REFLECTIONS: WHAT MAKES A PRIESTESS?

Sometimes a Priestess finds herself in welcome company, and at other times she is the outcast, the ridiculed, the exiled, the heretic. Some people find the idea of a ‘Priestess’, ‘Goddess’ and the ‘Divine Feminine’ off-putting. Some minds open, and others close when they encounter these terms and the energies they represent.

Priestessing is an unusual vocation by today’s standards, and not everyone is going to get it or respect it, or need to. It’s not an easy road. It’s not particularly glamorous. It just is what it is.

God/dess knows it’s good to realize you’re not alone in the Journey. That there are others who feel just as you do. Who share the same faith, the same fears and who just ‘get it’.

Other priestesses have begun to reach out to me in response to my article called ‘Priestess is a Verb, Not a Title’ ( http://wp.me/p4OUNS-4c ). It moves me to see the time and effort that they have taken to write to me and narrate (in part) stories of their journeys. It is a good energy of ‘coming together’, of reunion in many ways – and it is what prompted this exercise of reflection you now read.

There are more of us than we realize, walking on kindred paths and paving a way forward for spiritual women to be seen as what they are, once more.

But what does all of this entail?

In other words – What makes a Priestess?

Walking on this path requires you on the one hand to completely commit yourself to something you consider sacred. On the other hand, you are constantly called to check-in with yourself, with that deep connection to Source/Spirit that moves you, with your development and how attached you are to a certain idea of Truth, a path, a practice, and so on.

On the one hand we act with utter faith, and on the other, we constantly feel into it deeper – allowing it to change, evolve and transform if need be.

At the very least, that is what I am called to do – and it keeps me from falling into stagnation and complacency – which is very different from a state of receptive stillness.

It makes the experience of Being a Priestess a very conscious one. Part of you is constantly attuned to this state of devotion and reflection on that path of devotion. It’s not a switch you can turn on or off, not a vocation that obeys the 9-5 schedule and has the weekends off. It’s 24/7.

The ‘reward’ (if you can call it that) you get by being a Priestess can’t really be measured in material terms. If the goal was to earn money, gain prestige and status, make friends, get your ego stroked / validated, etc. there are a lot of other, easier options that would give you that kind of ‘job satisfaction’.

Moreover, there are energetic and karmic consequences for Priestesses (and Spiritual Facilitators in general) who use their role primarily to fulfill their ego’s desires. That applies to us all, but more so for those who speak the language of Spirit.

Perhaps the real reward you get is the simple recognition that you are in fact, Honoring Yourself. A recognition, an acknowledgement that comes from within.

You express and embody that Sacred Truth that resonates with your Soul. And in so doing, you Honor the Divinity within you – which You are.

Perhaps you do that in a public role, perhaps it’s private – for your eyes only … either way – you’re just being you – that is a gift in itself.

Bear in mind that this is my take on The Path. Your understanding may be different, and that is perfectly fine. Stick to what resonates. Whilst I speak of Priestesses, know that I speak of an energetic archetype, not limited to a single gender.

Blessings as always,

Priestess Bairavee Balasubramaniam PhD
www.bairaveebalasubramaniam.com

Image Information: Statue of the princess – priestess Takushit (4334574410).jpg – By Tilemahos Efthimiadis from Athens, Greece [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons