presenter bios

Born in Portsmouth, Gavin Bone was originally initiated into Seax-Wicca in 1986. He trained as a Registered Nurse, is a practising Spiritual (naturally empathic) Healer and a trained Reflexologist.

He developed a fascination with the theory that Wicca’s roots are in tribal shamanistic healing traditions rather than medieval ritual magic and their related secret societies. He has studied shamanism in a Northern European context, with particular focus on the Runes.

He met Janet and Stewart Farrar in 1989 at the Pagan Link conference in Leicester and moved to Ireland in 1992 after accompanying them on a tour of the United States. He co-authored The Pagan Path , The Healing Craft and The Complete Dictionary of European Gods and Goddesses with Janet and Stewart.

In the UK he was both a Pagan Link and Pagan Federation contact in early ‘90’s and this led him after his move to Ireland to set up the Pagan Information Network; a contact network for pagans in the Republic and the North of Ireland.
Like Janet, he is an honourary member of the Strega tradition, and ordained third Level Clergy with the Aquarian Tabernacle Church.

Both Janet and Gavin tour regularly doing intensive workshops in the United States and Europe, and just recently have had successful tours in Australia and New Zealand. They believe strongly in the idea of Wicca being both progressive and dynamic in nature, while remaining a clergy of those dedicated to serving the Gods and Goddesses. They are responsible for setting up several progressive covens in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe. They have published together, The Inner Mysteries which emphasizes the non-dogmatic creativity of Wicca. Their major area of work at present, is teaching deity connection and trance-prophesy. Their most recent work, Lifting the Veil: A Witches Guide to Trance-Prophesy, Drawing Down the Moon and Ecstatic Ritual is the most extensive work on these subjects to date.

John M. Boye began practicing paganism in the early 1990’s. In addition to leading eclectic groups, he has also practiced in a traditional format. He has dedicated over a decade to studying Zen Buddhism. He is an initiate of Freemasonry, as well as a Past Master. He is also an initiate of the OTO, the cofounder of a Thelemic temple and along with Liz Walker; he is a cofounder of Harvest Home Gathering (HHG).

John has been a published spiritual writer since 2000. His writing has been featured both in print and online in Green Egg, The Wiccan Read, Witchvox and Wurzelwerk. In addition to writing two columns, he is also the author of a spiritual memoir “Why Is God Upside Down?” His lectures have been enjoyed by various religious, spiritual and educational organizations. He has appeared as a guest speaker on both television and radio.

John holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Norwich University.
He received a Baccalaureate degree in Accounting from SUNY New Paltz.

Diana Byron has been on a Goddess path for over 20 years. She has been a member of the Sisterhood of Avalon since 2003 and serves on their Council of Nine as Healer Matron. She is also a student of Druidry within the Anglesey Druid Order in Wales, UK. Diana is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher, meditation coach, and herbalist. She offers classes at her studio, Dhyāna Yoga and Wellness in Putnam, Connecticut, as well as online. Diana specializes in facilitating empowering, transformational courses and retreats. You can find out more on her website http://www.DhyanaYogaAndWellness.com.

Rhonda Alin is an Oracle, Charm and Tarot Card nerd as well as magickal practitioner, instructor, and founder of Northern New Jersey Tarot (which includes a group for card reading afficionados). She purchased her first deck of divination cards at age 12, which was about the same time she began studying the Egyptian Book of the Dead. She teaches at conferences, retreats, metaphysical shops and online, is a Scorpio sun and moon and believes that tarot, along with other forms of divination, are all living systems that are enhanced the more we work with them.

Andras Corban-Arthen is the founder and spiritual director of the EarthSpirit Community. He has taught and lectured publicly about the pagan traditions throughout the U.S. and abroad since the 1970s, and has been featured in a number of books as well as news media. Andras was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions for thirteen years, three times as Vice-Chair. He also served as president of the European Congress of Ethnic Religions headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, and sits on the advisory board of the Ecospirituality Foundation, a United Nations Consultative NGO based in Torino, Italy. Andras was chosen to represent the pagan traditions at the United Nations Interfaith Conference on Religion and Prejudice in 1991, and has been a featured presenter at the Parliaments of the World’s Religions held in Chicago, Barcelona, Melbourne, Salt Lake City and Toronto, as well as at the Encuentro Mundial Interreligioso and the Diálogo Cultural Universal in México, and at the Religions for the Earth conference in NYC. Originally from Galiza, Spain, he lives with his extended family in Glenwood, a 160-acre pagan sanctuary and nature preserve in the Berkshire Highlands of western Massachusetts.

