Burning Man’s theme for 2026 is Axis Mundi, Latin for axis of the world. Above, is an artist’s rendition of what the base of the Man of Burning man will look like this year.
Each year, Burning Man (BM) asks artists to submit artistic designs for what the Man might look like based on the theme. The winner for 2026 was submitted by Alexander (Zander) Rose, a Burner from the Bay Area with BM roots that go back all the way to 1996. His design is based on Japan’s national tree, Cryptomeria japanica, a cedar tree that can live to be over 2000 years old. An outer spiral staircase will take Burners 60 feet up to the base of the man. An inner spiral staircase will take them back down, creating the double helix of DNA, representing our past, present and future.
Every year at Burning Man (BM) is different. That’s what creativity is all about— and creativity is an important part of what makes BM special. The theme helps drive the creativity. Artists bringing their work to the event and tribes, people camping together who share a common interest, are asked to consider the theme when creating their works and designing their camps.
A rendition of what the 2026 Man will look like at night. The lights in the distance represent Black Rock City, a community of 50-70,000 people that surrounds the Man in a semi-circle. Axis Mundi represents a cosmic connection between Heaven, Earth and the Underworld in mythology. In more modern terms we might think of earth, our atmosphere and the universe, or our inner-connectedness with each other, nature, and the universe. For a number of cultures, and BM 2026, it is symbolized by a giant tree. Note the Man peeking out from the lower limbs.
The Burning Man Journal notes that the event will demonstrate the relationship by “celebrating the interconnectedness of our global community, the new social realities we are creating together, and our enduring ties to the natural world.” While the statement relates primarily to the Burner community, a quote from Albert Einstein was added that broadens the concept to all of us:
“A human being is a part of the whole, called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
While Einstein gives us a seemingly impossible task given the world of divisiveness we now face and the powerful people who profit politically and financially from it, Peggy and I believe that the kind of unity implied by Burning Man and Einstein is a goal we must never give up striving for. Darkness lies on the other side.
This focus series has several purposes. For newbies, or Virgin Burners as they are known, it will provide an overview of some of the things they will find at Burning Man, for veterans (and some of my followers) a nostalgic look back, for all others who find their way to this series for whatever reason, some insights into the magic that has given the event its world-wide renown. My focus will be on art, mutant vehicles, the Man, the Temple, people and activities, the desert setting, Black Rock City, and Burning Man at night.
Today I will be using 2023, the last year Peggy and I went, to introduce the series. Going forward, each post will include one to two focus areas with photos taken from the different times we have journeyed out to the Black Rock Desert. Starting in 2004, I’ve been 12 times and Peggy 7. Mine have included 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2023. I began writing about the experience when I joined WordPress in 2010. Since then, I’ve featured BM in over 200 posts.
Now, a few thoughts for first timers. The Burning Man web site is filled to the brim with good advice on what to bring and what to expect. BM has been located in the Black Rock Desert for 35 years. That represents a ton of experience. You will want to follow its recommendations. The desert can be a harsh environment.
For example: Expect massive dust storms. One minute my view at BM 2023 looked like this.And five minutes later the view had disappeared altogether. It was a time for staying in place, donning our goggles, and wearing a neckerchief over my nose and mouth. It usually blows over in a few minutes, but I have been at Burning Man when it has lasted much longer. You can get lost wandering around. High winds often accompany the dust storms. Tents and awnings not well secured may take flying lessons.Just when you think you have mastered everything the desert has to throw at you, something like this comes along: The rainstorm of 2023. Check out their feet. The desert mud acts like Gorilla Glue!BM veteran advice from Peggy. “The mud doesn’t stick to plastic.” Here’s another use for some of those plastic bags you have brought along to carry out your trash.
Having introduced some of the challenges, all in all, Burning Man is an incredible experience. In fact, veteran Burners even talk of the challenges they have faced over the years with fondness. One way to help assure a good experience is to follow the Burning Man credo; It is a participatory event, not a spectator event. Come and join the fun. Bring a costume and something to share. Nothing is for sale at the event except ice and something to pump the poop out of your RV, if you bring one. But everywhere you turn, camps and individuals are offering food, drinks, and a multitude of other things— for free. One year a young woman was passing through Center Camp offering to cool down Burners by rubbing ice on their necks. It felt great! You can attend interesting talks and even learn new skills ranging from pole dancing to twirling a hula hoop, or fire. And you can share the skills you have. Volunteer to help with the event. There are dozens of opportunities.
