Month-Long Training

SPAIN MONTH-LONG TRAINING
IN WILDERNESS RITES OF PASSAGE

within the tradition of the School of Lost Borders

SPAIN
MONTH-LONG
TRAINING
IN WILDERNESS
RITES OF PASSAGE

within the tradition of the School of Lost Borders

Es muy importante
pasear sola/o,
sentarse debajo de un árbol,
no con un libro,
no en compañía,
sino sola/o

y observar
cómo cae una hoja,
y escuchar
el chapoteo del agua,
la canción de un pescador,
y observar
el vuelo de un pájaro

y observar también
los pensamientos propios
mientras se suceden
unos a otros
cruzando el espacio de la mente.

Si una/o es capaz de estar sola/o
y de observar estas cosas,
entonces descubrirá una riqueza extraordinaria que nunca puede ser destruida.

Jiddu Krishnamurti

CONTEMPORARY WILDERNESS
RITES OF PASSAGE

CONTEMPORARY
WILDERNESS
RITES OF PASSAGE

CONTEMPORARY WILDERNESS RITES OF PASSAGE

Throughout the human story people have made use of wilderness and the ‘mirror of nature’ as a means of gaining clarity in life or marking significant life transitions. Individuals have crossed the threshold into wild places to attend more closely to the movement of soul, to remember what is at one’s core, what is most important. Such transitions in a person’s life were often marked through ceremony as initiatory events or passage rites as a means of reinforcing both to the initiate and the community the new orientation, direction or phase of a person’s life.

This training draws on the work of pioneers in the field of contemporary wilderness rites of passage and will attend to both the experiential work of learning the skills and approaches to holding initiatory work, as well the theoretical underpinnings of this work.

La Naturaleza será tu única compañía. Será tu guía, será tu espejo, será tu maestra.

Un Vision Quest también es pasar tiempo contigo envuelto en la Naturaleza, en tu Naturaleza.
Ser parte del todo. Estar y Ser Naturaleza.

For those with a Wilderness Guide Vocation

The month-long intensive is designed for those who seek to explore and develop their vocation as wilderness guides within the tradition of the School of Lost Borders. Participants are given the opportunity and mentorship to fully immerse themselves in the ceremonial and practical aspects of modern-day wilderness rites of passage that have evolved – and continues to evolve - throughout years of experimentation and practice, and have been passed down through the teaching of our elders.

Although this training supports those who choose to creatively transform and adapt this work to a variety of settings, our teachings remain rooted in the contemporary tradition of wilderness rites of passage; namely utilizing a four-directions eco-centric wheel of development as an underlying framework and attending to the three classic phases of a passage rite: Preparation, Threshold and Incorporation. The threshold or liminal stage of the initiation being a four day and night fast alone in a wild place.

La Naturaleza será tu única compañía. Será tu guía, será tu espejo, será tu maestra.

Un Vision Quest también es pasar tiempo contigo envuelto en la Naturaleza, en tu Naturaleza.
Ser parte del todo. Estar y Ser Naturaleza.

Over the years the School has expanded the comprehensiveness of this training while maintaining its grounded, experiential base. Covering a wide range of relevant themes throughout the month, the essence of the teaching will emerge from our relationship with the land, where the eternal wisdom of pan-cultural rites continues to inform us, reflecting the underlying movement and dynamism of all life.

The wider context of this training is the inseparability between our own well-being and empowerment, and the health of our people and the wider Earth community to which we belong. Initiatory work is at heart about belonging; finding our particular place and deepening our capacity to engage in the work we are called to do in the times we are living through, so that we can become a good ancestor to those who come after us.

ABOUT THE MONTH-LONG TRAINING

ABOUT THE MONTH-LONG TRAINING

Our group will come together in Transalquimia’s Retreat Center, in Les Guilleries Park, a remote wilderness area located in Northern Spain (1h45 from Barcelona, 45 min from Girona).

Location

Most days will include time together in council, as well as solo time on the land, exploring the themes of the day. The experiences of initiatory activity on the land will inform the subject matter of the teaching.

Dates & Other Information

MAY 2026:
From April 29th to May 31st.
Group of max 12 people. The training will be in English.

You may be interested in the ceremony The Great Ballcourt Initiation that will be offered in Spain in spring 2027.

