Serving as Diana's Grove Staff

Cynthea Jones followed a call to manifest the vision of a place where people could come for personal and spiritual growth, as well as leadership development. When she and Patricia Storm founded Diana's Grove in 1993, both a retreat center and a spiritual philosophy dedicated to healthy group interaction and community building was born. She is the primary force behind the Mystery School stories and material, and designs the weekend and week-long intensives. Cynthea has taught metaphysics, Tarot, and astrology for over 20 years, and her video, The Priestess' Journey through the Tarot invites the viewer into her unique process of bringing the cards out of the box and into conversation. In addition to her passion for myth and community development, Cynthea devotes much of her time to the Diana's Grove Dog Rescue operation, one of the no-kill independent rescues in Missouri, where she has helped to save the lives of countless dogs and puppies and find them homes across the United States and Canada.


Patricia Storm was "sponsored" by the vision of Diana's Grove in 1993. Her preparation for following that vision includes a MA in Psychology and experience in working with special needs children, adults, and families. Additional preparation came from working as a telephone engineer and supervisor for 8 years. She can now wire the Grove for phone service and lead a group to discuss the philosophy of communication. Since founding Diana's Grove with Cynthea Jones, Patricia has worked with everyone who has passed through the gate - in person, on line, or on the phone. She is committed to the philosophy of leadership and personal growth that is a part of and a continually developing process at Diana's Grove. Patricia's special interest in drumming has been fostered and grown by her work with Layne Redmond, Tommy Brunjes, and Glen Velez. She now has her own introductory frame drum video: The Frame Drum as a Tool for Transformation.



Amy Scheiderman believes in the power of healing self through working with myth and archetype in a safe and supportive environment. She finds connection and support with other seekers in the Diana's Grove community. She has been coming to the Grove since 2002, joining the staff after completing her leadership training in 2008. The tools and skills she has gained in that time have been invaluable in her personal growth and her work as a priestess.

Amy works as a support specialist in Champaign, IL and brings her desire to help others to the general support staff of Diana's Grove. She is a priestess, an aspiring writer and a student of the tarot and trance facilitation.


Charles is a wandering spirit who has come to this work by daring to follow his heart and listening to the yearning of his soul. With faith and curiosity he has spent life roaming North America gathering an eclectic set of skills and experiences.

From these journeys have learned many lessons: how to survive on what is at hand, how to live in community, and how to solve problems without first worrying whether a solution can be found. His life is his spiritual practice, and sustainability and Earth stewardship are his passion.

He teaches skills in alternative and sustainable living through the Stewardship program, focused weekends and long-term apprenticeships.

Charles has taught at Sterling College, Diana's Grove, Earth ActivistTrainings, Farm & Wilderness, Adirondack Leadership Expeditions, Witch Camps, Sacred Places, numerous mass mobilizations and workshops around the country.


Elizabeth Wilson believes in the dream of a place where the values of respect, compassion, and integrity are lived; where a community of fellow seekers all have a place. She has found this dream at Diana's Grove, where she has been a staff member since completing her leadership training in 2003. She serves as the Rites Team mentor, where she helps leaders develop by seeing them both for who they are, and who they are becoming.

For over 20 years, Elizabeth's profession has been working with and supporting disadvantaged people and those living with HIV and AIDS. As a case manager and advocate for people who can feel there is no hope, she helps them find their strength.


Elizabeth Anne Schaefer came to Diana's Grove in 2004 with the twin desires of deeply engaging in the personal growth that Mystery School fosters and learning about healthy communities and how to support them. By pursuing her vision of who she wanted to be as a community member, she also caught glimpses of who she could become as her very best self, and by moving toward that self, she found herself stepping into positions of greater and greater service to her communities. In 2006 she heard a call to bring what she had learned in Mystery School into her everyday life by becoming a counselor, and she is currently working toward that goal as a full-time student of psychology. She credits the Mystery School leadership training program, which she completed in 2007, for challenging her to reach for her biggest dreams and for giving her a wealth of tools and strategies with which to bring those dreams into life.

