Awakening to
Divine Pleasure:
An 8 day
France Retreat
with Astrologer & Ceremonialist, Jen Waine
Saturday, May 27 - Sunday, June 4, 2023
Imagine…
A rustic 18th century farm house replete with lush greenery and walking trails, nestled between forests and historic chateaux.
Freshly prepared meals from the garden, a feast of colors and flavors curated with seasonal and local ingredients for you to savor.
FOUR luxurious days…
To unwind, unplug, recalibrate your rhythm, wander remote village streets, and lovingly tend to your body, mind, and spirit.
To connect with new friends, co-create ceremony with the land, and plant seeds for your most lavish dreams to take root.
Onwards we’ll travel…
To a spiritual mecca, a renowned destination on the Camino path, a world-famous city that boasts a 12th-century cathedral known for its rose stained glass windows.
A labyrinth that reveals its mysteries to those who come for inspiration, healing, and communing with the divine.
four devotional days…
Of medieval time travel, candlelight vigils, stained-glass making, and delivering your sacred prayer in a centuries-old ritual.
Wandering through historic streets, indulging in exquisite cuisine, and retreating to a monastery–a truly sacred pilgrimage.
A rite of passage unlike any you’ve ever experienced.
For the truth-seeker in you.
The contemplative traveler.
The reflective alchemist.
The wide-eyed romantic.
The sensual earth-tender.
The soulful artist.
The gourmand.
The lover who craves what’s real.
Imagine returning home after 8 resplendent days…
Feeling resourced, expanded, connected, and inspired with endless possibilities at your fingertips.
Having gathered meaning, stability, laughter, and optimism.
Having thoroughly tasted the fresh flavors of France in spring.
Having danced through the labyrinth with the great mystery.
Having been graced with the generous wisdom of ancestors, walked hand in hand with hope, and communed with the divine.
Come experience heaven on earth…
Alongside an intimate group of curious and reverent humans as we behold the wonders that live in the majestic city of Chartres, France and in the neighboring countryside.
Take in the beauty of this region with all your senses, and open to the larger visions calling you.
To the dreams that ask you to become more generous and trusting of the world’s goodness.
To the beauty that yearns to be recognized everywhere in all things.
The first leg of the journey includes:
4 nights at the bucolic Farm House called “Domaine des Pousses.”
Relax and receive. All meals catered and included.
Sacred Garden Mandala Ceremony for you to co-create ritual and sow your intentions in the soil.
Cooking Class for you to experience and play with the region’s culinary delights
Yogastrology® + Meditation to help you ground, relax + open to receive.
The second leg of the journey includes:
4 nights of accommodation at a Monastery called “Maison St Yves”
Welcome Cocktail
Bountiful breakfasts in a room with vaulted ceilings
Tours of the cathedral + the city of Chartres
Cathedral crypt by candlelight with chanting
Stained glass-making workshop
Sound + light show projected on the cathedral at night
Farewell dinner
Trip inspiration: Jupiter will enter Taurus for the first time in 12 years in May 2023.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, growth, possibility, travel, and tapping into something larger than ourselves that provides meaning and truth.
Taurus is the sign of beauty, pleasure, plenty, sensuality, the earth, sustainability, harmony, voice, song, and artistry.
Abundance awaits you…
It is time for building intimacy with Earth’s splendor, expanding our embodied consciousness, and finding meaning in what we create and behold.
From edible gardens to stained glass cathedral windows, what better way to honor this cycle than a pilgrimage in service to divine pleasure?
To slowing way down and opening to the deliciousness that becomes available with full presence.
When was the last time you offered yourself a decadent worldly experience?
After years of staying in place, plans repeatedly delayed, we’re all aching for new and brighter memories.
Hungry for joy and celebration.
To sink our toes in different soil and indulge our appetites in foreign flavors.
To get away and get closer to what matters…
Connection.
Nourishment.
Rest.
Play.
Adventure.
Contemplation.
Culture.
Ceremony.
Returning to your organic essence.
This trip is organized around three pillar experiences:
1.
Garden Mandala Ceremony to journey and cultivate connection with the land.
You’ll meet with a small river, the forest, the meadows, the fields...
You’ll receive guidance to work with the sacred geometry of the garden mandala using the elements of nature to root your intentions in the fertile spring soil.
2.
The Labyrinth Walk Your Prayer Ceremony at the Chartres Cathedral
Where you’ll write your prayers and personal intentions, and walk the labyrinth to deliver them in the ritualistic way it’s been done for hundreds of years.
3.
Candlelight Crypt Visit with Chanting
Where you’ll be transported back in time and immersed in the path of ancestors–taking in the legendary stories that live within the cathedral walls. Truly a mystical poetic experience.
Is This Divine Pleasure Pilgrimage for You?
You are longing for a slow and sensory retreat–to unplug and slow down.
You desire to enjoy gorgeous food and soul-satisfying experiences while still being close to nature.
You crave a mystical and deeply embodied experience that blends culture, history, artistry, and sacred ritual.
You embody respect, mindfulness, kindness, patience, and understanding (knowing that a certain surrender is needed with travel as hiccups inevitably arise)
You’re fairly autonomous, happy to connect with others and participate in curated programming but also appreciate having time for self-reflection and contemplation (there will be time for exploration and rest to honor your rhythms and intentions).
