Land Design & Care

A guiding vision with the evolution of Spirit Weavers has always been to steward our own piece of land.  A place for our community to call our own, and return to each year as we come together in celebration, ceremony, and respect. We are endlessly grateful for this intention to now be a reality, and by attending Spirit Weavers Gathering, you are also helping tend to the land and upholding this vision. This relationship of reciprocity is a huge priority for us as a community, and we all come together to share in this responsibility to care for the land we gather on.

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Before the gathering each year, a beautiful process of preparation and maintenance takes place.  From arranging flowers, building altars, cleaning the land, and creating the fire circle, to hauling debris and logs from the winter, setting up tents, and decorating the spaces – it’s these preparations that make the Gathering feel more like a true village, a home for us all to feel safe and inspired in.

A team of dedicated land stewards, comprised of work trade angels, fire tenders, and committed staff all work hard to clean prepare and maintain the land, setting the stage for the magic to take place, and hold this balance of land and energy throughout the time we spend together on the land.

We appreciate the ways in which all beings who attend the Gathering work collectively to keep the land that holds us looking and feeling beautiful. With this collective effort we can all feel at home- in presence and gratitude for the reciprocal relationship between land and ourselves.

Below are some of the beings and teams who come together to keep the land beautiful and clean for us all to gathering upon each year.

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Tending our Sacred Hearth Fire

The Hearth Fire is the beating heart center of the Spirit Weavers Village. To mark the beginning of each session, our Fire Tenders light a fire by hand, calling upon the solar energy stored in our tree ancestors to birth a little Sun here on Earth. They tend to this being for the duration of our time gathered together: one sustained flame for us to spiral out from every morning and back into every evening. We share our stories through song, dance and conversation around its warmth at night, and utilize its alchemical properties throughout the day for classes. Fire, when conjured and tended in an intentional and caring way, is a portal to the spirit realm, a transmuter of energy, and a focal point for ceremony and communion. This is a deep reciprocal relationship that is intrinsic to being human. Although we often forget our direct dependence on this element, it is essential to our existence and spending time around a sacred fire helps us to remember our innate age-old connection.

For the utmost safety of the land that Spirit Weavers calls home, there are no personal fires allowed during the gathering  (propane cookstoves are permitted*). We will always have our central Hearth Fire burning, and a second fire in the evenings at the Yurt Village. We ask that you do not feed the fires without first checking in with one of our Fire Tenders. Please do not put food or trash into our fires, however offerings of an intentional and sacred manner are permitted and greatly appreciated! This heart-engine is a living sentient being, a facilitator and a sustainer of vital life force throughout our time together.

Fire Tenders: Miriam Grace, Emmett Anderson &  Shauna Mikomi Tsuyuki

Meet our Land Design Team

Land Vibes – Shari Gerstenberg

Five years ago Shari attended her first Gathering and was awe-struck by the community she saw modeled there: strong, empowered women, united by their love of nature, ancestral ways, and learning, all celebrating the miracle of being alive on this Earth. The beauty and magic of this Gathering refills her cup every year, and she is honored to return for her fourth year as Lead of Land Design. When not arranging flowers, adorning trees, creating earth alters, and making sure the toilet paper doesn’t run out at the Gathering, she loves treasure hunting for her store Charm School Vintage, holding space for clients as an EFT practitioner, dancing, reading, cooking, costuming, and being on the Earth.