Cedar Dieta on Bowen Island: June 24-July 1

With gratitude and reverence, we invite you to connect with Cedar, the "Tree of Life," through the ancient technology of Plant Dieta.

Renowned for its medicine of abundance, ancestral healing, and spiritual purification and protection, Cedar is a profound ally for those seeking to strengthen and fortify their spiritual path.

With the access that Ayahuasca offers us in opening perception to subtle energies, as you commune with Cedar, you will cultivate a sacred relationship with it's teachings, unlocking its timeless wisdom to support your spiritual growth, healing, and service to others.

Cedar medicine is vast—its history long, rich, and full of teachings for those willing to be still and listen. You may have walked past this tree a thousand times, yet meeting it through the lens of dieta is an extraordinary gift.

One of the oldest living tree species, cedar is deeply woven into the spiritual and medicinal traditions of many cultures. It is recorded in The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the world's oldest literary works, written in ancient Mesopotamia around 2100 BCE, where the famed Cedars of Lebanon stood as sacred sentinels.

Among the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest, red cedar is known as the Tree of Life, providing so much for the people --everything from baby carriers to boats, homes, clothing, and medicine. It is honoured in ceremony to invite abundance for this reason. Cedar is also revered for its power to support forgiveness and the release of burdens.

In Cherokee tradition, cedar is called the Tree of the Ancestors, gifted by the Great Mystery after a time of great loss. Across cultures, cedar has been used for spiritual protection and purification. In the physical realm, it repels bacteria, viruses, and insects—protection that also manifests on the energetic plane for us.

Both cedar and rose share long histories of devotion, spiritual practice, and deep relationship with the people of the Earth. In our time together, we will explore cedar’s medicine, but most importantly, this work is about your direct experience.

Through the fusion of Amazonian shamanic traditions and ancient herbal wisdom, we will create a focused space for profound connection with Cedar as a master teacher.

This retreat, held at the incredible Xenia Retreat Centre , offers the unique opportunity to diet Cedar while being surrounded by majestic Cedars -- offering a direct connection to your diet, something not always possible in North America when practicing Shipibo Dieta.

Combining Ayahuasca with plant dieta work allows for heightened awareness and perception to the subtle energies of a non-psychoactive plant teacher, acting as an amplification and elevation to your communion with that plant.

This powerful experience offers the opportunity to align with Cedar’s energy, ground into Gaia’s healing frequencies, and deepen your spiritual path in one of the most energetically charged locations we’ve had the privilege to work at.

7 nights, 8 days at a tranquil island retreat center surrounded by majestic cedars

4 nights of transformative Ayahuasca ceremonies

2-week Cedar Dieta Primer (2 prep calls + cedar dieta opening)

A combined 3-week Cedar Master Plant Dieta in the Shipibo Tradition.

38 acres of lush forest for integration, with nearby beaches and rainforest trails to explore

Healthy, organic meals lovingly prepared to nourish your body and spirit

Personal 1:1 support sessions with experienced facilitators

Daily sharing and integration circles to deepen your journey

Shamanic wisdom teachings and practices to enhance your spiritual growth

Internal Family Systems workshops led by our co-facilitator for integration

Astrology integration workshop led by our retreat organizer and astrologer, Emma

Plant attunement and herbal medicine teachings from our our master shamanic herbalist Jason

Repatterning and integration meditations to support ongoing healing

We will gather at Xenia Retreat Centre, a serene 38-acre sanctuary nestled in a valley on Bowen Island, renowned for its peaceful, transformative energy. Surrounded by towering ancient firs and cedars, lush flower gardens, sprawling meadows, and vibrant wildlife, including a 1100-year-old Douglas fir, Xenia is a space alive with nature and magic.

Founded in 1994 by a conscious visionary who continues to steward the land in her 70s, this land is locally adored for its ability to host profound healing and spiritual experiences, with many guests reporting an immediate bond with the land upon arrival.

