Fotoula Adrimi, the visionary founder of The ISIS School of Holistic Health, has dedicated her life to guiding seekers along the sacred paths of shamanism, spirituality, and personal transformation. At the heart of her teachings lies a profound emphasis on reconnecting with the Divine Light within and opening the sacred heart, enabling individuals to embark on deeply transformative journeys of self-discovery and empowerment. The ISIS School offers a unique and extensive array of courses rooted in ancient wisdom and esoteric practices, including the mystical Path of ISIS, shamanic studies, Priestess of the Moon training, and DNA activation through the Rays of Divine Consciousness. In this illuminating Mystic Mag‘s interview, Fotoula shares her insights into the ancient teachings of the Golden Times, the role of the Divine Feminine in modern spirituality, and how her school nurtures personal and spiritual growth.
The ISIS School of Holistic Health offers a wide range of shamanic teachings, from classic shamanism to Egyptian mystery school courses. What inspired you to develop such a diverse curriculum, and how do these different traditions complement each other?
A shamanic teacher is guided by the helping spirits. I am deeply grateful to work with incredible spirit guides, who are enlightened beings with such integrity. Not all spirits are equally aware; it is the same as in the physical world where we meet people of different personalities, skills and integrity. This is why it is so important to work with transcended beings whose only purpose is to support our soul evolution from a basis of unconditional love. We also have to do our part, as like attracts like. So in the shamanic world, we say we need to keep working spiritually and personally to transcend our ego and be a hollow bone, healing our shadow rather than acting it out.
My journey started with the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis, who taught me/reminded me of the principles of the Mystery School of the ancient times that I had worked with in previous lives. This connection was re-established early in my life, when I was a child. And years later in 2006, once I consciously stepped onto my spiritual path, Isis found me again and started working with me. These teachings build within us a strong foundation that helps us expand spiritually by becoming more self-aware. This is the path of the evolution of the soul, not just psychic development or healing work.
Shamanism is part of my lineage, my ancestors practiced this art in their own way and it runs in my blood. It is my passion. The drums called me and there was no question about not following them. I share these teachings from a deep connection through the sacred heart, which combines knowledge, love, and wisdom. People are attracted to this path for many reasons: a deeper connection with the Earth and the natural world, with themselves and life; to explore the alternative worlds and psychic realms; and to communicate with spirits. These ceremonies are incredibly transformative when practiced in community. In the courses that we teach, our ceremonies span one to two years, offering a way for people to do deep inner work, as well as learn the art of shamanic healing. The two have to go together. And it is up to each of us to develop a clear vision that it is not muddled by our projections and desires.
I believe the courses we teach address different aspects of the human journey but can really come together to help people evolve in this very crucial lifetime:
• The ancient Egyptian Mystery School helps us clear and raise our vibration, become more aware, and follow a path of soul evolution that supports us to embody the divine spirit that we are. This is the deepest and most challenging of all the work we do. The challenge lies with the fact that we need to continually work on ourselves through spiritual practice and personal development. There is no attunement or initiation that is a magic wand; instead these open a door for us to walk through. They are the beginning of the journey, not the destination.
• The Shamanic Path combines this aspect of soul evolution with ceremony and healing; awareness that comes through deep work with the helping spirits. Here we have the option to help our community and the Earth, as well as ourselves, for the highest good. We work closely with beings of light to achieve this. And whilst the Isis Path prepares us for becoming this being of Light, the shamanic path too shows us how this can be possible. Yet I feel that the Isis work is a really important foundation. I have seen people getting lost in the shamanic path, looking for excitement and psychic connection, rather than spiritual understanding and development.
• The Priestess of the Moon Training is something so deep and ancient. I was called to do this work when I was on one of the Scottish hills. The spirits showed me these spirit women who practiced a spiritual tradition based on ceremonies of the wheel of the year and the cycle of the moon. The spirits asked me to bring the women together and gave me such beautiful and heartful teachings to empower women to step onto the Priestess Path, either by holding circles, running their own temple and sacred space, or practising by themselves. This is a path of growth when we embody the divine feminine energy and allow our inherent soul gifts to emerge.
• The Rays of Divine Consciousness is another important teaching that I was given by the spirits, on another sacred hill in Scotland, on the March equinox of 2012. It is a gift from the Archangelic realm that is based on the spiritual aspect of our DNA. The teaching I was offered is about healing our spiritual DNA from the state of separation and survival, back to the state of Oneness, which is inherent in us and was more present during an ancient time that my helping spirits call the Golden Time, when humanity was awake and lived in harmony with the cosmos, the Earth, each other.
