I was lucky enough to be raised spiritual, and to have family that believed in the beauty of nature and compassion for all before any God. My father had a passion for botany and forestry and the importance, but also the brutality, of the natural world was instilled into me from an early age.

 

You should know that my journey wasn't easy - I experienced complex trauma as a child and had a lot of challenges and barriers to becoming my best self. My spirituality was one connection that survived through it all. My sister and I called ourselves 'witches' from a very young age, I remember it from around 3 years old. We spoke in our own language that others couldn't understand. Lots of my formative memories were of primitive spellwork, connection with nature and energy work - though of course I didn't have those words for it at the time.​

 

Those words started to come to me at about 11, when I found my mother's pagan and witchcraft books in my grandmother's house. I was mesmerised - words for experiences I had felt, in some way, for my whole life. But then my life's circumstances changed, and all this was put to one side. Instead, my focus became surviving.​It took some time for me to crawl back to her, the girl who danced in the wind and listened to the whispers of the earth.

 

I was 17 when I rediscovered paganism. I was suicidal, very unwell, and rather alone in the world at the time. My faith was what brought me back from the brink and gave me a life that I felt was worth living. ​Life didn't suddenly become easy once I found my faith, of course. But it gave me purpose, and sustained me. There is a reason that witchcraft is traditionally the craft of the downtrodden: those who are societally advantaged are less likely to have need of it (though it is believed that many world leaders do use it) and so when the odds aren't in your favour, it gives you a way to get what you need and perhaps even what you dream of.​​

 

I found my way to Goddess at 19, when Hestia approached me in a way I couldn't mistake or rationalise as something else. She gave me deep, unconditional, maternal love that I desperately needed at the time​. My path spiralled on from there and eventually I found myself to the Avalonian tradition, and began my training as a Priestess of Cerridwen.​My day job is as a change maker: campaigning, activism and fighting for better has been a mission close to my heart for many years, really beginning in 2014 where I made my first foray into lived experience work. It will always be an ongoing love of mine and in some ways it is also one of my forms of divine service to the world.

 

It was after my sister's death in 2020 that I really felt called to do that for my day job. Formal roles have not always existed of that nature, and I am blessed to have entered the workforce at the right time. I am thankful for all the blessings this work has given me, for the ripples of change I've felt able to make. But my spirituality was the golden thread that has brought me closer to true healing, and that's not a story I can really bring into my day job. Priestessing is my way to share it.​

 

Death, grief, trauma, distress, neurodivergence, disability: all places I have journeyed through myself. These are the spaces I feel called to Priestess. If you are looking for a Priestess to wave a magic wand and pray for a quick fix to your situation, there are others who will be able to give you this better than I. Personally, I take far more interest in the journey of authentic healing, at the pace that feels right for you, and the importance of holding you and holding ceremony in those difficult spaces and transitions, as Goddess supports you into flourishing, however that looks for you.

 

It is my strongly-held belief that 'recovery' is one of many words taken from authentic experiences and misused by oppressive systems that see your value in what you bring to an economy, not in the inherent value that you have as a human being. You are important, you are deserving of compassion and kindness, and Goddess loves you no matter how your path aligns with societal expectations. An it harm none.. do what thou wilt. It's not my desire, or my place, to pass judgement on you. ​I hope this gives you some insight into my core values and my journey!​

 

In love and trust, Rowan x​