Gathering Drum Birthing Retreat May 2027
A Unique Retreat to birth your ceremonial gathering drum
Birthing your Ceremonial Gathering Drum
Bookings are now open for 2027 – JUST TWO DRUM PLACES AVAILABLE
We are all born with our own personal drum – our own heartbeat.
We hear the heartbeat of our mother in her womb, and the drum’s beat is the heartbeat of the Great Mother held in your hands.
Ceremonial drums are deeply woven into the history and traditions of many indigenous cultures, such as the Sámi people of Northern Europe and Native American tribes and The Ceremonial or Gathering Drum carries the voices and prayers of the people and becomes the heartbeat of the people singing to spirit.
Birthing your Gathering and Community drum is a magical artistic process of co-creation with sacred hide, wood and spirit.
Over three nights and three days working together in intimate groups that are limited to a maximum of three ceremonial drums – you will birth your very own large gathering drum, you can come as two people working together or one person birthing your drum alone each drum will have a doula assistant to hold your hand through the process.
During our retreat we will be birthing twin sided Wild European Red Deer Ceremonial Drums on Ash-Ply Wood frames 26″in diameter and 12″ deep on custom lie under drum stands. You will work with the whole deer hides which have been pre-prepared into rawhide form for you.
Below is an outline of what to expect from our time together – this will effortlessly unfold and may change to suit the needs of the group (and maybe the weather!) as guided by the spirits of the drum and of place, to draw in all that we need.
You will be staying at my dedicated retreat venue Barmolloch Farm not far from the sacred valley site of Kilmartin Glen.
Accommodation is in simple cottages – each have three twin rooms, a shared bathroom and kitchen and lounge area.
We have a beuatiful converted barn as the space for our ceremonial and circle work and also outdoor space for our crafting and drum birthing if the weather allows.
Fully catered, with simple self service breakfasts each morning, along with a working lunch and two course dinners for the three retreat days are also included.
After you have arrived and settled in on the first day we will start our retreat with a welcome circle and early supper.
We will then move into sacred space and gather together in circle and you will take your first steps on this Gathering Drum road as we begin with a ceremony of prayer and a blessing for the animal which has given its skin for your drum. You will choose the frame and the two whole skins that call to you, cutting your drum heads from each hide.
The following morning as you take the next steps in the process of the creation of your sacred medicine tool, you will be taken on a guided journey to meet the Ancestor Drum Grandmothers and your own personal creative allies.
Then we bless the hides in our spring fed cold northern waters and leave them to rest in containers softening for the labour ahead.
The preparation continues as you cut the lacing before adding them to the soaking vessels.
You will have the opportunity to add your own herbs and crystals to the soaking waters if you wish.
The first day continues, with more preparation for the labour ahead – as you personalise the bones of your drum – the wooden frames – adding your own symbols and power words into the belly of the drum.
These remain secret and hidden empowering the drum songs and rhythms and are known only to the drum makers.
You will braid your handles from your chosen colour of cording and then work through the process of hanging the drum frame from your stand .
We will also be sanding and polishing the wooden handles for your song callers (one pair with a single person making a drum and two pairs when two of you birth a drum together) you can add any extra embellishments you wish, before stuffing the heads and attaching them together.
As the skins soak overnight you will begin to dream into your personal journey of creation until the next day when we begin the process of birthing your special allies.
Accompanied by music and drumming and drum stories we will spend the next day undertaking the slow and steady process of lacing the hide to the frame.
Each of you will work with your personal drum doula to birth your drum – one of us accompanying you for every step you take along this drum road.
We will spiral around and around easing the skin to stretch itself into this new form it is taking until finally it reaches its perfect tension – becoming drum.
In the early evening once the drums are tensioned and finished we will spend some more circle time together and you will be guided on a shamanic drummed journey guided by the mother drums to meet the spirit of your Gathering Drum.
We complete our retreat with a special ceremony to bless and welcome your new drum ally
Then after resting for a final night in your rooms and a shared breakfast you will leave these lands to return to your homes the waiting begins, as the drums start their gentle and steady process of drying over the next seven to fourteen days until you hear their voices for the first time.
Throughout history the heartbeat of the drum has been used in personal and healing ceremonies, for journey work and celebrations. The sound of the drum reconnects us to the heartbeat of our Earth Mother and our oneness with all.
The tradition of drum birthing has been handed down person to person since ancient times and I as your drum doula have trained and worked for nearly 25 years to learn the skills required to support you through this process. You will be birthing a personal ceremonial tool crafted with carefully and ethically sourced materials.
Every drum has its own energy and voice, the drum is a powerful tool with which we can work to honour spirit, for healing, or for clearing and generating energy, gathering drums call in the circle and create a magical held space for group work.
The Drum is the spirit horse that carries us between worlds, taking us on journeys into new dimensions, helping us to ride the tides of life, it touches memories inside each and every one of us, of something very deep and very old; of a time when we came together as a people to drum, dance and sing – rooting ourselves into the earth.
booking now open for this unique three day drum birthing retreat
Dates for the next retreat are the 4th – 7th May to be agreed and confirmed once the minimum booking number is reached – just two drum places available.
included in the cost:-
- three nights and three days in sacred retreat space with a small group birthing your gathering drum – from the afternoon of our first day until breakfast on the last morning
- all the materials and use of the tools needed to birth your drum and create a pair of song callers (two pairs of song callers are included when two people come together to birth a single gathering drum (value £1449 this includes a bespoke lie under or standard drum stand and a custom drum bag)
- Solid Ash Wood Drum stand – a bespoke design is available which allows a person to lay underneath the drum to receive the drum songs.
- A custom Gathering Drum bag in a choice of colours – blue, green or purple
- accommodation for three nights in shared twin rooms in simple cottages with a shared bathroom and kitchen and lounge
- simple self service breakfast (porridge or cereal, fruit and toast) and vegetarian/vegan soup lunches on the two main retreat days
- two course vegetarian evening meals on the three evenings
- snacks, herbals teas and spring water for the duration of the retreat
- river dipping pool
- use of the hot tub each evening
- all rituals, ceremonies and blessings
- comprehensive drum care instructions
- opportunity to view and purchase Ros’s other ceremonial tools that she has for sale at the time.
Your Investment is £1995 for the first person attending and an additional person assisting with birthing the one drum would be £355 which includes making an extra pair of song callers.
once dates are confirmed a deposit of £500 will secure your place the balance * to be paid in full a month prior to the retreat (this can be done in instalments if you wish)
*includes an administration charge regardless of the number of payments
This retreat may also be available as a private retreat for one drum at our home please contact me for more information.
The next Three Day Gathering Drum Birthing Retreat
May 4th – 7th 2027 in the energies of Beltane
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