Fires of Venus 2013

Every so often, a story arc reaches its conclusion. Such is the case for Fires of Venus as it had evolved over the first five years of its existence. 2012, with its reduced attendance, showed us that it was time to make a major change, shifting away from the big ritual team and large, showy rites. The only question was, what would it become. Over the fall and winter, at THE, we worked to find the answer, and eventually we found it growing from a seed planted at last year's event.

This seed was a simple thought: What if we built the rituals right there at the event based on what those of us there wanted and needed? Instead of planning out the rituals for months ahead of time and putting on a big show, what if we were to come together as a community and do the Work together? For all that we might lose polish and high production values, we might gain the spontaneity and democratic rituals that might better serve our community!

For those of you who've never been to an FoV, it is an event devoted to the celebration of Love in all of its guises. Because sexuality can be a part of love, we restrict the event to 18+. We are very sex-positive at our event, encouraging participants to celebrate their relationships openly if they so desire. But it's not a sex-event! It's a Love event that allows public sexuality. Our focus is truly on Love. People come to FoV alone, with partners, with friends, with relatives. Heck, my mom came one year! It was great! THE's most affordable event, this is a great way to get in touch with your heart, and maybe someone else's, too, if you like.

What it means is, throw away all your preconceptions about Fires of Venus! Here's the new reality:

• The event is much less expensive! The price to attend ranges from $145-185, depending on your choices. And you can now get a day pass and just come out for one day if you like!
• There's no big ritual team or a structured, pre-planned ritual piece with lots of props and such. Instead, there are a couple of ritual facilitators who will help the community design and execute the rituals each evening. It'll be what we decide it will be each day.
• There's no big fancy temple all set up for you when you arrive. Instead, we, as a community, choose what our space will look like. Will it have any tents in it at all? Will we decorate? Will we focus our efforts on the actual Work of the ritual? Will there be a rope line around the space? Will we build a new reality each day? The choice is ours. We can make it what we want it to be.
• If you plan on attending Free Spirit Gathering the next week, you not only get $10 off both our registration and theirs, but you don't have to pay for the bridge day between the events. And you get a nice 10-day retreat for only 5 days off of work!
• "I think this is a great idea and I definitely plan to help out with the rituals and temple space! How do I sign up?" Folks like you are what we call Acolytes. There are a very limited number of discounted admission ($145) for those of you who feel this way, so sign up right away to be sure you get one!
• "What if I don't want to help with the rituals and such?" I'm glad you asked that! You are more than welcome to come to the event and just attend the rituals or not as you see fit. We call folks like you Celebrants, and we welcome your attendance at the event. Vacation on the site. Enjoy yourself. Help out or not as you wish each day. You'll pay a bit more ($185), but it'll be worth it for the retreat time and lack of structure.