2026 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.



Siddharth Ramakrishnan

Keynote Speaker

Siddharth Ramakrishnan, PhD is a neuroscientist, artist, and educator. He is the Chair of Neuroscience and Professor of Biology at the University of Puget Sound and a recipient of the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER award. His research spans developmental biology, neuroendocrinology and neuroethics. A Fellow of the UCLA Art|Sci center, his collaborations with artists have led to exhibitions and documentaries that blend the worlds of art and science highlighting topics like Hox genes, animal umwelts and biomimicry. An avid Tarot reader, he has designed and created the NeuroTarot deck based on the major arcana of Tarot and infused with neuroscience. He was the keynote speaker at NWTS 2023 and a panelist at the Masters of Tarot workshop (2023) with Mary K. Greer at Omega, Rhinebeck NY. His book "The Neuroscience of Tarot", is out now with Llewelyn Worldwide

Heather Greene

Keynote Speaker

Heather Greene is a acquisitions editor at Llewellyn Worldwide, a journalist. film historian, and author of the award-winning book "Lights, Camera, Witchcraft." She is a 3rd Degree priestess in the Rising Phoenix Tradition of Wicca. Heather is also passionate about dolls and dollcraft, music, and keeping life colorful.

Ivo Dominguez Jr.

Keynote Speaker

Ivo Dominguez, Jr. has been active in Wiccan and the Pagan community since 1978. Ivo is a founding member and first 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 ASW. Ivo 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. 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 more.

Alexis A. Arredondo

Guest Speaker

Alexis A. Arredondo having grown up on the border of South Texas, was fascinated by folklore and spiritual folk-practice from a very young age. He learned folk magic and traditional brujería from a local bruja (witch) in his hometown, and later embarked on a journey in the sacred healing art of Curanderismo, inspired by famous healers like Don Pedrito Jaramillo. Alexis also dedicated himself into the cult of the Holy Death and several necromantic systems, including Tantric Aghor Yoga, Brazilian Kimbanda, and Palo Mayombe. Alexis is a board member for the First Spiritualist Church of Austin and is currently studying for his Ministerial training in the American Spiritualist Church. He co-owns City Alchemist Witch Shop in downtown East Austin and has co-authored two books, Magia Magia: Invoking Mexican Magic and Blood of Brujeria.

Thumper Forge

Guest Speaker

 Thumper (Horkos) Marjorie Splitfoot Forge is a Gardnerian High Priest, an initiate of the Minoan Brotherhood, a Discordian Episkopos, a recovering alcoholic, and a notary public from Houston, TX. Their latest book, THE CHAOS APPLE: MAGIC AND DISCORDIANISM FOR THE POSTMODERN WITCH, was released by Llewellyn Publications in November 2025.

The Chaos Apple released November 8th! Snag your copy from Llewellyn Worldwide or wherever books are sold! 

Ivy

Guest Speaker

Ivy is a genuine and literal Seeress, having received visions and been able to use psychometry their entire life. With several hard-earned titles, she has more of an animistic approach to spirituality and with this Ivy makes waves in the witch/pagan community. They have been a practicing Seiðkona and priestess to Hekate for over a decade, with a 5 year spiritual sabbatical under their belt as well. With experience and natural ties to the earth and nature, they primarily spend their time in their craft centered in Spirit Flight, Seidr, Animism, Traditional witchcraft, Herbalism, Trolldom, Northern Tradition paganism and spirituality, divination, Weaving The Wyrd, and more. She wears many hats here at HPE including teacher, seeker, bonafide seer, witch, “mother”, “granny”, shop owner, wyrdo, social and spiritual activist and on. Ivy is also an award-winning artist, a singer, and a poet. They live out in the deep of the thick woods with their partner, their 2 dogs, a weird cat who adopted them, and the spirits of the forest. 

Mamba MiRah

Guest Speaker

Mamba MiRah is a veteran Army officer turned spiritual teacher whose journey spans continents, cultures, and more than two decades of magical practice. While serving overseas, a tragic event in Germany led her to question her traditional faith and take her first steps onto the mystical path. Called to connect with the divine feminine, she began healing and expanding her practice through goddess work and ancestral exploration.

