Donald Engstrom

My name is Donald L. Engstrom-Reese. I describe myself as an artist, gardener and Witch. I have been involved with Mystery and the Spirit Peoples for over thirty years. My spiritual roots spring from the balance between the wild and the domestic; art, gardening, Queer Spirit, Hedge Witchery, hiking, deep dreaming, shamanic visioning, cooking and the exploration of the sacred realms of sex and pleasure. I am committed to the building and nurturance of the emerging Cultures of Beauty, Balance and Delight. I suspect that it is high time that we choose to take on the continual acts of creation needed to build these sustainable ways of life. I know in my bones and blood, that we all have the power to bring these emerging cultures into our daily lives. I also know that we are all Co-creators of the Multiverse. I am no longer willing to wait for some nebulous future revolution to begin to live a life fully awake, aware and rooted in the Earth, embracing pleasure, love and wonder.

I begin each day with this prayer;
“I dare to dwell in beauty, balance and delight. I dare to see with clear eyes and an open heart.” And then I make my bed as an act of devotion to life. It brings me great pleasure to encourage folks to dare to embrace their own authentic selves, remembering that they are their own authorities and that they can always choose to experience the beauty that surrounds us all. I suspect that when a community of authentic selves does come together with clear intent and purpose, that that community then truly enters the Realms of All Possibility and their dreams become flesh and bone, earth and stone.

I have taught for over twenty years in the Reclaiming Witch Style; in my local communities, at Reclaiming Witch Camps, at Radical Faerie, Queer Shaman, Pagan and men’s gatherings and at other events throughout North America and Great Britain. I am an initiate of the Reclaiming Tradition, the Queer Mysteries, the Cult of the Bear and other shamanic/hedge rider paths. I am an experienced rune worker who also practices modern seidhr work. I have been studying and working with the Ancestors intensively for over ten years. I do standard Witch Priestess work as well, such as marriages, funerals, baptisms, wiccaning and house blessings. I have been declared an elder by many of my Witch and Queer Spirit communities and am continually learning what this joyful obligation entails.

I am a mystic that is in continual conversation with Mystery, listening and _analyzing the information and discussions I am privy to. I practice the ways of the Pagan Prophet and Seer. Another way of saying that, is that I not only pass on what the Mysterious Ones have been talking about and the visions that They present to me. I also name possible results/outcomes of choices based on information from Mystery, leaving the final choices/interpretations of all materials up to the human folks I am working with.

I have lived my whole life in my beloved Prairies. My husband Mark, and my current home gardens are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, North America, nestled in the arms of the Upper Mississippi Valley.