God, Sex, and the Body
A Mary Magdalene & Black Madonna Pilgrimage
April 2026 | Marseille, France | 5 Days
A pilgrimage for women who are ready.
This is an invitation to walk where Mary Magdalene walked, to dance in the places where the sacred feminine has been remembered for thousands of years, to gather with women who refuse to make spirituality small or polite.
For 5 days in Southern France, we'll visit the cave where Mary Magdalene lived for 33 years. We'll sit with the Black Madonna in the ancient crypt beneath Marseille. We'll hike through sacred forests, move our bodies in ritual and dance, and do the kind of womb work that brings you home to yourself.
This is art and devotion woven together.
We'll be based in Marseille - France's oldest city, a working port with ancient roots and raw Mediterranean energy. Not the sanitized Provence of travel magazines, but the real, multicultural heartbeat of the Mediterranean: fishing boats in the old harbor, Greek and Roman ruins, Arabic spices in the market, layers of history written in stone and sea salt.
We're walking where Mary Magdalene walked. Not the sanitized saint they tried to make her. The real one. The apostle. The witness. The lover. The devotee who held death and resurrection in her body and refused to look away.
If you've been told your anger isn't spiritual, your grief isn't holy, your desire is sinful - this pilgrimage is for you.
If you're tired of spiritual bypassing, toxic positivity, and teachings that ask you to transcend your body instead of coming home to it—this is your invitation.
This pilgrimage weaves together sacred sites, embodiment practices, and ritual that doesn't sanitize the shadow or skip over the body to get to the "light."
Pilgrimage to the Cave of Mary Magdalene in Sainte-Baume - the grotto where she lived for 33 years in wild devotion. We'll hike up the mountain through the ancient forest, enter the cave where she prayed and wept, and sit in the darkness with what she carried.
The Yoni Cave - there's a second cave, lesser-known and harder to reach. Not the famous pilgrimage site. This one requires a real hike, off the main path, where tourists don't go. We'll make this journey together for those who want to go deeper.
The Sacred Spring - near the main grotto is a natural water source that has been flowing for thousands of years. Water has always been central to sacred sites, it carries information, facilitates transformation, connects us to the earth. We'll visit this spring and work with the element of water as part of our practice.
The Black Madonna of Marseille - we'll visit the Basilica of Saint-Victor in Marseille, home to Notre-Dame de la Confession (also called Our Lady of the New Fire). This 13th-century Black Madonna sits in one of the oldest Christian shrines in the Western world - a crypt that was a pagan burial site long before Christianity claimed it. The church holds relics of early Christian martyrs, but underneath it all is the older story: goddess worship, earth-based feminine wisdom, the sacred feminine that predates the patriarchal church by millennia.
Body Temple Dance - ecstatic movement, ritual theater, and embodied prayer in a beautiful Marseille dance studio. This isn't performance. This is the body speaking what the mind can't hold.
Embodied Practices - trauma-informed movement and breathwork. Nervous system education. Real talk about what it means to inhabit your body fully, to feel grief and pleasure, to be sexual and spiritual at the same time.
Ceremony & Ritual - creating sacred space for the fullness of feminine experience: rage and rapture, grief and pleasure, the death of who you were and the birth of who you're becoming.
This work is held within what we call the Rose Lineage - a living transmission of feminine wisdom that runs through Mary Magdalene, the Black Madonna, and countless unnamed women who have kept the sacred feminine alive through persecution, erasure, and attempts at assimilation.
It's not a lineage you can trace through papers or certificates. It's something you feel in your body when you're in the presence of women who carry it. It's the refusal to make spirituality pretty. It's the insistence that the body is holy. It's the understanding that grief and pleasure are both prayers.
You don't need to be fully embodied, a seasoned practitioner, or spiritually "advanced" to be here. You just need to love god and the earth, have a vulva, and be willing to show up with your sacred heart and steady spine.
Rose Lineage
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Rose Lineage 🌹
This immersion is for people who...
