Modern Pagan Woman and Activist for Pagan Rights
Dana D. Eilers is a 1978 graduate of Smith College and a 1981 cum laude graduate of the New England School of Law, where she was published in the Law Review and served as one of its editors. She is a licensed attorney in the states of Illinois (Regis. No. 06184011); Massachusetts (Massachusetts BBO No. 152030), and Missouri (Mo. Bar. No. 0032335). From 1982-1998, Dana practiced as a civil litigator with active trial firms in St. Louis, Missouri where the bulk of her practice was in the states of Illinois and Missouri. She is currently retired from the active practice of law and now lives with her remaining natal family in Chatham, Massachusetts where she researches and writes. She is the author of THE PRACTICAL PAGAN (Career Press/New Page Books; April, 2002) and PAGANS AND THE LAW: UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS (Career Press/New Page Books; July, 2003).
Dana has been a practicing, eclectic Witch for approximately twenty years. Her personal spiritual tradition is inspired by Egyptian, Mayan, and Western European sources. She writes, teaches, and speaks on the topics of Witchcraft, Magic, Ritual, and Paganism. Currently, she writes a regular column on legal topics for GREEN EGG ONLINE, entitled: “Brief Bits.” Her written works have appeared in GREEN EGG, PANGAIA, SAGE WOMAN, CIRCLE SANCTUARY NEWS, and GOODWITCH STORIES More of her work can be found on THE WITCHES’ VOICE (witchvox.com).
She is a member of AREN’s legal resource pool and of the OurFreedom list online where she serves as a resource and active voice for Pagan civil rights.
She assisted the joint project of WyrdWeavers Collective, the Pagan Educational Network, and the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans in the creation of the online pamphlet: PAGAN LEADERS DENOUNCE RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE AND UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. She was a member of the Papal Apology Committee and aided in the drafting of the Petition to the Pope to include Witches and Pagans in the Vatican speech given in January, 2000. She was a member of the BOILERPLATE committee, which formulated the letters and forms found at the Boilerplate Web site. This site is for Pagans who wish to write coherent letters regarding their faith to newspapers, congressional leaders, etc.
Originally from the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area, Dana addressed the public there through radio, television, and print regarding Witchcraft and Paganism. She created and facilitated Conversations with Pagans, a forum where the Pagan curious, the Pagan friendly, and the Pagan folk discussed all topics of interest. Dana has presented this forum at many different events and in different places all over the country. For years, she has taught classes regarding Wicca, magick, and ritual. For many years, she served on the Ritual Committee for both the Pagan Picnic and Magickal Weekend. As such, she helped to create and perform public ritual for groups ranging in size from less than a dozen to approximately 250. She was a co-founder of The Occasional Coven in St. Louis.
In the St. Louis area, Dana worked to create a large, thriving and public Pagan community. She was a founding member of the Omnistic Fellowship, a religious fellowship with a particular focus on alternative spirituality and a founding member of the Council for Alternative Spiritual Traditions (CAST), which was a Pagan leadership council. She served for four years as the Chair of the Steering Committee for WildHaven, a four-day Pagan Festival celebrating the Autumnal Equinox and was one of the founders of WildHaven. She worked and practiced both in coven and as a Solitary.
In Massachusetts, she has appeared on several radio programs on WOMR Outermost Radio in Provincetown, and she has been featured in articles in THE CAPE COD CHRONICLE and THE CAPE COD TIMES. She was a regular panelist on the radio program Radio Omnibus’ “Cabin in the Pines Roundtable of the Air,” hosted by Christopher Hawley, and airing on WOMR Outermost Radio, FM 92.1, in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Her radio appearances have also included an interview with Duke Skorich on the Duke Skorich show, NPR, 91.3 FM and 102.9 FM; web site at KUWS.FM. In October of 2000, she presented and facilitated a public ritual for Womens’ Week in Provincetown, Massachusetts and gave a seminar in Goddess-centered spirituality. She has presented The Ritual of Wands as healing ritual on several occasions for the Cape Cod Pagan community and continues to facilitate CONVERSATIONS WITH PAGANS in her community upon request. Currently, she is taking a break from public work and concentrating on her writing.
Dana can be reached via email at: revdana@MindSpring.com
PUBLICATIONS (incomplete)
PAGANS AND THE LAW: UNDERSTAND YOUR RIGHTS, by Dana D. Eilers. Career Press/New Page Books, Franklin Lakes, N.J. (2003). ISBN 1-56414-671-5
THE PRACTICAL PAGAN, by Dana D. Eilers. Career Press/New Page Books, Franklin Lakes, N.J. (2002). ISBN 1-56414-601-4
PANGAIA, Issue no. 29, Autumn, 2001, article entitled “Finding Ella: A Witch Goes in Search of her Family Heritage,” pages18-22
PANGAIA, Issue no. 29, Autumn, 2001, “Faith-based Funding: Should Pagan organizations accept government money? Yes!” pages 15-16
PANGAIA, Issue No. 27, Spring, 2001, article entitled “Creating a Common Vision: Five Ways to Seed and Cultivate Your Own Community,” pages 40, 42.