Since 1991, Lilith Dorsey has been doing successful magick for patrons of her business. She is editor/publisher of Oshun-African Magickal Quarterly, and filmmaker of the experimental documentary Bodies of Water:Voodoo Identity and Tranceformation. Lilith Dorsey is also author of Voodoo and Afro-Caribbean Paganism and The African-American Ritual Cookbook, and choreographer for jazz legend Dr. John’s “Night Tripper” Voodoo Show. In July 2013, she led her first ever Voodoo Zombie Silent Rave, complete with very confused Thriller flash mob.

Active in the Pagan community for almost 3 decades, I have seen some innovation and much more insanity than I ever thought possible. I have literally heard of people scrying in the toilet bowl, smacking their deities in the face, and having bizarre intimate encounters with spirit. I do not recommend any of this, it is not sane, it is not Voodoo, Santeria, or any other Afro-Caribbean Pagan tradition. I guess it’s just the nature of the beast, as my New Orleans Voodoo Priestess Miriam Chamani likes to say, “these [types of] people are crazy, they can’t make a living any other way.” Sadly all to often while quantity of information about these religions may have increased quality had decreased. These facts I have struggled with my entire spiritual life.

My personal spiritual journey includes numerous initiations in Haitian Vodou, New Orleans Voodoo, and Santeria. In 1995 I became editor and publisher of the Oshun newsletter, providing accurate and respectful information about Afro-Diasporan Pagan religions. I hold an undergraduate degree in anthropology and my graduate degree comes from a inter-disciplinary program in cinema/television studies and anthropology. Training is vital in any discipline, but takes on special significance in a spiritual context. Voodoo, Vodou, Santeria, Candomble, Ifa, Obeah, Hoodoo, and for that matter any other African based religion survives on it’s lineage, history, and training of it’s devotees.

My first initiation came from Mambo Bonnie Devlin, more widely known for her phenomenal drumming and musicianship. Her music is available on iTunes, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in connecting with spirit. I then went on to join Priestess Miriam Chamani at the Voodoo Spiritual Temple in New Orleans. The temple does an immense amount of good works and is located at 1428 N. Rampart Street across from Congo Square, both locales a must see for anyone visiting New Orleans. While my Santeria house is led by Ochun Olukari Al’aye and based in Florida. I am continually amazed and inspired by my spiritual family there, who most recently gave me the opportunity to watch a ritual drum being crafted with a chainsaw.

My academic career focused most specifically on ritual dance and possession on film. Informed by phenomenal women like Maya Deren and Zora Neale Hurston who were filmmakers, ritualists and anthropologists, I went on to create an experimental documentary Bodies of Water, focusing on Voodoo identity and “tranceformation.” It has been shown everywhere from Harvard University to the living room of the Royal Street Courtyard bed and breakfast. My favorite compliment on the work, which was designed to be a synestetic foray into cinematic experience, came from a devoutly Catholic friend who said “Your film scares me; I feel like I am changing.”

Please contact her at voodoouniverse@yahoo.com for information about psychic readings and services. Lastly, don’t forget to check out her brand new book Love Magic released in Dec 2016. Many Blessings!

A native Londoner’s, Janet was initiated by Alex and Maxine Sanders in 1970. It is here she met her husband to be and co-author, Stewart Farrar, who initially became involved around Alex Sanders as a reporter for the Reveille, and was then asked to write What Witches Do.

A native Londoner’s, Janet was initiated by Alex and Maxine Sanders in 1970. It is here she met her husband to be and co-author, Stewart Farrar, who initially became involved around Alex Sanders as a reporter for the Reveille, and was then asked to write What Witches Do.

Janet Owen (later Farrar) became involved in the Craft after a friend started regularly visiting the Sander’s. Janet, being from a Christian background, went along to dissuade her friend from becoming involved, but was impressed by the moral structure that Wicca had and joined the Sander’s Coven.

Stewart and Janet first met when Stewart was asked to script and narrate A Witch Is Born. After receiving their Third Degree’s from the Sander’s they left Alex and Maxine’s coven to form their own. They had found much of Alex’s teaching sparse in content and developed their own ritual structure as well as training methods during this time. They married in 1972 and moved to the Republic of Ireland in 1976. Stewart passed away in February 2000 following a series of illnesses, but Janet has continued her work as a Priestess and Author

With her late husband she has written over a dozen books on the Craft to date. Titles which include Eight Sabbats For Witches’, The Witches’ Way (one of the first books to suggest the southern hemisphere turn for festivals in Australia), The Witches’ Goddess, The Witches God, Spells and How They Work. Janet has also had one book published jointly with Virginia Russel, The Magical History of the Horse, and with her current partner Gavin Bone, three books; The Pagan Path, The Healing Craft, The Dictionary of European Gods and Goddesses, Inner Mysteries, and their latest work Lifting the Veil.

