Weekend Details & 2023-2024 Dates

Following the natural cycle of the year the program is composed of:

Activities that bring out the archetypal energies of the seasons
Exploring the human attributes that are activated by connection
Understanding and fostering healthy leadership
Nature Connection and embodiment practices
Insights into the ‘backstage’ of event organising and facilitation
8 personal mentoring calls with one of the course facilitators (one after each weekend)
Peer to peer mentoring and reflection processes
Authentic sharing and storytelling
Music and Song
Connection practices to support wholistic human being
Inner tracking as the foundation to intact leadership
A supported solo time in August to journey deeper into yourself and the wild around you
Grief tending practices
Access to videos from the 8 Shields 512 Project, with explorations to land this powerfully into your life
Using 8 Shields tools in groups and organisations
How to use the ‘flow-learning cycle’ and other facilitation and event design tools
Peacebuilding tools
Ceremony (including marking a personal leadership threshold at the ned of the program)
The new strand ‘Ecological Homecoming‘ will also help you to develop your nature connection practices – connecting you to your place and all its seasons and life more deeply and satisfyingly.

Weekend timings –
Friday: 19.00-21.00* UK/Ireland
Saturday: 10.00-13.30 (with breaks) then 19.00-21.00 UK/Ireland – there will be suggested activities for Saturday afternoon, so keep some spaciousness for that too!
Sunday: 10.00-13.30 (with breaks) UK/Ireland

*On the first weekend in March (the East) we will also have an additional afternoon session on the Friday to help us all land together 16.00-18.00

As well as the weekends below, the course now includes Ecological Homecoming – 16 evening calls plus suggested outdoor activities to deepen your nature connection practices and seasonal awareness.

Here is what we focus on for each weekend in experiential, theoretical, grounded and practical ways

East Weekend

March 17th-19th ~ Spring Equinox Time

This first weekend is about orienting ourselves to the course. This moment of the year, or the wheel as it is called in 8 Shields mapping, is about connecting to beginnings.

Just as the sun rises in the East quadrant each day, we connect to the sunrise in the land and us – it is about starting things well. In the morning we say hello to each other, and that’s what we do during this weekend, creating safety and a full welcome to ourselves and others.

Each weekend explores a different aspect of fostering peace among people, and the ‘peacebuilding’ tool we explore in the East is good communication.

South-East Weekend

May 12th-14th ~ Lunar Beltaine Time

As the energy of Spring flows to its fullest, with the full dawn chorus and leaves and plants sprouting up all around, the quality of vitality comes forward, reminding us what it is like to be an active eight year old child in the cycle of life.

This weekend is about connecting with our bodies and senses, getting the energy flowing, and removing any blocks so that we can step into our passions and excitement. The peacebuilding tool we explore is about removing any barriers to connection.

South Weekend

June 23rd-25th ~ Summer Solstice Time

Midday midsummer is a place of intensity, commitment and focus.

This weekend is about tracking your inner fire and energy to keep it burning bright, noticing how we can become over-focused which can be associated with this direction.

Peacebuilding tools: creating group agreements and holding accountability.

South-West Summer Landtime

August 13th – with support calls before and afterwards (Lughnasadh Time)

During August, the relaxed holiday time of year, you are invited to have a supported solo time in nature. At this time of year, the birds have quietened down, the plants are drooping and the slower pace of life allows for increased connection and thereby more empathy to emerge.

You can choose to do either a dawn to dusk wander, or a 24 hour overnight solo somewhere near your home. We will have a group call to help you prepare for your time out on the land, and another one to have your story caught afterwards.

Peacebuilding tool: supporting internal peace in the body.

West Weekend

September 15th-17th ~ Autumn Equinox Time

During this weekend we connect with the autumn harvest as the nights start to draw in, reflecting on our experience and learnings from the solo landtime.

We also explore how the West relates to gathering together at the end of the day and season to share stories, food, music and appreciation for each other, supporting and being truly helpful for the thriving of community.

We revisit the peacebuilding tools of good communication.

North-West Weekend

November 3rd-5th ~ Samhain/Halloween Time

As the dark times of the year come on, we reflect on the past and imagine the future.

Stories of healing, inner work, lineage stories, grief tending and what it means to be a good ancestor are key to this weekend, as the darkness helps us to feel more fully alive in ourselves.

The peacebuilding focus is on deeper personal healing and grief tending.

North Weekend

December 15th-17th ~ Winter Solstice Time

In this direction, the North of the year, at the time of midwinter stillness and short days, we gather to reflect on the bigger picture, the flow of the weekends, the story of the year, and our visions for the year to come.

This shield and time of the year are associated with compassion, elderhood and community leadership.

Peacebuilding – Creating and holding group unity and consensus.