Author Information

Stephanie Rose Bird is a hereditary intuitive, contemporary rootworker, solitary green witch and visionary.  She has been involved with mysticism, symbology, spiritualism and the occult for thirty years.  Bird is inspired by her ancestors, in particular her grandmothers, one of which was a psychic and the other a spiritualist minister and herbal healer.  Her uncle, a Santeria priest, Babalawo of Shango, taught her the Ifa traditions of the Yoruba people.  Bird studies healing, magical and divination traditions of indigenous people around the world with a focus on Africa.  Her passions include keeping the ancient traditions alive and updating them so that they evolve with us, suiting our current environment and lifestyles.  She is a member of the American Folklore Soceity, the Herb Research Foundation and the Handcrafted Soap Maker's Guild.

Bird holds a BFA cum laude from Temple University and an MFA from UC San Diego, and has received multiple academic awards.  Bird was an assistant professor at the School of the Art Institute of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1986-2002.  Bird is active advising masters' and doctoral candidates, giving lectures, conducting goddess rituals, and writing for numerous publications.