One of the leaders of the contemporary earth spirituality movement, Patricia Monaghan has spent more than 20 years researching and writing about alternative spiritual visions of the earth. Raised in Alaska, where much of her family still lives, she considers herself blessed to have learned the ecology of the taiga, the subarctic forest, in her youth. She was a writer and reporter on science and energy¯related issues before turning her attention to the impact of myth on our daily lives.
The worldwide vision of the earth as feminine–as a goddess, called Gaia by the Greeks–led her to recognize the connection between ecological damage and the oppression of the feminine. Much of her work since that time has explored the role of feminine power in our world, in an inclusive and multicultural way. Her newest book, "The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit", explores the way that Irish mythology expresses the power of the Irish land.
In addition to her exacting research, Patricia is an award-winning poet whose work has been set to music and is performed around the world. She is also an acclaimed lecturer who has appeared at hundreds of universities, festivals, bookstores and community centers around the United States and Europe. A longtime member of the Society of Friends (Quakers), she is delighted to have been born on Susan B. Anthony's birthday; Patricia practices several forms of meditation daily and has co-written a book on the subject. Some of Patricia's work has been delightfully set to music.
An avid traveler, Patricia has researched earth spirituality and goddess worship on three continents. She has traveled widely in Europe, especially in Ireland; she holds dual US/Irish citizenship and has edited two anthologies of contemporary Irish-American writing. She is at work on an encyclopedia of Celtic mythology and folklore as well as a book of poems based on Irish myth.
The widow of acclaimed novelist Robert Shea (Illuminatus!; Shike; Shaman), Patricia lives in Chicago. She is a member of the Resident Faculty at DePaul University's School for New Learning, where she teaches science and literature. Patricia is a reviewer for Booklist, the Journal of the American Library Association.
Patricia's hobbies include gardening, camping, too many crafts to fit in one closet, apparently endless interior decorating and rehab, and talking with her friends. Her theme parties are locally famous.