Welcome to the Way of the Shaman 2025-26
Welcome!
I hope you are finding your journey enriching and enlightening! I hope you’re enjoying your journey with Hummingbird!!
What’s changed on this page recently: the payment link for your East class accommodation has now been added – as have the dates for next year’s training!
We include here everything that you’ll need to know for a soft and harmonious landing into this training, for our time together over the year ahead, and for the next steps… We do our best to provide a good understanding of the flow of the year, and to set out clearly all the dates, timings, payment details, and deadlines for your diary. One of the foundations of this training is learning the skills and practices that bring us into ‘ayni‘ or balance, harmony and right relationship, and we bring that quality to every aspect of the training including these practical elements. This way, we set up a great foundation for the year (and beyond), and that then frees us up to really dive into this wonderful journey together.
If you have further questions, please feel free to get in touch with either Chris or Liz; the WhatsApp group for the class is also a great place to share questions and wonderings, as you probably know very well already!
Click the links below to get straight to the information you need…
Dates and timings…
To begin with, the most basic of details: our class dates with starting and ending times – grab your diary…
Module 1 – SOUTH: the Way of the Empath
Start: Friday 11 April at 10am
Finish: Wednesday 16 April at 3.30pm
Module 2: WEST: the Way of the Peacemaker
Start: Friday 11 July at 10am
Finish: Wednesday 16 July at 3.30pm
Module 3: NORTH: the Way of the Alchemist
Start: Friday 24 October at 10am
Finish: Wednesday 29 October at 3.30pm
Module 4: EAST: the Way of the Visionary
Start: Friday 6 February at 10am
Finish: Wednesday 11 February 2026 at 3.30pm
Some context…
In each class you’ll discover teachings, tools and techniques that build on each other, so that by the end of the course you will have completed a revolutionary and an evolutionary journey. So please note: if this is the first time you are making the journey around the Medicine Wheel, it is not possible to complete your training if you miss a module. All modules must be taken in the order in which they are presented, from the start, and all in one year.
Our daily schedule
To give you a picture of our days together… we begin each day at 7.30am outside for nature connection.
We gather for our morning meditations at 8am (or vice versa when it’s too dark!)
Breakfast is at 8.30am
Class begins at 9.15am.
We generally have a tea/coffee break at around 11am.
Lunch is at 1pm.
We have a short tea/coffee break at around 4pm (except on the final day of the class).
Dinner is at 6.30pm.
At 7.30pm we meet for fire ceremony, or to continue our work.
Please note: there is no tea and coffee at the end of class.
Our venue…
All four modules take place at the Ammerdown Retreat Centre, near Radstock in Somerset, set in gardens and woodlands. It has been the home of this training for many years, and we are well cared for there.
If you need to stay an extra night before or after a module, the rate for Supper, Bed & Breakfast pppn for the South, West and North is £93; the rate for the East class is £98. Payment links for East are below.
For your travels… the address for your Satnav is: Ammerdown Park, Radstock, Somerset BA3 5SW. There is plenty of free parking. The closest airport is Bristol (45 minutes away by car/taxi). The nearest train station is Bath (then a taxi journey of around 20 minutes). For more travel advice, taxi company contact details and journey tips, visit Ammerdown’s website... See Ammerdown on a map here..
Three home-cooked meals a day are provided at Ammerdown, plus tea and coffee, and sometimes cakes or biscuits at break times. However please bring with you specialist teas, snacks and other items that you need to be comfortable, and any additional items you might need outside of these times. (Though please note that you won’t have access to a fridge.)
When you pay your accommodation fee to Ammerdown using the link, you have the opportunity to let them know which dietary option you follow; if you pay by phone, please make sure that you tell them. If you have complex dietary requirements, we need to give the catering team (and potentially the whole group) as much notice as possible, and this may incur an additional charge to you. Ammerdown’s guests do not have access to a fridge. Ammerdown’s dining room is canteen-style rather than restaurant style, so they are unable to cater for food preferences, such as foods you don’t like; please simply state which of the principle dietary option(s) you follow, and any intolerances that you have, and bring with you anything else that you need.
We also ask you to let us and Ammerdown know if you have any mobility issues, so that you can be allocated a room on the ground floor or near the lift.
What to bring with you
THREE STONES PER MODULE… If you are joining the training for the first time, for each module you will need to bring with you three stones that you would like to have as your medicine stones (for the West class, you’ll need one black stone, one red stone and one yellow stone). They don’t have to be ‘precious’ or ‘gem’ stones, just of a size that fits in the palm of your hand and that you can handle easily, so not too big and not too tiny. Whatever ‘calls’ you to be part of your medicine.
A CLOTH… to wrap them in (only for the South class, you’ll use the same cloth for all the modules). We have some Peruvian cloths to sell in our mini shop, and we can recommend resources for cloths and weavings from Peru that you can buy, and from the lineage of Q’ero shaman that we work with. But a cloth that has some meaning to you personally is just as important and is still a sacred cloth.
