Fire Alchemy Reflections 2021
How do you describe transformation? The process of growth is one of the most ordinary and common manifestations of magic that we have: on a physical level, cells replicate and expand old forms, fibers thicken, tissues stretch and accommodate. On a spiritual level, old patterns are interrupted, edges push against discomfort, and unprecedented sensations and emotions manifest, including unity with all of existence. Both physical and spiritual growth were the focus of the 2nd annual Fire Alchemy Festival, a sacred celebration of fire dance and ritual, held August 13 - 16, 2021 at the Stronghold Castle Retreat in Oregon, IL.
Fire mommas (the mothers of dragons) Gaea Lady and Kiki care-fully framed every detail of the festival; from the venue to meal plans to planning for physical and spiritual safety, all aspects were considered and crafted toward the ends of holding safe space for capacious transformations of all who joined.
This was the first official Ignite Fire Keeper retreat, in this new naming of Kiki & Gaea’s offerings!
Stronghold Castle: Our Epic Location for Transformation
Some Fire Alchemists chose to stay inside the castle for the weekend, others chose to pitch camp on the forested grounds. All were able to roam castle and grounds at personal pleasure when not attending one of the numerous workshop offerings.
Opening everything with Intention
The sunset of the first night heralded our opening ceremony “Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Spirit,” where those new to the fire comprised an inner initiation circle as all lit up together to consecrate the elemental invocations of Gaea and Kiki.
The schedule was chock full of methods for integrating mind and body & making the sacred an integral part of ordinary life.
Each day included a full workshop schedule including offerings from Gaea and Kiki, but also featured instructors from our Ignite community. From morning yoga in the castle’s great room to channeling our inner trees in the sacred circle of pines, to learning about the science of fire to shadow work for transmuting shame, the schedule was chock full of methods for integrating mind and body and making the sacred an integral part of ordinary life.
Each night of the festival concluded with a collective fire jam, where all were invited to be witnessed. On the first night, some chose to stand back and witness--but by the final jam, every single Alchemist made it into the circle to be held and witnessed in their burning splendor, each individual a completely unique expression of the greater whole.
Playing in Workshops
Working in Playshops
Whether hooping, dancing, stretching, or simply playing together, Fire Alchemists had ample opportunities to learn, practice, and grow through personal sticky spots. Some Alchemists met the edges of their comfort in being seen, others in being vulnerable, still others in flowing with a new prop or previously unfamiliar movement vocabulary. In her silks workshop, Gaea Lady challenged all to let go and get sensual with silk in front of a partner. Though some Alchemists dove into the challenge with wild abandon, dissolving into the pleasures of silk and natural setting, others tackled it from a place of calcination--the first stage of alchemical transformation in which we burn away attachments to things that hold us back, like self-consciousness and value judgements. Every Alchemist moved through the phases of transformation at their own pace and in their own ways; and all held space for one another to be where they were, in stickiness and in silken flow.
Kiki’s poi workshop invited all to come back to the beginner mindset; a place of goofy curiosity. We all learned across all our varying abilities and levels of experience, that it is important to allow yourself to be a beginner, to look silly, and to slow down and take time to learn whatever lessons poi--or life--is trying to teach you.
The programming included a group nature walk deep into the forest, where Alchemists gathered at an old quarry. In this place where the Earth had once been scarred by humans extracting resources, this hollowed-out space that nature had reclaimed and regrown, the energies of the group and the wild concentrated and compounded into an explosion of palpable intensity. Gaea and Kiki led a ritual for being present to whatever was coming up in that moment, whether discomfortable or pleasurable. We channeled this intensity together through breath work and song, filling the verdant cavity with our voices.
Fire Keeper Ritual Performance
Saturday evening beheld the Fire Keeper Staff Ritual Performance, an event curated to demonstrate the power that intention can inject into any performative action. Going into the performance event, the staff collectively set an intention to bring to the audience exactly what everyone needed. There was no better confirmation that we had accomplished our goal than the immediately following fire jam, which was lit with a fervent and divine energy palpable to all present.
Over 4 short days that felt simultaneously like a lifetime and like a brief experience cut suddenly short, Fire Alchemists burned away the things separating us as we grew individually together in joy and mutual support. Though a festival in name, Fire Alchemy was really an enactment of the world we all want to live in. Sad to separate in the end, but brimming with the fullness of the weekend, everyone returned home coagulated into a more whole version of themselves and empowered to make all our various corners of the world brighter.
The transformation during Fire Alchemy was palpable.
We are all still uncovering the depth of what transpired weeks afterwards.
A huge thank you to all who attended, contributed, and made the magic to create the Fire Alchemy Gathering this year. Our community is our strength, and doing it together we have more power than we ever could singularly.
Dates are set for August 4-8,2022 at Stronghold Castle in Illinois for our 3rd annual gathering.
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale.
Your presence is humbly requested!
Turn Your Life into Gold
with love,
Gaea & Kiki
thank you to Kiki Mason, Nick Guzzardo, Heidi Kohz, & Julie Brannen for contributing to this blog with your words, photos, and magic. <3
