Johnson, Cait 1952-

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JOHNSON, Cait 1952-

PERSONAL: Born September 23, 1952, in Andover, MA; daughter of Robert John (an inventor) and Patricia Marie (a craftsperson; maiden name, Lewis) Johnson; married William David Peters, 1974 (divorced, 1980); companion of Stuart Hannan (a special effects designer and musician); children: (first marriage) Reid Johnson. Ethnicity: "Anglo." Education: St. Mary's College of Maryland, B.A. (cum laude), 1974; Ohio State University, M.F.A., 1979. Politics: Liberal Democrat. Religion: "Earth-centered spirituality." Hobbies and other interests: Singing and performance, fabric arts, sculpting goddess figurines "from anything handy," walking in the woods.

ADDRESSES: Home—R.R.1, Box 382, Clinton Corners, NY 12514; fax: 914-266-4007. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Teacher, workshop and ritual facilitator at healing and spiritual centers, 1981—.

AWARDS, HONORS: First prize, Maryland State Poetry Contest, 1970.

WRITINGS:

Tarot for Every Day: Ideas and Activities for Bringing Tarot Wisdom into Your Daily Life, Shawangunk Press, 1994.

(With Maura D. Shaw) Tarot Games: Forty-five Playful Ways to Explore Tarot Cards Together: A New Vision for the Circle of Community, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 1994.

(With Maura D. Shaw) Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children, Inner Traditions (New York, NY), 1995.

Cooking Like a Goddess: Bringing Seasonal Magic into the Kitchen, Inner Traditions (Rochester, VT), 1997.

(With Elizabeth Cunningham) Naked Masks, 1998.

Witch in the Kitchen: Magical Cooking for All Seasons, Destiny Books (Rochester, VT), 2001.

Earth, Water, Fire, and Air: Essential Ways of Connecting with Spirit, SkyLight Paths (Woodstock, VT), 2003.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Sow at the Fair, a book of poems with illustrations by Ann duBois; River of Birds, a novel; Bone Time, poems; "Dark Blessing," a performance piece for narrator and six characters; a divination deck for women, with art by Melissa Harris.

SIDELIGHTS: Cait Johnson told CA: "My nonfiction has been fueled by involvement with the women's spirituality movement and the compulsion to share what I know about connecting—with the seasons, with the natural world, and with our own inner wisdom. Now, after two books on the Tarot, one on earth-centered activities for parents and children, and one that is as much a recipe for playful, sacred, and connected living as it is a seasonal vegetarian cookbook, my focus is changing. I've carried on a clandestine affair with poetry, fiction, and performance nearly all my life. Now the same spirit of creative play that infuses my nonfiction is urging me to bring those elements more fully into my life and work."