I wanted to take some time today to introduce you all to one of my favorite people who is also about to be my partner in crime with some future projects.  He’s a dear friend and a kick ass Witch; his name is Devin Hunter!  If you haven’t heard of Devin before or been introduced to him through his great show The Modern Witch Podcast, let me introduce you to him.  Soon you’re going to see Devin and I doing a lot of things together and I wanted to make sure you two were well acquainted.  I got the chance to rope Devin into answering some questions to share with you all to give you an idea of who he is and to help you get familiar with him.  So read on for my interview with the awesome Devin Hunter!

Tell everyone a little bit about yourself and what led you to first getting involved in Paganism.

I was actually raised pagan, well partially pagan. My father is pagan and my mother an x-pagan/born again Christian. Paganism has pretty much been with me my whole life, excluding a few awkward teen years when I was in an experimental phase. I think I accepted it as my path when I was 13, went through an identity crisis, and then promptly found myself back there.

I have been a pagan writer for a few years now, mostly in the occasional magazine like ‘Moon Shadows’. I have also been teaching the craft for nine years now on a continual basis, and I have just recently formalized the core practices in my own line within the Dianic tradition of witchcraft and am teaching both in-person classes here in CA, but internationally as well through a long-distance training program.

I am a full-time psychic/medium and I manage The Mystic Dream in Walnutcreek, CA. I also teach psychic development, Crystal Healing/Therapy, and a popular Tarot intensive designed for those who want to boost their practices to a professional level. My big project right now however is teaching a new year-and-a-day course called The People’s Witchcraft. This is the largest continual teaching operation I have personally been a part of as I am teaching long-distance as well as in-person, both nationally and internationally.

 

How did you come to discover your psychic and mediumship abilities?

Ah, now this is a great story. I have never actually had a moment when I discovered them so much as having moments when I realized others did not. I have a great and supportive family so my ability to see and talk with spirits and my clairesentience was noticed and accepted very early on. I grew up listening to stories of how I would talk with spirits and angels and freak out all my mother’s friends. However when I knew that I was different happened when I was five and I woke up early one morning after it had snowed and heard a voice whispering to me. I remember becoming suddenly aware that my mother was going to be in a car accident. I ran out into the living room to find my mother getting ready to leave for work.

I threw a tantrum but eventually mom still had to go to work. Back in those days it was not against the law to not wear your seat-belt, so my mother never did. I marched her out to the car, made her put her seat-belt on, and told her to be careful. A few hours later my mother calls the house from the hospital. There was a lengthy patch of ice and her car slid into another accident. Without the seat-belt it would have been fatal.

 

What traditions have you had the opportunity to study and explore?

I have my third degree in the Northern Star line of British Traditional Wicca, and I am a third degree initiate of the Dianic Tradition of Witchcraft, which is not to be confused with the feminist Dianic line of Dianic Wicca. I am decently versed within the magick of the Hungarian gypsy people, to which I am half. I have also studied Huna, Voodou, Hoodoo, and Appalachian folk magick. I have a level two in both the Usui reiki method and Blue Fire reiki as well. Currently I am studying with multiple teachers in the Feri Tradition of American Witchcraft, or what some might call Anderson Feri.

 

You now have your tradition, The Living Temple of Diana, which is a cult of Diana tradition and not a Dianic Wiccan tradition, which has caused some controversy and confusion. Tell us a little bit about the tradition and how it came to be that you started the Temple.

I was initiated into the Cult of Diana, also known as The Dianic Witchcraft tradition, in the winter of 2004. I later became initiated into Northern Star which was very Aradian in nature. After several years of establishing my own practice and gnosis within the two traditions I made the decision to formalize the work and create my own line within the Dianic tradition of witchcraft, which we call The Living Temple of Diana.

