Cate Hood is one of those people that you feel completely at ease with. As we sat chatting her warmth filled the space and nurtured the conversation between us. This is a special quality to have considering that Cate facilitates ‘Sacred Sister Retreats.’ Cate states that women coming together is not only natural but essential. Her story is not filled with tragedy but is one many women could relate to as it reflects a number of rites passage. In fact it is how the retreats evolved - out of Cate’s own journey as a woman and her fascination with the dynamic of women in relationships with each other as mothers, sisters, friends and foe.

Cate Hood grew up in a loving, conventional family in the city of Ipswich. From a very early age though she recognised that she was as a square peg in a round hole making it difficult to relate to the environment she was born into. Fortuitously Cate spent a lot of time with her ‘Pop’ who inspired her with stories about his experiences and travels and who bought Cate her first backpack. So Cate sought to find some greater perspective of herself and the world through travel also – first to England and Europe and then to America.

It was while living and working in Hawaii Cate began to find a more grounded space to exist in, and for the first time, the ability to comfortably live in her body. Before this she felt she chose to live externally, trying to fit in and cope as a young woman in a demanding and regimented society. It was also in Hawaii that she met her future husband. They spent eight years exploring the American countryside, living in communes and communities that embodied a free existence, living on a day to day basis, blending their skills and creativity to survive. Cate calls this her ‘age of Aquarius’ – a coming into her own.

However much of her feminine energy was channelled into the injustice and imbalance of how women are treated in work, politics, the media and abusive relationships. She built resentment toward the establishments that fostered this and became an avid reader of feminist texts. She came to realise that Utopia could not be sustained.

In 1990 Cate returned to Australia married her partner and unexpectedly began the journey into motherhood. Both these roles, as is the case for many woman, triggered growth and evolution for Cate. She began to see the other side of feminine power and strength the one that comes from a softer, nurturing space. But the real flip from ‘agitator’ to ‘embracer’ came from participating in a retreat for woman near Byron Bay. Through the demanding and confronting exercises experienced here she found peace, peace in herself as a complete woman. It is from here that the ‘Sacred Sister Retreats’ were born.

Cate takes her passion for woman and her incredible awe of the female psyche to provide a nurturing and sacred space for woman to return to her natural self. The retreats offer workshops that allow women to explore a sense of who they are and to move closer to ‘coming home.’ I am sure that as Cate’s journey continues she will draw on all that she learns to support and cherish other women on their journeys also. Her natural ability to offer compassion, love and acceptance embodies the energy of sisterhood, and you can never have too many sisters!