Individual reactions to Burning Man cover a wide spectrum. As a newbie, you may find you absolutely love it. When you arrive home afterwards, you are excited to share the experience with friends and family. You immediately start planning to go the next year. Or you may find yourself saying “Wow, that was an experience. I’m glad I came but I don’t need to come again.” Or, you may be asking, “Why oh why did I decide to come here? I don’t need dust in my nose, eyes, and mouth. I want my toilets to flush. I don’t need the desert heat and desert cold, mud that sticks to my shoes, people everywhere, and drum-heavy metal/rock/industrial music that blasts away to the wee hours of the morning!”
But even if you hate it, think of the stories you will be able to tell your grandkids. For example:
“Great-great grandpa may have walked three miles through deep snow to get to school, but that was nothing compared to walking to the porta potty durning the Burning Man deluge of 2023! Mud was everywhere. It stuck to your shoes like a tick on a dog. The sewage trucks couldn’t make it in to empty the porta potties. They were filling up with poop. Horror of horrors! Luckily, someone had posted cartoons on the walls to take our minds off of the horror and remind us of civilization.”But enough fun. Let’s move on to some of the things we found special about Burning Man 2023: the kind of things that bring Burners back to the Black Rock Desert again and again.The Man, after which Burning Man is named, dominates the Playa and Black Rock City. No trip to Burning Man is complete without a journey out to the site. Climbing up inside often provides interesting art and always a great view. While the Man himself remains the same every year, the base and surrounding space is changed to reflect the annual theme.The 2023 Man at night. The lights in front are from bicycles. It’s critical that you can be seen at night! The only forms of transportation at Burning Man are bikes, your feet, and mutant vehicles. The vehicle you arrived in must be parked for the week. Most burners travel by bicycle. Decorating them is a Burning Man tradition.Another must see building at Burning Man is the Temple where Burners memorialize loved ones and pets who have passed on, confess everlasting love, and say thank you. When the Temple is burned at the end of the week, the messages go up in flames. While not religious, the Temple definitely has a sacred feel to it and is always, uniquely beautiful.Being partially hidden by a dust storm increased the mystical feeling of the 2023 Temple.Different times of the day present the Temple in a different light. Peggy and I like to visit in the early morning and evening as well as during the day. It’s always located on the Playa behind the Man. It was a four mile plus round trip for us in 2023. Thus the need for bicycles.This is a 2023 map of Burning Man. The Man is at the center above Center Camp and the Temple in the circle above. The grid shows the streets of Black Rock City. The open space is the Playa. As for all the numbers, they represent art installations. As I mentioned above that people come to Burning Man for a variety of reasons. Maybe it is to dance around the clock for 7 days with well-known DJs providing the music through gigantic speakers. We come to enjoy, appreciate, and photograph the art. As you might imagine, it is close to a full time job.The Playa is the central location for much of the art. Most of the pieces are in sculpture form. The creativity is unending. Burners are climbing up into the house/creature. (I’m not sure I’d want to do that if the beast was hungry.) Much of the art is interactive, designed to be explored in various ways.The head of the house/beast.Speaking of interactive, this piece was designed to turn so the creatures could be matched up with the appropriate parts. Roar and Neigh suggest a lion and a horse, neither of which has any of their parts as the sculpture stands now! The Burning Man Theme for 2023 was “Animalia”, celebrating the “animal world and our place in it”. Many of the sculptures, like this one, represented the theme.They could be striking, like Pegasus, whose wings flapped and legs moved…Or something else, as this ancient rain god. I may be making up the rain god part, but something had to bring the rain. Nice tongue.Another rain god, for sure.Burners could walk into this giant bear where mirrors provided opportunities for them to see themselves from a number of different perspectives.This interesting sculpture was built by Ukrainian Burners to reflect their country’s reaction to the Russian invasion of their country. A number of soldiers who died fighting to protect their country from tyranny were memorialized in the photos.Winged victory seen during the day and …And at night. Most of the sculptures shown during the day are lit up at night, some