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Leader Bio: Caryn MacLuan

How long have you been involved in ADF?

I joined ADF in 1999 after attending the first Trillium Spring Festival. Shortly thereafter, my ex-husband and I formed a Protogrove called RavenHawk in Pasadena, MD. The Protogrove lasted about two years and was dissolved when we decided to merge with CedarLight Grove in Baltimore, MD. I have been with CedarLight Grove ever since.

What else have you done with your life?

I've been a pagan since 1975 (you do the math). I attended Sandhills Community College and N.C. State University. I joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1985 and as an enlisted person, my job (rating) was Marine Science Technician. I was an oil spill and hazmat responder/investigator. I became a Chief Petty Officer in 1992. I received a Commission to Chief Warrant Officer in 2000 and spent my last six years before retirement inspecting small passenger vessels like dinner cruise boats and charter fishing boats. I have a Bachelor of Science in general studies completed while in the Coast Guard and I am currently working towards a Master's Degree in Herbalism. I'm also a Reiki Master.

What do you do in ADF?

In my local grove, I am the Dedicant Priest, Senior Druid Emeritus, and current Pursewarden. I create a lot of the training at my grove however we have a fine lot of motivated individuals who are stepping up to the tasks that I used to do myself (and this is a fine, fine thing indeed!). These things above have spiraled off into other duties in ADF like being a member of the Council of Senior Druids which led me to take on the job of Grove Coordinating Committee Chair since its creation. I'm also on the Clergy Counsel and have hopefully contributed some useful and insightful comments over the past couple of years. I have been a member of several guilds and am interested in study programs other than clergy but right now I am putting first things first. Tell us a bit about your personal religion.

Very briefly, I have five deities whom I work with almost daily and a whole bunch of others that one could say I have a close friendship with. I realize some people go looking to discover their patrons, others court deities to try to get them to be their patrons. That's not been my experience. My experience is more of a "Here I am!" appearance with a subsequent "hang on, things are about to get really interesting." I mean my first communication with a deity was at a stoplight after my whole world had just hit a brick wall. I was in about the worst state of emotional distress I could possibly be in and I heard, clear as a bell, "It is time you acknowledged ME." In my mind crossed a flash of "What? Who?" and I got my answer. It was Kali. It scared the crap out of me but I knew I was in no position to turn down help from anyone so I cried out, "Kali Ma I acknowledge you, please help me!" as loud as I could...much to the amazement of the people in the cars both to the right and left of me. We all had our windows down. These are my experiences with deity and there is never a dull moment. One of my closest allies of the Shinning Ones is Brigid, who teaches me to carry her fire, she prepares me for the work ahead (sometimes by shoving me into the fire and then smacking me with a hammer) and sometimes that means working for another deity for awhile. Another is Kali who teaches me to slay the demons and have no fear. Thor teaches me how to fight for the people and Oshun whom I see very much as the Earth Mother teaches me the powers of earth and water. Now you might say, "but she's not indo-european." No she isn't so you can just imagine this Druid's surprise and confusion when a bunch of African deities showed up. I didn't even know who they were but there you are, I learned. Such is my life in service of the gods and I wouldn't have it any other way.

What is your personal vision for ADF?

I admit that I came to ADF because of Isaac's original visions and his visions form a lot of my own. I see Druids as the cornerstones of their local pagan communities. The ones everyone else comes to for the best ritual advice and training, for the best and most accurate knowledge base, and for the best workshops. I would expect our clergy to be called to not only tend their own congregations but be called upon by a wide array of folk in the local neo-pagan communities for weddings, sainings, last rites and funerals simply because we are the one's who have our "stuff" together.

What I would like to see is more organizational training to help our newest Grove Organizers and Senior Druids prepare for their roles of leadership in their own groves and in the larger pagan communities. Mainstream religions train their leaders for years before turning them loose with their own groups. Our folks don't have that luxury and the result is sometimes they fail badly or fall really hard. We've lost some very good people needlessly because of this and if there is anything that I could change, this is would be it.

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