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Elyse Welles, Priestess & Author

@seekingnumina

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𖤓 Bestselling author of SACRED WILD @llewellynbooks
𖦹 the only Native Greek Priestess teaching the lost earth temple arts
↓ 2027 Greece Pilgrimages ↓

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Pre-Orders OPEN NOW!!! 🥳 “Sacred Wild: An Invitation to Connect with Spirits of the Land” releases November 8!!!

did you know that best sellers are 100% determined by pre-orders numbers?

If you’ve been following my journey, if you love any of my podcasts, if my posts make you smile… Please consider pre-ordering this book. A simple pre-order is the difference between this book finding the right people or falling flat. It’s been a labor of love these past few years, I can’t wait for you all to read it!

Also love what @llewellynbooks wrote for About this Book:

“An initiation into the realm of local land spirits — our greatest allies for protection and growth.

If you’ve ever experienced a special sense of place or a draw to the outdoors, you’ve been in the presence of land spirits. They are everywhere on earth and can be valuable members of our personal spirit teams, if only we reach out.

This book, equal parts guide and grimoire, was inspired by the land spirits and written by a high priestess well-known in the eclectic Faery Tradition. Perfect for those interested in earth-based faith, magic, travel, and environmentalism, this is a book to be read and revisited. Through journal prompts, rituals, magic spells, and meditations, you can learn how to recognize and create sustainable, magical practices for the mutual benefit of ourselves and our planet.”

The foreword is written by my dear friend Amy, best-selling author of Blackthorn’s Botanicals, Sacred Smoke, Blackthorn’s Book of Sacred Plant Magic, and SO many amazing titles @amyblackthornauthor 🥰

Go preorder everyone!!!!! 🥳 by @seekingnumina

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2 years ago

Hi 👋🏽 I’m Elyse Welles, a Greek-Egyptian and American earth intuitive Priestess and author.

I cohost the Magick Kitchen Podcast, a top 20 podcast for spirituality in the US. I am a regular columnist for The Wild Hunt, Witchology, & Witch Way Magazine. My sacred poetry has been published in dozens of places & I was chosen as a Best Poet of 2022 by Free Verse Revolution.

My debut novel, “What the Water Remembers”, and my first non-fiction book published by Llewellyn, a guide to connecting with land spirits, will both release in 2025.

A Priestess of the eclectic Faery Tradition, my practice is centered on connections to land spirits and sacred places (numina).

My masters degree focused heavily on the modern history of witchcraft and spiritual practices, and Seeking Numina is where I bring you to sacred places around the world and help you connect with them wherever you are.

I teach spiritual connection to land and sacred history through retreats to Greece, my online Sacred Wild Membership, & workshops. I am also an intuitive tarot reader.

I’d love to get to know you, too! Comment your favorite Sacred Wild place…

For me, it’s caves. I did a poll recently in my Facebook group, Seekers of the Sacred Wild, (join for live readings every Wednesday!) and nobody voted for caves. 😂 but they are increasingly my favorite! Especially the older I get. There is such a deep abiding comfort to be in the room of the mother that way. Caves are the closest we can get to Gaia, Mother Earth.

What is your favorite Sacred Wild place? Tell me why in the comments! taken in Greece by @seekingnumina

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2 years ago

In my darkest moment, I whispered to the Goddess, “tell me, show me what I should do. What ever it is, however difficult, I will do it. Help me get on the path to happiness.” And she whispered back: “Move to Greece.”

That was four years ago. I was teaching full time in Baltimore, exhausted every day, unhappy, unmoored. I was living for the weekend, waiting for the next fleeting adventure of travel or a concert or a party to feel something close to happiness.

When I put out that plea, I had truly hit the bottom. I would’ve taken any advice in that moment without question. And so I did.

Within the year I had a plan. I finished out a whole other year of teaching, but I was sticking to the plan. I was listening to the Goddess. I was moving to Greece. In 2021, myself, my husband, and our cat did. And it’s been the most spiritually-rewarding experience I’ve ever had.

The choice to move to Artemis was a no-brainer. Being half Greek, I’d visited Artemis often as a kid and have family here as well. But there’s no where else I’d rather live. The sacred feminine energy of this space is so incredibly healing, and the welcome I’ve felt from Artemis in my time here has been such a comfort and guiding force in my path with Seeking Numina, my writing, and the Magick Kitchen Podcast.

