Firekeeper Training Program
Online and In-person
A 14-month training and apprenticeship
Apply Now
Transform Yourself. Transform Others. Transform the World.
You’ve been seeking something that you know is out there. A place to “be the change” that the world is needing. A place to grow and deepen your connections with nature, spirit and healing. You feel it in your body—it’s a Heart thing. It feels like a calling. You’re ready to do the personal work and gain the skills to serve others—so they can transform their darkness into light.
“Moving forward from my time spent at the sacred fire, I feel change. Simple, effective, positive change.”
For everyone’s ancestors, Fire was the emotional and spiritual center of community. Humans circled around Fire for countless generations, to refocus, renew, and connect with each other and the mysterious world around them. Today, many of us have lost this center. As a result, people seek solutions to modern problems without addressing the root of these problems: our disconnection of heart, mind, and spirit.
Sacred Fire reignites this center, so the medicine of Fire can help people reconnect with their hearts, minds and spirits and live lives of relationship, awareness, and purpose—not only for themselves but for all of humanity.
“Now more than ever, I must embrace my heart and the fire in me, to live harmoniously with the world.”
Firekeeping is a social-spiritual path of emotional growth rooted in ancient wisdom and traditional knowledge. Your training will change how you see and move in the world.
Along the path, it’s likely you’ll need to face some fears and sit with some emotional discomfort. Transformation takes effort. But you’ll emerge as someone who’s able to hold space for others with love and compassion, ready to share your gifts, and the gift of Fire, with the world.
You’ll know what it means to have a calling, a purpose, to serve something greater than yourself. You’ll be prepared to offer your community an ancient connection to the medicine and wisdom of Fire.
Featuring
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FIREKEEPER TRAINER don David Wiley
Don David Wiley’s perspective on what is possible and how to live life was profoundly altered in 1996, when the Spirit of Fire, known by many names as Grandfather Fire, through His appearance as an apparition, chose him to be his conduit and contact for people seeking reconnection to the spiritual and an experiential relationship with nature and Divine. Mr. Wiley was then sent to an indigenous elder, Don Lupe Ríos Gonzales of the Wixárika (Huichol) tradition of the northwestern Sierra Madres of Mexico and Don Lucio Campos Elizalde of the Nahua tradition of the central highlands where under Grandfather Fire’s request he began his formal apprenticeship in two living ancestral shamanic paths.
From the Wixárika tradition, Mr. Wiley was initiated as a mara’akame, a healer, counselor, and ceremonial leader, and from the Nahua path, he was initiated as a Quiapaquiz, or Tempiero, a caller of the rain, ceremonial leader, and a healer, or tepahtiani. Starting in 1996 Grandfather Fire would choose to speak through his body in special gatherings, thereby becoming an axihuatakame, or traditional fire medium. For his work in these areas of service, he became recognized as Don David. Don David Wiley also received elder and ancestral permission to teach these two traditions to those divined as having a calling in this shamanic work. After Don Lupe’s passing in 2003 and under the support of mara’akame Don José Sandoval de la Cruz, he became initiated as a tsaurirrakame or an elder singer in the tradition in 2008 at the age of 55. On the Nahua path, he was also named a Temachtian, (teacher-tradition leader) or Caporal Mayor, and inherited Don Lucio’s altar and lineage group after his passing in 2004.
One of Don David’s most impactful roles was becoming Grandfather Fire’s medium for ceremonial and public gatherings. Through an outpouring of public requests, Grandfather Fire agreed to reintroduce the spiritual skill and process of Firekeeping to communities. He then designated Don David as the principal teacher of this work. Who, since 2004 has traveled to train, teach, and facilitate Firekeeper initiations and support them internationally. This has become part of the formation of a non-profit, Sacred Fire, to support community fire circles, continuing education for Firekeepers, programs, and events to develop and maintain a connection to the divine natural world where, besides being the principal Firekeeper teacher, he served as chairperson for several years. He continues to conduct men’s retreats as well as guide the Initiation Council for Young Men into Adulthood as part of Sacred Fire’s international offerings.
