I am known as The Gypsy Priestess by women world-wide, and by the online communities I am part of as writer, teacher, guide, facilitator and Priestess..
TGP is the persona of my business: Goddess of the Gypsy Moon.
It represents who I AM on many levels.
The Gypsy Priestess is my chosen name, and has been since 2003.
Through its use, I claim my power, my soul song and my true essence.
However, in recent years I have been asked
Why do you use the name Gypsy Priestess?
I am a High Priestess of the Goddess Inanna.
For those unfamiliar with the term priestess,
I will simply quote Dara McKinley whom I believe sums it up precisely:
"A priestess is a woman who helps others connect to the Divine
so that they can heal and actualize their soul’s path."
I am a Priestess.
I am a Gypsy.
This Gypsy Proverb has been my life motto:
"We are all wanderers on this earth.
Our hearts are full of wonder,
and our souls are deep with dreams."
Choosing The Gypsy Priestess as my name was with sacred intention.
It is personally meaningful, and an appropriate representation of who I AM.
I relate profoundly to the energy/archetype of gypsy for many reasons:
*My home is contained within my soul.
*My roots grow tangled within, rather than without.
*I am a free spirit; bohemian in style.
*I have never lived in any home longer than five years;
dwelling, more often than not, for only 1 or 2 years in any one place.
*I claim with honor the gypsy spirit as my own energy/essence.
*Gypsy is a title I was given (due to my dress & lifestyle) by my tribe
who knew nothing of my bloodline or heritage.
*DNA results show proof of my gypsy bloodline & origins .*See End Note
Gypsy is a source of contention among a few of my readers/followers
who claim it is a racial slur. As is plain to see by my words
both, throughout my website and elsewhere online,
I use the word gypsy and my name Gypsy in a respectful, non-derogatory manner, without pejorative and with absolutely no ethnic shame implied.
I honor and love and respect all peoples, cultures and religions.
I call myself Gypsy, not others.
Someone once responded to the above explanation thus:
'The same could be said for a soldier, seaman or a multitude of
other persons; having itchy feet hardly connects you to the Rom.'
To which I replied:
True, but I am not a soldier, nor a seaman...
(I laugh at 'itchy feet', as mine are not - I often long for a 'forever' home,
only circumstances have never allowed me to remain in one house,
intimate relationship, or sacred space for very long).
I mean no offense, disrespect or harm by using the name Gypsy Priestess.
It is for me, a true representation of who I am on my sacred path.
I claim no religion, other than LOVE.
I follow the Goddess by choice
and seek only to share my self in love with others.
I've been told, "a real Rom would find it extremely insulting"...
Yet, a Romani man wrote:
“No true Roma actually care nor do we find the term offensive.”
Perhaps it will further help to define the meaning of the word.
If you look up the definition of gypsy, it lists several meanings,
including:
a.) gypsy - One inclined to a nomadic, unconventional way of life.
b.) a person held to resemble a gypsy, especially in physical characteristics
or in a traditionally ascribed freedom
or an inclination to move from place to place.
c.) Gypsy has several different and overlapping meanings under English Law.
Under the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960
Gypsies are defined as "persons of nomadic habit of life,
whatever their race or origin..."
d.) informal - a nomadic or free-spirited person.
e.) a member of a race of wandering people.
f.) a person with a career or way of life that’s itinerant or un