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Pagan Spirit Gathering 2009 Presenters |
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| Here is a sampling of some of those presenting workshops, talks, rituals, and other program activities at this year's Pagan Spirit Gathering. More will be added as presentation proposals are received and accepted. A complete list of program activities will be published in the PSG Program Book. | ||
| Margot Adler | ||
Margot Adler has been involved with Wicca and Paganism for more than 35 years. She is the author of Drawing Down the Moon, the classic study of Paganism and Goddess Spirituality in America, as well as Heretic's Heart, a 1960s memoir. In her mundane life she is the New York Correspondent for National Public Radio and she can be heard on their national news shows: All Things Considered and Morning Edition.
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| Michelle Boshears | ||
Michelle Boshears, Major, US Army (Ret.) is a high priestess with Stone Circle Coven, a Greenwitch tradition of Wicca in Bloomington, Indiana. She makes her home at Pine Circle, a small hobby farm, in Grovetown, Georgia where she raises goats, chickens, donkeys, cats, dogs, and occasionally a granddaughter. Michelle is a Circle Sanctuary sponsored Distinctive Faith Group Leader for Pagans and Wiccans at Fort Gordon, Georgia. She conducts weekly workshops and facilitates Open Circles honoring the Sabbats and the Full Moons. She is co-founder of the Sisterhood of Darkpine, a support group for Pagan women in the Augusta area. She is a member of Order of the Pentacle, Circle Sanctuary, Warriors Circle, Military Pagan Network, and a dedicate to the Eternal Harvest Tradition of Wicca. Michelle is a local co-coordinator for Augusta Pagan Pride Day and is studying in Circle Sanctuary Ministers Training Program.Michelle can be reached at mboshears@gmail.com.
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| Joanna Powell Colbert | ||
Joanna Powell Colbert is known internationally for her mythic art and her Tarot deck-in-progress, the Gaian Tarot. Her artwork has appeared in Circle Magazine for twenty years, and often appears in SageWoman as well. Amber Lotus Publishing Co. calls her one of "the most accomplished and well-loved artists in the Goddess-spirit community."Her Gaian Tarot deck and book will be published by Llewellyn Worldwide in September 2011, with a fine art collector's edition to precede it in Spring 2010. This project combines Joanna's love of symbolic, archetypal art with the mysteries of Mama Gaia, the natural world. TarotPassages.com calls it "hands down the best tarot for Pagans around." The limited edition Majors-Only deck sold out its first edition before it was released. The deck has received rave reviews in Tarot and Pagan publications around the world and is featured in US Games' Encyclopedia of Tarot, Volume 4. Joanna presents workshops and shows her artwork at Tarot festivals and conferences around the country, including the Tarot School's Readers Studio in New York, BATS (Bay Area Tarot Symposium) in San Francisco, LATS (Los Angeles Tarot Symposium), WATTS (Wisconsin Area Tri-State Tarot Symposium) and MATS (Minnesota Area Tarot Symposium). She is also the host of the monthly Bellingham (Washington) Tarot MeetUp. Joanna has taught classes on the Goddess, Tarot and earth-centered spirituality in the Northwest since 1991. She is the founder of the Bellingham-area Circle of Stella Maris. She was ordained a Priestess of Isis-Stella Maris by Lady Olivia Robertson of the Fellowhip of Isis in New Orleans in 1996. She is also a priestess of the Sisterhood of the Silver Branch in Santa Cruz, California. Joanna lives in the woods outside Bellingham, Washington with her husband, musician Craig Olson, in a house called "Rainbow Cottage." There daily encounters with the mysteries of the natural world continue to inspire and inform her work. Website: http://www.GaianTarot.com Blog: http://www.GaianTarot.com/journal Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gaiantarot Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Joanna-Powell-Colbert/1002984375 |
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| Lydia Crabtree | ||
As cofounder of Family Wiccan Traditions International, Lydia is dedicated to promoting family as the first and most important coven in a witch's life. Featured in Modern Witch Magazine, CIRCLE Magazine and on the Witches' Voice, Lydia is dedicated to researching families as they relate to spiritual practice. Her Bachelors of Science in Psychology, Minors in Theatre and Journalism have positioned Lydia to present entertaining, informative seminars. Lydia's book Family Coven, is published by Llewellyn Worldwide Publications, Ltd., and will be released in the Fall of 2009. Lydia will present at PantheaCon (2008, 2009); Florida Pagan Gathering (FPG, 2009); Pagan Spirit Gathering (PSG, 2009)Sacred Harvest Festival (2009); ConVocation (2008); StarFest (2007, 2008, 2009) and many other local and national events.
