Honoring the life and legacy of Tracy Elise — priestess, sacred sexuality pioneer, and feminine mystic whose teachings continue to ripple through the temple arts.
RIP Tracy Elise
Some women leave a legacy that cannot be contained by a single lifetime. Tracy Elise was one of them—a priestess, a visionary, and a fierce pioneer of sacred sexuality. Her teachings shaped my path in ways I am still discovering, and her recent passing has stirred something deep and ancient in me. This eulogy is my offering—an attempt to honor a woman whose fire lit countless others.
I just learned that one of my early mentors has crossed from this world into the next. I’m gutted, crying the kind of tears that come from the soul instead of the eyes. Even now, as I write, I feel like she’s standing behind me, cloaked in one of her flowing scarves, whispering in my ear, as she did on the night of my one-person show: “Tell the truth, love. Tell the whole thing.”
So here goes.
Tracy Elise was a force of nature. She was a ferocious feminist visionary who came here to change culture. I met her in 2006 when I was a young, impressionable artist still finding my voice at the Sedona Daka-Dakini Conference. She offered me language for something I had only felt in my body. Before her, I had a vague sense that what I was doing mattered. After her, I had lineage, context, and a place to stand.
She modeled that pleasure is prayer. She taught me that the priestess serves the divine, while the prostitute serves the client, and she showed me how the path of the dakini is ancient, powerful, and misunderstood. She spoke with the conviction of someone who lived her values in her bones.
I am who I am today because she insisted I listen to the Goddess instead of the world.
She was one of the first to teach me that words are spells.
That intention is the active ingredient in any ritual.
And that reclaiming the sacred from the shadows is dangerous but holy work. She taught all this while being hunted by the culture she served.
I watched Tracy stand up to forces that would’ve crushed most people: health challenges, public condemnation, vice raids, prosecutors, being vilified, betrayal, and a legal system that was utterly unequipped to understand what her soul was standing for.
She held on to her truth anyway.
She continued her ministry, knowing that her divinity is not dependent on outside approval.
She never sold out or apologized for her magic.
Of course, she wasn’t perfect, but I admired her for taking risks and being willing to learn from her mistakes.
Tonight, I feel the pull of the full moon. Tracy trusted the unseen. She was a pagan priestess who lived her whole life listening to the moon, running with wolves, and howling at injustice. May her light continue to guide those of us who walk the path she illuminated.
Rest well, Tracy Elise,
I will keep speaking about what is sacred.
I will continue doing the daring work.
I will dance under the moonlight and carry you with me.
In Service to the Goddess,
KD
Photo by Julie Kondor in 2010
This shot is from the opening night of “The sacred slut show,” when Tracy came and sat in the front row. She held my hand and told me I was not just a performer but a priestess in prayer. I felt so seen. She loved ritual theater because she knew what it meant to step aside and let the goddess take the Mic.
P.S. if you have questions about her passing or want to connect with her family, please go to her Obituatry here: https://www.buelerfuneralhome.com/obituary/Tracy-Elise
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