🌄 Dawnfire: A Spring Equinox Shamanic Gathering
21st & 22nd March 2026 Humble Haven (Battle) & Winchelsea New Hall Held by Natasha Saltzer
The First Time I Sat in the Lodge
I am delighted to share information on my Spring Equinox gathering and you are most welcome to join me. I would like to begin with a story about the moment everything changed. Over twenty years ago now, I did something that would shape the rest of my life, though at the time, I had no idea what I was walking into.
I’d booked myself onto a week-long retreat in California. I was in a place in my life where I knew I needed something… but I didn’t quite know what. I just knew I had to go. I’ll never forget it, but because of what happened there.
I arrived without my suitcase. I’d left it at my sister’s house in all the travel chaos, and the friend who’d kindly driven me two hours out into the wilds was not impressed! I showed up for the first day with nothing but the clothes I was wearing, a pair of shoes, and myself. Looking back now, I see the symbolism in that moment so clearly. I entered the retreat completely empty-handed. No belongings. No baggage. Just me, stripped back to my essence.
Eventually, my suitcase arrived a day or so later, thanks to the driver’s kindness (and perhaps a little pity), but the significance of arriving without it was not lost on me. I was about to embark on a lifelong journey of liberating myself from my symbolic baggage, everything I had been carrying emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually that no longer served me.
That path required healing, patience, and deep self-understanding. And the lodge, this rebirthing earth chamber, this dark temple space, was the perfect ceremony for renewal and rebirth. It was here that something ancient set me on a path of resurrection and remembering. And what a journey it has been.
So it feels only natural that I am now deeply honoured to hold this ceremony for you, offering its transformational power in support of your own homecoming process
At that time, though, I didn’t know what a lodge even was, really. I’d never done one before. I just followed the group out through the trees to this strange dome-shaped structure covered in blankets. The fire was burning. The large ancient stones were heating. And I felt something stirring in me, quietly, deeply.
When I stepped into the darkness of that lodge, something ancient woke up. I sat on the earth, steam rising around me, the scent of cedar in the air. It was pitch black. The only light came from the glowing stones , bright orange and alive, like miniature suns, placed in the pit at the centre of the Earth. The water hissed and sang as it was poured over them, and the lodge filled with heat, prayer, breath, and song.
And my heart filled with something I had not expected at all a profound sense of awe, love, and majesty. A kind of nourishment I didn’t know I was starving for.I can’t fully explain what happened next.
I only know that I crossed a threshold. A doorway opened inside me, or perhaps I remembered one I had walked through long ago. I entered a kind of trance, not spaced out, but more awake than I had ever been. Everything felt deeply familiar and completely new at the same time. It felt as though I had done this before. Many times. As if my soul had been waiting patiently to return to this moment.I stayed for an extra round after the fourth, remaining inside with the lodge holder and a few others. Despite the intensity of the heat, I wanted to stay for as long as I possibly could in that ancient earth temple. Something in me knew I belonged there. When I finally emerged, I was overcome with joy.
I had never known such liberation, such lightness of being.
I was high on life, intoxicated with love itself. That was the first time I sat in the lodge.
And nothing was ever quite the same again.
That week changed everything. I cried. I laughed. I felt deeply seen. And something clicked into place. That was the moment I truly stepped onto the shamanic path. I didn’t know it then, but it was the first step of a long road, one that would eventually lead me to become a ceremonial leader, a teacher, and now… someone who holds the Rainbow Lodge herself.
I’m sharing this now because this March, I’ll be holding a Rainbow Lodge ceremony right over the weekend of the Spring Equinox. I have completed my year long immersion at Northern Drum to train to safely lead Rainbow lodges, (similar to Sweat lodges) And something about the timing feels just as significant, just as life-changing, as that first experience I had all those years ago.
To have the Rainbow Lodge fall right on the Spring Equinox, on a weekend, is rare.
These things don’t always line up.
But this year, they do.
And I feel it in my whole being, the power, the possibility, the potential. This is a weekend where personal rebirth and planetary alignment come together. Where you’ll be invited into the lodge, into the Earth’s womb, while the whole planet is in balance between light and dark. It’s the moment when life stirs again. When the roots push up. When something deep inside us says, “I’m ready.”
So please join me in stepping into a field of energy that can change your life. Clear grief. Awaken fire. Realign your path. Or simply bring you back to yourself, to what’s true.
🌞 If You Feel the Call
You don’t need to have done this kind of thing before. I hadn’t, either.You don’t need to be “spiritual” or “ready” or “experienced.”All you need is the nudge. The curiosity. The whisper in your bones.
If something about this speaks to you, even if you’re not sure why, I would love to hold space for you. We’ll gather in the forest on the Saturday, step into the Rainbow Lodge, and pray with the Earth, the stones, the fire, and each other. Then on Sunday, we’ll come back together to rest, to move gently, to integrate, and to listen for what wants to emerge in your life now.
I have a feeling we are not meant to walk through these Turning Times alone...
🔥 Saturday 21st March
Rainbow Lodge Ceremony Humble Haven, Battle | 10:30am – 8:00pm
At the heart of the weekend is the Rainbow Lodge, a sacred sweat lodge ceremony aligned with the moment of Equinox. This is a place of purification, release, and deep soul remembrance.
