Hidden Lake Retreat

The LightSong Lodge at Hidden Lake

 Lodge is a place of prayer, purification, and healing, in communion with the spirits and in community. It is a sacred ceremony that was gifted to us by the first people. We do our very best to honor their ways. We hold their songs as sacred medicine, and follow the protocols asked of us in exchange for utilizing these songs.

 There are two lodges that hold ceremony for the LightSong School of Shamanic Studies community: the LightSong lodge at Hidden Lake and its sister lodge, the LightSong lodge at Alder Creek. We share the holding of this ceremony for the LightSong community, and follow the same ways. This solstice lodge is at Hidden Lake and is open to LightSong community members and friends and guests of Hidden Lake. People who find our lodge via the internet without affiliate with LightSong or Hidden Lake are kindly asked not to inquire.

 Helping with Ceremony

There are specific aspects to preparing and participating in the ceremony that are needed to make the ceremony possible. These include hosting, lodge dressers, kitchen assistance, and firetending.

 The host supports the ceremony by greeting people when they arrive, and orienting them as where to put their food, where to dress, as well as connecting new people with those who know about the ceremony. The host should arrive at least 1.5 hours before the ceremony begins.

SOMEONE WHO KNOWS OUR LAND AND HOUSE IS NEEDED FOR THIS

Lodge dressers help clothe the lodge—putting blankets on her, preparing her for the ceremony. They should arrive no later than 1.5 hours before the ceremony begins.

Kitchen assistants are needed to help set up the celebratory feast that follows the lodge, and then to help clean up after the feast. Many hands make light work! You will need to arrive 1 hour before the ceremony begins and plan on staying for an hour after the feast (at the most).

We ask that all other people participating in the ceremony arrive at least an hour ahead of time. Arriving early allows you to slow down, connect with the land and the people, make prayer ties if you have not made them already, and help with preparing the site and lodge for the ceremony. The ceremony begins well before the time “doors” (the time that we go into the lodge) is scheduled to occur. In fact, many say that the ceremony begins 4 days before the lodge, and lasts for 4 days after the lodge. We have noticed that when people arrive early, the ceremony is richer and much more grounded. Preparing for ceremony is shared, and the energy and power of the lodge are more buoyant and potent.

 What to bring (also see check list below for easy planning):

Modesty is a key principle we uphold in our ceremony. Thus, women are asked to bring skirts or long light cotton pants and tee-shirts with short or long sleeves to wear in lodge. Men are asked to wear shorts. All jewelry (metal especially) should be left at home; rings may be covered in red cloth. A towel to dry off after the lodge. Flip-flops or easily removed shoes are great to have for the lodge site area. Slippers for inside the house is also useful as we have a no shoes policy.

Please do not wear perfumes or essential oils in the lodge. Also, if you routinely wash your clothes or towels which you will be wearing or bringing with fabric softeners that have perfumes in them, please bring towels and clothes that are free of these. Many people are sensitive to these perfumes.

 Exchange with the spirits, and for the ceremony, is also an important concept. If you want to bring offerings for the spirits, we can put them on the altar. Likewise, a small item that you would like to be blessed by the spirits can also be placed on the altar during the ceremony (please remember to retrieve it after the lodge). We make prayer ties to strengthen our intentions, which are worked with by the spirits in the lodge.

 Gifting the ceremonial leaders is also traditional—the firetenders, singer if there is one, and water pourer. For the Hidden Lake lodge, items from nature for ceremonial use (feathers, hides, eg.), sacreds (sweet grass, sage), prayer tie cloth, tobacco, coffee, tea, chocolate, cash, soap, are all appreciated as thanksgiving for the service to the people. Gifting is never required, only as an act from the heart. Another ongoing need of the ceremony itself is for fire wood. So a gift of wood, or money for the firewood fund, is also essential to keep the ceremonies going. Cash donations help supply other resources used in the ceremony and are always appreciated.

 Feasting is a traditional endpoint of the physical part of the lodge. We ask that you bring a dish to share with people after the lodge --this forms the basis of our exchange with our bodies and worldly things of the earth. Also, please bring the appropriate serving utensil for your dish. Be sure to take your dish , the remaining contents and your utensil with you at the end of the feast. While it might seem thoughtful to leave the leftovers of your dish behind at Hidden Lake, we kindly request that you take them home.

Check list for leaving for lodge:

• Sweat clothes—cotton skirt, shirt, shorts
• Towel
• Flip-flop shoes
• Slippers (optional)
• Offerings for ceremonial leaders—firetenders, singer, waterpourer
• Wood or Donation for wood fund
• Potluck item and serving utensil to share
• Sacred items, offerings for altar
• Prayer ties or prayer tie material—cloth, string, tobacco