I went from having a vague idea of a novel I wanted to write “someday” to finishing it in 6 weeks. I got a publisher in just 3 months. I was voted a Best Poet of 2022, and I write for four pagan magazines monthly, and two seasonally.

I’m running a vibrant online community of nature-based magical living, running incredible workshops, and Leandra and I’s Magick Kitchen Podcast is a top 50 Spirituality podcast in the US.

I run tours to spiritual sites all over Attica’s countryside, and particularly, of course, Artemis.

I even get to offer tarot readings from here to give a bit of that magic to those on the other end of a Zoom call.

And every day, I am humbled, grateful, and happy to be here, with Her, and so many spirits of place and land.

❦

#landspirits #spiritsofplace #naturemagic #naturewitch #greenwitch #greenwitchcraft #greenmagic #ancientwisdom #artemis #animism taken in Temple of Artemis by @seekingnumina

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3 years ago

Yes, the only one!!! By witches, for witches. Comment SAMHAIN for info!

Come spend Halloween weekend with us at @samhainfest_, a queer-inclusive celebration of witchcraft, ancestral reverence, ritual, music, and community.

Gather with our teachers:

Laura Tempest Zakroff @owlkeyme.arts — sigils through movement and working with diverse deities in witchcraft.

Enfys J. Book @enfysbook — queering your magical practices and breaking out of the boundary.

Rev. Ron Padrón @white.rose.witching — Decolonizing Death.

Jake Morningstar @that_morningstar_witch — tattoos for ancestor work.

Coby Michael @poisonersapothecary — Datura: Dreamwalker and Trickster.

Judy Ann Nock @trancesister — the Witch’s New Year and honoring the dead.

Leandra Witchwood @leandrawitchwood — an Ancestor Tea Ceremony.

And me, Elyse Welles @seekingnumina, founder of Samhainfest — exploring Artemis-Hekate as a dyad deity of life and death, and leading our community in ritual.

Explore our magical marketplace with more than 20 vendors, healers, and readers, enjoy live music, and celebrate the season alongside a community that welcomes you as you are. Bring your friends or come make new ones.

Sat. October 31 - Sun. November 1, 2026

Harmer’s Town Art Center • Havre de Grace, Maryland

Comment SAMHAIN for info! by @seekingnumina

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2 days ago

No long caption today because your girl is angry. If you’ve been looking to learn more about this, definitely check out the latest episode of living Hellenism. And I have a carousel post out with more info on this on my page.

As a SA survivor myself, and one of my survivor stories is not unrelated to this particular horror show, it has been a rough go of it here for me. But I’m finding empowerment through using my voice and showing up in community and I hope you are too.

On that note, at the ritual I am leading for my festival in Maryland, @samhainfest_, we will be calling in the gods of justice and having opportunity to process and release on loss and what has gone before. If you are feeling raw and angry and know that showing up in community could help, please do join us. Samhainfest is going to be a balm for the soul. Comment SAMHAIN for info. by @seekingnumina

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5 days ago

👉🏼 SAVE this and comment HELLENISM to receive the FREE Living Hellenism Starter Kit.

Ares has been seriously misunderstood. ⚔️

We’ve inherited this image of him as an angry, bloodthisty God of war, when his energy has so much more to teach us about being human.

Ares reminds us that there are times when anger is useful. There are things worth protecting.There are boundaries worth defending. There are moments when keeping the peace actually means abandoning yourself.

Ares’ energy sits so beautifully alongside Heracles and the lessons of courage we work with during Heracleia. Courage isn’t the absence of fear. Sometimes it’s being absolutely terrified and deciding that what matters to you is worth moving toward anyway.

This month, we’re askin ourselves where we’ve become too comfortable, where we need to speak up, and what deserves more of our fire. 🔥

We go much deeper into Ares, his worship, symbolism, relationship with Aphrodite, and how we can connect with him today in the latest episode of Living Hellenism with @seekingnumina and me.

