Prizes
 Click the CrossField to return to the Domain main page |
Nominee: Macha NightMare
Age:
Group: Reclaiming/Cherry Hill Seminary/Independent Craft Teachers
Contact information: 415-454-4411, machanightmare.com
E-Mail: herself@machanightmare.com
Type of nomination: Education/Advancement
Description of nominee: M. Macha NightMare, Priestess & Witch, is an author, teacher and ritualist, with a penchant for collaboration. An initiate, and among the founders of, Reclaiming Tradition Witchcraft, as well as Faery/Feri Tradition, Macha holds Elder and ministerial credentials through The Covenant of the Goddess (CoG), the oldest and largest non denominational organization of Witches in the USA. A member since 1981, she is a former National First Officer and has served the Covenant in many other capacities. She also is an ordained minister of the Communitarian Church in Vermont.
In 1997 Macha co-created, with Starhawk, The Pagan Book of Living and Dying: Practical Rituals, Prayers, Blessings, and Meditations on Crossing Over, HarperSan Francisco, and is author of Witchcraft and the Web: Weaving Pagan Traditions Online, ECW Press, Montreal, 2001. She is also a contributor to Irish Spirit: Pagan, Celtic, Christian, Global, edited by Patricia Monaghan, Wolfhound Press, Dublin, 2001. Her writing has appeared in many periodicals, and she has frequently spoken on behalf of the Craft in electronic and print media, and at colleges and universities.
Macha is also a participating member of The Biodiversity Project Spirituality Working Group; the Sacred Dying Foundation; the Marin Interfaith Council; the Ord Brighideach; and the Nature Religion Scholars Network. She is featured in a year-long study (2002) called "Women in Leadership in Faith: Voices of Hope and Healing in a Troubled World."
In April 2003, Macha will be a participant in New Religious Movements: A Symposium on Earth-Based Spiritualities sponsored by Auburn Theological Seminary's Center for Multifaith Education in New York City.
Her matron is Kali Ma. Her magical practice is inspired by feminism and a concern for the health of our planet, and is informed by Celtic, Hindu and Tibetan practices, the sacred art of tantra, and the magic of enchantment.
She shares her home with her beloved partner Corby and their two cats. The light of her life is her daughter Deirdre Blessing.
When the opportunity presents itself, Macha travels the broomstick circuit, where she enjoys immersing herself in the diverse community that is American Witchcraft. She currently teaches at Cherry Hill [Pagan] Seminary in Bethel, VT, and is an all-round Pagan webweaver.
“Macha has been working in service of the Craft for several decades. She currently teaches thru Cherry Hill Seminary and does workshops and trainings as well. She was the driving force beyond the book ‘The Pagan Book of Living and Dying’. I know her thru Reclaiming, a tradition that would not be the same without her input. I dont' think the Craft as well would be the same. She also wrote "Witchcraft and the Web". She has always put service to her community over self-promotion.” – Deborah Oak Cooper
(Information taken in part from the website, at http://machanightmare.com/)
Nominator(s): Deborah Oak Cooper