When God was a Woman
Do you remember?
Mountains, Sea, Temples, Tides
For eight days we follow a thread through ancient Greece, from the temples of Delphi to the sacred caves of Crete, from mountain villages to the southern beaches.
We move slowly and explore the wisdom that arises when there is enough spaciousness to hear ourselves.
For thousands of years the most sought-after wisdom in the ancient world came through the voice of a woman.
That light has not gone out.
It burns still, beneath your ribs.
On this intimate journey, we’ll enjoy shared meals beneath the cypress trees, swimming in the sea, ritual, and long stretches of unhurried time. Evenings by candlelight, days outside in the cool mountain air.
Held, so you can finally let go. A deep reset for our bodies and a community that feeds our souls. And it's here that the pilgrimage begins.
Athens, Delphi, Skotino, Crete, and Knossos are the portals we enter.
Imagine, with me: you remember how it feels to be a truly relaxed woman. Denser tensions and emotions have the space to be witnessed, shed.
You choose what is aligned instead of what is approved. You allow yourself to want what you want. You become less interested in performing a life and more interested in living one.
Next May 23–31, 2027, I'm inviting a small group of women travelers to join me on my annual pilgrimage — women who feel the call for reawakening down to the bones. It's a journey toward your own inner wellbeing, held by healing circles and ancient stories that remember how life is nourished and renewed.
Your Days
May 23
Arrive, wander, rest. In the evening we gather for our welcome dinner as the Acropolis glows against the night sky.
May 24 - 25
Delphi: the mountain of the oracle
Private coach through olive groves and wild thyme. We walk the Sacred Way, visit the Temple and the Castalian Spring, and hear the stories beneath the stones with a guide who speaks to Athena, Gaia, the Oracle. Sound healing, movement, a women's circle, and the charming town.
May 26 - 27
Skotino Cave/Kritsa
: sacred ground & women's hands
We fly south to Crete and travel to Skotino Cave, one of the island's oldest sacred sites. The night belongs to Kritsa — a mountain weaving village where Greek friends cook for us, take us to see handwoven textiles, and pour coffee beneath flowering vines. A Greek sleepover.
May 28 - 30
: mother sea, mother earth
The South Shore
We descend toward one of the wildest coastlines in Greece. Sound baths, yoga, and swims in clear blue water. Seaside daybeds and afternoon naps. Completely unplugged, reading by candlelight, feet bare on earth. These days are devoted to restoration — to remembering that wisdom often arrives carried by waves, sunlight, and laughter.
May 31
Knossos: the thread home
Our final morning at Knossos, ceremonial heart of ancient Crete — breathtaking frescoed halls, ancient passageways and private meditation. The pilgrimage concludes with our farewell lunch overlooking the palace. From here, the choice of what comes next is yours.
This journey holds space for a limited circle of women.
A limited number of Early Welcome spaces — 8 in total — are held for the women closest to this work.
“Life changing, life affirming! It was a safe space to be vulnerable... Generous, loving and open.”
—Cynthia P, retreat guest
Rooms from €5,350 · payment plans available
Your €900 deposit is fully refundable until your reservation is confirmed.
Memory older than language:
the earth as mother,
the body as wisdom,
unburdening ourselves as sacred.
For twenty years, I've walked with women through seasons of transition, grief, creativity, motherhood, and healing. Again and again, I've witnessed the same truth.
The wisdom women seek isn’t missing.
More often, it has simply been drowned out. Yet there is a door seeking for us to open — and there in the center of our beings, women know. When we are together, we witness that the stories of the overculture cannot enter this space.
The untamed feminine says don’t exile your instinctive wisdom.
Our relationship to spirit, our refusal to reduce mystery into certainty, our unfiltered authority and vitality.
A woman’s inner life.
She asks: What happens when you stop asking permission?
She invites: Gather around. Lay it all down. Welcome.
She places a warm hand on your back.
