2024 Guest Bios

Yeshe Meryemana Matthews is Mandala Priestess of the Mt Shasta Goddess Temple and co- owner of The Sacred Well metaphysical shop in Dunsmuir, CA. Yeshe has dedicated her life to female mysteries and sacred healing practices, with ongoing study and practice in Tibetan Buddhism, Siberian/Mongolian Shamanism, Ifa, Mayan Cosmology, herbal healing, and Dianic Goddess Spirituality. With a Master’s degree in Women’s History from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, she has studied women’s mysticism, shamanism, and matriarchal communities for over twenty years. She maintains a public shrine to Kuan Yin that is visited by thousands of people each year. She is a professional diviner for over 20 years, and has performed more than 15,000 readings. She also takes people on small group pilgrimages to holy sites of the ancient world. Learn more at mtshastagoddesstemple.com

….was born at the dawn of the 60s and convinced that she was born to be a witch. At the age of 5, she was informed by her mother that there were no witches anymore, they were all dead, it wasn’t a career option, so… were Druids, so were the Old Gods and she was too white to merit walking in the footsteps of her Anishinaabe ancestors! Crushed that she had been born in the wrong time, she set her sights on Ballet, becoming a professional dancer in 79 and avidly continued to study the Occult arts.
Anne Marie discovered divination early, reading tarot competently by the age of 12. She was that girl, three years younger than her peers, to whom people spontaneously gravitated, to ask for guidance, dream interpretation, spell work and the meaning of life.

In 1981 or thereabout, she discovered the Wiccan Church of Canada, in Toronto and became actively involved in all it’s functions. First initiated into a Dymond line coven in 1982, she became a 1* Odyssean in 1984. At the same time, she began to participate in the leadership of Wic-Can Fest , Canada’s oldest Pagan festival and eventually directed Harvest Fest as well, the fall festival that follows.

She quit dance abruptly, becoming a Morris dancer, apprenticed leather work and studied underground midwifery and became a chilbirth educator and a doula. She began to study herbology in person with Faunus herbs , Palmistry and Cunning Magic with Alf Marron from Ireland and became a Pagan artisan.In early 80s, at the request of CBC, she began to give interviews on witchcraft debunking a lot of falsehoods and working hard at promoting Wicca as a wholesome religion based on the principles of living harmoniously with nature and working magic.

She was the subject of many radio interviews over the years , both in English and in French and in 1991, was one of the featured guests on the highest rated talk show in Quebec,
Anne Marie became a Gardnerian and Alexandrian initiate in the mid 90’s and gradually became a third degree high priestess, leading a Coven of the Long Island Line of Gardnerian Wicca.

Anne Marie has also participated in raising 7 children in the Pagan Way and gave birth to 4 of them at home.

She participated in the documentary Oh My God a funny, lighthearted and genuine look at Paganism (wicca) that several of her children took part in. Watch it, it’s worth it.
More recently, she was featured in the CBC documentary “Coven”, no comment on that, can’t win’em all! lol

Anne Marie has led festivals, public rituals, workshops and classes and guided a whole community for about 40 years. She brings a lively personality to all she presents, peppering her talks with true anecdotes and humor. Drawing from a lifetime of experiences as an artist, a mother, a home birth activist, a postal worker and a labor and human rights activist, an oracle and a diviner, an indigenous herbology, culture and language
activist, a feminist, she has a way to make the teachings tangible, accessible and memorable to all who are open to it.

She is thrilled to be part of the celebration. Merry Meet!

Nick Voss has been studying and training Capoeira since 2013, which has included study in Minneapolis as well as Brazil, and has picked up a few Samba classes along the way. An avid movement junkie and percussionist, he enjoys attending events such as Sacred Fire Circle to explore freedom of movement through dance and music. He is a member of the Coven of Misfit Toys.

Workshop : Tapping into Flow: Train and Practice 

This workshop will cover footwork, weight shifting, and cultivating a sense of unpredictability to inspire flow and/or trance states. We’ll draw from concepts and movements from the Afro-Brazilian traditions of Capoeira and Samba.

Albert Robles is a lifelong musician, and a professional percussionist whose credits include numerous performances in and around the Bay Area. An easygoing demeanor and natural ear for collaboration make Albert a fun and valuable member of an ensemble playing everything from classics to ethnic to rock. Albert is also a tabletop gaming enthusiast since the age of 12, playing with some of the same folks for decades now. Check out his musical offerings on SoundCloud under the name Kujen. When he is not behind the drums or battling kobolds in his latest campaign, you can find him in the shop he co-owns with his wife Yeshe, The Sacred Well, at the base of Mt Shasta. Visit the shop online at sacredwell.com

Introducing the Mystical Insights of Carol Dutton for a journey into “Ancestral Connections.”
Any session with Carol Dutton, owner of Being You Energetically, LLC, is powerful and will give you the unique and specific missing links to clearing the traumatic and ancestral patterns keeping you from living an extraordinary life. She is an author, expert Subtle Energy Practitioner, Reiki Master, Irigenics® Ancestral Eye Reading Consultant, Crystal Grid Healer, Sacred Rose Healing Practitioner, and creator of the Ancestral Connection Ceremony. As an ordained minister, she also offers Spiritual Oil anointing.

Workshop: ANCESTRAL CONNECTIONS
What do your ancestors want to share with YOU? 
Join Carol Dutton, owner of Being You Energetically, in a mesmerizing presentation featuring an Ancestral Connection Ceremony. Immerse yourself in a guided meditation, creating a direct and personal connection with your ancestors.
Journaling your experience immediately after the meditation is highly recommended (bring your pen/paper or make notes on your electronic device). There will be time for sharing, questions/answers, depending on the number of participants.
Explore the profound quest for identity and purpose through the lens of understanding and connecting with your ancestral roots with the captivating Carol Dutton. Uncover the answers to the timeless questions of who you are, what drives you, and why you do what you do by delving into your ancestral history.

Discover the untold stories your ancestors hold and what they want to share with YOU!

CONTACT INFO:
Email:  carol@carolduttonusa.com
Website:  www.carolduttonusa.com
Facebook:  @BeingYouEnergetically

Dan Engebretson has been an active member of the Twin Cities hand drumming scene for 25years and his passion is studying and playing traditional West African djembe and dunun rhythms. For over twenty years he has studied with master drummers from Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast and Senegal. He is a member of Mamady Keita’s Tam Tanm Mandingue Djembe Academy which has a detailed and comprehensive curriculum.

Dan will offer a workshop Saturday, drum Saturday night at the fire, and represent the Women’s Drum Center, where he teaches.

 The Tom O’Bedlam is a conman, a trickster, a professional pedestrian-botherer. Made manifest here in the flesh-vessel of Per Andreassen – a writer and theatre-maker, a product of the mean streets of South Minneapolis come to stare down the world with a mix of surreal ballads and acoustic punk.

Tom (Per  Andreassen) will offer several workshops and informal concerts.