Heart of the Magdalene
Heart of the Magdalene
A Pilgrimage in the Sacred South of France
October 6-18, 2026
Walk with us in The Way of Love.
Pilgrimages are divine appointments, sacred promises made between souls to help each other expand into their highest light.
Dear Sisters,
It is time to return to your luminous light and true divine essence.
The door is open, Beloveds.
With love and joy, we invite you to join us on a life-changing pilgrimage to the mystical heart of Southern France, an ancient land of breathtaking beauty, spiritual power, and profound healing.
These are holy lands, alive with the legacy of the Divine Feminine and rich with the sacred mysteries, myths, and legends of Mary Magdalene. Here, where the veils are thin and the ley lines converge to create portals for awakening, the Heart of the Magdalene is ever-present.
Her messages, teachings, and love are vibrantly alive. Divine feminine wisdom is energetically encoded in the ancient stones, healing spring waters, and sacred lands, shimmering with mystical truths and the presence of the holy. Temples, monasteries, and churches reveal Magdalene mysteries through symbol and image, hidden in plain sight for those with eyes to see.
Come, dear Sisters, let us follow the red thread of remembrance and walk together in the footsteps of the Magdalene, tracing the ancient path where she once walked, wept, prayed, anointed, and taught The Way of Love.
Do you hear the Magdalene calling your holy name?
Like an ancient love poem whispered through time, she has been summoning her daughter’s home for thousands of years. Together, we return to the sacred sites where the Magdalene and her followers activated the earth’s ancient ley lines, seeding luminous codes of light, love, and peace for the awakening of future generations. We come to sing the stones awake, to pour our heartfelt prayers into the healing waters, and to walk once more in the echoes of Her devotion. Here, the blessings of the Magdalene rise to meet us, inviting us to receive the ancient wisdom, hidden messages, and sacred blessings awaiting our return.
There is magic in this place.
The Magdalene calls us to walk The Way of Love, inviting us to awaken the invincible power of our holy hearts. For it is love, and only love, that will heal our aching world. Within the sanctuary of our brave, beautiful hearts—the Holy of Holies—we remember our divine feminine wisdom, sacred sovereignty, and radiant essence.
This journey is a deep remembrance, a sacred awakening, a divine reclamation. It is a journey of healing, expansion, and liberation.
Return to the throne of your sovereign heart.
In this pivotal turning of the ages, we are called to embody unconditional love, compassion, and grace. With courageous hearts, we help weave a new world of balance, peace, and harmony that honors the divinity within all beings.
Our hurting world is crying out for us to remember who we truly are: embodiments of the Divine Feminine, ambassadors of healing, and emissaries of illumination. We are living temples of love, here to anchor Magdalene’s ancient teachings in the modern world. We are called to embody peace in the face of chaos and shine light in the presence of darkness.
Now, more than ever, we are needed. Together, brave, beautiful sisters, let us remember, reclaim, and rise, anchoring Heaven on Earth once again.
Welcome home to the Heart of the Magdalene.
With love & joy,
Katherine, Lina, Katie, and Nikki
This journey is a deep remembrance, a sacred awakening, a divine reclamation.
We welcome you with open arms.
Our Sacred Pilgrimage
Our Sacred Pilgrimage is an Alchemical Dance of:
Channeled Teachings with Lina and The Guides on:
The Magdalene Mysteries, Cathar and Essene Ascension Practices, Divine Feminine Wisdom and potent new teachings on “Enlightened Love”
Celebration, Ceremony, and Ritual
Holy Anointing & Myrrhophore Practices
Sacred Water Rituals
Feminine Embodiment Practices
Womb and Heart Healings
Kuan Yin Qigong
Guided Meditations
Magdalene Poetry Readings
Sacred Circles & Heart-Healing Sisterhood
Sound Healing at Sacred Sites by Renowned Musicians: Song, Harp, Flute, and Piano
Sacred Art Journaling & Creative Expression
Sacred Site Journeys:
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, Sainte Baume, Saintes Maximin Basilica, Rennes-le-Chateau, Rennes-les-Bains, The Fountain of Love, Isis and Osiris Thrones, Cathar Initiation Caves, Montsegur. . .