Take your time.
You can relax now.
You finally know what is yours.
listen, as you read
about the journeyEvery part of this women’s pilgrimage has been chosen with intention — from the places we stay and sacred sites we visit to the practices we explore and the spaciousness between them. Our accommodations are small hotels and guesthouses chosen for their honesty, sense of place and warmth.
Whether you're coming to reconnect, dive deep, or simply recharge, this journey is personal and generous.
Experience Details: When God Was A Woman
May 23 - 31, 2027
Next Dates
8 days / 7 nights +
Trip Duration
€900
Deposit
A glaNCe inside
Shared & Private rooms are available from €5,350.
all that’s included✓ 8 days / 7 nights accommodation
✓ Welcome dinner at Shari's on May 23rd in Athens
✓ 2 meals per day, afternoons often yours to wander and taste Greece on your own terms
✓ All guided sacred site experiences: Delphi Sanctuary, Skotino Cave, Knossos
✓ Visit to Kritsa weaving village and women's co-op
✓ Women's circles, somatic movement, gentle yoga, meditation, and sound baths
✓ Ground transportation between all sites and internal flight Athens > Crete
✓ Once you land in Athens, every detail has been tended
✓ Coming with a friend? “COMETOGETHER” gives you each a Companion Gift of €500
What's not included: arrival and departure flights, travel insurance, and your Athens hotel through checkout on May 24th.
We recommend arriving at least one day early. A travel specialist is available to arrange all of this for you (flights, arrival nights, and any extensions) if you'd like someone to handle the details.
Who’s holding the circle with me
My prayer is that the spaces I create bring forth what is most true, alive, and vital to a woman's path — met always with sincerity and the strength and compassion to hold whatever arises for you this time around.
With me, I’m honored to say is:
Sharon Jackson, an extraordinary sound healing practitioner and an extraordinary human who might pause mid-conversation to ring a bowl, clearing a blockage you didn’t even know you were carrying. She asks the kind of questions that reveal something true, and she’s a woman I’m genuinely thrilled to sit beside in circle. Her own bio simply reads: DMin, Soul Healer. Also see Van Morrison’s “Into the Mystic.” If you know her, you already love her — and if you don’t, I promise you’re going to love her.
Ashley Moore, a woman you’ll feel safe with from the moment your eyes meet. She’s a wife, mother, and therapist who has the privilege of walking alongside women as they learn to listen to and trust their inner wisdom. She has also been a pillar in my own life, especially in learning to set boundaries and live with greater authenticity. A lifelong student of archaeology, Ashley brings a particular kind of wonder to Greece and its ancient sites. Exploring with her is always an adventure!
Each of us on the journey brings her own medicine, her own way of seeing, and something unique to place in the center — a living spiral where wisdom moves between us. During our pilgrimage together, we’ll also experience the gifts of several other luminous women.
thank you, shanna
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The mystical storytelling of Mandy Roberts (you may know her as a yoga teacher, studio owner, and retreat leader), who uses the wisdom of ancient story as a doorway into deeper listening, playful exploration, and embodied self-discovery. I've asked her to lead us in yoga in the gardens of Crete, where the air still pulses with the feminine divine.
The creative spirit of Lisa Bliss, retired clinical law professor, Fulbright Scholar, and joyful gatherer of rusty metal, quilting scraps, and found treasures, who turns natural materials into joyful creations. I imagine her guiding us through Kritsa's handmade dyes, an open invitation to join her at the craft table.
The gentle hands of Emily Phillips, ritualist and guide in womb and cyclical wisdom, who applies the arc of the heroine's journey to her work as a communications strategist, helping midwife women's creative dreams into life. I've asked Emily to prepare us for the descent into the womb cave — an inner conversation with our bodies, and a new, abiding love for ourselves found through poetry and writing.
