Why I am…an Urban Priestess

I’ve been in engaged in an on-going dialogue with the invisible world and the Divine since childhood. Direct revelation has been my calling from early on.

With few choices to pursue in early adulthood for women: convent sister, nun or perhaps after much hardship…possible sainthood, I concluded there must be another path. After much research and an initiation into a path of service…the urban priestess was born.

The definition of a mystic is someone who wants to engage in direct conversation with God. I maintain a conversation with God as I live, survive and thrive in this modern world full of both high tech and basic demands. As a modern day priestess, I serve wherever I am.

Without a temple, convent or monastery…I’ve learned to have spiritual practices that support my mind, body and spirit through the most trying of times. I’ve learned to give gratitude thru art, singing, dancing and giving to others. I’ve learned to pour my love and Soul into everything I do. I feel honored to sit in circle and facilitate sacred community.

I realized that I had intense intuition as a child and teen and cultivated it secretly for a long time. Then I felt a calling to gather women and have done that since 1999. Men started joining us in 2010.

People have asked me, “What is an urban priestess?”

It doesn’t matter if she has always been in touch with her divine sacredness or if she’s had a recent breakthrough…the fact is…she is AWAKE.

Now, I didn’t say perfect. Or enlightened beyond everyday existence. She is awake and awakening more deeply each day.  She understands that life is a journey and that we all have our own way. She knows that healing and releasing “stories” and worn-out beliefs is imperative so that she may feel free and live the life she was born to live.

The urban priestess has broken free or is in the process of releasing the old spiritual cannons (sometimes subconscious) of celibacy, poverty, martyrdom and sacrifice. I’ve had quite struggle in my own life leaving behind those unconscious beliefs about sacrifice and service.

An urban priestess KNOWS that the more she THRIVES…the more she can create, dance, write, mother and love the WORLD.

One thing is clear to me about urban priestesses…we do it OUR WAY. Respectful of the old ways and well-read in world religions we gather knowledge and apply it to our everyday lives.

We honor our wisdom, we honor our bodies that speak to us in a myriad of ways…We know that there are no coincidences.

The definitive thing about an urban priestess is that…She embodies the Divine Feminine in all her guises and beauty. She knows her worth and value. Knows in her bones that sensuality and spirituality are not in opposition of Spirit, rather in sacred service of the Divine. In doing so she acknowledges her body’s deep wisdom and heals the centuries old rift between the flesh and the Spirit.

An urban priestess understands that she stands on the shoulders of the women that came before her and the women that came before Her…we are linked thru blood, spirit and subconscious patterns and stories to all the Mothers.

We are here to heal “the sister divide” and to release our mothers, grandmothers and ancestors by living more FULLY and FREELY than they ever had the chance to be. We honor our Ancestors, Ashe!

The Urban priestess seeks to liberate herself from the patterns of the past to live fully in the present. Her deepest desire is to integrate her spiritual longing to evolve her passionate desire to change the world. Her daily mantra is to align her mind, body and spirit with her deepest spiritual calling.

Vanessa Codorniu, CHt, RMT, guides change-making people to connect to the deep wisdom of their intuition so they can tap into their internal power and create the lives they were born to live. Vanessa has co-facilitated the NYC’s bilingual SOL Circle since 1999, is the founder of the Urban Priestess Mastery, a faculty member at REVEAL and a Leadership Empowerment facilitator for the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute. She is also a writer for The Examiner Alternative Spirituality section.