GREEN EGG, July/August, 1999, article entitled “The Crystal Siefferly Case: Anatomy of a Law Suit,” pages 20-22
SAGE WOMAN, Winter, 1997, article entitled “He Who Sleeps Behind the Door,” pages 21-15
CIRCLE SANCTUARY NEWS, Spring, 1996, article entitled “Out of the Basement: Weaving the Tapestry of Pagan Culture”
GOODWITCH STORIES, Summer, 1995, short story entitled “Elder Brother,” pages 7-9
GOODWITCH STORIES, Winter, 1995-1995, poem entitled “We Witches Wait”
SAGE WOMAN, Summer, 1993, article entitled “Beyond Fear,” pages 14-15
MEDIA (Television, Radio, and Print)
Awake in the Dream, cable television interview with Penelope Chatterton
The Joe Poire Show, October 23, 2003, WOMR Outermost Radio, FM 92.1, Provincetown, MA
Speaker, International New Age Trade Show (East), June, 2003, Denver, CO
Wood, Tim, “Chatham writer Pens Legal “Guidebook for Pagans,” August 21, 2003, THE CAPE COD CHRONICLE, page 24.
Wood, Tim, “The Practical Pagan Comes to Town: Chatham Woman Pens Commonsense Guide for Modern Pagans,” May 30, 2002 THE CAPE COD CHRONICLE, page 29.
December 13, 2001, interview with Duke Skorich on the Duke Skorich show, NPR, 91.3 FM and 102.9 FM; web site at KUWS.FM
Regular panelist on Radio Omnibus’ “Cabin in the Pines Roundtable of the Air,” with host Christopher Hawley and other guests, featured on WOMR Outermost Radio, FM 92.1, Provincetown, Massachusetts
May, 2001, interview with Joe Poire on “The Joe Poire Show,” WOMR Outermost Radio, FM 92.1, Provincetown, Massachusetts
January, 2001, two interviews with Dr. Paula Sperry on WOMR Outermost Radio, FM 92.1, Provincetown, Massachusetts
September 27, 2000, interview with Tim Wood of THE CAPE COD CHRONICLE
June 22, 2001, Interview with Marjorie Morningstar on WOMR, Outermost Radio, Provincetown, Massachusetts
October 31, 1998, THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, article entitled “For Pagans, Halloween is a serious, Sacred Time of Magic,” by Chris Carroll
October 7, 1998, KPLR TV, WB Channel 11 News, Interview with Christine Buck
October 31-November 6, 1997, WEBSTER-KIRKWOOD TIMES, article entitled “A Very Pagan All Hallows Eve,” by Don Corrigan
June, 1996, radio interview for KDHX FM 88, St. Louis Missouri, program entitled “Out and Open,” hosted by Amy Doll and Linda Serafini
October, 1995, THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, article entitled “Special Days Honor Dead: Christians, Pagans Remember Saints, Souls, Spirits, by Kathryn Rodgers
August 9-15, 1995, ST. LOUIS RIVERFRONT TIMES, article entitled “Pagan Offerings, by Jeanette Batz
July 26, 1995, THE ST LOUIS POST DISPATCH, article entitled “Pagans Plan Picnic to Celebrate Beliefs,” by Ellen Ellick
July 25, 1994, THE ST. LOUIS POST DISPATCH, full frontal photograph of me calling the Southern Quarter at the Opening Ritual to the Pagan Picnic, with caption reading “Proudly Pagan”
March, April 1994, THE PATHFINDER, article entitled “Wicca: A Look at Modern Practice”
December, 1992, ST. LOUIS RIVERFRONT TIMES, featured in a column written by William Stage and entitled “Mississippi Mud”
RESOURCES ON THE WEB
For The Witches’ Voice
Darla Kay Wynne v. Town of Great Falls, et al: The United States District Court Decision
http://www.witchvox.com/white/djwvtigf.html
“Some Brief Points for Modern Pagans,” at http://www.witchvox.com/white/paganismandlaw.html
“Hurston v. Henderson, 2001 WL 65204: A Case Analysis,” at http://www.witchvox.com/white/hvh.html
“Definitely NOT Like in the Movies: A Response to the Teen Pagans Among Us,” http://www.witchvox.com/words/words_1999/e_notinthemovies1.html
“Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe: An Analysis” http://www.witchvox.com/white/santafevdoe.html http://www.witchvox.com/cases/abrahamsen.html
THE WICCANPAGAN TIMES
“Samhain in the Aftermath of September 11, 2001″ (This article was published as part of their October, 2002 celebration and is archived on the site.)
Legal Comments:
http://www.kriselda.net/candlestar/RelFree/DanaDettmer.htm
Contributions to web sites and other on-line publications
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~pen/boilerplate.html
http://www.wiccauk.com/articles/publicritual.html
