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Brief Biography
Br Steve T 'Ashar' Spain was born on October 28, 1972; in Auckland, New Zealand. He is the son of a kailoma or vasu (both European and indigenous Fijian ancestry) mother and pakeha father. He was raised in some of the traditions of the village life of his cultural homeland (Fiji or Viti as it is called in the Bauan language) with the absence of his biological father. In 1980 he was moved to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia; by his mother and step-father. Later in 1989 he returned to Auckland New Zealand. Within a year he then had a brief stay in the Americas, particularly, San Francisco and Utah. He then returned to Auckland and after a short stay to Brisbane. In 1994 he moved to Perth, Western Australia, where he currently resides.
He is known under several names depending upon the role upon which he is undertaking: Br Steve - common parlance; Br Ashar or Ashar - by those of the Wiccan comunity; and Sitiveni or Siti in the Fijian community. He was born with the name of his step-grandfather 'Rooney.' His mother was born with the British (English and Welsh landed gentry) ancestral name 'Hickes.' His biological father is a 'Mustchin' which seems to be a Scandinavian-rooted name, possibly assimilated into English form; and his step-father's name with which official documents bear, is 'Spain.'
Shortly after arriving in Perth he was initiated into the clergy of the Wiccan traditions of the Church of Wicca, Australia, which was foundered there by the Lady Tamara Von Forslund. The current head of the Church (Known as an Archpriestess or Archpriest) is the Lady Amaris. He has since maintained an ongoing relationship with the Church, as a solitary practitioner, or self-described hermetic monk; that is one who devotes them self entirely to the academic exploration of occult studies and it's adoption and practice as a way of life. As a solitary practitioner he rarely takes on students.
In other areas of exploration he is finishing a High School Teaching degree from Edith Cowan University (ECU), in Performing Arts and Anthropology; in particular the combination & practice of the two. He has also explored much of his cross-cultural eclectic awareness of cosmologies and mysticism at ECU. He has also served as an Executive Director of the Edith Cowan University Student Guild on and off again since 1998 to 2007; and once as a Director of ECU on its governing board, the University Council in 2005-2006.
While his role as a Minister of Religion over-rides other considerations when called upon; his political awareness is best described as a anarcho-syndicalist, with a view to federated anarchism. He has been influenced by modern writers such as Prof Noam Comsky, Ivan Illich, Paulo Freire, and Mahatma Gandhi.