2025 Mirroring Training

If you are interested on the full month-long training , please contact us:

Ask Dates for 2025-26

Prerequisite: Participation in at least one guided 3 or 4 day Vision Fasts done recently (in the last 4-5 years). Have a look to Vision Fast guided in Spanish and French by Transalquimia, and Vision Fasts guided in English by Hand on The Earth.

Trainees will have the opportunity to learn from a rotating team of highly experienced guides throughout the month, culminating in a four-day personal vision fast.

Program Guides

Angelo Joseph Lazenka from The School of Lost Borders
Betsy Perluss from The School of Lost Borders
Petra Lentz-Snow from The School of Lost Borders
Rupert Marques from Hand On The Earth
Carine Roth from Ceux d'Ici
Diana Bacanu from Transalquimia
Xavier Compte from Transalquimia

Topics will include but not be limited to

the theory and foundations of rites of passage and their pan-cultural universality
inclusivity and intersectionality in wilderness rites of passage
the risks of cultural misappropriation, cultural shadows, and best practices in respect to the people who have come before and the lands to which they belong
the history and lineage of the School of Lost Borders and its continual evolving
the barebones of our practice including:
- the four shields of human nature
- self-generated ceremony and the role of threshold-crossing
- shaping and honing of intent as a foundation for threshold experiences
- the practice of story-telling and mirroring
- the centrality of nature as teacher and mirror
- council practice

rites of passage as dying practice
the role of the guide
specific practices such as the death lodge, purpose circle, and other pan-cultural symbols and practices
the significance of the symbolic, mythic, and archetypal themes that show up in story, dream, and nature.
the screening and preparation of candidates
supporting a candidate’s physical/psychological/mental/spiritual safety
variations on traditional and contemporary models of wilderness vision fasts
working with youth and other specific populations
the all-important topic of incorporation and appropriateness of this work to the challenges of our world today.

Program Overview

April 29th - Arrival

April 30th - May 4 - Foundations of Rites of Passage. The Barebones of the Ceremony. The four directions / shields of human nature
Angelo Lazenka, Rupert Marques, Diana Bacanu, Xavier Compte

May 5 - Day off

May 6 - 10 - Developing the art of story-telling and mirroring for empowerment
Petra Lentz-Snow, Rupert Marques, Diana Bacanu, Xavier Compte

May 11 - 12 - The Practice of Living and Dying
Carine Roth, Betsy Perluss

May 13 - Day off

May 14 - 26 Shaping of intent as a foundation for threshold experiences. Self-generated Ceremony. Physical Plane. Vision Fast Ceremony.
Betsy Perluss, Rupert Marques, Diana Bacanu, Xavier Compte

May 27 - Day off

May 28 - 30 Incorporation and appropriateness of this work to the challenges of our world.
Betsy Perluss, Rupert Marques, Diana Bacanu, Xavier Compte

May 31st - Closing Ceremony. Departure.

Contact with us

Program Guides

Meredith Little (she/her) and her husband Steven Foster co-founded Rites of Passage Inc. in 1976 and The School of Lost Borders in 1981, pioneering new methods and dynamics of modern pan-cultural passage rites in the wilderness and creating innovative practices of “field eco-therapy.” She has dedicated her life to returning meaningful and culturally appropriate rites of passage ceremonies to all people in support of the natural cycles of living and dying necessary for healthy lives and a healthy world. She is also dedicated to reconnecting people with the very roots of their own nature reflected in the wisdom of the land around them. She lives a passion for the diversity of life, for the nature of human, for the voice of ceremony, and for the healing qualities of community. Since Steven’s death in 2003, Meredith continues both nationally and internationally to guide and train others. She has also co-founded along with Scott Eberle a new branch of Lost Borders, entitled The Practice of Living and Dying, to help break the taboos and silence that pervade the subject of death and to help restore dying to its natural place in the cycles of life.

Angelo Joseph Lazenka (he/him) began guiding vision fast in 1984 and often says that the work grew him up and now he is asking it to grow him down into the rich territory of elderhood. He began working as a guide with the School in 1993 and from 2003 through 2018 held a variety of titles including: Guide, Teacher, Director, President, and Board Member. Now, in his late 60’s, having left administrative responsibilities, he continues to guide and train while carrying the question of what it truly means to pass the work on to the next generation.

