Elyse
Welles
Welcome to The Red Thread
The Red Thread is a 9-week journey into the sacred lineage of Inanna, Persephone, Hekate, Isis, Aphrodite, Astarte, The Morrigan, The Callieach, Durga, Mary Magdalene, Ishtar, Cybele, and others.
Times are changing. Oppression is rife. Our rights are on the line. And these Goddesses are here to support us in the fight.
If finding a way to channel your anger and helplessness into inspiration, action, and deep community building is something you've been craving, I am reaching out to you. I invite you to join me and take hold of the Red Thread of the Priestess/ex.
Together, we will walk the spirals of their stories, exploring their power as both Love and War, Creatrix and Destroyer. These goddesses call you to step boldly into your own power, to embrace your role in weaving a new era. In times of upheaval, their wisdom guides the way.
The thread is waiting. Will you follow it?
Who is this for?
Are you being called by dark goddesses? Seeing images of snakes, keys, lions, roses? Is Venus suddenly brighter in the sky whenever you look up and see her?
Are you someone who is playing small in their life but knows they're meant to do more?
Are you passionate about being a part of social change but don't know how to actually make it happen?
Are you a community leader, a business owner, a parent who knows how important it is to fill your own cup before serving others... but you still find yourself giving more than you receive?
You are being called to focus.
To dedicate yourself to the higher calling you're starting to understand.
If you're hesitant to take these next steps because it feels so BIG, this container is for you. We will join together in sisterhood and community to welcome the Dark Goddess into our lives.
This container is for anyone who is called to the Priestess/ex path, regardless of gender, age, or experience.
Even if you've worked with one of these goddesses for a long time, you will get so much out of this space where we will be diving into the connections between each of them with each other, and their sacred plants, animals, and symbology and how that can guide us today.
If you're brand new to this and not sure if you'll feel out of your depth: if you've been on this journey and a dark goddess is calling you, then you are ready!
Who are we to question the Goddess?
FAQS
I'm nonbinary, do I fit in?
YES! The Priestex path is an extension of the Priestess path in my estimation. Inanna's own priestexes were trans women. You are WELCOME regardless of gender if you identify with the priestess or priestex label.
I'm too new to call myself a priestess or priestex. Is this for me?
YES! This is the PERFECT way to formally dedicate yourself to the path you're being called to.
What is a container?
It is a sacred space containing the growth and expansion we will experience. It's a spiritual sort of bubble that surrounds us, and connects us - the women and people we will connect with in this container will be sisters and siblings after this experience. In containers, deep, long-standing connections are made. And having this element makes the power of my lessons so much stronger! It might sound like '9-week course' but it is a time warp in these containers, the growth and love we will come to have for each other is so rapid and beautiful to blossom.
If you've never experienced it, I am almost jealous because that first container feeling is so special!! I'd be honored if this was yours.
Will these lessons be recorded?
Yes! With lifetime access to the recordings and course materials.
Is there a payment plan?
Yes! With Pay Later on PayPal, you can set up your own payment plan going out up to two years.
Will I be initiated through this course?
No. Initiation is a long process, in my tradition it is a year and a day. This course is an excellent step in the direction of pursuing initiation with me, but 9 weeks is not enough time. At this time I don't offer online-only trainings that lead to initiation, but never say never.
Two calls a Week
✧ Weekly 90-min classes with other Priestess/ex students
✧ Weekly digestion calls to connect with other students outside the class
Printable Class Notes
✧ Class notes for each of the 9 weeks' lessons, printable for your magical journals
Deep Community Support
✧ A WhatsApp community where we will share our journeys and motivate each other outside of class
✧ Priestess Partnering: connection 1-1 with another student for accountability. This switches biweekly to get to know each other in this container as deeply as possible.
Expansive Growth
✧ Quantum leaps that are only possible when you step into a sacred container built on trust and authenticity
✧ A deep understanding of how dark goddesses function, who they are, how they can aid us in creating a world we want to be a part of
Long-term Support
✧ Our WhatsApp group will stay active for you after the container ends
✧ You receive lifetime access to the class folder with our recordings of each session and the class notes
✧ The connections you'll make with fellow priestess/exes is incomparable
WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU TAKE HOLD OF THE RED THREAD
Not sure if the Red Thread is for you?
Let's set up a 30-minute call to talk through your needs.
The Red Thread invites you to explore your power.
To be empowered by the connections with goddesses often branded 'dark'.
The only thing dark about these goddesses is that they aren't afraid for things to get messy. And neither are their priestesses.
A Priestess of the Red Thread is not afraid of destroying old systems. They know that destruction is how we create. And she knows that the goddess is with us when we do both.
Is this you?
Do you strive for authenticity? Honesty? Are you someone who just can't pretend something is ok when its not?
Being genuine and open is a radical move in patriarchal society. And most people aren't going to get it. But that's exactly why it's the dark goddesses who call to us: because we're not afraid to follow our truth even when its unpopular.
These goddesses understand the importance of descent into darkness: of facing the shadows that hold us back. They know that anger is a powerful tool for change, not something to be pushed down. As goddesses of love AND war, this dichotomy of love-inspired anger at oppression suddenly makes sense when we can open ourselves up to their gifts. To their presence in our lives.
These goddesses - Inanna, Isis, Mary Magdalene, Cybele, Astarte, Hekate, The Morrigan, The Callieach, and so many others - represent the way the feminine has had to evolve to thrive over millennia of gradual patriarchal control. In this container, we will trace the Red Thread of their history to uncover the lessons in each of their myths and connections to each other. We will look at the dichotomy of the Dark Goddess as its seen in sisters like Inanna and Ereshkigal, Persephone and Hekate, Aphrodite and Athena, and more.
We who step onto the path as priestess/ex of these goddesses will be forever changed.
You will have the confidence, after our 9 weeks together, to follow your intuition even down the craziest of journeys. You will build so much trust in yourself as you build trust in the dark goddess who guides you.
You'll expand your capacity to hold space for others.
You'll experience the highest frequencies of vibration that are possible when we come together in a sacred container with powerful women who are being called by the same goddesses and lessons.
And most of all, this is just a beginning.
The ways the red thread will ripple into your life from here will be unfathomable at this moment, before it even begins. But I promise you: you will experience quantum leaps with goddesses like Isis and Inanna guiding you. Durga's fire. Hekate's keys. The dove of Aphrodite. The Drum of Cybele. And so much more will be revealed in these 9 weeks.
Don't ignore this call if it is beating at your back, like the cosmic sound of the frame drum. It is time to take hold of the Red Thread.
WE BEGIN JANUARY 8, 2025 at 7pm
Early bird ends January 3rd.
Meet your facilitator, Elyse Welles
Hi, I'm Elyse Welles.
I've been a High Priestess of Inanna for 10 years. I'm initiated in the eclectic Faery Tradition of witchcraft, and I have an MA in spiritual studies. Since moving to Greece in 2021, where my father's family is from, I've been on a journey of understanding who Inanna became in the 5,000 years since her civilization fell.
And She led me to understand that she became Aphrodite. I've had powerful initiations with Aphrodite since then, and the Red Thread continued to guide me to deeper understandings of more and more goddesses who were in this lineage over the years.
This container is a culmination (and continuation) of a decade of deep study and connection that, until now, I've never shared.
