The Spiral Path: A Goddess Pilgrimage Through Crete
May 22 - 31, 2027 | Crete, Greece
For thousands of years on Crete, the divine was imagined as feminine and the living unity of all things.
The Center of the Spiral
You already know how to hold everything together. You’ve been the one who makes it all run—capable, competent, and needed. And somewhere in all of this living of life, you stopped being able to hear the part of you that was asking for something else.
This isn’t a fault of yours. You were never given the time.
The world you live in runs on your capacity and leaves very little of it for you. It keeps you moving fast enough that the question never gets asked, and by the time you ask it, changing anything feels insurmountable.
It is easy to disappear inside the titles you carry, the people who depend on you, and the life you have built.
This women’s pilgrimage on the island of Crete invites you to take 10 days in May to step outside the life that requires so much of you and walk into a way of living that feels whole, integrated, and centered around what is soul nourishing.
The Journey Begins
When you arrive in Heraklion, you’ll immediately feel time converge as ancient rhythms meet a vibrant, modern-day city.
After you settle into your hotel overlooking the Venetian Port of Heraklion, you’ll meet the women you’ll be walking with.
We open the trip the way it should be opened: with song, a circle dance, and a farm-to-table dinner at Peskesi that goes long.
Later, when the group has gone quiet and you’re looking out over the harbor at the evening sea, something settles.
This isn’t inventing something.
It’s resuming something that hasn’t stopped.
You’re just stepping into it.
The Goddess As a Way of Life
For thousands of years on Crete, the divine was imagined as female and the living unity of all things: flowing, cyclical, bound to the natural world.
Together, with a like-minded group of fellow pilgrims, you will joyfully experience the spirit of the mother goddess in archaeological remains, myths and sacred sites that reveal a culture that honored the divine feminine as a source of wisdom, intuition, regeneration, and balance – qualities we are seeking to reclaim in ourselves today.
This isn't a "you are a goddess" retreat. What we're following is older and more specific than that.
The Minoans built an ancient civilization in which female divinity appears at the heart of ritual, sacred art, and the natural world.
Standing inside the immense ruins at the Palace of Knossos, you’ll feel a profound sense of awe at the vivid frescoes, the complex city structures, and the deep weight of 4,000 years of history.
The boundary between historical facts and mythical labyrinths begins to blur and you may experience a sense you’ve stood here before.
“The great goddess was experienced as a flowing, dynamic energy that could manifest in a swarm of bees, a dolphin’s joyous leap, a flight of birds, the coiling of serpents and sea creatures…”
— Anne Baring & Jules Cashford, The Myth of the Goddess
Credit: Erik Törner/Flickr CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Entering the Labyrinth
On our first full day you'll begin to encounter this world for yourself, in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.
A gold ring found in a tomb near Knossos, small enough to rest on a fingertip: four women dancing in a meadow of lilies, their arms raised, and above them a small figure widely read as a goddess descending.
In another display, four clay figures dancing in a circle, found in a tomb at Kamilari and shaped roughly three and a half thousand years ago. Cretans still dance in a circle today.
We'll have danced that circle the evening before you see either of them.
The Snake Goddess is in the museum too, a serpent raised in each hand. The physical act of casting off old skin is a living symbol of shedding, resurrection, and cyclical renewal.
Ariadne’s Thread
We meet Ariadne at the entrance to the sacred labyrinth. In mythology, she is the daughter of King Minos, the young princess who gives Theseus a thread that saves his life, and the woman abandoned once the hero has escaped. She is found by Dionysus and becomes a goddess.
Ariadne’s bond with the labyrinth is also a bond with movement, as she was known for her love of dance. Her thread represents guidance and agency, and her story reminds us that life’s harshest challenges can be transformed to divine rebirth and joy.
INTO THE DARK
We will step deeper into liminal space at the Skotino Cave, an early sacred site for rituals around female fertility.
The cave's purpose shifted across centuries but never left the goddess. A small Byzantine chapel to Saint Paraskevi stands near it today.
You’ll stand in awe at the mouth of this enormous cave tucked into a rocky outcropping, surrounded by ferns.
You know you’re about to walk into a space out of time.
