The Year of the Fire Horse : A Ceremonial Retreat with Horses

Join us in person for a unique experience celebrating the spirit of the Fire Horse!

The Fire Horse Retreat is an intimate ceremonial immersion held in collaboration with horses and the elemental medicine of fire.

This gathering is rooted in attunement—
to the nervous system,
to instinct and intuition,
to the wisdom of the horse as teacher and mirror,
and to fire as a force of clarity, vitality, and truth.

In the year of the Fire Horse, we come together not to push forward, but to stand more fully inside our own power—learning how to carry energy cleanly, responsibly, and with heart.

Through ceremony and ritual, breathwork, shamanic instruction and practice, as well as time in the presence of horses, participants are invited into a deeper listening—one that happens through the body, the breath, and the relational field.

Horses are exquisitely sensitive beings.
They respond not to performance or intention, but to stance.
They feel coherence.
They reflect incongruence.
They invite honesty without words.

The horses are not here to perform or to be ridden. They are here as teachers- mirrors of coherence, authenticity and presence. No prior experience with horses is required. Only a willingness to be in presence.

Through guided horse-human attunement, ceremony, movement practices, breath, and ritual with fire, we will explore what it means to meet life from inside our own sovereignty—regulated, embodied, and alive.

This is a weekend for those standing at a threshold—ready to move, but unwilling to abandon depth. For those who value personal growth that translates into the community/herd. 

This weekend is a rite of passage—a closing of the Year of the Snake and an initiation into the Year of the Fire Horse.

Snake teaches us shedding, deep listening, and inner alchemy. Growing from the inside out. Venom/pain is medicine and possibility.  Horse carries us forward—into movement, truth, sovereignty, and heart-led action we carry into our herd.  Outward growth ready to be shared with others. They also remind us of our unbridled wildness and play as well as gentleness and softness. 

This is not a performance space.
It is a listening space.

We will move slowly.
We will work at the level of sensation and presence.
We will allow the horses to lead where words cannot.

The Fire Horse Retreat is an invitation to remember how to stand—
steady, responsive, and true—
and to let that stance shape the path forward.

The retreat/initiation/ignition weaves together:

• Ceremony
• Breathwork
• Meditation & movement
• Somatic & energetic initiation
• Time in the presence of horses as teachers and mirrors
• Shamanic instruction and practice

Not performance.
Presence.. Listening. Connection. Communion.

Horse Sessions

• Multiple short, spacious engagements rather than one long session
• Emphasis on observation as much as interaction
• Reflection woven in gently
• No riding
• All interactions with horses are ground-based, consensual, and guided with respect for the animals and the land.
• WE WILL NEED TO DRESS FOR THE WEATHER AND THE SITE IS RUSTIC- reach out for questions

This retreat is guided by River Star (Emily Peterson) and Jessica Dawe, two shamanic practitioners and ceremonial guides trained in the Way of the Heart Shamanism, each walking the path as Mistresses of the Craft. Together, they hold a shared devotion to healing through embodied presence, relational integrity, and deep listening with the seen and unseen worlds.

Both facilitators work with ancient shamanic practices, conscious breath, meditation, energy healing, and ceremony to support remembrance, restoration, and return to wholeness. Their approaches are trauma-aware, consent-based, and grounded in respect for the nervous system, the land, and the beings who co-create the field.

As a medicine carrier walking the priestess path, RiverStar (Emily Peterson) tends healing as a living field through embodied presence, ceremony, and relational listening. Rooted in ancient shamanic and oracle lineages, her work unfolds through journeying, soul retrieval, ceremonial breathwork and movement, song and frequency-based healing, sacred witnessing, and partnership with horses, land and subtle realms, honoring healing as a co-creative, respective process. 

Jessica Dawe carries a strong lineage of oracle and ancestral work, offering shamanic journeys, soul retrieval, and channeled meditations and rituals that support deep soul remembrance and clarity. Through priestess tradition she weaves ceremonies for healing and peace for the soul.

Together, they weave complementary expressions of the same medicine—ceremony and journey, embodiment and oracle, land and lineage—creating a container that is both grounded and mythic, spacious and precise, ancient and alive.

The horses of this retreat are elders, survivors, and teachers.

They are rescue horses—ages 16 to 25—living on sacred land and held within a field of care, safety, and respect. Over the past two years, RiverStar has been in relationship with them through healing work and quiet presence, allowing trust to form slowly and organically.

The land and horses are stewarded by a devoted family and one beloved dog, held in care, respect, and love.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Emily Peterson (RiverStar)