What Is the Priestess Archetype

There are five female archetypes I want to be bringing in. There are many more, and these five are really alive for me right now. This is a little bit of a dip your toes in, an opening of curiosity within you to what these archetypes represent and what it might look like to start playing with them.

For me, the archetype of the priestess is not the one who knows everything. She is this very angelic, light, clear, grounded, powerful and very subtle expression of the feminine.

We would look at her as the embodiment of wisdom and intellect and intuition and knowing, but the priestess archetype actually is not the one who knows everything.

The priestess archetype is the woman who trusts what she knows.

Regardless, she is not looking for the world or anyone outside of her to confirm. She trusts fully what she knows and she believes what she knows.

And when there is something she does not yet feel like she has the grasp on, she sits in the space of stillness, of quiet, of inner light to get her own clarity on the thing, to remember what she does already know.

Now the priestess archetype is our inner authority archetype.

The priestess archetype governs our discernment.

Welcoming the Priestess Within

If you can have a seat, find a little bit of stillness in your body.

Take a few breaths to arrive here.

And if it feels right, maybe closing the eyes down.

Let yourself imagine a cylinder of light that encases your body.

You have this beautiful energetic cylinder wrapping around your body, standing long and tall.

Inside of this cylinder, all you can see, all you can sense is this pearlescent crystalline light, this frequency, this energy.

You can sense that there is this protective energy of light around you. At the same time, it feels as if this crystalline pearlescent light just goes on and on forever.

There is a sense of almost a chill in the air in this light. Not a chill that makes you cold in your body, but so clear that it almost feels cold.

It is this crystal clear air, light, vibration.

And it is in this beautiful space that we can meet this inner authority, this archetype that lives in the stillness of our body deep in ourselves.

The priestess archetype.

Discernment and Inner Authority

This part of you holds so tenderly and yet so fiercely your discernment. Your ability to see clearly through all of the densities, all of the darknesses, what is true and what is not true only in relationship to what is right for you.

The priestess archetype knows that your truth is not the same as someone else's truth. Their truth is perfect and correct for them.

With that clear relationship to her discernment, she knows instantaneously what is correct for her and what is not correct for her.

Because of that, she is able to notice a misalignment right away.

For priestess, it is a knowing. Often it is a sensation in the body.

Because she lives in this space of such crystal clear energy, she is able to sense that in an instant.

This is partly because she values the pause as sacred.

She values the moments in between reaction, response or answer.

The priestess archetype holds so tenderly to her heart those moments of connection, of tuning into her own discernment, tuning into her own inner authority.

It is the pause before the response.

Devotion to Truth, Even in Discomfort

This inner authority, this wisdom, this discernment, this ability to sense misalignment does not come without discomfort.

But she is so deeply devoted to her truth that she is willing to sit in moments of discomfort.

She is willing to sit in the spaces of uncertainty and get clear.

Even if it puts someone else in a space of discomfort, she knows that that is their journey.

Her journey is to stay close to her truth.

She does not waver to comfort someone else.

She is deeply devoted to her inner authority and her inner truth.

The Priestess and the Wild Woman

We spoke previously about the wild woman.

The wild woman may break some rules. She may step on a few painted lines. She might color outside of them.

The priestess asks whether that rule or boundary was ever actually sacred and correct to begin with.

She honors that which is sacred and correct and true.

Why the Priestess Is Often Overlooked

The priestess archetype is often misunderstood because she can come across very gentle and quiet.

She moves and exists in the subtle spaces.

She is quiet.

And in a modern day world filled with stimulation, screens, technology, hustle, cities, work and constant movement, the subtlety of the priestess often gets overlooked.

But when we tap in and practice the embodiment of that clear, wise priestess archetype, she is highly awake.

She is highly alive.

She carries more energy than one could ever imagine.

Women have very naturally disconnected from our inner priestess archetype.

Signs You Are Disconnected From Your Priestess

This disconnection can show up in many ways.

Over explaining instead of simply trusting your words.

Seeking validation.

Seeking reassurance.

Seeking permission before making a decision.

These are ways in which we have pulled away from that deep, ancient priestess energy of fully trusting ourselves.

We ignore the subtle body.

We ignore the messages our body gives us.

We ignore our instincts.

We ignore our knowing.

We ignore our wisdom.

Not because we do not have it, but because we have not been taught to recognize it.

We do not lack intuition.

You are not without instinct.

You are not without wisdom.

You have simply overridden it to the point where you no longer recognize the inner voice.

You no longer recognize the inner wisdom.

You no longer recognize the priestess energy that lives in your body.

Regulated and Dysregulated Priestess Energy

When we are in a dysregulated priestess state, we may experience:

Hypervigilance
Spiritual superiority
Detachment from the body
Living only in the head
Using silence as protection
Waiting instead of taking action

These are signs of fragmentation.

A regulated priestess, on the other hand, is clear.

Clear in her mind.
Clear in her language.
Clear in her heart.
Clear in her actions.

She is present.

Even in the middle of a busy city, she is fully here.

She listens deeply.

She speaks her truth with clarity.

She knows when silence is in service.

She knows when her voice is in service.

Her discernment guides her.

Wisdom Lives in the Body

There is a difference between information and wisdom.

There is a difference between learning and remembering.

Knowledge lives in the head.

Wisdom lives in the body.

The priestess lives in the body.

She is wisdom.

She is waiting beneath the noise.

She is waiting for you to stop negotiating.

She is waiting for you to stop seeking answers outside of yourself.

She is waiting for you to sit in silence.

She is waiting for you to listen.

She is waiting for you to remember.

A Priestess Practice

Find a space in your home.

It could be a chair.
It could be a cushion.
It could be something that feels beautiful and special.

Let it be your priestess seat.

When you sit there, nothing else happens.

You are not on your phone.
You are not reading.
You are not multitasking.

You are simply sitting.

If it feels good, light a candle.

Place one hand on your heart.

Place one hand low on your womb.

Take five to seven slow, gentle breaths.

Then ask yourself one question:

What is true beneath the noise?

And then wait.

Do not rush the answer.

Do not let it come from your head.

Sit and listen.

Stay longer than feels comfortable.

Write the very first thing that comes to you.

Trust the first response.

That is the truth.

Coming Home to Yourself

Much of our struggle and suffering comes from living fragmented lives.

We are disconnected from nature.

We are disconnected from our bodies.

We are disconnected from ancient ways of being.

What we need most is often what we resist.

If sitting in stillness feels uncomfortable, it may be exactly what you need.

The priestess archetype is calling you home.

There is so much wisdom inside of your body.

But you must give yourself space, time and patience to return to it.

She has been waiting for you.

And she is ready to remind you who you are.