You embrace the ceremonial elements of this journey, and enjoy spending time relaxed and with reverential energy.
About your guide,
Jen Waine:
I hold Bachelors and Masters Degrees in French Literature from the University of Virginia. I’ve also studied at Paris III of the Sorbonne.
For over 20 years I taught French to students of all ages, and have led several trips to France for teens as Dean through the Oxbridge Program to Paris + Montpellier and as Co-Director of the Barat Foundation to Paris + Provence.
During my time at Oxbridge in France, I was pregnant with my daughter who claims that is the reason she loves French food so much.
More recently, I led a yoga retreat to St. John as well as Women’s Retreats “Portal to Pleasure” + “Portal to Power” in Charlottesville, Virginia.
France, particularly Chartres, is my soul home. My most recent pilgrimage there was in February 2022. I danced on the labyrinth at the Chartres Cathedral to my favorite Sigur Ros song.
It was pure magic. This place offers profound medicine for anyone open to receiving it.
It is my honor and pleasure to introduce you to this magical place.
Will you join me there this spring?
Reclaim your Divine pleasure…& secure your spot:
There is space for 6 adventurous souls to join this pilgrimage.
Are you ready to embark on a larger-than-life spiritual quest?
If you feel called to join this quest, please book a 15-minute discovery call to see if our intentions align and to ensure that this is a good fit.
I look forward to connecting with you.
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Full Trip: Saturday, May 27 - Sunday, June 4, 2023 (8 nights)
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NEW:You can come for solely Part 1:
Saturday, May 27 - Wednesday, May 31 for the Rustic Farm House Experience (4 nights)
ORSolely Part 2:
Wednesday, May 31 - June 4 for the Chartres Experience (4 nights)
UPDATE:Spots are available for the Chartres Module. Deadlines are fluid. Please reach out ASAP if you have a passport that is up to date and wish to join us.
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Full Retreat:
Investment: $4,444Note:
Payment installments available.
Bring a loved one and BOTH of you will receive a discount.
Deposit of $1,111 saves your spot.~
Part I: The Rustic Farm House Experience (4 nights)
OR
Part II: The Chartres Experience (4 nights)
Investment: $2,222UPDATE:
Spots are available for the Chartres Module. Deadlines are fluid. Please reach out ASAP if you have a passport that is up to date and wish to join us. -
This is a retreat that is open to all genders.
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Transport from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to the Farm House.
Transport to Chartres from the Farm House.
Transport via train back to CDG airport or Paris (as per your choice)
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Farm House:
The main house consists of a dining/living room with a fireplace and three individual bedrooms with private bathrooms. The cottage or “gîte” offers a large room with a living room, an American kitchen, a stove, 3 bedrooms and 2 shared baths.
All meals are farm to table + prepared with love and included (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and dietary restrictions honored.
For an additional fee of $100 per night (4 nights), there are 2 single rooms available with a private bath.
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Monastery:
Rooms are shared with one other group member and includes private bath (please note it is a monastery so rooms are small and while modernized for comfort, they are simple)
*For an additional fee of $100 per night (4 nights), based upon availability, you can have a private single room with private bath in the Monastery.
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Airfare, some meals in Chartres, and souvenirs are your responsibility.
Note: Lunches + the first 3 dinners are NOT included in the Chartres portion of the trip
Chartres is a small city with ample dining opportunities at varying price points including a grocery store in walking distance. I’m happy to offer suggestions and so is the front desk at the Monastery as well as the Tourism Office. Please note: there are no fridges in the Monastery where we’ll be staying.
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Yes. You can explore the property. You can walk into the tiny town that is so quaint there is just one bakery. If you are itching to actively explore the region, you can hire a taxi to take you to several destinations within 30 minutes including chateaux and more. More information HERE.
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All of our guides and hosts speak English.
For those who wish to learn some French or brush up on their French, I will offer a French travel class prior to the trip.
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Yes. Payment plans are available if needed–just ask me.
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Full payment is due by April 1, 2023.
Prior to April 1, 2023 the total amount paid will be refunded minus the non-refundable deposit.
If you cancel between April 1 + May 1, 2023, 50% will be charged.
If you cancel on or after May 1, 2023, 100% will be charged. -
Yes. Four.
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Yes. Six.
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If you choose to enjoy wine or champagne on this journey, you’ll be asked to do so mindfully and refrain from using other substances.
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Wifi is available in both places we are staying. Please note that we will stay in stone structures that may slow down the wifi connection.
IMPORTANT: participants are encouraged to unplug as fully as possible. You are invited to take a digital detox.
Thanks for being mindful about phone use.
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You do not need any previous experience with astrology, yoga or meditation.
Yogastrology® practice is a gentle hatha yoga practice that follows the sun and the moon. It is a practice that meets you where you are, exactly as you are.
You’ll see the zodiac signs in the stained glass in the cathedral in Chartres.
And you’ll get to align with the Full Moon in Sagittarius on the last night of our trip ~ a perfect time to see a sound and light show projected on the cathedral under a Full Moon!
Astrology will be present during the trip, but a backdrop. The trip will focus on tuning in to your 5 senses and enjoying the decadence that only France provides.
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The next France retreat is in the works. Reach out if you’d like more information.
Photo Credits:
Christian Simon
Julie Vincent
Stuart Whatling