Wayfinding and Devotion

Wayfinding and Devotion

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Noticing the Signs

How often do you look at the sky and notice where the stars rise and set or where the sun dips below the horizon? Do you follow the wayfaring light of the moon throughout the month, notice the effects of the weather on the nature around you, look for the first wild orchids to bloom? Have you followed magical signs in nature?

Wayfinding

The concept of Wayfinding has fascinated me ever since I first read The Wayfinders, Why Ancient Wisdom matters in the Modern World,  by Wade Davis. Through exceptional storytelling he reveals how elders, navigators, and knowledge keepers kept us aligned with the natural world — reading the stars, the tides, the smells and feelings carried on the winds, the songs of birds, the sound of the changing tide on coral reefs, watching for the ripening of the berries — mapping their world through deep attention and relationship. And by transmitting knowledge and a sense of belonging through ritual and story telling.

He reminds us that ancient wisdom is rooted in intimacy with place, in living in alignment with the cycles of life and that this awareness, this way of being, is still available to us today.

His words resonated, illuminating a deep feeling I have long had: that through our relationship with the natural world there is magic available to us. A living current of guidance — which we can use in harmony with our inner wisdom - the voice of our heart, our intuition, instinct, and emotions. Our presence and awareness.

Tracing Invisible Maps

I realised that in my own way, I’ve been a wayfinder of sorts in my life, tracing invisible maps of meaning through landscapes of experience.

All my life I have watched the moon and stars rise and set, noticing where the full moon appears each month throughout the year and that when Orion’s Belt — known in the southern hemisphere as the saucepan — is rising in the east, spring is on the way — and when it sets in the west in the early evening, it is ‘tipping out summer’ and autumn has arrived.

Seeing Through the Heart

When I was five, travelling to Australia by ship, we had to stop for a whole day in the Suez Canal. I vividly remember the desert heat, the golden light, the date palms, and people wearing brightly coloured clothes, waving from the shore. I didn’t need words to understand the spirit of that place — I could feel it. That too is wayfinding: knowing the world through the heart, trusting the magical signs along the way, being open, or present, to experiencing wonder. Allowing your imagination to inform you. Traditionally wayfinders would hold the image of something they couldn’t see, an intended destination for example, in their mind’s eye — their imagination — and find their way. 

The Language of the Living World

Years later, on a cloudy evening, standing on my veranda with my first granddaughter, who was three at the time, a wind came up and she looked through the break in the clouds and said, “Nan, look at those two eyes in the sky!”

In that moment, I recognised the same wonder awakening in her — and an awareness of the working of the natural world and the magical signs.

The two stars she saw were The Pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri. They form a line that points to the Southern Cross, which can then be used to find south.

Inner Guidance and Renewal

Wayfinding in todays world is a way of orienting to life itself. We can learn once more to navigate by the signs the natural world offers while cultivating our trust in our own inner guidance — our intuition, the wisdom carried through imagination, the messages from our emotions, and the heart’s steady voice whispering to us of the next steps to take. 

It’s a lifelong practice — this tending of our inner compass, this remembering that we belong to the living world, and that there are always magical signs beckoning us along the way.

As Wade Davis says; ”for those with the eyes to see and the heart to feel, the world remains a rich and complex topography of the spirit.”

The journey of human faith, or belief, is something that we don’t have a map for, but if we are to truly honour our life on Earth and make a difference for a better world, then we must invest in our inner value and the expression of it in our daily life. This is not a tall order. It is a necessity — and something we can all do, even in small ways. I know these are challenging times. Yet I also feel this is a moment of extraordinary potential — an invitation to evolve spiritually, to trust our own inner guidance, and to create new ways of being that are in harmony with the Earth. Wayfinding is a practice we can cultivate to support this positive change, and realign with both inner and outer worlds, renewing our sense of belonging, giving us the confidence to follow what makes us feel alive.

The Art of Devotion

The art of devotion brings beauty and vitality into your life.

Devotion is the art of offering your heart to something greater than yourself. It is an act of love and reverence that nurtures the soul, deepening our connection to the sacred.

Like wayfinding, the beauty of devotion lies in its vitality — it calls us to be fully present and engaged in the moment. To be heart centred. Devotion is a focus in Wild Wisdom practices and is a way that we can cultivate becoming a wayfinder, in a spiritual sense. For example, be devoted to your relationship with the nature where you live as well as to your inner nature. 

You can begin with these simple practices, which will also help you to establish wayfinding skills:

Notice and celebrate the changes in nature, such as the seasons, a storm coming in bringing much needed rain, the sunshine nourishing new seedlings. Spend time outside at your favourite time of day, notice the shifting light, the song of the birds, the movement of the wind across the land.

Notice your moods through the different seasons, or weather. Notice how your own changing seasons send you signals.

Observe the movement of the moon in the night sky. What do you learn about its pathway and the time of year? 

You can celebrate these observances by keeping a journal - write them down, draw them, include pictures, whatever you feel drawn to do is perfect. You can also have a simple ceremony where you light a candle for moments that feel significant, such as to welcome a new season, or the new moon, or simply the dawning of a new day and the new opportunities it brings.. 

As daily devotions these simple acts offer opportunities to cultivate your trust and faith and to develop your own map of being. Like spiritual wayfinding, the art of devotion brings vitality and clarity to life. 

In a world that often feels fragmented, devotion and wayfinding anchor us, nourishing and grounding us. They affirm what is important to us offering us a real sense of being part of the whole of life.

In the spirit of this I am very excited to invite you to join me for an adventure of the soul, the Wild Wisdom Women’s Pilgrimage 2026

Wild Wisdom Women’s Pilgrimage

Welcoming the Light

May 29 - June 4th 2026

Connemara, West Ireland  

Extend your stay for a Deeper Immersion 

12pm June 4 - 12pm June 6th

CATCH THE EARLY BIRD

A pilgrimage of radiance and renewal, this is a call to move beyond what’s familiar to find a sense of freedom and gain the confidence and experience to take risks that align you with your personal, spiritual growth. To learn practices and walk paths that bring you into alignment with what makes you feel alive.

Are you longing to feel the earth beneath your feet, see the stars, walk the shoreline - perhaps even go for a swim? If you are yearning to follow your hearts pathway, align with your spiritual growth, and discover new ways of being, now is the time! Join me for a time out of time adventuring and dreaming in the long, radiant days of the West Irish summer!

Join me for this soulful immersion in shamanism and Wild Wisdom, drawing from my Gaelic roots and the deep wisdom of the work I have evolved over the last four decades.

You can read more about the power of pilgrimage on my blog and read - or listen to - my latest reflections on Reverence and Holy Wells (part of our pilgrimage) by following the links below.

What I am dreaming about:

Sowing seeds including tomatoes, corn, beans and squash. 

Putting together a volume of Wild Wisdom practices

Sitting out with all the herbs that are flourishing in the garden including comfrey, lemon balm, tarragon, rosemary, mable grey ( lemon scented geranium ), parsley, sage and thyme. Such abundance!

New online programs for 2026.

Much love,