Delightful Discovery, Magical Play, and Awakened Wonder
Personal Time for Soulful Nourishment, Rest & Rejuvenation
Embodied JOY
Divine Expansion
Deep Remembrance
Holy Homecoming
Personal and Planetary Healing
Every aspect of our beautiful journey is woven with sacred intention, love, ritual, and reverence,
calling us home to our radiant hearts and true divine essence.
We welcome you with open arms and joyful hearts.
Love,
Katherine, Lina, Katie and Nikki
Sacred Sites
Let us follow the red thread of remembrance and walk together in the footsteps of the Magdalene.
Magic awaits. Here are a few of the highlights.
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer
After the Resurrection, Mary Magdalene and her devoted companions fled the Holy Land, trusting themselves to the open sea. Tradition tells that their small, rudderless boat was carried by unseen currents to the shores of the French Mediterranean. Guided by grace, they miraculously drifted ashore near the village now known as Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.
Here, we will honor and celebrate the miracle of both personal and collective rebirth with a sacred water-blessing ritual. We will remember that even when we feel lost or adrift, the great Mystery always carries us towards our highest good. The same miracle that guided the Magdalene gently guides us, too, toward a bright new shore and the warm welcome of a home we have not yet imagined.
Sainte Baume: The Magdalene’s Cave
Following the path of remembrance, we journey to the Grotte de la Sainte-Baume--Magdalene’s Cave. Here, in this sacred stone cathedral carved high into the cliffside, Mary Magdalene is said to have spent the last thirty years of her life in contemplation and prayer. This ancient sanctuary offered her rest, safety, and enlightened visions that inspired her teachings and her path.
As we weave through the enchanted forest—once sacred to the Druids—we feel Magdalene’s heartbeat with every step. This is holy ground, walked by kings and queens, saints and mystics, and countless pilgrims across millennia. We ascend to Magdalene’s Cave where, legend tells, she was lifted on the wings of angels and carried into communion with the Divine seven times each day.
High upon this holy mountain, where the veils of time are thin, the wind whispers sacred songs and ancient prayers. Angels wrap us in their luminous wings, inviting us to rise to the most radiant expression of who we truly are. In the profound peace of the forest and the silent expanse of the magnificent mountaintop, we remember what was once forgotten—the eternal truth of divine love, the power of our illumined hearts, and the sanctity of the radiant light within.
Rennes-le-Chateau
Home to the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene and the Magdalene Tower, the luminous village of Rennes-le-Chateau shimmers with legend, myth, and mystery. Here, the holy heart of the Magdalene is ever-present. Her teachings are woven into every stone and pathway—encoded in sacred geometry, whispered through symbols and images, and humming in the very vibration of the land.
Many believe this enchanted hilltop village guards ancient secrets of hidden treasures, royal bloodlines, and the enigma of the Holy Grail. Whether taken as truth or legend, the air itself seems to sing with a deeper knowing, inviting us to listen closely and trust the wisdom of our hearts.
The highlight of our afternoon will be a private concert with world-renowned harpist, Ani Williams, whose celestial music carries the resonance of the Magdalene heart. She will bless our gathering with sacred sound and soul-opening, channeled wisdom—a beautiful offering in a place already overflowing with magic and light.
Rennes-les-Bains and the Fountain of Love
For thousands of years, pilgrims have traveled to Rennes-les-Bains to experience the wonders of its sparkling springs, warm thermal waters, and heart-shaped baptismal pools. These crystalline waters--infused with living light, ancient prayers, and sacred blessing--have long been revered for their power to cleanse, purify, and restore.