Other items you’ll need for class… please bring a notebook and pens for journalling, a pendulum, a rattle you have one (which we recommend), and if you already have a Mesa, you’ll need that of course! But mostly, just bring yourself.
There are a few things that we request that you please don’t bring: we are stepping into a sensitive environment and over many years have found that these elements in particular will feel more impactful: we leave our mobile phones and all electronic devices in our rooms while we are in class; no alcohol while we are together – energy work and alcohol do not mix; smoking and vaping are not allowed on the venue premises; and our request is that you don’t use cosmetic perfumes and aftershaves at all while you’re with us.
Tuition fees for each of the four modules
For those joining this training with us for the first time: the cost is £840 inc VAT per module. (There is an Early Bird discount: £720 inc VAT if paid well in advance; see below for the Early Bird deadline dates.)
For those who have completed the full Medicine Wheel & Healing Tools training with us before, the cost is £720 inc VAT per module. (There is an Early Bird rate: £600 inc VAT if paid well in advance; see below for the Early Bird deadline dates.)
If you’re reading this, you have most likely paid the £150 non-refundable deposit via our Eventbrite page to join the training year. You make this deposit payment only once. For the South class tuition, you’ll deduct £150 from your full tuition payment.
Thereafter, for the West, North and East classes, your tuition fees are paid in full, direct to Spirit of the Inca. (There is no other payment made via Eventbrite.) The bank details are below. Once made, tuition payments are non-refundable and non-transferable.
Cooperative Bank
Account name: Spirit of the Inca
Sort Code: 08 92 99
Account number: 69518025
International payments:
IBAN: GB78CPBK 089299 69518025 SWIFT or BIC: CPBKGB22
Revolut is via @spiritoftheinca (though please let us know beforehand).
Please include a payment reference of your name and the class: eg. SMITH-SOUTH
The Early Bird Discounts deadlines
To receive the Early Bird discounted rate, Chris must receive your tuition fee for each module (or the balance in the case of the South) on or before the following dates:
SOUTH module: 11 March 2025
WEST module: 30 May 2025
NORTH module: 12 September 2025
EAST module: 3 January 2026
Please put these dates in your diary if you would like to receive the Early Bird discounts; this is your reward for being helpful! And we really appreciate it. (We do not issue reminders.) Part of the training involves staying in Ayni or ‘right relationship’ with any payments that are due. Payments received by Chris after these dates incur the full fee per module. (If you are making payments from outside of the UK, remember that these take longer to arrive.)
Accommodation fees for each module
The cost of your full-board accommodation for the South, West and North classes is £712.80 inc VAT per module. You make this payment direct to the Ammerdown Retreat Centre via an online payment link that you’ll find below. The cost for the East class accommodation is £748.80 inc VAT; this was confirmed by Ammerdown in September 2025 when the venue set its 2026 prices.
Accommodation payments are due to Ammerdown six weeks before class starts at the VERY latest:
SOUTH module – payment due by 28 February†.
This is the payment link for your South class accommodation.
This is the payment link for SB&B on Thursday 10 April.
WEST module – payment due by 29 May†.
This is the payment link for your West class accommodation.
This is the payment link for SB&B on Thursday 10 July.
NORTH module – payment due by 11 September†.
This is the payment link for your North class accommodation.
This is the payment link for SB&B for Thursday 23 October.
EAST module – payment due by 23 December†.
Payment link for your East class accommodation – due by 23 December†Spirit of the Inca reserves your room until the dates above, and once you make your payment, your room is secured. After these dates Ammerdown will release any unpaid rooms from our booking, otherwise Spirit of the Inca would be liable for the cost. Taking your place on this training depends on your staying at Ammerdown; it is not possible to do this training and stay elsewhere.
The small print: the information on this page is correct as of 19 November 2025. The current version of this page supersedes any previous versions, including costs, dates, & special offers. We recommend putting payment dates and deadlines in your calendar with a reminder alert. Please note: once made, all payments are non-refundable and non-transferable. Both Spirit of the Inca and Ammerdown highly recommend ensuring that you have insurance in case of cancellations (in case of illness for example) or other disruptions; it is possible that your travel insurance covers you for this, but we recommend that you check.
Mentorship and support
There is also a Mentorship Programme to support your journey; click the link below for the details. It is run by the Medicine Wheel teaching team members. For this year’s class, the team is Alex Greaves, Wendy Sullivan, Roz Gibbs and Barbara Bacon, and there are additional costs for their expertise and time. It’s really important to us that your journey around the Medicine Wheel is supported by the teaching team, all of whom have been involved in this training for many years. It really makes a difference.
In addition, we stay connected as a group throughout the year via our WhatsApp group, and there are many opportunities to practice together, all of which we’ll tell you about as they arise.
Class dates for 2026-27
SOUTH module: Fri 17 – Wed 22 April
WEST module: Fri 17 – Wed 22 July
NORTH module: Fri 16 – Wed 21 October
EAST module: Tue 9 – Sun 14 February 2027
A link with more details will be posted here soon!
