What does it mean to be a Death Priestess, as a Priestess of Avalon?
Being a Priestess of Avalon isn’t just about the bliss of sisterhood and golden love vibes…
Avalon is the isle of the dead, and any Avalon priestess knows that.
In Avalon we want to lean into the transcendent love of the goddess and rest in the blissful Sisterhood of Priestesses. We want to walk the gardens of light and to surrender into the flow of the goddess.
But that’s the ideal destination, just as being “like Jesus” is the end goal for Jesus folks – the actual spiritual journey is about clearing away all the junk that stops us receiving that bliss, and we can’t bypass it… and usually there is a LOT OF JUNK to sort through.
A spiritual journey is always about facing your shadow, the hidden part of yourself that you hold in your blind spot and yet controls your actions and reactions. It’s all the things you don’t know about yourself… and usually they are challenging things you’d rather not deal with.
Luckily, Avalon has always been a place (or an energy, or an archetype… whatever you make of it) that holds a great mirror up to the shadow. It has always been a gateway to the underworld, to the unseen, the world of faerie, of illusion, of death and grief.
As an Avalon priestess, you are going to be holding space for people to come to terms with their own underworld journey.
So much of spirituality seems to peddle this idea that life is supposed to be perfect and happy and unicorns and rainbows, and if it’s not then you are not spiritual enough.
We both know that’s bullshit.
So does Avalon.
Life is what life is – sometimes it’s beautiful, sometimes it’s harrowing, just like everything else in nature. It’s an eternal descent and ascent out of the darkness and into the light.
The greatest spiritual transformation comes through those challenging moments in life. You know this.
And an Avalon priestess knows how to navigate the paths in and out of the darkness.
They understand shame, fear and sorrow – they’ve been there, alchemised it (or at least survived it), and know the way out.
They have an intimate connection with the hidden parts of themselves – the shameful, unwanted and unpleasant parts of who they are that most normal people avoid like the plague.
Which makes them the perfect person to hold others through their own underworld journeys, because our Underworld Priestesses of Avalon have only love and acceptance for the deepest shames and fears of those who come to them.
This is such an important part of priestessing – being able to sit in the shit and transmute it – and such a vital part of what it means to be a Priestess of Avalon.
So in my Priestess of Avalon training, one of the certifications you will receive (if you do the work for it) is that of a Death Priestess, one who knows how to midwife endings, hold the dying, and create space for grief, pain and loss to be honoured and felt.
Makes sense that priestesses devoted to the Holy Isle of Death would end up being at least part Death Priestess.
If this calls to you, discover the Priestess of Avalon year training here.