When I booked with Elvire I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew and I didn’t. 

 

I had been in the wellness world for years, both as a participant and a healer to others, along with working in different companies offering healing retreats to people. I know this world, inside and out. 

 

Needless to say, I had done a lot of work on myself throughout this time and had gone a long way. Despite that, the past year or so, I had hit a plateau. I was avoiding my sessions, stopped therapy and put a pause on my own healing, focusing more on other aspects of life and there’s nothing wrong with that. Nonetheless, the stagnation had started to get to me, and I noticed that slowly and steadily it led to suppression of stuff that really affected me. 

 

I needed a push, and the retreat and ceremony gave that to me. A beautiful combination that forced me to look at myself deeply. Was it easy? No. Was it needed? Yes. Did I go there because I needed a push? Also yes ☺️ Lots happened. Pain was purged, doors were opened and realizations were made. A big mirror, reflecting back everything. The light and the darkness, the good and the bad. And that’s amazing. 

 

We’re so obsessed with the “love and light” aspect of healing, that we completely neglect what healing modalities were really made for. To help us look and accept the shadows of our psyche, the ones we’re carrying with us either we want to or not. The only way out is through. Through those dark thoughts, corridors and locked doors hiding within us. 

 

The doors were opened, it was dark and stinky but dang it, light needed to enter through those locked doors and that is what we did. That is where my gratitude lies. 

 

The group was amazing, each woman was different in age, education, experience lifestyle, thoughts and feelings, but all connected through the common thread of sisterhood. And I just know each and every group will have that. As a healer I know it. Your vibe attracts your tribe. 

 

Elvire is that amazing hybrid between facilitator and shaman (even though she hates that word because she’s not a pretentious show off and recognizes that word carries weight). The wild woman that dances between the spectrum. She knows the science, the tools and rules. She knows the songs, the rituals, the spirit of the medicine. She dances alongside it, in her life and in her ceremonies. This is not a show, it’s her life. She knows her shit, she walks the talk. 

 

IF you’re looking for a container where you can get real, raw and connected this is your place. If you’re looking for a show, a place where you can go to do a ceremony in-and-out and talk “love and light” jargon with other new age “spiritual” people maybe this is not the place for you, and that’s okay. 

 

There the work is done. And if you’re not ready for that, that’s fine. When you are ready Elvire will be there to do the real stuff with you. 

 

Thank you Elvie and Becca (the fairy in training and service) for this kickass experience. Thank you for your service, your organization, your space, your vision, and those goosebump worthy chanting voices and drums that carried us through this journey. Love you ❤️

A year ago, I would never have believed I’d attend a psychedelic retreat. Yet in 2025, life brought me to Ithaca Retreats.

 

From my first call with Elvire, I felt trust and safety. The retreats themselves were indescribable—powerful shifts beyond the mind, into body and spirit.

 

The team is attentive, the groups caring, the settings magical. No gurus, only guides helping you reconnect with your own healing power.

 

With Ithaca, I discovered freedom, peace, and the beauty of the inward journey.