What to Expect

Spirit Weavers Gathering began with a vision and a handful of women coming together to share skills from their various paths and traditions. It has been truly inspiring to learn just how many women are hearing the call to this work of remembering, and we have worked hard each year to increase our capacity to accommodate as many women as we can possibly hold within a safe and sacred container. Continuing in our tradition we are offering two different, back-to-back sessions to accommodate the growing community. These are the Sun Session and the Moon session.

The best way to get a ticket is to join our mailing list or follow the @spiritweavers Instagram account so that you are among the first to hear when registration opens.  In the past, Registration has filled within minutes so it is best to plan ahead and be prepared to purchase tickets at the time they go on sale.  We do open a wait list after tickets fill (first come, first serve), so if you miss getting a ticket initially, and still feel you are meant to come, there is still a possibility that a space can open for you.

The organizers of Spirit Weavers are committed to making sure these these skills are accessible to those in need from all different walks of life. We offer tickets on a sliding-scale system, which provides flexible pricing, so you can pay according to your circumstances.  If you want to come, but can’t afford the ticket at all, there are opportunities for work trade.  We have over 200 work trade positions that you can apply for in March. We also offer payment plans for tickets with automatic monthly deductions to pay over several months. This year we are offering 19 scholarships which you can find out more about here.   If you are of limited income and would like to attend but can’t afford to do so please email us at info@spiritweaversgathering.com.  You can also visit our blogpost on how to attend Spirit Weavers on a budget.

Spirit Weavers is a nine-month planning process which includes a paid staff.  All full-time teachers receive a travel stipend to attend the gathering.  Our main expense is the gathering land and its facilities. The second largest expense is the food and catering costs for daily meals for 700 women. With our two sessions spanning over a two week period this comes to a total of 15,000 meals! Additional costs include event rentals, supplies for all areas, and many other expenses that come up throughout the year.  Each year we donate a percentage of ticket sales to a handful of selected organizations which we will announce in the spring after ticket sales.  This is a small but valuable way to honour Indigenous Sovereignty and to help protect the land and water.

• A space to gather, share and learn together as one

• 5 days of camping in a beautiful serene forested and riverside setting

• A variety of campsites throughout the land with close access to showers and bathrooms

• 8 organic, local, delicious and nutritious vegan or vegetarian breakfasts and dinners. (Lunch not included)

• 3 full days of skill share classes (up to nine classes depending on your choices – some of these classes, such as leather shoe making, have an additional fee for materials)

• Daily morning practices – options include offerings such as: yoga, tea ceremony, and meditation

• Nightly evening activities, including star gazing, music around the fire and nighttime ceremonies.

• Always brewing and flowing hot tea in the Tea House

• Access to our Wellness Area, a free, fully stocked herbal apothecary staffed by expert clinical herbalists who can assist you with any ailments, and our on-call registered nurse

• A place to seek support and care for any kind of internal struggle or challenge that comes up through our Empowerment Center.

• A cozy and comforting place to gather around your moontime: Our Red Tent and Moonlodge

• Mama Bear Lodge where mamas and babies can relax and be supported by other mamas.

Rentals become available the day after ticket sales. This year they will be available on January 22nd, 2023.  Rental prices for a full weekend for Canvas tents, and yurts vary from $555-$999, depending on how many people they can accommodate.  If you are staying for both gatherings, you will be able to pay for the two full weekends at the time of purchase.  If you plan on renting shelter space, we ask that you consider those who are flying in from a distance.  If you are driving to the gathering, you may want to consider skipping out on a rental and bringing your own tent.

Class sign ups do not happen online, but rather onsite on the first day of the gathering immediately following Opening Ceremony at 3pm. It is very important to plan to be present at that time. We are continuing to refine and streamline our process for this each year. We believe it would be a disservice to allow sign up’s online before we have a chance to see/hear/feel the presence of the teacher, and that often hearing someone speak about their offering touches our heart in a way that often results in signing up for completely different classes than we thought we would have. In this way we allow ourselves to be guided to new experiences and new discoveries about who we are and who we are becoming.  You can read more about our class sign ups here.

While it is possible to bring your own food for lunches and attend only the free classes at the gathering, it is recommended that you bring at least $200 cash if you are able to. Classes involving materials can range from a few dollars for supplies such as yarn, to $50 or more for more intricate craft classes. Lunch is not included in your gathering ticket, but there are a limited number of food vendors on site at lunchtime with healthy meals and treats for purchase. In addition, we have our very own artisan Marketplace, Healing Village and Adornment Space where over 50 professional, sustainable crafters of our community come together to share the fruits of their labor.

Camp is home to a great variety of accommodations to suit your needs. Campsites are spread evenly throughout the land. Arriving on the earlier side will afford you the most options when choosing where to set up your tent.  We also recommend arriving early so that you can acclimate and familiarize yourself with the land and it’s facilities.