It is said that Mary Magdalene performed baptisms and healing ceremonies in these holy springs, consecrating the waters with her presence, love, and grace. Join us for a beautiful and powerful water-blessing ritual and let yourself be renewed—body, heart, and soul--by the healing waters of love. Water holds memory, and these luminous waters remember the truth of your radiance. Let yourself remember, too. This is a place where memory awakens, magic shimmers, and miracles flow.
Sacred Caves
Hidden across the mystical landscape of Southern France are sacred caves, alive with the echoes of Magdalene’s teachings, rituals, and ceremonies. Love is imprinted in the cavern walls. Sacred songs whisper through the stones. Holiness shimmers in the air. Entering these caves is like crossing a threshold into another dimension — a timeless space deep within the loving womb of Mother Earth, where miracles and magic are still possible. Here, where time stands still, it’s possible to touch the infinite. Guided by local Cathar guardians, as well as by Lina and The Guides, we will reconnect with the lineage of The Way of Love, explore ancient Cathar ascension practices, and discover dimensions of consciousness that once seemed elusive.
The Throne of Isis
Take your seat upon the throne of your own heart, and claim the power that has always been yours.
In the Druid forest high above Rennes-les-Bains, a winding trail leads to an ancient stone seat, weathered by time and shrouded in mystery. Many believe this to be a sacred seat of initiation and activation, used for thousands of years by devotees of the Goddess Isis and later by Mary Magdalene and her followers. As if by divine magic and sacred intention, this stone seat sits directly upon the Paris Meridian or Rose Line, a powerful energetic ley line that carries the living current of the Great Mother’s love.
To sit upon this ancient throne in surrender, silence, and ceremony is to feel held in the heart of the Mother. It is to remember your divine wholeness, sacred sovereignty, and radiant nobility. Come, dear ones, take your seat upon the throne of your sacred heart, remember the divine light within, and reclaim the invincible power born of enlightened love. It is time.
Montsegur, Stargate of Ancient Wisdom
This ancient fortress stands as the final stronghold of the Cathars, spiritual descendants of Mary Magdalene and guardians of her sacred teachings. It was a sanctuary where The Way of Love flourished. Those who lived on this holy mountain knew themselves as living embodiments of Light and emissaries of Love, their hearts beat in direct and unbroken communion with the Divine.
In the spring of 1244, rather than renounce their faith and bow to the tyranny of the Catholic Church, two hundred and ten Cathar martyrs chose instead the path of truth and light. Hand-in-hand, they walked down the mountain into the waiting flames, singing their love of the Divine with peace and faith in their hearts. Legend says that even the soldiers wept, so deeply moved were they by the Cathars’ purity and courage, so awed were they by the vision of white doves rising from the flames.
In 1321, the last Cathar parfait spoke a prophecy moments before his death. He proclaimed, “In seven hundred years, when the laurel turns green again, we shall return,” signaling the rebirth of The Way of Love and Divine Feminine consciousness. That time is now, dear ones. Each time a sister remembers the truth of who she is, the world blossoms anew. Each time she awakens her ancient vow to walk as Love, Heaven anchors more deeply upon the Earth. And so we return. We remember. We rise.
More Sacred Sites
Welcome home to the Heart of the Magdalene.
Remember Who You Are
The Magdalene’s Prayer
You are more magnificent than you can imagine. Even if you expanded your vision of your greatest self a thousand times, it would still be just a fraction of who you are in truth. You are part of a timeless river of sacred stars that sings through your blood, breath, and bones, pulsing with every heartbeat and echoing through eternity. You hold the template of enlightened love in your heart and codes of light in your DNA. You hold the memory of healing in your hands, the kiss of Spirit in your sacred touch, and the light of miracles in your prayers.
Remember to remember, dear daughter of the Magdalene.
May The Way of Love guide your steps.
May the flame of remembrance burn ever bright within your heart.
May you walk as Love — for all beings, for all time.
