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-Retreat Preparation Session  – Before your arrival, you'll received a personalized 45 min Zoom session with your faciliator to help you clarify intentions, learn grounding techniques, and prepare for deep immersion, ensuring a smooth transition into the retreat experience.

• Facilitated Welcome & Orientation – Upon arrival, 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 – Approximately 10 - 14 days after your return home, you'll receive a 60 min guided Zoom session to help integrate insights, apply lessons to daily life, and being the process of embodying your transformation.

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 $1,500. 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, we highly recommend booking pre-and post-retreat somatic and integration sessions with our somatic specialist, Alison McAulay. 

• Explore what to expect in The Dark and how to prepare your mind and body.

• Learn somatic tools to navigate challenges that may arise.

• Engage in biodynamic somatic practices to support your nervous system for optimal health and wholeness.

• Reflect on insights from your time in The Dark and begin to process them with support.

• Make cognitive sense of your experience.

• Continue processing with biodynamic somatic practices to integrate and support long-term transformation.

• Discuss how to weave your discoveries into daily life in a way that enhances clarity, healing, and growth.

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.