A four-hour meditation workshop, 〈Finding Your Own North Star〉, will be held Saturday, December 5, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Healing Space, a mindfulness travel company near Yaksu Station in Seoul. The workshop invites participants to look back on the year and find the direction for 2027 through the body. It combines tarot cards, movement, meditation, art, and aromatherapy, and is open to 15 adults on a first-come, first-served basis.
The workshop’s creators question the year-end habit of starting with New Year’s resolutions. Plans made in our heads can easily fade after January begins, they say, so they invite people to pause first and listen for the direction their bodies already know. The workshop is recommended for people who reach December unsure how the year passed, are reconsidering their direction ahead of a career change, a relationship shift, or a new stage of life, or have so many thoughts that they want to reconnect with themselves through bodily sensations rather than their minds.
Tarot That Doesn’t Predict the Future—So What Does It Reveal?
In this workshop, tarot cards are not used to predict the future. Instead, they serve as a mirror in which participants can see themselves in the card imagery. The facilitator does not assign definitive meanings to the cards, but asks what first catches each participant’s eye and where in the body they feel a response to the scene. The questions move step by step from what is visible to the body’s response, and then to the participant’s life and choices.
Movement is included for the same reason. Walking and partner dancing are not about dancing well, but are described as a way to slow the mind and let the body speak first. There are no right answers, and anyone with back or knee discomfort can participate while seated, using only hand movements and breathing.
240 Minutes to Leave, Spend Time Alone, and Return Together
The program unfolds in seven stages. Participants open up with singing bowl breathing and a one-sentence check-in, followed by a walk through the space and partner movement. They then look back on 2026 and choose what to leave behind and what to carry forward. A stage called Departure follows, with a body scan and one card to reflect on where they are now.
At the heart of the journey is the 60-minute Mountain of Solitude. It begins with a guided North Star meditation, followed by drawing a card and inviting the image on it into the body through movement, drawing, and writing, before reflecting in silence. Participants identify the core value that will guide them in 2027 and give their North Star a name. In the next stage, Map of the Stars, three cards help them explore obstacles along the way, companions for the journey, and guidance from the subconscious, before they write a personal declaration.
The sequence of departure, solitude, and return borrows only the structure, as a metaphor, from the vision quest tradition of Indigenous peoples of North America. The facilitators said they are not recreating a ritual, but have adopted only its framework with respect for the tradition.
Capture the Direction You Find in a Bottle of Scented Roll-On
The final two stages focus on bringing the direction participants have found into everyday life. During the scent ritual, each person chooses a fragrance that suits them, blends their own 5 ml roll-on, and writes an intention on the label. It is a way to create a sensory anchor to reach for when they feel they have lost their way. Participants with fragrance allergies or who are pregnant are advised to take part using a scent strip or inhaler instead of a roll-on.
The workshop closes with a starlight exhibition and circle dance. Participants declare the first step they will take in January 2027, then gather everyone’s North Star cards in the center, form a circle, and dance together to welcome the new year. Participants take home a photo of their North Star card, a North Star map worksheet, a bottle of roll-on, and a plan for their first step in January.
Three facilitators lead different parts of the program. Won Jeong-eon, a somatic psychotherapy and expressive arts therapy specialist, leads Mountain of Solitude; Cho Yun-gyeong, a mindfulness-based healing meditation specialist, leads Departure, Map of the Stars, and the scent ritual; and Kim Mi-jin, an art psychotherapy and movement meditation specialist, leads the opening movement session and closing circle dance.
Early-Bird Pricing Through November 22
The participation fee is 90,000 won, including the cost of roll-on materials. Those who register by November 22 pay the early-bird price of 80,000 won. The venue is a five-minute walk from Yaksu Station in Seoul. Participants should wear comfortable clothes and bring socks or indoor shoes. People with fragrance allergies, those who are pregnant, and anyone with limited mobility can mention this when registering to receive guidance on how to participate safely. For inquiries, contact facilitator Cho Yun-gyeong at 010-8750-7720 via KakaoTalk.
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