• Past Life Regression Therapy. When I graduated as a clinical hypnotherapist, I was drawn to the past life regression work. I recognised that, for healing to happen, it was not enough to just know who we may have been in a past life. Clients came to me and said they were traumatised by events they encountered in a past life regression, because there was no resolution. My shamanic experience showed me that together with the regression, people need a past life soul retrieval, as in some cases we leave parts of our essence in a past incarnation. Consequently, we may not come into this life, whole. At the same time there are karmic lessons and relationships that we bring from past lives into this life, to be resolved. I brought past life teachings into the therapeutic field through soul retrieval, psychopomping (the passing of lost souls into the light), healing, and resolution of trauma with compassion, forgiveness, self-forgiveness, acceptance, and awareness.
So all these strands of teachings that we share in the Isis School of Holistic Health are about soul evolution. Moreover, we offer people important tools to help themselves and others in their healing journey. We follow a feminine path, which teaches by example, and enables people to walk their own path. To do this we are asked to create and hold a space of integrity and deep listening. People can thrive through the feminine way which asks us to release the ego and competition and find ways to work in community and in harmony.
You have trained with indigenous shamans and carry an ancestral shamanic lineage from ancient Greece. How has your heritage influenced the way you teach and practice shamanism?
Early in my path, one of the spirits of the ancient Greek tradition, who is fundamental in our culture, made her presence known to me. However, for many years I only practiced Core Shamanism and incorporated rituals and ceremonies from other indigenous teachers, with their permission. For example, I practiced the sweatlodge ceremony for some time, and I facilitated Medicine walks. I have received shamanic mantras invoking the power of Himalayan deities, which I work with in performing healing for my clients.
For a long time the Greek heritage stayed dormant within me. My ancestors practiced very differently. Their ceremonies cannot easily be performed in their entirety, outside the culture. However, the essence of the ceremonies can be transmitted. Three years ago, the ancestral shaman spirits asked me to teach the essence of the ceremonies and showed me how this could be done. This is very advanced work, and not for the beginner. So I started teaching the Shamanic Ancestral healing work, first for our own family lineage and then for practitioners. I have found this work very powerful and have had good results with it.
What type of services do you offer?
I work as a healer and shamanic practitioner, and as a teacher. I teach beginners, practitioners, and advanced practitioners. I help people find their own calling. I hold evening community circles, weekend courses, trainings that last months, and long term courses of one to two years. A big part of my work is to support people first to heal, then to make peace with their life, access their deep connection with their own spirit, and find a connection with the Divine, within and outwith.
Soul retrieval is a central part of your shamanic practice. What do you see as the most transformative aspects of soul retrieval, both for the practitioner and for those receiving the healing?
For the Practitioner: One of the greatest gifts of soul retrieval is the awe and honour to hold someone’s soul and see that soul in its Divine Light, transforming back into its true essence as it lets go of the trauma. Another gift is the incredible state of happiness and euphoria through the merging with the shamanic spirits. Shamanism has been described as ecstasy without drugs, which is so true. Following a soul retrieval both the client and the practitioner are deeply touched by the light of the helping compassionate spirits who perform the healing and so a deep transformation can take place. Soul retrieval work teaches the practitioner of the incredible journey of the soul through different realities and incarnations, even about worlds that the practitioner knows nothing about. Through this journey we ask ourselves – what the bleep do we think we know? And we remain open each time we perform a soul retrieval in order to be taught by the spirits and keep learning. In this way we stay humble.
The potential of this work for spiritual evolution is huge. In order to perform a soul retrieval we must trust the spirits, and surrender our ego, so we can become a hollow bone. There is no way to know through a book or by reading a methodology of how a soul retrieval is going to unfold. Each time there is the possibility of being shown something completely different. Unless we trust in our helping spirits, we will block the process.
For the Client: I have seen huge transformation in some of the people receiving their soul essence back. The first thing we say to them after the healing is, “welcome home, welcome back,” and it is truly a homecoming that may have taken place. For some people they gain personal strength and freedom from the issues that have plagued them. They may feel a new sense of peace and direction. Some people have also experienced physical healing of long standing ailments, but such evidence may only be viewed as anecdotal. In short, we cannot know how a soul retrieval healing may affect someone. It also depends on where a person is in their personal healing journey. Some people report that a soul retrieval worked for them straight away, others have said that they saw a benefit over time. This is because the soul essence may take time to integrate.
With online courses and a global community, how do you ensure that the sacred practices taught at the ISIS School retain their authenticity and power in a virtual setting?
This is a very good question. I never teach the advanced courses as pre- recorded, nor do I permit people to record them. This is to safeguard the teachings. I do not, for example, teach soul retrieval, extraction, and death and dying as a pre-recorded course. I have to be very discerning about what I teach in person and online. When it comes to online courses, the advanced work is only taught live in a very small group, so I am able to engage deeply with everyone.
Before the pandemic I did not teach online, and I was receiving emails from people who wished to study with us but could not travel. In 2021 things changed. And, like other shamanic teachers, we decided to teach online. We discovered that the spirits have no limits of time and space, and the energy transfers. The only drawback I have found is that in online courses, people do not engage as much with each other. In the in-person courses a community is formed, people share their experiences more deeply and spend time together during breaks, sometimes forming long lasting friendships. This is more difficult to achieve online.
