This five-day winter retreat, held among the red canyon walls and wild waters of the Aravaipa Wilderness, is a soulful immersion in ritual, remembrance, and creative embodiment. The Sonoran Soulfire Retreat is designed to kindle the inner flame—awakening vitality and nourishing the deep feminine spirit.
2026 Sonoran Soulfire Gallery
Kindling your creative fire
Each workshop is a spark — a blend of art, ritual, and medicine to kindle the soul.
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Together we’ll build a living altar of offerings—natural elements, ancestral symbols, and personal tokens—to root our retreat in beauty, reverence, and shared intention.
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Each day begins with a somatic experience of gentle empowerment. Venus leads a fusion of fluid movement, intuitive dance, and embodied awareness practices—awakening presence, soft strength, and shared connection. Sessions culminate in a light collaborative choreography that honors self and sisterhood.
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Reclaim and amplify your voice in a devotional soundscape of shared song, ancestral chants, and vocal expression. Let your voice rise as a sacred instrument of truth and connection.
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Work with natural clay to shape sacred figure vessels that embody your creative essence and inner waters. This tactile ritual offers a way to honor the body’s wisdom and its inherent creative power. We will pit fire our creations.
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We’ll craft botanical-infused oils with intention—blending dried herbs, flowers, and sacred carrier oils. Then, in a tender scent-filled ritual, you’ll learn to anoint the body and connect to your womb space through self-touch, breath, and a sound healing.
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Release what no longer serves and lift your deepest desires into the flames. Be witnessed in a potent ritual of transformation and aliveness, culminating in a powerful fire dance performance by Venus DelMar.
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A guided experience of being seen in your essence. Sacred styling, soft direction, and soulful portraiture that reflects your inner wild, your softness, your strength. Photographed by Vanessa Wingerath of Wild Rose Project.
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A celebratory evening of music, story, laughter, and sweet delights. Be held in the warmth of community as we gather for an intimate concert, followed by an open invitation for creative sharing.
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Craft herbal dream bundles, sip soothing tea, and enter the dreamtime through gentle sound healing from Venus DelMar. We’ll weave our prayers and intentions into fragrant pouches to accompany you through the night.
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We’ll honor the threads we've woven together. Gather in gratitude to reflect, anchor insights, and weave the retreat threads into your heart. Leave with a final blessing, a small ritual gift, and the remembrance that you are never alone on this path.
Meet the Facilitators
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Amanda Ma
ORGANIZER, CEREMONIALIST
Amanda Ma is an artist, ceremonialist, and retreat facilitator devoted to weaving ritual, creativity, and community. Rooted in the Sonoran Desert and informed by her work with indigenous tribes, she integrates song, storytelling, and earth-based practices into her offerings. Through The Creative Medicine Path, Amanda guides retreats, ceremonies, altar-making, and integration practices that honor body and land, inviting participants to rekindle their inner fire, awaken intuition, and embody ancestral wisdom.
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Vanessa Wingerath
PHOTOGRAPHER, WILD ROSE PROJECT
Vanessa is an artist, mother of three, and space holder in Tucson. She curates sacred spaces for women to be seen in their fullness. Her portrait photography focuses on feminine rites of passage and embodied transformation. At the Sonoran Soulfire Retreat, Vanessa will offer a Wild Woman Photography experience, including light styling, gentle direction, and five finished portraits. Her background spans birthwork, Shakti Yoga, menstrual cycle guidance, and over a decade of women’s circles and retreats.
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Venus DelMar
FIRE DANCER, EMBODIED MOVEMENT
Venus DelMar is a divine feminine creatrix~ an international performance artist that specializes in the art of fire dance and sacred sounds. Her natural ability to guide, teach, and facilitate movement classes has helped hundreds of women connect more deeply with their bodies. She has performed on festival stages, for high profile corporate events, and intimate gatherings. Venus DelMar runs an artistic youtube channel with sensual dance classes, soothing yoga flows, and inspirational fire dance performances.
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Melissa Schwindenhammer
GUEST TEACHER, CERAMICS
Melissa is a mother, artist, and longtime art teacher whose work is rooted in play, reflection, and discovery. She will guide a gentle ceramics journey that invites us to explore, listen, and intuitively remember. Together, we’ll connect with the earth and the quiet stories it holds. As the clay transforms in the fire, so too does something within us, offering a tender reminder of resilience, renewal, and the creative spark that lives in us all.