Can you imagine what it feels like to descend together in the shadowed darkness, singing, as women have done for centuries?
This is what this pilgrimage is about. It’s an invitation into direct experience through place, movement, ritual, and reflection, so that what resonates can be felt, without needing to be explained.
Walking the Path
The Minoans did not treat mountains, caves, and natural elements as scenery, they made offerings at cave and mountain shrines, and worshiped the Goddess in sacred trees, stones, and ceremonial sites.
Imagine walking a path with the smell of wild thyme and oregano around you when we encounter the ruins of Kamilari Tholos Tomb on a windswept hill, and you realize the entire town was buried together, one community in life and death.
Outside of the picturesque traditional town of Archanes, we’ll encounter the dramatic Phourni Cemetery with intact royal vaults where for over a millennium, layers upon layers of ancestors were managed.
We will follow the path of ancient worshippers when we climb Mt. Juktas, a sacred peak sanctuary since 2100 BCE, to conduct an open-air ritual.
What we do
We'll pray and commune daily, offering libations and fruit. The rituals we participate in are meaningful, un-contrived and safe. No costumes, no performance, nothing asked of you that you don’t want to give.
Support comes from our group of women walking with you, and from teachings designed to encourage insight and self-reflection.
Nothing here is about conversion or belief—it’s about experience, presence, joy, and making meaning through direct connection.
The Feminine as the Face of Creation
In the middle of our journey, the thread takes us to the Paliani Monastery, one of the oldest women-only convents in Greece, which was built on an older temple that may have been Aphrodite's.
A thousand-year-old myrtle tree stands in the courtyard, where people still bring healing requests. The tree is understood as the home of the Divine Mother.
You’ll feel a jolt of recognition through your body when you place your hands on the rough bark of that ancient tree and whisper your prayer.
You’ll feel a jolt of recognition through your body when you place your hands on the rough bark of that ancient tree and whisper your prayer.
You know you are connecting to a place where women have kept a life together that belongs only to women.
When you see and feel the power of the feminine as the seed at the center of life, and experience the face of creation as your own, it changes everything.
And you understand that Ariadne's thread was never for finding the center.
It was for finding the way home.
A Journey of Unexpected Pleasures
“When you are in Kreta, we’re going to feed you!” (A traditional saying.)
Crete is famous for its delicious, farm fresh cuisine and unrushed meals you’ll remember long after you return home. Meals where dish after dish of fresh, homemade food is brought out, and where the waiter insists you try a complimentary dessert and a small glass of raki. You’ll savor:
Rich Cretan olive oil and wedges of lemon picked right off the tree are served with wild greens and herbs picked that morning.
Small, savory pastries filled with soft mizithra cheese and drizzled with local honey.
Dakos, a famous Cretan rusk salad made with twice-baked hard bread, tomato puree, special Cretan cheese, olives, and of course, olive oil!
Greek-style stuffed grape leaves, tomatoes, and squash blossoms, hand-wrapped and simmered in a heavy clay pot over an open fire.
Everywhere you go, you’ll meet the famous Greek “philoxenia,” the spontaneous generosity that will charm you. During our time together, we will:
Sail to the uninhabited island of Dia, which Homer names as the place where Ariadne’s story ends. Swim in the Cretan sea and enjoy a sunset dinner on the boat.
Wander through off-the-beaten path villages where the way of life has been the same for centuries.
Spend a day on a working farm near Zaros—baking bread, making cheese, doing the ordinary work of village life alongside the people who do it every day.
Experience a working loom at Maria’s textile shop, with a warp on the frame and an order to finish. We’ll sit with her and she’ll talk to us.
Deepen your knowledge of Greek herbs used for mind, body and spirit at the 7-acre Maraval Herbal Garden.
Taste world-renowned Cretan olive oil at Biolea Estate, then visit the ancient olive tree of Vouves, said to be between 2,000-4,000 years old, and still producing olives.
Swim in impossibly blue, crystal clear water and rest on sandy beaches in the warm sun.
Walk the winding and bustling streets of Chania, where delightful boutiques invite your presence.
Rest and relax in a boutique villa for your final days as you integrate this journey.
Who This Is For
This journey is for you if you:
Are standing at a threshold: Something in you is asking for a change you haven't made room for.