You are an embodiment of Divine Love and Sacred Illumination.
Awaken to your true nature.
Sacred Sisterhood is a sanctuary of healing and homecoming.
We gather to remember, reclaim, and rise.
Sacred Sisterhood
Do you long to be held in a sacred circle of sisters who see your light and celebrate your radiance, who awaken the treasures of your soul and sing you home to the temple of your holy heart? This is sacred sisterhood. This is the gift of pilgrimage.
You were never meant to walk alone, dear one. Belonging is your birthright.
This is a sanctuary of healing and homecoming. In this sacred circle, it is safe to lay down the wounds that keep you silent and small. Let your tender heart feel the strength of sister-love encircling, uplifting, and inspiring you to shine your luminous beauty and embrace your magnificent soul gifts. Let yourself be witnessed, supported, and loved. Experience the joy of being held by sisters who celebrate your light and remember your wholeness. Together, we will expand into our most empowered, authentic, sovereign selves.
It is through the loving and compassionate eyes of our beloved sisters that we remember who we are, for they serve as our sacred witnesses, reflecting back to us the truth of our divinity, even when we forget.
We gather to remember, reclaim, and rise.
Together, we dance, sing, pray, and guide each other home. As we come together in sacred sisterhood, we ignite our personal and collective power. We awaken our illumined hearts, as well as the One Heart. We remember the ancient magic of our lineages as Priestesses of the Magdalene and daughters of the Goddess. Our light is a blessing. Our love is healing balm. Our magic is medicine for our aching world.
This is an invitation to return to the sacred circle, to remember that we are part of an ancient river of golden light and life-saving divine feminine wisdom that flows through millennia, connecting and carrying us all. Come, dear ones, the Heart of the Magdalene calls us home to the miraculous power of sacred sisterhood and enlightened love. These sacred connections and soul memories will become golden threads in the tapestry of our lives, lasting long after our journey together.
We welcome you with joyful hearts and overflowing love.
Each time a sister remembers the truth of who she is, the world blossoms anew.
The Art of Holy Anointing
For thousands of years in ancient temples and mystical traditions around the world, a secret lineage of deeply devoted priestesses—known as Scent Priestesses, Myrrh Bearers, and Myrrhophores—understood the alchemical magic and transformational power of holy anointing.
These Scent Priestesses anointed with consecrated holy oils—infused with intention, prayer, and the living light of Divine Love. With these sacred oils, they healed and blessed, celebrated and sanctified. They guided souls through initiations and rites of passage that honored the sacred rhythms of life, death, and rebirth
The most well-known scent priestess is Mary Magdalene, often depicted with an alabaster jar filled with Spikenard. Today, the art of holy anointing has returned, awakening in the soul-memory of those who carry the lineage of the Divine Feminine in their body, heart, and soul. Perhaps you, too, carry the memory of holy anointing. Perhaps you feel a stirring in your heart when you hear these sacred words.
Like Mary Magdalene and the priestesses who walked these lands before us, we, too, will practice holy anointing rituals at each sacred site. We will work with high frequency holy oils that have been used since ancient times. These blends act as conduits of divine energy, gently healing, uplifting, and guiding us home to a remembrance of our true divine essence. Every drop is a sacred prayer, a liquid treasure, a symphony of light. Every touch a consecration of the body as a holy temple of radiant love and limitless light.
Come, dear Sister, let yourself feel the kiss of Spirit upon your body as the holy oils work their alchemical magic. Simply open your sweet heart to receive this most ancient and holy blessing.
To anoint is to remember:
You are whole. You are holy. You are Light. You are Love.
Scent Priestesses know that every act of devotion is a celebration of Spirit. Every offering of love is praise for the Divine. And every gift of grace is a blessing from the Goddess.
