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The land is not a backdrop. It is a relationship and once you start treating it that way, your whole spiritual life changes.
We’re joined by Elyse Welles, best-selling author of Sacred Wild and a modern Greek priestess devoted to reviving earth temple arts of the Mediterranean. We talk about how her childhood split between Greece and rural Pennsylvania made land-connection feel normal, not mystical, and why that matters for anyone trying to heal from rigid dogma or spiritual disconnection. From Artemis and sacred springs to a tree you can cry against, we explore what it means to be shaped by place instead of trying to force spirituality into a single “right” framework.
From there, we dig into Elyse’s idea of spiritual archaeology: going to a place you feel called to and “excavating” through ritual, trance, sound, and active listening before you ever reach for research. We also address a question we hear constantly: can you connect to the land if you’re not Indigenous to it? Elyse breaks down the difference between respectful relationship and borrowed customs, and she shares simple practices anyone can start today, even if you live in an apartment and your sacred space is a nearby park or a small patch of green.
We also get into the songs of the land, frame drum work, and why some melodies belong to one river, one hillside, one season. Elyse shares what her immersive pilgrimages in Greece actually look like, why she keeps groups small, and how dream oracle work and sacred waters change the way you move through the world.
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Bio: Elyse Welles is a bestselling author with Llewellyn Books for “Sacred Wild: An Invitation to Connect to Spirits of the Land”. A native Greek Priestess reviving the lost earth temple arts of the Mediterranean in her work with land spirits and the frame drum, she is also an initiated High Priestess in the eclectic Faery Tradition of witchcraft. She holds an MA in spiritual studies, and teaches online containers and guides immersive pilgrimages to Greece's sacred places in and around Delphi and Eleusis. She hosts two podcasts, including the top 20 show, The Magick Kitchen. Learn more at elysewelles.com and follow her at @seekingnumina on Instagram and Facebook.
Learn more at elysewelles.com and follow her at @seekingnumina on Instagram and Facebook. Also, Samhainfest.com
And my retreats for 2027 in Greece are now open for booking, learn more at elysewelles.com/
My next online container begins in November as well, I will have more info by time of recording but that will also be on the website and my socials links when it is closer.
#SacredLand #EarthBasedSpirituality #Animism #GreekPaganism #NatureSpirituality
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