I didn’t realize it at the time, but the first tiny step in my journey in the Craft took place in seventh grade when I did a huge term project on astrology and cast my first astrological chart for my English class. I took another, tiny step when I read Sybil Leek’s Diary of a Witch and managed to convince my tenth grade English teacher that it was a worthwhile book to use for my quarterly book report (he was reluctant to allow it because it was so short, not because of the content—I think).

But the major, massive, huge, life-changing step came in the fall of 1994, my senior year in college, when I took a special, first-time-ever-offered religious studies course called Neo-Paganism. Our two major course books were Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon and Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance, and I had more light-bulb moments while reading Spiral Dance than I have ever had in my life. During that course, I bought my first set of runes and began to cast the stones. Shortly after that, I bought my first set of Tarot cards. My next purchase was Silver RavenWolf’s To Ride a Silver Broomstick. And in February 1995, I made my decision, dedicated myself as a Witch, and never looked back!

Today, I am a high priestess in the Coven of the Black Wolf, daughter coven of the Black Forest Clan, whose founder and national clan head is Lady Silver RavenWolf. I am also a cofounder of the Ladies of the Mist, a small family coven that includes my sister, my niece, and my best friend (who may as well be another sister!). I still practice solitary Craft as well. I am studying and working toward earning my clergy status in the BFC, I read Tarot and runes for whoever asks me for a reading, and I love to learn new chants and songs in my study/concentration in chants in ritual and magick.

My main purposes in the Craft, however, are to educate others about what the Craft is and is not, and to encourage community among Witches wherever and whenever possible. Bewitching Ways is one of those vehicles, and I look forward to “meeting” you all!