John Michael Greer (The Encyclopedia of the Occult)

 Born in 1962 in Bremerton, Washington State, USA, John Michael Greer was raised in a nonreligious family but developed an intense interest in spirituality, mythology, and esoteric traditions in childhood. He began studying the Golden Dawn tradition of Hermetic magic in his teens, and followed the "golden thread" of esoteric teachings into a wide range of related subjects, from martial arts and Asian mystical traditions to environmental science and sacred geometry, in the years that followed. He attended college at Western Washington University (1980-1983) and the University of Washington (1991-1993), graduating from the latter magna cum laude in 1993 with a BA in Comparative History of Ideas. In the interval between his college years he married and worked at a variety of jobs while developing his skills as a writer. His first published book, Paths of Wisdom, a handbook of Golden Dawn cabalistic philosophy, was released by Llewellyn in 1996, and has been followed by eight other books to date. Dissatisfaction with some aspects of the Golden Dawn system, especially its lack of contact with the realities of green nature, led him to Druidry. In 1995 he joined the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids (OBOD) began its correspondence study program, and progressed through the three degrees of Bard, Ovate and Druid, receiving his certificate as a Druid Companion of the Order in 2002. In 2003 he was honored with OBOD's Mount Haemus Award for Druid scholarship. In 2001 he also joined the Druid fellowship Ar nDraiocht Fein (ADF). He remains active in both these organizations.