on helping people explore their spirituality and prayer, using creativity and connection with nature. Polly has a particular passion for creating healing dolls as a portal to transformation. Always a lover of nature, horses and creativity Polly now integrates all of these into her practice. She has trained in Nature Based Practice and Eco-pychology, Environmental Arts, Expressive Arts and Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy. She is a licenced facilitator of Chakradance, The Art of Allowing , Creative Awakenings and the Wild Soul Woman Programme.
A member of the Iona Community, Polly was coordinator of their healing ministry for 11 years and when in that role ran regular retreats on the Isle of Iona. She is also a Sister of Belle Coeur. With roots in the contemplative and monastic traditions, Polly also draws wisdom from other spiritual paths such as Druidry and Sufism. She is passionate to help those wounded by the institutional church restore their image of God and themselves. Visit Polly’s website here>>
Registration
Please be careful to enter your correct email address when you register.
$30
Reduced Fee
- Includes partial scholarship
- Select this only if you require financial assistance
$60
sponsorship fee
- Includes added donation to support scholarships
- THANK YOU for supporting our scholarship program!
If you are in need of additional financial assistance please fill out our Scholarship Request form.
$160
Deep Rest 4 Part Series
- Includes Autumn Equinox, Samhain, Winter Solstice, and Brigid's Day Retreats
Terms and Conditions
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