We ask that you arrive on time and stay the full length of the gathering. We also ask that you camp on the land with everyone else in the designated camping zones, and not seek outside housing or camp out of bounds.  If you don’t have camping equipment, you may want to think about borrowing some from a friend, renting or purchasing some.  As a safety concern and respect for the container, we ask that there is no coming and going, on and off the land aside from the lunch breaks. Please think of this as a sacred ceremony and commit yourself to being fully present the entire time.

For those who prefer a more relaxed pace for arriving, grounding, and setting up, gates will open as early as 9am on the first day. The gathering will not officially begin until 3pm for opening Ceremony, and the first community meal will not be served until 7pm that evening. We ask that both Sun and Moon Session attendees who are not official gathering staff be prepared to disembark on their return journey home by noon Monday.

In addition to an on-call Nurse, we also are proud of our fully stocked apothecary with a rotating staff of trained clinical herbalists making sure that all of your minor aches and pains are cared for with the abundant medicine mother nature provides.  Read more about the Wellness Area here.

A part of what this gathering seeks to do is to empower the next generation of wisdom keepers.  By allowing the newer teachers the opportunity to step up, we ensure that together we form a bridge across time that keeps the ancient ways alive and available for generations to come. These skills aren’t luxuries or hobbies- they are necessary for the continuation of the planet, and the harmony and well-being of all. With this being said, we understand and recognize the tremendous importance of our beloved Elders Teachers.  For many, the Elders are the most valued part of the community. We welcome all ages and all walks of life to come and share with us each year. Instructor applications for the 2023 Gathering will be accepted from Dec. 1st-10th, 2022.

Our main vision for classes offered at the gathering are Earth Based Skills, Environmental Education, Women’s Empowerment, Sustainability, Homesteading and Herbalism.  We look for those who have cultivated their spirit, practice, and a passion to share their wisdom and teachings. These inspiring beings have begun to grow their own roots through years of studies with various teachers and/or mentors and are now open to pass along their craft or skill. We receive hundreds of applications and often many of them are multiple offers of a similar class. Instructor applications for the 2023 Gathering will be accepted from Dec 1st-10th, 2022.

We have a limited amount of vending spaces open in our Marketplace. Applications for the Marketplace will open in March of 2023.

It takes a village to run a village. Spirit Weavers Gathering is staffed by a handful of different groups with varying levels of responsibility that come together in a coordinated way to make our village life flow as smoothly and beautifully as possible.

In the beginning, Spirit Weavers started small with just 75 women gathered on family land in southern California.  Mea organized the first gathering on her own with guidance from her elders, experiences at other Ancestral skills gatherings, and through prayer.  Into the second year, several sisters stepped forward to assist in all the planning, communication, registration, promotion, food service, and rentals. This was a huge undertaking and we quickly learned that if the gathering were to expand to include more of us, we would definitely need more support. Each year we open a “Call for Community” in which women can step forth into the behind the scenes work of the gathering.

Spirit Weavers is an embrace of the feminine heart. The Gathering recognizes and honors the divine nature and essential human dignity of all beings. We have come together as a community who feels the need to more deeply explore the invitation that being on this earth during this most precious time represents.

As such, participation is open to all who wish to embrace the feminine heart. This includes any and all women, womxn, cis, femme, non-binary, trans, or female identifying beings regardless of their race, ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, religion, disability, economic circumstance, physical appearance, or body size.  Spirit Weavers is committed to continuously working to provide an inclusive environment for all of our community members.

When engaging in many days of deep inner work, it is natural that emotions can come up to be acknowledged and integrated. In an unfamiliar environment without many of our identity pieces and creature comforts, sometimes processing can feel intense. We offer a Healing Village of sisters who have professional experience helping our bodies, minds, and hearts to integrate all of our new experiences and vibrations in a beautiful way. These offerings are available for a monetary exchange or trade between you and the practitioner. In addition, we freely offer a team of Counselors, who are trained professional psychologists ready to hold space for those needing serious emotional or acute psychological support.  We are grateful to have our Empowerment Center available throughout the gathering.

Those who have cultivated their practice, grown their roots and are ready to share their skills and wisdom through the giveaway dance.  Instructor applications for the 2023 Gathering become available December 1st-10th, 2022.

A number of amazing beings who have taken on leadership roles in service to the gathering.  These include, ticket sales, administration, shelter rentals, land design, sponsorship etc. If you feel called to be more involved, we put a “call to Community” to fill in Gathering staff needs when the website launches at the end of November, and continue to update as the Gathering approaches.

Dedicated and hard working volunteers who make this gathering possible through the service of their hearts in exchange for a gathering ticket.  We offer over 200 positions for a work exchange opportunity.  Applications for our Seva Work Trade Program become available in March.