In the valley of the river Ourche, the ECOlonie eco-community has a space dedicated to Gaia- called the Green Cathedral at Forge Neuve. Every summer ECOlonie hosts a one-week gathering, where people from all walks of life come together as Earthlings to build relationships with nature and elemental beings, creatively attuning to the landscape and the inner worlds of Gaia.

I am honoured to be invited again to facilitate this wonderful Gaia culture immersion week in Vosges, France in July 2026. You are welcome to join me there! There is no particular experience necessary for participating, just a love for Earth and an openness to engaging with nature and all her subtle and embodied beings, weaving through periods of meditative silence and creative activities, sharing and exchanging with others.

Date: Saturday afternoon 18th July to Saturday 12pm on 25th July 2026

Cost: Full booking details will be available soon. To receive updates, you may like to sign up for the Embodying Earth newsletter.

Sample daily schedule:

• 7.30 silent fire circle outdoors, 8.30 breakfast and 9.30-12.30 morning programme with meditation and geomancy work in the landscape.

• 15.30-18.00 afternoon programme with artistic and creative exercises or Gaia culture lecture and group exchanges. One afternoon during the week you are invited to join their biodynamic gardening work.

In the summer of 2024 I experienced for the first time the Gathering at ECOlonie. I was blown away by the aliveness of the place and how engaging its elemental beings were! This story on the Rebel Fairy of Contrexéville is related to my experiences there. I perceive Forge Neuve as a node in the crystalline matrix of Gaia Sophia, a place of dragons and fairies for connecting with the sacred dimensions of Earth and water, a place to develop spiritually with embodied intelligence, in cooperation with all the diverse beings who live alongside us.