Who we are...
Mystic (formerly Camp Mystic) is a legacy theme camp with a 20+ year history in Black Rock City. We offer interactive and immersive art, high vibe music and performance, evolutionary speakers and workshops, and a variety of transformational rituals and ceremonies during our week on the playa and beyond. Mystics are a diverse group of thought leaders, teachers, speakers, entrepreneurs, artists, musicians, and healers who believe that the path to fulfillment and satisfaction is being in the service and contribution to others. We are an intimate tribe who loves to create artful interactions and beauty wherever we go. We do that through our offering of incredible art, music, performance, workshops, speaker panels, and more!
Mystic has become well known on Playa for its interactivity and transformational offerings that now attracts thousands of people throughout the week. Our focus is to consciously curate our Mystic membership for each of our coveted 176 spots each year. We are excited to attract those people who are even more excited to radically contribute to being in service to building and creating our gifts on the Playa. There are no spectators at Burning Man and we are passionate about bringing together those Mystics who not only understand this ethos but are lit up by the idea that the best part of their Burn, what makes it so special, is being of service and having a stage to creating these gifts.
We hail from all over the globe but have large pockets of Mystics in The Bay Area, San Diego Area, Los Angeles Area, Boulder Area, New York Area, and a few here and there who fly in from the UK, France, Costa Rica, Thailand, Mexico, Australia, Bali, Italy, and other great countries.
How can I camp with Mystic this year?
Our former membership model...
Historically, membership was invitation-only for Veterans and individuals sponsored by a Veteran Mystic. First-come, first-served Registration opened early (April–May) for returning campers, followed a month later by sponsored newcomers filling any remaining spots.
Our Group Leadership model...
While we warmly welcome thousands of visitors to our interactive camp, our space at the Burn is limited to roughly 176 spots. We cap our size to ensure our offerings are well-supported and to foster an intimate, safe environment where Mystics can bond as a tribe and build lifelong friendships on and off Playa.
Our membership selection centers on service to Black Rock City. Our Application and Registration Team evaluates applicants based on their alignment with one of our 5 Groups, curating a community that deeply embodies our values and actively contributes to our collective offerings.
Each of the 5 Groups will be allotted a specific number of the 176 spots available at camp. Each Group represents the teams most relevant to creating that aspect of camp.
How this works...
The person who is holding each pillar will be allocated a certain number of our 200 spots (see table below for specific allocation). This pillar helps allocate their spots according to those sponsored applicants (both veterans and newbiew) that they believe will contribute most to their pillar of camp. The pillars connect each applicant to the 1 - 3 team leaders they've mentioned wanting to join. Once the applicant and team leads have had a chance to bond and talk through what it means to participate on the team and get an understanding of how specifically that person plans on contributing to that area of camp, the team leads would report back the the pillar about whether they'd like to have them camping at Mystic and on their team. Pillars can then select that person (or not) depending on the feedback from their team lead, their direct experience and any other feedback they might have received from sponsors or others at Mystic and will then formally invite that person to join that pillar, sharing a unique invite code that will allow the applicant to register, sign up for their shifts, and pay dues.
For example, the person holding the Radical Evolution - Public Offerings Pillar would be alloted 44 spots. He or she would fill those spots with the people committed to come to the Burn that are the most powerful living examples of evolution and who are dedicated to participate on teams like the Events & Speaker Series Team, Ritual & Ceremonies Team, DJ Dance Parties Team, Visionary Art Team, etc. Although people from other pillars might help out on shifts or otherwise contribute to the public offerings, the leaders and the majority of the team members - both from a values point of view and a physical effort point of view - would come from this group. That means that if someone wants to participate on the Events & Speaker Series Team, and the person holding this pillar doesn't determine that they are a top candidate or has already filled their spots, that person might recommend one of the other pillars as a more appropriate area for their gifts, or they might not have a home at Mystic this year.
OUR MEMBERSHIP PROCESS:
STEP 1: GET SPONSORED
Every Mystic requires a veteran Sponsor to vouch for their cultural fit and commitment to co-creating our offerings. To ensure newcomers have a trusted guide to help them navigate camp life and resolve any challenges, Remote Sponsorship is not allowed; Sponsors must camp alongside their Sponsees during their first year on Playa
A Sponsor’s commitment is to acculturate their Sponsee to both Burning Man and Mystic. They ensure Sponsees understand specific camp expectations—like Shifts and Strike duties—and help them match their unique gifts with the most exciting and relevant Teams.
Sponsee will be asked to write their responses to the following two questions (as before) found in our Application.
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How do you embody one or more of the core Mystic values (Radical Contribution, Radical Collaboration, Radical Compassion, Radical Self Expression, and Radical Evolution)
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How SPECIFICALLY do you plan on co-creating the magic at Mystic? There are no spectators at Burning Man. Let us know if you wish to lead a specific team, join one or more specific teams, come early (Wed) for build, stay late (Tue) for Exodus, offer your music or a performance in our programming, offer a workshop or talk in our series, do healing session in our dome, offer a ceremony or ritual in our temple, etc.
