Fio Gede Parma discusses their book The Witch Belongs to the World: A Spell of Becoming.
Fio Gede Parma - fee-oh g-deh par-mah - (they/she) is a Balinese-Australian international teacher, magical mentor, and award-winning author. They were born in the island of Bali - to Roslyn and John - and descend from Balinese, Chinese, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, and English peoples. Fio has lived in so-called Australia for most of her life, as north as Thul Garrie Waja/Gurrumbilbarra (Townsville) and as south as Naarm (Melbourne).
Fio awoke as Witch at the age of 11, their numerological life path number (11/2). They dedicated themself to the Craft with a ritual from a book at age 12. Since that time Fio has been involved and initiated in the mysteries of four witch traditions: Wildwood, Anderean, Reclaiming, and Anderson Feri. Fio’s magical mentors and teachers have been many, but there are a treasured handful, some among the Mighty Dead now, who have deeply inspired their work in the worlds. Their main teachers have always been the Gods, Spirits, the Witch Houses and Communities themselves, but special acknowledgement goes to Fio’s parents, James A., Jarrah, Molly, Jane Meredith, Lee Morgan, Bex, Ravyn Stanfield, Raven Edgewalker, Dawn Isidora, Abel, Gwydion, Cholla - and Ni Wayan Juiti (Fio’s father’s mother), Felix, and Rose May Dance (1948 - 2021) of the Mighty Dead. The witchcraft and magic of these mystics, healers, spirit-workers, and priestexes deeply touch Fio’s life.
Fio was raised in an animistic, polytheistic, magic-affirming, spirit-knowing family - in a haunted house - whose traditions were largely impacted by what the west calls Balinese Hinduism. When forced to consider it, some Balinese name their ‘religion’ Agama Tirta, Religion of the Holy Water. Ganesha, Siwa (Shiva), Krishna, Parwati Uma, Durga, Hanuman, the Barong and Rangda, the spirits and the ancestors were all spoken of, venerated, and regarded with holy awe. The skills of divination, seership, mediumship, trance possession, spirit-flight, and sorcery are practised in Fio’s father’s family.
Fio started writing about the Craft at an early age and felt a fateful and undeniable vocation to not only immerse in the Craft but to teach witchcraft in the world and help mentor spirit-workers. They have been teaching both privately in covens and publicly at gatherings, festivals, workshops, and intensives since 2007. Fio stepped fully into their profession as a diviner, seer, community priestex and facilitator, working witch, mentor, writer, and teacher in January, 2010. This has been their whole job since that time.Their first book - Spirited: Taking Paganism Beyond the Circle was published by Llewellyn in 2009, and won the COVR award for best Wicca/Pagan book of that year; 2023 release The Witch Belongs to the World: A Spell of Becoming (Llewellyn) is a love-song to witches.
https://www.fiogedeparma.com/