Diana L. Paxson, founder and Gythja of Hrafnar, is well-known as a pagan leader and the author of non-fiction books and fiction with pagan and legendary themes. She was consecrated as a priestess in 1982 and is an Elder in the Covenant of the Goddess, for which she served two terms as First Officer. After a close encounter with Odin in 1987, her focus began to turn more and more toward heathenry. In 1988 she started a rune class, which provided the basic material that became her first non-fiction book, Taking up the Runes. The next year, she worked with the group to recreate a ritual for oracular seidh and later to present it at local festivals.
In 1992 she joined the Troth, an international heathen organization, and in 1993 was created a Troth elder. Since then she has served the Troth as a Redeswoman (Board of Directors), Steerswoman (President), Coordinator of the Clergy Training Program, and editor of the Troth’s journal, Idunna, since 1996. In the mid-nineties she began teaching workshops on oracular practice, and conducting workshops at conferences and festivals.
She is the author of seven non-fiction books, including Essential Asatru and Odin: Magic, Runes and Ecstasy (Weiser Books, September 2017), twenty-nine novels, and eighty short stories. She also writes a regular column on goddesses for Sagewoman Magazine.
You can find out more about Diana and her work on www.diana-paxson.com.