Guests of Honor
Guests of Honor are highlighted presenters and/or groups who have either an established profile in the wider Pagan/Witchcraft/Wiccan community (or sometimes just the local community) or are up-and-coming. They typically consist of teachers, authors, musicians and/or artisans and are sometimes referred to as "BNP" or "Big Name Pagans".
*Guests subject to change.
Ivo Dominguez Jr.
Ivo Dominguez, Jr. (he, him) has been active in Wiccan and the Pagan community since 1978 and has been teaching since 1982. Ivo is a founding member and former High Priest of Keepers of the Holly Chalice, the first Assembly of the Sacred Wheel coven. He currently serves as one of the Elders of the 14 ASW covens. Ivo has been published in numerous periodicals and is the author of The Four Elements of the Wise; Keys to Perception: A Practical Guide to Psychic Development; Practical Astrology for Witches and Pagans; Casting Sacred Space; and Spirit Speak, among other works. He is the anchor author for the new twelve book Witch’s Sun Sign Series. In his mundane life, he has been a computer programmer, the executive director of an AIDS/HIV service organization, a bookstore owner, and many other things. He is queer, poly, and lives in the woods of Southern Delaware with his family of choice.
Mortellus
Mortellus (they/them) is a lineaged 3° Gardnerian High Priestex, Mortician, Necromancer, Medium, and world-renowned thought leader in deathcare and the magic of death, presently busy at work on their fourth book, with their second, "The Bones Fall in a Spiral: A Necromantic Primer," published by Crossed Crow Books, arriving on shelves October 3rd, 2023.
Mortellus is a Mortician, and in addition to their degrees in Mortuary Sciences, holds degrees in Design, Education and Fine Arts. Their areas of expertise include necromancy, necrobotany, mediumship, and the funerary rites of minority faith groups. Currently residing in Western North Carolina on three acres that doubles as the Covenstead for the Coven of Leaves with their spouse and twin children. Their adult child, who resides in Asheville North Carolina, is a student of Health Sciences at UNCA.
Coby Michael
Coby Michael (he,him) is an occult herbalist and plant medicine practitioner, specializing in poisonous and psychoactive plants, particularly for their magical and spiritual properties. He is the owner of The Poisoner’s Apothecary (2017), a blog and online shop where he makes a wide array of formulas working with plants like deadly nightshade and fly agaric mushroom. Coby creates ritual formulas and talismanic jewelry, inspired by poisonous plants and their use in witchcraft and ceremony. Coby has a background in religious studies, traditional witchcraft, North American folk magic and phytochemistry. He also is the host and creator of Botanica Obscura Conference, an annual gathering of magical plant practitioners from around the world sharing their plant spirit knowledge. He writes prolifically and teaches workshops on the poison path, flying ointments, occult herbalism and psychedelic spirituality.
Thumper Forge
Thumper (Horkos) Marjorie Splitfoot Forge (he/him) is a Gardnerian High Priest, an initiate of the Minoan Brotherhood, a Discordian Episkopos, a recovering alcoholic, and a notary public from Houston, Texas. His first book, Virgo Witch: Divining the Details was co-authored with Ivo Dominguez, Jr. and will be released by Llewellyn Publications in November 2023.
By day, he manages a leather and fetishwear shop, and by night, he dabbles in chaos magic, offers geomantic and lithomantic readings, and blogs irreverently for Patheos Pagan. His essays have previously appeared in The Gorgon’s Guide to Magical Resistance (Revelore Press, 2022) and Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods: History, Insights & Magickal Practice (Llewellyn Publications, 2022).