Sacred Art Journaling™
Inspired by divine guidance, Katherine developed Sacred Art Journaling™—an intuitive process that combines prayer, poetry, meditation, journaling, energy painting, and Intentional Creativity. Sacred Art Journaling™ is a powerful way to align with our inner wisdom and attune to the mystical, healing energy of sacred sites. We’ll learn to paint energy and light and receive the divine information encoded within it. We’ll discover and deepen techniques called soul writing and soul sketching.
Like all sacred pilgrimages, our journey to Southern France is a divine appointment. The spirits of holy places remember us by heart and patiently await the promise of our return. They hold ancient wisdom, sacred messages, and healing medicine to accelerate our expansion and align us with our soul purpose. Sacred Art Journaling™ is a magical doorway that invites us to commune intimately with the energy and spirit of each place we’ll visit. Like old friends, they welcome us home and celebrate our awakening.
You will receive a delightful gift box filled with everything you’ll need to begin Sacred Art Journaling™. Throughout our journey, we’ll weave in relaxed time to nourish our artistic play-practice, spark creative inspiration, awaken inner vision, and connect with Spirit. We’ll create gorgeous, hand-painted, deeply personal journals that hold the sacred energy and magical memories of our Magdalene pilgrimage.
What better way to cherish, honor, and remember our beautiful journey home to our radiant hearts?
The path of pilgrimage is a journey home to your true divine essence-each sacred step an awakening, a remembrance, a return to your illumined heart.
Our Pilgrimage Leaders
KATHERINE WITTEMAN, M.A., is a mother, mystic, muse, eternal optimist, lover of life, seeker of joy, and devotee of love. Dedicated to walking "The Way of Love," Katherine has embraced a path of deep spiritual devotion for over twenty years.
Katherine is an Ordained Scent Priestess in the Rosa Mystica lineage, a Sacred Celebrant, and a lead mentor in the Rosa Mystica Mystery School. She is a temple keeper of the sacred oils of Sandalwood and Rosa Mystica, whose holy names are “Heart of the Priestess” and “Queen of Love,” respectively. Born with natural psychic and empathic abilities, Katherine is a skilled clairvoyant, channel, and energy healer. As a spiritual teacher, Katherine passionately guides women home to the joyful remembrance of their sacred sovereignty, radiant light, and innate divinity.
Katherine is also a gifted visionary artist, certified Intentional Creativity™ Teacher, creator of Sacred Art Journaling, and founder of Dancing Heart Art. With unwavering faith, deep compassion, and unconditional love, she inspires women to awaken to their most vibrant, joyful, empowered lives through the transformational magic and alchemical healing power of Intentional Creativity. An inspiring teacher for over 20 years, Katherine offers magical art retreats (online and in person) and sacred pilgrimages (nationally and internationally) in which she joyfully weaves her love of creativity and deep spiritual wisdom to create soul-nourishing and life-changing experiences.
Meet Katherine and discover more about her joyous work here: dancingheartart.com.
LINA BERNTSEN, M.A. is an internationally known spiritual teacher and profoundly gifted channel living in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. She has been channeling a group of non-physical, spiritual masters, known simply as The Guides, for over forty years. An embodiment of unconditional love and compassion, Lina is dedicated to awakening the global heart, uplifting the collective consciousness, and guiding her students home to their true Divine essence.
Lina holds a master’s in family therapy. She equips her students with powerful tools of transformation that help them transmute family of origin imprints, release limiting beliefs, heal ancestral wounds, transcend patterns of suffering, and dissolve the ego. Lina empowers her students to embrace a life of freedom and joy, expand to their highest potential, and journey home to their radiant hearts.
As well, she helps her students to understand their relationships, themselves, and their soul purpose in this lifetime. This journey of learning, growing, and healing is called Journey into the Heart.
Lina’s deep spiritual understanding and down-to-earth application make channeling with The Guides practical and easy to incorporate into daily life. She has taught classes, workshops, and retreats nationally and internationally, and has helped thousands of people to open their hearts and transcend into higher states of consciousness.