This is just a peek into some of the wonderful women joining this pilgrimage. I'm excited for what they'll bring simply by being themselves — and for what you’ll you bring, too, whether that’s your voice, your presence, or simply receiving.
This journey will not call to everyone.
And for some of us — she has been waiting for us for a very long time.
If you feel a pull, you are so welcome here. You don't need to know exactly why before you come — or you may already know why, deeply. Begin with the short application and refundable deposit, and Shari will personally be in touch from there.
“Being with Shari is like the deep inhale of crisp, clean air on a mountain peak. Restorative, inspirational, and life giving...”
— Ashley, 2024
MOST LOVED on our bookshelfCompanions for the journey
When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone
Lost Goddesses of Early Greece — Charlene Spretnak
Wild Mercy: Living the Fierce and Tender Wisdom of the Women Mystics — Mirabai Starr
When the Drummers Were Women — Layne Redmond
The Serpentine Path — Mary Condren
The Wild Edge of Sorrow — Frances Weller
The Feminine Face of God: The Unfolding of the Sacred in Women — Patricia Hopkins & Sherry Ruth Anderson
The Goddess in Crete — Cheryl Straffon & Lana Jarvis
The Heroine's Journey: Woman's Quest for Wholeness — Maureen Murdock
some questions, answered-
While there will be time for long walks on stones worn smooth with centuries of prayer, this is not a long walking pilgrimage in the traditional sense. This is a pilgrimage in the deeper sense — an opportunity to step away from the familiar and into sacred spaces, to listen inward and explore what becomes possible when we gather with intention.
Private transports will take us between destinations. Women of all levels of physical fitness are welcome, just please communicate any mobility limitations in your application.
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The women coming are as varied as the lives they’ve lived — retired and working, grandmothers, mothers, entrepreneurs, writers, artists, therapists, teachers, seekers, and everything in between. Each arriving with her own story, her own season, her own reason for being here.
You don’t need to follow a particular faith or spiritual path, either. Whether you arrive deeply spiritual, quietly curious, questioning, of any religious orientation — you are welcome.
You simply need feel a resonance.
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Many women will be arriving on their own. One of the gifts of gathering this way is meeting women you might never otherwise have crossed paths with and finding your place within the circle.
If there is a woman in your life who belongs on this pilgrimage (a friend, a sister), you are welcome to invite her, and you’ll each receive a Companion Gift toward your journey.
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Because this is an intimate experience, I ask each woman to complete a short application and request a room with a temporary deposit — then I'll personally review it and confirm your reservation.
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That’s okay. You don’t need to have everything figured out before you come. The application is an opportunity for us to connect, make sure the experience feels aligned, and answer any questions you may have.
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You’ll want breathable, comfortable clothes and shoes, layers for changing weather, and things you love that remind you of beauty. I’ll send a more detailed packing list before we leave.
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Yes, and that reminds me — there is a travel agent on hand to assist with booking all of your arrival and departures! There will be time built into the rhythm of the pilgrimage to explore, rest, wander, shop, swim, read, or simply take in where we are. If you’d like to arrive early or stay longer, I’m happy to share suggestions for extending your time in Greece.
Invite a woman you love.
If someone came to mind as you were reading this (a dear friend, a sister) consider inviting her to join you.
When you register with a friend, you each receive a Companion Gift of €500.
You can apply it to your own registration, or you can give it forward to our scholarship fund—whatever feels right for you. Every donation is matched fully.
The Soul Sisters Fund supports retreats for a cause especially close to my heart: drastically under-compensated educators of young children, who spend their days tending the smallest humans—and, in so many ways, our future.
♡ When booking, enter the code “COMETOGETHER” to apply the €500 to your registration.
♡ Or, simply select the Soul Sisters Fund Add-On when you complete your reservation to pay it forward to the matriarchy.
How beautiful it feels, for each of us, when someone says yes for her.
“You have gathered the most magical circle in the most magical of places. My roots are stronger and deeper...”
— Marian, 2025
