Malta & Gozo · October 18–26, 2027
Come Home
To Yourself
A Journey to Malta: Sacred Islands of the Goddess
An Invitation
Return to Your Essence
There is more to who you are, more to what you know, more to this world than the version you have been given. And somewhere beneath the noise, you have always known it.
Come with me to two small islands in the Mediterranean, home to some of the oldest monumental stone structures on Earth: studied, excavated, categorized, and still holding a mystery no explanation has closed. For seven retreat days, held within an eight-night stay, we move across Malta and Gozo through ancient temples, subterranean chambers, ritual, beauty, rest, and the kind of spaciousness that lets something quieter in you begin speaking again.
At the heart of it is the work of self-mothering: learning to trust your own experience and question the beliefs that taught you to override what you know. This is not simply a retreat from your life. It is an invitation to return to yourself, differently.
Guided by
Dr. Gertrude Lyons
The Mystery
What If We Are More Than We Know?
Malta asks something unusual of us: to stand in the presence of what is known and remain open to what is not.
Across Malta and Gozo are some of the oldest temple stone structures on Earth. Archaeology has given us dates and theories, and still, so much remains mysterious. What did the people who built these temples understand about stone, sound, light, birth, death, and the unseen world?
Alternative histories have connected these islands to Atlantis, Lemuria, and a relationship to consciousness very different from our own. We do not need to decide what is literally true. The invitation is simply to become curious again, to loosen our grip on certainty.
Sometimes it feels as though Malta’s original voice was never lost, simply spoken over. And women know something about that.
Self-mothering asks you to interrupt the inherited messages about who you are as a woman: to listen inward, tend to what you’ve overridden, and reclaim not only who you are, but your trust in what you know.
That, too, is self-mothering. I am willing to listen to myself.
The Journey
Two Islands. Three Movements.
One Intentional Journey.
The physical journey through Malta and Gozo mirrors the inner journey we take together.
I
SLIEMA, MALTA
Arrive · Gather · Meet the Goddess
2 nightsAccommodations at Land’s End Boutique Hotel
III
VALLETTA, MALTA
Emerge · Integrate · Receive
2 nightsAccommodations at the Phoenicia Malta, five-star hotel
This Retreat Is for Women Who Feel the Call of the Original Feminine
to slow down, to search, and to remember what was here before it was ever silenced.
You’re not stepping away from life. You’re re-entering it, rooted in a lineage of women far older than anything you were ever taught.
Day by Day
7 Retreat Days · 8 Nights Lodging
Your lodging begins on October 18, giving you a full arrival day before the retreat formally opens at 1:00 PM on October 19.
The retreat closes the evening of October 25, with one final night of lodging included before departure on October 26.
ISliema, Malta
18 OctSliemaArrival · Settle · Exhale
Arrive in Malta and settle into Land’s End Boutique Hotel. There is no formal retreat programming today.
19 OctSliemaOpening · Meeting the Goddess · Threshold
The retreat begins at 1:00 PM at our home in Sliema. We open our circle, begin our exploration of the feminine in Malta, and gather that evening for ceremony under the stars on our rooftop overlooking the harbor and Mediterranean.
20 OctMaltaSacred Sites · Goddess · Mystery
A full day encountering Malta’s ancient landscape and the feminine presence woven through its history and mystery.
IIGozo
21 OctMalta → GozoCrossing · Descent · Arrival
We cross the water to Gozo and settle into Samudra. The transition itself becomes part of the ritual.
22 OctGozoĠgantija · Ancient Mystery · Embodiment
We encounter the extraordinary Ġgantija temple complex and allow its scale, mythology, and unanswered questions to open our inquiry.
23 OctGozoWater · Listening · Remembering
A day shaped by the elements, self-mothering, intuition, embodiment, and the deeper questions emerging within the group.
IIIValletta, Malta
24 OctGozo → VallettaEmergence · Return · Integration
We cross back to Malta and settle into The Phoenicia, beginning the final movement of our journey.
25 OctVallettaIntegration · Closing · Celebration
Our final retreat day culminates in closing ceremony and celebration, honoring what has been experienced, released, reclaimed, and remembered.
26 OctDeparture · The Return
A final morning in Malta before beginning the journey home.
Tap a day to read more
Sacred Places
Places We May Encounter Together
Our final itinerary will continue to evolve according to access, timing, and what best supports the arc of the retreat.
- 01 Ġgantija TemplesGozo Among the world’s oldest monumental free-standing structures, a place of enormous stone, ancient mythology, and enduring questions.
- 02 Ħaġar Qim & MnajdraMalta Monumental temple complexes overlooking the Mediterranean—places associated with ancient ritual, the movement of the sun, and the mysteries of Malta’s prehistoric culture.
- 03 The Hypogeum of Ħal SaflieniMalta An extraordinary subterranean complex associated with burial, ritual, acoustics, and unanswered questions.
- 04 Għar DalamMalta An ancient cave offering a passage into Malta’s distant past.
- 05 The Blue GrottoMalta Mediterranean water, limestone, reflection, beauty, and the elemental power of the sea.
And perhaps other places that reveal themselves as our journey takes shape.
Your guide
Dr. Gertrude Lyons
Dr. Gertrude Lyons is an author, speaker, transformational coach, and longtime guide for women, with more than 30 years in human development and transformation.
Her doctoral work explored the transformational opportunity of mothering, and her work today rests on a radical premise: all women mother, and every woman deserves to experience herself as worthy of her own care. At the center of that work is self-mothering: learning to offer ourselves the care, listening, and trust we so readily extend to others.
The Investment
7 Days, 8 Nights
Malta Retreat
$7,750
Malta Retreat · October 18–26, 2027
As the first Malta gathering, this circle is intentionally small, so seats are genuinely limited and will be confirmed on a first-commitment basis.
Begin the JourneyWhat’s Included
- 014 nights on the island of Malta (Land’s End Boutique Hotel and the Phoenicia Malta), 4 nights on the island of Gozo at Samudra Retreats
- 02All programmed ceremonies, guided experiences, and daily facilitated conversations
- 03All meals for the 7 retreat days
- 04Guided temple and cave ceremonies with a guide steeped in the island’s ancient feminine history
- 05Embodied movement, meditation, and ritual
- 06Spacious time for solitude, journaling, and integration
- 07Closing celebration and ceremony
Flights and travel to and from the airport are not included.
This Isn’t a Getaway.
It’s a Coming Home.
If something in you is already saying yes, let’s talk.
Begin the JourneyMalta & Gozo · October 18–26, 2027