As a mixed-race woman, Mamba MiRah was attracted and initiated into Celtic magic via her maternal lineage but also sought to connect with her African ancestral magic from her paternal side, which she had been separated from. She found a Hoodoo mentor in Georgia who recognized her calling and guided her into rootwork, connecting her to the soul magic of her lineage. Later, after meeting her father’s family for the first time, her ancestral roots deepened into a source of empowerment and wholeness. MiRah believes that the integration of her magical diversity gives her great power and seeks to share that wisdom and experience with others.

In 2015, Mamba MiRah founded Hearth Wisdom Store in Texas — an inclusive, award-winning community space recognized as Best in Class for its commitment to representing diverse magical paths. Her vision has since grown into multiple spiritually aligned businesses, including marketplaces, a witchy clothing store, and the celebrated Texas Witches’ Ball, which has hosted more than a dozen enchanting gatherings in the Dallas–Fort Worth area.

With over 10 years of teaching experience and guiding others in magic, rootwork, tarot, and astrology, Mamba is passionate about empowering practitioners to honor their heritage, expand their craft, and build authentic connections. She has been married for 25 years and is the proud mother of two adult children. Today, she continues to share her knowledge and inspire seekers across the country with her blend of discipline, mysticism, and radical inclusivity.

Samantha Rose 

Guest Speaker

Samantha Rose Hicks is a witch, tarot reader, Llewellyn author, and grief alchemist based in Atlanta. She is the author of Talking with the Tarot, a heartfelt guide to building an authentic, intuitive relationship with the cards. Through tarot, ritual, and holistic coaching, she helps others reconnect with their intuition, reclaim their power, and live in alignment with their magic. After leaving her corporate career in 2018, Samantha devoted herself to this path of healing and transformation. She now teaches through her online community The Ritual Garden and at a witchy storefront, Equinox Provisions, where folks gather for classes, rituals, and connection. When she isn’t reading tarot or writing, Samantha spends time with her husband, their animals, and her Sappony tribe in North Carolina. Her work is rooted in the belief that healing is sacred and magic lives within us all.

Kitty Ferguson-Mappus 

Guest Speaker

Kitty Ferguson-Mappus, LCSW-S, MS, is a trauma specialist, IFS Level 1 and EMDR-certified therapist, practicum instructor for UT Austin and UT Arlington, and founder of Unbroken Abundance PLLC and The Wholehearted House framework. A practicing witch for over 25 years and Gardnerian Priestess for more than 15, Kitty bridges the worlds of therapy and magic with warmth, humor, and embodied integrity. She is opening a Wicca 101 Outer Court in 2026 in Georgetown, TX and is passionate about bringing trauma education and safe spiritual practice to witches and other marginalized practitioners across Texas.

Debra Burris 

Guest Speaker

Debra Burris is an elder in the Georgian Tradition of Witchcraft, holds a PhD in Astrophysics and is the author of Weather Magic: Witchery, Science and Lore.

Jamie Waggoner

Guest Speaker

Jamie Waggoner is an unapologetic expert in things that make mortals both fascinated and slightly nervous. She has been a practicing witch for 25+ years. Jamie is the author of Hades: Myth, Magic and Modern Devotion, and contributor to Witchology Magazine, Haunted Magazine, The Rebis tarot journal, and The Feminine Macabre, among others. Jamie is also a cofounder and teacher for Way of the Weaver, an inclusive program of magical study, social justice, and community building. Learn more at jamiewaggoner.com or follow @jmwaggoner on social media.

Stephanie and Scott Brown

Guest Speakers

Stephanie Brown is an artist, educated as an anthropologist, who has been a student of several branches of magick and metaphysical disciplines for over fifteen years, including eclectic paganism, witchcraft, and neo-shamanism, and is a founder of the tradition of Modern Totemism. She crafts fine art and original metaphysical tools that combine natural elements and primitive themes to honor the earth in both aesthetics and in function.

Scott Brown is a wildlife and portrait photographer and owner of Dream Wolf Photography. He has been a student of several branches of magick and metaphysical disciplines for well over twenty years, including most types of eclectic paganism, and he is a founder of the tradition of Modern Totemism. His formal education is as an electrical and computer engineer.

Together they are co-authors of the 2019 book The Modern Totemist.