Together we will:
- Enter the sacred lodge in ceremony in pitch darkness
- Receive the healing and wisdom of the stones
- Call in the Divine Mother and the ancestors
- Be with the elements the four daughters in their purest form
- Let go of what no longer serves
- Remember are true nature and unmasked self
- Sing and pray around the glowing stones for ourselves, others and all our relations
You do not need any prior experience to take part. All that is required is a willingness to listen, honour the sacred, and return to the womb of the Earth for a few potent hours.
🌿 Sunday 22nd March
Integration & Emergence Winchelsea New Hall | 10:30am – 6:00pm
The second day of our gathering is a gentle and beautiful time of integration and emergence.
We’ll spend the day together in circle and out on the land, with time for:
- Nature connection and time by the river
- Embodied movement
- Drawing and creative reflection
- Sacred songs and chants
- Shamanic journeying
- Sharing and listening
- Deepening the Equinox teachings
🔥 Booking & Practical Details
Dawnfire is a sacred two-day gathering taking place across two venues in East Sussex:
- Saturday 21st March 2026
Humble Haven, Blue Bell coppice park, Forewood lane, Battle, TN33 9AB
🕰 10:30am – 8:00pm - Sunday 22nd March 2026
Winchelsea New Hall, Rectory Lane, Winchelsea, TN36 4AA
🕰 10:30am – 6:00pm
🌿 Exchange & Booking Options
I want this experience to be as accessible as possible while honouring the time, resources, and deep preparation that go into creating a ceremonial space of this depth.
Please feel into what rate feels most aligned and supportive for you.
🌈 Pricing Tiers
🌿 £125 Early Bird Available until midnight on February 22nd 2026
For those ready to say yes with the rising spring energy.
💛 £149 Concession Rate
For those in financial transition or on lower incomes.
🌍 £199 General Rate
The standard rate for this deep two-day ceremonial immersion.
📥 How to Book
To reserve your place, please pay a £50 deposit using the booking link below.
- The remaining balance is due in full by March 15th, 2026.
- You’ll receive a confirmation email with all details, what to bring, how to prepare, and directions for both venues.
- www.natashasaltzer.com/events to reserve your place or by bank transfer.
Or feel free to email me directly with any questions:📧 natasha@natashasaltzer.com
💧 Health Note – Please Read
The Rainbow Lodge is a traditional-style sweat lodge ceremony. It involves sitting in the heat, close to the earth, within a small dome structure where steam is created by pouring water over glowing stones. While deeply sacred and transformational, it is not suitable for everyone.
It is recommended that you seek the approval of a doctor regarding any medical conditions or medical issues and your suitability to attend. Please email me before booking if you:
- Are pregnant
- Have high or low blood pressure
- Experience heart conditions or respiratory issues
- Or any medical condition that you are unsure of regarding your suitability.
What Others Are Saying:
"It was powerful to share experiences with like-minded people—the laughter and the tears. I felt safe enough to be open and allow healing and transformation to take place. I felt very supported by the group. Natasha was very gifted in tuning in to what the group needed. I would hugely recommend this experience."
— A Past Participant
This is a powerful and sacred gathering. The Rainbow Lodge ceremony is not a casual experience, it is a soul-deep remembering. We are coming together to honour the Earth, to walk with Spirit, and to open to the new frequencies of the Spring Equinox and the New Dawn.
In the Womb of the Earth
I crawl back into the Mother
on my hands and knees,
skin brushing soil,
breath already a prayer.
The door closes.
Darkness takes me whole.
Not the dark of fear
the dark of beginnings.
The dark where seeds split open.
Where stars are born.
The stones glow like small suns,
ancient ones,
grandmothers and grandfathers
who remember everything.
They have travelled through fire
to sit with us here,
close to the bones of the world.
Water touches stone.
The first breath of steam rises
a hiss, a sigh,
the sound of creation exhaling.
Heat wraps my body,
not as punishment
but as truth.
There is nowhere to hide now.
No masks survive in the womb.
The Four Daughters arrive
Fire speaks in pulse and intensity,
Water weeps and cleanses,
Earth holds every cry without judgement,
Air carries our prayers
to places we cannot reach.
The lodge breathes with us.
We are not separate.
We are cells inside a greater body,
ribcage of willow,
skin of blanket and prayer.
Songs rises
not from throats,
but from somewhere older.
Voices braid together,
ancestors leaning in close,
hands on our backs,
whispering:
Remember.
Time loosens its grip.
Sweat becomes offering.
Tears become river.
Grief softens into heat
and something long-frozen
begins to move.
We pray
We pray
We pray
This is the Great Mystery
where death is not an ending
but a doorway,
where we are broken open
only to be remade.
Here, in the belly of the Earth,
we are stripped to essence,
pressed back into clay,
reshaped by fire and love.
And when the door opens,
and cool air kisses skin,
we are born again
steaming, trembling, alive
carrying the quiet knowing
that we have touched
the ancient ways,
and they have changed us
forever.
Please join us for the DawnFire gathering for a life-changing journey. I can’t wait to walk this sacred path with you.
Because of the size of the lodge places are limited so if this calls you, feel free to reserve your spot.
Book your place below:
https://www.natashasaltzer.com/events
Love and blessings,
Natasha xx
Book your spot here: www.natashasaltzer.com/events