The Living Temple of Diana actually solidified earlier this year after I was asked to make a statement as a male Dianic about a controversial speech from a Dianic elder. The truth of the matter is that the tradition that I was initiated into and the tradition that Z.Budapest teaches are incredibly different. In fact it was not until the big explosion after this year’s Pantheacon that I became aware of just how different the two lines really are. Most of the Dianics I talk to recognize that the feminist line is a part of the over-all tradition, however they are viewed as separatists. The original teachings of the tradition are incredibly accepting of all genders and gender variations. To me the difference aside from feminism between our two takes on the tradition really breaks down to the Wiccan principles.

The Dianic witchcraft tradition often does not adhere to the three-fold law, nor do we work with the Wiccan rede or the neo-pagan sabbat cycle. The tradition focuses on the concepts of witchcraft, most often with practices related to Stregha. Within the separatists line we see more variations of core material, Wiccan themes, and more attention to neo-pagan holidays. However, what unites us is the belief that Diana is a singular creative force within the universe, which is to say she needed no consort.

Within the Living Temple of Diana we focus not on gender but on soul. We do not believe the Goddess gives one hoot about what is between your legs, but more about your ability to be a strong, self possessed, self empowered, and self aware human living up to their potential. The concepts of fertility based worship that are common within the neo-pagan movement are replaced with an ecstatic worship focus. We tend to work with a model based on resonance rather than polarity, and through our practices seek to become empowered within our everyday.

 

You have a really great podcast, The Modern Witch Podcast, where you get a lot of interesting guests from the Pagan community. How did the show get started? Who have been some of your favorite guests?

The show actually started because at the time it came out there were few shows out there that I felt were addressing new topics to a modern audience. If they were entertaining they were not exactly something you could listen to in the car on the way home from picking the kids up due to endless streams of cussing and inappropriate language.

I had thought about it for a few days and then woke up one morning and hadn’t made any plans at the time, so I recorded the first episode in my up-stairs bathroom, then released it that afternoon. I think I was lucky because due to my professional career I would spend several months out of the year touring the country going from one pagan festival to the next, and one new-age festival to the next. While on the road I got the chance to actually sit down, hang-out, and develop friendships with pagan leaders, authors, and other voices within the modern movement.

After the first episode I contacted a dear friend of mine, Christopher Penczak, who had been a major supporter in my career and invited him to come on the show as a guest. After the episode he was on aired, I called the rest of the people I knew and was able to book some amazing folks for the show. About six months ago we hit the 25,000 subscriber mark, and will soon be reaching 30,000.

I have to say, I do not have any favorites; these people truly are my friends. I can say however that the interviews I have done with people I had placed a judgment on like Raven Digitalis and Christian Day have been some of the most surprising interviews for me. Once I actually talked with them I was baffled at my own ignorance for conceptualizing personifications of people I had never met all because of their reputation and rumors I had heard. Truth be told, both of them are pretty amazing people.  Christian and I have become good friends as well and I would count him as someone I could trust. It all goes to show you cannot listen to the gossip and really know what is going on.

 

When it comes to helping out those really new to the Craft, what books do you recommend that they read to get started in learning about Paganism or developing their magickal and psychic abilities?

This may surprise everyone, but for the new witch I always recommend Solitary Witch by Silver Ravenwolf. It is a big book with all the tables and charts you will ever need, detailed explanations for how to do the work, but most importantly it focuses a lot on individualism in the craft. If you are new to the party, this book could easily replace all the other 101 books.

When it comes to psychic development I am a major fan of Christopher Penczak’s Spirit Allies. It is actually a book geared towards helping the reader develop a relationship with their spirit guides, however the exercises within the book were a refreshing brand on psychic development. Spirit Allies has to be my number one recommended book to clients.

A few other suggestions on good reading would be The Spiral Dance by Starhawk, for those who want a more spiritual approach to the craft. Enchanted by Titania which is a very nifty book with fabulous art work and traditional folk magick that has been modernized. And last but not least I am a huge fan of the works of Dorothy Morrison, specifically her book entitled The Craft, which is another great 101 book.
Thanks Devin!
Be sure to check out these links to find Devin around the web!

DevinHunter.net
The Modern Witch Podcast
The Modern Witch Podcast on YouTube
The Modern Witch Facebook Page
Devin’s Blog
Devin on Twitter