Want history you can put your hands on, not affirmations.
Are drawn to goddess history or earth-based practice, whether for decades or only recently.
Want to be in a group that includes shared meals, shared discovery, and shared joy.
Are comfortable on your feet for several hours, on uneven ground, including a descent into a cave and walking uphill.
This journey may not be for you if you:
Want a sightseeing tour with a spiritual theme.
Are looking for therapy, or are in an acute crisis that needs clinical support.
Would rather be handed a belief system than build your own experience.
Need luxury accommodations, a predictable schedule, or a great deal of solitude.
Prefer to observe rather than participate.
What You Take Home
You will return home carrying something real: certainty, nourishment, and a renewed relationship with your own inner knowing. You’ll have deep friendships with women who watched you remember.
You’ll bring with you wisdom that is ready to be lived, with an unshakeable belief in the power of your agency to initiate change from the only place you can: the inside outward.
You’ll no longer need anyone's permission, including your own, to stand in your sovereignty, experience joy, and believe in its value.
TRAVEL DETAILS
You must purchase travel insurance for this trip.
Information about insurance, how to get to Crete, and adding on additional travel is located under “International Travel Information” in the menu to the right.
Find Yourself in Greece is happy to help you personalize your trip to Greece. Please feel free to reach out!
-
Payment options coming soon!
Deposit due at booking. The registration deposit is non-refundable for any reason.Please see Cancellation Policy for more details.
-
Please note all payments made are non-refundable. What this means is that if you change your mind about attending and decide to cancel, money paid to date is non-refundable.
At our discretion, we can allow you to reschedule your retreat date to attend a future retreat.
All attendees must obtain travel insurance to protect them should unforeseen events occur that require them to cancel.
We reserve the right to cancel the trip if it is not meeting the trip minimum. If we do so, you will be refunded minus the credit card service fee.
If we find the trip is not a good fit for you, we reserve the right to cancel your reservation, in which case your payments will be refunded in full minus the credit card service fee.
-
9 nights/10 days in Heraklion, Archanes, Zaros and Chania.
All transportation during the trip (except free day)
Daily breakfast with locally sourced ingredients
6 lunches and 7 authentic Cretan dinners at tavernas and restaurants
Knossos Palace guided tour
Heraklion Archeological Museum guided tour
Ancient Music Experience
Sunset sailing trip to Dia
Paliani Monastery
Kamahis Family Farm Experience
Kamilari Tholos Tomb Visit
Maravel Herb Garden tour
Biolea Astrikas Estate olive oil tour
-
Airfare to and from Crete (fly into Heraklion, fly out of Chania)
Transfer from Heraklion airport to hotel (may change)
Alcoholic beverages
2 lunches and 2 dinners on your own
Transportation on your free day (group arrangements will be made)
Travel Insurance
-
Clothes appropriate for exploring, such as lightweight pants, shirts, jackets, hats, and sturdy walking shoes.
Long skirts for ceremony, scarf or a shawl.
Casual vacation clothes such as shorts and t-shirt. Layers are recommended.
Nice casual clothes for dinner out.
Light sweaters or jacket for evening.
Swimming suits, cover up
Sandals, gym shoes
Small day/hike pack, portable seating pad
Personal items, including hat & sunglasses
Other items for rituals, to be discussed.
-
You must purchase travel insurance. Find yourself in Greece is happy to help refer you to a reputable travel insurance company or provide an online travel insurance aggregator.
When booking your flight, please fly into Heraklion and out of Chania, Crete.
If you would like to add on additional sights or islands to your trip, please let us know and we will help you with suggestions!
Curious if this journey is right for you?
I invite you to book a complimentary exploration call with me to connect, ask questions, and decide if this pilgrimage is for you!
📧 Email: info@findyourselfretreat.com
📱 Text: +1-773-343-3360
Space is very limited to keep the group intimate.
Meet Your Guide
I grew up dancing.
Greek folk dance, from childhood, the steps, the circles, the way people hold together at the wrist. I went on to study ballet, jazz, all the forms. Then choreography and the performing arts; theater, film, writing. I teach dance movement now for women who want to get back into their bodies.
