Welcome from Matthew Fox

HIEROS GAMOS:The Sacred Marriage Within

An Eight-Day Initiatory Pilgrimage into the Ancient Mysteries of Union
with Matthew Fox and the Mistica Evolutiva Team 

June 17–24, 2027 · Northern Italy / The Italian Alps

Join us for eight days of deep divine immersion and initiation in the sacred landscapes of Northern Italy; an embodied pilgrimage into the ancient mystery of Hieros Gamos: the Sacred Marriage Within.

Guided by the main archetypes of the Black Madonna and Archangel Michael, and drawing upon the work of Matthew Fox and C. G. Jung, we will journey through ancient sanctuaries, mountains, elemental landscapes, ritual, movement, meditation, dreamwork, and sacred ceremony to discover a union that is already within us, yet too often remains elusive to our consciousness.

For so much of our lives we have been taught to seek what is missing in another:
the beloved,
the ideal woman or man,
the mother or father we longed for,
the teacher or Guru,
the lover, protector, or partner who will finally see us, choose us, complete us.
But beneath this longing for another lives an even deeper longing:

the longing of the Soul to come home to itself.

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THE PILGRIMAGE (pics of Oropa, Sacra, Centro Nad and Convento Susa in  this section)

Over eight days, we will journey between two extraordinarily sacred centers of the Italian Alps: descending into the ancient, earth-rooted mystery of the Black Madonna of Oropa, and rising into the clarity, courage, and sacred discernment of Archangel Michael at the Sacra Abbazia di San Michele.

Along the way, we will encounter sacred sites and Bronze Age altars, engage the elements, the layered histories of the land, and a living village tradition celebrating the Feast of St. John.

The Black Madonna and Michael are not simply representations of “woman” and “man.” Nor is Hieros Gamos an invitation to conform ourselves to prescribed ideas of femininity or masculinity.

These are archetypal forces that live within us all. The beauty, spaciousness, and energy of the sites where we will breathe, meditate, dance, think, and live for eight days will be there to help our interior work to take place.

This will not simply be a retreat about Sacred Marriage, but an invitation into the alchemical transformation of Divine Union.

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THE JOURNEY

Day One · June 17

Crossing the Threshold

Our pilgrimage begins at historic Villa Malpensa, near Milan Malpensa Airport, allowing travelers to arrive, settle, and gather before entering the deeper retreat.

That evening we meet for our Opening Circle.

We arrive from different countries, histories, and lives.

We begin to form the vessel.

The threshold is crossed.

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Day Two  -  June 18

Entering the Mystery · The Black Madonna

We leave Malpensa and journey into the mountains to Oropa, where we will live for the next three nights within the Sacred Precincts of the Sanctuary of the Black Madonna (a place of worship dating centuries before Christianity).

After arriving and visiting the Sanctuary, there is spacious time to settle, wander, and begin listening to the land.

That afternoon, Matthew Fox offers our foundational teaching by Zoom:

The Black Madonna and Archangel Michael

We conclude the teaching with questioning circles, followed by dinner and a free evening within the sanctuary.

The pilgrimage has begun.

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Day Three  - June 19

ANIMA · Descent Into the Interior

We begin in silence.

Meditation. Breakfast. And then a full day of experiential immersions.

This day is dedicated to the archetypal territory of the Anima: feeling, embodiment, receptivity, Earth, and the unconscious.

Through embodied practice, movement, ritual and inner exploration, we begin encountering what may have been forgotten, wounded, exiled or projected outside ourselves.

This is not about “becoming feminine.”

It is about entering into relationship with the deep interior life of the soul.

This is an intense day with three workshops, interspersed by time in nature.

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Day Four · June 20

Integration -  The Empty Space

Alchemical transformation requires spaciousness.

After morning meditation and optional Dream Circles, the remainder of the day is intentionally open.

The mountains are available for walking and exploration. The sanctuary remains our home. The teaching staff steps away, allowing the experience to settle without further instruction.

Rest.

Dream.

Walk.

Listen.

Integrate.

There are places on an initiatory journey that no teacher can enter for us.

We must meet ourselves there.

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Day Five · June 21

The Crossing -  From Madonna to Michael

We leave the sanctuary of the Black Madonna and begin our crossing toward the Susa Valley.

Along the way, we visit the Dolmen Circle of Cavaglià, entering into relationship with another layer of the ancient landscape.

From there we ascend to the extraordinary Sacra di San Michele, the ancient sanctuary of Archangel Michael rising above the valley.

Here the movement begins to turn.

From descent toward ascent.
From womb toward sword.
From deep welcoming toward discernment and action.

After lunch at the Abbey, we continue to our fourth workshop at Centro NAD, an amazing geodetic dome immersed in the woods. 

In the late afternoon, we reach the city of Susa and our hotel, nested in the center of the old town, which was a Franciscan convent from the time of St. Francis to quite recently. We will experience our fifth workshop in the Gothic church (14th century) contained within the convent. 

