For boys 11 to 14
Fire Keepers
A year by the fire and under the stars, beside men who go first.
What Fire Keepers is
Fire Keepers is a yearlong rite of passage for boys aged 11 to 14, offered by Wild Souls Pathways in the Santa Cruz Mountains and funded by donations from the village. Each year has four Friday to Sunday immersions on the land and a day gathering in most of the months between. Every boy is paired with one adult mentor, and the mentors meet as a council with elders behind them. The first circle began in April 2026. From autumn 2027, each new circle begins in autumn and comes home in summer.
The first teacher here
Fire
A fire teaches a boy patience before it teaches him anything else.
It will not be rushed, and it goes out if you stop tending it. Through the year each boy learns to build one, keep it through a night, and sit with the men around it and say something true.
Who walks beside him
A mentor for every boy
Each boy is paired with a mentor for the whole year. This year’s circle has six boys and six mentors. The mentors speak honestly in the circle before they ask it of the boys.
Every Fire Keepers mentor has completed a California Department of Justice Live Scan background check.
The turning of the year
Four immersions
From autumn 2027, every Fire Keepers year follows this order. The first circle began in April 2026 and keeps its own calendar: its third immersion is in late November 2026, and it comes home in late February 2027.
- Autumn
The calling in
The families gather to open the year. At the first immersion the boys sleep out and make fire by hand.
- Winter
The deepening
Each boy finds a place on the land to return to alone. Before the winter immersion ends, he writes a letter to the person he will be in summer, and seals it.
- Spring
The descent
A weekend that asks for patience and nerve. The mentors go in first.
- Summer
The return
The year is told back to the boys, and they open their sealed letters. Families and the village come to the last immersion to witness the boys and welcome them home.
Between the immersions
Days on the water and in the woods
In most months between the immersions the circle meets for a full day: rowing and fishing on a reservoir, or archery in the redwoods. These days keep the brotherhood close through the year.
What he brings home
A brotherhood that saw him cross
A boy who keeps the fire for a year knows the men who walked with him, and they know him.
He has kept a fire through the night with his mentor close by.
For families
Parents open the year with their sons and stand in the circle at its end. A parent handbook sets out every gathering, and the village writes to families before each one. Donations from the village fund the path.
How a boy joins
The next circle begins in autumn 2027
It is planned to hold up to twelve boys. Write and tell us his first name, his age and what draws you here.