Guide Rupert Marques onEarth Initiation – The Intergenerational Wilderness Fast

Rupert has a background in environmental education and ecopsychology. He leads Wilderness Rites of Passage and meditation retreats, often combining nature-based activities with contemplative practice. Rupert trained with the School of Lost Borders around 25 years ago and has worked as a guide for them over many years. Circlewise is delighted that he is joining Heidi Rose as a guide on the Earth Initiation Intergenerational Wilderness Fast. In this interview he shares insights into the process and explains the impact wilderness fasts have had on his life…

Why do you do this work?

When I was young, I didn’t receive any guidance about my life direction or purpose. Instead, like many, I had a mainstream education that filled my mind with a lot of subject matter. Growing up, there was a loss of connection with my community and I had very little sense of connection with my own soul. After training with the School of Lost Borders, I became interested in exploring how people can be supported to attend to whatever season of life they are in. This work is about honouring life, gaining greater clarity and deepening our relationship with the more-than-human world.

How do people benefit from doing a wilderness fast?

These threshold crossings are used to mark particular rites of passage in our lives. They offer us the possibility of remembering what we’re here for and what we can offer to the world with our lives. A wilderness fast is a time when we are held in ceremony and mentored by elders, with the land as our teacher. People are invited and challenged to reflect on what is significant in their own life. This depth of introspection takes place among an inspired community of like-minded people and against the backdrop of the more-than-human world.

Who is it for?

These rites of passage are not only for young people. Adults sometimes come if they are in crisis in their life. Or they might come because they realise they’ve been living an unconscious life – not having chosen any particular life direction – and they might be questioning, wondering what their life has been about and what’s next for them. Sometimes elders come and we honour them and show them a great deal of respect. 

Please explain the format of Earth Initiation wilderness fast

This is a two-year immersive journey that follows the seasonal wheel and prepares people to participate in the 12-day threshold ceremony. Over the course of 12 months, we will invite people to explore how they’ve attended to the different seasons in their life and where they are currently situated within the wheel of life. Each person will develop and hone their intention for the threshold ceremony – what they want to mark, let go of or be born to. The threshold ceremony itself includes four days and nights of fasting and spending time alone in the natural world.

What is the idea behind spending time alone in the wilderness?

When we are alone with ourselves, with the natural world as a mirror, something is revealed to us and it is something quite profound. We mark this revelation or affirmation with ceremony. It is not always an easy process but it is deeply insightful. Afterwards, we come back together and sit in circle to share our stories and have them mirrored back to us. The ‘incorporation’ process invites people to live into what has been revealed to them as they return back to their homes. It is a way of honouring each individual’s particular gift in life.  

And what is the role of ceremony within this process?

For as long as we have lived together in community, people have used ceremony to mark significant events. Ceremony invites us to pay attention to something. It sinks deeply into the psyche, which means we are unlikely to forget the event. It serves to orientate us in our life. Within our modern culture, it is not common to spend four days and nights outside with only yourself for company. Doing this strips things down to its bare bones, taking you closer to what your life is all about.  

However, this is not a solitary journey. You are alongside other people who are coming to claim their lives too. Together you are asking how to live deeply, contemplating how to live this life before we die. You will explore how to offer your life to benefit the times we are living in. Everyone has something important to offer but often this has been overlooked or forgotten. On this journey, people find a deeper sense of purpose, they drop below the superficial level to something that has more significance. People have been holding ceremonies like these for as long as humans have been around.

Fasting plays an important role in this process. There are three ‘taboos’ that we face within a wilderness fast – an absence of food, company and shelter.  This is how we signal to our psyche that something very different is happening. It is uncomfortable and this gives extra weight to the process. We are saying to ourselves “I am sacrificing something. I am going hungry so I can be fed in a different way”. This is very profound. 

Sometimes people are fearful of spending time in the wilderness or of fasting. We have a robust safety protocol in place so there is always help on hand if someone needs it. The aim is to take you to an edge but in a way that feels appropriate. 

How have such threshold ceremonies impacted you in your own life?

I did my first rite of passage into adulthood in my early 30s and a clear sense of direction was revealed to me. A seed was planted. By tending to it, the inspiration it gave me for my life could deepen and mature. What has this meant for my life? I have a hunger to support people to deepen their relationship with the more-than-human world and with their own lives. This is not a quick fix. It invites possibility and it will show you what is showing up in your life at this time, with the natural world as your mirror. After the wilderness fast begins the work of incorporating everything you have been shown, embodying this sense of possibility. 

For me, acting as a guide means I have to understand something about my own process and how I attend to my shadow. I have matured into the capacity that all of us have to attend to our own lives. My role, alongside my fellow guide, is to nourish, support and challenge people to live into their most authentic life. It is about exploring the possibility and potential of this human life. 

Please explain the ‘incorporation’ stage of the process

A weak point in some contemporary wilderness rites of passage is the ‘incorporation’ stage. Traditionally, a process like this would have been done in community and this community would have held people to account. Therefore, without the strength of community behind it, the ceremony could potentially be weaker. To mitigate against this we meet for a year after the threshold ceremony, each lunar cycle, and hold a circle online. This is an opportunity to ‘check in’ with our community, to hold each other to account. We might invite people to bring something into the space from their threshold time – a physical reminder of what was revealed to them.

Do you have a final word you’d like to share?

An intergenerational wilderness fast is a profound and beautiful thing. As its name suggests, it is for anyone  – younger people, people in midlife and elders. It can be particularly helpful if you are struggling with something that might have constricted your life up to this point and are ready to die to that and for something new to be born. It can be revelatory but often the process is more affirmatory. The ceremony is a way to clarify what you’ve learned and honour the movement in your life. Until you take part, you don’t know what you will discover or how this will impact your life.

Click here to find out more about Earth Initiation.

For more information about Rupert’s work visit: https://www.handontheearth.org