🌞 Rooted in Radiance: Nourished by Yoka Hu, Guided by Atabeyra
Tai Mautia, Taíno Woods Familia,
Welcome to the June edition of the Taino Woods Sanctuary newsletter. We’re grateful to share upcoming gatherings, community highlights, and ways to stay rooted in connection as we move into Summer.
🙏 Community Gratitude
With full hearts, we thank all who joined us for the Red Tent Rites of Passage. Deep gratitude to Kunana and Atabuxi for sharing their wisdom and guiding the next generation in sacred ceremony. Your presence made the day unforgettable.
We also celebrate our community’s beautiful showing at the 15th Annual Taíno Awards! Congratulations to Roman Perez Guaraguaorix on his deeply deserved Lifetime Achievement Award. And to our beloved Tekinas, whose performance lifted the room! Thank you for honoring through heart, drum, and dance. We were so proud to stand alongside our extended community from TWS, Maisiti Yukayeke, Nanixi Temiki Metzli – NY Moondance, and Healing All Relations.
✨ Call to Action
Feeling called to support the unfolding of Taíno Woods?
🌱 Join Our Core Team or Board of Trustees
We are welcoming new voices and hearts to walk with us in vision, ceremony, and service.
🌀 Interested in Hosting?
If you’re rooted in community healing and would like to hold a workshop, ceremony, or gathering at the sanctuary, we’d love to connect.
📧 Email us at events@tainowoods.com to explore opportunities.
💚 Support the Sanctuary
Your generosity allows us to continue tending this sacred Land, holding community, and carrying forward the work of prayer, healing, and tradition. Whether one-time or recurring, every offering sustains the vision of Taíno Woods Sanctuary.
📬 Click here to donate
🗓️ Upcoming June Gatherings
This month offers two beautiful invitations to serve, pray, and dance in sacred Calm-Unity:
🌑 June 1 – New Moon Purification Lodge
For those who joined our May 31 Land Stewardship Day, this lodge is our gift of gratitude. Others are welcome to attend by sliding scale donation.
☀️ June 21 – Summer Solstice Dance with Behike Miguel Sague
An overnight ceremony honoring the teachings of Yoka Hu, the sun, and the longest day of the year through movement, prayer, and sacred song.
✨ Summer Gatherings Preview
Here’s a glimpse of what’s to come:
- July 12 – Land Stewardship Day & Full Moon Lodge Weekend
- July 26 – New Moon Purification Lodge
- August 2 – Nature Quest Volunteer Weekend I
- August 9 – Nature Quest Volunteer Weekend II
- August 14–17 – Nature Quest Fast Ceremony
📅 The full 2025 Gatherings Calendar is live on our website.
👉 Visit the Gatherings Page
🎁 Membership Giveaway Continues
We’re now in Week 4 of our 7-week Membership Giveaway for paid members!
Each week, one member is selected to receive:
👕 a limited-edition Taino Woods Sanctuary T-shirt
📅 plus a 2025 Community Calendar
✨ Not yet a paid member? Join today and support the future of TWS.
👉 Become a Member
🌞 Closing Reflection: Walking with Yoka Hu
As we step into Summer, we reflect on the journey of Yoka Hu, the radiant spirit of yuca and the sun, born of Atabey. Yoka Hu lives in rhythm with the Earth’s cycles: growing, dying, returning to the womb of the Mother, and rising again with the warmth of the season.
Like the sacred cassava root, we, too, are called to nourish, rest, and renew. Let his energy remind us of the life force that flows through all things.
Seasonal Practices to Honor the Summer:
For more ancestral prayers and teachings, we invite you to explore the writings of our Behike Miguel Sague.
🌅 Morning Water Blessing
Begin each day with a simple cleansing ritual to align yourself with the energy of the new season. As you bathe or wash your face in the morning, offer gratitude to the four cardinal directions: South (Achiano) for open-mindedness, West (Koromo) for inner vision, North (Rakuno) for wisdom, and East (Sobaiko) for illumination. This act honors the spirits and prepares your body and spirit to walk in balance with the day.
🔥 Tobacco Offering Ceremony
Light sacred tobacco or incense and offer its smoke in prayer to the directions and to the sacred beings: Atabey (Mother Earth) and Yoka Hu (the Sun spirit). This practice invites guidance, gives thanks, and strengthens your relationship to the natural world. Whether done in silence or song, it’s a powerful way to honor the life force in and around you.
May these daily acts of reverence keep your spirit rooted, your heart open, and your path in rhythm with Atabeyra.
Seneko Kakona,
Taíno Woods Sanctuary