About WOMYNSPIRIT
WomynSpirit is an annual festival arising from feminist Wicca and paganism that reclaims and recreates pagan spirituality. We celebrate the individual and collective power of women to build a better, more compassionate world.
An entirely volunteer-run event, WomynSpirit is based on a spirit of inclusiveness that acknowledges, respects and welcomes all women’s spirituality. We invite women (self-identified) of all ages and backgrounds to this women-only, substance- and scent-free event. Women are encouraged to take responsibility for their own needs and to be respectful of the needs of others.
Visit our registration page for the link to the registration form, information about fees and other details.
Accommodations are provided in the beautiful natural setting of the Hockley Valley Ecology Retreat Centre near Orangeville, ON, about an hour’s drive north of Toronto. Your registration fee includes accommodations, all meals (vegetarian), snacks, rituals and workshops. A welcome package with all the details will be emailed to registrants in early October. Read more about the accommodations.
Rituals are the highlight of WomynSpirit. A welcoming ritual on Friday night brings us together to connect, as well as set the tone for the weekend. On Saturday evening, the main spiritual work of the festival is done. We reach into the world beyond to learn and remember, celebrate our ancestors and our Beloved Dead, grieve and let go, so we can move forward into the New Year. On Sunday morning, an all-ages ritual provides moments of celebration and closure. Read more about Rituals.
Workshops at WSF provide a wonderful opportunity to share our experience and build community. In past years, workshops have covered everything from tarot cards to yoga, reading auras to Ritual 101, fostering inclusion in our spiritual practice and living our ecological values to arts and creative writing. We encourage you to share your knowledge and skills in an interactive way. No previous experience is necessary – many facilitators got their start at WSF! Read more about Workshops.
The WSF Auction is an important part of our fundraising efforts and a wonderful opportunity to share your bounty with other women. Details will be included in the welcome package.
Read more about the herstory of womynspirit
Mission Statement
The WomynSpirit Samhain Festival was founded in 1991 after a group of women came together to study and explore European women's history. Since then, it has focused primarily on Feminist Wicca and Neopaganism as a process of reclamation and re-creation of European pagan spirituality. However, it also acknowledges, respects and welcomes all women's cultures and spiritualities.
Since its inception, its goal has been to produce the WomynSpirit Festival, which celebrates and provides a forum for some of the myriad, rich and diverse manifestations of the contemporary grass-roots women's spirituality movement in Ontario.
Along with organizing WomynSpirit Festival, the Collective also facilitates ceremonies and rituals throughout the year as a way for women to keep in touch, and to publicize the Festival.
In addition to spirituality, the Festival has encouraged related disciplines, such as: paths of women's healing; cultural, artistic and creative pursuits; and politics. As a feminist collective, our vision is to provide a networking forum for women to be able to present their work, share their skills and wisdom, and empower each other in an egalitarian manner. Because of this desire and in order to share the experience and wisdom of great women practicing such spirituality in local groups or as solitaries, we do not pay, employ or seek out "big name" facilitators or speakers, but instead encourage local women to fulfill these roles.