🏛️ If you also want our FREE Living Hellenism Starter Kit, comment HELLENISM below and we’ll send it straight to you. taken in Bryant Park by @seekingnumina

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7 days ago

In this newest episode, @seekingnumina and I talk about how to connect to the land spirits and how not to be afraid of the fae. Having discernment is important, but there’s not need to be afraid. It’s also easier connecting to the land spirits than you think. #fairy #fairies #fae #land #nature by @seekingnumina

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13 days ago

The earliest known named author wrote poetry dedicated to a goddess. Thousands of years later that connection still feels incredibly powerful.

#witchcraft #witchypodcast #witchcraftpodcast #ukwitch #ukwitchcraft by @seekingnumina

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13 days ago

To the other multicultural practitioners out there: you can be both. Many. Every culture you are. You do not have to choose or look or act a certain way to belong.

I am Greek, AND I am American. I’m also Egyptian but don’t identify as strongly with that culture in this moment of my life.

People often try to put me in the box, wanting me to conform to their idea of what it is to be Greek. But putting people in boxes never works. We each contain multitudes, and how boring would it be if we just ignored them all?

I also like to remind people I do not use my native Greek last name because names in Greece are tied to place and my entire family could receive backlash in their professional and personal lives for the work I do.

Do you struggle with embracing your multicultural identity? by @seekingnumina

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Samhainfest is the perfect first time for your adventure into group ritual, meeting other witches, and self expression 🧙

you will have the opportunity to commune with your ancestors in a ritual, led by myself and guided by the teachings of the eclectic ferry tradition of witchcraft.

There will be lots of different types of witchcraft and magical practices represented, and I would love to meet you and hear about your journey!

We are a community, none of us are an island. if you came to your magical practice alone, and you know, you are ready to meet your people, this is the event for you.

And we were never meant to be alone. That is the spirit of SamhainFest: welcoming you home to your own magick in a community that is inclusive, openhearted, and guided with perfect love and perfect trust ❤️ by @seekingnumina

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14 days ago

The newest episode featuring @seekingnumina is now live! Listen for free on all of your favorite platforms ✨ Episode description below!

seeking witchcraft 🤝 seeking numina

In this episode of Seeking Witchcraft, Ashley is joined by Seeking Numina to explore the beautiful tradition of handfasting! Together, they discuss the history and symbolism behind this ancient practice, its place in modern Paganism and witchcraft, and the many ways couples can incorporate handfasting into their wedding ceremonies. Whether you’re planning your own handfasting, curious about Pagan wedding traditions, or simply interested in the magic of love and commitment, this episode offers a look into this meaningful ritual.

Elyse Welles is the bestselling author of “Sacred Wild: An Invitation to Connect to Spirits of the Land”. A native Greek Priestess reviving the lost earth temple arts of the Mediterranean at forgotten oracle sites in Greece, she is also an initiated High Priestess in the eclectic Faery Tradition of witchcraft and holds an MA in spiritual studies. She hosts three podcasts, including the top 20 show, The Magick Kitchen, and Living Hellenism with George Lizos. Elyse teaches online containers and guides immersive pilgrimages to Greece’s sacred places in and around Delphi and Eleusis. She also founded Samhainfest, a festival Oct. 31-Nov 1 2026 in Havre de Grace, MD. Learn more at samhainfest.com or elysewelles.com and follow her at @seekingnumina and @samhainfest_ on Instagram and Facebook

You can find Ashley on Twitter (@SeekWitchcraft), Instagram (@seekingwitchcraft), business instagram (@CrescentCatLibrary), personal Instagram (@spellsandkettlebells), Facebook (“Seeking Witchcraft Podcast” or “Ashley Seekraft”), or the community Facebook group (“Witches Seeking Witchcraft”). Want to support the show and gain bonus community perks and features? You can do so at https://patreon.com/seekingwitchcraft

#witch #witchcraft #handfasting #wicca #pagan by @seekingnumina

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14 days ago

We welcome Elyse Welles to Alternatives for the first time for a special online session - Your Greatest Allies are Always with You: How to Connect with Land Spirits.

Land spirits are powerful, eternal beings that exist literally everywhere on planet earth.

And yet they can feel elusive, confusing, and subtle, making them tricky to begin a relationship with. In this workshop, learn what land spirits are, how they are related to fairies and other spirits of place, and how you can begin a relationship with them. This includes a guided practice and exercise on connecting to land spirits where you live.

Join us on Monday evening at 7pm online - link in bio - £15 - watch live or catch the replay ✨ taken in Zoom Online by @seekingnumina

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