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FIREKEEPER TRAINING SUPPORT, ANNIE KING
Annie King has been an initiated Firekeeper since 2004. Originally the Director of Firekeeping for Sacred Fire, she now supports David Wiley with the educational support of Firekeepers. Born in Australia, Annie has been living in the United States for over 20 years. She has been involved in healing and teaching stress management, movement and meditation for over 45 years, both in Australia and the US. She has worked for major hospitals in the US in wellness & cardiac rehabilitation programs, teaching stress management & facilitating support groups for healing. In 2004 she was recognized and inducted into the Nahua spiritual tradition of the central highlands of Mexico as a Granicera, and more recently as a Tepahtiani healer in that tradition. She currently has a healing practice in Florence, SC. in addition to her devoted work supporting Sacred Fire and Firekeepers.
Registration
The steps to becoming a Firekeeper begin by completing our Firekeeper Inquiry. You’ll find this form on our Become A Firekeeper page.
After we receive your inquiry, we’ll set up a time for an Interview. You’ll talk one-on-one with our support team about your interest, and we’ll answer your questions about the path and your training and apprenticeship as a Firekeeper.
After your interview, you’ll decide if being a Firekeeper feels right for you. If you want to become a Firekeeper, you’ll send a formal Application to the program. If accepted, you’ll make a formal Commitment, which reserves your spot in the next training cohort and pairs you with a Firekeeper Sponsor, who will be a guide and resource for you throughout the program. (Both the Application fee and the Commitment fee apply towards your program Tuition.) As you wait for your coursework and apprenticeship to begin, you will begin to bond with your fellow apprentices on monthly online support calls facilitated by a Firekeeper.
Training and Apprenticeship takes place through online coursework, in-person facilitation training, a series of sponsored fires, and final integration training and initiation.
After your initiation, you will begin serving your community as a Sacred Fire Firekeeper, hosting monthly Sacred Fires that have the power to transform lives for people in your community through the gift of Fire. You’ll have an ongoing support resource, our New Firekeeper Counselor, available to you for questions and monthly check-ins. You’ll keep your connections strong and your training sharp at Firekeeper Retreats held each year in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.
Apply NowSchedule
Online Training Sessions
Each session is a live, online presentation and discussion with your cohort on Zoom, followed the next week with a one-on-one re-cap discussion with your Sponsor.
Session 1: Oct. 8, 2023: Why This is important
Session 2: Oct. 22, 2023:An Introduction to the Work
Session 3: Nov. 5, 2023: Medicine of Fire
Session 4: Nov. 19, 2023: Grounding in Firekeeping
Session 5: Dec. 3, 2023: Inner Work
Session 6: Dec. 17, 2023: Physical Space—Practical Considerations
Session 7: Jan. 7, 2024: Exploration of Ritual Space
Session 8: Jan. 21, 2024: A Primer for Emotions
Session 9: Feb. 4, 2024: Facilitation I
Session 10: Feb. 18, 2024: Facilitation II
Session 11: Mar. 17, 2024: Supporting and Building Community
Session 12: Mar. 31, 2024: Pulling it all Together
In-person Training & Initiation
Facilitation Training: Thur, Feb. 29- Monday, Mar. 4, 2024: In-Person Training in the U.S.
Supervised Fires with your Sponsor: April/ May/ June/ July/ August/ September/ October/ November, 2024
Initiation Training: Dec, 2024 Final dates TBD 5 days in Tepoztlán, Morelos, MX
Price
Fall 2023 Training Pricing
+ Firekeeper Inquiry Submission — $0
+ Interview — $0
+ Application Fee — $100 APPLY NOW
+ Program Commitment Fee— $150 (due upon acceptance; reserves a spot in the cohort)
+ Tuition Balance — $1,200 (balance due before classes commence)
+ 3-Day Facilitation Training (held in U.S. & U.K.) — $500 (est. cost includes training fees, food, lodging)
+ 5-Day Firekeeper Initiation (held in Mexico) — $1,500 (est. cost includes training fees, food, lodging)
Total: $3,450
For more information
For more information, contact our Director of Firekeeping, Sylvia Law, and our support team with your questions at sylvia@sacredfire.org