The NOSTOS Retreat
A Spiritual Homecoming
With Sharon Blackie
Joined by Mark Vernon, Tom Bree and Vanessa Chamberlin
Our first annual Nostos retreat
Broughton Sanctuary, North Yorkshire
NOVEMBER 15-20, 2026
Over five transformative days, we’ll gather together a community of the curious: learners and seekers who’d like to integrate ancient Western philosophical and wisdom traditions with insights, tools and practices from contemporary depth psychology. It's an adventure in the mythic imagination, as we dream into being a living spiritual tradition that responds to the challenges and opportunities of today’s world, moving through and beyond personal transformation to centre us in a dancing, animate cosmos saturated in the divine.
This retreat is open to all, though attendees will benefit from having had a grounding in Nostos ideas and practices beforehand, by joining our online community.
About the Retreat
The old mythologies and cosmologies of the West – and especially those embedded in the writings of Classical philosophers like Plato, Pythagoras and Plotinus – are rich, complex and beautiful. They reveal to us a world in which everything is not only alive but has purpose and intentionality of its own. An animate world into which each soul chooses to be incarnated, to express a unique way of being human through participation in it and relationship with it. These ancient wisdom traditions communicate timeless truths which help us to understand our place in the cosmos, and to uncover the deeper meaning of human life. They show us how our powers of imagination, creativity and contemplation can connect us both to the natural world and the divine, while furnishing the tools to create a system of ethics that’s free of cant and dogma.
In this first annual Nostos retreat, we’ll revive and reimagine these longstanding traditions by marrying them to the perspectives and practices provided by contemporary Jungian and post-Jungian depth psychology. Our vision is for a practical wisdom to live by: a mythopoetic, contemplative, mystical wisdom, rooted in nature and the wild beauty of the cosmos.
We’ll work together within an open, spacious and reflective framework, exploring a diverse range of philosophical ideas and employing a wide range of practices to help us cultivate our mythic imagination. We’ll focus in on the art of soul-making, uncovering and making sense of our own unique journey through this life, and the nature of our personal calling.
Ultimately, our aim is to guide participants along a path of awakening and transformation through a unique and alchemical blend of philosophy and psychology, of creativity and contemplation.
Questions we’ll consider
What to expect
Mornings and some early afternoons will be spent working with Sharon; there’ll also be a session with philosopher, author and psychotherapist Mark Vernon and one with teacher of sacred geometry Tom Bree.
Later in the day, if you’d like to, you can indulge in a labyrinth walk or spend some time on the land by yourself, exploring Broughton's remarkable nature recovery programme. Alternatively, you might prefer to unwind in Avalon's state-of-the-art biophilic-designed Pool Suite.
Some evenings will be free and on others you can choose to participate in a sound bathing experience, or in a musical and storytelling gathering around a roaring fire at the Fire Temple.
About Broughton Sanctuary
The retreat will be held at the 2,500-acre Broughton Sanctuary, just outside Skipton and at the foothills of the Yorkshire Dales – one of the most picturesque parts of England. Established in 1097, Broughton Hall is a house of transformation, home to the Tempest family for over 900 years, and enjoys a rich history stretching back over the millennium.
The Sanctuary is also home to one of Britain’s most exciting nature recovery projects, a heartfelt commitment to address one of our deepest contemporary crises, based on an extensive tree-planting and rewilding programme. In 2025, we welcomed beavers to the Sanctuary, alongside our native cattle and Iron Age pigs.
Avalon, our state-of-the-art wellbeing retreat centre, is the beating heart of the Sanctuary. With extensive indoor and outdoor resources, the building exists to serve the inner voyage of mind, body, spirit. During your stay you can unwind in the state-of-the-art biophilic-designed Pool Suite, including a clear 20-metre pool, a steam room and sauna, and a hydromassage pool. Beyond the building itself, the Sanctuary grounds offer a network of walking paths, meditation labyrinths, wild swimming reservoirs, a cosmic garden and much more.
We have a large variety of rooms available in Broughton Hall or in our eclectic collection of twenty stunning Retreat Houses – including converted barns, former coach houses and gatehouses.
Broughton Sanctuary is easily accessible by plane, car and public transport.
Book a Place
Please click on the button below, which will take you to the Broughton Sanctuary website to find out more about accommodation and facilities, to see a sample menu, and to book your place.
If you have any questions about travel, accommodation or any other practicalities around the retreat, please don't contact us but contact Broughton Sanctuary at the email address linked to on the retreat page – they are the retreat organisers and hosts.