I grew up in the Midwest, alongside the forests and prairies of northeastern Illinois. This means I learned how to see the forest through the trees pretty early on. My body resides in Sedona, Arizona, my soul in California.
Hating elementary, junior high, and high school, I preferred writing short stories in the boughs of a fir tree.
I quite like the Oxford comma.
I was a competitive figure skater and classically trained ballet dancer until age 15, at which point I had one question: What exactly is a teenager?
I failed out of university because I never went to class. I then took two Humanities classes as an adult determined I wanted a PhD in Medieval Studies. Instead, I earned a B.A. in English Literature and then attended Pacifica Graduate Institute, earning an MA and PhD in Depth Psychology. Same thing, really.
First, I longed to be an astronaut when I grew up, but then realized I had to be pretty good at math. Math is not my favorite endeavor. At all. Then, upon discovering a book about Egyptian pyramids and culture, – which I checked out 32 times in 2 years – I thought to become an archeologist. Digging is an endeavor I enjoy. Instead, I’ve became a depth/archetypal psychologist. Still digging in the dirt, it would seem.
Speaking of digging in the dirt. The outdoor world, soil, fungi, animals, plants, places have always – always – been my refuge, my friend, my confident, my co-conspirator, my Beloved: my Green imagination and me.
I am devoted person to Gurty S. Dog, a German Shepherd Dog, and Meeb, a white short-haired cat (as well as Paris and London, Terp, Skye Dog, Caishee, Zeeb, and Binxie).
In a past life, I was probably employed in a Scriptorium, for I am inspired so by the style of mille fleurs and the great illuminated manuscripts.
I’ve walked the Camino de Santiago alone, and have had the great fortune to have traveled Europe extensively.
Having the great luck of an Irish musician for a Grandfather, I’ve loved music from the beginning, the styles and artists of which are too numerous to mention. The same can be said for literature and word-play, again, the authors of which are too many to list here. (But it all began with “Wind in the Willows, J. R. R. Tolkien, From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, the Mabinogion, William Butler Yeats and Lord Alfred Dunsany’s, The Blessing of Pan.)
Visual artists to whom I turn again and again: The Pre-Raphaelites, Remedios Varo, Leonora Carrington, etc.
My doctoral dissertation is titled: Earthly Icons – Luminous Debris: The Anima Loci and its Making of Placial Gesture
War, outright arrogance (even many times when it masks insecurity), cruelty, violence and the tools of such, hunger, placelessness, and greed. Just….no.
Although my philosophies and practices have evolved, I’ve been a witch for over 20 years.
Random love affairs of the kind gastronomique: Pomegranates, dark chocolate (Spanish), cassoulet, paella, salmon, blanched spinach, coffee, Tom Kha Kai, Lamb Korma, Dal, Concord grapes, Roblar’s Pinot Noir 2014.
Random love affairs with de animals loca (the souls of places): Corsavy, Broceliande, and the Pic de Bugarach, all in France; the Isle of Skye and a particular wood near Eileen Donan Castle, Scotland; Windermere and Wistman’s Wood, Dartmoor, UK; Co. Sligo in Ireland; the province of Galicia, Spain; Big Sur, Calistoga, the mountains of Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara, and Three Rivers, all in CA; the Olympic National Forest, WA, a particular ravine in Glencoe, Illinois, and the rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin.
If you’re so inclined and are curious to see my world view in image, visit TheEidolon.com (which is currently under construction, but I’m working diligently.) If you’re curious about my more academic predilections and curiosities, go to the above page, “Towards an Archetypal Ecology,” on this site.