Flash Silvermoon (Deborah Kotler) Papers
Scope and Content
The Flash Silvermoon (Deborah Kotler) Papers contains the personal papers of the creator, left at her home at the time of her death in 2017 and transferred to Smathers Libraries in 2024 by donation from her long-time friend Corky Culver. This collection, which dates from 1963-2018, consists of biographical information, writings, clippings, correspondence, a college yearbook, photos, and evidence of the production of artwork and a book.
Researchers interested in the women’s/lesbian rights movement, the practice of Wicca and women’s spiritual practices, Tarot, Astrology, and musical performers will find this collection a valuable resource.
Dates
- Creation: 1950 - 2018
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1975 - 2017
Creator
Access
The collection is open for research.
Biographical/Historical Note
Flash Silvermoon (birthname Deborah Kotler) 1950-2017, grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey. She attended Trenton State College in New Jersey, where she was active with the Student Committee for Radical and Activist Policies (SCRAP) in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, writing for the Scrap Paper. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971.
After college, Silvermoon moved to New York City, where she performed music and read Tarot cards at Bonnie and Clyde’s lesbian bar. She moved to Melrose, Florida with her then-partner Pandora in 1975, where she lived at her home, Moonhaven, until her death in 2017.
Silvermoon was a prolific author, musician, and healer of humans and their pets. She considered herself an animal communicator and vibrational healer and volunteered her services at animal sanctuaries in North Central Florida. She also worked with local shelters to conduct ceremonies for women to help them rebalance after rape.
Flash Silvermoon most often performed on the keyboard and the guitar, and was a spirited percussionist, performing up and down the East Coast. She was a regular at the Gainesville Pride Festival in the Fall. She recorded two music CDs, Flash Silvermoon and Phases of the Silvermoon.
Silvermoon wrote The Wise Woman’s Tarot which was produced with cards illustrated by Barbara Vogel. She taught classes on Tarot cards and healing techniques at her Moonhaven Mystery School of Earth Magic for Women and at the University of Florida. Her spiritual path, self-defined as the Rainbow Goddess tradition, led her to help organize gatherings and circles such as Woman Spirit Rising in the 1990s and Wise Women festivals from 2003 to 2010. These gatherings celebrated women of many cultures, honoring diverse healing and spiritual traditions.
Flash Silvermoon died on December 15, 2017 of renal failure at the age of 67. A celebration of her life was held on January 13, 2018 at Moonhaven, 7603 N.E. 221st Street Melrose, Florida.
References:
https://slfaherstoryproject.org/flash-silvermoon-spiritual-renaissance-feminist/
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/gainesville/name/deborah-kotler-obituary?id=12370863
Extent
1.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Personal papers belonging to feminist author, musician, and healer Flash Silvermoon (Deborah Kotler).
Arrangement
Alphabetical by subject. Oversized and ephemera in box 2.
Location
University of Florida Smathers Library Building
Acquisition Information
Donated by Corky Culver in 2024.
Processing Information
Two pieces of oversized artwork were scanned and printed. Original art was returned to the donor.
Subject
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- A Guide to the Flash Silvermoon (Deborah Kotler) Papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by Florence M. Turcotte
- Date
- December 2024
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is written in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida Repository
George A. Smathers Libraries
PO Box 117005
Gainesville Florida 32611-7005 United States of America
352-273-2755
special@uflib.ufl.edu