Pirts & Banya
Healing Rituals with Agate Silova
Ancient fire. Living plants. A ceremonial womb where we return to ourselves, enter altered states of consciousness, and experience healing beyond words.
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This is not a spa day.
For Latvians, pirts is a mystical space — a ceremonial womb where we return to ourselves, enter altered states of consciousness, and experience healing beyond words.
It is a humble and deeply human ritual, accessible to all — yet sacred, and deserving of respect. Similar in essence to the Temazcal of Mesoamerican tradition: a place of rebirth through heat, plants, water, and song. Not a luxury experience. Not a wellness trend. A living tradition, carried in the body of the land and the people who tend it.
More than a sauna. An ancient ritual space.
The Latvian pirts is a place of rebirth, of purification, of communing with ancestors and natural forces. It is one of the oldest healing practices of the Baltic peoples — a tradition that survived centuries of occupation, held in the hands of those who refused to forget.
I was born into this tradition. It is not something I learned from a course — it is something I carry in my bones, inherited through generations, refined through years of practice and deep study of Baltic shamanic and healing arts.
This ritual is for you.
Pirts is a place for deep inner work — and for the celebration of being alive. Some arrive with something specific to move through. Others come simply to receive, to honour themselves, to feel life fully. All of it belongs here.
- You feel exhausted, flat, or like you've quietly lost the thread back to yourself
- You're carrying something — anxiety, grief, or the unnamed heaviness of a life mid-transition
- You want to go deeper — into your subconsciousness, your ancestral memory, the parts of yourself that don't surface in daily life
- You're drawn to plant medicine, ancient ritual, or altered states of consciousness — and ready to meet them with intention
- You want to give your body real, somatic care — unhurried, undivided, deeply felt
- You're stepping into a new chapter and want to mark it with something meaningful
- You're looking for a spa day, a wellness treat, or a comfortable experience
- You're here out of curiosity, for entertainment, or to have a story to tell — without genuine openness to what might happen
- You're expecting a specific, predictable outcome and won't be satisfied unless you receive it
- You're not able or willing to treat this space with reverence — pirts is sacred to me, and I ask that it be honoured as such
- You're not ready to show up with honesty and respect — I hold the right to close a session at any point if that changes
The ritual begins before we meet.
Most of what goes into a session is invisible to the person who arrives. What you experience on the day is the culmination of at minimum a full day of preparation — physical, herbal, and energetic.
In the warm months I walk the forests and fields, gathering local plants chosen by season and by what the body needs. The whisks are bound fresh, that day. In the cooler seasons — and often alongside fresh material — I work with plants and whisks that have been dried and stored from earlier gatherings, tended over time. Either way, the selection is intentional, made with your session in mind.
The fire is lit early — heating the stones takes around four hours. It cannot be rushed. While the space warms, I prepare your salt and plant scrub by hand, marked with Baltic sacred symbols. Honey is warmed. Additional plants are laid out on the pirts table. By the time you arrive, many hours of quiet work have already been done.
Every plant is gathered with your ritual in mind.
I work primarily with plants I have developed a relationship with over years. Wherever I am — Valencia, London, Latvia, or travelling — I seek out local seasonal plants and weave them together with Baltic allies I carry with me. The two traditions meet in each session. No two sessions use the same selection.
Four Rounds. One Unbroken Journey.
A full healing ritual unfolds across four rounds — four entries into the heat, each separated by rest, cold water, and integration. A complete session runs three to four hours. Structure is always in service of you, never the other way around.
Heating
The first round does not rush. I open the space with herbal steam, sacred songs, and an invitation to the pirts spirit. The heat begins its work gently — warming, softening, beginning a conversation between the plants, my hands, and your body. This is an arrival. Nothing is forced.
Something has already shifted. The salt scrub — infused with cleansing plants, marked with sacred symbols — works on the body and the energy field at once. Sacred songs and words accompany the work. What has accumulated on the surface, and beneath it, begins to loosen. Emotions may arise. This is the threshold — what needs to leave, leaves here.
The eye of the storm. The most intense heat, the most energetic pēršana — the plant bundles moving with full intention across the body. The plants release everything they carry. Then, from that peak, you enter the cold water for lidināšana — floating, flying. I hold you completely. The contrast of fire and water opens a portal. Visions, insight, expansion — this is where the ritual truly speaks.