Pre-playa, Sponsors introduce their Sponsees to the camp's WhatsApp and Facebook groups with a welcoming photo. On Playa, Sponsors proactively check in with them throughout the Burn, providing a comforting, familiar face that fosters a deep sense of love, safety, and belonging.
STEP 2: CREATE A BOND WITH YOUR GROUP LEADER AND TEAM LEADER(s)
Depending on which areas of camp the Sponsee if most inspired to help co-create, we will connect the Sponsee to the appropriate Group Leader and the relevant Team Leads so that a bond can be created and so that the specific expectations and clarity can be shared up front about what it means to participate with the Group and what role on the Teams the Sponsee is joining entail.
STEP 3: RECEIVE AN OFFICIAL INVITATION TO CAMP AT MYSTIC (Invite Code)
Together the person holding the Group and Team Lead help decide if the Sponsee is a good fit. If that Group has spots remaining to allocate he or she will formally invite the Sponsee to Register sending them their unique invite code so they can login and begin the process of signing up for their Shifts and paying Dues to camp with us. This means that:
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It’s possible that there would be a GREAT fit, but that because the relevant Group is already full, no spot would be awarded (even though the camp may not yet be at full capacity).
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It’s possible that the Sponsor would think it is a great fit, but the person holding the Group or the relevant Team Lead does not, in which case no spot would be awarded.
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It’s possible that the Sponsee wouldn’t be interested in contributing to the Group in the ways we have available, in which case no spot would be awarded.
What does it mean to hold a Group?
If you are holding a Group, you deeply embody the Mystic core values and the spirit of an “effortocracy” (the people putting in the most effort get the most power). You lead one or more areas within your Group, contributing radically pre-Playa and on-Playa to the visioning of how to hold this aspect of camp. In addition it means you will be alloted a certain number of our coveted 176 spots to curate, recruit, and invite veteran and new members to join making sure there is a cultural fit and a bond formed right from the start with the team lead who will be most involved with the new member’s contributions. (Which could be yourself or a team lead from a team within the Group you hold).
Curating members will come in two ways.
- You will be sent the requests from Sponsors and their Sponsees to join camp with their responses to the 2 sponsorship questions for you to review with the relevant Team Leads.
- You can proactively reach out to people in the ‘Grand Playa’ whose values are aligned with this Group and whose offerings would be inspiring and representative of this Group of camp.
Once selections are made and spots are allocated, holding a Group also means you will create a feedback loop between you, your Team Leads, and Mystics whose spots you allocated to keep your ears to the ground to determine how it actually went. As a Group Lead you are listening for whether the Team Lead who worked most closely with them would be excited to give this person one of our coveted spots again next year. As a Group Lead, you are an active culture curator who is weighing both your direct experience, the Team Leaders feedback, and lots of openness and compassion to determine who gets allocated spots next year.
If there is a new Group Leader chosen for next year, we want you to hold your role as a wisdom holder for that Group and would encourage a conversation that would allow you to share any wisdom gained and specific feedback you received from the prior year’s Team Leads, Counselors, Council Members, fellow camp mates, etc.
Objective Criteria:
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+10 points for leadership of each team
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+5 points for coming early (by Wed) on Build Crew
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+5 points for staying late (until Tue) for Exodus
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+4 points for professional Musicians & Performers for each public offering
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+3 points for facilitators/speakers for each talk, ritual, or ceremony
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+3 points for healers for each healing session
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+3 points for showing up to each shift they signed up for
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-3 points for creating extra drain on camp leadership or resources
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-3 points if camp has to chase you down with more than 3 communications for information from the registration survey after the July 15th deadline
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-6 points for NOT showing up to a shift they signed up for
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-6 points for taking on a leadership role, but not submitting a budget, reaching out to your team, and adding to this area of camp
Subjective:
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Did this person create a net positive, net negative, or net neutral experience culture with they interacted with?
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Did this person add positively, negatively, or neutrally to the offering in their Group?
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Did this person display any of the 4 attitudes (over demanding, under demanding, over contributing, under contributing). If so, which ones and what was the impact?
