Certain plants and scents have long been felt as aiding in the connection to the spirit world, and with the rise of spiritism in the 19th century, many such plants became renowned for assisting the faculties of mediums to deliver messages and commune with spirits. While many such connections were born from existing cultural associations and carried in to spiritist circles, we can similarly see the incorporation of specific plants and botanical products due to contemporary availability and efficacy through trial or observation, such as with Florida Water and other scented colognes. Flowers served both a heraldic role by inviting certain spirits to the session, and also often were notably produced as apports, objects materialized in seances in the presence of a medium, such as the famous Ixora crocata and the Golden Lily of medium Elizabeth d’Esperance. As spiritism spread in the Caribbean and increasingly creolized into the various forms of espiritismo, a treasure trove of Afro-Caribbean and Indigenous plant lore became part of the spiritist repertoire. In this lecture, Hathaway Diaz will draw on documented history and personal interviews with both spiritists and espiritistas regarding the role of plants in spiritism, as inspiration, apport and proof, as offerings and heraldry, and as tools for the work of spirits.

Queen of Judea, Mother of Salome, Wife of Herod Antipas, and instrumental in the death of John the Baptist, the Biblical Herodias is an infamous figure who by the Middle Ages was named as the principal figure of a witch cult pervasive across Europe: a teacher of diablerie and mistress of magic and leader of the Wild Hunt. At once the cursed but immortal ancient queen, Herodias was considered a gifted magician and teacher and revolutionary in Leland’s “Aradia”, perhaps a survival and weaponization of pagan magics in a Christian world. Inspiring many great works of art and music and theatre, Herodias proves to be an enigmatic figure whose lore and practice are sadly less talked about. Tracing her history and influence from the historical figure through Mediterranean and Iberian folk expressions as well as literary and artistic explorations, come learn about and pay homage to the “Daughter of Babylon”, the Witch Queen Herodias!

A source of safety and comfort, shelter from the elements and prowling predators of the night, our Homes as witches are often protected with magic, a place where magic occurs, but less commonly thought of as magical entities in their own right. As technology helps us keep the fire burning (in our stoves and ovens), to keep the water flowing (in our sinks and showers), it is easy to forget the soul of the house in our everyday chores and pursuits. Drawing from traditional witchcrafts and folkloric traditions of Europe and the Americas, we will look at the House as a divine entity, a cult of which you, its owner or occupant, are a priest. How does this viewpoint change our magic? How do we serve the house? How can we truly make it a home? There is a spirit to the each rafter, each hinge, each intersection of wall and floor. Fire brings the dead and the living together, the windows are liminal spaces where we might appease minor spirits; the walls have feelings, the doors are strong allies, and the House always has a name. Come join us as we dive into folklore and traditions to enliven our own relationship with where-we-live. Come join us as we look to honor the spirit of that great being that shares itself with us, a temple to the Land upon which it sits, and claim your rightful spot as its caretaker, emissary and priest.

At the Sacred Space Conference in Hunt Valley, Maryland
Cost: Included in cost of Conference. Register here!