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Travelling Priestess - Tiziana Stupia

I am a half-Sicilian, half-German woman who has lived in the UK for the past fifteen years. I left England on 17th September 2007 for an overland trip (mainly by train) that has taken me so far from Leamington Spa through Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, China, Tibet, Nepal, and Pakistan, where I celebrated the Winter Solstice festival with the Kalash tribe in the Hindu Kush mountains. I am currently taking a breather in Rishikesh, North India.
I am a Pagan Priestess, writer and performer, and on my journey I am visiting and connecting with sacred sites and the land, as well as with shamans, tantrikas, and other like-minded people.
Check out my website on http://sacred-ceremonies.co.uk

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Joined on: July 17th 2007
Last Login: May 9th 2008

Blog Entries: 56
Photos: 179

TB Code: [blogger=43699]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Travelling-Priestess, order by Date newest first.

By Travelling Priestess
May 6th 2008

Where two rivers meet to form one: Beltane at Devprayag

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

Ma Ganga at Devprayag

After six days of sadhana in the ashram, I take a walk to Ganga with my Canadian friend MJ on Beltane Eve. It’s a warm night, and glowworms lead our way as dusk sets in. When we get to my favourite Ganga beach, I notice a fire in the bushes on the hill behind us. It basks everything in a golden glow, and it feels as though this is our own personal Beltane fire. This is especially beautiful because it’s MJ’s first proper visit to Ma Ganga, and I watch her offer some incense, water, fruit and a prayer in the [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
May 5th 2008

100 times 108: Five days of chanting mantras, playing with fire and retreating into the shadows of silence

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

The view from my ashram room (if I had time to look out of the window)

It is Day One of my five day silent retreat and I am starting to lose my voice. We are sitting around the ceremonial fire for the second time today, dripping with sweat in the afternoon heat, count our japa malas (a necklace of 108 beads which is used to count mantras: one bead for each mantra), feed the fire with copious amounts of ghee and herbs, and chant the Sanskrit Miritunjay mantra over and over again - 432 times (four japa malas) per ceremony, which takes roughly two hours. What I failed to realize when I signed up for this [View Full Entry]

My sadhana altar (including the japa mala)

By Travelling Priestess
April 23rd 2008

On unsuccessfully trying to leave: Is Rishikesh a black hole or has Ma Ganga blessed me?

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

Om Shanti

I swear that Rishikesh's alter ego is an octopus. It must be. Every time I try to leave, it wraps its sticky long tentacles around my restless soul and pulls me back into its comforting, slightly claustrophobic embrace. It is now the end of April, temperatures have soared up to 42 degrees Celsius (and my long-suffering friends know that I already reach for a fan and cry for ice packs when it’s 17 degrees back in the UK), with a meager 23 degrees at night time. The mosquitoes feast on my blood every night, with the midges, ants and flies adding [View Full Entry]

This is the mantra I will be reciting thousands of times over the next few days...

By Travelling Priestess
April 10th 2008

Musings on the Yogic path and the power of ritual

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

Fullmoon Puja Fire
Photo by Deepika

A lot has been moving and shifting for me in the month I have been staying at Anand Prakash Ashram (www.anandprakashashram.com). Yes, I have been strengthening my physical yoga practice, but what is more important, I have only now begun to understand what Yoga really means. Through practising Akhanda Yoga, a holistic, integral form of yoga with an emphasis on the balanced sequencing of asana (postures), pranayama (breath control/retention), relaxation, mantra and meditation, I have come to realize that the postures are only a small part of what constitutes the Yogic lifestyle. What's been really groundbreaking for me was to fully [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
March 22nd 2008

Happy Holi: Spring Equinox Indian Style

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

Celebrating Holi in Ram Jhula

It's Holi today. Holi is one of North India's most exuberant and playful festivals; Hindus celebrate the beginning of spring by throwing gulal (coloured powder) and coloured water at anyone within range. This sounds fun, I think, and despite the doubtful looks of my fellow ashramites, I decide to throw on some old clothes and brave the mayhem. 'Put some oil on your hair and body before you go out', advises a concerned Yogi Vishvketu in this morning's yoga class, during which he falls in with the festival's joyful spirit by having us perform a whole lot of loud 'mieuws' during [View Full Entry]