Alexis Arredondo
Alexis A. Arredondo (he/him) grew up on the border of South Texas, where he was enamored with folklore as well as spiritual folk-practice at a very young age. He began learning folk magic and traditional brujería (Mexican witchcraft) from a local bruja (witch) in his hometown. Through the influence of famous healers such as Don Pedrito Jaramillo, he began his journey in the sacred healing art of Curanderismo (Mexican folk-healing), and was fortunate enough to have teachers in this practice as well as in el culto de Santisima Muerte (the cult of the Holy Death). He has also initiated into several necromantic systems such as tantric Aghor Yoga, Brazilian Kimbanda and he is a Tata Nganga in the Congo-Cuban practice of Palo Mayombe. He is the co-owner of City Alchemist Witch Shop in downtown East Austin and co-author of the book "Magia Magia: Invoking Mexican Magic as well as Blood of Brujeria. Alexis also is the occult expert and spiritual consultant of the Night Owl True Ghost Stories Podcast. Through his experiences, he enjoys teaching others through his online school the Mictlan Academy.
Eric Labrado
Eric Labrado (he/him) was born and raised in west Texas, where he learned the fundamentals of Mexican witchcraft (brujeria) and folk-healing (curanderismo) from family and other practitioners in his community. He is the co-author of "Magia Magia :Invoking Mexican Magic" and "Blood of Brujeria". Eric holds initiation in the Afro-Cuban tradition of Santería as a priest of Oshún and is also a medium and diviner. When he is not co-running his shop City Alchemist, is he providing limpias (spiritual cleanings) for the community and mentorship programs for those interested in learning the spiritual folk-traditions of Mexico.
Eimi OstaraMoon
Eimi OstaraMoon (she, her), the witch and bee steward behind Poison and Bee, started her journey on the Poison Path with a handful of Datura inoxia seeds, and a dream of having her own Poison Garden on her farm in rural Texas. With the help of her honey bees, the garden has since grown to include baneful allies such as different datura varieties, henbane, deadly nightshade and mandrake, as well as various magical, medicinal and culinary herbs. As a practitioner of alchemical herbalism, plant spirit medicine and natural beekeeping, Eimi focuses her work with poisonous plants and honey bees by understanding their nature and needs, and developing a harmonious symbiotic relationship between plants, insects and humans. “Poison as medicine”, both physically and spiritually, is the guiding principle that Eimi follows on the Poison Path.
Chris Moon
Psychic Medium Chris Moon (he/him) tours college campuses around the country, lecturing on his ghost hunting techniques and providing positive evidence, as well as interactive investigations using the Telephone of the Dead to many excited students, eager to learn more about the paranormal. His television interviews and appearances include,most notably, truTV Network's "Door to the Dead", NBC's "Today Show", A&E Network's "Paranormal State", as well as numerous ABC, CBS, NBC, CW (formally the WB), and FOX affiliate stations around the country. He has appeared on many nationwide radio programs, such as "Coast to Coast AM" with George Noory, "Coast to Coast AM" with Ian Punnit, TAPS Radio "Beyond Reality", "KHOW Radio" with Peter Boyles, Canada's "Richard Syrett Show", BBS Radio-"Beyond Two Worlds Radio Show", Clear Channel Radio's "Real Paranormal Talk", and countless others.
Dee Garcia
"Dee" Denise Garcia (she/her) is an Educator, Psychic Intuitive Counselor, Paranormal Investigator, and Researcher. As far back as she can remember, Dee has been experiencing paranormal phenomena and has lived with a unique gift of being able to communicate with spirits. She now spends her time touring colleges around the country providing psychic readings and intuitive counseling to students where she helps them connect with loved ones who have passed on or even just provides them with guidance and healing messages. She also spends her time lecturing on the paranormal and her own personal experiences with communicating with spirits. She enjoys sharing her knowledge of paranormal investigating with students and teaching key investigative techniques that will be successful in gathering positive evidence as well as providing them with examples of real evidence of the paranormal. These lectures and investigations are interactive, fun, and informative while also leaving a chilling impression on those who participate. Dee has appeared on The Spirit Realm Network’s “The Ghost Box Chronicles” and has been the host of a paranormal podcast “Phenomena Encountered” and “Box Talk Radio”.
