Who is TriFire?

TriFire is a collection of people of all ages, genders, abilities, ethnicities, and experiences. All faith backgrounds and spiritual practices are welcome in our laboratory. We play with the planets, the chakras, the elements, the angels, and our ancestors. We sing spirituals and showtunes. We recite poetry from Rumi and Rollins. We twist, two-step, and Time Warp around the fire. We are store clerks, therapists, scientists, entrepreneurs, nurses, artists, students, parents, and accountants. TriFire is YOU. TriFire is US.

If you’ve attended an alchemical fire circle before, coming to TriFire will feel like meeting an old friend. The spirit remains the same, after all, with the fire connecting us into one beautiful family of fire. If you’ve never been to an alchemical fire circle, we hope you will find TriFire to be a welcoming, intentional space to do your personal work and a compassionate community to call your own.

So what can you expect from TriFire specifically? Why should you come to TriFire? What makes TriFire so special? There’s no short answer to that, but let’s give it a shot!

TriFire was created in order to continue the tradition of alchemical fire circles established on the east coast by Jeff McBride and Abigail Spinner McBride. Your co-labs and fellow fire family wanted to take what they have learned from years of experience attending, facilitating, and coordinating alchemical fire circles and bring a new fire to life in a space where we could all feel welcome and respected.

Those on the team of TriFire collaborators (“co-labs”) have been attending and/or facilitating alchemical fire circles for years. Together, we have spent over 125 nights circling alchemical fire circles across the country. We are alchemical nerds who love this work and view the creation of this event as an act of service to our community. Our experience helps create a solid foundation for TriFire, but we are not the most important part of TriFire - you are! Each and every attendee who steps into our circle is a fantastic ingredient that deepens and transforms our experiment. Part of the magic of alchemical fire circles is that no two nights around the fire are ever the same, and that’s because of you and the energy you bring to our circle. 

The TriFire planners receive no financial benefit from the event.  We pay our own registration, lodging, and meal plan fees just like everyone else. We, and our affiliate, Stone Circle Council LLC, believe in transparency and will post our financial information after settlement with our hosts has taken place.

TriFire is relatively new, but anchored in years of experience. If you join us, you will be a part from the start, getting to shape and influence what this event can be for years to come. We have the opportunity to weave our own creation story and we would love for you to be a part of it - it would not be the same without you!

Fire Circle Rules

(Don't worry, we'll go over these at orientation)

1. This is a sober event. For more information, please see our sobriety policy.

2. No glass in the fire circle space. This helps keep the feet of our dancers safe and happy.
   

3. No jumping the fire.

4. Do not put anything into the fire without the permission of our Fire Tenders.

5. Only enter and exit the fire circle space (our “laboratory” or “sacred vessel”) by the gate. Do not pass under/over the line of prayer ties.

6. Respect the architecture of the fire circle by observing the following “orbits” of our Solar System:

   1. The Sun: the sacred fire at the center of our circle.

   2. Mercury track: the orbit closest to the fire where dancers move the fastest.

   3. Venus track: the orbit outside of Mercury where dancers move in more flowing ways

   4. Earth track: the outermost moving orbit where folks walk, march, stomp, and trudge.

   5. Mars line: this line of torches is for standing and bearing witness to the dancers as they orbit the fire. Sing, shake a rattle, make eye contact - hold space while staying in one place.

   6. Jupiter orbit: the track where our temples sit, several feet behind the Mars line.

   7. Saturn orbit: the outermost orbit inside the prayer ties. This is the space for brief rests and quiet conversation about your work and the processes of the night.

   8. The Prayer Ties: this line of prayer ties marks the boundary of our fire circle.

   9. The Outer Field of Stars: the space beyond the prayer ties where attendees can make their own constellations of chairs and “nests.” A place where they can store belongings, rest, and have quiet conversation not pertaining to the work of the circle. This is also home to the Food Altar, water station, and bathrooms.

   10. The Oort Cloud: the designated smoking area. Smoking, including vaping, will be limited to one designated area, to be determined.
       

7. Drums stay in Temple Azul - unlike many general drum circles, we keep our drums together in one place so they can play as a cohesive group. Rules for drum & instrument etiquette are as follows:

   1. Feel free to bring your own drums and musical instruments to play and share.

   2. Drums that are covered or laying on their side are not to be played. Uncovered, upright drums are free to be played.

   3. Remember to remove any bracelets, watches, or rings you may be wearing when drumming to avoid damaging the head of the drum.

   4. Small percussion instruments like shakers, tambourines, and bells may be taken around the circle and played within the space. Please make sure to return these instruments to Temple Azul when you are finished playing them.

   5. Listen and play together! Alchemical Fire Circles function best when the drummers, dancers, and chanters are all feeding off each other’s energy. This means paying attention to each other, making eye contact, and responding to shifts in energy throughout the night.
      
      

8. Showing Gratitude - the purpose of our circle is to raise energy to facilitate the personal work we do throughout the long night. When someone does something in circle that moves you, that you want to celebrate, we ask that instead of offering a round of applause, you find a way of showing gratitude that doesn’t release the energy that has been built up. This can be done through many ways - holding a hand to your heart, raising a hand up in the air, bowing, holding out your hand to them. Experiment with how it feels to let the moment and energy linger.
   
   -To show love to our drummers specifically, we have the Gratitude Zone. This is a designated space in front of Temple Azul where dancers can move out of the normal flow of the orbit around the fire and momentarily dance in one space to show appreciation for whatever delicious beat the drummers and noise-makers are creating.
   
   

9. Offerings left on the Food Altar for communal sharing must be shelf-stable and in single serve packaging. This helps keep us safe and healthy. Multi-serving offerings will be disposed.

 Listen to your body. This process is designed to be an ordeal but that doesn’t mean that you need to push yourself beyond your means. Stretch often. Rest when you are tired. Eat when you are hungry. Drink water whether you’re thirsty or not. Be kind to yourself.