Celtic Wisdom with John Philip Newell
The internationally acclaimed Celtic scholar, John Philip Newell, who now lives in the Ecovillage of Findhorn, will offer a nine-part teaching series on the lineage of Celtic Wisdom for today based on his award-winning publication Sacred Earth Sacred Soul (Harper Collins).
The online series, a collaboration between FF3 and Earth & Soul (www.earthandsoul.org), includes teachings as well as meditative practice and live discussion with John Philip, and focuses on the prophetic wisdom of great Celtic teachers from the 2nd century to today, exploring how this vision of the sacredness of Earth and every human being applies to the enormous challenges of this moment in time. It is a lineage of wisdom that has been neglected and even opposed by the holders of political and religious power over the centuries but is rising into consciousness again today as a way of seeing that holds vision for the future wellbeing of Earth and humanity and each one of us.
Online Gatherings (Tuesdays 5:30 – 7:00 pm GMT)
November 3, 2026 – Sacred Soul (in which we draw from the 4th-century Welsh teacher Pelagius who is the fountainhead of much wisdom in the Celtic world about the sacredness at the heart of every person. It was a teaching that threatened the Roman Empire and led to Pelagius being excommunicated by the Imperial Church for challenging the way in which power so often fails to honour the sacred dignity of every human being.)
November 10, 2026 – Sacred Feminine (in which we focus on legends of St Brigid of Kildare as a 5th-century Celtic expression of reverence for women and the essential balance between feminine and masculine wisdom in our lives and relationship with Earth and the creatures.)
November 17, 2026 – Sacred Flow (in which the 9th-century Irish teacher Eriugena is celebrated for teaching that God is a subterranean stream of Light running deep through all things and that we will be truly alive by letting go to the flow of the divine at the heart of our being.)
January 12, 2027 – Sacred Song (in which we remember the poems and prayers of the people of the Western Isles of Scotland that were sung and recited for centuries at the rising of the sun and its setting, under the whiteness of the moon at night, and at the birth and death of loved ones, a testimony to the sacredness of nature and humanity’s interrelationship with the Universe.)
January 19, 2027 – Sacred Imagination (in which we retell the story of a 19th-century Celtic teacher Alexander John Scott who was judged as a heretic for teaching the sacredness of Earth and every human being. Scott believed that our greatest faculty of soul is the imagination and our capacity to dream new ways forward in our lives and world.)
January 26 2027 – Sacred Earth (in which we honour the memory of the American Celt John Muir as the greatest modern prophet of ecological consciousness and action who inspires us to keep falling in love with Earth as the key to the healing of our planet.)
March 2, 2027 – Sacred Matter (in which we learn from the 20th-century Celt Teilhard de Chardin who as a French paleontologist and priest experienced the divine deep in all matter and teaches us to look for the sacred in the body of Earth and the human body, a vision of the holy interrelatedness of all things.)
March 9, 2027 – Sacred Compassion (in which we look to the life and teachings of the modern Scottish prophet George MacLeod of Iona who translated his Celtic vision of the sacredness of Earth and every human being into compassionate action for housing, health, and hunger in the world and nonviolence to Earth and every person.)
March 16, 2027 – Sacred Journey (in which we conclude the series with the modern poet Kenneth White and his geo-poetic insights of what he calls ‘rediscovering Earth’, ‘rewording the world’, and opening to a ‘new-found land’ by which he means a way of relating to Earth and one another in harmony that we have never known before.)
*for the March 16th gathering please note that the US will have switched to Daylight Saving time already, but the UK will not have switched to British Summer Time so the time difference will be one hour later in the four US time zones.
In all nine sessions together in word, silence, music, and sharing the invitation is to remember our essence and the essence of Earth and every species as divine and to commit ourselves again to living in relation to that true depth.
The rhythm of each gathering
Each 90-minute online gathering follows a gentle rhythm that combines teaching, reflection and conversation, creating space not only to learn, but to deepen your own experience of the wisdom being explored.
What the series offers
This nine-part online series invites you into the living stream of Celtic wisdom through the teachings of John Philip Newell. Be guided through a lineage spanning nearly two thousand years.
Drawing on the themes of Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, each gathering explores a different aspect of the Celtic spiritual tradition, weaving together teaching, contemplative practice and live conversation.
Rather than looking only to the past, the series considers how this ancient lineage speaks to the questions of our time. Through the wisdom of remarkable Celtic teachers across the centuries, we explore a way of seeing that recognises the sacredness of Earth, the dignity of every human being and the call to compassionate action in today's world.
Each session offers an opportunity to deepen understanding, nourish spiritual practice and engage with others who are seeking wisdom for living with greater awareness, courage and hope.