On the Threshold of Summer – Sweat Lodge Ceremony

On Saturday, May 30, we move together across the threshold from spring to summer. Spring brought a new beginning, an intention, a seed that has been planted. Now summer invites you to truly bring into form and manifest what has begun within you. With the power of the south, the fire, the zest for life, and visibility. And we do this in a way that may be effortless, with playfulness, lightness, and humor.

In the sweat lodge, we return to the womb of Mother Earth. The stones are heated in the fire and carried by our fire keepers. We ask you to bring a natural material as a gift for them, as a sign of gratitude. Koos and I will lead the water pourings. With water on the hot stones, we open the rounds, supported by songs, drums, visualizations, silence, sharing moments, and gratitude. On Sunday morning there is a light concert and space for integration, so that what has been touched in the fire can land.

Koos and I have been working together for over ten years, possibly already fifteen. Our first meeting was in the sweat lodge; that is where our connection was formed. We both followed training with Ishi, connected to the Lakota tradition. Among other things, Ishi tended the fire for the Susquehannock tribe. Koos has been carrying the fire for many years and guiding sweat lodges. Mona was first invited to a sweat lodge ceremony twenty years ago and has since continued to train in both the fire and the water rituals.

This sweat lodge is a rite of passage. A strengthening of your new beginning. An invitation to live, with both fire and lightness, what is already present within you. A celebration of what wants to bloom.