CATHBADH

Raised in the mountains of Southern Colorado by a family well grounded in their Scottish ethnicity, Cathbadh has been a practitioner of some form of Celtic inspired spirituality all his life. Coming to Virginia by way of the U.S. Navy gave him the unique opportunity to travel extensively throughout the Celtic world to places such as Scotland, Cornwall, Wales, Brittany, Nova Scotia and Galicia. Cathbadh remains deeply involved in the preservation of Celtic, Scottish and Gaelic Culture as a living entity through his close ties to the Scottish Society of Tidewater, the Tidewater Irish Society, the St. Andrews Society of Tidewater and the 76th MacDonald's Highlanders Historical Society. Additionally, Cathbadh is a 10-year Scottish Gaelic language learner; in 2003, together with his wife Marcey, he co-founded the Scots Gaelic Speakers Society of Tidewater where he teaches the Beginner Classes. 

His calling to a faith expressed through Gaelic culture culminated in the mid-1990s when Cathbadh met his lifelong friend and fellow Druid, Starrag Druiean Dubh, at a Norfolk, VA CUUPS meeting; together over the next decade they created and founded the Dalriadic Tradition, a Gaelic Druidic Tradition based on the ancient Irish Sagas and extensive research into Irish and Scottish Highland folk practices. 

Cathbadh's initial Druidic instruction and study was through the Fidh (Ovate) tradition as a Seer, Magician, Liturgist and in Brehon Law; in addition to being an accomplished Bodhran player! Having taken the vows of the Draoidh he is a devotee to the Warrior Goddess Sgathach and currently serves as an Ard t-Sagart (High Priest) to the independent grove, Tuatha na Doirachan.

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 JANIE CARPENTER

A Mama Bear, Granny Bear and an eclectic Pagan priestess with a deep interest in shamanism. She finds connection with spirit through singing and dancing in drum circles and, well, dancing at the Food Lion, too (much to the chagrin of her kids...although they swear they've become accustomed to the disco-dancing ....somewhat). She is also codirector, with Dirk Weaver, of the most awesome pagan choir, The InChantors. When not singing, dancing, or attending to the duties that put food on her table, she attempts to work toward Global Cooling and chases butterflies.

BLAZING SOLACE

We are a group of friends who met on the path of the Ancient Ones. We were brought together by our love and reverence for the elements, particularly FIRE. We are dreamers, shapers, singers, makers, spinners and dancers. As with any team, we are good individually but we are greater when we are together. Some of us specialize in one fire spinning toy such as poi, staff, devil sticks or fire fingers while others play with multiple toys; still others specialize in the awesome responsibility of protecting the performers and the audience. As we travel this road we will continue to bond with each other, the Fire and any who join us on our quest; who knows what we will truly become as we travel this road.

ELSPETH OF HAVEN - AKA "GRANDMOTHER ELSPETH"

Teacher, pastoral Counselor, irrepressible storyteller - Elspeth is an honored Elder in the Pagan community. She is co-founder of The HavenWay: an eco-spiritual path of personal and planetary transformation. Her workshops reflect her primary concerns: healing as a multi-dimensional spiritual path, the unrecognized value of the older woman, the integral relationship between humans and other beings, all this combined with our power and ability to create a world of compassion, justice and sustainability. Elspeth has created a CD of all her Trance Journeys. Called “Into the Forest”, it will be available soon. Elspeth is a living example of the messages she brings: a 78-year-old great-grandmother who travels over the country in Harvey, the RV, to teach her lessons. She carries native blood and is a member of the Echota Cherokee Tribe. Elspeth holds the Certificate of Shamanic Practitioner from The Church of Earth Healing. All her other training is experiential, and her learning received directly from the Source.Two of her major contributions to personal development include “Resonating With the Crone”, designed for peri- and menopausal women, and “Personal Evolution”, a workshop for adults of all genders. When she is not being Crone-on-the-Road, Elspeth is at home in wild and wonderful West Virginia with her beloved Nybor and a fur person named Solstice.

NYBOR

Nybor is an artist, healer, teacher, pastoral counselor, theorist, self-taught ritual magician and, with Elspeth, co-founder of the Haven Community. His art has appeared in Science Fiction and Pagan publications. He has been named Pagan Artist of the Year several times. He has recently completed the Nybor Tarot Deck, a 30- plus year project to produce a divination deck more in line with modern society and thought. His next project is a illustrated book of Goddesses. As a ritual magician he is working on a theory of spiritually, revealing a new way of looking at the world that incorporates all systems of Magick. He has been named Elder in several communities as well as for the various Guardian groups, and as such is available to the community as a resource. He lives in West Virginia with his wife and soul mate Elspeth and two furry entities.

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BEKKI SHINING BEARHEART 

Bekki Shining Bearheart is an intuitive who has been guided by her relationship with Mother Earth since age 2. She has been a student of metaphysics since age 14, including Astrology, Tarot and various methods of healing. In 1980 she met and married Crow Swimsaway, continuing to explore spiritual realms via earth religions and shamanism. Her degrees are in Art and Art Education; she continues a lifelong involvement in the arts, by crafting, and teaching others to craft, shamanic tools and music. She is also a licensed massage therapist specializing in Structural Therapy. With Crow she is a minister of the Church of Earth Healing, based near Athens, Ohio.

