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Sparky T. Rabbit/Peter Bruner Soderberg, 3 February 1954-June 2014. Witch, singer, songwriter, ritualist, thinker, process junky, cauldron stirrer, culture changer.

Early Life
Peter Bruner Soderberg, more popularly known as Sparky T. Rabbit, was born on February 4, 1954 in Rock Island, Illinois, and passed in May of 2014. He was a Witch, singer, songwriter, ritualist, thinker, process junky, cauldron stirrer, culture changer. Sociologist Loretta Orion, in her published study called Never Again the Burning Times: Paganism Revived, writes of his ritual work at Pagan Spirit Gathering, in which she refers to him as "Peter the Big Blue Fairy," an appellation he disliked, (and misspelled his name as Sonderberg).

Sparky wrote many of the chants and songs that Pagans around the country, and beyond, use. About this ability, Steven Posch says:

"Sparky defies platitude. He was a man with a lot of rough edges, and fighting was his favorite sport, but his incisive mind and relentless honesty are something we’ll all be the poorer without. Whenever I needed a new chant, I’d send him words and, usually within 48 hours, he’d sing a new chant into my voicemail. There was no one like him."

An actor since his teens (Jack Rugby in The Merry Wives of Windsor; the Duke of York in Richard II; Dionysos in Aristophanes' The Frogs (1977)) and later as an adult in stage productions such as Santa Claus in Miracle on 34th Street (1998), and film.

On June 23, 1984, at Pagan Spirit Gathering, Camp Eagle Cave, Wisconsin, Sparky "jumped the broom" (married/handfasted) with Ray Bayley, D.C., as attested in The Daily Badger on the following day. [look up ref]

Frequent guest, performer, and speaker at Pagan gatherings (PSG, Heartland)[cite] around the country. Sparky was a keynote speaker at Gay Brothers: A Spiritual Conference for Radical Fairies, Labor Day Weekend 1979, near Tucson, AZ. [find citation] and Between the Worlds (Midwest location, year) [cite]

Bishop Hill Midsommer Music Festival [cite]

Among the many rituals he wrote and led was “The Union of Earth and Sky: A Ceremony for Thor and Freyr” at Return to Avalon festival in Wisconsin, 1998(?), with Steven Posch.

Unfortunately for posterity, Sparky's published writings are few; however, he wrote "Meeting the Queer God" published in the Reclaiming Newsletter in 1989.

In 1989 Sparky personally published and distributed “Miss Cow’s Maxims for Clearer Communication” at the Midwest Men's Festival. It was subsequently published in Reclaiming Newsletter. As a final spell, copies of “Miss Cow’s Maxims” were left in a basket on his Samhain altar for people to take.

Sparky with his singing partner Greg Johnson, singing as Lunacy, recorded two albums: "Lunacy” Passionate Ritual Music (1990 tape, 2011 CD), followed by “Hand of Desire” (year and link).  They are currently unavailable; however, plans are afoot for reissues.  In addition, songs from these albums are published in Crossing Over: A Pagan Manual on Death and Dying, Reclaiming Collective (RIP), San Francisco, 1996 and The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, Starhawk, M. Macha NightMare, and Reclaiming Collective, San Francisco: HarperSan Francisco, 1997

Sparky participated in the Pagan Summit, Bloomington, in 2001, sponsored by PEN (Pagan Educational Network) and Our Freedom: A Pagan Civil Rights Coalition.

The Covenant of the Goddess awarded Sparky its Award of Honor for Outstanding Service to Community posthumously in 2014.

[insert Richard Man's photo of altar when attribution can be figured out]

Sparky passed in June of 2014.

After his death, eight interviews, songs, and tributes were published on YouTube. , in addition to at least five items in the Pagan press. The Radical Faeries revere him as an Ancestor. Some of his ashes are at the Circle Sanctuary Cemetery in Wisconsin. His passing was publicly mourned by Pagans throughout the counry at Samhaintide, among them Circle Pines and at Reclaiming’s Spiral Dance; he is now among the Mighty Dead of the Craft.

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Additional citations to be researched:

The Wild Hunt: https://wildhunt.org/2014/06/sparky-t-rabbit-1954-2014.html

Witches and Pagans: http://witchesandpagans.com/pagan-studies-blogs/witch-at-large/sparky-t-rabbit.html

Dispatch-Argus. http://witchesandpagans.com/pagan-studies-blogs/witch-at-large/sparky-t-rabbit.html

Witches&Pagans. http://witchesandpagans.com/Pagan-Culture-Blogs/sparky-t-rabbit-1953-2014.html \

Drawing Down the Moon - revised edition right before Margot died. https://books.google.com/books?id=znADodo1SN4C&pg=PT429&lpg=PT429&dq=peter+soderberg+sparky+rabbit&source=bl&ots=E7WzFEoaYa&sig=ACfU3U2hswsLtNXilyJaX8bdRXE1tEi2vg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjUmc311cTuAhV8JzQIHQ3bDMU4ChDoATAAegQIChAC#v=onepage&q=peter%20soderberg%20sparky%20rabbit&f=false

Pagan Spirit Journal #1, published by Circle Publications, 1982.

Peter Soderberg co-wrote an article: "The Faeries on Hissing," page 19, Jon, Peter, & Hummingbird

Two of Peter's chant also were published: "Chants to the Sun God" page 42 created for the Pagan Spirit Gathering Solstice Ritual

"High Holy Sun Giver, Life Creator."

"Holy Shining Sunlight, Radiance, Radiance

Horned One Come to Us."

Circle Publications

Circle Sanctuary, PO Box 9, Barneveld, Wisconsin [our current address]

Here's another link to Lunacy Song: http://home.intranet.org/~maggi/bardicarts/songs/Goddess/lunacy.html

Silver Shining Wheel lyrics here: https://spiralwound.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/shining-silver-wheel/

composer cited here: https://www.amazon.ca/She-Changes-Moving-Breath/dp/B00005Y8NP

Quoted here - under R for Radical Faeries: https://cuttingball.com/sidewinders

Wkiwand: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Radical_Faeries - quote on the page.