Eight-Day Workshop in the South of France

I will be holding a weeklong retreat in the countryside near Aix-en-Provence, France this September 17-24.  The theme of the retreat will be Astrology and Love.  I am following bell hooks in titling it so, because I am very aware that the basis of all my work is the experience of love.  We will focus on increasing relatedness and care for one another, ourselves, and the whole Circle of Animals and relations through astrology.  

We will do this through experiential methods including morning dream groups, storytelling, evening sky-gazing, movement and expressive arts, writing and art-making, astrodrama and action methods.  

We will also learn from the land: Provence has had a rich conversation with love and relatedness for tens of thousands of years that we are privileged to experience.  We will make visits to three places in Provence: the paleolithic Chauvet Caves, as well as sites associated with Mary Magdalena and the Black Madonna.  Each of these places offer powerful encounters with the beautiful possibility of human beings connecting with our circle of relations, and telling stories that weave us into deeper and more loving relationship with life.  Visiting these sacred places dimensionalizes our experience of life, offering greater context and consciousness, in the same way as when we deeply engage with the symbols and stories of the night sky.  Here are some photos of the retreat location, sites, and the chart of the sky we will first meet under

There will be some pre-retreat reading including draft sections of my book Living in the Circle of Animals, as well as material on how psyche ‘relationalizes’ and the ways we can track and participate in the relational and archetypal fields in our astrology.

My intention, as with all my work, is that we make use of the techniques and distinctions of astrology, to move under the stars, and walk together on the field of story, dream, and myth — a field to which we all belong.  When we do that, we find ourselves organized by natural intelligence, we remember our storytelling capacities, and we create deeper understanding together, as well as greater capacity for loving.   

The retreat will be held on beautiful land and spaces shared with us by Victoria Nalin.  Some photos are below, including an aerial view showing the location of the grounds.  The enrollment cost will be US$1400 per person.  There will be a range of accommodation options provided by Victoria, from single and double rooms, a dormitory style room, and a couple of bell tents among the trees.  The cost of these will range from 25-75 Euros per night (Euros 175-525 for the full stay).  The cost for delicious vegetarian breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be Euros 50 per day (Euros 350 total).  Attendance will be limited to 16 participants.  There will be some scholarship availability if you are drawn to attend and finances could constrain you.  

Please email jason@jasonholley.net soon for more details and registration if you are interested in attending.