Elizabeth Anne lives in Chicago with her partner Jason, who is also a Mystery, and a grumpy old cat named Thomas. She has a passion for healing and the therapeutic arts, and she enjoys making music, dancing, and celebrating life through acts of love and service.


Jane Aire returns to Diana's Grove after a seven-year absence, called by her deep abiding memories of myth, ritual, and the people who bring those mysteries and the land to life. Jane joins the efforts of the Dog Rescue as well as the Mystery School, bringing her gifts of organizing and creative writing to the work. Her study of Joseph Campbell and Cynthea Jones drives her relentless support of the philosophy of Diana's Grove, and informs her co-creation of this year's mythology in the making.


Jason is a facilitator and trainer from Chicago, and has been a member of the Mystery School community since 2006. He joined the Diana's Grove staff after completing the leadership training program in 2009. As a student of group dynamics and process, he believes that there can be (and, just maybe, should be) magic in relationships of all kinds - whether with a person, a group, or the world at large. At the Grove, Jason serves as a co-mentor of the Initiatory Priestess Program along with River Roberts.


Jim Carey has been a member of Mystery School since 1997 and he has been a part of the greater Diana's Grove community since 1995. Jim joined the staff at Diana's Grove in 1998 and has been serving as a facilitator and presenter while being deeply committed to land management.

Jim is a lifelong devotee of rhythm and movement and he has studied extensively with Gabrielle Roth and Vin Marti. Jim teaches Slipping Into Dreamtime, a form of ecstatic trance movement and personal meditation. Jim presents this work at Diana's Grove and in workshops around the Midwest. Jim has been staffing and teaching since 1998.

Jim is one of the kitchen staff that provide the magical and nutritious meals for all events here at Diana's Grove. Great food helps make for growing a healthy community.


Laurie Dietrich is a practicing Buddhist, and a theatre artist/ritualist with a particular interest in the intersection of spirituality and art. Certified in thanatology (the study of death and dying) by the National Institute for Death Education, her life's passion is what she calls Deathwork – intentional personal development work focused on entering into a relationship with death that supports a fuller, more vibrant life.

At the Grove, Laurie teaches and coaches trance and ritual skills, and helps mentor new staff.


Lucinda is a passionate learner and teacher, devoted to building healthy, viable community. She has been a part of the Diana's Grove Mystery School community since 2001, and joined the staff in 2007. Lucinda's education and experiences as a voice/speech pathologist, vocal coach, percussionist, massage therapist, teacher, and choral music conductor unite in her work at Diana's Grove. Her focus is building group intimacy through voice, breath, sound, and movement. She facilitates groups in bringing an experience of the energy of sound and voice into the realm of the sacred and magical. She loves working with other vocalists and percussionists to hold sacred space through the magical energy of sound.

Lucinda loves the earth, and finds her spirituality tied closely to the outdoors. An avid dog-lover, she serves on the board of the Diana's Grove "Take a Friend Home" dog rescue. Outside of Diana's Grove, Lucinda offers a variety of community building, voice-related and wellness workshops including her newest "Weaving the Web of Sacred Interaction". She also owns and operates Elements of Wellness, a massage school and education center in St. Louis, Missouri (www.eowmassage.com).


Meghan is an astrologer, a gardener, a lover of all things wild and a student of philosophy, sustainable practices, group dynamics, the unconscious, mysteries, natural cycles of regeneration, healing, common unity and peace. She came to the Grove in 2006 to study permaculture design and magical activism. Shortly after, she hit the road inspired to thread between various communities and help where ever there was a need. This desire delivered her to countless beautiful places and led her to cross paths with hundreds of wonderful people from whom she learned a variety of skills and a foundational lesson: anything is possible (but we have to work together).

Meghan has been involved in Mystery School since early 2007 and Diana’s Grove has been a source of inspiration as well as her home-base until late 2008. She joined the staff in 2009 following a Rites of Passage year. Currently Meghan works for a peace organization in Columbia, MO, teaches astrology and is learning to grow her own food.



