Personal Interest Questions
Updated: September 22, 2004

CRAFT NAME:

Flame RavenHawk

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A PRACTICING WITCH:

Seventeen years

COVEN OR SOLITARY:

Both.  I have a daily personal practice, but meet with BirchTree Circle to celebrate the holidays.

DO YOU PRACTICE YOUR RITUALS SKYCLAD OR ROBED:

Both depending on the time of year, location of the ritual, and the membership of the circle.  BirchTree Circle is open, and we tailor the celebration to the needs of the participants.

WHAT TYPE OR TRADITION OF WICCA DO YOU PRACTICE:

Shamanic Wicca

WHAT IS ON YOUR ALTAR:

Candles, Chalices, Bell, Crystal Ball, incense burner, libation dish, sea shells, Crescent Moon brow band, Annointing Oil, Bird Fetish, various rocks and crystals, flower seeds, amulet bags, my BoS, carved soapstone meditating Buddha, feathers, Goddess Spell Candle.  (As you can tell, mine’s a working altar.)

HOW MANY TIMES A MONTH DO YOU PERFORM SPELLWORK:

Depends on need, which is infrequently.

WHICH GODDESS/S DO YOU WORK WITH THE MOST:

The Lady (of a thousand names)

WHICH GOD/S DO YOU WORK WITH THE MOST:

The Lord (of a thousand names)

IN THE BROOM CLOSET OR OUT:

“Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy at work... quietly out everywhere else.  My car is a mobile pagan bulletin board of bumper stickers, but I dress and act in a non-confrontational way.  I teach in a public school, so raising waves serves no purpose.

FEMALE OR MALE:

Female

AGE:

as of today! (you do the math!)

BIRTH DATE:

18 August 1968

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN:

Leo Sun, Gemini (cusp Cancer) Moon, Gemini Rising

HAIR COLOR:

colored red

EYE COLOR:

green

WHERE DO YOU LIVE:

upstate New York, US

DO YOU BELIEVE IN FAERIES:

Yup.  Seen ‘em.  My kids have a whole garden set up for them.  I leave them libations and gifts sometimes, too.  It’s useful to have friends with feet in both the world of form and the world of spirit.  They also help you reconnect with the joy of wonder.  I’m frightfully stodgy in many areas of my life.  The fairies help keep me open.  They’re as real as my cat.  Honest.

DO YOU GARDEN:

Yes.  It’s a parable for my spirituality.  The cycles of seasons and the growth of my garden is how I mark the cycles of my spirit.

WHAT TYPE OF GARDEN DO YOU HAVE:

Several different gardens:

Herbs, vegetables, flowers, woodland, shade, container

FAVORITE GARDEN TIP:

Nasturtiums and Marigold interplanted in vegetable garden will keep most kinds of naughty bugs out.  And you can eat the nasturtium flowers.  They look great as a garnish on all those pagan potluck dishes!

DO YOU MAKE YOUR OWN HERBAL REMEDIES:

Some herbal teas, but I generally grow the herbs for others to use.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HERB:

Sage

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER:

Stargazer Lillies, Giant Ball Allium

IF YOU COULD PICK ONLY 5 HERBS TO GROW, WHAT WOULD THEY BE:

Sage, Rosemary, Chamomile, Thyme, Lavender

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INCENSE:

Nag Champa

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE RITUAL DRINK:

Moon Water

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SABBAT:

I love Samhain and Beltane because they’re such big, important holidays, but on a personal inspirational level, I connect with Imbolc best.

DO YOU USE A FORM OF DIVINATION, WHICH ONE:

Tarot, pendulum, I-Ching, Magic 8 Ball, (I keep that one at work!)

DO YOU USE AN OUIJA BOARD:

Not in decades

FAVORITE ELEMENT:

Fire (Hence my name of “Flame”)

FAVORITE STONE/CRYSTAL:

Labradorite, Flourite, Malachite... but I’m a total sucker for pretty rocks, and I have a pretty big collection.  I work with them a lot.

FAVORITE ANIMAL:

Crows & Hawks (hence my surname “RavenHawk”) As a leo, I’ve always been partial to the cats, big and small

FAVORITE SEASON:

Summer

FAVORITE MUSIC OR BAND:

I have no favorites.  I’ll listen to whatever is on, as long as it isn’t discordant, loud, or otherwise disturbs my mood.  I like ethnic drumming, chants, celtic, pagan, choral, classical, some pop, folk, & oldies

FAVORITE WICCAN AUTHOR:

Margot Adler, Starhawk, Scott Cunningham, Marion Weinstein

FAVORITE WICCAN BOOK:

Positive Magic:

Occult Self-Help by Marion Weinstein

FAVORITE MOVIE:

 I’m easily amused, but hard to please.  I don’t have a favorite.  I enjoy comedies, romance, drama, & action but don’t like thriller/horror flix.

FAVORITE TV SHOW:

Trading Spaces, Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, Charmed, Buffy, and Survivor *blushes to admit it*

FAVORITE FOOD:

Sushi with lots of Wasabi; hot Hot HOT sauces, expensive chocolate anything

FAVORITE COLOR:

I like fiery colors, but I wear a lot of earth tones, too

HOBBIES:

Yoga, Drumming (middle-eastern Doumbek), Poetry, Gardening, Cultural Anthropology, Reiki

FAVORITE FLAVOR OF ICE CREAM/SHERBET:

Forbidden Chocolate Explosion

ROLLER COASTERS~COOL OR SCARY:

So cool that I might have to include them for worship

VIOLENT THUNDER STORMS~COOL OR SCARY:

So cool that I *do* include them in my worship.  (I’ve done many rituals outdoors during thunderstorms.  Proceed with caution.)

FAVORITE PLACE IN NATURE:

A small pine-needle grove by the side of a stream running along a cliff with an apple orchard above.  A little slice of heaven.

DO YOU HAVE FUR BABIES or CHILDREN:

Both.   Two wonderful, pagan daughters aged 9 & 11 (Stormy & SageLily), one calico queen cat aged 15, one black tom cat from Italy, another black female cat rescued from the streets, an aquarium of fish, a Chilean Rose Tarantula, and a neighborhood of birds who flock to my feeder.

NIGHT OWL OR EARLY BIRD:

Early Bird

WHAT IS ON YOUR WALLS IN YOUR BEDROOM:

Framed Lithographs of Songbirds, Framed copy of the Wiccan Rede, Framed sigil artwork, Antique mirror

IF I WERE A LAW, I WOULD BE:

The Law of Gravity.   I like its inevitability.