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| David Doersch | ||
| David Doersch has been leading large group rituals for nearly twenty years. His background in theatre and music come strongly into play in this endeavour. Trained in an eclectic blend of Native American Shamanic practice and traditional Wicca, David seeks the divine through the archetypal and mythic, striving to find that which speaks to us all. | ||
| Harry Dorman | ||
Rev. Harry C. Dorman aka Pathwalker is a retired business owner, an 11 year member of Circle Community and a Circle Minister whose ministry includes spiritual counseling, rites of passage work, interfaith projects, Wiccan Circle involvement, prison ministry and PSG ritual facilitation.
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| Ellen Dugan | ||
Ellen Dugan, is the award winning author known as the "Garden Witch". A psychic-clairvoyant, she has been a practicing Witch for over twenty-six years. She is a Master Gardener, and is also the Co-High Priestess of Greenwood Coven, a mixed magickal tradition Coven in the St. Louis area. Ellen teaches classes locally on Witchery and Magick. She is the author of the following Llewellyn books: Ellen's tenth and eleventh book with Llewellyn Worldwide will be released in 2009. When she's not keeping up with her family (two of the kids are in college now and the oldest is out on his own), Ellen likes to unwind by working in her perennial gardens at home with her husband. Ellen wholeheartedly encourages folks to personalize their Spell-craft. To go outside and connect with the spiritual side of nature. To get their hands dirty and discover the wonder and magick of natural world that surrounds them. Website: www.ellendugan.com |
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| Selena Fox | ||
Selena Fox is high priestess of Circle Sanctuary. She is one of America's best known Pagan elders and religious freedom activists, and is executive director of the Lady Liberty League. Founder of the Circle Craft tradition, Selena's approach to spirituality emphasizes Nature communion and blends together ancient and contemporary Pagan folkways, Wiccan traditions, multicultural shamanism, and transpersonal psychology. Selena is a clinical psychotherapist and spiritual counselor with a MS in counseling from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Selena and her work on behalf of the Craft and contemporary Pagan culture have been covered by various regional, national, and global media. She is active in efforts promoting multicultural understanding, interfaith dialogue, and global cooperation and is the first head of a Wiccan tradition to serve on the Assembly of Religious and Spiritual Leaders associated with the Parliament of the World's Religions. Selena's writings and photographs have been published in a variety of periodicals, anthologies, and other publications. She is author of Goddess Communion Rituals and Meditations and When Goddess is God: Pagans, Recovery, and Alcoholics Anonymous. She also has created several music and guided meditation tapes. She is founder of the quarterly journal, CIRCLE Magazine, and sourcebook, Circle Guide to Pagan Groups. Selena has traveled internationally in connection with her work. She has presented workshops and led rituals in many types of settings. She is founder and co-director of PSG.Email: selena@circlesanctuary.org Website: http://www.circlesanctuary.org |
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| Catherine Hauke | ||
| Catherine Hauke has been creating sacred space with her drumming for over 25 years. She brings a symphonic ear to the creation of ritual and drives to find that magic moment at which drumming transcends music and rhythm and becomes transformative. For her, Drumming is a three-way conversation between the body, the spirit and the Divine. | ||
| Joyce & River Higginbotham | ||
Joyce and River Higginbotham make their home in the Midwest where they are active in teaching and networking on both the local and national level. They helped start and sustain the St. Louis Pagan Picnic, which is one of the largest free pagan events anywhere, attracting more than 2500 attendees each year. They are interviewed for television, radio, newspapers, and magazines on issues relating to Paganism, and appear as guest speakers at universities, high schools, and churches. The Unitarian church has adopted their introductory book as a text for an adult religious education course on earth religions, and several universities use their books as a text or required reading for both graduate and undergraduate religious studies classes. River and Joyce are the authors of Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions, Pagan Spirituality: A Guide to Personal Transformation, and ChristoPaganism: An Inclusive Path, all published by Llewellyn. For more information see their website: www.riverandjoyce.com. River is also on the staff of Diana's Grove Center (www.dianasgrove.com) . It offers leadership and personal growth training through its Mystery School and other events. It is located just a few miles upstream along Sinking Creek from the new PSG home at Camp Zoe.
