Authors
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Biography Page

Raven Grimassi Author: Raven Grimassi is an award winning the author of over 13 books on Wicca and Witchcraft, including The Wiccan Mysteries, Witchcraft: A Mystery Tradition, the Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft, The Witches' Craft, Wiccan Magick, Hereditary Witchcraft, Beltane, Italian Witchcraft, The Witch's Familiar, Spirit of the Witch, and The Book of Ways-Volumes I & II. He is also co-creator and co-writer of The Well Worn Path Oracle kit (2005) and The Hidden Path Oracle Kit, released September 2007. Raven’s next book to be released in February 2008 is titled Crafting Wiccan Traditions. Raven has been a practitioner and teacher of Witchcraft for over 30 years. He is an initiate of several Witchcraft traditions including Brittic, Pictish-Gaelic, and Celtic Traditionalist. Raven is a legally ordained clergy of Witchcraft. Grimassi is the Directing Elder of the Arician Tradition, a system of Italian Witchcraft and his personal practice.. He is also a recognized expert on Italian Witchcraft, and the foremost authority on the works of Charles Godfrey Leland, in this particular field. Raven has appeared on television and radio interviews nation wide, in several short films on Witchcraft, and was a consultant for the pilot movie film called Mind Forest. Raven is a popular lecturer and guest speaker at festivals and conventions nationwide. Raven currently lives in southern California with his wife, Stephanie Taylor and divides his time between writing, directing the Arician Tradition, and developing a Mystery Tradition School called, The College of the Crossroads. He is devoted to preserving and teaching the Mystery Traditions of pre-Christian Europe.  www.ravengrimassi.net Raven and Stephanie’s store: www.ravensloft.biz www.collegeofthecrossroads.org www.ravengrimassi.net

Stephanie Grimassi Author: Stephanie Grimasi-Stephanie Taylor (aka Rasenna Elvenstar) is dedicated to guiding and teaching those who seek the Old Ways. She is a 3rd degree initiate of a Celtic Traditionalist system of Wicca, and a 3rd degree initiate of Italian Witchcraft (the Arician Tradition). She is a legally ordained clergy of Witchcraft. Stephanie is also the co-author and co-creator of The Well Worn Path Divination Kit (2005) and The Hidden Path Divination Kit, released September 2007. Nature has always been an extremely important part of Stephanie’s life experience and felt the magic of the world around her without ever being brought into conventional religion. As a young girl Stephanie was taught about the Little People by her Welsh grandmother and Astrology by her mother. She has studied, taught, and used the arts as a tool of transformation and discovery of the Mysteries throughout her life experience. She is also a Tarot reader and teacher with many years of experience. Stephanie has owned and operated Raven's Loft since 1998, first as a brick and mortar shop and now as an internet store. She has been a guest speaker on several panels alongside such noted figures as Raymond Buckland, Monty Farber, Amy Zerner, and Rachel Pollack. She has also appeared on television and in several short film documentaries on Witchcraft. Stephanie has also worked as a consultant for the movie pilot film Mind Forest, in which she likewise appears. She currently lives in southern California with her husband, Raven Grimassi and divides her time between teaching workshops, operating Raven's Loft web store, author management and publicist work, while creating and developing a Mystery Tradition School called The College of the Crossroads. www.thecrossroadsoracles.com

Oberon Zell Ravenheart Author: Oberon Zell-Ravenheart (1942-) is a renowned Wizard and elder in the worldwide magickal community. In 1962, he co-founded the Church of All Worlds, a Pagan church with a futuristic vision, and he has been involved in the founding of several other major groups and alliances. First to apply the terms “Pagan” and “Neo-Pagan” to the newly emerging Nature Religions of the 1960s, and through his publication of Green Egg magazine (1968-), Oberon was instrumental in the coalescence of the modern Pagan movement. In 1970, he had a profound Vision of the Living Earth which he published as an early version of “The Gaia Thesis.” Oberon is the primary artist of The Mythic Images Collection, producing beautiful jewelry and altar figurines of Gods, Goddesses, and mythological creatures. He is the author of Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, Companion for the Apprentice Wizard, Creating Circles & Ceremonies, and A Wizard’s Bestiary. He is also the Founder and Headmaster of the online Grey School of Wizardry. He has been called “The real Albus Dumbledore.” Links: Grey School of Wizardry: www.GreySchool.com Mythic Images: www.MythicImages.com Church of All Worlds: www.CAW.org Green Egg magazine: www.GreenEggZine.com