Back in the heat — and everything deepens. The altered states settle into something more still, more vast. I leave you in silence, alone with yourself. Waves of emotion, and beneath them, a peace that is difficult to name. When you emerge, I apply honey — a gentle closing, a sealing of what has moved. You leave differently from how you arrived.
Why this work is priced as it is.
These prices reflect what this work actually requires. Travel to reach you. Separate travel for plant gathering. A full day of preparation: the fire lit hours before you arrive, whisks hand-made, plants arranged with your intention already held. Four hours of full shamanic presence in intense heat. Then cleaning and the closing of the space. Over ten years of study, practice and family tradition.
Full ritual across four rounds. Herbal steam, salt scrub, whisking, shamanic work, integration. Everything prepared for you specifically.
The full ritual held for two. A rare and profound shared experience. Both participants receive individual attention throughout.
What to know before you arrive.
- Swimsuit
- Towel
- Slippers or sandals
- Avoid eating at least 2 hours before
- Stay well hydrated in the days before
I sing in my native Latvian and guide intuitively. I speak English fluently. I can also speak and understand Spanish and Russian, though at a more basic level. The ritual itself needs no translation — the body knows.
- Pregnant
- Acute cardiovascular conditions or uncontrolled high blood pressure
- Under the influence of alcohol or substances
- Acute illness, infection, or fever
- Recent surgery or open wounds
- Epilepsy or active seizure disorder
- Acute psychosis or severe mental health crisis
- Medications that impair heat regulation — check with your doctor
- Severe kidney or liver disease
- Active thrombosis or blood clot conditions
Pirts ritual is a traditional ancestral healing practice. It is not a medical treatment and does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. Nothing shared during or in preparation for a session constitutes medical or psychological advice.
If you are experiencing physical or mental health difficulties, please seek support from a qualified professional. This work is offered as a complement to — not a replacement for — professional care.
What you might want to know.
If something isn't answered here, you are always welcome to reach out before booking.
The fire is lit hours before you arrive. When you enter the space has already been prepared and held. We begin with a conversation — what you are carrying, what you want to move through. From there the ritual unfolds through heat, steam, hand-made plant whisks, breathwork, sound, and ceremonial presence. It is not a fixed sequence. The work responds to what arises.
A regular sauna is a place to get hot. Pirts is a ceremonial space with a tradition thousands of years old. The heat is intentional, the plants are chosen for you specifically, the whisks are made by hand. What happens inside is guided healing work — not passive relaxation. Many people experience states that go well beyond what the heat alone would explain.
Four hours. This is not a session to rush. The ritual has its own rhythm — rounds of heat, rest, cold water, return. The integration happens in the spaces between. Arriving with time and no obligations afterwards is part of the preparation.
No. This work meets you wherever you are. First-timers are welcome. You do not need to hold any particular belief or understand the tradition. Openness is the only requirement — and willingness to be present with what arises.
Whisks are bundles of fresh or dried plant branches — traditionally birch, oak, or eucalyptus — used to rhythmically work the body in the heat. They open circulation, work the lymphatic system, and carry the healing properties of each plant directly into the skin. They are made by hand and chosen based on your intention for the session.
Bring a swimsuit or shorts, a towel, water, and something warm to wear afterwards. No special equipment is needed. Come with an empty or light stomach — eating heavily before the heat is not advised. Give yourself the evening after if you can. You will likely want to rest.
High heat is not safe in pregnancy. Pirts sessions are not offered during pregnancy. Please reach out if you have questions about alternatives.
Certain cardiovascular conditions, very high or low blood pressure, and some medications do not mix well with intense heat. If you have any health concerns, please reach out before booking so we can discuss what is appropriate for you.
Sessions are offered in Valencia, London, Riga, and by arrangement worldwide. Location details are confirmed at booking. If you are outside these cities and feel called to this work, reach out — travel is possible.
Use the booking link on this page. All sessions begin with a brief conversation before booking is confirmed — this is to hold your intention before we meet and make sure the work is right for you at this time.
Latvia dates will be announced.
If you would like to receive this ritual, send an enquiry. We will arrange the time and place individually.