Serenity's Pride
Steve
Assistant Coven Head
About Steve
Hail fellow travelers! My name - my actual, given name - is Steve Smith. And in spite of (or perhaps because of) having the most generic name possible, I have forged a path of magic that is determined to honor individuality and personal truth, discovered through the mysteries and beauty of wild nature.
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My journey began at the age of five, when my mother sat on the swing on our covered deck, holding me in her lap, calming me down from my fears of the enormous thunderstorm outside. All my life, I have always loved discovering the awesome beauty of the natural world.
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My father was a magnificent role model of responsibility, virtue, and independence - a man who truly lived by the philosophy that doing the right thing always matters. Between him and my mother, I grew up with a love of green fields and blue skies, and the determination to do the right thing, even if it meant defying authority. I am quite sure that the details of my destiny would not be entirely preferred by those who comprised my Catholic upbringing - but here we are.
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I am blessed to have encountered many teachers of great wisdom along my near three decades of journeying, since my archetypal initiation into Wicca by a hot girl I met online in the nineties. I give the greatest recognition by far to the community of Diana's Grove Mystery School, which I attended for several years, completing their leadership training in 2008 and beginning from then to become a leader within the Pagan community - meaning one who takes responsibility for their impact, and their growth.
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At the core of my practice and leadership is the belief that community is essential to the growth and healing that gives rich happiness to life. The more we can allow ourselves to be who we are, to honor our choices and others', and to make room for mystery and discovery, the more we can find that is true and worthy of nourishment.
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My beloved Colleen is my magical partner and my life partner. I am blessed to share a life with her and our five kitties, in which magic and intent shape the course of each day. I am delighted and honored to serve beside her in leading the way for Serenity's Pride.
Experience
July 2011 - Present
June 2009 - July 2011
September 2004 - April 2011
February 1998 - September 2004
Itinerant ritual leader, teacher, and community volunteer, primarily at Camp Gaea in McLouth, KS. From chopping wood and carrying water (literally), to being tossed into ritual leadership roles with two hours of notice, to bearing witness to beautiful and heartbreaking events - I seek, always, to serve how I am able.
Head of the Sacred Experience Committee for the Heartland Spiritual Alliance. Coordinated and/or taught monthly classes, co-designed and executed primary festival rituals at Heartland Pagan Festival, 2010 and 2011.
Attendee, trainee, and later staff at Diana's Grove Mystery School. Intensive theoretical and practical leadership training, specializing in community arts, group dynamics, and ritual arts with a focus on immersive, ecstatic experiences within community as a gateway to shared transformation.
Initiate of non-traditional Wicca, volunteer within the Saint Louis pagan community. Leading member of the campus pagan organization Silver Crescent at Washington University. M.C. of the Open Full Moon ritual series. Volunteer at Pagan Picnic.