I tell you this first because I left dance for almost thirty years. When I came back to it, I understood it was still there, in my bones. I didn’t reinvent myself; I resumed myself. And I see that same story in the way dancing figures made over three thousand years ago on Crete are performing the same steps Cretan women still dance today. The dance did not stop. We just step back into it.
I first came to Crete in 2021, on a mystical retreat, and I was not prepared for it. What I found was that she was still there — everywhere, on that island. Bees in the mountains. Stones in the caves . Standing in the museum in front of image after image of the feminine as the face of creation, I had the distinct sense of something that had arrived from somewhere else entirely.
Crete captured me and did not let go. I have always had a deep resonance with the feminine (across all cultures and timelines), and with the goddesses. I work to help rebalance feminine energy in the ways I can.
I knew that Great Mother was calling me when I went to this island, and I’ve spent the last five years learning more, experiencing more, and preparing myself to bring others. She has always been here, and now it was time to face her.
When I went to Crete again a few years ago, I went to choose. I had some ideas, but more often than not followed the wind and the words of others who had gone before. I slept in the village of Zaros where the spring water comes out of the tap and the roosters start at four in the morning. I walked into Paliani when it was deserted, with no appointment and no contact, and stood under the myrtle tree.
I got an answer from that tree. I can't promise you will, but I believe the Divine Mother talks to those who ask.
Every place on this itinerary was chosen. Not assembled from a brochure, rather walked, slept in, or found through trusted sources on the ground in Crete.
For five years I have had the joy of facilitating retreats in Greece that focus on transformation, cultural immersion, mythology, philosophy, and life’s simple pleasures.
Before Greece, I worked in film in Los Angeles, wrote screenplays, and directed and produced a short film.
I've written three cover stories for Greek America Magazine, and work in The National Herald, The Greek Star, and GreekCircle. I covered the opening of the New Acropolis Museum as a journalist. Currently I’m writing for Crow’s Feet.
In more recent years, I’ve studied with healers and shamans across the U.S. and completed over a hundred hours of training with Clarissa Pinkola Estés, PhD. I led a women's circle around the book, Women Who Run With the Wolves. These days I teach curriculum for women in midlife and beyond, women asking the question this journey was built around: Who am I now?
I’m from Chicago. I live in Denver. Most of me is in Greece.
itinerary
-
Our pilgrimage begins in Heraklion, the vibrant capital of Crete. Upon landing at the Heraklion airport, you will transfer to the Latos Hotel.
After a short rest, we will have an intentional get together, and then walk to Peskesi, an exceptional farm-to-table restaurant known for its traditional food.(Overnight in Heraklion at the Latos Hotel)
-
Our first morning in Crete begins with a full breakfast at the hotel.
A visit to Greece's largest and most important archaeological site, the Minoan Palace of Knossos will be out first stop. With a rich history dating back to the 7th millennium BC, the palace served as the ceremonial, political, religious, and economic center of the Minoan civilization. The mythological tales of Ariadne, the Minotaur, Daedalus, and Icarus are closely associated with Knossos Palace.
Your journey into ancient Crete continues with a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, one of the largest museums in Greece and the best in the world for Minoan art.
Next, we embark on a Walking Sightseeing Experience in Heraklion. You will explore the most important historic monuments of the Venetian time period and the Ottoman “Megalo Kastro”.
Your town experience includes a traditional meal in a marvelous local restaurant in Heraklion.
Following, we will enjoy an hour and a half session on ancient Greek Music in theory and practice, conducted by a renowned musicologist. We'll listen to survived ancient Greek music both live and recorded and then we the opportunity to play simple ancient rhythms with the help of your instructor.
Dinner in Heraklion, TBD.
(Overnight in Heraklion at the Latos Hotel)
-
After breakfast, our first stop is the mysterious Skotino Cave, one of the largest and most sacred caves in Crete. Originally used from Neolithic times for rituals dedicated to a feminine deity associated with fertility and the underworld, it is a place for introspection, connecting to the unconscious, and transformation.
