Nearly six months on and I know I’m still processing all that happened on my Priestess Pilgrimage to Egypt, but I feel the time has come to at least share some of my adventures and epic journey with you …
My interest in Ancient Egypt was sparked, or perhaps a remembering triggered, when I was just a child at primary school. I was so fascinated to learn about the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, and the weird and wonderful process of mummification! But it’s through my spiritual journey and more recently on the path of the Divine Feminine, especially working with Mary Magdalene as a Rose Priestess, that I felt a real calling to visit this sacred land.
Egypt, the Throat Chakra of the world, is steeped in magick, mystery and sacred sites, with the powerful Deities of the Egyptian pantheon holding as much relevance to us today, as they did in ancient times. When we work with these mighty energies and allow the embodiment of them, they can help us fulfil our own Soul Destiny and align us to our Truth. For over 5000 years the Isis Mystery Schools shared wisdom and knowledge, with teachings coming directly from Atlantis. And it’s believed that Mother Mary, Jesus and Mary Magdalene were students of these Ancient Egyptian mystery schools. We truly do have so much to learn!
I began sowing the seeds of my intention in January 2022, when I stuck an image of Divine Mother Isis on a Vision Board I was creating. I wasn’t exactly sure why I’d felt compelled to add her, other than knowing I wanted to further my Priestess journey, and had a deep desire to work with Isis more closely in some capacity. And since I was learning to surrender more on my Soul path, I left it at that, trusting that all would be revealed in divine and perfect timing …
Fast forward to August 2022 and an email landed in my inbox that had me sure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that this was the sign I’d been waiting for – a Magdalene-Isis Priestess Tour of Egypt! I was beyond excited, although there were only 12 spaces and an application process to go through, but to my absolute delight (and proving again the power of intention), I was accepted. I would be one of 13 Priestesses to journey to this ancient and powerful land.
My adventure began in February 2023, perfectly aligning with the New Moon in Pisces, my birth sign. I flew to Cairo and then took a connecting flight to Aswan, where I met with my fellow Priestesses. This in itself was truly magical. While I’d never met any of them before (at least not in this lifetime), I’d already felt a deep connection with them through all the energetic preparation we’d completed before we journeyed to Egypt. This, I felt sure, was a Sisterhood I’d worked with before …
Day 1 – Philae Temple, Aswan
My first experience of visiting a sacred site in Egypt will remain one of the absolute highlights of my entire pilgrimage. Philae Temple was our destination, dedicated to the Goddess Isis, which had been built on an island in the Nile and only accessible by boat. It had actually been relocated in 1971 to its present position, after rising waters (resulting from the construction of the Aswan Dam), threatened to submerge it.
Unfortunately, moving the temple has had an intense reverberation on the energetic grid of this sacred site (and of others that were moved) because, as we know, they were built very strategically to precise alignments with the stars and equinoxes etc. However, being as it was a case of either move it, or lose it, I believe it was the only course of action that could have been taken. It would have been a tragedy to lose such a beautiful temple.
As a group of Priestesses, we were lucky enough to be taken to the original site of Philae temple. All that remains there now is the floor (and another ancient temple beneath), the centre entrance way and some wall. BUT THE ENERGY REMAINS!! Along with the frequency and imprint of this incredible Goddess.
On our arrival at the site we gathered in circle, for a short but formal opening ceremony and to welcome in and honour the deities who we’d be journeying with. Nothing unusual about that. However, as soon as I closed my eyes for this ceremony I started to feel unsteady. And I mean really unsteady, like I was going to fall over.
At the same time I felt a sudden, intense remembering, like I’d returned home, and then I experienced an overwhelming flood of emotion, as though my heart had, quite literally, been cracked open. I couldn’t prevent the tears from falling and while I initially wiped them away, I knew it was important for me to surrender. And so, when the emotions washed over me again, I allowed the tears to stream down my face, all the while feeling as though I was going to fall over, the unsteadiness was so severe! I seemed to have no centre of balance at all, like I was on a boat on rough seas. In fact, it got so bad that I had to crouch down, just so that I was nearer to the ground in case I fell! I’m not sure if it was the energy of the site, a huge initiation I was receiving, or the combined energies of the twelve Sisters I was connecting with for the first time … most likely a combination of all three. What I do know is that it was super intense and I’ve not experienced anything like it before, and even afterwards my hands were visibly shaking.
Having said that, I cannot explain how incredible it was. To connect with that energy. To be there on that sacred site. And we were able to stay for a while, just allowing it to completely envelop us. I also took the opportunity to dangle my feet in the cool, crystalline waters of the Nile, before stepping into a small trough of water that had collected under the original entrance archway. Again the energy was intense, and a most incredible photo was taken of me there. It looked like I’d been crowned a High Priestess and I have to say, that’s kind of how I felt!
On leaving that site we returned to our boat and made the short trip across the water to where Philae Temple now stands. And wow, it didn’t disappoint. When I got close to the temple and saw all the statues and hieroglyphs for the first time, I felt another flood of emotions. For a while I wondered if I was going to spend my whole first day crying! But fortunately I didn’t and it wasn’t so intense there.
The temple was breathtakingly beautiful. Many temples had been destroyed during the early rise of Christianity but this one, fortunately, had remained pretty intact, thanks to an altar having been moved. Originally the altar was situated at the end of the temple in the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary where the statues of the Gods/Goddesses were kept, which was only accessible by the High Priest and Pharaoh of the time. However, at Philae there had been the obvious foresight to move it to the front of the temple and place a Christian Cross behind it, albeit at the expense of some of the hieroglyphs that had been removed from the wall. But at least the temple survived and it actually became known as one of the first churches in Egypt.
In the grounds of the main temple stands another smaller temple, dedicated to Hathor, the daughter-in-law of Isis and wife to Horus. It was customary for other family temples to be on the same site as the main one, and at Hathor’s temple at Dendera, there is a smaller temple dedicated to Isis. More on Dendera temple later …
My heart was full as I returned to my hotel and as I meditated later that evening, I attempted to process all that had happened. This was pretty near impossible! Every time I closed my eyes I saw images of Isis and other Egyptian deities, and felt as though I was being downloaded with keys and codes! Surrender was definitely the order of the day. And gratitude. After so many years, I was finally able to experience this ancient, mysterious land firsthand and I knew this journey was going to be life-changing.
To be continued …