Athena, born in Greece and enriched by her diverse heritage as a South African-Venezuelan, is a profoundly skilled and authentic teacher of plant medicine. With over 18 years of experience in indigenous ceremonial practices from both North and South America, her formal apprenticeship was with the Shipibo Mahua lineage in the Peruvian Amazon.

Known to her students as a renegade lightworker, Athena channels a cosmic grandmother energy in her ceremonies, offering an incredibly potent yet gentle transmission of the plant spirits. Her ceremonies are uniquely safe, authentic, and infused with the eternal love that channels through her —an experience that remains rare in the realm of ayahuasca work.

Jason, an energy healer and shamanic herbalist, embodies the spirit of plants with his rooted and lifelong connection to the plant world. Since 2010, he's worked extensively with ayahuasca, cultivating and preparing it in Hawaii on his family’s property.

Specializing in tailor-made shamanic medicines, he addresses emotional, physical, and spiritual needs, aiming to deepen individuals' connection to the Earth. Known for his incredible humor and nurturing presence in ceremony, Jason strengthens the container, by holding the masculine while allowing the feminine to lead. A gifted curandero, and devotee to plant wisdom.

Our co-facilitator is a Psychotherapist, Ecotherapist, Holistic Yoga Therapist, and public speaker with decades of experience working with plants and expanded states of consciousness. She offers multidisciplinary integration support, IFS, and the Safe and Sound Protocol to regulate the nervous system.

Specializing in psychedelic integration, perinatal work, sexuality, spirituality, and both chronic and acute pain, she works with a diverse range of clients. She supports individuals and families as both a birth and death doula, offering compassionate care during the transitions of birth and death.

A gifted healer, intuitive, and singer, supporting ceremony with a loving gently, and powerful presence.

Emma is a professional astrologer and intuitive guide with over 11 years of experience helping individuals align with their cosmic paths through astrology readings and workshops.

Her passion for multidimensional awareness and planetary evolution has led her to become a devoted student of both plants and planets.

In ceremony, the plants often communicate through Emma in the form of light language, while outside of ceremony, she works with the planets to integrate wisdom that emerge in this work. With a background in nursing and film production, Emma blends compassionate service with organizational expertise.

At Earth Temple, she contributes as a "medicine manager," retreat organizer, and cook.

How do I get to the location?
The retreat location is on Bowen Island – which requires participants to get to Horseshoe bay by foot or car, and take a 15 minute ferry to this small island north-west of downtown vancouver. Ferry departures are frequent – every hour.

The closest international airport to the retreat location is Vancouver International Airpott. Participants who are flying will fly to YYR Airport and either:

(1) Rent a car / carpool with others: Approx 1 hour drive north from YVR Airport. You will drive from YVR Airport to Horseshoe Bay Terminal

(2) PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: Approx 2-3 hours. A combination of Skytrain, Expressbus, and walk on ferry.

(3) Drive your own vehicle. Approximately 1hour from Vancouver. You will drive from YVR Airport to Horseshoe Bay Terminal

We will have a group chat to help participants coordinate car shares closer to retreat date. Please reach out if you have any questions, and we will be happy to coordinate with you.
How do I prepare?
Preparing for this lineage of medicine does entail approximately 2 weeks of monastic-style spiritual, psychological, and physical preparation -- at the very least. This includes a particular list of foods to eliminate from your diet, as well as certain consumptive patterns and exposures to avoid such as alcohol, drugs, porn, coffee, sugars, etc. Upon registering, you will receive a detailed guideline for your Ayahuasca preparation protocol. You can always reach out to our organizer, Emma, with clarification questions.

Since we have an optional Remote Cedar Dieta prior to the retreat, you would apply those protocols to the duration of the 6-weeks of this dieta [or whenever you decide to open your dieta prior to the retreat, as some participants may want a shorter primer]
What is the practitioner to participant ratio?
We will have 2 ceremony facilitators, and 2 official co-facilitator helpers. We have space for approximately 18 participants.
What is your refund policy?
Due to high costs of facilitating retreats, we cannot not offer refunds. In the event where you can no longer come, we will place your funds toward future retreats or online offerings by Athena, of which there are many.