There are moments in a life when the ordinary container is no longer large enough — when something in us has outgrown what we have known and is pressing toward what we have not yet become. These are threshold moments. The underworld is the oldest name for the place we must go when that happens: the descent into the unseen, into the dark, into what has not yet been brought to light. Every tradition that has ever held human beings through transformation has known this territory.

Fields of the Underworld is a wilderness rites of passage programme — and at its heart, the vision quest. Time alone in nature, preceded by deep preparation and followed by integration in community, creates the conditions for genuine initiation: a meeting with what most needs to be seen, a release of what no longer serves, and an arrival into what is next. The stories told in the preparation and integration circles are not decoration. They are the oldest technology available for moving psychic energy — for opening the field before the descent, and for holding what emerges on the return.

These programmes are grounded in a long lineage of wilderness rites of passage work and Brendon’s own practice in Aotearoa — attentive to the particular intelligence of this land, and held within a framework that honours both the indigenous traditions of this place and the participants’ own lineages.

WHAT IS INVOLVED

Preparation — group and individual work, including oral story, to clarify intention, tend the inner landscape, and build the relational container. Solo time in nature — typically three days and nights alone on the land, fasting and in vigil. Return and integration — community witnessing of what arose, and the slow work of bringing the threshold experience back into everyday life.

These programmes are not for everyone and are not entered into lightly. A pre-programme conversation is required for all participants.

FORMAT AND DETAILS

Format:   Residential — typically eight days plus preparation and integration either side

Suitable for:   Adults at significant life thresholds — midlife, grief, transition, vocation, or the pull of calling

Dates:   Held seasonally — dates to be announced

Location:   Taranaki and wider Aotearoa — in person

Pricing:   To be confirmed — sliding scale available

Register your interest

If you sense the call of this work — whether you have clarity about your threshold or simply know that something is waiting — reach out. An initial conversation is the natural first step. Contact Brendon at weavingsoulnz@gmail.com