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My Outer Court name is Lady Shyra. It's also been my BBS "handle" for the past 10 years.   I designed and created Tapestry, and have been its SysGoddess for more than 10 years now.

Technology is a large part of my life and my Craft.   In my mundane life, I'm the Network/Web Administrator and Lead Tech for a county-wide complex of public libraries.   I'm also assisting a local parochial school, integrating current technology (including the Internet) into their classrooms.

I joined the Air Force during the Vietnam era as a Law Enforcement Officer and was stationed at Kirtland AFB, NM and Lackland AFB, TX. After an honorable discharge, I graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a BA in Psychology. My love was counseling, but I quickly discovered that it was impossible to work in the field with a BA and make enough to raise a child. Thus, my career with computers was born.

I've been Craft for over 14 years.   What can I say?   It felt "like coming home!"   I've been HPS for two structured groups; the last of which, I'm happy to say, has been together now for nearly 6 years. I've hived two daughter groups to the East Coast, and one here in the Midwest... though all but one hive was due to relocating members.

I teach the Craft in "year-and-a-day" style... with the coursework divided into two sections. The first is lecture-based and deals with history, ethics, and general basics of the Craft. The second half of the course is practicuum-based, with classes following the Wheel of the Year and being structured around each Spoke of the Wheel, itself. I've been walking this Path for over 12 years now and while it hasn't always been easy, I've found it both personally fulfilling and challenging.

I'm an Aquarian with a Scorpio moon and Gemini/Cancer Ascendent, and I love Magick Festivals and RenFests. The picture at left was taken while I was reading cards at the San Antonio Magick Festival, back around 1985. That's my hubby, Grey Mouser, sharing the photo with me. He's an Aquarian with Leo Rising. We share an interesting relationship; we've often felt like we were the flipsides of the same coin. Essentially, what one of us can't think of, the other one will... and we tend to always be involved in something!

We recently tamed our gypsy feet by buying a large, old stone house that we absolutely love. It has two fireplaces, rock walls, and three floors to house all our computer equipment. Our two cats immediately loved all the extra space to roam and explore! Shortly after moving in, deep in the depths of a bitter and snowy winter, the Lady saw fit to lead a bedraggled, starved, throwaway cocker spaniel to our door. A little more than a year after that, the cocker spaniel brought home a playmate, a border collie puppy who'd also been dumped not far from our house.

This new puppy earned his place in our home and our hearts when, one very early Sunday morning, he kept waking us up only to run toward the front of the house. When we didn't immediately follow, he'd go through the motions all over again. Finally, we got up (ostensibly to shut the door on him!), only to smell the acrid odor of smoke; one corner of the hot tub room was in flames! While my husband doused the flames with water from the hot tub, I called 911 and then shepherded the rest of the animals out of the house. By the time the fire department finally found our house, the flames were out and all was safe once more. This new puppy, whom someone saw fit to throw out of their household, was named "Einstein" and enjoys the run of our house at all times now!

Late last year, Einstein brought a "pet" home, himself. As much as I wanted to keep this one, I couldn't. He was the most beautiful Siberian Husky I'd ever seen, and the most friendly animal, but obviously a pup. He seemed absolutely devoted to Einstein, and anyone could see the feeling was completely mutual. But we had no fence, and keeping this animal indoors would have been a bigger cruelty than letting him go. So, we called Second Chance Adoptions, and hopefully that fine animal now has a good home.

I also lost my familiar that year, a beautiful black cat that had been thrown from a moving car as a kitten. He was eight years old when he died of a heart attack from a heart defect of which we'd had no prior knowledge. Grief-stricken, my sister priestess brought over a barely six-week old, polydactal tabby which immediately became the center of attention among all of us in the household - humans as well as animals! 'Puter (cause she's totally attached to the computer), has grown up with both dogs and cats as role models, and actually exhibits behaviors of both species! She's our one little lady around here.

Not long after 'Puter came to live with us, I came home from work one day to find a long-haired black and white "tuxedo" cat impatiently waiting for me on my doorstep. After ranting at me from the minute I got out of the car until the moment I opened the door, he let it be known he was going to live with me. And he does... attitude and all!

I hope you see a pattern in all this. I've told the Lady several times over now that she can "bless" others with her largess of unwanted, abused children. But as long as she deems me fit to care for these babies, I'll take them in, give them love and food, and try to find homes for them. No one will be turned away, for we are all Her children!

In addition to our various animal loved ones, our family also consists of my daughter, who recently made us grandparents with the birth of her first child, William David. She and WD live outside Jonesboro, Arkansas, where she is a journalism student at the University of Arkansas, Jonesboro. The picture at right shows the three generations of us - me, Susan, and William David - not long after WD was born.

My main interests are in Numerology, Astrology, and the Tarot. I have collected several different Tarot decks, but tend to use the Thoth deck almost exclusively for readings.

While living in Texas, I was listed in the Central Texas Parapsychology directory as a psychotarotologist, mainly because I used the tools of our Craft not in a predictive "when will the love of my life show up" way, but rather as a channel to assist in personal growth, as manifested by a natural balance between the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the individual. Psychology and our Arts are an interesting and natural blend to me; each complimenting the other to create a holistic portrait. Thus, it was with great interest when I discovered that Margot Adler, granddaughter of the prominent Jungian psychologist Alfred Adler, seemed to agree with my assessment.

I'm a night owl, trying my best to fit into the daylight structure of our corporate world. I function during the day, but come alive at night. Those late hours, when all the world seems still and quiet, have always seemed to hold the most magick for me. Welcome to my world...