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 at right: Priestesses in a fresco from Crete

Sibyl Training

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.

Priestess Training

If you were born with a heart that yearned for the sacred, if you feel naturally attuned to ritual and devotion, if you are sought for guidance, advice, and assistance from those who want more meaning and magic in their lives, and if you feel ready to accept the role of Priestess in service to the divine in our changing world, then now is the time to honor your calling. In the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple Priestess training program, students undertake a 2-year journey to study practices of women’s spirituality and female mysteries in a global context. We work with tools and practices relevant to women’s shamanism, mysticism, and spiritual service and connect with the Goddesses of world cultures, including information about living lineages and traditions.

Our first year is called Woman Shaman Priestess. This is a year for you to train your heart and mind, develop your practical ritual skills, and connect more profoundly with the power you carry within. Year One includes practices that create a balanced foundation for soul work, helping you develop familiarity with personal ritual techniques, and anchoring the walk of your Priestesshood in grace and devotion. At the end of Year One, each Priestess makes formal commitments to her path and begins to develop a vision for her service.

The second year of Priestess training is called Flight of the Skydancer, and it involves conditioning the perspective of the Priestess to meet every situation with a commitment to spirit work, to build and condition the mandala of goddesses and allies she will be honoring, and to learn next-level tools and practices for the benefit of herself and others. At the end of the second year, each Priestess takes her vows and launches her public practice.