Fertile Ground 2008 - Biographical information about our presenters

SpiritHawk (Cael) of ShadowGrove

One of the two founders of ShadowGrove Spiritual Ministries, Cael is a minister, a writer, and a teacher. He has been working with personal energy manipulation for seventeen years, and has written articles for The Witches' Voice on the subject of personal energy work, as well as the ethics involved in such work. He is in the process of writing a book on the subject as well, and his workshops at Fertile Ground will cover material from that book.

As a minister of ShadowGrove, Cael works with his Lady-Wife, Truthsong, in performing weddings and handfastings throughout the region, as well as providing counseling services to Grove members and others who have sought him out.

Cael lives in the woods outside of Manassas, Virginia, sharing the sacred space of ShadowGrove with Truthsong, two kids, and a rather absurd number of cats.

Henna Joan

Joan has been celebrating people's skin with henna since 2002. She enjoys the energetic exchange between people interested in custom designs and those who give her artistic license. Aside from henna, Joan enjoys belly dancing, singing, traveling to organic farms for volunteer work and learning about natural building and foraging. One day soon she'll be living in a hand-built hobbit home where she can bring the henna customers to her doorstep!

Crystal Broomall

Always one to straddle a fence, Crystal Broomall currently splits her time and energy between being a founding member and treasurer of ShadowGrove and being a student in the Tradition of the Witches Circle in Occoquan, VA.

A self-described witch since 2001, Crystal has been a seeker all her life, originally finding peace and spirituality in the wilds of her native Ohio and Pennsylvania. As a member of ShadowGrove, she has helped to foster a spiritual and social outlet for local Pagans, as well as helped to develop ties with other Pagan groups. As a student in the Tradition, she is constantly questioning and honing her own spirituality in order to better serve both herself and others in the future, as well as developing her leadership skills.

Currently residing in Woodbridge with her faithful dog (and Grove mascot) Jade, Crystal hopes one day to move back to the woodlands and all of its natural magick.

Redwolf

RedWolf (Jeanet) has followed the Pagan path since 1993, when she was introduced to Witchcraft by her sister. While RedWolf's practice is mostly eclectic, her focus is on Shamanic Witchcraft and American Folk Magic. She has extensively studied magical herbalism, aromatherapy, and the use of stones and crystals for ritual work and personal transformation. She has taught workshops on a variety of practical magic topics, and for the last 6 years, has also led public rituals for several local Pagan groups.

RedWolf has been a member of the Circle Sanctuary community since 1996, and is currently enrolled in Circle's Minister Training Program, which is led by its founder, Selena Fox. She is one of the founders of the Northern Virginia Pagan Network. She also co-owns The Pagan Peddler, an online Pagan ritual supply business she operates with her husband Dave and her 6 feline "work center supervisors".

Ravynne of ShadowGrove

Ravynne has been a member of ShadowGrove for two years, joining first at Beltaine 2006. A self-professed arts and crafts addict, she has an extensive background in floral design, and would work with flowers daily if given the chance. She started out as a solitary eclectic practitioner who dedicated herself to her path approximately ten years ago, she lives in the northern Shenandoah Valley with her husband and two cats.

Truthsong of ShadowGrove

Truthsong (Liz*), one of the founders of ShadowGrove, has been following a nature-based path for over 20 years. Always the seeker of wisdom and truth, she considers herself an eclectic witch with Druidic leanings. In her studies, Truthsong has learned a great deal about energy and spiritual healing, as well as counseling and meditation. Her calling is to help those in need and she has chosen to dedicate herself to this calling full time. She is a teacher, a counselor and a healer of hearts. She welcomes all those who seek her guidance and vows to do all she can to help them heal their body, mind and spirit.

Truthsong and SpiritHawk have been hosting Sabbat celebrations and rituals for nearly 4 years and in that time, they have spent much time learning and growing within this loving community of solitary pagans. Their dedication to their sacred grove has led them to become ordained ministers so that they could provide services such as handfastings, counseling and rites of passage as well as guidance, mentorship and leadership within the pagan community.

Phoenix of ShadowGrove

Phoenix (Lisa) considers herself an Eclectic Pagan, with leanings toward Egyptian and Native American spirituality. She has officially been walking the Earth Path since 2004, but has felt a connection to nature religions since her teens. Throughout her life, music has been a key element in all aspects of her day to day. She has been vocally trained since the age of 5, and performed in choral groups in elementary school, high school and college. Phoenix has also worked with various other instruments, including saxophone, which she played for 8 years, guitar, and piano. She began drumming when introduced to the art of making Native American frame drums in 2006, with her mentor Cyndy Snake Dancer.

Part of a large family, Phoenix loves to be surrounded by children of all age groups. Her childcare background includes classes in babysitting from the YMCA, as well as training as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Kelly Malatt

Kelly began her walk on the Pagan path in 1994 after an enlightening conversation with a co-worker. She began devouring books as fast as she could acquire them. About a year ago, she completed coursework through Tradition of the Witches’ Circle in Occoquan, Virginia. The Universe led her husband and her to ShadowGrove in October of last year.

She works well with children (perhaps because she’s just a big kid herself) and is a Degreed Substitute Teacher for Prince William County Public Schools. She is currently working long-term with ED and LD high-school students who teach her new things every day.

In her personal life, she crochets to relax and is working on a Spirit Cloak using a technique called free-form crochet. She reads voraciously, sometimes while walking in the halls at work. She is also an avid video game player and spends many a fond night playing Halo 3 with her husband.

Summer Kiser

Summer Kiser considers herself an eclectic seeker. As one of the original owners and creative directors of 13 Magickal Moons, Summer was fascinated with the chakras, energy healing and gemstone therapy. Now branching off on her own path as the owner and designer of Lemurian Spirit, Summer handcrafts fabulous gemstone malas for meditation. Each mala is made with intention, focusing on the qualities of each gemstone.

Summer is currently on the path of yogic enlightenment, training to become a certified yoga instructor. She also teaches Create Your Own mala workshops throughout the Northern Virginia area.

Summer lives in historic Occoquan, VA with her husband, daughter and 3 wonderfully neurotic cats.

Fyrecreek

Fyrecreek has been studying, learning, evolving, and practicing her ecelectic spirituality since 1994. She started working with the tarot at that time, which soon expanded into other forms of divination: pendulums, scrying, runes, and others. She has nearly 50 tarot and oracle decks in her collection. She loves how they all can be interpreted differently based on the artist's vision and has started designing her own deck of cards. Fyrecreek considers herself both a teacher and a perpetual student and enjoys sharing her passion for divination with anyone who wants to learn.