Vermont Darkness Retreat for Healing & Transformation

Welcome to a unique and transformative darkness retreat in a serene, picturesque setting near Brattleboro, Vermont. Nestled at the foot of Black Mountain, this spiritual retreat offers the perfect space for deep rest, reflection, and inner exploration in total darkness.

This peaceful darkness retreat space is surrounded by breathtaking mountain views and immersed in nature’s stillness. Designed to support your journey, this spiritual retreat offers a serene and nurturing atmosphere for deep rest, self-discovery, and transformation.

At Dark Havens, our darkness retreats offer a safe, deeply restorative, and transformative experience, guiding individuals through self-discovery, healing, and spiritual growth. As a sanctuary for spiritual retreats, we provide a structured, intentional space for inner exploration, allowing participants to surrender into the mystery of the dark and emerge renewed.

Preparation, Arrival & Orientation

Your retreat begins with a mindful and intentional preparation and arrival, marking the passage into a profound journey of inner exploration.

• Pre-Dark Embodied Transformation Session (1 hr)
  Prepare for your journey with a personalized session led by a somatic therapist. You'll explore any concerns, learn tools for nervous system regulation, and receive a guided somatic practice to enter the dark feeling grounded, safe, and ready for transformation.

• Facilitated Welcome & Orientation – Upon arrival to the retreat facility, your facilitator will warmly welcome you and guide you through an initial orientation. This includes an overview of the retreat space, practical guidelines to support your journey, and insights to help ease your transition into darkness.

• Settling In – A guided tour will familiarize you with key areas, ensuring you feel comfortable and at ease. You’ll then have time to settle into your space, allowing for quiet reflection, journaling, or rest as you attune to the retreat’s rhythm.

• Ceremonial Entry – Before fully immersing in darkness, you will be guided through a ceremonial entrance with your facilitator in a common room outside of your personal dark room. This begins with a guided meditation in complete darkness while wearing an eye mask, offering a gentle initiation into the sensory shifts of the retreat. This sacred moment provides an opportunity to embrace the threshold of transformation, reflect on your intentions, and ask any final questions you may have before stepping fully into your journey.

Through this intentional process, your transition into darkness becomes a sacred rite—aligning body, mind, and spirit with the depth of inner stillness.

Your retreat is supported through structured yet unobtrusive guidance, ensuring a deep and uninterrupted experience.

• Morning Check-Ins & Meal Delivery – Your facilitator will provide a gentle, personalized check-in, offering insights and support while delivering your morning meal. This time allows for processing experiences, setting intentions, and receiving any necessary guidance.

• Evening Check-Ins & Meal Delivery – Your facilitator will quietly deliver your evening meal and offer a compassionate presence for reflection and emotional integration before you transition into the night.

• Ongoing Facilitator Support – Whether you need subtle reassurance or deeper support, your facilitator holds space with minimal disruption, allowing you to go deep and  fully surrender to the dark.

At Dark Havens, the balance between structure and surrender creates a sanctuary for transformation—mirroring the initiations of ancient traditions while offering a modern refuge for deep rest, healing, and awakening.

On your final day, you will gradually re-enter the light through an intentional and ceremonial exit and integration process with your facilitator. This guided transition honors the depth of your retreat, helping you ground and carry the insights forward.

• Ceremonial Exit & Facilitator Integration Session – Your facilitator will support you through a mindful re-emergence, offering space to discuss your experience, reflect on insights, and begin to help integrate your journey with clarity and intention.

• Reflect on Your Experience – Time for journaling, meditation, and processing the wisdom received in darkness.

• Reconnect with Nature – Spend time outdoors, allowing the natural world to support your transition and reorientation.

• Reorient for Daily Life – Begin to internalize the shifts and realizations from your retreat, carrying the wisdom into your ongoing journey.

• Post-Retreat Integration Session (1 hr)
  After your retreat, this personalized session with our somatic specialist will help you reflect on insights and challenges, ground your experience through somatic practices, and explore how to carry the transformation into daily life. Together, you’ll map a path forward that supports lasting.

This intentional re-entry process ensures that the gifts of the dark stay with you, offering guidance and transformation long after your retreat ends.

A darkness retreat can be as short as 2 nights or customized to fit your needs, with the standard 4-night/5-day experience priced at $1,650. This dark retreat cost includes personalized support mentioned above to help ensure a truly transformative experience.

✨ Ready to experience the Profound Power of a Darkness Retreat? → Get Started Here

To further deepen and integrate your retreat experience, personalized pre- and post-retreat somatic sessions with our specialist, Alison McAulay, are included as part of your journey. These sessions offer vital support before and after your time in the dark, helping you feel grounded, resourced, and integrated. 

During the pre-embodied transformation session, we will:

• Openly explore and address any fears or concerns you may have about being in darkness, so you can enter your retreat feeling safe, grounded, and confident.

• Learn about nervous system mastery and how transformation works in the mind and body, and how to connect with your innate intelligence to self-heal.

• Learn customized somatic tools & practices to work with challenging emotions or memories that may arise in "The Dark."

• Experience a guided, somatic healing experience for optimal nervous system health and wholeness.

During the post-integration session, we will:

• Reflect, share, and make cognitive sense of insights, challenges, visions, and your embodied experience during your retreat. 

• Root, ground, embody, and integrate the experience with customized somatic practices based on your experience in the dark.

• Discuss new, regenerative & transformed ways of being, relating, and working as you transition back into the world.

• Based on any breakthroughs, healing, or transformation that occurred, agree on a  practical path forward that supports sustainable, long-term change. 

The nearest and most convenient airport for this retreat is Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, CT. We offer round-trip airport transfers for $200 (subject to availability and scheduling) to ensure a smooth and hassle-free travel experience. If you require transportation, please contact us to coordinate your transfer before booking your flight. To allow sufficient time for travel and settling in, we recommend scheduling your arrival at BDL no later than 5:00 PM EST. 

We are now accepting bookings for our Vermont Darkness Retreats, transformative spiritual retreats scheduled for Spring and Summer 2025. Spaces are limited, reserve your journey today.​

✨ Experience the Profound Power of a Darkness Retreat → Get Started Here

For questions, see our FAQs.