Calling in the Water Spirits: A Sangoma Ceremony

Join us for an ancient ceremony of chant, drum and trance dance to meet and connect with the water spirits, mermaids & elementals in this in-person workshop with sangoma (African shaman) John Lockley from South Africa.

Water is regarded as a living, timeless bridge between the seen and unseen worlds – a mirror of consciousness and a powerful medium through which we can divine our lives and the communities we serve. To divine means to uncover the soul or sacred in each moment. In this workshop, John will share ancient teachings on the water spirits, the essence of life, and how we can develop a closer relationship with them, drawing on South African sangoma traditions passed down through generations.

What to expect

This is a fully experiential and participatory workshop. You'll take part in sangoma chants, drumming and trance practices, as well as an introduction to trance dance, or 'shaking medicine'. Water spirits love rhythm and communicate through vibration, and you will have the opportunity to dance and sing, opening a portal into this ancient world. While you'll learn a few core techniques, the heart of this workshop is an invitation to experience a new way of seeing the world – one grounded in reciprocity and in listening to the wisdom of nature spirits and living water.

This in-person workshop includes:

• Connecting to your ancestors and nature spirits
• Cultivating a relationship with water spirits through ritual, invocation and ceremony
• Understanding how water spirits may communicate through dreams, symbols and intuition
• Working with water rituals connected to bodies of water – the sea, rivers, lakes and ponds – as a way to divine your life and deepen your connection to your spirit allies, ancestors and nature spirits
• An introduction to trance dance ('shaking medicine'), including opportunities to dance and sing as part of the ceremony

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for anyone drawn to ancestral wisdom, nature spirituality or ceremonial and shamanic practice – whether you're new to this way of working or already walk a spiritual path and wish to deepen your relationship with water, ritual and the unseen world.

Book now to take part in this rare, ancient ceremony and open yourself to a new way of seeing the world that's mirrored in the living wisdom of water.

Meet your tutor, John Lockley

John Lockley is a fully initiated sangoma (healer and shaman) in the Xhosa lineage of South Africa, having spent 10 years in apprenticeship with the tribe that gave us Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. He is the author of Leopard Warrior and The Way of the Leopard, and is recognised internationally as a teacher of indigenous African shamanism, dreamwork, ancestral healing and ceremony.

Previous participants say:

"I was very interested to experience John Lockley's teachings because of my interest in shamanism. He proved to be a very kind and knowledgeable instructor. I enjoyed his stories and in particular his meditations with drumming, singing, and rattling, as well as moving our bodies and dance."

"John Lockley is an engaging and thoughtful facilitator with important content to share. I'm so glad I connected with him through this course and will look forward to opportunities to learn from him in future."

"I find John Lockley a professional and knowledgeable teacher, and what he teaches makes perfect sense to me. I would like to enrol for another course with him."

"John is a true animal medicine man and he transmits the South African teachings spirt very effectively; there was important healing, for me, and a new perspective on life purpose and my place in the world, the world is a much more beautiful place with the wild animals still teaching us how to be."