Their books have become some of the most influential in Witchcraft and have set the mould for modern Craft writers worldwide. They have lectured both in the United States and the Netherlands and are now exploring the field of Video as a way of presenting information on the modern pagan movement.

Since her initial introduction to the Alexandrian Craft with Stewart, she, with Gavin Bone has developed her own unique brand of Witchcraft and have been honorary initiations into several other traditions, including traditional Italian Strega. She prefers just to be called witch rather than be considered of any specific tradition. In 1999 she became ordained as third level Clergy with The Aquarian Tabernacle Church, and is the Religious affairs officer for The Aquarian Tabernacle Church in Ireland.

Janet strongly believes in the idea of Wicca being both progressive and dynamic, while remaining a clergy of those dedicated to serving the God and Goddess.

Jenna Greene is an Emmy-nominated musician, healer, artist, and ritualist. Through uplifting songs, affirmations, energy work, and creating sacred space, she empowers people to find the divine within. Her great passion is to use her gifts to heal your “not good enoughs” – those wounded voices deep inside that hold you back from a joyful life. She intuitively taps into goddess archetypes, nature spirituality, and shamanism to nurture and inspire your path and purpose.

Ellis is a seasoned percussionist who has been playing the djembe for over 20 years. A well known face around the drum circle, Ellis has been drumming for the HG community for 5 years now. Originally from Belgium, hy has a background in traditional percussion and grew up playing all sorts of percussion instruments from snare drum, bongos and congas to gongs, bells and the triangle from a very young age. At age 17 hy learned to play the djembe from a well-known Belgian drummer in Antwerp but has since also taken classes from many African djembe teachers over the years. As a practicing pagan for as long as hy’s been playing djembe, Ellis has played in too many rituals to count.

Hy also has a passion for teaching kids, and worked as a teacher on 4 different continents bringing music with hym wherever hy went. This year, hy’s merging hys passion for education and rhythm to bring djembe and percussion introduction sessions for both adults and kids to Harvest Gathering 2024.

LisaBeth Lent author of “Align Your Body, Align Your Life,” is a professional speaker, fitness instructor, nutrition coach, and mental health advocate. She believes that empowerment is won with embodiment. After being diagnosed with Grave’s disease and suffering chronic pain all her life, she learned how to prioritize her health and have successfully put that autoimmune disease into remission. She has only a fraction of the migraines and pain she used to and loves to share her story and strategy to help others feel healthy and well.

For LisaBeth, awareness is the foundation for achieving optimal health. She believes that honoring where we are now and meeting self-criticism with compassion is the gateway to wellness. Forget force or unrealistic expectations. Slow and steady, self-loving awareness gently creates the wellness we all deserve.
LisaBeth has lived in New Milford, Connecticut since 2014 and is originally from Queens, NY. She makes time to freestyle dance, write, read books, and practice stillness as often as humanly possible.

Gina has been a working pagan since 1986, she has expanded her studies many forms of witchcraft, ritual magic shamanism and wisewoman work, trance movement, Norse, Buddhism and nature reverence. Since then she has developed her own form of paganism, Walking in Magic. She still confesses to know no thing…

Christopher Penczak is a modern Witch working in the Temple of Witchcraft tradition and community he helped co-found. His practice focuses on the intersection of Love, Will, and Wisdom as an ethos for today’s Witch, and focuses upon relationships with the plant realm, the patterns of astrology, traditional occultism, and the use of trance in the Craft. He is the author of many books, including the award winning Temple of Witchcraft series, The Plant Spirit Familiar, and The Mighty Dead, as well as the co-owner of Copper Cauldron Publishing. The Temple of Witchcraft offers in-person and online mystery school and seminary training based upon his teachings. Christopher keeps an office in New Hampshire and sees clients in-person and online for readings, healing, and personal consultations, though he travels extensively teaching throughout the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. His vision is of an evolving Witchcraft culture making magick accessible to all, yet preserving the heart of the mystery. For more information, visit www.christopherpenczak.com and www.templeofwitchcraft.org.

Deirdre Pulgram Arthen is a ritualist, musician, published author, speaker, counselor, grandmother witch, priestess, and teacher with more than 40 years of experience, who teaches Anamanta and has led workshops and ceremonies with hundreds of people on four continents. She is the Executive Director of EarthSpirit and an acknowledged Elder in that community. She organizes Rites of Spring and Twilight Covening as well as a multitude of other community rituals and celebrations large and small. Deirdre’s love for both ritual and theater drew her to paganism in her early twenties and here she found her home and her magic. She lives at Glenwood, a 160 acre nature preserve in western Massachusetts, with her extended family, held by its hills, shrines and sacred waters. She loves weaving connections among people, nature and the great mystery.