Celebrating the spring equinox after the Kali masque has been shed

By Travelling Priestess
March 12th 2008

Om Namah Shivaya: Thoughts on Ashram Life, karma yoga, and celebrating the great night of Lord Shiva in Rishikesh

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

Nandi remains shanti about the celebrations

After several weeks of rest, shanti, and a certain amount of hesitation, I have finally moved to an ashram. 'Have fun in your nice prison', says Hee, as she helps me move my belongings to my new abode. My room is sparse but comfortable, with two single beds, a concrete shelving unit, a bedside table, and two plastic chairs. I have a private bathroom, too, and a sunny balcony with a(somewhat restricted) view to the mountains. The ashram is a bright, new building with a big roof terrace, two yoga halls, a garden with a ritual space, a lovely dining room, [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
February 28th 2008

A pilgrimage to Haridwar

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Haridwar

Ashram in Haridwar

For the first time since I have left Amritsar, I feel like I am actually in India. I have taken an overnight trip to Haridwar with Heike, an acquaintance who is on her way to South India. Haridwar is located at the point where the Ganges emerges from the Himalaya and is Uttarakhand's holiest Hindu city. The city is remarkably different from Lakshman Jhula/Rishikesh, which is about an hour's drive away. True, Haridwar is chaos and noise and features the usual hustle and bustle of most Indian cities, there is hassle from rickshaw drivers and salesmen and beggars and just about [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
February 18th 2008

As you wish, Madam, as you wish: A visit to Uttaranchal police

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

On the evening of my visit to the Kali shrine, I have an experience that is strangely in line with the day's energy. As I walk home from Nirakara’s house at dusk, I notice a large white car with a flatscreen TV screen in place of the rear mirror that creeps alongside me for a while. At first I don’t think anything of it, as it looks as though the driver is looking for something or someone. I walk on, passing a small Shiva Temple in which a bunch of dreadlocked sadhus sit on the floor in a circle and greet [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
February 14th 2008

The India initiation

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

A heart-felt plea from India

There is a saying which alleges that when people first come to Glastonbury, they spend the first few months dealing with their 'stuff', and if the place does not like them, it makes sure they leave sooner or later. I have the same feeling about Rishikesh, and perhaps India in general. It’s one of the places that gives you what you need, whether you like it or not. The energies of Rishikesh are quite strange and volatile. It’s as though half of the time you're in bliss, and the other half in darkness. Like many ‘initiatory’ power places, it seems to [View Full Entry]

By Travelling Priestess
January 27th 2008

A visit to the Divine Mother in India's mountains

Asia » India » Uttarakhand » Rishikesh

The Divine Mother at Kunjapuri Temple

It's a glorious sunny day, and Rakesh, my yoga teacher, and I have decided to go to Kunjapuri, an ancient temple in the mountains dedicated to the Divine Mother Goddess. We set off by motorbike and enjoy the ride which leads us along a winding road, with forested valleys and mountains all around us. We can see the Ganges down below, and Rishikesh, which is shrouded in a slight mist. Monkeys sit by the roadside and nurse their babies, and the anti-speed signs along the road feature bonmots such as 'Speed is a knife that cuts the life' and 'Whisky is [View Full Entry]

View to the Himalayas from Kunjapuri Temple

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Travelling Priestess | Tiziana Stupia | Travel Blog

Travelling Priestess - Tiziana Stupia

Blogs & Travel Journals

Where two rivers meet to form one: Beltane at Devprayag

100 times 108: Five days of chanting mantras, playing with fire and retreating into the shadows of silence

On unsuccessfully trying to leave: Is Rishikesh a black hole or has Ma Ganga blessed me?

Musings on the Yogic path and the power of ritual

Happy Holi: Spring Equinox Indian Style

Om Namah Shivaya: Thoughts on Ashram Life, karma yoga, and celebrating the great night of Lord Shiva in Rishikesh

A pilgrimage to Haridwar

As you wish, Madam, as you wish: A visit to Uttaranchal police

The India initiation

A visit to the Divine Mother in India's mountains