Seasonal Alchemy

Embodied Pathways

At Autumn Equinox I attended the final workshop of a year long process called Seasonal Alchemy. The weekend included nature connection, meditation, ritual, breathwork, dance and teaching about the Wheel of the Year. I was already familiar with most of these aspects but I was struck by how they were woven together. I was also reminded of the richness of the Wheel of the Year. I’ve been working with the seasonal Wheel for many years but had forgotten its depth and power: I’ve found it hard to hold onto my practice without the support of community.
Seasonal Alchemy brings together several of the embodied pathways of connection and I’m delighted to bring you this interview with the team who create it: Lydia Campbell, Hamish Mackay-Lewis anf Jed Hamilton-Shaw.
Hamish Mackay-Lewis is a nature guide, leadership coach and facilitator, eternally committed to the wisdom and gift of the moment-to-moment experience. He has a varied and international background having served in the armed forces before going into the field of human development.
A perennial student of personal transformation, for the past 12 years he has guided groups and individuals to bring a spirit of adventure into their lives, to look inwardly and honestly and to experience the mutually restorative relationship between land and people.
At the heart of his work are the practices of presence, nature connection and breathwork.
www.hamishmackaylewis.com
Lydia Campbell is a teacher, mediator, leadership consultant, coach and mother. She has been immersed in the fertile edge of transformational leadership and healing for the past 20 years in her own life firstly, and externally in delivering retreats across Africa, India and Europe for thousands of attendees.
Her work rests on three main pillars: ancient wisdom and shamanic healing arts, facilitation and modern leadership approaches, and a healthy dose of heartful, no-bs, real life grit.
www.lydia.ie
Jed Hamilton-Shaw is a Ritualist, Facilitator, Coach and DJ. He began his nature connection journey in 2021, when the pandemic highlighted a profound need for entering into a deeper relationship with the wild world.
He has trained for a number of years with WildWise, a Devon based hub for outdoor education and has worked on the Woods for Wellness project at Dartington Hall as a nature connection facilitator and with Journeyman, a UK charity, mentoring school age boys to help them transition to a generative masculinity.
He is also a magical practitioner, DJ and space holder: working in these ways as part of a wider transition to cultural rewilding of this land.
You can find him on the paths and ancient byways across his beloved Somerset and beyond.
More information about Seasonal Alchemy:
https://www.seasonalalchemy.space