Dance of the Deer Foundation

Dance of the Deer Foundation Find Your True Nature Renowned shaman and healer Brant Secunda is the founder and visionary leader of the organization. Join us to discover your true nature.

Since 1979 the Dance of the Deer Foundation has been organizing life-changing spiritual retreats around the globe, providing people opportunities to connect with their true nature through the ancient practices of Huichol Shamanism. Originally born in New York, Brant left the big city the day after his 18th birthday to journey to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico where he eventually found the Huichol tribe and was adopted by the revered shaman and elder Don Josรฉ Matsuwa. Brant was put through an arduous 12-year apprenticeship through which Don Josรฉ taught him the way of the shaman. After completing his training in Mexico, Brant was told by his teacher to share the wisdom and teachings he had gained with people in the modern world. He has been traveling the globe ever since and has touched the hearts of thousands through his teachings, ceremonies, pilgrimages, retreats, and seminars. All the work of Brant Secunda and the Dance of the Deer Foundation not only helps inspire and empower those in the modern world but also helps to provide sustainable economic and cultural support for the Huichol tribe. Brant has also founded the Huichol Foundation, Shaman Organic Chocolates, and Fit Soul Fit Body, Inc., all of which aid in the support of the indigenous Huichol people. Today we continue in our mission to share the ancient wisdom of shamanism and sustain the cultural preservation of the people who have carried these traditions for thousands of years.

10/24/2025

The sea cleanses the soul, allowing us to find clearer vision for our life.

Join us along the shores of the Monterey Bay for our Autumn Workshop to celebrate the autumn season in ceremony and learn rituals to empower your everyday.

๐Ÿ“† NOVEMBER 7 โ€“ 9, 2025 โ€ข Santa Cruz, CA
โœจ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐Œ๐จ๐ซ๐ž โ†’ ๐‹๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ

๐€๐œ๐œ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ข๐ฑรก๐ซ๐ข๐ค๐š, ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š ๐ฆ๐ข๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฌ. ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž, ๐ฐ๐ž ๐œ๐š...
10/09/2025

๐€๐œ๐œ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐–๐ข๐ฑรก๐ซ๐ข๐ค๐š, ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ซ๐ž ๐š ๐ฆ๐ข๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ฎ๐ฌ.

๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž, ๐ฐ๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ž๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐œ๐ฅ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ.

๐๐ฒ ๐ ๐จ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐จ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฆ๐š๐ ๐ž๐ฌ, ๐ฐ๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž-๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐œ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐š ๐ฌ๐š๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž, ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ž ๐ฌ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ž๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐š๐ฐ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ซ๐ ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ฌ.

๐ŸŒฟ๐Ž๐‚๐“๐Ž๐๐„๐‘ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ โ€“ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“ ๐‹๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž โ†’ ๐‹๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ This October at Mar de Jade, we are honored to welcome ๐•๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐š ๐‘รญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐ž๐...
10/03/2025

๐ŸŒฟ๐Ž๐‚๐“๐Ž๐๐„๐‘ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ โ€“ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ–, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ“
๐‹๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ง ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž โ†’ ๐‹๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ
This October at Mar de Jade, we are honored to welcome ๐•๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐š ๐‘รญ๐จ๐ฌ ๐Œ๐ž๐๐ซ๐š๐ง๐จ, Keeper of the Temple and Ceremonial Assistant of her tribe.

Virginia is the daughter of ๐ƒ๐จ๐ง ๐‰๐จ๐ฌรฉ ๐Œ๐š๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐š and ๐ƒ๐จnฬƒ๐š ๐‰๐จ๐ฌ๐ž๐Ÿ๐š Medrano. She carries forward the ceremonial lineage of her family, supporting sacred gatherings while also practicing as a skilled artisan known for her beautifully embroidered medicine bags, each one infused with sacred prayers.

We are deeply grateful to share this space with her, as she brings the heart of Wixรกrika culture to our gathering on the Pacific coast of Mexico.

