Celebrate and Connect with the Beloved Dead
Welcome to the All Hallowed Ancestral retreat where we come together in creativity, ritual, and celebration to express love to our beloved dead, connect with our wise and well ancestors, and engage the flow of reciprocity between the realms during this potent time of year. In many cultures around the world, the days at the end of October and beginning of November are considered an important time for honoring the dead. Known in Celtic tradition as Samhain, this ancient festival marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of a new spiritual cycle. It is a time when the veil between worlds is thin, enabling the spirits of the departed to be more present in love and remembrance. Later adapted as All Hallows’ Eve or All Souls’ Day, the essence of Samhain has endured for thousands of years. It speaks to something deep within us — stirring ancestral memories and the longing to remember and be remembered.
Together we will:
- Journey into the imaginal realms to meet with our wise and well ancestors, exploring the ancestral meaning of this time of year and receiving messages from the Old Ones.
- Craft collective offerings of art, song, and ritual – stoking the exchange of wisdom and love between the realms.
- Create opportunities for relational healing and growth with Ancestral Constellations.
- Tend shrines and create memorial lanterns as acts of beauty, honoring, and connection.
- Dream and vision with the ancestors in support of our lives and the Earth at this time.
Considerations for Attendees: Experience with intuitive, imaginal perception – like journey work, guided imagery practices – may be helpful but is not required. The retreat will offer different ways of connecting with the ancestors so the experience will not rely on one type of process. When it comes to practices based on imaginal perception participtants should have expectations according to their level of experience.
This is a community event that includes potentially transformational ritual and interaction with an often tender and complex subject. Participants need to be able to maintain healthy personal boundaries within a group setting and are responsible for meeting their personal needs before, during, and after the event.
Schedule:
October 30 – Check-in after 4:00pm. Opening circle 5:00pm- 6:30/7:00pm.
October 31 – November 2: Daytime circles, rituals, and crafts with potential evening events on one or two nights.
November 3 – Leave in the morning by 10:00am, no scheduled events.
Participants need to be present for the full event which starts the evening of the 30th and ends late in the day on the 2nd. As there will be a final ceremony and closing, participants should be there the full day of the 2nd plus whatever time is needed for community clean-up at the end. Any deviations from this plan need to be discussed and cleared in advance.
Early Registration Discounted Rate: $400 USD plus lodging for the residential option when you register by June 20, 2025.
Rate after June 20, 2025: $450 USD plus lodging for the residential option.
Residential Option Lodging Rates: See below for more information on the retreat house and property. The cost for retreat housing will vary slightly depending on the number of occupants. The cost for a shared room will be about $260 USD total for the four nights of the retreat. There is one single room which will be about $380 USD total. There is also a private cottage available on request for $420 USD total. Rooms are offered on a first-come-first-served basis and are reserved when registering. To book the private cottage contact Maris for details.
Registration: The registration deadline is July 20, 2025. Payment for the retreat rate is required when registering to hold your place. The housing fee will be determined at this time and those fees are due by August 1st. All payments are nonrefundable or transferable after the registration deadline. There is a $75 cancellation fee for any cancellations before July 20, 2025. Registrations will be accepted after this date if spaces remain open.
*As we need a minimum number of participants to hold the retreat – please do not buy non-refundable plane tickets before the registration deadline.
Retreat Limit: 15-20 participants, up to 8 residential
Location: Pacifica’s Historic Pond House on the grounds of Pacifica, a 420-acre natural reserve, botanic garden, and community center.
There is room for 8 participants to stay at the Pond House (if one to a bed), with one additional bed at the Meadow Cottage if that is available. Otherwise, there are short-term rentals in the area and hotels in Grants Pass. Participants are responsible for transportation.
There is a full kitchen at the Pond House. Coffee and some teas will be provided. Participants will be responsible for their meals.
Closest airport: Medford, Oregon – about a 45-minute drive to Pacifica.
Your Facilitators
Marina Szijarto is an interdisciplinary artist, ritualist, and certified Ancestral Lineage Healing Practitioner whose work integrates shrine-making, animist rituals, and ancestral crafts. For 20 years, she co-created Night for All Souls at Mountain View Cemetery in Vancouver Canada, and developed Loving Memory Shrines to support public grief. Her practice draws on training in spirit-mediated healing, Seidr, and Jhankri shamanism, alongside a background in theatre design and arts direction.
Maris Bergrune is a singer/musician, ritual animist, Systemic Constellations facilitator, and certified Ancestral Lineage Healing Practitioner. She has about two decades of experience in group ritual and spirit-mediated healing. Maris’ work is characterized by the intention to partner with the most wise and compassionate aspects of spirit to foster relational harmony between humankind, our ancestors, and our other-than-human kin. Her healing practice looks at systemic and historic causes of manifesting issues and facilitates the potential resolution of those issues through greater resourcing, witnessing, and specialized support.