Priestess School

A Sacred Leadership Apprenticeship
for the Spiritual Fringe

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

—Alice Walker

Do you have a calling to sacred leadership–but don’t quite fit inside traditional religious or spiritual structures?

Have you had that quiet inner knowing…that “yes–maybe–I’m a priestess…”?

Or maybe you’re not sure about leadership…but you crave more connection to your sacred source?

If so, you are in the right place.

Priestess, Priest, Priestrix (n): a spiritual leader of any gender answering the call of leadership on the spiritual fringe

"Priestrix School helped me step into my leadership, not in the traditional sense of leading a group, circle, church, whatever, but in an embodied sense of knowing and trusting myself and the Divine within me with a renewed confidence in the ways that I live in alignment in my day-to-day."

-Jenn L, Priestess School Participant

BUT…despite all the signs, chances are you also feel uncertain and on your own, with some healthy doses of imposter syndrome and fear of abusing power. You’ve probably been holding back, wondering…

…Who am I to be a spiritual leader?

…How do I hold spiritual authority with integrity and authenticity?

…Who else can I walk with on this pathless path on the fringe…???

Priestess School was designed just for you to take brave steps on Your Unique Priestess Path (without burning out, going at it alone, or recreating the thing you’re attempting to leave behind)

Go from Powerless to Priestess in this 10-month apprenticeship with Kate Fontana, M.Div, christian-pagan priestess and mentor for the spiritual fringe.

Is Priestess School for you? Let's chat.

"Kate provides such a gentle and open space to bring your wisdom and leadership in a way that teaches, by example, what co-weaving with other leaders truly means."

- Nathali Arostegui, Priestess School Guest Teacher

"I appreciate the ways in which you gently challenge me but also relate non-hierarchically. It reinforces that I don't need to look to any leader for answers, but rather to myself and to Spirit, while I can also learn from your and others' wisdom.

-Jenn L, Priestess School Participant

"Kate held The Priestess School container in an ethical, nurturing, and powerful way. I felt both a sense of safety and the invitation to be challenged at the same time."

Mara Eaton, Priestess School Participant

Is this you?

The word “priestess” scares you or makes you cringe…but also (secretly) lights you up
You’re called to spiritual leadership…but you’re terrified of abusing power the way you’ve seen it abused.
You are a “recovering Christian,” spiritual-but-not-religious, or just never quite at home in mainstream religions
You’ve had a long healing journey…but you’re no longer in ‘survival’ mode and are ready to start giving back
You have a rich and eclectic spiritual life, and long to support others on theirs
You want guidance and companionship to refine your spiritual leadership skills with integrity
You light up with the Feminine Divine, earth rhythms, mystical encounters, heretics, animists and the monastics of old…and want to be a part of the Sacred Feminine emergence
You are deeply attuned to and concerned with the many crises our world faces–as an activist, an educator, or a care-provider–and long to nurture culture and communities of resistance, resilience, collective liberation and joy…without being paralyzed, overwhelmed or burning out.

If so, this mentorship is designed for you to expand your toolkit of personal and communal practice, resilience, vision and authentic voice of leadership.

Through skills of deep listening and good-enough relating to body, land, ancestry, community and the wider web of life, you will be supported in stepping into your Priestess calling however that looks like for you.

In Priestess School, you will be supported towards:

Soul nourishment through personal and communal practice
Rich connection to body, earth, ancestry and community
A sense of home in yourself and in the web of life.
Honing your skills as a space-holder in diverse contexts
Navigating fears, doubts, triggers and insecurities
Attuning to your cultural and spiritual lineages to connect to support as well as address wounds
Syncing with the creative forces of the cosmos, such as the Seasons, Sacred Eros and Mother Death
Flowing with the highs and lows of your Priestess path (without taking anything too personally!)
Taking meaningful steps on your unique path, with the support and feedback of mentors and peers

Intrigued? Talk with me.

Here's What You'll Get in Priestess School

Authentic Self-Expression

Where all parts of you have a place: body, spirit, grief, rage, joy, longing, sexuality, shadow, desires, blindspots, and power.

Clarity for the ‘next right steps’

To be ‘in a good way’ with what is yours to do…even when your path is unclear or has never been walked before

A sense of kinship to the web of life

Even when you don’t “fit” in many current religious, spiritual, or cultural containers

Ease, and peace of mind

In being of service right where you are…amidst the many tensions of being in the ‘edge’ spaces of culture and the collapse of modernity.