Pamela Wilz is a facilitator, counselor and coach who holds an MA in Counseling with emphasis on Group Dynamics. She has been part of the Mystery School Community since 1996. Since joining the staff in 2003, she co-mentored the leadership-centered Initiatory Priestess Program and developed the Taking it Home program. In her home community, she offers workshops and seminars, is an avid practitioner of Compassionate Communication and currently serves as a director in a social service agency. Pamela considers herself a seeker and life-long learner who believes in the infinite potential of the human spirit.


River Roberts has been involved in earth-based spirituality for nearly twenty years, and has been involved with Mystery School since 2000. She has dedicated her life's work to the exploration of ecstatic ritual arts, authentic risk-taking, and connecting to Spirit with body and voice. An accomplished drummer and vocalist, River is often involved in making music of all kinds, much of which she facilitates as part of the Mystery School experience. As a teacher in the Reclaiming tradition, River has traveled all over North America and Europe teaching everything from ritual creation to tarot. At the Grove she teaches and coaches ritual arts and co-mentors the Initiatory Priestess Program along with Jason Frey. River lives in Chicago, IL with her roommate (another Mystery) and a very ornery tabby cat named after a Greek hero.


River Higginbotham has a vision to foster personal growth and bring healthy community dynamics, based on the Diana's Grove philosophy, to groups everywhere with a special focus on earth-centered spiritual communities. He has been a leader in the earth-centered and neo-pagan communities in St. Louis, MO since the early 1990's. Working in those communities he has helped to create local networking groups that have held nearly two hundred open events to help people connect and support one another on their spiritual journeys and in their personal development. River and his wife Joyce (also a Mystery) have been teachers of personal growth and neo-paganism for over a decade. Together they have authored three books based on their teaching and community experiences: Paganism: An Introduction to Earth-Centered Religions (2002), Pagan Spirituality: A Guide For Personal Transformation (2006) and ChristoPaganism: An Inclusive Path (February 2009). They teach and speak at neo-pagan events all over the country. Learn more at: riverandjoyce.com

Many of River's most profound spiritual experiences have occurred at Diana's Grove – as part of the LifeSong festivals and in Mystery School. He joined Mystery School in 2003, completed the leadership training program in 2007 and joined the staff in 2008. As his journey continues, River hopes to continue growing, to support the growth of others through Mystery School, and to spead the word about this community and what is possible with healthy community dynamics.


Robin Murphy has been involved in sacred exploration for over 25 years. She has facilitated many rituals and rites of passages, being passionate about the personal transformation and community impact of such events. She is particularly committed to working with youth to encourage their growth as spiritual beings, to help awaken their potential as aware and enlightened individuals. Robin explores spiritual traditions and practices by traveling to festivals and events across the country. She has been engaged with the Diana's Grove community for over 13 years and is thrilled to be able to bring all the experiences together to support the work here, Robin lives in Kansas City with her large and loving family.


Shaun Perkins is a writer, teacher, storyteller, and workshop presenter. She has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in liberal studies and has been a high school/college teacher for over twenty years. She facilitates the Grove's online writing class, and her Journey in Words workshops have been presented many times at Diana's Grove and for other organizations, such as the National Storytelling Network, the Popular Culture Society, the National Association for Poetry Therapy, Story Circle Network, and Tellabration. For more information about her, see www.journeyinwords.com.


Steve Smith has been an avid seeker on the path of earth-based spirituality for eleven years, in endless pursuit of the balance of ecstasy and responsibility. His path brought him to Mystery School five years ago, where many of his varied interests found synthesis in its ecstatic ritual tradition and emphasis on freedom and choice in personal development. A dancer, martial artist, and swordsman, he experiences a deep connection to the divine through movement and body, and he has facilitated sessions on ecstatic movement, and also sacred sensuality, in his completion of the Mystery School leadership training.

Steve is a habitual dreamer of impossible dreams, and his lifelong dedication is to his dream of a world where humanity's driving forces are courage and honor, rather than fear or greed; love and beauty, rather than hate or envy; laughter and joy, rather than sorrow or regret. He believes that his service in life is to push back the border between that which is, and that which can be.