Musician, Writer
Year born: 1989 (27 in ceremony)

Faye Sakellaridis’s interest in psychedelics and consciousness led her to become an managing editor at The Alchemists Kitchen and Reality Sandwich, where she enjoys the scope of visionary thought that she regularly encounters from the site’s many contributors and the “rich spectrum of intellectual essays on consciousness through a diverse lens of art, culture, and science.” Faye recently earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens College in NYC, and her professional and academic life have been centered on journalism and creative writing. However, Faye—a classically trained improvisational pianist—says that spiritually, she identifies herself first and foremost identify as a musician. “Music is my most intuitive language,” she says. “If it weren't for music I'm not sure I'd truly understand the concept of the sublime. Writing and music are two are elemental parts of me, and communicating through them is what I do.”

A first-generation Greek-American who was born and raised in Long Island, Faye is fluent in Greek and has strong ties to her ancestral heritage and culture. She’s interested in participating in ayahuasca ceremony to heal from a mentally, physically and emotionally abusive relationship in her past. She has had one cathartic ayahuasca experience around that trauma and believes she has more work to do. “There are certainly invaluable lessons in the darkness that I don't think I could have received so fully otherwise,” she says. (@fayesakell)

This mystical portrait of Faye Sakellaridis (Plant Spirit Grant 2016) was taken by Tracey Eller (Plant Spirit Grant 2014) on-location at Dreamglade in the Peruvian Amazon. The image graces Cosmic Sister press release announcing Plant Spirit Grant 2018 winners.

Faye Sakellaridis is a creative writer and musician who recently graduated from Graduate School at Queens College in NYC. She is also a classically trained improvisational pianist who identifies first and foremost as a musician. “Music is my most intuitive language,” she says.

Image: Musician Faye Sakellaridis plays the piano. Photo by Mitch Mignano

Cosmic Sister Plant Spirit Grant 2016
Women of the Psychedelic Renaissance Grant 2016
Ayahuasca Retreat: DreamGlade / Ayahuasca Foundation