We went to a full moon party in Ibiza and uncovered the true hippie spirit of the White Isle
Known for its pristine Balearic landscape and globally-renowned dance music venues such as Amnesia, Pacha and Space, the Spanish island of Ibiza, also known as the White Isle, has much more to offer than international revelers are advertised.
Nestled on a paradisal slope about 15 minutes inland from the South Beach-style district known as Playa d’en Bossa, sits the tribal escape Cova Santa, a jungle-themed events venue that plays home to countless after-hours parties for major Ibiza residencies like Italian techno titan Marco Carola and his Music On night. For stateside festival regulars, the space can be likened to a Desert Hearts aesthetic (if the California collective were to throw a party in the Amazon) mixed with Burning Man principles and a seductive mystique from the island’s unusually laid-back locals.
This year marked the inaugural installment of WooMoon in Ibiza that included weekly parties over the summer season, with the finale’s proceeds benefitting various children’s non-profits. The final event included a special surprise: a red-orange super moon birthed by the lunar eclipse. Ethereal acts Bedouin and Blond:ish headlined the spiritually invigorating temple of musical worship and even the experiential wizard himself, Damian Lazarus, was revealed as the surprise sunset DJ.
A sea of hypnotized ravers swayed shoulder-to-shoulder on the stone dance floor as fire breathers and acrobats seduced the senses. Meanwhile, Ibiza’s beloved figure Pippi Sol — often referred to as “Pippi the Panda Lady” among the island’s DJ circle — sat atop a hill overlooking the soiree to conduct tarot card readings with guests.
Berlin native and WooMoon regular, Rampue, inspired the assortment of international revelers with an unbelievable live 3-hour set blending deep progressive bass lines, Latin-inspired melodies and tribal ambient embellishments. Arms reactively stretched towards the sky seemingly in search of an intuitive spiritual awakening; the blood moon casted an ominous energy as the fiery red glistened off the pupils of its admirers.
It’s apparent a sacrificial ceremony is imminent — the inner self you once knew would soon be discarded to make way for who you are about to become. The hymnal torch is then passed on to Belgian collective Stavroz and Dutch maestro Satori.
Belly dancers twisted their toned abs in cyclical motions that seem to mimic a clock’s secondhand and a deep fog seeped out from the dance floor of the underground level of Cova Santa. If delirium had a physical appearance, it wold be this room. Guests flailed their hands through the blinding CO2 as if in a haunted house, bumping bodies to the rapturous hypnosis of Blond:ish and Bedouin.
The smoke dissipated as the sold-out affair filled in, forcing spectators to indulge in some of the outdoor activities located in a biblical period marketplace. Island delicacies, finely-crafted jewelry, massage tables and even an on-site tattoo parlor attracted those who needed a breather from the multi-sensory overload.
The massive Cova Santa marquee shined in the pitch black night high above the hedonistic playground like a beacon of worship. Ultimately, the island mirage known as WooMoon Ibiza elicited a connection between your past and present self, and the experiential cosmic duality has set a new standard — right in the middle of the world’s biggest party paradise — redefining what it truly means to be transformational.