Confidence and skill

co-stewarding land-based, light-hearted, liberatory circles and celebrations for collective lament, joy, and endurance through these uncertain times

Intuitive and innovative skills

For harmonious relating to our complex world, through culturally-respectful practices of resilience and connection…beyond the shelter of traditional norms and structures

Mentorship and Peer Community

Where we practice towards support, trust, sustainable risk, feedback, co-creativity, generative conflict and resource sharing among our ecosystems

A sense-making framework, language and practices

That are deep, non-bypassing, accessible, and easy to synthesize and translate to and by your own body-ecology and context

What's Included:

This is a virtual offering, taking place online via zoom.
9 monthly live Modules
9 monthly live integration circles
1 weekend live immersive retreat (virtual)
Monthly 1:1 mentoring sessions with Guest Priestess Faculty (optional)
Monthly ‘dreamwork’ (homework): written, solo and partner practice, and creative assignments (You are strongly encouraged to complete these - this is a co-created experience and your active engagement is essential!)
A ‘Resilience ToolKit’ of practices and skills that we will assemble together.
A library of recordings of all session (you are strongly encouraged to attend live, or to watch the video of any calls that you miss)
A private lightly curated FB group for community building, resource sharing and deepening conversation

WHAT I EXPECT/AM ASKING OF YOU:

TIME, ENERGY, and ENGAGEMENT: Be as committed and engaged as you can: show up live for class as much as possible, participate actively in class, do the dreamwork, engage practices outside of class, and communicate any needs or accommodations that would support this to happen
HONEST FEEDBACK: Feedback will be invited throughout the year and a part of our skill-building. All participants will be asked to complete an exit interview and a feedback survey.
CONSENT TO BE RECORDED: some of the content I intend to re-use in future iterations of Priestess School as well as promotional material (primarily teaching portions and guided practices). You can request to pause the recording at any time. If this feels to be a strong deterrent to your ability to participate fully, let’s just talk.

Your enrollment in Priestess School acts as your consent to these agreements.

What makes Priestess School so Different?

Google “Priestess School” and you’ll get a whole lot of woo. I’m not opposed to the woo! (I’m a psychic, yall.) But I also believe in being firmly grounded on the earth and responsible to the contexts of our real lives. At this Priestess School, we love the ‘love and light’ AND aren’t afraid of the dark and dirty. We practice being real and welcoming the mess of life in all its expressions.
This isn’t a “guru”-guided journey (not by a long shot lol). I don’t have all the answers. I have mentors and peers who keep me in relationship. I have bad days and seasons of life where I don’t know WTF I’m doing. I’ll be on my own path, and with you every step of the way.
This isn't a magic bullet or weekend "transformational" intensive. This is a spiritual slow-cooker. It takes time to build the web of relationships within which deep, lasting change can occur.
This is not a solo journey. Environment is stronger than will power. This is why we create a rhythmic cultural container to support and hold us as we dream and design together for our unique contexts.
I teach through the examples of my own spiritual heritages, but Priestess School doesn't promote any particular religion or spiritual expression. At Priestess School, folks of any or no religious or spiritual lineage are welcome. We value contextual practice towards a diversified harmony over uniformity of belief or ideology.
It's not tons of pre-recorded content, with you left to your own devices. Priestess School consists of some pre-recorded, but the bulk of our time is frequent, consistent live group contact points so you won't fall through the cracks.
This is not a linear, progress-and-expertise-driven information dump. Rather, through rhythmic, cyclical learning, we let the earth, our ecosystems, our bodies, and the web of visible and invisible relationships be our primary texts and teachers

Nerve-cited (that's nervous + excited)? Book a call with me.

What People Are Saying:

Megan Thornton, Circle Participant

“I love doing this work as a group. Kate understands that we are stronger and better in community, contributing our varied voices and experiences to the work of the whole, and she is such a skilled facilitator... This work has over time directly impacted my ability and willingness to slow down, listen to my body, and tune in to my feelings. It shines a light on my path towards healing my own generational trauma, connecting with earth, ancestors, feeling at home in my body, working with challenging relationship dynamics, and more fully stepping into my life's calling.”

