The words γνῶθι σ(ε)αυτόν (“know thyself”) were engraved as one of the maxims on the pediment of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, along with μηδὲν ἄγαν (“nothing in excess”), suggesting that careful consideration and the Middle Way will serve us well and keep us balanced and whole amidst this life of wild joys and sorrows.
Image: Priestesses in a fresco from Crete
Priestess Training & Classes
The Mt Shasta Goddess Temple offers mentorship and classes about the historical and contemporary beliefs and practices of holy women, shamankas, priestesses, healers, and ecstatic Goddess devotees. Our Skydancer Center for Female Mysticism offers world-class Priestess training programs which bring together ancient and modern elements of magical and spiritual practice, history, anthropology, cultural studies, and the use of time-tested tools for the work of tending the soul.
In addition to all of the Temple programs listed below, we also have ongoing private classes and events just for Mandala Members of the Temple.
Intensive Programs
Single-subject Intensive Programs in the Temple focus on a specific Goddess, symbol, or technique. A few of our 2026 classes are linked below. All are welcome to join our Intensives. You do not need a Temple Mandala Membership or an application to join. Click the images to learn more and register. Mandala Members of the Temple get 10% off tuition on our Intensive Programs.
2-Year Comprehensive Training Programs
The Temple’s two-year Priestess Training programs—Bloodstone & Lime, Woman Shaman Priestess, and Via Carmen Pythia—guide women into spiritual leadership rooted in Goddess devotion, ancestral connection, and oracular practice. Bloodstone & Lime begins with deep work in heritage, ancestor veneration, and the creation of personal ritual traditions before progressing into formal Death Midwife training. Woman Shaman Priestess weaves cross-cultural goddess studies, shamanic techniques, and the awakening of unique spiritual gifts toward the goal of establishing a path of sacred service of your own design. Via Carmen Pythia offers advanced training in prophecy, trance, and sacred oracular work, preparing each woman to stand fully in her power as a priestess and guide for her community. These programs are exclusively open to the Temple’s Mandala Members, and they require a Training Application and initial divination for admission.
Bloodstone & Lime
Bloodstone & Lime is the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple’s two-year Priestess, Psychopomp, and Death Midwife training: an invitation to women who feel the stirring of lineage wisdom within, who are eager to weave their spiritual heritage into the fabric of their modern lives, and who are called to work with the dead, the dying, and the grieving. In year one, students work with their genetic and heritage ancestry, awakening, reckoning, and reconciling the magic of their bloodlines. Each student develops a unique and personal path of ancestor veneration, connecting with ancestral guides. In year two, Marigold & Pomegranate, students work through practical and spiritual aspects of becoming a Death Midwife, studying legal, medical, and family issues, techniques of soul and Psychopomp work. Exhume the treasures of your lineage and work with the spirits of the dead for healing, empowerment, justice, and joy.
Woman Shaman Priestess
Woman Shaman Priestess is the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple’s signature Priestess training program, a 2-year study of women’s spirituality and female mysteries in a global context, working with tools and rituals relevant to women’s shamanism, mysticism, and spiritual service. We connect with the Goddesses of world cultures, including information about living lineages and traditions. You will train your heart and mind, develop ritual skills, and connect profoundly with the power you carry within, anchoring your Priestesshood in grace and devotion. In the year two, Flight of the Skydancer, the priestess approaches every situation with a commitment to spirit work, builds her mandala of goddesses and allies, and studies next-level tools and practices for the benefit of all. At the end of year two, each Priestess takes her vows and launches her public practice.
Via Carmen Pythia
ON HIATUS 2026: In Ancient Greece, the Priestesses at the Oracle of Delphi were known as Pythias, or Serpent Women. For over 2000 years their words were highly prized in the decisions of governments, leaders, spiritual devotees, and those who stood at the crossroads of life. They shared their gifts of prophecy with seekers from near and far, while seated on a 3-legged stool over a crevice in the Earth from which issued a rising cloud of mystic vapors that sent them into ecstatic trances. Their strange yet meaningful utterances become words of wisdom to the petitioners who visited them, and many of their prophecies were eerily accurate and specific.
Perhaps you identify with these ancient Oracles and their lives of extraordinary vision. Have you had prophetic dreams? Do you simply “know” things that others don’t? Do you live your life based on intuition, or desire to live that way? The Mt Shasta Goddess Temple carries on the ancient oracular sisterhood through our Sibyl Training program, the Via Carmen Pythia. We are calling together the Dragon Priestesses of the modern era for a training in classic mystery school style: studying the ways of divination, intuition, trance, and mystic vision, listening deeply within, performing readings, and observing the spirit signs in nature and the patterns of energy in our world. We heed the voices of the spirits, the voices of the Earth, and the inner voice as we develop our gifts for the purpose of helping guide humanity through these times of sudden and rapid change.
Upon graduation from this training program, with an optional completion trip to Delphi, Greece to visit the Oracle site, Sibyls receive Temple support for establishing & maintaining their practice as public readers.
The third year (and beyond) of Priestesshood in the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple involves the deployment of one’s personal projects, the launch of a new Temple, or another significant endeavor relevant to each graduate’s compassionate path of service. In sisterhood with program Alumnae, and with Priestess Yeshe’s support, each woman brings her projects to life in the 3rd year and beyond. Your Priestess or Sibyl project might be intimate or global; our sisterhood includes women who serve small local covens, Temple builders, professional and private diviners, as well as authors who have published and sold books. Wherever your practice takes you, we are here to be of support in your Priestess journey.
Are you ready to explore the Mysteries with us?
For Intensive Trainings, simply sign up.
For 2-Year trainings, please complete all of the following steps:
1) Sign up for Mandala Membership, begin attending the rituals and classes, and get to know us a few months before your training begins.
2) Discern the program that is right for you.
3) Fill out the Training Application linked below.
4) Further instructions for joining the training of your choice will follow.