“To be in the presence of Lina and The Guides is to feel the light of Divine Love shine upon you."
Meet Lina here: https://journeyintotheheart.com
NIKKI HILLIS is a guide of the ancient feminine ways, devoted to awakening sacred remembrance in women across all phases of life. Her work bridges the spiritual and the practical, honoring the wisdom of the womb and heart, the rhythm of the cycles, and the embodied power of the feminine.
Rooted in the Rose and Venusian Mysteries, Nikki teaches the Ancient Feminine Arts for modern women, creating sacred spaces to reconnect with inner beauty, creativity, and essence. Her offerings include 1:1 sessions, retreats, pilgrimages, and rites of passage that support women in reclaiming sovereignty, vitality, and sacred embodiment.
She shares ancient wisdom in grounded, practical ways through rituals and tools that foster deep integration and transformation. Her path honors the divine union of feminine and masculine, restoring inner balance and wholeness.
Walking in devotion with the elements, sacred oils, and plant allies, especially Rose, Nikki is initiated in the Water Priestess Arts, working with the waters of the Earth for emotional alchemy and renewal. She guides Magdalene pilgrimages and Rose retreats through Glastonbury, Southern France, and Spain, lands encoded with ancient wisdom. Her soul carries the memory of the Rose Lineage, an ancient red thread guiding my mission.
With over 20 years of service as a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist, Taoist Feminine Arts Instructor, and Somatic Energy Facilitator, Nikki creates devotional containers where ritual, movement, breath, sacred oils, and elemental wisdom converge, guiding women home to embodied radiance, wholeness, and the living remembrance of the Goddess within.
Learn more about Nikki here: https://www.nikkihillis.com
KATIE WITTEMAN is a spiritual teacher, writer, artist, and actress. Katie has been on a spiritual path her entire life, learning how to embody “The Way of Love” with grace, joy, and strength.
Katie is delighted to teach alongside her spiritual mentor, Lina, and her greatest teacher of all, her mom, Katherine. She teaches with a playful spirit and grounded love to help ones remember they are inherently worthy, radiant, loved, powerful, and beautiful beings.
Katie is also the youngest certified Intentional Creativity teacher in the world. She guides students of all ages in classes to heal old wounds and discover their most empowered version of themselves. Katie is also the founder of Heart to Heart Art School, a program that brings the healing magic, play, and joy of creativity to underprivileged elementary school children. As well, she is the co-founder of Heart to Heart: Kids Helping Kids, a non-profit that has raised tens of thousands of dollars for children’s charities around the world.
Katie holds a B.A. in Theatre and Dance with a minor in Writing from UC San Diego, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. Through acting, writing, and directing, Katie uses theatre and film to create stories of healing and visions of a new world.
Katie has always felt a deep connection with the Magdalene and is excited to help ones discover the profound love and wisdom she offers to all who are ready to receive.
Our Guest Teachers
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Devayani
A deeply sensitive soul and intuitive pianist since childhood, Devayani embraces music to express the voice of her soul and the whispers of her heart. "Life sings its story through my fingers,” she reflects.
Her beautiful compositions channel the energy of people, places, and events. Each piece is an inspired, spontaneous expression of the sacred flow of the universe. Devayani’s music gracefully transports listeners into the luminous, radiant heart of the divine. Her music is deeply healing and inspiring, resonating intimately with the heart and soul and lifting her listeners to states of harmony, fluidity, freedom, peace, and well-being.
We will spend an afternoon in Devayani’s home village of Brenac, a small French community still alive with ancient Cathar traditions. Here, we will enjoy a private garden concert, surrounded by flowers and sunshine, as Devayani’s ethereal music transports us into magical realms of higher consciousness.
Meet beautiful Devayani here: devayani.fr
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Samjhana Moon
Samjhana is a master photographer, gifted with the extraordinary ability to reflect the heart and soul of the women she photographs. Her images sparkle with magic, light, and radiance. We are blessed that she will be joining us to photograph our sacred journey.
