Have you ever wanted to talk about something that you have experienced, but you don’t have the language to accurately describe it? Lately I have been thinking about the differences between shills and supporting priestesses in pagan ritual, and how those differences are really important. I think supporting priestesses are so important that their presence or absence can make or break a ritual…but I couldn’t find the words to say why I feel that way, or how a supporting priestess differs from a shill.

Thankfully, I have Elizabeth Wilson to help me. I met Elizabeth many years ago at Diana’s Grove, a community near St. Louis focused on community, leadership training and personal development; she continues this work with Expanding Inward, a team that creates, facilitates and celebrates opportunities to gather in a safe, supportive and healthy community context, encouraging deeply personal positive life transformation through Earth-based, ecstatic ritual.