✺ Prioritize intentional introspection just as readily as expression and creation
✺ Treasure making new intimate connections and maintaining a level of accountability and awareness in one another's lives
✺ Who give an absolute fuck about intersectionality and calling each other in and out in the spirit of growth, honesty, and devotion
✺ Are actively invested in community, even if you're navigating difficulties in finding the right one
✺ Have at least a little bit of energy to give, even if you've been knocked down or are actively struggling
✺ Can practice the 3 C's: curiosity, choice, and consent - in your learning, in your practice, and in your relationships
✺ Are neurodivergent-friendly, queer-affirming, and understand that bodies come in all forms
✺ Can handle unpolished, direct communication and don't need everything to be soft and gentle
✺ Are ready to work with the fullness of your experience: joy and rage, pleasure and grief, light and shadow
What's Included vs. What's Not:
Your registration fee covers:
All facilitation, teaching, and programming for 5 days
Transportation to sacred sites
Daily access to the beautiful Marseille dance studio
Ceremony materials and ritual supplies
Trip planning support and local recommendations
Your registration does NOT include:
Flights to/from Marseille
Accommodation (hotels, Airbnb, hostels)
Meals and drinks
Personal expenses and spending money
We're keeping the program separate from accommodation so you can choose what works for your budget and style - whether that's hostels, Airbnb, or hotels. We'll provide recommendations and can help coordinate shared housing if folks want to room together.
Investment
Early Sacred Rebel
$1,200
For those who commit early (only 5 tickets available)
Regular Early Pricing
$1,800
Standard registration for the pilgrimage
Full Pricing
$2,200
Schedule Overview
Wednesday Evening: Arrival, opening ceremony, intentions, meet the group
Thursday: Black Madonna at Abbey Saint-Victor in the morning, Body Temple Dance in the afternoon, integration circle in evening
Friday: Full-day pilgrimage to Mary Magdalene's Caves
Saturday: Body Temple intensive in morning, embodied practices/nervous system work in the afternoon, free evening
Sunday: Integration day with morning practice, free time, closing ceremony + dinner together (optional)
Monday Morning: Final circle and departures
YOUR GUIDES
FAQs
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Lodging is not included in the fee but there is the option to book an Airbnb room from us ($300-$400)
Here are a few hotels that are withing walking distance of the studio.
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Meals are not included.
We will have an optional meal together on Sunday night which you should budget for if you want to come.
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Travel is not included.
We will have some transport available during the retreat, but you will need to arrange airport transfers/ car rentals.
Please let us know if you need any help organising either of these options - or want to carshare with someone else.
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We have various Payment Plan options available.
Please book intentially - once you’ve registered you are responsible for making all your retreat payments.
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This is a small, intimate gathering where each person's presence matters. A great deal of energy, love, and resources go into preparing these experiences. If you're unable to attend, you're welcome to transfer your spot to someone else, but we're not able to offer refunds.
Payments are non refundable up to 8 weeks before the event
Payment plans must be paid even if the participant decides to not attend.
In extreme cases like close deaths and intense illness we are willing to work with you but we have to have a strict policy to keep our work in integrity and flow.
Thank you for understanding and considering before you purchase.
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Your registration covers all facilitation, teaching, and programming for 5 days, transportation to sacred sites (van rental and gas), daily access to our beautiful Marseille dance studio, ceremony materials and ritual supplies, and trip planning support with local recommendations.
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Flights to/from Marseille, accommodation (hotels, Airbnb, hostels), meals and drinks, and personal expenses are not included. This allows you to choose lodging and food options that fit your budget and preferences. We'll provide recommendations and can help coordinate shared housing if you want to room with other participants.
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This retreat is open to people with vulvas of all backgrounds, identities, and expressions. We're queer-affirming, body-positive, and neurodivergence-friendly. You don't need to be a "seasoned practitioner" or "fully embodied" to be here—just willing to show up authentically.
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The hike to the Magdalene Cave is moderately strenuous (about 45 minutes to 1 hour uphill). The Body Temple Dance sessions are adaptable to different ability levels—you move at your own pace. If you have mobility concerns, let us know and we'll work with you on alternatives.
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Absolutely. You don't need any dance experience or training. Body Temple Dance isn't about performance or getting it "right"—it's about letting your body move in its own authentic expression. All levels are welcome.
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Comfortable clothing for movement and dance, layers for varying weather (April in Southern France can be warm but unpacking), good walking shoes for the cave hike, journal and pen, water bottle, and an open heart. We'll send a detailed packing list once you're registered.
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Marseille has an international airport (MRS) with connections from major European cities. You can also take the train from Paris (TGV, about 3 hours). We'll provide detailed arrival information and recommendations once you register.