Lunch on your own in Heraklion
At 2:30 pm, we embark on a sublime sailing trip to Dia, a small, uninhabited island and mythical location where Theseus abandoned the princess Ariadne after she helped him escape the Labyrinth. There are opportunities for SUP and swimming in the sea as well as a relaxing sunset dinner on the boat.
(Overnight in Heraklion at the Latos Hotel)
-
After a final early breakfast at the hotel, we say goodbye to Heraklion and travel into the countryside where we explore remote places where the goddess was worshipped.
We make our way to the charming town of Archanes and Mt Juktas, a sacred mountain overlooking the surrounding landscapes of central Crete. The mountain has been associated with ancient religious practices and sacred traditions for thousands of years, making it a powerful setting for reflection and ritual.
On the sacred mountain, we will visit the Minoan Cemetery of Phourni, a remarkable archaeological site and the sacred Peak Sanctuary of Anemospilia.
Mt. Juktas was the religious heart, while Phourni served as the community's burial ground, showing the integration of life, death, and worship in Minoan Crete.
Late afternoon allows time for exploring Archanes, visiting Idols Art ceramic store or the small archaeological museum.
Lunch and dinner in Archanes as a group.
(Overnight in Archanes at Manili Boutique Suites)
-
After breakfast, we meet with packed bags for Paliani Monastery. Paliani is one of the oldest convents on Crete and a place where we can experience aspects of the living Goddess.
Within its walls is a 1,000-year-old sacred myrtle tree that is said to be endowed with powerful healing properties. Visitors from around the world (and over centuries) have brought healing requests to this ancient tree, considered the Divine Mother by Christians.
A drive through the olive groves and vineyards will bring us to Ano Asites, a picturesque mountain village with a small museum, rich history, and growing art scene, followed by lunch at Earino, an extraordinary restaurant with a view of the valley.
Afterwards, we arrive in Zaros, an unspoiled village famous for its spring water. Our hotel, Studio Keramos, will be our home base for two nights. We will visit Maria’s textile shop, where you see a real working loom and talk to Maria about her craft.
Dinner at Vivi’s and evening group meeting.
(Overnight in Zaros at Studios Keramos)
-
After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, and time for reflection, we’ll visit the Kamahis Family Farm. You will learn about the herbs and wild greens, knead and bake bread, learn to make cheese from goat milk and cook traditional Cretan pies. Over raki, we will partake in traditional Cretan dance!
In the afternoon we’ll return to Zaros, where you can walk to Zaros Lake or take a short gorge hike.
Dinner on your own in Zaros
(Overnight in Zaros at Studios Keramos)
-
After our final breakfast at Studio Keramos, we travel to the Kamilari Tholos Tomb situated in the midst of olive groves. The area provides deep insights into Bronze Age burial traditions and communal rituals.
Afterwards, we visit the 7-acre Maraval Herbal Garden in Spili, where a delicious Cretan lunch is first on the menu. Afterwards, we will wander a peaceful and magical garden, filled with aromatic and medicinal herbs. We will learn about the uses of various flowers and herbs.
In the afternoon, we travel to our private villa near Chania. Our private chef will prepare dinner for us.
-
We start the day with a morning movement class, then breakfast at the villa. This morning is for conversation, quiet reflection, and writing.
After a healthy and delicious lunch, we will take an olive oil tour at Biolea Astrikas Estate. Biolea specializes in artisan production of organic olive oil, stone milled and cold pressed.
On our way home, we’ll honor the ancient olive tree of Vouves, said to be somewhere between 2,000-4,000 years old— and still producing olives!
We return for an afternoon rest, then depart for Old Town Chania, with colorful alleys, charming shops, and a stunning harbor lined with restaurants. Dinner will be on your own in Chania. We will meet at a designated time to be transported back to the villa.
-
Our last full day in Chania begins with integrating our shared experiences with movement and meditation, followed by breakfast. Today is your free day to enjoy! Visit Elafonisi beach, hike a gorge, explore Chania, or simply spend the day at the villa resting. We will help arrange travel and experiences.
The evening brings our group together with a closing ritual and celebration to honor the goddess and acknowledge all we have experienced. We end our day with a special dinner at the Villa, and dancing under the stars, full of joy, trust, and a new understanding of who we are.
-
Final breakfast together, then designated transport departure to the Chania airport.