Fire Dance History
Fire Dance Church of Wicca was founded in 2003 in Milton, Florida by Reverend Edward Livingston, and remains the largest federally recognized pagan church in NW Florida.
Rev. Edward is recognized as a member of the priesthood in Gardnerian Wicca, The Fellowship of Isis, and The Minoan Brotherhood, as well as Fire Dance. Fire Dance itself is our own eclectic tradition, which draws elements from Edward’s experience as a Wiccan high priest.
Fire Dance Shenandoah was founded in 2023 by Reverend Katharine Luck, carrying on Fire Dance traditions and creating new ones in her new home in Berryville, Virginia.
Fire Dance Ethos
Fire Dance is an eclectic tradition, meaning we draw elements of our practice from many different sources. Rev Edward himself is Wiccan, and Rev Katharine is a Hellenic (Greek) pagan. So the traditions and imagery of Fire Dance Shenandoah draw heavily from these two sources, as well as many others.
Fire Dance welcomes everyone, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, sexuality, or gender. The majority of our members are queer and/or transgender in some form.
There is no unifying belief system expected of or presented to our members. Members of all religions, or lack thereof, are welcomed. Our membership includes Wiccans, Hellenes, Heathens, Celts, and many others. The only belief that is expected is the belief that all faiths and all people should be respected and treated with kindness.
Our rituals at Fire Dance Shenandoah include imagery, traditions, and deities from many different traditions, brought together in ways which are as inclusive as possible. We strive to challenge the cisheteronormative assumptions which go unaddressed in other traditions, such as the gender binary which is emphasized in traditional Wicca. To that end, the format of our rituals is unique, and quite variable.
We also welcome our members to volunteer to write and/or participate in rituals, sharing elements of their own varied traditions.
About Reverend Katharine
Rev Katharine is fourth generation Greek-American, and was raised with Hellenic pagan spirituality as a major component of her childhood. Her grandmother outwardly identified herself as a Christian witch, while still emphasizing worship of the Theoi in her private life and teaching Katharine a little bit of witchcraft handed down from Katharine’s great-great-grandmother.
After spending her teenage years in avid study of paganism, witchcraft, metaphysics, and alternative medicine, including some time working at the library of the Association for Research and Enlightenment in Virginia, Katharine committed herself to Hellenismos and particularly to service to Hekate.
Living in rural Virginia, Oklahoma, Northwest Florida, and finally in Shenandoah, Katharine has had first hand experience with Hellenic and Celtic witchcraft, Appalachian folk magic, and Hoodoo.
After joining Fire Dance Church of Wicca in 2011, she was formally ordained as a priestess and elder of the church in 2014, before moving back to Virginia, and finally founding Fire Dance Shenandoah in 2023 with the blessings of the original Florida church.
She now lives in a farm house built in 1900 outside Berryville, VA, with the West Virginia border right over her back fence, and hosts public rituals in her home.