The Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise, a four day festival in its third year, has 28 people registered and is expecting attendance to go even higher due to the new ‘weekend’ registration option.

The event for adults only takes place in  western Wisconsin and focuses on transformation of self through midnight to dawn drumming, chanting, and trance-work.  “It’s a great environment for personal healing. It’s not uniquely Pagan,” says JRob, who has attended both previous year’s SFC.  ” It taps into something that is at the core of humans, but it’s not for everyone. Not everyone can let go of themselves. Not everyone can deal with the inevitable sleep deprivation. Although just about everyone is probably physically capable of doing it. We’ve had several participants with physical limitations who were able to participate in the sacred fire circle.”

This event is different from many Pagan gatherings.  Attendees do not attend workshops and are expected to fully participate in all aspects.  “The event is co-created, and so everyone divides into four teams to take care of the needs of the event,” says JRob.  His first year he was on the fire team. One of the duties of the fire team was to light the circle in preparation for the night.  This job duty led to one of the more memorable experiences of the event for him.  “It was dark when I entered the circle. So dark that my flashlight couldn’t keep up with the darkness. I went around and lit the many candles on the alters. As I went, each little flame brought the circle to life. I lit the tikis around the edge, and the circle came more to life. I lit ten foot tall tikis around the center, and the circle came more to life. I fed the fire in the center, and our ritual space was fully alive. Witnessing the circle coming alive around me is my most vivid memory of the fire circle.”

Another favorite memory of JRob’s is of the food, “There were two cooks for the event who really are five star chefs. They fed us the most amazing meals.”

Registration includes nine meals.  For those who cannot afford the registration fee, donors who have created a scholarship fund.  Registration closes July 10th and is limited to 50 attendees.  Contact Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise for details.

Editor’s note:  Nels Linde is Co-editor for PNC-Minnesota and one of the organizers of Sacred Fire Circle in Paradise.