๐๐š๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž. ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฒ. ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž. ๐Ÿชถ These words represent a state that we as human beings naturally yearn for throughout our live...
09/22/2025

๐๐š๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž. ๐‡๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฒ. ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž. ๐Ÿชถ
These words represent a state that we as human beings naturally yearn for throughout our lives. The positive feeling we have when we find ourselves in a state of utter tranquility. When the push and pull fall away, and the tension and stress of opposition disappear, what are we left with?
๐žยท๐ช๐ฎ๐ขยท๐ฅ๐ข๐›ยท๐ซ๐ขยท๐ฎ๐ฆ
โ€“ a state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.
Today, we find ourselves amidst this state. The equinox is a natural time of balance and harmony. Embrace itโ€ฆembody it, and allow the equilibrium of this day to transmit its power into your life.
Over the weekend, our Wixรกrika brothers and sisters celebrated the harvest and the seasonal balance in ceremony. As they have for thousands of years, the shamans chanted ancient songs to honor the spirits of nature and the people gathered to give thanks for the sustenance of ๐˜›๐˜ข๐˜ต๐˜ฆ-๐˜ ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ๐˜ช๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ข (Mother Earth) and ๐˜›๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ถ๐˜ต๐˜ด๐˜ช-๐˜•๐˜ข๐˜ฌ๐˜ข๐˜ธ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ (Grandmother Growth). The young children and their mothers received special blessings so that the youngest amongst the tribe may receive the transmission of growth and good health from the fresh harvestโ€ฆso that they may grow to become strong and healthy to carry on the wisdom of their people.
Thank you for this sacred day! Thank you for the balance of the equinox. May we all learn to live in balance with all of creation. Aho!!!

Although the Wixรกrika live in the midst of a Spanish speaking country, there are few Mexicans who can understand them. T...
08/08/2025

Although the Wixรกrika live in the midst of a Spanish speaking country, there are few Mexicans who can understand them. Their language is in the Uto-Aztecan family of indigenous languages. It is related to the language of many tribes from as far south as the Maya to as far north as the Hopi.
We are excited to be hosting a transformative retreat along the Pacific coast of Mexico and offer an opportunity to connect with the origins of the Wixรกrika shamanic traditions.
Click the link for more details:
https://www.shamanism.com/programs/mexico-shamanism-retreat
๐ŸŒฝ๐ŸฆŒ๐Ÿชถ
Aunque los Wixรกrika viven en medio de un paรญs de habla hispana, son pocos los mexicanos que pueden comprenderlos. Su lengua pertenece a la familia de lenguas indรญgenas uto-aztecas y estรก emparentada con la lengua de muchas tribus, desde los mayas en el sur hasta los hopi en el norte.
Nos emociona organizar un retiro transformador en la costa del Pacรญfico de Mรฉxico y ofrecer la oportunidad de conectar con los orรญgenes de las tradiciones chamรกnicas wixรกrika.
Oprime el link para mas informacion.
https://www.shamanism.com/programs/mexico-shamanism-retreat

"Today we are continuing to discover how ancient wisdom from indigenous cultures can help us in the modern world. โฃโฃ๐ŸชถFro...
07/08/2025

"Today we are continuing to discover how ancient wisdom from indigenous cultures can help us in the modern world. โฃ
โฃ๐Ÿชถ
From sustainable multi-crop agricultural systems to more comprehensive understandings of our environment and our universe, scientists are finding themselves reaching into the past to discover the breakthroughs of the future."โฃโฃ
โ€” Nico Secunda

"If we look at the history of mankind, indigenous cultures around the globe were able to sustain a balanced existence fa...
07/03/2025

"If we look at the history of mankind, indigenous cultures around the globe were able to sustain a balanced existence far better than most modern societies. โฃโฃ
โฃโฃ
Tribal peoples maintained a lifestyle of harmony and balance with nature. Today we find ourselves striving to regain that innate connection with our natural world." โฃ
โ€” Nico Secunda

๐ŸŒž ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐„๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐ฌ๐ญ! ๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐ŸŒฟ Step away from the noise of every...
07/01/2025

๐ŸŒž ๐„๐š๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐„๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐ฌ๐ญ!
๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜บ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ค๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ด๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ณ ๐˜ถ๐˜ฑ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ด ๐ŸŒฟ

Step away from the noise of everyday life and take time to reconnect with nature, with the ancient traditions of the Wixรกrika (Huichol) people, and with your truest essence.