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| Jerrie Hildebrand | ||
Jerrie Hildebrand has been affiliated with various national nature-centered and Pagan organizations since 1986. She currently works with the Our Freedom Collaborative, is the Assistant Director of Lady Liberty League and an ordained minister with Circle Sanctuary leading an interfaith women's collective in Massachusetts. Her work and path is tied with her love and passion of transformational thinking and processes. As an award-winning creative director with 30 years experience, she has a mastery in working as an artist, business woman, mother and priestess and walking between the worlds of each.
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| Patrick McCollum | ||
Reverend Patrick McCollum is Director of the National Correctional Chaplaincy Directors Association and serves as the Chaplaincy Liaison for all faiths, for the American Academy of Religion, the world's largest and oldest convocation of religious scholars, theologians, and clergy. He is also Director of Chaplaincy at Cherry Hill Seminary . He is an ordained Circle Sanctuary minister and his work includes coordinating the Prison Ministry Task Force for the Lady Liberty League and teaching Pagan Chaplaincy and other topics as part of the Pagan Leadership Institute at the Pagan Spirit Gathering . Rev. McCollum is also on the National Advisory Council of American's United for the Separation of Church and State.Reverend McCollum appeared before the United States Commission on Civil Rights on matters regarding religious discrimination in US prisons. His comments have been included in a report to Congress and to the President, and will be used to create policy to better serve the religious diversity of our country. As a chaplain, Reverend McCollum is a Professional Member of the American Correctional Chaplains Association, the Associated Chaplains in California State Service, and the American Correctional Association. He was a Keynote Speaker for all of the State Chaplain's in California in 2005, speaking on religious accommodation and the law, and also served as the Keynote speaker for all of the State chaplains in North Carolina in 2006. Rev. McCollum has served for over a decade as the Statewide Wiccan Chaplain in the California Department of Corrections, and serves inmates in 33 correctional facilities. He also advises numerous state and federal correctional systems across the country on religious accommodation and chaplaincy issues for all faiths, and received a commendation from the California State Senate for his work in 1999. Reverend McCollum is author of: COURTING THE LADY, A WICCAN JOURNEY, (available at courtingthelady.com) a book on Wiccan theology, and his personal spiritual journey. |
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| Bob Paxton | ||
Bob Paxton (Aspen) is a Circle Sanctuary minister who lives in northeast Wisconsin with his spouse Georgette. He is a founder and current secretary of the Fox Valley Pagan Unity Council, a local 501(c)3 Pagan networking organization, and has worked on community-building initiatives with FoxPUC and with Circle for several years.. He has called himself a Wiccan since 1992, is a third degree Reiki practitioner, and has facilitated small and large-group rituals with an emphasis on rhythm and chant. His current focus is the transformative power of the Sacred Fire Circle.
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| Georgette Paxton | ||
Georgette Paxton is a Circle Minister who makes her home in northeast Wisconsin with her spouse & best friend Bob (Aspen) among a close local Pagan community. Georgette is a founding member and current Board Chair of the Fox Valley Pagan Unity Council (FoxPUC) and has created and led group rituals, rites of passage, and a wide variety spirit work throughout her walk with the Goddess in these past 17 years. She has had the pleasure of coordinating a number of Circle festivals and rites over recent years, serves as the current Circle Magazine editor, and is a third degree Reiki practitioner. Georgette places great value in balance and integrity in her personal and spiritual life. She enjoys working with Spirit via rhythm and sound through the drum, the sacred fire, and meditation; finding her inspiration within the color and song of the land around her and in connections with her spiritual kin.