Betsy Perluss, Ph.D. (she/they), lover of landscape, story, and myth, grew up as a semi-feral child on Pimu (Catalina Island), where she was ignited with a passion for wild and unbounded places. She stumbled upon the School of Lost Borders in 1998 and since has been involved as a participant, guide, trainer, board member, and member of the Elders and Guiding Councils. Betsy aspires to live a life informed by the wisdom of the land, the pan-cultural ceremony, and the mystery of initiatory rites. She is an accepting, down-to-earth guide who brings a mix of sacred and profane, imagination and humor to her work. She is also a psychotherapist with a background in eco and depth psychologies, currently studying at the Jung Institute in Denver, Colorado. Betsy teaches ecopsychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and, from 2001-2012, was professor of counseling at California State University, Los Angeles. She currently lives on the unceded territory of the Nisenan, along the Bear River, in the oak and pine forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Rupert Marques has worked within the field of experiential environmental education for the past twenty years with an emphasis in outdoor education. He trained extensively and subsequently worked as a guide with the School of Lost borders in the U.S. offering contemporary wilderness rites of passage. From 2016-2019 Rupert lived and worked at Ecodharma, a contemplative retreat community in the Spanish Pyrenees dedicated to supporting social justice and ecological sustainability. At Ecodharma Rupert directed the Nature based Practice strand of work, marrying contemplative practice with a range of approaches within the field of experiential ecopsychology.

Diana Bacanu is a nature based guide and a bioenergetics therapist. As a co-founder of transalquimia.org, Diana leads retreats and courses supporting people to reconnect to themselves (body-mind-soul), to others and to Nature, as a way of remembering their true nature and their deeper belonging. Diana has trained as a guide with the School of Lost Borders in the U.S. on contemporary wilderness rites of passage and she offers deep ecology retreats, inspired by Joanna Macy’s “work that reconnects” as well as mindfulness courses and retreats. She facilitates Vision Quest retreats in Spanish, French and English.

Xavier Compte is a co-founder of transalquimia.org, where he gives support to different groups in deepening both the interconnection with Nature, and a better understanding of our personal, interpersonal and
transpersonal qualities.
He trained with the School of Lost Borders in the U.S. on contemporary wilderness Rites of Passage, and currently offers Vision Quest retreats in Spanish, French and English in the Guilleries mountains in Spain, where he lives. Certified in Shinrin-Yoku, Xavi guides groups on forest bathing journeys.

Carine Roth (she/they) has studied Rites of Passage with the School of Lost Borders in California. She is founder of Ceux d'Ici, where she carries her work with passion and great integrity.
Based in Switzerland, she has been working in Usa, Europe and South Africa. She is a certified forest bathing guide and takes groups and one on one client on outdoor journeys and eco therapy sessions.

Carine also has a foot in press and works as a picture editor and photographer for well renown newspapers in the french part of Switzerland.

Program Guides

Angelo Joseph Lazenka (he/him) began guiding vision fast in 1984 and often says that the work grew him up and now he is asking it to grow him down into the rich territory of elderhood. He began working as a guide with the School in 1993 and from 2003 through 2018 held a variety of titles including: Guide, Teacher, Director, President, and Board Member. Now, in his late 60’s, having left administrative responsibilities, he continues to guide and train while carrying the question of what it truly means to pass the work on to the next generation.

Betsy Perluss, Ph.D. (she/they), lover of landscape, story, and myth, grew up as a semi-feral child on Pimu (Catalina Island), where she was ignited with a passion for wild and unbounded places. She stumbled upon the School of Lost Borders in 1998 and since has been involved as a participant, guide, trainer, board member, and member of the Elders and Guiding Councils. Betsy aspires to live a life informed by the wisdom of the land, the pan-cultural ceremony, and the mystery of initiatory rites. She is an accepting, down-to-earth guide who brings a mix of sacred and profane, imagination and humor to her work. She is also a psychotherapist with a background in eco and depth psychologies, currently studying at the Jung Institute in Denver, Colorado. Betsy teaches ecopsychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute and, from 2001-2012, was professor of counseling at California State University, Los Angeles. She currently lives on the unceded territory of the Nisenan, along the Bear River, in the oak and pine forested foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

Petra Lentz-Snow (she/her) is certified naturopath and she has been guiding vision fasts and wilderness rites of passage programs for more than 30 years now.