K.M., Circle Participant

“Your unconditional acceptance and gentle, honest communication was a model of how I could receive myself. Having had only conflictual and judgmental relationships with women previously, your presence was an example of a new way in which I could accept ALL of myself and others. This has been so helpful in my personal life and in my professional life...allowing for the totality of experience - the dark and the light, the comfortable and the uncomfortable. Powerful medicine."

Meag Diamond, Circle Participant

“A find a new paradigm and way of viewing the world that was so different from my previous Christian experience. There was so much acceptance, grace and open mindedness to different situations and people. [Working with Kate] gave me a weekly chance to be heard, seen and valued. I knew I would have time and space to talk and to process life. I learned from the women in the group and grew to be more loving of myself and others."

Why is Priestess School so important right now?

If the patterns of past empires are any indicator, we are living at the brink of collapse. It is already happening in many corners of our nation and world. Ecologies and systems across sectors are breaking down. The extreme polarities of politics, worldviews, and access to resources are staggering and seem irreconcilable. These coming decades will likely continue to be turbulent.

What is on the other side of this portal? And how will we get through it?

Honestly: these are the questions that keep me up at night. Wrestling with these realities has pushed me to into my own Priestess calling, and summons me now to call other Priestesses like you forth.

My goal is to nurture the leaders and conveners of what Margaret Wheatley describes as “islands of sanity”: those buoys of connection and clarity, anchored to our wisest selves that might offer us a touchpoint to Earth and Reality. A reference point from which to navigate the coming changes with even a tiny bit more skill, honesty, groundedness, courage and companionship.

I suspect you are already an “island of sanity” to the community you belong to. I’m here to help strengthen and support you as you fortify the edges of that island and gather your people in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the curriculum?

What happens in each module?

What are the exact dates and times?

Can I get a refund if I decide it's not for me?

Do I have to be Christian, Pagan (or any particular religion?)

Is this a spiritual community?

Tell me about the Restorative Sliding Scale?

But Kate...how do I know if this will be right for me?

Truthfully: I don't know. Only you can know that. That is a question for you, your gut, your spirit team.

I will do my best to nurture all the things listed above for you in the Priestess School; but ultimately this is what I can promise you: Priestess School is a container in which you will have an experience.

What kind of experience will depend on the interplay of so many things: bodies, personalities, ancestors, traumas, resources, life circumstances, spiritual energies, seasons of the year and of life.

I will do my best to gather us together to not be so lost and alone in our experiencing, metabolizing and integration of these experiences, and in bringing forth new gifts through them to our communities.

Priestess School doesn't (shouldn't!) have to be "the only right thing" or "the most right thing"...but just ask your inner wisdom: is it even just a part of the next right thing?

Hello! I'm Kate.

I have been a wandering spiritual misfit-grown-Priestess for almost two decades. After coming out as queer and leaving my Catholic faith, I got deep into the Goddess tradition of Kashmir Shaivism, where I had my first real 'hit' of actually being made in the 'divine image'.

In 2013 I was gifted the word “priestess”, which made me literally gag. Then in 2015, for an even more unexpected double gag, Jesus came back into my life--not as triumphant victor, not as dewy-eyed shepherd, but as a tender lover. I could not have been more shocked (or annoyed!).

Through major mental health crisis, job loss, seminary, psychic school, somatic animist apprenticeship, and a slow return to my body and earth-based rhythms, I have been attempting to make sense and live respectfully in the confluence of these strange intersections of lineages and modalities. This is my latest iteration of being as authentic and generous from my learnings as I can.

Here's what I know: how lonely, confusing, doubt-ridden and uncertain a life with an unconventional spiritual calling can be.

I also know that it’s near impossible to resist that calling (though I’m pretty sure you’ve been trying real hard. It’s ok. I see you.)

Here’s what I believe: that you are being called for a reason. There is a greater harmony wanting to happen, and you have a part to play. Whether it’s been a quiet whisper or a swift kick in the pants, the Priestess in you won’t rest until you respond.

I’m here to help you do just that, to provide a solid, flexible container of nurturance so that you can do the deep work of birthing your Priestess self into the world, for the good of the world.

As we find ourselves on the brink of global collapse of the world as we know it, with crises mounting on every front, I believe now more than ever we need to find our way back home to ourselves and in the diverse and interdependent web of creation, and to step up as leaders and collaborators with Earth and Spirit to nurture spaces where others can do so with us.