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Sweet Medicine Spirit
LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPIST
Sweet Medicine Spirit is an LMT, mother, circle facilitator, and Plant Medicine practitioner. She weaves 20+ years of somatic wisdom into her devoted healing arts practice. Specializing in trauma-informed massage therapy with an emphasis on nervous system regulation, she integrates into each session modalities of Ashiatsu, Thai massage, sound, hot stones, cupping, Gua sha, and Chakra Reiki energy wisdom. Her approach invites the nervous system to remember its innate harmony, supporting the body’s natural rhythm. -
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Casey Shaw
YOGA TEACHER, MUSICIAN
Casey Shaw (she/they) is a multi-faceted artist, yoga teacher, and soul collaborator. With over a decade of teaching yoga and leading sacred song, Casey delights in sharing Sanskrit mantras, community songs, and original music. Trained in South India and beyond with over 700 hours of study, Casey weaves trauma-sensitive yoga, mantra, and mindfulness into her offerings. She is passionate about creating safe spaces for healing, empowerment, and embodied freedom through movement, music, and ritual.
Payment Options
Your registration is ALL-INCLUSIVE—covering workshops, ceremonies, crafting materials, nourishing meals, and shared sleeping accommodations from Wednesday dinner through Sunday lunch. To support accessibility, we offer three pricing tiers so you can choose the option that best fits your circumstances. Payment plans can be arranged upon request, and contributions at the higher tier help fund scholarships and facilitator support. Our aim is to create a retreat that is abundant, sustainable, and welcoming for all.
Rooted (Early Bird Discount)
$999
All inclusive
For those who register early and are steady supporters of the arts and self-growth. Limited spots available.
Standard
Aligned
$1,111
All inclusive
A fair and balanced rate that honors the true cost of the retreat. Helps sustain all the offerings.
Abundant (Supporter Tier)
$1,333
All inclusive
For those who are financially resourced and want to help fund scholarships or support facilitators more deeply.
Interested in a payment plan?
You can reserve your spot with a $200 deposit today and divide the remaining balance into manageable payments leading up to the retreat.
Accommodations + Details
Our time together at Sonoran Soulfire Retreat will be held in the natural beauty of the humble Aravaipa Canyon Ranch. Every aspect of this immersion is designed with care — from shared sleeping spaces to nourishing meals — so you can feel supported, comfortable, and free to enter fully into the retreat.
On the menu, you’ll find practical details to help you prepare.
In November, we will host an Info & Intention Gathering session over Zoom. This will be time to weave the threads of our circle, share details, answer your questions, and begin calling the community together.
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Aravaipa Canyon Ranch is a beloved private sanctuary nestled deep in nature—an ancient land once home to the Aravaipa Apache. With humble accommodations and a cozy homestead feel, the ranch carries the blessings of countless medicine gatherings. Here, the canyon itself becomes teacher and witness, holding retreat guests in a timeless embrace of beauty, spirit, and belonging.
Nestled between Tucson and Phoenix, Aravaipa Canyon Ranch borders the stunning Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. The ranch is surrounded by red-rock cliffs, desert flora, and flowing waters that invite stillness and connection.
The ranch located approximately 1.5 hours from Tucson, AZ and 2–2.5 hours from Phoenix, AZ.
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Retreat lodging is communal, with shared rooms of 4–7 beds in a cozy, rustic retreat-style setting.
Sleeping accommodations in the main lodge are located on the 2nd floor, accessible only by a flight of stairs.
For those who prefer or require alternative sleeping arrangements, there is the option to camp on the land in a personal tent or sleep in a vehicle. Please note that the property is in a rural area with natural terrain and potential exposure to weather, wildlife, and insects.
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We will share nourishing, primarily vegetarian meals prepared with Ayurvedic principles in mind. Protein options will be available on the side for those who wish to include them. Meals will be wholesome, seasonal, and crafted to support our time together in ceremony and creativity.
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This gathering is open to 25 women. We honor all expressions of the feminine and aim to create a safe, inclusive, and supportive space for rest, creativity, and renewal.
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We offer tiered pricing with the option to pay in full or begin a payment plan with a $200 non-refundable deposit. You’ll be able to select your contribution tier and payment option directly on the registration form.
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Cancellation Policy
We understand that unexpected circumstances arise. To honor the integrity of the retreat and the commitments we make to our venue and facilitators:A $200 deposit is non-refundable under all circumstances.
Cancellations made 45+ days before the retreat will receive a 50% refund of any amount paid beyond the deposit.
Cancellations made less than 45 days before the retreat are non-refundable.
If you are unable to attend, you may transfer your spot to another eligible participant with prior approval.
In the event of serious illness or emergency, partial credit toward a future retreat may be offered at the sole discretion of The Creative Medicine Path.
If the retreat must be canceled by the organizers, venue, or due to unforeseen circumstances, all payments made (including the deposit) will be fully refunded.
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By participating in this retreat, you acknowledge that you have been informed of the location, sleeping arrangements, and accessibility considerations, and that you are responsible for your own comfort, mobility, and preparedness for a rural environment. If you have specific accessibility needs, please contact us prior to registration so we can discuss available accommodations.