Guide, trainer and active steward of the School of Lost Borders, Petra served as Executive Director at LB for eight years and is a former Netkeeper for the Wilderness Guides Council network. Petra's work centers around supporting life transitions through initiatory experiences and threshold practices in wild places. Areas of special focus include Women Rites, Transitions of Illness, Loss and Death, Gender Expansion/Transition.

Petra holds space as a ROP midwife, Trans Parent, Breast Cancer Survivor, fledgling Elder, and not-so-fine Artist. She lives by the grace of a heart that seems to keep expanding – despite the bumps in the road, or maybe because of them… In her free time you will likely find her with clay on her hands or out in the wilds harvesting pine needles and wild nettle.

Rupert Marques has worked within the field of experiential environmental education for the past twenty years with an emphasis in outdoor education. He trained extensively and subsequently worked as a guide with the School of Lost borders in the U.S. offering contemporary wilderness rites of passage. From 2016-2019 Rupert lived and worked at Ecodharma, a contemplative retreat community in the Spanish Pyrenees dedicated to supporting social justice and ecological sustainability. At Ecodharma Rupert directed the Nature based Practice strand of work, marrying contemplative practice with a range of approaches within the field of experiential ecopsychology.

Diana Bacanu is a nature based guide and a bioenergetics therapist. As a co-founder of transalquimia.org, Diana leads retreats and courses supporting people to reconnect to themselves (body-mind-soul), to others and to Nature, as a way of remembering their true nature and their deeper belonging. Diana has trained as a guide with the School of Lost Borders in the U.S. on contemporary wilderness rites of passage and she offers deep ecology retreats, inspired by Joanna Macy’s “work that reconnects” as well as mindfulness courses and retreats. She facilitates Vision Quest retreats in Spanish, French and English.

Xavier Compte is a co-founder of transalquimia.org, where he gives support to different groups in deepening both the interconnection with Nature, and a better understanding of our personal, interpersonal and
transpersonal qualities.
He trained with the School of Lost Borders in the U.S. on contemporary wilderness Rites of Passage, and currently offers Vision Quest retreats in Spanish, French and English in the Guilleries mountains in Spain, where he lives. Certified in Shinrin-Yoku, Xavi guides groups on forest bathing journeys.

Carine Roth (she/they) is a Swiss Nature and Forest therapy guide and a Nature-based Rite of Passage guide with experience in these fields all over the world. She has also been an image editor and professional photographer for Swiss daily newspapers, and can navigate between the worlds of industrial and indigenous knowledge. She is the founder of “ceux d'ici" and co-founder of the Swiss organization "Rite de Passage”, which promotes modern, healthy rites of passage in nature for young people and adults.
Carine shares her time between the creation of innovative programs in the field of rites of passage, eco-therapy and the human-nature bond, and healing sessions and counseling activities with courageous individuals in search of meanings and ways of fully manifesting their presence in the world.

Aplication

We are limiting this training to twelve participants and it is likely that this training will be oversubscribed. In light of this,a waiting list will be created for those we are not initially able to offer a place to. If you are interested in applying, please fill this application form and send it to contact@transalquimia.org

Prerequisite: Participation in at least one guided 3 or 4 day Vision Fast done recently (in the last 4-5 years).

Aplication

We are limiting this training to twelve participants and it is likely that this training will be oversubscribed. In light of this, we are inviting interested applicants to complete an application by 31st of August 2025. We will then review applications and make a decision by 30th of September 2025. A wait list will be created for those we are not initially able to offer a place to. If you are interested in applying, please fill this application form and send it to contact@transalquimia.org

Prerequisite: Participation in at least one guided 3 or 4 day Vision Fast done recently (in the last 4-5 years).

Download Application Form

Accomodation

Accommodation is offered in the retreat center in shared rooms (of 2-3 people) with shared bathroom. The retreat center is in a remote location in a wilderness area - 30 min drive from Santa Coloma de Farners town.

Participants will be responsible for purchasing and cooking their own food in our shared kitchen. Often small groups of people will cook and eat together in the month-long training. We will facilitate car runs to town on the days off for food resupply.

Tuition

To honor the vast difference of financial resources among us, all of our program tuition is based on a sliding scale. We set forth no criteria and ask that you pay what is appropriate for your circumstances and access to financial resources.