Kacie Brunette

Guest Speaker

Kacie is the host of “Kacie’s Corner”, where she shares her life as an “Out of the Broom Closest” Hedgewitch in rural North Texas, navigating the joy and fear that comes with building community in a region that doesn’t always welcome the many Pagans who live there. She is the Community Coordinator for the annual DFW Pagan Unity Fest, as well as a journeyman teacher sharing her practice in workshops across the country. Through her Fear to Power class series, she shares her practice of using knowledge and empathy to transmute Fear to Power using the help of our Animal Allies and the energies that connect us all.

Aly Cardinalli

Guest Speaker

Aly Cardinalli is an accomplished witchdoctor, performing arts specialist, psychic, and master educator with over 20 years of experience. Born into a family of witches and witchdoctors, Aly's upbringing immersed him in the world of spirits and indigenous remedies. He developed a deep passion for indigenous practices, becoming a sought-after exorcist specializing in entity identification and extraction. Alongside his being a top selling author in Shamanic and Native American Faith with his book Witchdoctor Kahuna Healer, Aly has published books in psychic development, spiritual self-help, exorcist training, and indigenous Hawaiian Healing. As a master educator, Aly conducts workshops for healthcare professionals, spiritual healers, and performers, and has held prestigious positions in educational institutions. Through his dedication, Aly is recognized as a valuable contributor to cultural education, inspiring others to embrace rich culture and find healing through music, dance, and other cultural expressions, including the craft and devotion.

Kandy Mitchell

Guest Speaker

Kandy Mitchell – Sound Healer | Space Holder

Kandy Mitchell is a sound healer and sacred space holder devoted to helping others return to balance, embodiment, and inner clarity. As the owner of Silver Moon Curios, Kandy weaves together ancient practices and intuitive energy work to create deeply restorative sound healing experiences. Her sessions blend crystal singing bowls, chimes, gongs, and other vibrational instruments to support nervous system regulation, energetic clearing, and emotional release. Guided by lunar cycles and seasonal energies, Kandy’s sound journeys invite participants into a state of deep relaxation where healing unfolds naturally and safely. With years of experience holding group ceremonies, moon circles, and sound baths, Kandy creates inclusive, grounded containers rooted in intention, ritual, and self-connection. Her work is especially supportive for those seeking stress relief, spiritual alignment, and a deeper relationship with their own inner wisdom. At Witch Fest, Kandy looks forward to offering a nourishing sound experience that honors intuition, magic, and the healing power of vibration. 

Tamar Baskind

Guest Speaker

Born and raised in Jerusalem, Tamar has been steeped in the city’s magic and energy all her life. This ancient place has shaped her development, as both a person and a practitioner. Always drawn to the unseen forces around and within us, she began consciously practicing at the age of 21, developing her reach and understanding ever since. As a result, she is knowledgeable in several types of work: ancestor, energy, herbal, divination, and more. Her experiences in New Orleans have further deepened and expanded her practice and understanding. Tamar has a unique perspective of Jewish Magic, given her depth of knowledge in Jewish custom, history, magical practice and the magic of place. She has spoken publicly and published articles about these topics and is currently writing a book on them.

Eimi OstaraMoon

Guest Speaker

Eimi OstaraMoon, the poison plant wrangler and honey 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. She is also the mastermind behind the new podcast, Fancy As F**k, Not Afraid to Cut a B*tch!, exploring beautiful yet powerful plants with monthly special guests. Eimi focuses her work with poisonous plants and honey bees by understanding their nature and needs, and develops a harmonious symbiotic relationship between plants, animals, insects and humans. “Poison as medicine”, both physically and spiritually, is the guiding principle that Eimi follows on the poison path.

Mish

Guest Speaker

As a psychic medium, Mish has been helping people grow by teaching metaphysical classes and doing readings for over thirty years. Part of her favorite work is as a spiritual advisor. Though her family's training she was able to start early, but had to wait until she received the nod that she was ready to begin to working with others. Mish has performed readings for private clients and large public events and is available for both in-person or distanced readings. Now Mish has settled down at her shop in San Antonio, but previously traveled the world, and taking that knowledge and using these faiths allowing and experiences to impact her own practice.