Priestess Pathway Practicalities #3

Find your Devotion

There are many priestess lineages across the world. Some ancient, some recent. Most honour the goddess (or one specific form of her). The one thing that is important is to find your own devotional calling. And it might be surprising you!

The first literature we have account of was written by a priestess a little over 4000 years ago. “Songs of Devotion” by Enheduanna (l. 2285-2250 BCE) are poetry in honour of Inanna, Mesopotamian goddess of love, war and procreation. But Enheduanna was not set out to be a devotee of Inanna from the start. She was high priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur - that is until she got captured and Nanna didn’t answer her prayers. She turned to the goddess of whom she feared was too chaotic, too powerful, too unpredicatble - and Inanna answered.

“She ... changes her own action, and no one knows how it will occur.
She makes perfect the great divine powers, she holds a shepherd's crook, and she is their magnificent pre-eminent one.
She is a huge shackle clamping down upon the gods of the Land.
Her great awesomeness covers the great mountain and levels the roads.”

There is no set rule by which your devotion is determined and that suggest who you serve. Some turn to their blood ancestors, others to spiritual guides. I turn to dreams.

Disc of Enheduanna, found at the gipar (residence of the high priestess of Nanna) at Ur (Iraq). Alabaster, Akkadian period, c.2300 BC. Size: 25.6 x 7cm. (Image: Courtesy of the Penn Museum)

Because truly the goddess chooses us - not the other way round. When we ask ourselves honestly and intentionally about who we are honouring and take the time to listen, the answer will come and if you are visited by goddess in a dream than you know there can’t be no doubt. During daytime we might rationally choose or pick according to our current fancy but when we dream of a certain deity, a spirit, goddess or devotional path it is a contract for life.

I had a dream long ago, when I was not yet accustomed to the possibility of the Priestess Pathway but seeking for truth and in a desperate time of my life. It was so strikingly different than all my other dreams that I immediately sketched it as soon as I awoke. It didn’t make sense to me until years later when my bare feet touched British soil and I walked into the landscape of my dream. A birch tree forest on an island to which I swam. Nine women dancing, dressed in white. I hiked in the Peak District as I saw the birch trees appear and with excitement and butterflies in my stomach I ran around the corner to find the Nine Maiden Stone Circle. The lore goes that Nine Witches danced on Sabbat eve and got transformed into stones. Now, even the walk to this place was a truly devotional act as I had a fractured foot and was only able to walk barefoot on muddy, soft earth with a crutch to hold me.

The connection to Avalon became obvious shortly after, the lake or sea surrounding the island in my dreams and the sisterhood of priestesses that live on said island. I have since stumbled over a book with a written vision journey that could have been made from a template of my dream but is decades older. I have learned about the Ninefold and the various wise women collectives we find across so many cultures spanning from Greece to Scotland. Most related to lands of my ancestry or in the case of Great Britain, my chosen homelands.

Before I made this connection of my dream and my spiritual lineage, I consciously devoted to the Lady of Avalon as her energy, her symbols, her story spoke to me. It didn’t take long to discover that the Lady has many faces and that there are even theories of Nine Ladies of the Lake. Be this true or not, I know my dream had me dedicate to serve the Ninefold, which includes the Maidens of the Wells and the Faery Accord (learn about it here) and it all ties together.

Me pregnant with Fynn River dancing with the birch trees in Scotland, May 2022

You might not know which path is yours but be assured you are on it already and it will fall into place if you allow for time and synchronicity to guide you.

Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of Inanna, Isis, Hathor, Aphrodite, Artemis, Hekate… Egyptian, Greek, Celtic Goddesses… There are many flavours, many pathways, many traditions, cultures and teachings. Some will resonate and others fascinate.

If you don’t know who you are serving, it is helpful to ask yourself what you are devoted to. For this you don’t need to know any spiritual practice, any philosophy or research. Just look at your life from a bird’s eye view and find your core values, principles and morals you live by (they may change over time, so it is wise to revisit those questions).

What did you come here to embody, to teach, to serve, to heal?

This will help you to discern the Priestess Pathway you are walking on. Often many lineages have similar foundations or themes but different ways of approaching life, death and relationships. It’s almost as if they have different colours and smells, like a botanical garden with a variety of plants. You being drawn to specific parts of the world also give clues, as mythology is always interconnected with the land and if you connect with certain ecological surroundings it is wise to learn about their folklore and stories.

Me two weeks ago at the Chalice Well Gardens in Glastonbury, our current home base

I have always been drawn to the Celtic Isles and knowing that my ancestors were making their way from my birthplace in South Germany towards the islands I birthed my son on makes me wonder if I followed their journey in this lifetime. I’ve never been drawn to find myself in India or tropical jungles, I longed for fresh water springs, mossy oak groves and birch trees next to heather fields. I also feel at home under fig trees and crystal clear waterfalls of the Mediterranean or the pure elemental forces and elvish sounding inhabitants of Iceland. I get goosebumps when someone sings in Gaelic language and have an ever growing library of Arthurian literature and Avalonian tradition. In fact I have even studied those in university unknowing the spiritual depth of the Grail Mysteries which I dove into years after graduating.

What are your passions, your longings, your ways to fill up your cup?
They often inform and even make up the way of your devotion.

In the next essay I will talk about what it means to be a Priestess of Avalon and how to connect with this lineage.

I would love to hear your dreams, connections and devotions!

For now, I would like to invite you to my upcoming workshop the Grail of Avalon in which you will learn the true origin of the Holy Grail, its meaning from Goddess tradition to Christianity and how to find your Grail for your own spiritual practice. It is on Thursday, October 17th at 3pm UK time, recording will be available.

For the German Priestesses:

Mein Retreat IM HERZEN VON AVALON findet Ende diesen Monats in Glastonbury statt, es gibt günstige Flüge nach Basel, von wo aus ich euch abholen werden. Ich freue mich auf diese magische Zeit der Schwesternschaft, Herzverbundenheit und Innerer Alchemie zu der transformativsten Zeit des Jahres!

Mehr zum Ablauf gibt es hier: https://lauradurban.com/avalon-retreat/