Michele Bentley (Wild Oak Ceremonies) is a “Vibrational Alchemist” creating bespoke programmes of healing and transformation, using essences, crystals and sound therapy. Michele is also a Sacred Celebrant and Priestess of the New Earth. As well as offering retreats and handfasting ceremonies at The Yurt Sanctuary, she also holds monthly New Moon women’s circles, and gong and sound baths, both privately in the yurt and group sessions at several local venues.

Nell Brooker is a heart-centred celebrant,writing and conducting bespoke funeral services and ceremonies for all of life’s milestones. Her vocation is to support people on their path through life with transformative and empowering ceremonies, workshops and bodywork. Also a Priestess of the New Earth and Louise Hay Philosophy teacher, Nell facilitates meditation and Inner Dance - a shamanic journey set to music.

Peace Ravenwood is a nomadic plant spirit medicine practitioner who joins our event to offer us a deep, graceful dive into her Divinely rich Cauldron Cacao Circle offerings; Ritual Cacao, lovingly infused with medicinal herbs and mushrooms, a heart expanding journey home to the wild nature of our Sacred Earth Walk, gentle loving embrace of our own Divinity and soul pathways.

​Accommodation options

If you do not live locally, there a few options…
If you would like to treat yourself to a full weekend away and stay on-site, we are opening up our luxury yurt spaces “Little Oak” and “Wildwood” just for retreaters. Each yurt has its own hot shower, compost loo, kitchen and wood-fired hot tub, set in a private garden. The yurts are usually £145 per night, (Fri-Mon) but we are doing a special offer, staying Friday 18th/Sat 19th/Sun 20th March for just £90 per yurt, per night (Min 2 nights). The yurts have either a king size or double bed and sofa beds are also available, if people would like to share. They have cosy wood burners inside, as well as firepits, bbq and gas rings in the kitchen. Bedding and towels are provided.
If you have your own van/tent and would like to camp, this is also an option (although this is dependent on how wet/muddy the field is)
Finally, there are plenty of B&B's in either Glastonbury or Bath (both 25 mins drive) and a there are also few local pubs/guest houses and Airbnb's.
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If you have any questions about the retreat, please do get in touch.

Having spent the last two years immersed in the world of flower essence healing (as I became an advanced practitioner), I finally emerged into the light, buzzing with excitement and ready to start offering this amazing complementary therapy to the world at large. It came as quite a shock to realise that much of the world at large has no idea what I am talking about and therefore, no inclination to start working with essences. Having undergone so many positive life changes since taking essences myself, I have decided to spread the word as far as I can, hopefully without coming across too evangelically!

Like many people today, I have become more aware of the importance of supporting my mental as well as physical health and have tried a variety of complementary therapies; some fairly mainstream and some positively weird. The two that have been the most beneficial to me personally are vibrational essences and sound healing, both of which modalities I then went on to train in as a practitioner (I am a crystal therapist too but that is also due to my magpie-like obsession with the pretty rocks!) I will be extolling the virtues of sound healing in a separate article, so let’s crack on with this one.

What the heck are flower essences? “Flower essences” is the blanket term for various kinds of vibrational essences now available, including plant, tree, crystal, environmental and experiential (my own name for a few essences that I have made myself). There are no actual “bits” in them, and they have no smell. They are little bottles of “nature magic” containing pure spring water, a little preservative (usually 40% brandy or similar) and the ENERGETIC IMPRINT of the plant, flower etc, that has co-created the essence with the producer. “WHAT???” I hear you splutter, “Are you expecting me to believe that a bottle of water with some energy “imprinted” in it, is meant to heal me?” Well, yes, I am. Some of you may also be aware of studies into the consciousness and amazing ability of water to be influenced by and take on properties/qualities of something in its vicinity (Maybe take a look at the work of Dr Masaru Emoto). With so much of our own body consisting of water, it is hardly surprising that we can so easily be affected by positivity or negativity in our own environment.

I am sure that many of you reading this are much more “science-y” than I am, but most people nowadays are aware that everything is made up of vibration. To put it very simply, “Vibrational Therapy” is a way of helping each part of us vibrate at the optimum level for our own health, effectively resetting our vibration so that our miraculous human body and mind can heal itself (as much as it is able to). We also store memory and trauma in our energy system and sometimes, shifting this stagnancy can have an incredible impact on our well-being. Throughout the centuries, plants have been used medicinally but also in other ways, for example, the ancient Egyptians collected the dew from certain flowers to treat emotional imbalances. The Aboriginal peoples used to birth their children into a hole lined with Boab tree leaves… not for comfort but because this tree had the energic ability to clear negative patterns passed down through generations. There is a Boab essence today, made by Ian White of the Australian Bush range and I took this for three months (just a few drops under the tongue each day). By the end of this I had managed to break a massive (negative) pattern running through the female line in my own family for the past four generations (at least). Flower water healing was widely known to be effective for hundreds of years but then was effectively shut down as an option (alongside many other types of natural healings), with the rise of traditional medicine. Luckily, we are now living in an age again when all types of healing can be used to support us in a more holistic way, for our minds, emotions, and souls as well as our bodies.

Dr Edward Bach is one of the most widely known creators of flower essences in the UK (You may have heard of or tried Rescue Remedy?) He was a Harley Street surgeon and homeopath in the 1930s and during his lifetime created 38 essences, each to help with a specific type of person or emotional condition. Since this revolutionary work with vibrational essences, hundreds of different ranges have been created worldwide, using native flowers, trees and environments. There are also specific combinations for men, women, children and animals.

I have worked with clients with a variety of essences to release anger and trauma as well as anxieties, worries, and fears. Certain essences have boosted their confidence and self-esteem, others have soothed their heart and given solace when grieving or feeing discouraged and despondent. There are wonderful ranges available to support people through life changes at all ages as well as passing emotional states that are troubling us at the moment. You may think (as I once did) that this sounds like a placebo of some kind. Having taken essences in depth over many years, I now know that it is not, and that they actually work. They even have positive effects on animals and other plants! Just to be clear, vibrational essences are not magical cures for our physical bodies. They work with our emotions and mental patterns, when we choose to make changes or be supported in this way. They are not cure-all remedies, and some seem to have the desired affect after just a few doses whereas other may need to be taken for longer, especially when working with something we have held onto for many years.

There is so much more to say about these little bottles of healing goodness, but my suggestion is that you don’t take my word for it, take some and find out for yourself! You can buy many ranges online, but the most comprehensive way is to consult with a practitioner, who will tailor a bottle with specific essences for your own needs. There are more and more of us “flower essence folk” sticking our heads above the parapet now, so see who you feel drawn to and take it from there. I promise you won’t regret it. How wonderful it will be for you to have some little potent bottles of nature as allies, to support you as you face the emotional challenges of life.  Good old Mother Nature just doing her thing!

Michele Bentley
Vibrational Healing Practitioner
www.wildoakceremonies.com