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More about this trip-
Join Casper and Vanessa, the original co-creators of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, for a pilgrimage in April 2023 in rural Sussex, England! This small group of pilgrims will explore Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire through the theme of transition. Each day, we will have a morning discussion about our theme, viewing it through a passage of the text. We will engage in sacred reading practices while reflecting on the text and our own lives. During the day, we will walk up to twelve miles a day through beautiful countryside and woodlands. Using the landscape as a source of inspiration, we will spend our days walking, reading, and joining in conversation about the fourth book of the series.
For the time we are together, we will be thinking about what role transition plays in this book and the Harry Potter series as a whole. We’ll connect these themes and conversations to our own lives, asking ourselves questions like: What transitions are we expecting in our futures and how can we best prepare for them? How can we best use our intuition to guide us through changes? What habits and practices can we integrate during moments of uncertainty?
We’ll meet in London on the early afternoon of the 12th and then travel to Fair Oak Farm where we’ll stay for the remainder of our time together. Each day, we will make space for writing, reflection, reading, silence, ancient reading practices and of course, for walking.
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We will be walking up to 12 miles each day, sometimes on hilly terrain. The Sussex springtime might be mild and sunny, or wet and windy, sometimes all in the same day. We won’t be rushing but we expect to be tired at the end of each day. We will be meeting in London on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 12th and ending at a local train station in Sussex on the afternoon of Sunday the 16th.
Shared or private rooms are available.
People who have attended another Common Ground pilgrimage will receive a 5% discount on the cost of the trip.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at commonground@notsorryproductions.com.
Trip Faculty
Casper ter Kuile
Faculty Leader (she/her)
Casper ter Kuile is the author of The Power of Ritual, the co-founder of Sacred Design Lab and the co-creator of podcasts Harry Potter and the Sacred Text and The Real Question.
His work explores how we’ll make meaning, deepen our relationships, and experience beauty in the 21st century. Whether convening, studying, writing, or speaking; he’s always weaving together tradition and innovation, levity and profundity, the secular and the sacred.
Casper is working as faculty on this trip.
Vanessa Zoltan
Chaplain (she/her)
Vanessa is the CEO of Not Sorry Productions. She hosts three of our podcasts: Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, The Real Question, and Hot & Bothered. She founded Common Ground Pilgrimages in order to travel with brilliant faculty to beautiful places and talk about books with amazing pilgrims. It was a great trick she pulled off. She is also the author of the book, Praying with Jane Eyre.
Vanessa was trained as a non-denominational chaplain at Harvard Divinity School. She is a proud California girl who currently lives in MA with her gorgeous, blended family. Her Romance novelist pseudonym, if she ever publishes a Romance novel, will be Lorelai Mason, as you can see in her profile pic.
Vanessa will be the chaplain for this trip.
“It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be.”
-Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire