Do you hear the call?
Feeling called to explore the way of a dancing priestess?
Are you ready to experience a profound transformation of your spirit as expressed through ritual dance?
Are you ready to step into who you are and who you will become?
What does it mean to be a Priestess?
Becoming a Priestess can change everything about your life, if you let it.
We invite you to join us for a year long training to heal through movement, dance from the depth of your soul, channel the human experience, and learn how to lead these rituals for others.
The Iseum of Quimera is a mystery school to study and become a Priestess of Isis drawing upon what we understand of ancient Egypt. It is also a lineage of dance-as-healing and Ritual Performance, as well as a training in self-discovery and lasting personal transformation.
What does a Priestess do?
As a Quimera Priestess, you will be:
- Certified as a Ceremonialist
- Prepared to confidently teach Quimera Method ritual dance classes, lead ceremonies, hold rituals, and perform.
As a Legally Ordained Priestess, you will:
- Have rights to provide weddings, naming ceremonies, funerary services, offer death rites, lead rituals, make hospital and prison visitations, and all duties of clergy.
What will I receive in this year long training?
- Classes and ceremonies with the Priestesses of the Iseum of Quimera, guided by Rev. Anandha Ray, creator and founder of Quimera Ritual Dance.
- Experiences in the ritual and ceremonies that are unique to Quimera priestesses
- Life changing experiences in dance
- Comradery with like-minded women
- Expanded performance and dance ability
- Performance opportunities and a ritual performance journey created for you
- Potential opportunities to travel abroad for spiritual pilgrimage and ritual dance performance! (*additional fee for travel abroad)
The journey of initiation spans one year and demands commitment, as it may present challenges along the way. To become a legally ordained Priestess of Isis in the Iseum of Quimera, you must devote your best efforts to the training, embracing its transformative nature. Together, we form an intentional community, striving to evolve into the best versions of ourselves. Each day, we pursue our shared goal while drawing upon the collective skills we have intentionally cultivated.
Within our community, we are trained as ceremonialists in transformational ritual performances of Quimera. Our dedication to continual growth and improvement in these sacred practices unites us. As we navigate life’s intricate paths together, we rely on these well-honed skills, working harmoniously as a collective.
If these aspects resonate with your inner being and ignite a sense of excitement within you, then you have arrived at the right place.
We are Priestesses of the Medicine of Movement
This year we will host two training pathways, one with more in-person gatherings and one to accommodate the needs of people who want to join but live farther away.
Rev. Priestess Chaya Kornreich will guide the more in-person training and Rev. Priestess Eden Rumelt will guide the more online training.
Both trainings will be taught, in part, by Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray, including monthly meetings and two weeklong retreats.
Priestess Training Pathways
- Rev. Priestess Eden + Anandha Ray: Primarily virtual with in-person retreats to accommodate those from afar who can’t meet as often in person. This pathway has optional in-person retreats available for an additonal fee.
- Rev. Priestess Chaya + Anandha Ray: Primarily in-person with some virtual meetings and ceremonies for those who can meet more often (meetings and retreats will occur in San Diego and Sonoma County, CA)
This chart provides an easy, visual reference to compare the two training pathways. For more detailed information, read the descriptions of each training below.
How do I join?
You are invited to fill out an intention form now and let us know of your interest to become an Initiate of Quimera.
Steps to take:
- Fill out your intention form
- Then Anandha, Eden, or Chaya will contact you
- Should you receive your invitation to become an initiate, you will be able to make your initial payment to secure your spot.
We recognize the significance of this decision and approach it with utmost care. We have a limited capacity to invite individuals and select candidates thoughtfully, ensuring alignment between your intentions and our collective aspirations. We are building a container of like-minded dancers from diverse experiences, cultures, and backgrounds. Please let us know of your desire to join us.
There are limited spots available.
After setting your intentions and receiving an invitation to register…
MAKING YOUR DEPOSIT ASSURES YOUR SPOT.
About Quimera:
Quimera was founded by Anandha Ray in 2013 as a training and performance group. Having just retired from her professional modern dance career directing a company that toured extensively, both nationally and internationally, Ray was beginning to dive further into the study of ritual and ceremony in dance. Drawing upon these studies, combined with her extensive experience and education in dance, she created an innovative form to train dancers for Quimera Ritual Dance (the form formally known as Shamanic Fusion Dance).
With its distinct style of channeling healing dance experiences for the performer and viewer, she kept creating dances that dove further and further into the presentation of ritual and ceremony on the stage – not as performance, but as actual ritual and ceremony. In her 30 year career in dance she created dances that were healing to viewers, but it would not have been appropriate to speak about that aspect of the work. In 2013 she began to openly talk about this process–dance as the Medicine of Movement.
Soon others were called to dance with her and she began an intensive training and performance group. During this time, Anandha dove deeper into understanding the connection of the Goddess Isis (a Goddess of dance) and undertook a year of study to become legally ordained as a Priestess of Isis. Once ordained, her elder suggested Anandha invite her dancers to study under her to become Priestesses. They all surprised her by saying “Yes!” and thus began the first year-long course of study to ordain the first priestesses of Quimera and the Iseum of Quimera was founded.
The Iseum of Quimera is a community of legally ordained Priestessed who utilize Quimera Method, a ritualistic and ceremonial dance form, as Reverend Priestesses of the Goddess Isis. We focus on the Medicine of Movement as a healer of souls, a pathway to understand one’s authentic self, and to express that through dance. The work we do is a means of serving the world through dance. It is a school where we all teach each other… where we wield our own gifts and talents as well as each of us leading ceremonies, performances, classes and rituals through Quimera Ritual Dance. It is a community based on theories of non-duality, on holding the shadow as equal to the light. It is commitment to learning to be honest and true to our inner calling while living fully integrated lives with the highest integrity. Quimera is a community where we do not have to be perfect… where we are all in process and are valued for our authentic self.
Through this amazing connection, we learn to channel performances that are authentic, creative, and fearless. We create and participate in ceremonies both locally and internationally that reveal the blocks to our creativity and that sabotage our success. We dismantle the blocks to embrace the skill, dedication, courage and abilities to become a ritual dancer and teacher. And then we go out into the world and share this healing with others.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Quimera created a virtual performance of Ritual Dance. We felt it was important to transmute the pain and difficulties of the time through ritual and share this with others. Sekhmet is the fiery goddess of healing, so we offered this dance to her under a blood moon.
Priestess Training includes one year of Virtual and In-Person trainings
- Teachings and retreats co-hosted with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray (Virtual & In-Person)
- Biweekly Quimera Ritual Dance Teacher Training (Virtual)
- Monthly Ceremonies (Virtual)
- Weekend Temple Immersions (In-Person)
*Optional, additional fee - 2 Week-Long Temple Immersion Retreats at Isis Oasis (In-Person)
- Performance Opportunities (local & international!)
*International Pilgrimages and/or performances are an additional fee
This year of Initiation is a deep-dive into the profound work of Quimera Ritual Dance. It is conducted mostly via Zoom, with 2 week-long retreats plus other opportunities to gather in person. You will be welcomed in as life-long community with the dancing Priestesses of this tradition. You are invited to consider:
*Are you ready to step into the fullness of who you came to this world to be?
*Do you seek more magic in your daily life?
*Would you love to be part of a community of kindred souls?
Rev. Priestess Eden Rumelt is an Embodiment Coach, Ordained Priestess, a Ceremonialist, and a Ritual Performing Artist. Eden holds the vision of women (and all people) accessing embodied empowerment as well as tapping into their inner-source of eternal love. She has a passion for helping people live with more wellness, confidence, and joy.
A legally Ordained Reverend Priestess of the Iseum of Quimera (a branch of the Temple of Isis), she is also a professional massage therapist, and has been on the spiritual & transformational path since 1998. Eden has worked closely with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray since 2015, as a performer in Quimera Ritual Dance and also assisting her in teaching classes, workshops, and retreats. She also maintains her own private practice, Embody Your Essence, offering spiritual mentoring, embodiment coaching, and priestess training.
You are invited into a life-altering initiation, in which you become empowered to:
Claim your worthiness.
Live from a place of integrity.
Move from your own internal source of truth and grace.
