By Nadirah Adeye
On more than one occasion, I have had people (who know and love me but do not identify as priestesses) ask me, “But what is it that you do?” I have tried to explain, “Well, I’m legally ordained. I can marry people, I provide spiritual counseling, I support women in transformative birthing, I help people reconnect with their divine spark and illuminate the path to a better life for themselves.” And while of these responses are true, I would say they are most accurately a list of the services I can or do provide. It does not speak to the heart of what I and my fellow priests and priestesses do.
That is a more complex answer. I see the path of the priestess as similar to the work of Bruce Lee. Lee studied and trained deeply into a particular martial arts style (called wing chun) but then expanded outward into different styles and forms (including weight training and other formats unrelated to traditional martial arts techniques.) Eventually, he reached a degree of mastery where he was able to call on what was needed in the moment to be the most effective response to what an opponent did. He called his evolution “the style of no style.” I call it “doing what works.” As spiritual walkers, teachers, guides on the path, I believe we are called on to do the things that work to keep us clear, centered, grounded and growing so that we can be as effective as possible when serving our communities and clients. I recently graduated from the Sacred Courtesan training with Francesca Gentille, of the Integrative Arts Institute, and was deeply inspired by her statement that as spiritual workers and guides in our communities, we are working to bring heart, mind, body, spirit and Eros into alignment and harmony both in ourselves and in others.