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Day Six · June 22

ANIMUS -  The Sacred Masculine

Again we begin in silence.

This day is dedicated to the archetypal territory of the Animus and includes our sixth and seventh workshops, both conducted at the Centro Nad in the woods.

We explore clarity, direction, courage, boundary, protection, consciousness, and sacred action.

What does healthy power feel like in the body?

What is the difference between discernment and judgment?

Between boundary and separation?

Between power over and power in service to?

Michael's sword does not ask us to destroy the Mystery we encountered with the Black Madonna. It teaches us to see clearly within it. The sword serves the heart.

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Day Seven · June 23

Integration -  Ancient Earth & Living Tradition

Our second integration day opens into spaciousness and the land.

After morning meditation, participants have free time, with possibilities for mountain excursions and encounters with the extraordinary natural and sacred landscape of the Susa Valley.

Later in the day we visit the city of Susa, encountering a Bronze Age altar alongside the city's extraordinary layers of Celtic, Roman, and medieval history.

That evening, rather than creating a ceremony separate from the people and place that have received us, we enter a living local tradition:

The Festival of St. John in Bruzolo

Ancient pilgrimage meets living community.

The inner journey begins its return to the world.

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Day Eight · June 24

HIEROS GAMOS · The Return

Our final morning begins once more in silence.

And then we gather.

After walking these archetypal territories, Madonna and Michael, descent and ascent, darkness and discernment, receptivity and action, we enter our Closing Ritual.

Our final ceremony includes the traditional gathering of St. John's flowers, carrying the living landscape itself into our closing.

Here the question is no longer:

Which side am I?

But:

What can now be married within me?

What has returned?

What can be released?

What wants to be lived?

What new relationship to Self, other, Earth, and Spirit is asking to emerge?

This is Hieros Gamos.

Not a final state of perfection.

A living Sacred Marriage.

A commitment to continue bringing what has been divided into relationship.

We share our final meal and begin our journeys home.

Approximately two weeks later, our circle gathers once more online for a Q&A and integration meeting with Matthew Fox by Zoom, supporting the return from pilgrimage into everyday life. 

THE STYLE

This is an experiential and embodied retreat, not simply a series of lectures.

Across our eight days together, our work will include:

Online Teachings with Matthew Fox · Seven Experiential Workshops · Somatic & Embodied Practice · Ritual & Ceremony · Meditation · Dreamwork · Dance & Movement · Questioning Circles · Pilgrimage · Ancient Sacred Sites · The Four Elements · Solitude · Integration · Community

We will engage the psyche through the four Jungian functions: sensation, feeling, intuition, and also the intellect. These will be paired with the four paths of Creation spirituality: Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa and Via Transformativa. With the archetypal forces in the background of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire, ultimately contained by Aether as the final Mandala/Cosmic Circle. 

The retreat is designed to help people feel comfortable, so that they can let go of their everyday masks and proceed fast into the inner work. 

There will be a reader, which will be sent to participants only a few days before the retreat, so that reading can accompany the experience, rather than preceed it. 

The staff is trained to play both the facilitator role and the participant role, in such a way that the group has always a leadership and a psychological containment, while the individual facilitators are not just professionals, but also vulnerable human beings. 

THE STAFF  (pics of us in this section)

The staff is composed by facilitators who are knowledgeable about Creation Spirituality and/or applied Jungian Studies, who have been spiritual practictioners for many years, and who have developed specific professional abilities, as detailed in the bios beneath.

much more on each of us

Matthew Fox joins the group online and offers supervision to the staff.

You’ll be guided by an experienced interdisciplinary team deeply involved with Creation Spirituality.

Gianluigi Gugliermetto - theologian, spiritual leader

Nadine Keller - somatic therapist

Lodgings

Frequently Asked Questions:

Will Matthew Fox teach in this retreat?

Yes, Matthew Fox will be dialoguing with the participants, joining online. More precisely, there will be three 90-minute sessions with him.

Will I be able to enjoy the beach?

Yes, the beach as well as the pool will be available to you during the several breaks and times for reflection.

Will I be able to eat elsewhere than the hotel?

Yes, but you will find other options only in the city of Alghero (by taxi 15 minutes, or by bus 30 minutes).

Will I be able to fly into _______ directly from the USA?

No, but there are several options of flights from the major European hubs to Alghero (you don’t need to land in Italy before landing in Sardinia).

Is it possible to arrive one or more days earlier, or to stay one or more days later?

YES, you need to contact the hotel after February 1 (it is closed in January). Remember to mention that you want the same room, even though we cannot guarantee it.

Do I need to book a taxi from the airport to the hotel?

NO, the hotel provides free shuttles, as long as they are informed in time about your arrival time.

Are the sites easy to walk around?

YES, we have chosen sites without steep paths; however, you need to be able to walk up to 30 minutes.

THE DAILY SCHEDULE

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