Read on for a brief overview of this training (go to link for all the details):
*The Iseum of Quimera is a mystery school to study and become a Priestess of Isis in the lineage of ancient Egypt. It is also a lineage of dance-as-healing and Ritual Performance, as well as a training in self-discovery and lasting personal transformation.
*You will learn to embody (and teach if you wish) the Quimera Method, created by master teacher and dance therapist Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray.
*You will be officially, legally ordained as a Reverend Priestess, able to perform weddings, death rites, and other services for your community, AND be trained in wisdom and practices in serving as a Priestess with the Medicine of Movement.
Meetings: 2x/month (Virtual)
First Thursdays 3:30-7:30 pm PST (Virtual)
- 3:30-5:30 pm with Rev. Priestess Eden
- 5:45-7:30 pm Quimera Ceremony with all Priestesses
- 7:30-8:00 pm (optional) question and answer with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray
Third Thursdays 4:30-7:30 pm PST (Virtual)
- 4:30-6:00 pm with Rev. Priestess Eden
- 6:00-7:30 pm with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray
*Exact start times to be determined based on participants availability.
7 Day Immersions (In-Person)
Sacred SOURCE-ery: June 25-30, 2024 at Isis Oasis.
- *Option to arrive Monday night to facilitate travel arranges when coming from afar.
Convocation: October 7-14 2024 at Isis Oasis
- *Option to stay October 14 and leave Monday.
Optional Weekend Immersions (In-person)
*The following Immersions can be attended for an additional fee.
Blessing of the Way: October 8, 2024 at Isis Oasis. The Blessing of the Way is at the end of Convocation, October October 6-9. You can attend in-person at Isis Oasis, or by zoom, or in attunement which means that you don’t have to be there and we can still give you the blessing of the way.
*If you attend the Convocation weekend, there is a fee payable to Isis Oasis but attending only the Blessing of the Way is free.
Weekend Immersion: January 19-21, 2024 at Isis Oasis gathering all the initiates for 2023-2024 together with Rev. Priestesses Anandha, Eden, and Chaya
2 Additional Immersions; dates TBD – *Must have attended January Immersion in order to attend subsequent retreats
While a training of this nature typically costs upwards of $10,000, we try to keep our costs very low, to make our work more accessible. So…
The total cost for the training is $6,800, which can be paid as a lump sum or as monthly payments.
A deposit of $567 is to be paid in addition to the first month’s payment ($567). This means you will pay $1,134 for your deposit and first month, which leaves $5,666 to be paid over the course of 10 months. This is $567 per month, to be paid on or before the 15th of the month. If you prefer 2 payments per month, it will be $283.50 on the 1st and $283.50 on the 15th.
*Books, sacred tools, travel, and food are not included in the cost.
The Weeklong Retreats and (optional) Weekend Temple Immersions are hosted at the Isis Oasis Sanctuary in Geyserville, CA.
Quimera Priestess Training with Rev. Priestess Chaya
Priestess Training includes one year of:
- Teachings and retreats co-hosted with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray (Virtual & In-Person)
- Weekly Quimera Ritual Dance Teacher Training (In-Person or Virtual Option)
- Monthly Ceremonies (Virtual)
- Weekend Temple Immersions (In-Person)
- 2 Week-Long Temple Immersion Retreats at Isis Oasis (In-Person)
- Performance Opportunities (local & international!)
*International Pilgrimages and/or performances are an additional fee
The priestess training led by Rev. Priestess Chaya immerses initiates in the practice of exploring themselves through the OTHER.
- Expand leadership capabilities
- Weave spirituality into secular circumstances
- Proficiency in movement and teaching of Quimera method
- Use of mind and movement to manage your energy
- Master the navigation of complex emotions and circumstances
- Build upon core confidences to level up
Chaya is a legally ordained Priestess, teacher, and facilitator who trained extensively in therapeutic movement, ritual, and ceremony facilitation. She finds joy in encouraging people to discover, blossom and grow into the best of their abilities.
Chaya’s service has taken her all over the world as a knowledge seeker, performer, teacher, mentor and tech professional—and it’s also taken her deep within herself to transform her own life.
