We invite you to our special New Year Sweat Lodge Retreat at Inti & Waira House,
where we will hold separate ceremonies for men and women-creating safe, sacred spaces for each to express, heal,
and open up beyond the restrictions often imposed by society.
Why Separate Spaces?
In many Indigenous traditions, it is recognized that men and women each carry unique energies and wisdom. By gathering in gender-specific circles, we honor the need for safe environments where everyone can share openly, process, and support one another in deep, authentic ways.
A Symbolic Fire Ritual
On Saturday, the men will gather to light the sacred fire-a universal symbol of life, transformation, and spiritual power. In a special ritual the following day, the men will pass this fire to the women, who will then carry it into their own ceremony and work for humanity.
This act is a powerful symbol: it recognizes the importance of men stepping aside to support and uplift the sacred feminine, allowing women to take leadership in spiritual and educational work for the community and the world.
Rooted in Tradition
This ritual echoes ancient Native American practices. Among Plains and Plateau tribes, for example, the fire keeper’s role was to carry and tend the sacred fire, which was then ritually passed to women to kindle their own lodge fires. The renewal of the central fire and its distribution to women’s lodges was a way to honor the feminine as the source of life and continuity. In Lakota tradition, the Divine Feminine, embodied by White Buffalo Calf Woman, is revered as the source of spiritual power and the keeper of sacred knowledge and rites. These traditions remind us that communities are only as strong as their women, and that honoring the feminine is essential for balance and renewal.
Join Us
This retreat is more than a ceremony-it is an invitation to honor the sacred roles of both men and women, to support one another, and to step into the new year with intention, healing, and unity.
One Sweat Lodge £70
Concession: £50
Volunteer price £30
(Qualify with Over 20 Hours of Work)
Healing Benefits of Sweat Lodge Ceremonies
Mental Healing - it frees the mind of distractions, offering clarity.
Spiritual Healing - it allows for introspection and connection to the planet and the spirit world.
Physical Healing - it can potentially provide antibacterial and wound-healing benefits.
The sweat ceremony is intended as a spiritual reunion with the creator and a respectful connection to the earth itself as much as it is meant for purging toxins out of the physical body.
This ceremony is also an opportunity to connect to our ancestors to heal and give gratitude as often we carry past traumas that have been passed to us through our family lineage. The elders often said that the sweat Lodge is “the place where we remember who we are”.
Find out more about Sweat Lodge:
https://www.healingthelandproject.com/sweat-lodge
The Sweat Lodge is a place of spiritual refuge and mental and physical healing, a place to get answers and guidance by asking spiritual entities, totem helpers, the Creator and Mother Earth for the needed wisdom and power.
LIMITED PLACES.
WHO IS RAFASEMILLA?
Rafael Ayala Silva, also known as Rafasemilla, is a Colombian-born medicine man with over 14 years of dedicated experience on the medicine path. He is deeply rooted in the traditions of the Cofan people from Putumayo, Colombia, having continuously worked with both the Cofan and Murui communities.
Rafasemilla is not only a follower of the Taitas from Colombia but also shares a profound connection with the Wirrarika people of Mexico. For over 12 years, he has been a pilgrim to their sacred places, embodying their teachings and traditions. As a carrier of the sacred Water Drum, he travels globally to support Half Moon ceremonies and prayers.
Additionally, Rafasemilla has been hosting Sweat Lodges and Temazcales for over 8 years, adhering to the Mexica tradition and learning from masters in the Oaxaca region and Mexico City.
Beyond his spiritual endeavors, Rafasemilla is a professional drummer, passionately preserving the Afro-Colombian musical legacy from the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of Colombia.
Currently, he runs the Inti Waitra House Retreat Centre, where he continues to share his wisdom, healing practices, and cultural heritage with the world.