Merry Meet!
And welcome to my website

Painting by Barbara Jacobsen
© 1993 |
"The Night Mare is one of the cruellest aspects of the White Goddess. Her nests, when one comes across them in dreams, lodge in rock-clefts or the branches of enormous hollow yews, are built of carefully chosen twigs, lined with white horse hair and the plumage of prophetic birds and littered with the jaw-bones and entrails of poets. . . ."
Robert Graves,
The White Goddess |
|
Yep, that's me in the painting. At least it's
artist Barbara Jacobsen's interpretation of Macha as Irish goddess.
About the name - it's NightMare - capital "M"
in the middle - mare who rides through your dreams. It’s my "nom de broom,"
just as legal as my mundane name. I'm well aware of how outrageous it is.
Believe me, it's not easy to wear, but there it is.
I'm a
Witch at Large living in the shadow of
Mount Tamalpais (the Sleeping Lady) in Marin County, California, when I'm
not off on my broomstick
gathering with other Witches one place or another. I invite you to read
about my travels and experiences in my
Broomstick Chronicles blog
as well as the
Broomstick Chronicles archives.
Like most Witches of my vintage, I searched
for years for a spirituality that made sense to me before I found the Craft.
I encountered Witchcraft at the meeting point of three paths in my life, at
the sacred trivia of the goddess Hekate. The first path was
Second Wave
Feminism: in Craft I had my first experience of a feminine
image of the divine. Secondly, my concerns for the environment (before I’d
ever heard the word “ecology”) were accorded a thealogical foundation in
Craft. Third was an acknowledgement and respect for intuitive ways of
knowing. These concerns, spiced with the flavors of mythology and folklore,
seeking knowledge of my personal ancestral heritage, and engaging
constructively in society to help make a better world, continue to inform my
thealogy and praxis.
As a Witch at Large, I’m happy and comfortable
circling with all manner of Witches and other Pagans of various traditions.
I have a daughter, Deirdre Blessing, and three
stepchildren, all grown. I live with my beloved partner Corby and our two
adorable and adored felines, Fernando and Oona.