Carrying the medicine of movement and cross-cultural experiences, Chaya supports diverse communities to traverse both the seen and unseen, to organically weave their gifts into an ever evolving world.
She was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and saying YES! to opportunities brought her to San Diego in 2016, where she currently enjoys life, serves the community as a priestess, hosts monthly movement and ceremony events, teaches aerial yoga and is also a technical professional.
- Meeting weekly to dive in
- Meet in person as often as possible (minimum of 6 in-person gatherings)
- Crafting of sacred tools and applying them to practice
- Explore cultures and their philosophies
Meetings: 4x/month
First Thursdays 5:45-7:30 pm PST (Virtual)
- 5:45-7:30 pm Quimera Ceremony with all Priestesses
- 7:30-8:00 pm (optional) question and answer with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray
Third Thursdays 4:00-7:30 pm PST
- 4:00-6:00 pm with Rev. Priestess Chaya
- 6:00-7:30 pm with Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray and all Initiates
One hour meeting for Quimera Method 2x/month (In-person if local to San Diego or virtual option)
- 5:00-6:00 pm Monday or Tuesday with Rev. Priestess Chaya
*Exact start times to be determined based on participants availability.
7 Day Immersions (In-Person)
Sacred SOURCE-ery: June 25-30, 2024 at Isis Oasis.
- *Option to arrive Monday night to facilitate travel arranges when coming from afar.
Convocation: October 7-14 2024 at Isis Oasis
- *Option to stay October 14 and leave Monday.
Weekend Immersions (In-Person)
Blessing of the Way: October 8, 2024 at Isis Oasis. The Blessing of the Way is at the end of Convocation, October October 6-9. You can attend in-person at Isis Oasis, or by zoom, or in attunement which means that you don’t have to be there and we can still give you the blessing of the way.
*If you attend the Convocation weekend, there is a fee payable to Isis Oasis but attending only the Blessing of the Way is free.
Weekend Immersion: January 19-21, 2024 at Isis Oasis gathering all the initiates for 2023-2024 together with Rev. Priestesses Anandha, Eden, and Chaya
2 Additional Immersions; dates TBD
While a training of this nature typically costs upwards of $10,000, we try to keep our costs very low, to make our work more accessible. So…
The total cost for the training is $9,000, which can be paid as a lump sum or as quarterly payments in advance ($2,250 every 3 months).
*If a different payment schedule is required, please speak directly to Chaya.
The Weekend Temple Immersions and Weeklong Retreats are hosted at the Isis Oasis Sanctuary in Geyserville, CA.
The weekly teacher trainings and ceremonies will be hosted in San Diego, CA (and will have a virtual option if it is not possible to attend in person).
You are invited to fill out an intention form and let us know of your interest to become an Initiate of Quimera.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quimera Priestess training is for women only. This is a departure from our previous commitment to honor gender equality. We have found that the training has the opportunity to deepen in a different way if we keep the Priestess training to admit only women.
The work that we do is often done in public performances. While we also meet in ceremony, Quimera Ritual Dance goes out into the world and offers ritual dances in performances both locally and internationally. We frequently perform at the Isis Oasis and have also had performed at numerous concerts and festivals (Desert Dwellers, Illuminertia, Goopsteppa & Clozee, How Weird Street Faire SF, San Francisco Movement Arts Festival,
In recent years we have enjoyed pilgrimages and performances in Mexico, Egypt, Scotland, and England. In 2023, we are performing in festivals in Las Vegas and Arizona. In November 2023 we will film ceremonies on a pilgrimage to Guatemala that will become a dance film.
Featured on ABC 7 News, EIN News, Localish!
While a training of this nature typically costs upwards of $10,000, we try to keep our costs very low, to make our work more accessible. So…
The total cost for the virtual/in-person hybrid training with Eden is $6,800, which can be paid as a lump sum or as monthly payments ($567 every month).
*Your first payment includes the deposit ($567) and first month’s payment ($567). The remaining $5,666 will be paid over the following 10 months.
The total cost for the in-person training with Chaya is $9,000, which can be paid as a lump sum or as quarterly payments in advance ($2,250 every 3 months).
