Nature-Based Ritual and Ceremony Retreat on the Mendocino Coast with Forest Offerings and Threshold Rites
Enter the Sacred Grove: A Ceremony of Becoming
There is a place where the veil thins. Where redwood roots mirror your own, and breath carries the memory of something older than words. Symposium: The First Gathering is a nature-based retreat with ritual and ceremony, held November 4–9, 2025, in the coastal forests of Northern California.
Designed for seekers who feel the call to reconnect with the earth, this immersive experience blends forest offerings, grounding practices, and threshold rites into six days of sacred becoming. Whether you’re marking a life change, tending ancestral wounds, or simply feeling called to ritual, this ritual retreat on the Mendocino Coast offers a powerful container.
The journey unfolds within the sanctuary of Spirit Camp Retreat Center—a queer-owned, earth-honoring spiritual hub just ten minutes from downtown Mendocino.
From Stone Circles to Fire Pits: The Lineage of Ritual
Across time and culture, ritual has been our bridge—between worlds, identities, and generations. From Indigenous ceremonies and Celtic rites of passage to Eastern temple offerings, ritual grounds us in belonging and transformation.
Modern ceremonial design draws from these ancestral traditions while adapting to contemporary longing. At Symposium, each threshold rite is crafted with respect for both lineage and personal agency—allowing you to engage in earth-based healing in ways that feel deeply your own.
Rituals may include forest medicine offerings, fire ceremonies, or altar-building. Practices are non-dogmatic, symbolic, and inclusive—reflecting the teaching of groups like Ancestral Medicine that honor the unseen while centering safety, ethics, and embodiment.
Threshold rites here are more than metaphor—they are mirrors. As you cross them, you are not only witnessed—you are changed.
Photo of Deer Haven, one of the our many unique cabin spaces. This cabin has three beds. Cabins have between 1 to 8 beds each and provide several different sleeping arrangements for Nature-Based Retreat with Ritual and Ceremony. All cabin spaces are included in Redwood elemental retreat.
Photo of Group Glamping Tents Setup in Sunset Meadow. We have 10 Glamping Structures that can be added with 1to 3 beds each. This can increase bed capacity of campus to 50 guests across 20 unique accommodation spaces.
Ceremonial Guides
Dayana Carmona (@herwhollywisdom) leads elemental and womb-based rituals that awaken memory in the bones. Her ceremonies speak in the language of earth, fire, breath, and lineage—guiding participants into connection with the ancestral and unseen.
Julia Farrell (@thegingerjules) brings her gifts of ritual arc design and symbolic structure to the retreat’s unfolding. From firelight story circles to intention-setting thresholds, she ensures every moment holds meaning.
Nikki Tompot (@namastedoulanikki) supports the rhythm and grounding of the retreat. Her presence is a steady current beneath each ceremony, ensuring flow, safety, and deep care.
Together, these guides co-create a ceremonial space that honors tradition while empowering personal transformation.
Nature’s Altar: Living the Sacred at Spirit Camp
Nestled among 27 acres of redwoods, Spirit Camp is a sanctuary shaped by nature and devotion. Rituals unfold in Magic Meadow, where fire pits glow beneath the stars. Grounding practices take place beneath ancient trees, on trails lined with ferns and mushrooms.
Mornings may begin with forest offerings—stones, prayers, or symbolic objects placed with intention. Afternoons might include threshold ceremonies where you step across a literal and energetic line, releasing the old and claiming the new.
Evenings bring fireside sharing, sacred silence, or impromptu songs beneath the moon. The retreat space includes The Sanctuary and Redwood Lodge, both of which serve as spiritual hearths for ceremony, movement, and stillness.
All meals are plant-based, communal, and deeply nourishing, aligning with the retreat’s values of land reverence and body care. Accommodations range from cozy cabins to nostalgic bunkhouses, with every space lovingly tended.
This is not just a venue—it’s a living altar.
Where Ritual Lives: The Mendocino Coast
Spirit Camp lies on a ridge just ten minutes from Mendocino, offering an ideal blend of wildness and access. Guests traveling from San Francisco, Sonoma, Marin, or Santa Rosa can reach this nature ceremony retreat in Northern California within a few scenic hours.
The Mendocino Coast is known for its elemental beauty—mist, moss, salt air, and soaring trees. Here, ritual feels natural. The land itself seems to respond, amplifying intention and offering silence as sanctuary.
You won’t need to fly overseas to find sacred space. It’s already here—just up the coast.
FAQs for Ritual-Curious Guests
What should I bring for rituals or ceremonies?
We recommend a journal, a sacred object for the altar, layers for cool weather, and an open heart. Everything else will be provided.What is a “threshold rite”?
A symbolic passage—usually involving a physical or ceremonial action—to mark transition. You might write a letter, cross a ceremonial path, or participate in a guided ritual.Do I have to participate in every group ceremony?
Participation is always invitational. You’ll be supported in finding the depth and pace that’s right for you.
Extend the Magic
After the retreat, deepen your connection to the land through nearby sacred spaces.
Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens offers vibrant floral paths that end at ocean cliffs. Many visitors experience the gardens as a kind of nature temple—ideal for post-retreat reflection or meditative walks.
Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, just a short drive away, reveals smooth sea glass shimmering along the shoreline—remnants of transformation in physical form. It’s a poetic landscape for honoring what has been shed and reclaimed.
Step Into the Circle. Light the Fire Within.
If you’ve been longing for sacred space, for ceremony that meets you where you are and carries you where you’re meant to go—this is it.
Join us at Symposium: The First Gathering for six days of ritual, reconnection, and renewal in the redwoods.
To see all upcoming spiritual and ceremonial retreats, visit spirit.camp/retreats.
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