Merry Meet!

I am Aria.

My spiritual journey began many years ago in my early teens. Always my effort has been toward total commitment and dedication. Being brought up in a Roman Catholic household, that effort led to several years in convent life which I eventually left in order to live those “monastic” practices, values, and inner life -- in the outside world.

Along the way, I studied multiple “new age” and eastern spiritualities very deeply and spent about two years in a Hindu ashram-type setting. I have taught meditation techniques, manifestation principles, and many of the healing arts for well over thirty years. I am a certified massage therapist and hold certifications in numerous other alternative modalities.

In 1991, while on a flight from Milwaukee back to my home in Philadelphia, I was browsing through the airline magazine only to find an article on witches in Wisconsin. As I read the article I said to myself, “That’s what I really am -- a witch!” From then on, I studied and practiced, very, very privately as a solitary. If asked, I usually described my self as a gnostic or metaphysician, or something very general, but true -- and belonged to no wiccan groups or coven. For professional reasons, this part of my life remained a very personal and private matter, totally secret.

Eventually my husband and I moved back to the Midwest to be near family and to take up a new phase of our lives. Upon relocating to the Topeka area, I had hoped to find and become part of a working coven. After search and study, in local traditions, I still longed for a very deep, traditional, even British approach. I turned back to Philadelphia, to Lady Kaleah and Lord Dagda of Sacred Crossroads Coven -- whom I had known and respected for many years -- and whom I trust completely. They graciously agreed to train me. There I found the depth of practice and tradition that enables me to live, within the Craft, the total commitment and dedication which has always been a part of my life. At this point I have been elevated to 2^nd degree and high priestess in the Gardnerian tradition.

Professionally, I hold an undergraduate degree and have done graduate studies in theology. My Ph.D. is in philosophy. My academic interest has always been at the nexus between these two fields -- particularly as they blossom into an experiential, mystical life. I have taught philosophy and served as a university dean for many years. I now devote my time and energy to family, to our animals and tiny farm in Kansas, to life within the Craft -- and to the formation of Coven Ancora Imparo.

Blessings to you -- in all you do!