Sorita d'Este is an esoteric researcher, author and Priestess who manifests her knowledge of the wisdom of the ancient world into the modern age through her work. Her areas of expertise include the western Esoteric Traditions, European Mythology, British Folklore and the Grimoire Tradition; with particular passion for the magic and mystery of the Seven Wandering Stars, Graeco-Egyptian Magic and the Goddess Hekate.
Born a double-Sagittarius, with Aquarius rising, overlooked by the majestic and very magical Table Mountain in Cape Town (South Africa), Sorita was raised with a mixed Italian, English and South African cultural heritage. Her early interest and love affair with the Romantic Poets conjured up a world of forgotten Gods and Heroes, and out-of-body experiences during her childhood lead to pathways of psychic, dream and astral explorations in the years that followed. During her late teens this cumulated in a chance meeting which lead to her initiation into the Alexandrian Tradition of the Craft in 1992. She first met her husband, the occult author David Rankine in Atlantis Bookshop in 1999 and formed a very productive and creative partnership a year later which continues today.
She is a prolific writer and passionate researcher who has authored / co-authored 15 books on magic, mythology and mysticism to date. These include HEKATE Liminal Rites; Practical Planetary Magick; Practical Elemental Magick and Visions of the Cailleach. In addition to her own writing and that with David, she has produced and edited 5 anthologies and has contributed hundreds of articles to both commercial and community publications. For a full list of books by Sorita see her Bibliography.
Through her work as the Managing Director of Avalonia, a leading independent esoteric publishing company, with a reputation for well researched, specialist titles on the occult, magic and mythology Sorita has been able to share her passion for specialist esoteric subjects with a wider audience. Avalonia has a reputation for books which provide content rather than hype, often publishing material which would be deemed non-commercial by larger publishers. (see www.avaloniabooks.co.uk / www.avaloniabooks.com )
With David she was the co-founder of the StarStone Network; Lapis Companions and The Lyceum of Stella Maris. Sorita has held the position of Master of the Temple in the O.I.F. since 1999, received her third degree in the Alexandrian tradition in 2002, and became an ordained Priestess Hierophant of Ma'at in the Fellowship of Isis in 2004. She has recently completed ten year apprenticeship with an English Cunning Dame.
Her lively workshops and lectures have taken her all over the UK and Europe, where she has presented on subjects related to mythology and folklore, magic and ritual. As a Priestess she has lead countless private ceremonies and facilitated initiations for many others into the mysteries of the Craft and other traditions, and has also lead many public ceremonies honouring the Gods and Genius Loci at national and international festivals such as Witchfest, Pagan Federation and Fellowship of Isis conferences, Beltane Bash and the Halloween Festival.
On the 27th of May 2010, Sorita's The Rite of Her Sacred Fires, was performed worldwide by an estimated 3000 people on all six the inhabited continents in honour of the Goddess Hekate and in celebration of the completion of the anthology Hekate Her Sacred Fires. There is also a YouTube channel dedicated to this ceremony, with numerous recordings of it from around the world and other devotional prayers and songs honouring Hekate, some inspired by the Rite of Her Sacred Fires.
Sorita has interacted with the media frequently over the years, and appeared on many television and radio programs. Her work and interviews with her have featured in numerous publications including TIME OUT, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and Alternative London. She has featured on BBC Radio London and BBC local radio networks, and also on television programs for ITV, BBC, Channel 5, The Discovery Channel (with Anthony Stewart Head) and Sky.
Having spent many years in London, she now lives on the edge of the wild beauty of the Brecon Beacons in Powys (Wales, UK) with David and their young son. She remains actively involved in a number of traditions and facilitating gatherings of likeminded people in order to further the study of the esoteric arts. Her own work is focussed on creating a synergy between the religious ritual and magical practices of the ancient world, in particular those from the Graeco-Egyptian period, and those of the Grimoire Tradition.
See www.sorita.co.uk for more information on her work.
For a full list of her books, including anthologies she has contributed to, see http://www.sorita.co.uk/?page_id=57
