From her home on the island of Karpathos, a young, spirited Kelenoh, is taken from her family to Samos, a Greek island in the Eastern Aegean Sea (ca. 550 BC). As the one prophesied by the oracle of Delphi to be the next High Priestess of Hera, she is then sent to the city of Karnak and initiated by the High Priest Yufaa into Egypt’s ancient and occult wisdom. Upon the untimely death of the presiding High Priestess, her training is cut short and she is summoned back to Samos. At 15, and with her stubborn streak still unconquered, she takes her place as leader and healer in one of the spiritual Meccas of her time. With the jealous ruler Polykrates constantly challenging Kelenoh, she finds herself in the middle of a power struggle amid the constant demands of those she’s called to serve. With the support of her good friend and mentor Pythagoras, her special bird Yufas, and that of the priestesses Cassandra, Theano, and Selene, she navigates a life destiny has chosen for her from birth. Will Kelenoh be able to fulfill her destiny? Or will her spirit crumble under the weight of great responsibility?
In this historical fusion of mysticism and Greek religious tradition and ceremony, Hillie Kuipers beautifully narrates Kelenoh’s story in a most personal and engaging manner, as though she had transcended time and space and vividly reliving a life from millennia ago.
Return to Samos
When Hillie Kuipers visited Samos Island in Greece for the first time, she got sudden visions of ancient times, the island, the people, of incidents and events, and of the Temple of Hera. It confused her a lot and initially she didn’t dare to tell anyone about it, she thought she might be going crazy. When it turned out that her visions agreed with the historical events of that time, she started to believe more and more that what she saw were real events from the past. She discovered as well that what she saw, the life of Kelenoh, the last High Priestess of the ancient Temple of Hera (6th century BC), and her present life were closely connected. It gave her more insight in what happened in her present life and she started to recognize that the live of the High Priestess Kelenoh was actually a life that she had lived herself.
In her present life, Hillie has been afraid of power, of judging people, and of aggression. Kelenoh had been powerful, aggressive, and judgmental, leaving out her feelings in order to be able to fulfill her many responsibilities as High Priestess with just the power of her mind. She thought herself better than others, despised the people that came to her for help, ordered them around and was easily angered.
Initially Hillie felt an aversion to Kelenoh. But over time that changed, she got more respect for the person of Kelenoh who was able to remain herself in difficult situations and never was swayed.
The English language version of the book Kelenoh by Hillie Kuipers was published in 2016. She tells the spellbinding story of the life of the High Priestess Kelenoh on Samos Island. In this magnificent spiritual autobiography Return to Samos, you can read how the lives of Hillie and Kelenoh indeed are intertwined.