I fell in love with the land when I was seven years old. My third grade class took a two night field trip to the beach. I had seen the ocean before, but this is the first time I really drank in the vastness of it all. I was mesmerized by the flow of the tide. My mom had given me a disposable camera and I spent all but one of the pictures on the waves crashing onto the sand.

My parents did not stress Christianity but rather good morals. When their divorce became messy I found sanctuary in a conservative Christian denomination. Quickly more responsibility fell to me and I was preaching sermons at age 14. I grew disenfranchised by politics among our congregation, and began to question my beliefs. And I continued to feel connection to nature, especially when our youth groups would take adventures outdoors.

We always traveled the short distances to the mountains or the ocean when my sister and I were young. Never before had I experienced a connection to nature in the city -- until, with the church youth group, I went kayaking. Down the main river in town we floated lazily, mostly letting the current carry us. I couldn't believe how quiet it was. Just on the other side of those trees was the bustle of a Thursday afternoon. But here we were lazing away in the sunshine, flowing with the will of the water.

I first heard about a goddess religion when I was 15. A new friend (who later went on to become a wonderful friend) shared her spiritual experiences with me and I started reading here and there. It has felt like home from the beginning -- worshiping and revering the nature I already loved. Over time I've ordered nearly every book I can find on the topic of witchcraft and paganism. I've studied off and on for the years inbetween. Now I live in those mountains we traveled to when I was a child and I'm formally studying with a coven. My current identification is pantheistic witch. Pantheism is the concept that all living beings (humans, animals, plants) are divine and sacred.

Explorer. Creator. Healer. I am still taking stock of the things that I could do if I only set my mind to the task. Among them was this oasis for all the spiritual things that rattle around in my head. I've never been very articulate about my spirituality, but it's time for a change.