From an early age, Bertena was deeply connected to the spiritual realm. As a child, her closest companion was a spirit child who played with her regularly, and her perception of angels and spirits felt as natural as seeing people in physical form.
A lifelong learner, Bertena later pursued an academic path, becoming a college instructor teaching religion, history, sociology, and criminology. While grounded in scholarship, her spiritual curiosity continued to unfold. Alongside her teaching career, she began consciously developing her intuitive and energetic gifts through Reiki, meditation, and yoga.
Today, Bertena walks the Water Priestess path, exploring the sacred wisdom of water and feminine energetics. Grounded in ethical spirituality, she teaches locally in the Nashville area, offering classes on a wide range of energetic and spiritual topics.
In this fascinating and wide-ranging conversation, Bertena shares insights drawn from both her academic background and her lived spiritual experiences. From angels and the fairy realms to ghosts and goblins, her knowledge is expansive and her stories are captivating. This is an episode you won’t want to miss.
Listen on: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio
About Bertena:
Bertena Varney is a modern priestess, mystic, and educator devoted to reviving ancient wisdom for contemporary women. She is a Priestess of the Sisterhood of the Rose, a student of Mary Magdalene traditions, and a graduate of Rebecca Campbell’s Inner Temple Mystery School. With a deep academic foundation—including advanced degrees in divinity, sociology, criminology, education, and a Ph.D. in Parapsychology and Paranormal Studies—Bertena bridges scholarly insight with embodied spiritual practice. She is an E-RYT 500 and YACEP yoga teacher, a 300-hour Kundalini Yoga teacher, and a Usui and Angel Reiki Master, weaving together energy healing, somatic wisdom, and sacred ritual. Her lifelong fascination with ancient history—especially the priestesses and oracles of the past, like the Oracle of Delphi—sparked a journey into forgotten traditions of feminine power, divination, and spiritual leadership. As a former college instructor and lifelong learner, Bertena brings both structure and soul to her teaching, empowering women to reconnect with their intuition, reclaim their inner authority, and walk their own sacred path. Bertena is the host of Spiritual Sanctuary: Wisdom for the Divine Feminine, a podcast offering grounded spiritual guidance, seasonal wisdom, and soulful conversations for women seeking connection, healing, and remembrance. She also offers in-person spiritual sessions, energy healing, and divination at Cosmic Connections in Nashville, Tennessee, creating sacred, supportive spaces for transformation. She is the founder of Ancient Arts of the Priestess Academy, a sanctuary for learning, healing, and initiation, where modern women are invited to remember what has always lived within them—their wisdom, their magic, and their role as modern priestesses.
Connect with Bertena:
Website: https://www.bertena.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bertena11
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bertena11/
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