Chris

Chris is our Senior Druid and became the 7th member of ADF in it's first year. He'll write more about himself after the Scribe's nagged him a bit...

Jack

"I am a graphics and motion designer who holds an MFA in Print Design from the Art Institute, and have been a practicing Pagan for 26 years. Growing up in the pine forests of North Carolina, I learned to appreciate the outdoors at an early age, never wanting to come inside until the last light had left the summer sky. I started learning all I could about Modern Paganism and Heathenism in college, and I keep learning every chance I get. My personal hearth is Norse, and my Patron is Heimdall, Guardian of Bilrost, and Protector of Asgard. I like to work with many pan-IE deities, though, and take every opportunity to learn about other hearth cultures alongside my Grovemates.

I have been a member of the Grove since 2001, and have served as Senior Druid as well as my current position as Preceptor. I created the Tribeways podcast for ADF, and hosted its first eight broadcasts as well as designed its logo. I also designed and compiled the new Dedicant Program book, "Our Own Druidry" for ADF, and continue to contribute to the Artisans Guild. I'm currently working with the Grove to finish our "Feasts of the Wheel" book as well as a new pamphlet series of Wild Onion's rites through the years.

In 2010 my partner Chris and I bought a home in Des Plaines, but we still manage to make it into Chicago proper on occasion to visit friends and do other fun stuff. We enjoy camping, gaming, reading and tech."

Colleen

Colleen is the pursewarden of the Grove as well as a budding Bard. Ditto with the nagging....

Caroline

"I am an artist and jewelry designer, and I have been a Pagan for 17 years and a member of ADF and Wild Onion Grove since 2003. I started out exploring Wicca and Ecclectic Paganism and ran the University of Arizona's Student Pagan group for a few years while I was in school. I now consider myself a post reconstructionist and my Hearth Culture, while taking inspiration from what we know of several Indo European hearth cultures, is a modern amalgamation of my own creation. So far the Gods seem okay with it. I am the Scribe and the Seer (in training) for Wild Onion Grove as well as the Guild Chief for the Artisan's Guild of ADF.

I also enjoy organic gardening, nature walks in the parks and forest preserves, ecology restoration, learning about plants and animals, photography, painting, crochet, web design, physics, astronomy, folklore, paranormal studies, goth subculture, steampunk, and travel."

Jennifer

"Jennifer likes doing things the hard way, which explains most of how her life has turned out. Married, with two daughters, she has earned a B.A. in Literature and a B.S. in Criminal Justice. Her interests include history, gardening, herbalism, mythology and fairy tales, hiking, camping, and the martial arts. She is a professionally published writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Aphelion, Jabberwocky, Cabinet Des Fees, Goblin Fruit, Idunna, Oak Leaves, and many devotional anthologies, and enjoys a day job as an editor for Jupiter Gardens Press. A multi-trad pagan, she has followed the gods of Greece, Ireland, and the Northlands for decades now; aside from membership with Ár nDraíocht Féin and Wild Onion Grove, she is also a member of The Troth, Hellenion, and Ord Brigideach. She lives with her husband, her younger daughter, five cats, an overgrown garden full of nature spirits, and a houseful of gargoyles somewhere outside of Chicago."

James

"I'm an artist, designer, writer, performer, and storyteller. I've been pagan for 14 years, and a member of Wild Onion Grove since 1999 (and, to date, the only current member of WOG who needed a parental permission slip to start attending rituals!). I served as the Grove's secretary, and have been filling Bard duties on and off for the better part of the past decade (though less often of late due to the demands of my studies and studio practice).

My Hearth Culture is primarily Celtic, although the past several years have brought me more in contact with the Aesir. I'm a devotee of Brigid, who has had a profound impact on my life, my spiritual journey, and my work as an artist. In a role as somewhere between a big sister and a thesis advisor, she has taught me to never be satisfied with Good Enough, to always push further past comfort and familiarity, to work through pain and tedium and doubt, to bring more of her Fire into our world.

I'm currently an MFA candidate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where my work and research explores the intersections between art and technology. I like good food, coffee, beer, literature, music, film, open prose readings, and old episodes of Doctor Who. (Not necessarily in that order.)"