The Priestess is the embodiment of the Great Goddess herself. This Goddess is expressed as Isis (Egyptian), Kuan Yin (Chinese), Mary (Christian), Artemis (Greek), Spider Mother (Cherokee), Rhiannon (Celtic) and in many other guises in many other cultures. The Great Goddess is all-knowing and all-wise. She is Creatress and Life-giver. She also has the power to end life so that the true spark of life, or spirit, may continue on in other forms. The Priestess embodies these principles. She is the reminder that we all have this innate wisdom within us, and she demands that we connect to it and bring this wisdom into the world. The Priestess speaks for the Goddess, works for the Goddess and lives her life to bring honor to the name of the Goddess. The Goddess is first and foremost in her mind, before family, friends, job and all else. She knows that she IS the Goddess and every decision that she makes, every meeting that she has, every word from her mouth comes from this place of inner knowing and reflects out to the world.
There are many today who will take a course or two in Wicca and bestow upon themselves (or have bestowed upon them by someone with just as much training as themselves) the title of Priestess or High Priestess. I love seeing this wide resurgence of interest in Her religion, and I love seeing the multitudes of those who are thirsty to aid others on the path of discovery. However, true training in becoming a Priestess is not as easy as Wicca 101 and an e-certificate hanging on the wall. Priestess training has never come this easy, nor should it. Anyone can work magic, or memorize a list of colors and their attributes. Anyone can say prayers, learn the meaning of tarot cards and make potions. None of these things a Priestess make.
Priestess training involves a change in who we are at the very depth of our being. It touches something deep inside that changes everything we have thought about ourselves. It changes everything we have thought about others. Priestess training gives us a higher perspective. It gives us the perspective of the Goddess Herself. It is rigorous, and should be. What good is a Priestess who has no self-discipline? How can one who cannot even control herself and her own natural human urges (to strike out in anger, to gossip, or become lazy, etc) teach someone else to control theirs? The spiritual path is a path of personal discipline. And in the discipline comes freedom. This is the ultimate paradox. Self-discipline brings freedom. When we are busy gossiping about someone, we are being drawn into the energy of that conversation. We are sending out bad energy to the person we are gossiping about, and in turn we are ensuring that we will have that bad energy returned to us, for what is sown shall surely be reaped....a spiritual principle. When we have overcome our urge to gossip through self-discipline, and remove ourselves from this type of situation, we set ourselves free from the energy entanglements associated with it. Thus, disciplining our urges brings freedom to our soul.
Self-discipline and inner knowing do not come easily. They come from many long nights and sometimes years of struggling to know who we really are and to understand what it is we are here for. They come from spiritual searching and the asking of questions, from taking vows and sticking to them and from establishing a daily spiritual practice. THIS is Priestess training. This is spiritual discipline, and this is what makes us able to become representatives of the Great Goddess Herself.
This course is a 13 month course in Priestess training. These lessons change lives. They teach students to find out who they really are, what they really think and feel, and they give them the courage to begin to stand up for that. They teach and encourage self-discipline. They raise self-esteem and empower women to be able to stand up and say “I am Goddess”. These studies speak to the core of who we are, and make us strong women. This is what Priestess training should involve. A change in the student at the very core of their being, and this is what these studies, if taken seriously, deliver.
Priestess Training requires a commitment of time and energy. Time must be set aside each week for studying, each morning for devotion, and each evening for self-reflection. There must be an active commitment to work on yourself, to change and to heal. If you feel called, but are not able or willing to make this type of commitment, then these studies are not for you. If you feel that you ARE able to make this type of commitment, then return to the Priestess Training page for further information on how to proceed.
By Morgana Ravenwings
High Priestess and Founder
Daughters of the Greening.