Sacred Journey in Lapland
starting from Ivalo, Finland
Saturday 28th of August- Sunday 5. September 2027
Guided by Anna-Katariina Hollmérus aHelena Karhu
This is a nature-spiritual sacred journey in the high Arctic of Sápmi.
We come together in deep ecological spirit, where our intention is to walk softly on this Northern Nature. This is our veneration to the Spirits of the land and all those ancient ones around it. On our sacred journey, we devote our time for full-time service for peace of nature, both as inner and outer landscape. We come together to connect, to remember, and to give sustenance to our purpose of life in sacred reciprocity.
This is a possibility for you to deepen your animistic-shamanic, eco-spiritual life-world by learning about ritual and ceremonial work, as well as about shamanic journey work, from Anna-Katariina and Helena. Or perhaps you join us just connect to nature in deeper way, and to walk the path of peace of nature. Most of all, we all will learn directly from nature, as we visit for honoring together these incredible natural sites.
Finnish and Karelians have since old times travelled to the North, to learn from the respected teachers of the high North, from the ones, whose spirits have been born along side the powerful Nature. We are open to meet our Teachers in this journey, it is our quest to connect in our hearts with them. As the universal saying: “When the time is right, the teacher will find you”.
Anna-Katariina has written these invocation words for the call of this sacred journey:
Hear the call of the Arctic North.
Hear the call of the ancestors, the ones that walked before us.
In deep gratitude for all Life above the Arctic Circle.
We will approach the Land of the Saami with deep Respect for ancient Traditions and modern world Challenges.
We will Honor and Connect with sacred sites through silence , sound and prayer.
Rivers, saivo lakes, springs, and ocean.
Stones, tafones, siedi, seita, Stone Beings, mountains, Stone Graves that hold some of the oldest memory on earth.
White reindeer, bears, wolves, whales, Arctic fox, the Eagle.
Ancient pines and tree beings, the plant kingdom
The elemental Kingdom and all its Beings that are Connected to the North. Dragons, Giants, Stone people.
The ancient ones.
Hyperboreans, the golden ones, the people of the sun.
Lakes, Fjords as multidimensional Portals.
Remembering ancient Times stored in our blood, Bones, faces, muscles, DNA and beyond .
May we Listen to the Songs of the Wind
May we Listen to the Songs of the Waters
May We Hear
the Songs of the ancestors in the Stones ,Rocks and Waters .
May we hear the joiks of the ones who walked the Land in the North.
In Support of their gooddesses and gods.
May we receive an answer on the deepest question that we carry in our Hearts.
May we receive the answer to our question:
Mother, Earth, eadni, äiti, Mama: What can I do for you ?
How can we be of service? In a time of deep Transformation and Change.
How can we hold a clear, steady Vision of a world in Balance.
What is a sacred journey?
Sacred journey has a purpose to expand our understanding on the meaning of life, to find out what is there in the unknown, to embrace the vastness of our own being, to find new aspects of ourselves, and to experience transformation through the sacred connection with all of life. It can offer a life-changing journey to deepen your understanding about your own purpose, and about everything in existence. We can walk into our personal peace and compassion.
Or it can be your walk into the landscape: To experience yourself in communion with this earth, this land, these waters, and this nature. You might long for deeper nature experiences and become one with it all. To be in your own nature, within this nature, trusting nature.
In a nature-spiritual sacred journey such as this, we will celebrate by giving gratitude to the beauty of nature, to return to our ritual and ceremonial inner nature, to nurture the mystic within us, and to walk together with all the beings in the animal-, plant-, and star kingdoms and alike. How can we all serve better here for common good?
Scientific research has shown that pilgrimage can have also psychological, spiritual, social, and biological healing and therapeutic effects. The metaphysical qualities of the natural power places and the healing ceremonies can affect us in multiple ways of strength and vitality. We all can benefit of the beauty of ceremony and sacred journey in these times, when there is so much collective imbalance, duality, and grief in the world. We take this journey to bring balance and harmony to the whole extent of our being and relationships.
What kind of places do we visit?
The places we visit are especially curated by Anna-Katariina, who has decades of experience of living and journeying at the Sapmi. We will visit both sites of power of nature, and also cultural sites and museums. We visit springs, fjells, ocean, lakes, rivers. Please see the daily program for further details. Please allow also sense of adventure with no need to know in advance: All the places in the North are special to us, and we listen carefully the spirits and guardians of the places, where it is acceptable for us to enter. Thank you!
How we do this pilgrimage?
Anna-Katariina and Helena are offering the guidance. We will help to coordinate the car pools and accommodation options during the sacred journey. We hope that some of the participants will join either with their own cars or by rented cars for the shared car pools, where the travel costs will be divided by the participants.
How to get there?
We start this journey from Inari, where you can get to from Ivalo airport or through driving across Finland.
Is the sacred journey right for me?
The sacred journey is suitable for everyone who are interested to join with positivity and flexibility. Please notice, that our sacred journey requires normal mobility, as we will do some hiking/trekking in nature. However, this does not require more than normal mobility, no special condition needed. Our time together is alcohol-free and drug-free.
THE PILGRIMAGE GUIDES:
Ceremonial, shamanic guide:
Anna-Katariina Hollmérus
Photo: Anna-Katariina Hollmérus
The ceremonies around Lake Pielinen will be guided by shaman-artist Anna-Katariina Hollmérus.
