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Jeffrey Pierce
Jeffrey is the founder of Old Ways, an experienced spiritual teacher, and a practicing shaman.
About Jeffrey
As with many of the more interesting chapters of our lives, I stumbled into the role of a spiritual teacher without any intent to do so. It was the early 1990's and I had been invited to celebrate Beltane with a local coven. It was my first experience with group work after having practiced as a solitary witch and shaman for some time.
I didn't know what to expect, so I had brought my medicine bag (a shaman's ritual "tool kit") with me. As is often the case here in my native Oregon, it was raining. Having established a good working relationship with the spirit world, I went to my medicine bag, pulled out an antler-handled smudge pot, charcoal, some ritual tobacco and my umbrella and headed outside. As I had often done, I addressed the four directions, offering them tobacco and asking the storm riders (spirits of the wind and weather) to grant us a clear sky for the outdoor portion of our rite.
Almost immediately a circle of blue sky opened over the coven's backyard. I thanked the spirits and turned to go back inside to find every member of the coven crowded in the window staring wide-eyed. Their High Priestess asked me to teach her daughter. Other members began studying with me. And so I found myself on the teacher's path.
I truly believe that no one religion has a monopoly on spiritual insight, so I've studied many traditions and spent some time walking a handful of different spiritual paths. Paganism, specifically shamanic witchcraft, is where my heart is most at home. And while I trace my path back to Saturday, March 21, 1987, the day that I dedicated myself to follow where Spirit led me, the roots of my spiritual practice go back deep into my childhood.
Old Ways is the culmination of numerous aspects of my spiritual and personal life. Being and avid hiker and backpacker gives me access to parts of the world that not everyone is able to see. I travel everywhere with my camera in hand and possessing a photographer's eye allows me to bring back many of the sights and experiences to share with you. Not only do I write the materials here at Old Ways, but I've completed five novel-length manuscripts inspired by my experiences that I hope will one day be printed. When I'm not donating my time and energy to the pagan community, I'm employed as a professional computer geek and the entirety of the code behind the Old Ways site was by hand in Notepad. All of that is blended with my spiritual path, a journey that began in dreams when I was approximately three years old and which has, admittedly, led me to places where not everyone has been blessed to walk.
As I've grown over the years, I've found myself rededicating myself to my calling as a spiritual teacher and I've committed to an ambitious publishing schedule here at Old Ways. Rather than promoting the site through standard venues, I've chosen to allow Old Ways to grow organically. The first issue was emailed to seven pagan friends on March 21, 1997. More than ten years and thousands of subscribers later and what began as a simple email has turned into a valued resource for the online pagan community.