The Beauty in the Decay - Emberglow is October 23-25

Gulf Pagan Resiliency Project Facilitator

Ty Siddiqui (she/her)

Ty Siddiqui has been a visible organizer and advocate within the broader Pagan community. She has created (or helped to create) several Pagan community organizations (New Orleans Lamplight Circle, now transformed into the Crescent City Gaian Guild; and the Greater New Orleans Pagan Pride Project). Her recent focus has been on the creation of the Gulf Pagan Resiliency Project, a community-centered nonprofit that uses spiritual festivals to raise funds for a public Pagan space for retreats, ritual, resources, and hurricane evacuation. She currently serves as a nonprofit Executive Director and is the main facilitator for Emberglow and the Wyld Fire Beltane Hunt.

Opening Ritual Leader

Traci V.W. (aka Pocket) (they/them)

Traci is an intuitive, eclectic queer witch and claircognizant creature communicator who weaves astrology, Human Design, tarot, and multi dimensional journeying into their practice. With a Libra 12th House stellium and Scorpio rising, their path is rooted in deep exploration of intimacy, shadow, and the art of relating. Guided by a Leo moon and Venus in Sagittarius, they bring warmth, a deviant playfulness, and heart-centered wisdom to all of their inclusive and whimsical offerings. A long-time AYNI supporter, Traci is the brains behind our Leave No Trace Camping document.

AYNI Owner, leader of "Admiring Decay, the Composting Way"

Jordan Bantuelle (he/him)

Jordan is the founder of the All You Need Institute and the Burrow Nature Center, plus lead teacher of its Forest School program, which has nurtured children’s connection with nature since 2020 through hands-on exploration, play-based learning, and outdoor skill development. He earned a biology degree and became a campus leader in conservation at LSU. He manages the Burrow’s 111 acres, restoring uplands to pine savannah through prescribed burning and sustainable forestry that supplies his on-site sawmill. He teaches the skills he practices, including foraging, growing vegetables and mushrooms, raising chickens, composting, natural building, permaculture design, water management, and survival and outdoor skills, guided by the belief that people can be true members of their ecosystem by meeting their needs in ways that improve habitat and build community. Jordan also oversees the Burrow’s homestead and farming operations, working alongside volunteers and the residents of its intentional community to create a living example of sustainable land stewardship. 

Death Cafe Leader

Helen H. (she/her)

A dedicated professional in funeral service, Helen is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana and has been in Pagan community since calling New Orleans her home since 2004. With a passion for serving families during their most challenging times, she pursued a career in funeral service, graduating from Delgado Community College's Funeral Service Program in May 2013. After earning her license in May 2014, Helen sought to enhance her expertise by completing specialized training in embalming and restorative reconstruction at the Fountain National Academy of Professional Embalming later that same year. She has served as a guest lecturer and presenter, sharing her extensive knowledge and experience in embalming through various panel discussions. Currently, she holds the position of Sergeant-at-Arms for the Louisiana Funeral Directors Association South District, where she contributes to the organization’s mission of supporting funeral professionals across the region. Additionally, Helen plays a vital role as an embalming lab proctor for Delgado's Funeral Service Program. Helen continues to make a meaningful impact in the field of funeral service, ensuring that families receive the compassionate care they deserve.

Grief Circle Facilitator, former Oak King

Sable M. (they/them)

Sable McCarthy is a Certified Grief Educator trained through David Kessler’s Grief Educator Certification program. David Kessler is a renowned expert in grief and loss whose certification program equips Grief Educators with compassionate, practical tools to support others navigating loss and healing. She facilitates grief support through compassionate listening, education, reflection, storytelling, meaning-making, and practical resilience practices.

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A seasoned leader and facilitator, Sable is known for asking thoughtful questions, seeing situations from multiple perspectives, and helping people find clarity in complex or difficult circumstances. Her style combines warmth, directness, humor, and a respect for each person’s individual experience. Sable believes grief is not a problem to be fixed or a process to be rushed, but an experience that deserves to be witnessed. She creates space for people to experience grief honestly, without judgment, timelines, or expectations.

AYNI Owner, Grief Circle Facilitator

Kezia Vida (she/her)

Kezia is a certified Natural Dreamwork practitioner, mental health counselor, and author of The Dreaming I, an interactive dream journal. A Yale philosophy graduate with a master’s in mental health counseling from Prescott College, she has studied dreamwork since 2009 and offers trauma-informed, somatic-based dreamwork and nightmare treatment through Kezia Vida Dreamwork.

She also works as a therapist and group facilitator in clinical settings, co-hosted the 2019 Shift Network Dream Summit, and serves as co-director and program director of the All You Need Institute, a nature retreat in rural Mississippi.

COO of Shreveport and Alexandria Green, leader of "Eat the Season"

Bahia Nightengale (she/her)

Bahia is Chief Operating Officer of Shreveport Green (the parent organization of Alexandria Green), with over 20 years of experience as a farmer, food systems professional, and community environmental leader. Her expertise spans program management, grant administration, and grassroots leadership development. She founded and co-facilitates the Louisiana Food Fellows program with the Louisiana Food Policy Council, which has trained more than 150 leaders statewide, and the Louisiana Farmers Market Managers Network. She also coordinates a statewide micro-lending and coaching program for small farm businesses and is a co-founding member of the Louisiana Small Scale Agriculture Coalition. As a Quaker, Bahia believes the answer is always a bigger table.

Philosphy Professor, Beltane Oak King

Georgi Gardner (she/her)

Georgi Gardiner is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Gender and Sexuality Studies at Tulane University. She earned her PhD in Philosophy from Rutgers University and previously taught at the University of Tennessee. She has held fellowships at Oxford University, the Denbo Center for the Humanities, and the American Council of Learned Societies. Her work focuses on epistemology, social philosophy, and meta-philosophy, including research on evidence law, legal standards of proof, rape accusations, self-deception, virtue epistemology, and the ethics of belief.

She also writes on the philosophy of attention, sexuality, love, relationships, circus, risk, and the occult. At the 2026 Greater New Orleans Pagan Pride Day, she presented the seminar “Putting the Clowns in Charge,” which examines the chaotic infusion of clowning and play in ritual settings. Her upcoming paper, “Sex Witchcraft,” explores power, consent, and energy at the intersection of sex and magic. She is fascinated by how people gather and how innovative gatherings can help individuals flourish. She serves as our 2026 Oak King.