THE BODY & THE WORD- KABBALAH: The Voice & Creation with Victoria Hanna

Dear friends, it is our great honor to welcome Victoria Hanna, one of the most fascinating vocalists and mystic-mentors of our time. Victoria will lead a deep-dive seminar in the heart of the Šumava mountains in Bohemia, Czech Republic.

While in retreat in nature, we will undergo an expansion of the very center of our communication, as the voice becomes a great medicine and a gateway to the depths of the Soul.

Have you ever experienced your voice and speech as a tool for healing and empowerment? What does it mean when it is said that the Hebrew language contains ancient knowledge that can expand our consciousness? International vocal artist Victoria Hanna invites you to join the fascinating vocal research she has been immersed in for years. 

Together we will learn to feel the human voice- language and letters as raw materials, and as a gateway to new spaces of consciousness and creativity. Working with Victoria, we will encounter the mystical within ourselves, unlocking the creative power of our voice. Victoria will impart to us the wisdom of the embodied kabbalah, the body as the tree of life, housing all of the sacred sounds of creation.

Victoria’s teaching is the result of her artistic research and practice, which  involves the singing and talking voice, the body, ancient Hebrew texts, and our relationship with space and nature. Her focus on ancient Hebrew texts involves the Sefer Yetzirah (Book of Creation), attributed to the Patriarch Abraham, which is the earliest Kabbalistic treatise.

According to the book, the shape of the human body is parallel to that of larger structures in the cosmos. In that respect, the voice sculpted in the mouth emerges at the interface between the body and its broader reflection – in which it is also contained; speech therefore makes way for the inner world to vibrate into the universe.

Victoria’s method opens up a new understanding of the voice. Through speech and singing, the voice can reveal itself as a powerful means of physical and emotional healing, as well as empowerment. Most importantly, it can lead us to a fundamental understanding of its deepest source, from which the cosmos itself was created.

Victoria’s workshop explores this primary point where microcosm and macrocosm coincide, in order to help us better anchor ourselves in our journey through life. This retreat is set in an environment that fosters this search through close contact with nature.

We will learn about and read from the oldest Kabblaist book, Sefer Yetzira (The Book of Creation). 

• We will locate and echo consonants and vowels in our physical body and in the space surrounding us. This is a groundbreaking work, through which we connect to the primal use of the mouth as a tool of the creation. We will practice and learn to shape our relationship with our inner world and the “outside reality” through voice and speech.
• We will work with the elements- the nature of water, fire, earth, air, ether- in our receiving and resonating with creation.
• We will each create our own amulets and sound prayers of protection, and charge them with sacred vibrations, then take them home to hang on the wall as a power object, and a tool with which to continue calling in the sacred. 

This experience is not meant only for musicians and artists, but it is for anyone who wishes to connect with their creativity, whatever their background or field. It provides practical tools that can support a process of self-exploration, leading one to discover their true singularity and uniqueness. This powerful insight can then carry over into improved modes of self-expression, communication, and authentic self-acceptance.

Victoria’s wide-open energy opens a door and invites us to enter a field of wonder at all creation. Her approach is inviting and natural, opening an infinite space for exploration. Her techniques are playful and spontaneous, leading the body and awareness  to enter into a profound space of understanding of each letter, each kabbalistic symbol and each sound. Her direct work with the voice is a mystical transmission itself, in addition to the wisdom she so effortlessly and joyfully imparts.

WHEN: 15 – 19.5.2024

Beginning Wednesday 15th May with dinner and finishing on Sunday 19th May after lunch.

REGISTRATION: please register by sending us an email to: dracichram@gmail.com

FEES: 7500 CZK – workshop fee

ACCOMODATION: 2600 CZK / 4 nights in a very comfortable room (3-4 beds) with bathroom and kitchen corner. 

FOOD: 2200 CZK /4 day full board (vegetarian)

TOTAL PACKAGE: workshop, accommodation & food 12.300 CZK

This residential retreat takes place in the beautiful intimate center DVŮR SVATÁ MÁŘÍ. There are beautifully and comfortably equipped rooms with kitchen and bathrooms. You can use the swimming lake, herbal biosauna and the vast grounds around the cottage in the middle of  Šumava quiet paradise.

More on Dvůr Svatá Maří | Retreat centrum (dvursvatamari.cz)

About Victoria:

Victoria Hanna was born in one of the religious quarters of Jerusalem as the daughter of an ultra-orthodox Sephardic rabbi. She studied in ultra-orthodox institutions, in a house full of books, without contact with the secular population of the city. She then began to move beyond the boundaries of her upbringing, slowly realizing herself as a woman with a deeply unique and special way of self-expression. She studied acting, acted in theater and film, and delved into various singing traditions. She has performed at festivals around the world, achieving great success particularly in New York.

Victoria stuttered as a child. This, and a congenital speech impediment with which she was born, would prove in the end to be a great gift, which led her to explore the boundaries of sound and diction. She embarked on an inner journey of exploring the mouth as a creator of sound, which became the inspiration for her life’s  journey. She recognized that her voice is her Power and her Medicine, and she imparts this teaching to all who are open to it.

Her guidance is playful, spontaneous, rebellious, enchanting, experimental, respectful, passionate and sensual, and above all- free. There is great depth in her being. Her teaching is a transmission through which she breathes upon us the vibration of sacred and ancient wisdom.

Victoria had to show great courage and freedom on her journey from an ultra-orthodox environment to stand-out performer in the international art scene- coming into her full expression as a unique, gifted, free, intensely creative woman. Her way is the way of the voice, and that is what she is passing on – how to use one’s voice to gain courage, freedom and full authentic expression.

Although Victoria has gained international renown and has performed at many major international festivals, she remains a very warm-hearted woman who exudes humanity and humility. She is a mother of three children and lives with her husband in Jerusalem.