Mark Ryan has been combining his acting, singing, writing and Action Direction talents in an eclectic and successful international career ranging over 30 years.

He did several major musicals in London’s West End, spending 4 years in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s smash hit “Evita” playing “Magaldi” and “Che” under the direction of Broadway legend: Hal Prince.

He originated “Nasir” for the cult British TV series: “Robin Of Sherwood” and has appeared in dozens of films and television series both in the US and UK. Mark is also an accomplished author and has written for DC Comics and created “The Greenwood Tarot” for Harper Collins.

Mark also toured the US with original “Monty Python” member: Eric Idle, performing at Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.

He was Swordmaster and Fight Director on “King Arthur” for Antoine Fuqua and trained Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgard and Clive Owen. He has appeared in such productions as “The Prestige” and “The Thirst” and has continued to work in theater and TV in the US, recently completing “SpecialOps: Delta” playing Col. Anderson Savage.

He began working on the 2007 film Transformers during filming as the on-set voice of several different robots. This work continued throughout filming and into editing, prior to the actual casting of voice-over talent. He was then cast as the voice of the character Bumblebee. Ryan also voices Ironhide and Hoist for the Activision video game based on the film.

During 2008 he wrote and produced a musical adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” starring Jenn Korbee, directing the video “Women” for the project. In the fall of 2008 the online publisher, ComicMix, began running “The Pilgrim” written by Ryan and drawn by legendary graphic artist Mike Grell.

He continued voice-work on “Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen” into 2009, performing several characters and standing in for the robots during principal photography.

In May 2010, Ryan returned to work on Transformers: Dark of the Moon, once again as the onset voice of the Autobots. Work on this third Michael Bay Blockbuster continued at locations across the US and also at Kennedy Space Center – Cape Canaveral. The film was shot in 3D with post production voice-work carrying on into the spring of 2011 at Bay Films and Ryan contributed uncredited military lines and voices to the final cut of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Work also began on a new book entitled “Hero Weapons of Film & TV”, co-written with John Matthews.

He created the Greenwood Tarot with artist Chesca Potter in 1995 and his latest Tarot is The Wildwood Tarot, published 2011, with John Matthews and Will Worthington.

David Shi is a shamanic worker and folk magic practitioner who primarily engages in traditional North Asian forms of shamanism. He is primarily of Manchurian descent, but can also trace ancestry to Mongolian, Chinese, Korean, as well as a little Tungus Siberian and ancient Central Asian Turkic heritage as well. Raised in a household that incorporated both Southeast Siberian and North Chinese practices, David has dedicated his spare time to the study of the spiritual traditions of his ancestors and of greater Eurasia. Recognized as a sagaasha/ongodtengertei, a future shaman prior to initiation, among both Mongolian and Korean shamans, David’s practices are deeply rooted in spirit work in which ancestral and land spirits are called to empower all workings. David’s readings incorporate a combination of Tarot, Runes, Bones, Jaw-harp, as well as Mongolian stone divination (known as Kumalak in Turkic Central Asia).

David is the author of the new book “Spirit Voices: The Mysteries and Magic of North Asian Shamanism”, and currently resides in Manhattan, New York where he occasionally provides spiritual services, products, and workshops to his immediate communities.  Follow him on Instagram @davidjshi311.

Jessy practices solitary paganism. They focus on the connection between the living and dead, working primarily with ancestral magic in their ritual spaces and energy work. They have worked closely with families in hospice care as a death doula. Jessy has been responsible for the CWPN ancestor items and HG ancestor temple for 5 years.

Liz Walker began practicing Wicca in 1989. She has been initiated through the Cabot line and received her 3rd degree from Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone in 2000. Liz served as HPS for the Temple of Bast and the Flame of Brighid throughout the 90’s and 2000s. In 1999 she was elected President of the CWPN and held that position for 5 years, helping the organization to grow and become a 501c3. In 2003, Liz started a Pagan tour company, Sacred Sites of Ireland, which focused on Irish pre-celtic history and ancient sites, and in 2004, she and her co-chair, John M. Boye, created Harvest Home Gathering, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

In early 2008, along with Janet Farrar, Liz authored and published, “Writer on a Broomstick”, chronicling the life of Stewart Farrar and his influence on modern Wicca. 

Professionally, Liz is the Vice President of Business Development for a multi-state behavioral health company. She has long been retired from public pagan life, and resides in CT with her husband and family. 

John has a 45 year professional background with advanced degrees in the natural sciences. He has helped lead many groups into nature, and has interpreted the wild world in many forms, from scientific to mystical. He is a pagan musician, and a listener.