HALLOWQUEST EVENTS WITH CAITLÍN & JOHN MATTHEWS & FRIENDS
Summer Update
SUMMER EVENTS
Dear Friends,
Here is a reminder of some events that are happening over this Summer.
28 May 2025. REALMS OF THE ROUND TABLE with John Matthews in Oxford
John will be introducing his new fully illustrated collection of rare and previously unpublished tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table at Blackwells Bookshop in Oxford, so please join us!
Advance praise from Sir John Boorman: ‘In my researches for the film Excalibur, I kept colliding with John Matthews. From his great knowledge of the Arthurian legends he gave me notable advice as I researched my story. His writing about the Arthurian legend is enjoyable as well as authentic and this book of new stories is as surprising and enthralling as you would expect.’
This book comes with an introduction by celebrated filmmaker, Sir John Boorman, creator of Excalibur, and illustrated with paintings and drawings by Tolkien artist, John Howe.
It is a time of magic and adventure, of chivalry and courtly love, when great evil must be met with heroic deeds. It is a time of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Realms of the Round Table presents for the first time an extensive collection of forgotten tales, retold for a new generation of readers by a modern-day Merlin, the world-renowned Arthurian authority, John Matthews. Contained within are a rich feast of Arthurian love stories and tales that delve deep into the darker mysteries of the Great Wood and the denizens of fantastic lands beyond.
Here also is a heady mixture of magic, faery lore, wisdom and mystery – capturing extraordinary tales of Camelot’s greatest knights, such as Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain, and others less well known, and soaring from high adventure to mystical accounts of the Grail. These age-old stories, companions to those collected in the sister-volume, The Great Book of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, honour the work of Thomas Malory in his legendary Le Morte D’Arthur. They are dramatically brought to life by the luminous paintings and drawings of internationally acclaimed Tolkien artist, John Howe, to present a glorious reimagining of the most influential work of English fantasy ever written.
Please book on the link below, as there are no tickets on the door. Just a few places left now. At 5.30-6.30pm at Blackwell's Bookshop, Broad Street, Oxford. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/john-matthews-realms-of-the-round-table-tickets-1152234938719?aff=oddtdtcreator
26-29 JUNE 2025 THE SHRINE IN THE DARKNESS with Cáit Branigan and Caitlín Matthews, Stroud, Glos.
I am very happy to be welcoming back Cáit Branigan back to Hawkwood College for her annual visit. We always learn so much, held in her loving and inspired teaching. This course is not just for beginners but for everyone who needs a reminder and immersion in how it feels to have a sustaining spiritual practice under you once again. We all forget, fall out of practice or get hi-jacked by life into erasing all that we once found precious. This is not a 'one size fits all' course, but one where you can go away, form and customise your own practice in ways that suit your preferences.
In times of deep change, spiritual practices can provide solace, comfort and a powerful foundation to aid us in accessing deep sources of support. Such support provides us with the depth and strength required to stay in loving awareness and to hold to an ethical approach to life and growth. Unfortunately, in a world that focuses on success, such foundational practices are often neglected. This course is for all people of spirit, regardless of whether they belong to a spiritual tradition or not. Based upon the simple practices and wisdom of the Sister Islands of Ireland and Britain, we find the ancestral path that has always been under our feet, so that we and the children who come after us may have good guidance.
FEES: Single: £675 Shared: 600, Non-Res: 480.Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034) Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034)
22-24 August 2025 THE WAY OF COUNCIL: with Pippa Bondy, introduced by Caitlín Matthews, in Stroud, Glos.
It is a great pleasure to to invite Pippa Bondy to Hawkwood College for the first time. Pippa and I trained together many years ago, and she has brought us the Way of Council as a wonderful way of learning how to be present in soul, listen in compassion and express truth, for which many of our students are really grateful..
This ancient practice of sitting in a circle and speaking and listening from the heart is our innate birth-right. In modern times the core practice of Council sets a container for empathy and honesty. It provides a way of bearing witness and accepts diversity in our self and each other and helps cultivate non-hierarchical power
When in Council we step into a timeless space and the creative source flows through us. Through the medium of The Way of Council we will embrace the spirit of enquiry; meaning to open a space of ‘not knowing’ - allowing a state of creativity, a field of fresh new energy and awareness that onnects us to a deeper wisdom within. The practice of Council deepens and enhances communication anywhere that dialogue takes place, be it the home, work-place or wider community, offering an effective means of resolving conflicts, making decisions in a group framework and discovering the deeper, often unexpressed needs of individuals and organizations. Council has been used and is effective in many different settings from health care, schools, businesses and community groups.
Pippa Bondy is a wilderness rites of passage guide and a carrier/trainer of Council. She will lead us to experience the empty vessel that Council provides to look at truth, intentions, questions, fixed ideas, mistakes, and other issues in ways that will help support ourselves, our shamanic clients, our community and the world. Fees: Single £495, Shared £445, Non-res £345.) Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034)
AND PLEASE DON’T MISS OUR 41st OPEN MYSTERY SCHOOL, open to all! Book now to join us for our mythical weekend which is never again repeated.
28-30 November 2025. CELTIC MYTH AND VEDIC TRADITION: From India to Ireland. With John and Caitlín Matthews and special guest, Dwina Murphy-Gibb.
With John and Caitlín Matthews and special guest, Dwina Murphy-Gibb. In our 41st open mystery school course, we will be tracing the heroic and spiritual myths that join the Indo-European stream of these two cultures. Through storytelling, meditation and ritual, we will explore some of the notable myths: including the Sacred Directions, the Chariot, the teachings of rishis and druids, the heroic sagas, Faery Lovers, and the Goddess of Sovereignty – all myths we share with India. Our ritual is the Seeking the Four Treasures. Please join us for this great bridging of mythic traditions!
Dwina Murphy-Gibb is the author of The Vedic Tarot and The Cormac Trilogy. She brings the richness of the Vedic tradition to our weekend. https://thevedictarot.com
FEES: Single: £475. Shared: £425. Non-Res £345. Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034)
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY NEXT YEAR:
In 2026, our shamanic training programme continues for students studying with us:
1-4 Feb 2026 SPEAKING GOLD: Shamanic Methods of Divination at Earthspirit, Dundon, Somerset. Advanced course with Caitlín & Dr. Angela Cotter
21-22 March & 12-13 September 2026. FOUNDATION COURSE IN THE SHAMANISM OF THE SISTER ISLANDS. For beginners to Ancestral and Celtic Shamanism of Britain and Ireland. with John Matthews & Wil Kinghan
12-15 APRIL 2026 THRESHOLDS OF POWER & HEALING, For all who have completed the Foundation Course. with Caitlín & Dr. Tish Marrable.
18-21 June 2026 THE ART OF THE HEALING VOICES IN CELTIC SHAMANISM: Welcoming Midsummer In! with Cáit Branigan & Caitlín
To register an interest in any of the above course, please contact: Jane May, Briarwood, Long Wittenham, Oxon OX14 4QW (01865 407680) janedmay@btinternet.com. NOTE: shamanic beginners start with the Foundation Course; those with some experience, start with Thresholds of Power &. Healing. All students are required to fill in an application about their past experience.
We hope to see you in the coming year. But for all you who keep saying ‘I really want to learn with you one day soon, remember that we are not getting any younger - our joint ages are now 150 years!