CROW SWIMSAWAY, Ph.D

Crow Swimsaway, Ph.D, is an experientially-based, academically trained shamanic practitioner and teacher, and an artist, activist and ritualist, expressing through his ministry with the Church of Earth Healing, founded in 1990. He has taught shamanism with Bekki since 1982 at universities, conferences, religious institutions, festivals and gatherings throughout the Midwest and Eastern U.S., and Britain. Crow's degrees (Chicago and London School of Economics at London University) and publications are in Social and Cultural Anthropology. He has traveled and studied extensively in the U.S., Mexico, Europe and the Far East. He has published one book on shamanism, Spirit Knife, Soul Bone: The Ancient Shamanic Art of Extracting Negative Energies, and is working on two others.

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FREEFALL

DIRK WEAVER

Dirk Weaver has been drumming and attending drum circles for over nine years in the Hampton Roads/ Virginia area. He is a member of Mystic Fire and The InChantors pagan choir. Dirk has always had a love for drumming and the energy a drum circle can facilitate. He hopes that through the Drum Circle Dynamics workshop, he can impart his philosophy to others in hopes that they can get the greatest possible experience from every drum circle they participate in. He teaches these workshops along side Sara B. The two of them have been drumming together for years and have attended many spiritual and non-spiritual drum circles together.

ELAINE GORDON, Ph.D

Elaine has grown herbs and studied the medicinal uses of plants extensively.  She is curator of the Herb Garden at the Virginia Zoo. Her own garden contains abundant herbs and medicinal plants which she uses to mix up strange potions.  She is a self described naturalist, herbalist, nutritionist, green witch and gardening addict.  As a child of nature in the Pennsylvania forest, she began a long and ardent affair with the plant kingdom that grew into a solitary magical practice. A doctorate in cell biology augments her spiritual understanding of herbal secrets.  CUUPS provided her first encounter with group energy followed by four years attendance at Reclaiming’s Spiralheart “Witch Camp” and 9 years with Seven Sisters coven.

INCHANTORS

The InChantors Pagan Choir was started and founded in 2003 by our director, Pamela Parker. Now, five years later, they are still going strong and loving it even more every year! The InChantors originated from Mystic Moon in Norfolk, Virginia and their voices ring out as the voice and spirit of Mystic Moon and the local Pagan community. This year the choir is being directed by Janie Carpenter and Dirk Weaver.

Rev. PAM PARKER

Rev. Pam Parker has been an ordained minister for the past eight years. For the past decade she has been conducting rituals for esbats, sabbats, handfastings, baby blessings, cronings, and other life passages, etc for the pagan community, which has centered itself around Mystic Moon. Practical Magick, a basic class in magick, meditation, and faith (not religion) was started by her about 8 years ago and she has been its teacher throughout those years, introducing countless students to basic concepts of magick, the cycles of life and the year, spirituality, meditation, and self growth. Quite a few of those students have continued on with their studies and have become Priests and Priestesses. About 5 years ago she founded and for the first four years directed the InChantors, a pagan choir that has performed at local Pagan Pride Day festivals, spring festivals, earth day celebrations, and peace rallies. Pam is in a long- term relationship with her partner Terrence who often assists her in ritual and is frequently found behind the sound equipment at festivals serving as DJ for local events.

She has one grown son, Dmitri, who also helps with ritual at times and can be found working at Mystic Moon on Sundays; sometimes teaching workshops there.

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SHAMAN FILLHART

Shaman Fillhart is a native of Ohio, raised in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. He began practicing majick over twenty years ago, finding his path as a Dragon Sorcerer and interpreter for spirit along the way. Always inquisitive and insightful, Shaman began exploring divination through tarot at fifteen, eventually developing skills with a range of divinitory methods and tools, and now maintains a strong view of divination as a practical art; one created to help bring change and growth. Two decades of eclectic studies and journeys have led him to delve into everything from divination to spirit settling, counciling to the creation of majikal tools.

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LILITH DORSEY

Lilith Dorsey, B.A., M.A., hails from many different magickal traditions, including Celtic, Afro-Caribbean, and Native American spirituality. Her traditional education focused on Plant Science, Anthropology, Cinema Studies, and Fine Art at the University of R.I., New York University and the University of London, and her magickal training includes initiations in Santeria, Vodoun, and New Orleans Voodoo. Lilith Dorsey has been doing successful magick since 1991 for patrons of her business Branwen’s Pantry, and is editor/publisher of Oshun-African Magickal Quarterly, and author of "Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism".

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DJ BEAR

Bear Baker, also referred to as "Dancing Bear" during local events, is a former Navy Airdale, DOD Civil Engineer and 1/2 of a deliriously happy marriage of nearly 30 years. Having assembled an entourage of assorted entertainment equipment over the years, he is perhaps most well-known as the voice and sounds of the Annual Harvest Faire since its inception. He continues to lend his support to Pagan as well as other spiritual and community events throughout Hampton Roads.

Currently retired, he enjoys writing, photography, audio & film productions and most of all music. Pictured in his home studio, his passion and sense of humor are obvious.

LISA CAREY

Lisa Carey is a well-known instructor of early folk dancing of the British Isles. She has taught locally for over thirty years, and teaches folk dance every Thursday night in Norfolk, Virginia.