The phoenix found me before I fully understood why. Through fire, I learned resilience. Through ash, I learned surrender - not as defeat, but as trust in the unfolding. And in rising again, I came to understand that true leadership is not shaped by control, but by care - for the land, for spirit, and for those who walk beside us.

My path has been shaped by many things: teachers who came at the right time, books that felt like old companions, rituals that faltered and those that transformed, and the quiet presence of ancestors I felt long before I could name them. It has also been shaped by laughter, by friendship, and by the moments when others held me steady as I learned to stand again. Becoming a High Priestess was not a single moment, but a gradual unfolding. It asked me to soften as much as to strengthen. To hold space without needing to shape it. To listen more deeply - to others, to the land, and to myself. And, perhaps most importantly, to step away from what no longer aligned, trusting that release is its own sacred act.

In time, everything came into balance in its own way. Under the blessing of Spirit, and with the quiet presence of the ancient Norns, I was initiated by my dear friend, Michelle Mari Elliott. It was a ceremony rooted not in grandeur, but in truth, trust, and deep knowing - a moment that felt less like becoming something new, and more like returning to what had always been within me. Michelle’s work, grounded in the land, ancestry, and the old ways of these Isles, carries a depth of integrity that I deeply honour. To be initiated by her was not something I sought for status, but something I accepted with humility and gratitude.

When the Coven of Phoenix Fire came into being, it did not feel like I had created something new. Rather, it felt like something remembered - a gathering shaped by trust, care, and shared responsibility. Within it, I have found something I had not expected so deeply: a circle of souls who feel like kin. There is strength in this coven that does not need to prove itself. There is love that moves gently, without demand or condition. Together, we are weaving something steady and true - a space free from bitterness, ego or competition, where each person is honoured in their own rhythm, their own path. The memories we're creating are not marked by grand declarations, but by quiet, sacred moments: shared laughter around the circle, the ease of being seen and accepted, the holding of one another through change, and the deep comfort of knowing none of us walks alone. These are the threads that bind us - not hierarchy, but connection; not authority, but belonging.

Today, my role as High Priestess is not to lead from above, but to walk alongside. To tend the flame rather than claim it. To honour the land beneath us, the ancestors who walk with us, and each individual who chooses to step into the circle.
I walk this path with quiet reverence, with gratitude for what has been, and with the understanding that wisdom comes not from having all the answers, but from being willing to keep learning.

I am a High Priestess not because I am without flaw, but because I have learned to meet myself in truth, to release what no longer serves, and to rise again - gently, and with love.

I am still learning. Still becoming.
Still, in my own way, rising.
Jo - High Priestess of the Coven of Phoenix Fire