Samjhana offers this window into her world, “Nature is my medicine, art is my heart, magic is my center. I live cyclically, love deeply, and dance wildly through life. I live in Southern France on the Paris meridian ley-line, beside a beautiful river in a valley filled with magic. I’m a guardian of these lands, sacred sites, thermal baths and our relationship deepens with every season. The natural springs, caves, and forests are a constant source of purification and wisdom that support my evolution and offerings.
I greet every day with this mantra: “Hello, bright new day. Hello, brand new me. Show me how good life can get.”
Meet magical Samjhana here: https://www.samjhanamoon.com
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Ani Williman
World-renowned musician, Ani Williams, is an award-winning harpist, singer, songwriter, author, sound therapist, and pilgrimage guide. How blessed we are that this magical woman will share her music, storytelling, and luminous heart with us in a private concert at Rennes le Chateau.
Williams has recorded more than two-dozen albums of original sacred music based on ancient spiritual traditions. She has done seminal work in the study of sound healing and the relationship between musical tones, the human voice, and healing. She has recorded and performed her enchanting music since the early 1980’s. Her work has been produced and distributed internationally.
Williams has led pilgrimages to France, Spain, England and Scotland, and Egypt, where her groups experience the transformative power of sound. She has explored the role of Mary Magdalene as an archetype in the re-emergence of the sacred feminine for four decades. Her current focus is the Pyrenees region, where she presents music and short tours for private groups on request.
Learn more about Ani and her magical music here: https://aniwilliams.com/about/
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Pauline Elice Reif, M.A., M.F.A.
Pauline is a visionary artist trained in the Intentional Creativity lineage, a poet, playwright, children’s book author and a scholar of the Divine Feminine, Mary Magdalene, and the lineage of the Dark Mothers. She’s the creator of the Sacred She, a women’s group exploring and honoring the Sacred Feminine and the Heart of Belonging. Love is her home, her heart and the hearth from which all of her art and teaching grows. A decades-long scholar of Mary Magdalene and the divine feminine, Pauline will share her brilliant poetry and excerpts from her captivating Master’s thesis with us in several evening salons during our time together. Pauline is a living embodiment of The Way of Love.
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Diane D'Angelou
Diane is a classically trained vocalist with an impressive track record, having had the honor of singing for two former U.S. Presidents. You can also hear her voice on the soundtrack for The Godfather III. Diane's musical talents have been recognized and celebrated through her work with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. In 2025 Diane received the MAC Hanson Award from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets.
Currently residing in Manhattan, Diane graces numerous NYC venues with her captivating cabaret show. Drawing from her rich experiences and diverse influences, she performs a delightful mix of songs from the American Songbook, as well as enchanting tunes from around the globe. As a soloist, Diane has showcased her vocal prowess in the comic operas of Gilbert & Sullivan with the Lamplighters Music Theatre and the San Diego Comic Opera. Her talents have taken her to remarkable stages around the world. Notably, she created the role of Ishtar, the Goddess of Love, in the original opera, The Daughter's of Ishtar.
Diane's unique, warm, and exciting spin on music has allowed her to evolve into a sultry, sophisticated singer who brings her own lush vocal interpretations to the cabaret stage. Her performances are truly a testament to her elegant metamorphosis as an artist.
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Aletheia Sophia
Aletheia Sophia lives as a vessel of Sophia’s returning presence on the earth. She is a voice of remembrance and a steward of the sacred. Rooted in the Cathar lands of Southern France, she tends Les Contes, a living sanctuary where living waters, animals, and human hearts meet. There, she and her family walk the rhythms of ritual, land, and relationship, carrying the response of the Feminine Christ into everyday life. Once a global teacher known for Sacred Body Awakening, Aletheia has shifted from global travel to deep rootedness. She now offers her work through The Shift Network, including Mary Magdalene’s Sacred Journey Through France and Mary Magdalene’s Somatic Sacraments. These are not simply courses, but transmissions of embodied devotion, inviting a remembrance of Sophia’s wisdom and the living radiance of the Feminine Christ within us all.