I do teach some pre-recorded courses that are simply beautiful and that many people have found helpful. The energy transfers and I invite participants to send me their experiences if they wish and email me if they have questions. I have found people can have a big transformation through accessing these teachings. The work is so deep and so sacred. I trust in the helping spirits to offer to participants exactly what they need.
You were trained by Sandra Ingerman and other respected teachers. Can you share some of the most valuable lessons you’ve learned from them and how these teachings shape your approach?
I have learned so many wisdom teachings from my teachers, but I also learned how to be a good teacher. I saw one of my teachers teaching us when her mother passed. She was completely committed to the shamanic work. Instead of leaving the workshop, even when people said they would completely understand if she needed to leave, she stayed with us and completed the course. I saw a real teacher there. For me, a good teacher is not the one who can produce the biggest fireworks but the teacher who will walk with their students step by step and honour the commitment to them and the spirits.
Another of my teachers led us in a pilgrimage in Nepal, working tirelessly to organise 40 plus shamans to come and work with us at different places, taking us over high mountains and making sure everyone was ok. I felt so touched by his efforts and his deep humility and integrity. I have seen teachers take power from their students and I vowed that this was something I will endeavour to never do. I will try my best.
At the same time, a teacher needs to set good boundaries, which provide a safe space for everyone. I teach the feminine way, by example. Some traditional shamans can appear very harsh, putting their students down, so they can strip them of their ego. But this can be tough. I feel people in the west are so traumatised, and my job is to empower them, not to re-traumatise them. I wish to plant positive seeds in peoples’ hearts. However, I also place firm boundaries. I ask my students to consider the need for honesty, integrity, and regular spiritual practice. And I have the intention that if people cannot follow their heart and go on an ego trip, that they leave.
Over the years I have seen the need to be selective with what I teach to different people. Some people are not ready for advanced teachings, they just want them to show off.
Unfortunately I have seen this so much in the western world, where people feed their insecurity rather than doing the deep inner work to uproot their shadow and stay humble in the face of the Divine. I pray to the spirits to bring me good people to work with.
You have written a book about shamanism and you are in the process of publishing a second book on the Mysticism of Egypt. Could you tell us what these two books are about and how can they help the reader delve deeper into the mystery?
The first book: The Golden Book of Wisdom – ancient spirituality and shamanism for modern times, aims to help the modern seeker understand life from a shamanic perspective and engage in spiritual practices to understand, heal, and resolve some of the fundamental questions of human existence. The shamanic teachings are very deep, and speak about life-force energy as our power, our soul essence as our light, and our life as a continuous cycle of reincarnation beyond time and space, an eternal journey towards the luminosity of the Divine self we all are. There are teachings at the micro level: our current life experience, life purpose, egoic self, disease, death, healing as well as teachings at the macro level: incarnation, reincarnation, and awakening. I wrote this book to be a concise guide to shamanic work. Sometimes in the west we think shamanism is just a healing system, or a way to speak to our guides, but it is so much more. In my view we must touch the whole, the cosmology of who we are, to bring good results to our shamanic work. If we just focus on spirit communication, we may remain ungrounded, the equivalent of hanging from the branch of the tree of life with one hand. There is so much more to be aware of and nourish our soul with, so we can truly be the cosmic traveller who moves between realities and dimensions and brings back the essence to ourselves, our families, and our communities. This book is available both as a paperback and e-book.
The second book, Sacred Mysticism of Egypt is my life’s work, Now that I have written it, I feel I have accomplished most of what I am here to do. This book is based on memories from my past life in the priesthood of the Golden times of ancient Egypt, and direct revelations from the ancient Egyptian Goddess Isis. The book presents some of the fundamental spiritual teachings of the ancient Egyptian mystery school and guides the seeker in their path of soul evolution. The book may evoke memories within people’s subconscious, of an era when spiritual ascension was not just a myth. I believe that we have preserved within the monuments and teachings of ancient Egypt, the light of the Shakti era, which can still illuminate us and our world. My experience with teaching this path since 2006, is that it carries the seeds of inner transformation, enabling us to embody our spirit; changing us from the inside into the wise self that we may never knew existed. Sacred Mysticism of Egypt will be published by O-Books in July 2025, and available for pre-order from May 2025.
Finally, the Isis School of Holistic Health has also published Fi Sutherland’s book: Coming Home – awakening through the stillness into the living light. Fi is a co-founder and director of the School.
The book narrates Fi’s experience of awakening into the enlightened state after being in a coma in a Peruvian hospital. Fi talks about her spiritual calling before and after the coma, about achieving the meditator’s dream of the enlightened mind, and about mostly relinquishing this state in order to reintegrate into her western life. Awakening becomes a journey where the grail comes and offers a taste of the enlightened state, and then disappears, asking us to consciously seek and retrieve it through personal and spiritual development. This book is available both as a paperback and e-book.
