Gail Kihn, licensed massage therapist and owner of Pleiades Health Center in Brockport, and her colleague Jean Sauberan, Reiki practitioner and teacher, returned on June 23 from a ten-day tour of sacred healing sites in southwest and north central Ireland. The tour commenced in Shannon on the west coast and ended in Dublin on the east coast. It included visits to pre-Christian era holy wells, 5,000 year-old standing stone circles, Neolithic and Iron Age burial mounds and Megalithic artworks, early Christian ceremonial sites and grave yards, a Celtic Crystal Cave, and a fairy fort.

"Most of the locations were off the beaten path and not your typical tourist stops," said Sauberan of their trip. "Many of these places were in farmers' fields and hidden from the public." The Goddess times or matri-focal period is dated from the first settling of the Isle over 6,000 years ago to about 900 Christian Era. "There is still a great deal of influence from the ancient times evident in traditions of today's Irish people," she said.

Highlights of the sacred journey included: a celebration of the Summer Solstice at the ancient burial mounds of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth, to witness sunrise; a climb to the top of one of the Carin mountains at Lough (Lake) Crew for a view of the whole Boyne River Valley and celebration at sunset; and a ritual dance to the Green Goddess Tara, led by Gail Kihn, at the Hill of Tara, County Meath (the seat of many Irish kings and their queens).

The pair enjoyed many non-sacred events, too, like dining at local eateries in Adare and Munster; enjoying Irish music at pubs in Killarney and Dingle; and lounging in the healing seaweed baths and walking the clear white beaches of Bally Bunion, a quaint village on the Atlantic Ocean of Ireland's south-west coast.

According to the travelers, what made the trip a rich and unique experience were local guides, a small number of participants (16 women), and the folk music and lore shared by residents of the towns and villages.

"We want to bring this experience to others," said Kihn, who is planning a return trip to the Emerald Isle in September. "I am going to secure the contacts and begin preparations for an affordable trip for women." Sauberan is developing a workshop series to be offered to the public. Topics will include the Great Goddess, Symbols and Rituals, Irish Folklore, and Healing Magick.

For more information about the trip or plans for future events, contact them at Pleiades Health Center, 29 Clinton Street, Brockport or call 637-3126.