WILDERNESS VIGIL
“Wilderness simply occasions the vulnerability necessary for trust.”
— Belden C. Lane, The Solace of Fierce Landscapes
What is a Wilderness Vigil?
A Wilderness Vigil is a form of pilgrimage - perhaps our most demanding type of pilgrimage. Instead of traveling on a defined path or toward a holy site, pilgrims venture out alone onto the land for several days of fasting and solitude. The point is not to conquer the wilderness or to have a private spiritual experience in a wild place. A Wilderness Vigil does not tell us what we should find. Each person arrives with their own questions and intent. By stepping outside the patterns of ordinary life, we enter a setting where a different kind of attention becomes possible. In that setting, we may be addressed by the land, by the Sacred, or by something in our life that has been asking for our attention.
What makes this an important type of Pilgrimage?
This kind of time apart has deep roots. Across many cultures and traditions, people have journeyed into the solitude of the wild in acts of initiation and deep trust. In some cultures a foundational practice of transition into the fullness of adulthood, rites like this have become rare in our contemporary world. Many of us are hungry for what these experiences offer: a chance to stand alone before a world much larger than ourselves, to remember that we belong to it, and to listen for what it asks of us.
This type of pilgrimage has three distinct phases:
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Severance
Pilgrimage begins with departure. In the days before the vigil, participants prepare to step away from the routines and obligations of their usual lives.
They name why they are coming, knowing that the question may change once they are out there.
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Threshold
Then comes the time apart. A pilgrim enters solitude and lives for four days and nights by the terms of the land.
Without the usual structure of daily life, there is time to listen differently.
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Return
The return is part of the pilgrimage, not its ending. Participants return to their group and Guides who listen to them speak from the heart about their time on the land.
This is a time to begin incorporating what was learned on the land as you prepare to transition back into your community.
Upcoming Wilderness Vigil
We are currently planning the next Wilderness Vigil. Typically we hold these vigils in the Appalachian foothills of West Virginia in spring or fall.
Dates and location for the next Wilderness Vigil will be announced soon. Join the waitlist to be the first to hear when dates and registration become available.