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| Sparky T. Rabbit | ||
Sparky T. Rabbit first met real witches at the tender age of 11 when he was cast as Young Macduff in a production of Macbeth-which really tells you everything you need to know about him. Theatre and paganism have entwined themselves throughout his life. (You may have heard the stories; don't believe more than half.) What is true is that he and his woofy husband Ray were handfasted at PSG way back in 1984, and will be celebrating their 25th anniversary this summer. Sparky was one half of the a cappella singing duo Lunacy, whose two seminal albums of pagan music from the early '90's will be available as CDs in June 2009. Finally!
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| Dave Sassman | ||
Dave has been following the Path of the Goddess for over 20 years, as a vendor, workshop presenter, event organizer (Chrysalis Moon, (www.chrysalismoon.com) and has attended events in a five state area. He has been a supporter and advocate for Pagan rights in the Military on a local level and was a foot soldier in the Pentacle Quest. He has assisted Chaplains of local units understand the needs and expectations of Pagans in their units. For the past couple of years he has facilitated a "Warrior Blessing Ritual", at events he has attended. As a Veteran (USAF 64'-72') he understands some of the needs and wants of the Military whether active duty or at VA Hospitals. Dave, is also enrolled in Circles "Minister Training Program"
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| Shel Skau | ||
Rev. Shel Skau; mom, wife, teacher, clergy, advocate, therapist, and tribe/community sister has been actively involved in the Pagan community for the past 11 plus years providing guidance, rites of passage, ritual, and actively working with inter/interfaith and religious freedom issues. She is the Social Services Advisor for Lady Liberty League and has contributed articles to Circle Magazine. Shel is author of the Magical Mysteries of Mundane Work series and has presented on and taught in many different settings regarding Paganism, woman's issues, diversity, and psychology. Shel is also a licensed clinical professional counselor and has worked in the mental health and social services field for over 20 years. Shel currently resides in northern IL with her husband Shawn and son Dylan.
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| Drake Spaeth | ||
Drake Spaeth, PsyD is a clinical psychologist, program faculty at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Coordinator of The Chicago School Adult Blended Learnign Program in Grayslake IL, and Pagan minister. He is a long-time presenter and ritual facilitator at PSG. His interests include the Faery traditions, shamanism, ecstatic ritual, Humanistic/Existential/Transpersonal Psychology, and Jungian psycho-spirituality (to name a few).
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| Billy Crow Staver | ||
Billy Crow Staver has been a shamanic practitioner and Pagan for 19 years whose passion comes from working on the Land in Sacred Space. He is a Traditional Land Based Practitioner who spent several years in a leadership role within his Clan in Michigan organizing events as well as facilitating rituals and rites of passage. Currently residing in Illinois, and moving to Madison, WI this summer, Billy Crow has adopted a Path that focuses on the importance of Rites of Passage on both an Individual and Community Levels. As a Ghetto Shaman, Billy Crow manages to balance the best of it all; Meaningful Mergers with the Mysteries, along with Mayhem and Misrule. He is the co-founder & facilitator of the Young Men's Rite of Passage, and 9 year PSG attendee.
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| Jennifer Cedarfox Todd | ||
Jennifer 'Cedarfox' Todd is an eclectic Wiccan continuing on her Pagan spiritual path for the 22nd year. This path led her to co-creating and facilitating Lake Spirit CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist PaganS) on the shore of Lake Michigan in Racine, Wisconsin. This chapter of CUUPS-Continental is an open Pagan group celebrating its third active year with diverse participants sharing various forms of earth-based spirituality and encouraging positive connections through active involvement with the greater non-Pagan community. Cedarfox is additionally honored to serve as dean, archivist, and teacher at Midwest Leadership School- a week long intensive for lay Unitarian Universalist leadership development in its 23rd year. Recently she has begun to facilitate Pagan worship circles at a nearby correctional facility and is optimistically challenged by this new opportunity to help others connect more deeply to their spirituality. A life-long artist, Cedarfox has found great joy in many forms of artistic expression but most passionately embraces writing, drawing and ceremonial broom making.
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| Nora Cedarwind Young | ||
Nora Cedarwind Young is a Circle Minister, Certified Death Midwife, Hospice Chaplain and Green Burial Educator. A leader in the home funeral and green burial movement, Nora facilitates workshops nationwide in support of families reclaiming their rights to care for their beloved dead in the family home. She currently lives surrounded by cedars on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State.website: www.thresholdsoflife.org |
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