Tuition: 3200 – 6400 euros (includes accommodation in the retreat center)

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Deposit: 500 euros when a place is offered to you (non-refundable and non-transferable).

Second Tuition Payment: As a sign of your commitment, and to insure we have a full group, we are requesting that you make a second deposit of 800 euros by January 31st, 2026.

The remaining Tuition Payment: to be completed by April 1st 2026.

Cancelation Policy

Cancellations are hard on the participant, our organizations and the guides. We respect the unpredictability of life, and we are diligent about running an organization sustainably.

If you cancel 90 or more days prior to the start date of your program, you will receive a full refund of any tuition paid, minus the 500 euros deposit.

If you cancel 89 days or less prior to the start date of your program, and we can fill your spot, then you will receive a full refund of any tuition paid, minus the 500 euros deposit.

If we cannot fill your spot, and you cancel within 89 days of the start of your program, then we will keep both the 500 euros and the 800 euros deposit, as our budget is calculated on a full group of 12 people.

For further information or questions please contact
Diana Bacanu and Xavier Compte – contact@transalquimia.org
or Rupert Marques - caiyloirch@gmail.com.

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Contact with Transalquimia

Fotos & Testimonios

"Es una experiencia que me transforma desde la raiz gracias al buen y profundo acompañamiento de los guías, y del sostén fundamental de la Naturaleza. Poder sentirme parte de la comunidad que se ha creado estos días me hace nacer un sentido de pertenencia más grande a la Tierra. No tengo muchas palabras para expresar esta increible experiencia" N.C.

"La visión de los guías y de la Comunidad fueron para mi como elevar el punto de vista, como el Águila. Y de repente entiendes. Te entiendes a ti mismo. Un momento mágico para mi. No lo olvidaré nunca" L.R.

"Se trata de reorientar tu vida. Marcarla hacia algo que te hace más grande" A.D.

"No hi ha paraules per poder-ho explicar. S'ha de viure per entendre el que pasa. Una experiència única i amb un potencial brutal. Indescriptible. Es crea una ensació de "tribu" entre tots els integrants del grup que dóna molta esperança per un món millor" S.C.

"Creo que experimentar un Vision Quest es algo que todos deberíamos regalarnos, al menos una vez en esta vida. Es demoledor lo sencillo y a la vez lo profundo de este Rito de Paso. Con la facilitación de los guías y en el escenario de una Naturaleza salvaje, logras reencontrarte con tu esencia, perdonar, agradecer y reunir las fuerzas para seguir tu propósito de vida" M.L.

"Ha estat una experiència molt intensa i apassionant que pot provocar un canvi a la teva vida, si és això el que busques" G.G.

"Vision Quest es una excelente manera de aprender la armonía de la vida, desde la Naturaleza" L.LL.

"El proceso del Vision Quest ofrece un respiro profundo que permite coger todas las fuerzas necesarias antes de lanzar su energía hacia unas metas bien identificadas. Es muy potente, sano y ameno. Vital." H.M.

"Es realmente maravilloso todo lo vivido, pura vida, nutrición para el alma y el corazón. Es un encuentro con la verdadera vida, cara a cara, corazón a corazón. El latido de la naturaleza y del misterio laten fuerte, constante, con fuerza.. siempre han estado allí, eres silencio entonces los escuchas. Ojalá todos los seres vivos de esta tierra podamos oír esta preciosa y sabia música y bailar juntas en paz, me lo deseo, te lo deseo, nos lo deseo. Venir aquí, a la Búsqueda de Visión, es un encuentro con esta Verdad" B.P.

"Si te has salido del camino o todavía no lo has encontrado, ven a una Búsqueda de Visión con Transalquimia y el bosque te guiará" R.B.

"Una experiencia transmutadora: sale una persona al bosque y vuelve su versión renovada. El bosque, sus seres, el cielo, todo te ayuda a soltar y a sanar. Superas lo que creías insuperable y esto te empodera. La inmersión en el bosque tiene un poder mágico y sanador" A.C.

"Se dice que la felicidad está al otro lado del miedo. La Búsqueda de Visión, así como se vive con Transalquimia, es exactamente esto: una experiencia que puede dar respeto, pero te cambia la vida" L.C.

Fotos & Testimonios