I believe that a pilgrimage encompasses spirituality, community, culture, and personal growth. Many pilgrimages involve substantial preparation and physical effort. They often lead to a sense of peace, deeper understanding of personal values and renewed faith.

I’m thinking about my own pilgrimages, the most recent this Thanksgiving week. We hosted 30 family members for our traditional meal.  The journey seemed long at times, me coordinating contributions to our potluck and making preparations; as host, I signed up to make the turkey, even though I’m not really a turkey kind of cook. I bought two 22 lb organic turkeys and tried to honor their sacrifice. I looked at many recipes and watched videos, just because I like to do my research. I brined them and then slipped butter mashed with fresh sage, thyme and rosemary under their skin, roasting one on Thanksgiving eve and the second turkey starting at 5:30 am on Thanksgiving Day, basting every 30 minutes with orange juice and sage or turkey broth. I tried to carefully carve them and while it wasn’t pretty, they tasted amazing!  Thank you for your lives, Mary’s Organic Turkeys!

Each of my family members took their own pilgrimages, preparing food and traveling miles on snowy roads in their small nuclear groups to our co-housing community called Harmony Village in Golden, Colorado.

Before feasting, we gathered in a gratitude circle, each person sharing their thoughts before our traditional prayers. We expressed thanks that our family members share common values, love, and treasure each other. We named dear family members who could not be with us and those who have passed on from our world; gratitude for the privilege that individually, we don’t live under the fear of bombing or deportation; gratitude for our country that hopefully can endure the coming regime; gratitude for the natural world that sustains us; and even gratitude for name tags (different parts of our extended family only see each other once a year, we always have a newcomer or two, and, you know, the kids change each year!).

At the end of the day, I felt that I had completed a pilgrimage. I definitely felt renewed faith in my family, and my personal values that words, actions, and family matter, as well as an appreciation for my co-housing community and common house that gave space for our large gathering. I felt a deep sense of peace that I did my best in this Thanksgiving pilgrimage.

On Friday, several of us “Opted Outside” and hiked at Castlewood Canyon State Park. Along the hike we talked about our travels, and I mentioned my upcoming trip, The Artsy Way.

One of my (five) sisters questioned going on the Camino de Santiago as a “religious” pilgrimage. (Our large family grew up in the Catholic church, with my five older siblings attending parochial schools; but in later life, most of us have found spiritualty outside of organized religion.) I responded that the Camino de Santiago was originally built as a Catholic pilgrimage to the Cathedral in Santiago where Jesus’ apostle St. James’ mythical relics are buried. On our 60+mile journey, we will walk past and visit many Catholic churches, which have beautiful archetecture. And, research shows that this route was traveled and inhabited long before Christianity. Many of the churches along the way were built on preexisting goddess and pagan sites and have hidden symbols and associated mythology dating to prehistoric times.

Throughout Galicia, where we travel in Spain, there are stones and shrines and trees that are believed to be linked to pre-Christian worship. Locals often attribute mystical qualities to natural formations and stones. These sites and cultural elements reflect the rich tapestry of beliefs that characterize Galicia’s history, blending pagan traditions and later Christian influences.

Our trip, the Artsy Way, will explore all aspects of the ancient history of this way to Santiago de Compostela, and we will delve into deeper observation of the beauty of the light-filled oak, chestnut, and eucalyptus forests, artfully crafted stone buildings, bridges, villages, and roads through travel journaling, watercolor instruction and practice. The Celtic site of Castro Maior is one of the special prehistoric places where we stop to sketch and journal.

People come on pilgrimage for many different reasons, including spiritual, artistic, physical or personal challenge, religious, or simply out of curiosity about what the Way will provide.

My friend, Maria Rose Galter is also leading an upcoming pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago, Spain in May 2025, called Her Radical Way. This is another amazing experience, highlighting the goddess roots of the Camino. The logistics are different than the Artsy Way with fewer days (no Creative Layover Days or art instruction) and pilgrims carrying everything they need in their backpacks (instead of a private luggage transport and driver who checks in with us throughout the day). I appreciate the way Maria describes pilgrimage and invites you to take time to seek inward for yourself, so that later you can better give back to others.

I would love to hear what pilgrimage means to you, as well as descriptions of your own pilgrim journeys.

Find out more about the Artsy Way pilgrimage here.