Publishes 1st May 2026 – order now for shipping in late April
By Emma Pruen
Find inner peace, wellbeing and wild wisdom. Discover 400 special places of healing and ritual in Britain today.
Discover wellness and growth through nature and wild places. Meet remarkable leaders and teachers who will guide you on your inner journey. Discover transformational processes, from shamanic drum journeys to cacao ceremonies, ancestral healing to forest bathing, sweat lodges to vision quests. This guidebook explores the current state of our shamanic nation and documents new and exciting ways to connect with the land and our shared past.
wild spirit
Join drum journeys, trance dance, sessions, plant ceremonies, sacred circles and vision quests.
family & children
Inspire youngsters with forest schools and outdoor education.
nature & wellbeing
Discover open-air sound baths, sweat lodge saunas, energy clearing and cacao ceremonies.
history & ancestry
Reconnect with the wild wisdom and deep ecology of our shamanic ancestors.
meditation & mindfulness
Learn forest meditation and the latest practices and science of nature connection.
seasonal rituals
Celebrate the seasons with ancient Celtic traditions through the medicine wheel.
wild places
Visit rewilding projects, wilderness retreats, ancient earth chambers and some of the most profoundly wild places in Britain.
EMMA PRUEN is a facilitator, writer and retreat host. Her career started in Green politics and magazines for wellbeing. Now a coach and shamanic practitioner, Emma also facilitates systemic constellations for groups and organisations. Her work blends personal growth with nature.
Whether you call it therapy, healing, self-development, or spirituality, this book is a guide to meeting yourself in nature. It is an invitation to enter the wilds and rediscover your essential nature, heal your trapped and domesticated animal self, and connect to the essence of your life’s purpose.
We will explore practices such as allowing nature to be your guide, understanding the signs and omens from nature, experiencing times of solitude in the wild, performing ceremonies and rituals outdoors, and learning how to become more at one with your outer and inner landscape, both in the wilds on your doorstep and within yourself. These are all time-honoured ways to help you find inner and outer peace.
Countless cultures and native peoples have understood that the wilds of nature are an essential path on the journey to inner healing. Bill Plotkin says, in his seminal book Soulcraft: “The soul…is our inner wilderness.” But healing is not just for physical ills; evidence shows that connection to nature can support robust mental health and help us endure life’s challenges. This isn’t touchy-feely wishful thinking. Contact with soil and a specific soil bacterium, Mycobacterium vaccae, triggers the release of serotonin in our brains.
We have become shut off from our own natures. Rather than play in the woods, we medicate the stresses of life with alcohol or anti-depressants, or numb ourselves with television or drugs in an attempt to soothe our wounds. But it doesn’t seem to be working. Our homes, cars, and offices have isolated us from the sun, the earth, and the stars.
Whilst 45% of people in the UK said that visiting green spaces helped them cope throughout the Covid pandemic, new evidence shows that it’s not just being in nature, but connecting with it, that helps. It’s the difference between walking through a park and stopping to smell the flowers, listen intently to the birdsong, or feel the bark of a tree. We now have evidence that people who are connected to nature are usually happier and more likely to report feeling that their lives are worthwhile.
With anxiety and depression being Britain’s most common mental disorders, and with 7.8% of people meeting the criteria for diagnosis, the NHS has been looking at alternatives to drugs. A large new study, How the Natural Environment Can Support Health and Wellbeing Through Social Prescribing, produced some incredible findings, including that being in the woods lowers blood pressure, and being in nature reduces negative thoughts, increases happiness and resilience, and keeps our brain cells fit. It even demonstrated that those who keep and maintain houseplants have better mental health.
As the scientific benefits of tree-hugging have even made it to the pages of the Financial Times, a growing number of charities, businesses, and individuals have begun to offer a variety of routes to reconnect with ancient wisdom. Across the country, British shamans, witches, and healers—some dressed in jeans and trainers and possibly having chatted with you in the supermarket queue—are leading people in ancient rituals and ceremonies to bring them back from burnout, depression, addiction, PTSD, and even suicide attempts into full, healthy, and happy lives.
Recent studies also show that while many young people are turning away from organised religion, they’re not losing their sense of the spiritual—far from it. The Footprints survey (2023), covering nearly 5,000 people aged 18–29 across eight countries, found that interest in spirituality is rising or holding steady among the vast majority, even as formal religious affiliation declines. What’s shifting is the form it takes. Instead of pews and pulpits, younger generations are more often drawn to meditation, mindfulness, time in nature, and other personal practices that help them explore meaning, purpose, and connection. Researchers writing for Family and Media (2023) describe this as a move towards authenticity and self-discovery, with spirituality woven into everyday life rather than bound by tradition. In a world of uncertainty and change, these less institutional forms of spirituality are helping many young people find balance, resilience, and a deeper sense of belonging in ‘interesting’ times.
However, whilst public perception is shifting in favour of natural treatments and a new type of spirituality, research shows that many people don’t know where to start. While social prescriptions through GPs and social care services are on the increase, and although in 2020 the government pledged £5.77 million for preventing and tackling mental ill health through green social prescribing projects, there’s still a way to go in connecting those in need to the service providers.
My hope is that this book will be your trusted resource. There’s a comprehensive directory of what is offered in your region, whether you’d like the support of a guide for a mindful walk or ideas on how to develop your own nature connection practice alone. We can point you to charities and podcasts to start you off and guide you all the way through to becoming a fully-fledged shamanic practitioner and helping others.
But first, to heal individually and as a society, we need to reconnect to our inner and outer natures. So what are we waiting for? Let’s go outside.