Immerse yourself in sacred practices passed down through generations. Be guided on a path of prayer, pilgrimage, and healing that opens the heart and restores the spirit.

โœจ Secure your spot before prices rise!

โ€œThe Wixรกrika (Huichol) Sierra is a window into the past. This place is a mirror of the modern world. It is a peaceful a...
06/30/2025

โ€œThe Wixรกrika (Huichol) Sierra is a window into the past. This place is a mirror of the modern world. It is a peaceful and harmonious reflection of the stressful world in which I often find myself. And when I become overwhelmed by life, I look to this reflection in search of tranquility and a sense of serenity. It is this place that puts everything else into perspective.โ€ โ€” Nico Secunda

Shamanism is an ancient healing tradition and way of life. Shamanic teachings focus on our connection to nature and all of creation. Learn about shamanism.

๐€ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ญ๐ฌ.โฃThis phrase, often spoken by politicians and economists, holds a beautiful truth that tra...
06/14/2025

๐€ ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ž ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐›๐จ๐š๐ญ๐ฌ.โฃ
This phrase, often spoken by politicians and economists, holds a beautiful truth that transcends numbers and systems. We are more than what we earn or own.โฃ
โฃ
As the world around us changes, and as we begin to question what weโ€™ve long accepted, weโ€™re reminded of deeper truths and the simple humanity behind them. Systems may have been made by us, but we werenโ€™t made for these systems.โฃ
โฃ
Clean air, fertile soil, and the connections we share with the natural world and each otherโ€ฆthese are what truly matter. โฃ
โฃ
Can we pause, and gently reflect on how weโ€™ve lived so far? Can we imagine new ways to protect and care for one another? Can we support not only ourselves, but our neighbors and our fellow humans across the globe? Can we live a life that benefits the winged ones, the four-legged, those who swim in the sea, and all life on our planet?โฃ
โฃ
Our role as human beings is to care for our Earth Mother. The time has come for us to grow up and step into the role of stewardship. To do so, we must learn to embody the power of the earthโ€ฆLOVE.โฃ
โฃ
Just as a droplet belongs to the ocean, each of us is part of a greater whole. When one of us rises, we rise together, united in the vast ocean of reality and consciousness.โฃ
โฃ
May we weather the storms ahead, rise like the tide together, and let unconditional love anchor our hearts.โฃ
๐ŸŒŠ๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿฝ๐ŸŒŽ

Address

820 Bay Avenue Suite 128
Capitola, CA
95010

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18314759560

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Our Story

Since 1979 the Dance of the Deer Foundation has been organizing life-changing spiritual retreats around the globe, providing people opportunities to connect with their true nature through the ancient practices of Huichol Shamanism.

Renowned shaman and healer Brant Secunda is the founder and visionary leader of the organization. Originally born in New York, Brant left the big city the day after his 18th birthday to journey to the Sierra Madre Mountains of Mexico where he eventually found the Huichol tribe and was adopted by the revered shaman and elder Don Josรฉ Matsuwa. Brant was put through an arduous 12-year apprenticeship through which Don Josรฉ taught him the way of the shaman.

After completing his training in Mexico, Brant was told by his teacher to share the wisdom and teachings he had gained with people in the modern world. He has been traveling the globe ever since and has touched the hearts of thousands through his teachings, ceremonies, pilgrimages, retreats, and seminars.

All the work of Brant Secunda and the Dance of the Deer Foundation not only helps inspire and empower those in the modern world, but also helps to provide sustainable economic and cultural support for the Huichol tribe. Brant has also founded the Huichol Foundation, Shaman Organic Chocolates, and Fit Soul Fit Body, Inc., all of which aid in the support of the indigenous Huichol people.