About our Triduum Online Retreat
13th -16th April 2023
A message and more information about our retreat from Sr Fionn
Whether you are new to the Céile Dé tradition or an established caimeach, I encourage you to utilise the following resources as part of your preparation for the Triduum retreat.
They can all be found on Eòlaire at the following links:
They can all be found on Eòlaire at the following links:
Any lingering thoughts or questions may be shared at an optional pre-triduum Zoom gathering on the morning of Saturday April 8th. More information about this session will be emailed to those who have registered to take part in this retreat.
The Agape Feast
Our Triduum retreat will open in the traditional way, with an Agape Feast: what a wonderful way to reconnect with each other and to greet newcomers to our caim! You will be able to read about this way of eating together, that is also a spiritual practice, in the Easter handout listed above. Please bring food with you to our opening session on Holy Thursday evening. You may also like to bring a glass of wine or some other drink of choice - making toasts is very much a part of a Celtic Agape Feast!
The Soisgeul* Sessions
Soon after the Agape Feast on Thursday, right through to Sunday, at least one session each day will be given to exploring and unveiling together what that particular part of the Easter Story means to each of us at this point in our unique and individual lives. In the Céile Dé tradition this is done through shared story-telling: we imagine ourselves to be there, either witnessing or directly partaking in events as they unfold each day, beginning with the Last Supper, moving towards the Crucifixion, then that strange, “empty” time of loss and uncertainty (or faith, depending on what feels most real to you) on Easter Saturday and finally that Mysterious Dawn on Sunday. Some people will feel a call to share what they witness and experience, as they see it in their “Imaginal” during our soisgeul sessions, others will simply choose to listen and keep their inner experiences to themselves... most of us will probably do a little bit of each, depending on what arises each day.
What happens as we share in this way is that, even though we know we are only imagining ourselves to be in these situations, we discover that we cannot help but weave our responses to the very real joys and challenges happening in our actual lives together with what our imagination is seeing, so that one informs the other and each is imbued with new Meaning and understanding. This has always been the great gift of story-telling; when we enter a story deeply, we discover something true about our Selves and our own lives.
No previous experience is required for this process to do its work: guidance will be given at the start and throughout. One doesn't even have to believe in the Gospel or the Easter story…or even in Christ… in order for the Archetypal* themes each contains to be explored. It is even possible - and no less powerful - to receive deep insights through the archetypal exploration of the Easter story if one has an aversion to “Churchianity” or some negative reactions to the word “Christ”, because any of these stances would be the very place from which you would authentically inhabit the story: eg. "I just don't get this Christ thing at all - why is everyone so caught up in this?" This does not mean that we are trying to use Soisgeul to “convert" anyone; I hope you already know we don’t do beliefs in our tradition. Christ means something other in Céile Dé than it probably means to people who (like me!:-) were turned off by the C word for various reasons; at the very least it is worth fégading one's inclination to react and look the other way in order to begin to uncover what that something other might be.
Only a passing familiarity with the Easter story is required, as long as you know the following, you know enough:
Thursday - The Last Supper and betrayal of Christ
Friday - The Crucifixion
Saturday - The day after the crucifixion
Sunday - The Resurrection at Dawn
What happens as we share in this way is that, even though we know we are only imagining ourselves to be in these situations, we discover that we cannot help but weave our responses to the very real joys and challenges happening in our actual lives together with what our imagination is seeing, so that one informs the other and each is imbued with new Meaning and understanding. This has always been the great gift of story-telling; when we enter a story deeply, we discover something true about our Selves and our own lives.
No previous experience is required for this process to do its work: guidance will be given at the start and throughout. One doesn't even have to believe in the Gospel or the Easter story…or even in Christ… in order for the Archetypal* themes each contains to be explored. It is even possible - and no less powerful - to receive deep insights through the archetypal exploration of the Easter story if one has an aversion to “Churchianity” or some negative reactions to the word “Christ”, because any of these stances would be the very place from which you would authentically inhabit the story: eg. "I just don't get this Christ thing at all - why is everyone so caught up in this?" This does not mean that we are trying to use Soisgeul to “convert" anyone; I hope you already know we don’t do beliefs in our tradition. Christ means something other in Céile Dé than it probably means to people who (like me!:-) were turned off by the C word for various reasons; at the very least it is worth fégading one's inclination to react and look the other way in order to begin to uncover what that something other might be.
Only a passing familiarity with the Easter story is required, as long as you know the following, you know enough:
Thursday - The Last Supper and betrayal of Christ
Friday - The Crucifixion
Saturday - The day after the crucifixion
Sunday - The Resurrection at Dawn
Teaching Sessions
Because of the powerful container our sacred story telling sessions will create throughout our gathering, the teachings given during accompanying sessions will be carefully chosen to serve the process. Space will also be given for time alone for personal reflection.
Our final session
…. will be a soilsgeul late on Sunday morning. It is hoped that many of us will have been able to be out somewhere special, witnessing the dawn, so that we can share together how the story ended for us this year...
….or do I mean how it began?
I look forward to seeing you, hearing you, feasting with you and entering The Mystery with you!
With Love,
Sr Fionn
….or do I mean how it began?
I look forward to seeing you, hearing you, feasting with you and entering The Mystery with you!
With Love,
Sr Fionn
Glossary
Soisgeul
In Modern Gaelic, Sgeul means Story and the word Soisgeul translates as the Gospel; but for the esoteric meaning of the term as it is understood in our tradition, think of the Coire Sois, the Cauldron of Gnosis, or Spiritual Knowledge and then Soisgeul becomes The Story that opens us to Gnosis.
Archetypal
Archetypal, Universal themes that may or may not arise within the context of your individual story this year - include; Love… belonging, or not-belonging… the effect on you and/or others of Christ and what He uniquely represents to each person,… having no relationship at all with the very idea of Christ and how the story impacts you… trust… doubt… faith… brokenness… inner certainty vs outer events… betrayal… loss… pain… grief… transformation… forgiveness… hope… new beginnings… and whatever else may arise you as part of your own process at this stage in your life.
In Modern Gaelic, Sgeul means Story and the word Soisgeul translates as the Gospel; but for the esoteric meaning of the term as it is understood in our tradition, think of the Coire Sois, the Cauldron of Gnosis, or Spiritual Knowledge and then Soisgeul becomes The Story that opens us to Gnosis.
Archetypal
Archetypal, Universal themes that may or may not arise within the context of your individual story this year - include; Love… belonging, or not-belonging… the effect on you and/or others of Christ and what He uniquely represents to each person,… having no relationship at all with the very idea of Christ and how the story impacts you… trust… doubt… faith… brokenness… inner certainty vs outer events… betrayal… loss… pain… grief… transformation… forgiveness… hope… new beginnings… and whatever else may arise you as part of your own process at this stage in your life.