*If a different payment schedule is required, please speak directly to Chaya or Eden.
A training of this nature typically would cost over $10,000 and we keep costs low to make it more accessible. Your payments go toward:
- Room cost for in-person retreats
- Countless hours of facilitator training and certification in Quimera Method Ritual Dance
- Teacher fees (Anandha, Chaya, Eden, any guest teachers when applicable)
- Wisdom Teachings composed by Anandha Ray that will change your outlook on life
- A lifelong community of supportive, diverse women who your soul will recognize from previous lifetimes
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer scholarships for the Priestess Training because we already have created the program to minimize costs as much as possible. What may seem expensive now is an investment for your future that is worth making.
There are two trainings available to help accommodate people’s needs for cost.
The in-person training with Chaya is $8,800.
The virtual/in-person hybrid training with Eden is $6,800.
It is crucial that your payments be made on time to ensure your continued participation as an Initiate of Quimera and to uphold the standards of integrity we hold in this community.
One of the things we learn as we go through the initiate year is how to hold our commitments with unbending intention. While we understand that life happens, we make it a priority to hold our commitments with unbending intention… meaning that we prioritize the dates that are on the calendar when we sign up and guarantee that unless there is a life-altering circumstance, we will uphold our commitments.
Thus, it is important that you put all dates on your calendar for the year so that you can commit with unbending intention to this training.
- Eat particularly well the week before the retreats. A month ahead of time is even better. Prepare the body by being pure with what you eat.
- Get plenty of sleep so that your body is well rested and your mind is alert and calm.
- Begin now noticing your thinking, noticing what you would like to shift and transform, and set your intentions
- PUT THE DATES ON YOUR CALENDAR AND COMMIT TO THEM. Plan to stay off of your phone when you are in ceremony and on retreats. Prepare so that you are able to put your phone away and be fully present to absorb and integrate this work.
In August 2023, Quimera Ritual Dance traveled to Scotland to perform in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This is the largest performing arts event in the world, hosting 2,500+ shows daily for an entire month. Quimera was invited to share our ritual dance offering on stage, where we were able to impact people from all over the world.
Sacred to the Memory was filmed after our performance in a historical cemetery, where we called upon the energies of those who passed and offered them blessings in the form of dance.
Director of Quimera Ritual Dance and Founder of the Iseum of Quimera
Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray, MA, MA, DTR has spent her life exploring the mysteries and magic of dance—first in her professional life as a dancer, choreographer and artistic director for over 30 years, then as a ritual ceremonialist since 2011.
With a master’s degree in dance therapy, another in choreography and kinesiology, and three decades of experience working with dancers across disciplines—from concert performances to private ceremonies—she has developed a completely unique way to use dance as a shamanic instrument.
Her form, Quimera Method—named after a mythological creature made of the parts of many animals that can only be tamed by its own reflection in the waters of life—helps people tap into and embody their authentic voice and learn how dance communicates with an audience while healing trauma.
She will reveal to you ANCIENT SECRETS: bits of knowledge that will change your dancing right away and profoundly! Her greatest joy is seeing how these forms of dance offered as ceremony and ritual can change people’s lives.
Anandha served as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Embassy on international tours and was the Chairperson of a university dance program in addition to directing an internationally touring dance company for three decades before retiring from the professional world of dance to become a full-time ceremonialist in Quimera Method, a shamanic form of dance training and performance.
You are invited to fill out an intention form and let us know of your interest to become an Initiate of Quimera.
This oath is the foundation upon which the members and wisdom keepers of Quimera build our community. We take this oath and promise to do the inner work necessary to be strong in word and of ear, and to bow to the wisdom of each other in grace.
“I dedicate myself to consciously do the work everyday to face my fears, to really see myself, and to be the pure vessel for the positive growth of humanity and our planet.
I take this oath to face the darkness and my personal fears, seeing the value of this as equal to the value of the light.
Furthermore I take an oath to do so everyday for the rest of my life, with an intention to surround myself with others who seek the same goals.”
This has become a primarily oath to be accepted into the Iseum of Quimera, where in the safety of trusting each other’s motivations, we can be a source of inspiration and motivation for each other.