The Austin Séance
Albert Lucio (he/him) and Jake Cordero (he/him) of The Austin Séance demonstrate tools used by working mediums and employ those tools in modern recreations of old-time séances. The Austin Séance has been featured in Texas Monthly, NPR’s Texas Standard radio program, TV broadcasts and more. Austin Monthly calls them “devilishly charming” and The Austin Chronicle says “Jake Cordero and Albert Lucio give you the experience of contacting the departed.” The Austin Séance has spent years conducting séance demonstrations in venues all across Texas — demonstrations that NPR’s Texas Standard describes as “part history lesson, part exploration … not a scripted show but a communal experience.”
About Albert Lucio and Jake Cordero of The Austin Séance
Jake Cordero, an award-winning journalist, has reported on everything from cult murders in Mexico to spirit hauntings in Fort Worth. He is a longtime student of magic and philosophy, and the author of two books.
Things that go bump in the night have always fascinated Albert Lucio. With a degree in sociology and psychology, Albert has set out to understand how we shape and are shaped by supernatural beliefs. He has spent years studying ghost hunters, consorting with psychics and researching the occult.
Kacie Brunette
Known as the host of the monthly group spells for the Witch Bitch Amateur Hour podcast’s Online Coven, Kacie (she/her) has long had a passion for building community spaces for folks like herself whose access to community may have been limited by their differences in the past. In 2006 she was diagnosed with Bipolar2 and began the lifelong work of learning to thrive and overcome the fears and anxieties that had isolated her from my friends, family, and community. First working to overcome her debilitating arachnophobia to meet her goal of enjoying nature with her children, she then cultivated a tarantula collection with her husbands help, and together they built a reputation for taking in snakes and tarantulas that others were too afraid to keep any longer. She then turned to conquering the social anxieties that held her back and started volunteering for local community events. As a practicing solitary witch, she joined the DFW Pagan Unity Fest coordinating committee in 2017 as the Volunteer Coordinator after years of volunteering for the event herself. In that capacity she helped expand the community ritual spaces to be more inclusive towards solitary, non-Wiccan, and neurodivergent pagans. In 2020 she took those organizing skills online for the Witch Bitch Amateur Hour podcast online community to host the monthly groups spells held in their Facebook community group. In 2023 she made her in person teaching debut with a workshop at the Anahata's Purpose Wellness Festival Retreat in Pennsylvania and has since also taught at the DFW Pagan Unity Fest.
Izzy Swanson
Izzy Swanson (they/them) is a healer, teacher, and mentor specializing in the intersection of addiction, trauma recovery, and spiritual practice. Their blended approach to healing work integrates evidence-based research methodologies with intuitive guidance and devotional polytheism. Izzy has been practicing Earth-based spirituality for more than 30 years and has cultivated a deep relationship with Irish spiritual traditions. They have been a speaker and facilitator of courses focused on Celtic polytheism since 2013. Izzy is a co-founder of the Order of the Crows, a priesthood tradition honoring the Morrigan, and a member of the Coru Cathubodua Priesthood. They are the owner of Liminal Crossings and the Feileacan Ministry Wellness Center in downtown Austin, Texas, USA. Izzy makes a living as a trauma specialist, providing Reiki and healing services to clients with PTSD, auto-immune disorders, and various stress-related illnesses.
Sara Luna Gonzales
Sara Luna Gonzales (she/her), Santa Muerte Devotee, Owner of Texicana Candle Company & 3rd Eye Mystic. Third-generation practitioner of Curanderismo, Mexican Folk Magic, Brujeria & Hoodoo.
Heather Hanlin
Heather Hanlin MA, LPC (she, her) is a spiritually eclectic Licensed Professional Counselor in Burnet County TX. She provides Nature Therapy and Equine Assisted Therapy for quirky, creative, and curious tweens, teens, and adults.
Andrew Skeen
Andrew Skeen (he,him) is an astrologer and astrological wizard practicing medieval Perso-Arabic sorcery as described in grimoires such as ibn Qurra's On Images, De Quindecim Stellis, and the infamous Picatrix.
Amie Campbell
Amie (she/her) is a trauma-informed care trainer for mental health professionals, witch, and oracle reader. She has a passion for healing of all kinds.