beautifully so.Another example: Fish sculpture during the day…And at night from the other direction. The Man and distant lights of Black Rock City provide the background.A chalice with a key hole. Made large…And a tea pot. Peggy and I have dozens of more photos representing the art of Burning Man in 2023 that we were able to catch before the weather went bad. There were dozens more that we never got to. This is simply a small sample of the breadth of what one can find at BM.Another fascinating example of creativity at Burning Man are mutant vehicles. A special permit is required to bring one to the event. They range in size from large, designed to carry a lot of people to…Small personal vehicles. The rule is that they can’t resemble the original vehicle from which they are built.Three more examples from 2023: An elephant…A VW bus that had morphed into a flying green something with antlers propelled by wings and a giant jet engine…A Texas Longhorn. Like sculptures, mutant vehicles are often lit up in interesting ways at night. It’s not unusual to find several dragons— or an octopus— wandering the Playa and blasting out fire.While the Playa may be the place to go to see the majority of the art and mutant vehicles, exploring Black Rock City— a city of that is literally built in the Black Rock Desert prior to the event and taken down afterward— could easily keep you occupied for the whole time. Several large structures like this one, are built by major tribes, to house the tribes along the Esplanade, but also offer a wide range of things all Burners are invited to participate in. This ‘frog-like’ creature with a third eye easily fit into the 2023 Animalia theme. As you might expect with 70,000 people, things can get a little crowded at Burning Man, but free space is provided for everyone. Tribes have designated areas, assuming you jump through the BM hoops and qualify. For everyone else, it’s find your own spot. The later you arrive in the week the farther out from the Playa you will be! Black Rock City’s resemblance to a huge parking lot is obvious, but it’s a well organized parking lot. The map above that featured the art shows the layout. The roads that follow around the semi-circle are given names that reflect the theme. The roads cutting through are assigned numbers. Assuming you have memorized yours road’s name and number, or written it down, you will be able to find your home. Otherwise….A close up of the 2023 roads. How would you like to live on Dingbat and 9:30? The street numbers are below.Walking/biking up and down the roads and streets is an interesting way to wile away a few hours. For example, you might find yourself at the Habitat for Insanity.Or the Gypsy Nebula Carnival. Come evening there will be loads of places you can stop for a free drink. Bring your own cup.You can expect to meet interesting creatures along the way as well. Like Falcor, the Goodluck Dragon of “Never Ending Story.”Or King Kong He’s been to Burning Man many times as his condition suggests. It’s not easy being a giant ape in the desert.In the end, it’s the people who make Burning Man Special. The veterans, the newbies, the artists, the builders, the planners, and your next door neighbors. Everyone. The dreamers and the desert. Here, two of our neighbors take a photo with the world traveling Bone. Even though he has been to 50 countries, Burning Man is still his all-time favorite place.
Here’s hoping you make it to BM2026. My next several Monday posts will continue my Focus Series look at Burning Man, exploring in detail the various aspects of the event I have introduced today. Next week, I’ll start with mutant vehicles.
On Thursday, I will continue my blog-a-book memoir and describe how I hired the family pets to protect me from the ghosts that wandered into our backyard from the graveyard next door. There were pros and cons.
Poor Pat. Living with me did have its drawbacks, especially when I had a camera in hand. Being a rescue dog, however, she was eternally grateful and willing to pose for me. Reluctantly. She was a bit large for the army cot I slept on outside in the summer. But she was great at scaring away the ghosts. A cocker spaniel and at least one cat joined her.
This was an interesting read, as I’ve never really been clear on what goes on at Burning Man! Thanks for enlightening me! (And wow, that mud would do me in I think)
Wandering through Time and Place 
Look like fun!! A lot of effort for a lot of folks!Steve
Wow! Not for the faint hearted! I have always been curious about it. I am glad you and Peggy can enjoy this wonderful, electric thing! Love, Wendy
This was an interesting read, as I’ve never really been clear on what goes on at Burning Man! Thanks for enlightening me! (And wow, that mud would do me in I think)
Thanks for taking me to Burning Man. I doubt I’ll ever get there in person.