Anna-Katariina Hollmérus is a free artist in the field of art and music, voice, sound (drum, singing bowls ..). Her life work is dedicated as an energy healer, where she does multidimensional grid work and healing, crystal gridwork, dragon lines, ley lines. Her main energy work is as a sacred water carrier, where her work is with water ceremonies, honoring the waters. She has educated herself also in wild plants (Fischer Rizzi), functional voice therapy (Heptner), singing bowl therapy (p.hess), mental sleep and many others. Anna-Katariina’s spiritual journey has taken her Journeys to many old sites and countries that were divinely orchestrated, such as Egypt, Altai (Siberia), Nepal, and New Zealand.
Pilgrimage guide and coordinator of the journey:
Helena Karhu
I am a North-Karelian tradition keeper, culture producer, and researcher. The soul task of my life is within Karhun Talo (House of Bear), which aims to remember our deep connection with nature, as the source of awakening and awareness, wellbeing, and connectedness for everyone in community. I wish to understand, remember, and live folk cultures and wisdom traditions together with all of you. I am one of the founders of a local culture association called Pielisen Tietäjäkeskus ry., which aims to promote, strengthen, and live the ancestral wisdom traditions of North Karelia.
My world journeys have taken me across the Northern and Arctic regions in quest for meaning of life. I have lived shorter periods in Greenland and in Alaska. My passion is to bring forth the light-increasing, co-operative, and empowering aspects of the ancestral practice, where everyone can rest as they are, yet have freedom to become who they are. As a guide, my ambition is to be of inspiring and positive guidance, where simplicity and naturalness of life are the key focus. The work is done with great respect and listening of the spirits and sensitivities of nature.
Together Anna-Katariina and Helena create a friendly duo, who are here to walk with you and to coordinate the practical aspects on this pilgrimage journey:
Anna-Katariina and Helena after ceremonial visit at Pirunkirkko Cave at Koli.
ACCOMMODATION:
You will receive information about the accommodation options in registration. The accommodation options vary from simple hostel rooms to well-equipped and comfortable holiday apartments. We will stay in two places during the journey, which are our base camps for the journey. One of these basecamps is in Inari, and another one is in Varanger.
How to get here?
We will meet at Ivalo, which you can reach by car or by flying. The closest airport is Ivalo. Flights: www.finnair.com
PRELIMINARY PROGRAM:
This is the preliminary program, but we will allow the spirits guide our journey as we move forward each day. Please join with sense of flexibility and adventure.
Day before: Arrivals to Ivalo (We strongly recommend to arrive already a day before to Ivalo. The Finnair flights arrive only on Thursdays.)
Day 1. Friday 27th of August 2027 IVALO/INARI
10.00 Meeting at Ivalo.
Visiting Karhunpesäkivi Stone.
Lunch in Inari. (Possibility to visit supermarket)
Stop at Lake Inari to connect with water.
Driving to Vasatokka, Inari and settling in.
Coming together circle. Welcoming. Setting intentions. Greetings to Muddusjärvi Lake.
17.00 Dinner and accommodation at Vasatokka, Inari.
Optional sauna.
Day 2. Saturday 28th of August 2027 INARI
08.00 Breakfast at Vasatokka.
09.00 Start of the sacred journey day.
10.00 Visiting SIIDA. Guided tour for 1 hour and time to look freely.
Lunch.
13.00 Boat tour around Ukonkivi.
Visiting the remote wilderness church (erämaakirkko).
Dinner time.
Accommodation at Vasatokka.
Optional sauna.
Day 3. Sunday 29th of August. INARI
Breakfast
Visit and ceremony at the top of Otsamo Fjell. Honoring the four directions ancestors and spirits.
Shamanic drum journey.
Accommodation at Vasatokka
Day 4. Monday 30th of August. INARI
Breakfast
Visit at Sulaoja spring. Honoring the ones that walk before us, the sauivo, sacred water. Meeting the guardians.
Stop on the way at Giellajohkka River.
Accommodation at Vasatokka.
Day 5. Tuesday 31st of August INARI- SEVETTIJÄRVI - VARANGER
Breakfast
Drive to Sevettijärvi Lake. Visit at the Skolt museum.
Drive to Varanger, crossing to Norway. On the way passing some of the remotest lakes of the Arctic Skoltfossen / skoltwaterfall.
Accommodation at https://www.vj-camping.no/kontakt
Day 6. Wednesday 1st of September VARANGER
Breakfast
Visiting interesting sites at Varanger area, a small museum and Bear Stone
Mortensnes / Ceavccegeadge. Ancient labyrinth and stone. Visiting a small museum about shamanism.
Fire ceremony.
Accommodation at VJ camping
Day 7. Thursday 2nd of September VARANGER
Breakfast
Visiting Vardö and the memorial of witches
Visiting interesting museum and nature sites.
Accommodation at VJ camping
Day 8. Friday 3rd of September VARANGER
Breakfast
Visiting Klubnesen, a sacred mountain.
Accommodation at VJ camping
Day 9. Saturday 4th of September VARANGER – UTSJOKI - INARI
Returning route via Utsjoki to Inari
Ceremony by Tenojoki River
Returning to Vasatokka and the final circle and sauna of the journey.
Accommodation at Vasatokka
Day 10. Sunday 5th of September
Breakfast at Vasatokka.
Departutes from Ivalo or alternatively continue journey on your own.
REGISTRATION:
You can sign up by using this registration form:
If necessary or any questions, please send e-mail to info@karhuntalo.com
For the entire tour, the offering for the pilgrimage guides is either 590 (only part 1 in Inari), 755 EUR or 950 EUR according to your possibilities, including 25,5% VAT including the guidance at the pilgrimage program.
In addition to this, accommodation and meals, museum entrances, boat tour at Inari, and travel costs will be covered by each participants.
The offering does not include travel or travel insurance. Please read Karhun Ta's reservation and cancellation conditions: https://www.karhuntalo.com/booking-and-cancellation-conditions