1RADICAL
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2RADICAL
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3RADICAL
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4RADICAL
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5RADICAL
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PUBLIC SPACES
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INFRASTRUCTURE
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COMMUNITY & CULTURE
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MYSTIC FOUNDATION
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PUBLIC OFFERINGS
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39 spots
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62 spots
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27 spots
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12 spots
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36 spots
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TEAMS: Burn Barrel (1) Mystic Theater Lead (1) Dining Hall Lead (1) Mystic Temple (12) Dome & Healing Sanctuary (11) Decor & Beautification (6) Burn Barrel (1) Lighting (2) Sound (4) Visionary Art (1) |
TEAMS: Bike repair (1) Breakdown & Strike Early Arrival Build Crew (11) Exodus & Strike Crew (8) Kitchen & Meal Plan (20) Layout & Placement (4) Leave No Trace (5) Power (5) RV Servicing (2) Shade Structure (1) Steam Shower (1) Supplies & Inventory (1) Transportation & Storage Water / Grey Water (3)
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TEAMS: Culture (1) Communication (1) Counselors (8) First Aid & Safety (1) Kid Zone Team Lead Support (1) Treasurer (1) Virgin Support (1) Volunteer Appreciation (2) Website & Registration (1) Mystic Hospitality (10) |
TEAMS: Mystic Flyer (9) Mystic Arts Foundation (1) Art Projects (2) |
TEAMS... DJ Dance Parties (12) Events & Speaker Series (17) Music (2) Ritual & Ceremony (2) Saturday Morning Forever (1) Event Signage & Photo Sign (2) |
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How to sponsor someone at Mystic?
Being a Sponsor is a commitment to take an active role with your Sponsee as you invite new people to Mystic. The Sponsor’s role is to help acculturate your Sponsee to both Burning Man (especially if they have never been before) and to Mystic specifically so that your Sponsees know about our core values, culture, and what it means to participate in this community. You’ll be interacting with your Sponsee prior to their registration to help them get acquainted with our 5 Groups and the 22+ teams to see which area of camp they’d be most excited and uniquely gifted to contribute to.
You’ll also do the following:
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Share our Application and guide their response to the 2 Sponsorship questions.
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Request to add them to the WhatsApp and Camp Mystic Facebook Group and introduce them to the tribe with a photo and perhaps some background about why you are excited to Sponsor them (you could include their answers to the above if you like)
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Help connect your Sponsee with the appropriate Group and Team leads so they know who to reach out to get to know them.
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Check-in with your Sponsee when they arrive to welcome them to camp and see if they need anything and are feeling settled in and cared for so they start their Burn feeling love, safety, and belonging
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Check-in with your Sponsee often during the week to proactively track their experience and see how things are going...no Mystic left behind!
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Be a compassionate ear if there are any challenges, holding that challenges are an opportunity to up-level our self-awareness and evolve. Any resolution is held in the context of pursuing evolutionary growth for them and all other people involved.
Sponsorship Questions:
- How do embody one or more of our core Mystic values (Radical Contribution, Radical Collaboration, Radical Compassion, Radical Self Expression, and Radical Evolution).
- How SPECIFICALLY do you want to help us co-create the magic at Mystic...there are no spectaors (coming early for build, staying for exodus, leading one of our teams,
COUNSELORS: No Mystic Left Behind
Traditionally, our Counselors have been available at meal times if any challenges arise and any campers are wanting to find them to talk and receive compassionate listening and help with resolving any challenges that arise. In addition to playing this role during meals times, we match each counselor with 15-20 Mystics on our Roster that they will proactively check-in with a few times throughout the week. No Mystic left behind. The role of the Counselors is two-fold…
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To serve as culture curators, embodying our 5 core values in all their interactions and keeping a finger on the pulse of our culture to sense early if there are any perturbations in the field (big or small) or exemplary manifestations of our mission and values for us all to celebrate.
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To actively engage with our community to create a feeling of inclusivity helping to make sure everyone is feeling love, safety, and belonging. Counselors will actively check-in and track the experience of their sub group of Mystics to see how their experience is going, see if they need anything, and to give a compassionate ear if there are any challenges Mystics are having.
To serve as mediators, if necessary, when there are challenges that arise between members, holding that challenges are an opportunity to up-level our self awareness and evolve. Any resolution is held in the context of pursuing evolutionary growth for them and all other people involved.
Offer A Public Event, Workshop, Or Performance
If you would like to participate in our public offerings in our speaker series to facilitate a talk, panel, workshop, movement class, live musical offering, or other interactive event on one of our stages in the Mystic Theater, Mystic Heart Temple, or our Healing Dome. Fill out this application here BEFORE June 10th and we'll be in touch in mid June to let you know if we fit you in a slot:
Mystic Event & Offering Submission 2026 <<<<click here to apply
Support us Through A Donation
In addition you can support us through a donation to the Mystic Flyer Experience to help keep us FLYING! The Mystic Flyer Experience Mutant Vehicle is a Mobile Mystical experience of visionary art, music, dance, performance, and a Guided Audio Meditation binaural beat interactive experience called Consciousness Time Travel, in Black Rock City and the Grand Playa. Check it out here:
Give to the Mystic Flyer Experience Mutant Vehicle
Purchase a Camp Mystic Visionary Art Shirt Not Currently Available
We have created an awesome full coverage visionary art Mystic T-Shirt, Tank Top and this year a new HOODIE. To get your hands on one of these cool looking babies, click the campaign here and select your perk and we'll send your shirt:
Got any questions about camping with us?
Email registration@campmystic.org