School of the Zerynthian Mysteries
The School of the Zerynthian Mysteries includes three cycles. Each Cycle has a title that to denotes what level within the Mysteries those Sisters participate at. No stage is better than any other in any hierarchical sense. All Sisters have equal voice in the day-to-day functioning of the tradition. The stages are levels of participation and responsibility only. The only other distinction is that of Mystes (Greek for Initiate), which is given to those who have experienced the annual Rite of the Zerynthian Mysteries, which are held each August, either as a Priestess or as a Devotee. Also, completion of all stages of the Mystery School training leads to legal ordination.
Cycle One: Novices
First cycle is really about the basics. It's learning to trust your intuition. It's jail breaking your mind and spirit from the colonization of patriarchy, so that you start to value yourself and other women. It's learning some herstory so you have context for what you're doing. It's experiencing yourself as a sacred being. It's studying the nature of language and communication so you know why words matter and why spells work the way they do - so you can create your own magic.
Then it's learning about Goddesses. When I first started all this some of the women in the original group knew the names of zero Goddesses. They just thought of Goddess as some vague Divine figure. There's no connection in that. And then it's spell crafting and ritual work. Once you have the foundations in place to give it meaning and power then you create real magic.
Becoming a Priestess isn't just learning how to make incense or do a witch bottle. It's not just singing cool chants you found on Spotify.
You can do all that and never find the power in yourself and never find Connection to the Goddess. And hence never be an actual functioning Priestess.
Cycle Two: Arktoi
Cycle 2 is becoming a leader and knowing your own voice so you are confident in yourself. It's also growing from a Priestess who can do the work to a Communicant of the Mysteries.
So there's another session of foundation work. Hard core decolonizing part 2. Learning to understand the underpinnings of Paradigm. During this time you're also asked to craft ritual and lead in circle.
Then the fun begins: learning trance working and Astral walking. How to shift your consciousness from one world to another while staying anchored in a healthy way. And differentiation starts depending on what part of the Mysteries draws you most. You'll learn more Herstory, this time specific to the calling you feel. A lot of digging around in old source materials as you explore Circe, Medea, Ariadne, Cassandra, or Atalanta.
You'll also do independent research on Hekate and other deities with Mystery connections.
You'll actively participate in the Mysteries by being a Priestess in one of the Roles.
You'll do crafting of magical items. You'll have to visualize new paradigms . You will have to take on a leadership role in the Sisterhood or start a local Circle where you live.
Depending on which path you follow, you may create and teach a course. If not, that comes in Cycle 3 for everyone.
And you'll continue spell work and other kinds of magic.
Cycle Three: Heireiai
Cycle 3 is the making of fully committed Priestesses of the Rites.
To know your Path in the Mysteries like you know how to breathe.
Creating guided meditations, rituals, and lots of spells. You learn Theurgy in depth. You'll develop a solid connection with the epithets of Hekate that speak to you. And you'll get to deepen and refine the Mysteries.
The Rites aren't set in stone. They evolve with the women who Carry the spirit of the goddess within them.
You'll definitely create courses and teach them. You pick the subjects which means learning them in-depth to the point where you can break down a topic and share it with other women. You'll also take on a novice student to teach one on one.
And you'll go on a Vision Quest.
Mentor Sisters
Mentor Sisters have completed all three Cycles of the pathworking and can lead Full Moon celebrations, celebrate the central Rites of the Mysteries, help craft the Mysteries through communion with various Goddesses, and are responsible for training all Sisters who wish to study for initiation. They can hive off new Covens of the Mystai either online or in their local area and train up Sisters to continue the lineage.
As far as the training work goes, each Mentor Sister can have up to five Novices, three Arktoi, and one Heireia to train at any given time. The difference is due to the much more involved process as the training goes deeper. Each Mentor Sister gives a lot of herself to the Mystai tradition through continuing refining of the pathworking, the one-on-one communications she makes time for with each Sister she is training, her time working with various Goddesses to build the Rites, and her own personal practice. That's why the Mentor Sisters take time to speak in-depth with any Sister who wishes to become a Mentor Sister, to make sure she is truly ready for that commitment. Being a Mentor Sister is a labor of love for those who go to this phase of the Path. We welcome all Sisters who wish to join us in our work.