Edain McCoy Author Edain McCoy became a self-initiated Witch in 1981 and has been an active part of the Pagan community since her formal initiation into a large San Antonio coven in 1983. Edain has researched alternative spiritualities since her teens, when she was first introduced to Kaballah, or Jewish mysticism. Since that time, she has studied a variety of magickal paths including Celtic, Appalachian folk magick, and Curanderismo, a Mexican-American folk tradition. Today, Edain is part of the Wittan Irish Pagan tradition, where she is a priestess of Brighid and an elder. An alumnus of the University of Texas with a BA in history, she is affiliated with several professional writer's organizations and occasionally presents workshops on magickal topics or works individually with students who wish to study Witchcraft.This former woodwind player for the Lynchburg (VA) Symphony claims both the infamous feuding McCoy family of Kentucky and Sir Roger Williams, the seventeeth-century religious dissenter, as branches on her ethnically diverse family tree. In her "real life," Edain works as a licensed stockbroker.Edain is the author of fifteen books, including Bewitchments; Enchantments; and her most recent release, Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring. Titles by Edain McCoy: * Past-Life & Karmic Tarot * Enchantments: 200 Spells for Bath & Beauty Enhancement * Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring * Spellworking for Covens: Magick for Two or More * The Witch's Coven: Finding or Forming Your Own Circle * Astral Projection for Beginners * Magia y belleza: Encantos y pócimas para crear rituales mágicos * If You Want to be a Witch: A Practical Introduction to the Craft * Advanced Witchcraft: Go Deeper, Reach Further, Fly Higher * A Witch's Guide to Faery Folk: Reclaiming Our Working Relationship with Invisible Helpers * Celtic Women's Spirituality: Accessing the Cauldron of Life * Celtic Myth & Magick: Harness the Power of the Gods & Goddesses * Sabbats: A Witch's Approach to Living the Old Ways

Jimahl Di Fiosa Author Jimahl di Fiosa, of the critically acclaimed book A VOICE IN THE FOREST, Spirit Communications with Alex Sanders, as he attempts to demystify the concept of spirit communication. Learn simple techniques that anyone can use to communicate with those who are no longer incarnate. Explore various techniques in a safe and supportive environment including the spirit board, automatic writing, and much more. Jimahl di Fiosa was initiated into Alexandrian witchcraft in 1988 and considers that experience to be a major turning point in his life. Jimahl's interest in the occult spans many years. He has devoted his spiritual path to exploring the mysteries of the goddess and to the preservation of the Craft for future generations. Areas of special interest include spiritualism, tarot and ceremonial magick. He also has a strong connection to the folklore and mystery of the Maya. Jimahl resides near Salem, MA with his two familiars, Storm and Charlie. Ever since that strange little kid in THE SIXTH SENSE uttered those spooky words “I see dead people” popular culture has been fascinated with the concept of spirit communication. Is it really possible to communicate with those who have passed from the world of the living to the other side? Many of us seem to think so, but the question that remains is how?

Xanna Vinson Author Xanna Vinson has been a priestess of wicca for thirty years and her knowledge of its practice enhances the telling of The Song of an Emerald Dove. She is determined to spread the story behind the story and to "gather the women." She holds a BA in education and an MA in liberal arts. Xanna Vinson lives with a pair of exotic finches and a large aquarium of varying occupants in what she lovingly refers to as 'the tropics of New Jersey.' She carries her love of nature into her carefully tended herb gardens and the conservatory collection of tropical plants that she grows in her Pine Barrens home. Ms Vinson has had a varied career as a science teacher, psychiatric social worker, public welfare administrator, illustrator, graphic designer, and public relations professional. She is a member of the National Association of Women Writers (NAWW) and holds degrees from The College of New Jersey and Rider University. She has a daughter and two grandchildren. She has spent more than thirty years studying the Old Religion, now known as wicca. She brings first-hand knowledge to her descriptions of its techniques and applications in this, her first full-length novel.  http://www.xannavinson.com/index_tour.htm

Morven Westfield Author Morven Westfield: Fascinated by the supernatural from an early age, I started writing the first sentences of my novel Darksome Thirst during lulls in activity as a second-shift computer operator many years ago. Unable to devote myself full-time to my writing because of work and pursuing my Bachelor's degree at night, I shelved the novel until 1999. Life intervened — as it often does — and it was four more years before I finally completed the publishable draft. Darksome Thirst, an unusual tale combining vampires and Wiccans and computers (oh, my!) made its debut in June 2003. Though I've published many computer manuals in my job as a technical writer, this was my first published work of horror fiction. The sequel, The Old Power Returns, which promises more battles with the supernatural and more of the suspense and strong characterization of my first novel, was published in June 2007. I've also contributed articles to The Witches Almanac for the 2006, 2007, and 2008 editions. Married with one cat, I live in Massachusetts with my husband, a pragmatist who is mildly amused by his wife's interest in things that go bump in the night.

Deborah Blake Author Deborah Blake is the author of Circle, Coven and Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice, published by Llewellyn in 2007. Her second book, Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft, will be coming out in September 2008. Deborah was also a finalist in the Pagan Fiction Award Contest and her short story, “Dead and (Mostly) Gone” will be included in the forthcoming Pagan Fiction Awards anthology. When not writing, Deborah runs The Artisans’ Guild, a cooperative shop she founded with a friend, and works as a jewelry maker, tarot reader, an ordained minister and an Intuitive Energy Healer. She lives in a 100 year old farmhouse in rural upstate New York with five cats who supervise all her activities, both magickal and mundane. Deborah is a native of New York State and has lived in or around Oneonta, NY (located about 15 miles from Cooperstown) since 1980. She has been leading an eclectic group for 4 years called Blue Moon Circle in Oneonta NY. www.deborahblakehps.com www.bluemooncircle.net www.myspace.com/deborahblakehps

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