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- Return of the Priestess
AvaSha Priestess School
Greetings blessed Soul Tribe. Has the call of the Priestess path echoed too long within you? Can you wait no longer? Is it who you are, no matter how many distractions you have created in your life?
We welcome family from around the globe to assist in our collective avatar education and expansion of our:
ancient + future = now selves.
We dive in directly, to provide tools for strengthening and nurturing our state of being, while establishing community and motivation towards connection to our Seasonal Cycles.We are here to express our Heartbridge that links Avalon to Mt. Shasta through:
Fair warning: dressing up and playing Priestess will not cut it, this is real, this rocks your world, and every part of you that thinks from the head and not from the heart will shatter.
Classes, Playshops, Workshops, and Ritual Theatre.
....don't worry our gorgeous goddess garb closets are still overflowing...
you will survive... actually, when you surrender you will thrive.
If you have heard the call, and are ready to dedicate yourself to further growth for 9 months, below is a list of 13 Gateway Requests for attending
AvaSha Priestess School
Your Journey Begins at Samhain
1. Personal Daily Practice - Personal morning ritual based on love and gratitude.
2. Dedication to the Goddess Ceremony - Self created ceremony with the witness of Clan members.
3. Seasonal Wheel Celebrations - Participation in co-creative ritual for: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltane, Summer Solstice, Lughnasadh, and Autumnal Equinox
4. Co-creative Community Rituals - for First Blood, Blessing Way, Priestess Birth Attendance, Wedding/Handfasting, Midwife Death and Burial Ceremonies.5. Kundalini Yoga - Attend weekly held classes to gain stamina and nurture yourself. Mon, Wed, or Fri 10:30am-12:30pm
6. Altar Building - Priestess apprentices are requested to build, caretake, and activate the Temple altars.
7. Goddess Conference of Glastonbury - Event held the last week of July in England over Lughnasadh, plus Creative Empowerment workshops with Grael, or a personal visit to Glastonbury to integrate the Goddess in the landscape.
8. Planting - Environmental Activisim, gardening, connecting with the land.
9. Galactic Groove Ecstatic Dance with Grael - Weekly stress release through expressive dance. Mon or Wed 7:30pm-9pm
10. Song, Dance, and Poetry participation - Community ritual theatre and variety shows provide opportunities for apprentices to nurture their craft through the creative arts of song, dance, and poetry. New Moon Sister Song Circles at Manzanita Manor hosted by Glorie and Rhiannon.
11. AvaSha Monthly Learning Third Sundays - Monthly gatherings assist apprentices to bond, learn, and create.
12. Outdoor Adventures - Outdoor explorations of our beautiful home of Mt. Shasta.
13. Melissae - Attendance and connection with Community through: Dialogue, Healing sessions, Karma Yoga (Service) at The Flying Lotus AvaSha Goddess Temple.
Suggested Readings:
“ Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess" by Kathy Jones
"The 13 Moon Oracle" by Ariel Spilsbury
“ Energy Secrets of Glastonbury Tor” by Nicholas Mann
“ The Lineage of the Codes of Light” by Jessie Ayani
“ The Shamanic Way of the Bee" by Simon Buxton
“ Mt. Shasta, California’s Mystic Mountain” by Emilie Frank
The Return of the Priestess
~ Sharon Fallon Shreve www.IlluminedWays.com
I'm often asked, "What is a priestess and what does she do?"
A simple explanation is to offer Webster's definition: a priestess is a woman who officiates in sacred rites. While this is quite accurate, in truth, a priestess is and does so much more. She serves the spiritual needs of the community.
Long ago the priestesses in communities carefully observed the patterns and rhythms of Nature. Attuning to earth's cycles, they honored the Great Mother by performing sacred seasonal rituals. Women, seen as an embodiment of the Great Mother, were deeply revered, honored, and celebrated for, like the earth, a woman too was able to grow life within her. Later in history, Roman, Greek, and Egyptian priestesses lived in holy temples. They, too, worshiped the Great Mother, the Goddess in Her many forms. They served the spiritual needs of the community as well and were also held in high esteem. Numerous hierarchies and historical events ensued. Soon, Men began to fear the power of priestesses. The natural spiritual and mystical practices of priestesses were viewed as evil. Their power, greatly misunderstood, was thought to be a dark force that needed to be annihilated. Thousands of priestesses were persecuted, and put to death for their beliefs and spiritual practices. Those managing to escape death fled their holy temples and went underground into hiding.
Today, in the midst of a 2,000 year period of patriarchy, a modern-day priestess is emerging. She brings to present times richly-steeped ancient wisdom, integrating past spiritual teachings with a few spins of her own. In addition to her work as Priestess, she may also have a family and hold a conventional job as well. She holds within a deep moon-water essence, and her mission is to help bring into fruition the vital life-force energy of the almost forgotten Divine Feminine. Intuitively, she knows a conversion to a matriarchy isn't what's currently needed. A modern-day priestess instead directs her energy to restoring a natural, harmonious balance between the genders and All That Is. Weaving her fluid moon-water essence with the energies of the fixed sun-fire masculine, she helps re-birth Sacred Union.
Women choosing to walk the path of the priestess have answered a deep inner calling. Hearing within and resonating passionately to the ancient call of the Great Mother, a time came when each heart knew with absolute certainly…yes, this is it…Hers is the work I am to do…the very reason I've incarnated at this time! For me personally, the actual word "priestess" whenever spoken creates an ecstatic internal hum, a familiar vibration that was/is one of pure bliss. How blessed to be so crystal clear regarding one's life purpose! This being said, I also feel compelled to share the path of the priestess, though richly rewarding, is not an easy one. It is a path requiring deep integrity and tremendous dedication. With courage and grace, a modern-day priestess journeys the continuous ascents and descents of life's spiral. Constant deep inner work is a must. Confronting, clearing, healing past wounds energetically empties her of what no longer serves use or purpose. Going into the inner realms…quiet times of reflection, prayer, meditation…enables her to better "see" and "sense" her truth more clearly. Hard work and perseverance bring rewards. Soon she begins to recognize herself as a unique expression of the face of the Divine Mother. She learns to value and deeply honor her own femininity. She becomes a holy vessel, better able to hold sacred space for all humankind.
A priestess is dedicated to serving the beauty, love and spirit in all life. She learns how to attune to and work sacredly with all energies, particularly those of Nature and elements. Like a fluid dance of ebb and flow, a priestess works passionately to raise the vibration of our physical world, infusing it with sacredness. Illuminating, all that she is and does. A priestess experiences great joy when performing divinely-inspired ceremony and ritual. Often compared to a Shaman, she is able to position herself between the visible and invisible worlds, residing in the valley of enriched tension lying between the two dimensions. A High Priestess works with even finer, more subtle energy frequencies. Archetypically speaking, she is a direct emissary of the Divine Feminine represented here on Earth.
The Flying Lotus of Mt. Shasta
Home of the AvaSha Goddess Temple
315 A South Mt. Shasta Blvd
Mt. Shasta, Ca 96067 upstairs
530-926-0527