We will join Aletheia at her beloved sanctuary/home, Les Contes, for a deeply sacred day of ritual, story telling, and teachings.
Learn more about Aletheia and her luminous offerings here: https://aletheiapistissophia.com/about-aletheia/
Our Beautiful Accommodations
Le Pigonnet
Nestled in the heart of Provence, our charming 5-star, boutique hotel features beautiful ensuite bedrooms (single or double occupancy), gorgeous dining and gathering spaces, award-winning cuisine, lovely gardens, a refreshing pool, and luxurious spa. Just steps away from Aix-en-Provence’s old town, we’ll have plenty of free-time to explore the local open-air markets, bistros, cafes, and shops. Magic abounds under the enchanting Provencal sun.
Our journey begins.
Les Marguerites
Tucked in the heart of the stunning Pyrenees mountains lies the charming village of Alet les Bains. Our sacred home base is a lovingly restored French country house, complete with beautiful gardens, an outdoor temple space, and an inviting pool. Antoinette, the heart and soul of Les Marguerites, is the grand matriarch of this oasis of peace, belonging, comfort, and joy. Being in her presence feels like the blessing of Home. An extraordinary chef, Antoinette considers preparing delicious, soul-nourishing meals to be an act of love and devotion. How blessed we are by the bounty of her generous heart and abundant table.
Welcome home!
Are you ready to answer the call of your heart?
Love and Only Love
To come home to the beauty, mystery, and power of our own hearts.
To heed the call. To open the door.
The Magdalene is calling, waiting with open arms and gifts we can’t yet imagine.
Love and only love shows the way.
Can you hear Her whispering your name?
~Pauline Elice Reif
Yes! This sounds magical!
Testimonials
What are people saying about our previous pilgrimages?
This pilgrimage has been profoundly transformational. From the first I heard about this pilgrimage I felt a deep call to return to Avalon. I feel infinitely blessed to have made this journey.
~Jan Martindale
The Avalon retreat has been an amazing journey. I learned so much about myself, about the masculine and feminine balance, and about being in a community of beautiful souls of both men and women. My heart is full of gratitude for all the many gifts I have received. I feel so blessed and so healed and expanded now.
~Elizabeth Thorpe
A once-in-a-lifetime experience filled with love and joy. It was a true blessing and I appreciate all the loving intention, effort, attention to detail, and thoughtfulness that went into creating this wonderful and transformative experience.
~Brad Bowers
Your pure, loving, generous hearts created an atmosphere of inclusivity, caring, and deep love. What magical experiences and thoughtfulness of planning. Thank you for creating a conscious, awakening, and life-changing pilgrimage.
~Julie Brockman
My heart is overflowing with love for you from a spirit filled, divinely inspired, luxurious, bountiful, and magical voyage. So much love and gratitude in my Avalon heart. You are all such loving beings. Thank you for being in my life and lifetimes, and for organizing our divine appointment.
~Jen Bowers
I knew this pilgrimage would be glorious, but I had no idea how every step of the way I would be meant with such deep homecoming. I have never felt more deeply at home in my body as I have in this place with these people, my dear sisters and brothers on the journey. Magic at every step . . . and holding it all is a profound sense of homecoming in my body, heart, and soul.
~Pauline Reif
If this retreat calls to your beautiful heart, we welcome you with love and joy.
“Heart of the Magdalene” webpage designed by Katherine Witteman and Katie Witteman
All materials and content copyright Katherine Witteman
Photographs copyright Katherine Witteman, Samjhana Moon, Nikki Hillis, Ariane Alexia Lugan and Adobe