Folk Around & Find Out IV: Folklore of the Future

A panel of professional conjure doctors, astrologers, cunning-folk, artists, and witches talk about the place of folk magic in modern life around the world.

Come join our discussions of how traditional folk magics do and don’t have to adapt to changing times: from “for entertainment purposes only” disclaimers on divination to all the things that we might mean by ‘technomancy’; and from the artistry of magic – framing fetish-making and talisman-craft as sculpture and assemblage – to the rituals of art itself. And feel welcome to join in conversations exploring when modern problems might require modern folk magical solutions and what those can look like…

So come and pull up a digital seat as Dr Alexander Cummins convenes and chairs our panelists Professor Charles Porterfield, Sarah Jezebel Wood, J.M. Hamade, Joshua Madara, and Bint Al-Shalabiya to discuss the practices of folk magic, folk healing, folk art, folk spirituality, and more in these (post)modern times!

About the Presenter:

Dr. Alexander Cummins (@grimoiresontape) is a  professional diviner, consultant sorcerer, &  historian of magic.   His work focuses on grimoires, divination, & folk necromancy. He  co-hosts Radio Free Golgotha, & can be booked for talks, workshops,  readings, coaching & consultation at www.alexandercummins.com/. His  recorded classes can also be obtained from The Cauldron Black archives.

Professor Charles Porterfield is an old-fashioned, no-nonsense, Old Testament reader and rootworker. He is the co-author of Hoodoo Bible Magic: Sacred Secrets of Scriptural Sorcery, and author of A Deck of Spells: Hoodoo Playing Card Magic in Rootwork and Conjure and The Sporting Life: How to Help Yourself with Hoodoo from the Streets to the Sheets. He writes, teaches, and lectures on hoodoo and conjure to help preserve and pass on the roots of the work as well as consults, prescribes, and divines work for those in need. He currently lives in Denton, Texas with his wife, legacy student, and cat.

Sarah  Jezebel Wood is an artist, chandler, dancer, and sorceress whose work  explores the ephemeral nature of the liminality in life and death  through the interactions of time, place, objects, and moments. Either  through the lens of a camera or a pot of wax she devotes herself to  creating images of contemplation and sources of light. She is the owner  of Lovi Artes, an intentionally crafted candle company that seeks to  cultivate your inner fire through the art of wax, scent, ritual, and  flame.

J.M. Hamade (starnightdwell) (he/they) is an interdisciplinary artist, diviner, writer and educator residing in New York City. Focusing on the aesthetics of esoterica and the occult, they’re work bridges contemporary artistic practice with archaic forms of knowing. Various species of ‘image magic,’ both general and historical, are explored through like-practices of astrology, star-lore collecting, and observation of celestial phenomena. Similarly, the investigation and experimental application of talismanic art forms is at the forefront of their work.  Possessing a keen interest in craft, Hamade has apprenticed in the ways of butchery, the funerary arts, and most recently, the art of floristry. Passionate about both the printed word, they have published both writing and illustration with Hadean Press, The Mountain Astrologer, and Revelore Press. Hamade has received a BA focused in Printmaking from San Francisco State University. They are currently an MFA candidate at the City College of New York.

Bint is an interdisciplinary artist, musician and witch-mage based in Brooklyn. Drawing from her multi-cultural heritage (Pakistani, Egyptian,  American) she integrates contemporary and traditional technologies, spanning mediums across folk, sound and performance art. Her spirits and studies have led her on an unwieldy path, which include initiations and training in lineages of Sufism and ceremonial magic via Hermetic Qabalah. The historic (largely uncredited) influence of Islamic esotericism on the Western mystery tradition were former points of interest in her work. She now practices an earth-based form of Islamic  folk magic and is a devoted daughter to the lineages of artist-mystics focused on the cultural preservation and liberation work of their place  in time. As an artist and musician, her current work explores technological uses of applied magic often in public, experiential settings— most recently using combinations of sound, sampling, ritual and various methods of computer-processing to create multisensory experiences. In 2023 she was awarded a year-long residency with ISSUE Project Room for SOLVE ET COAGULA → عيب , a series of three commissioned programs mirroring the primary stages of Arabic alchemical transmutation. All three programs were audiovisual immersive sound rituals loosely based on the structure and setting of Sufi sem’a gatherings, in which communal MENASA experiences of shame were anonymously collected and transmuted through sound and ritual processing. She  has shown work internationally, including a wide range of commissions and collaborations with the likes of Black Sabbath, Joan La Barbara, the Copro Gallery, Atelier Mélusine and Coachella Music and Arts Festival.

Joshua Madara is an occult technologist and techno-occultist who blends  art, magic, and technology to innovate experiments in theoretical and  applied sorcery. He studies technologies both "high" and "low" that  mediate experiences of the ordinarily invisible or hidden worlds that  occultism is about.   For fifteen years he has given lectures, taught classes, written  articles, and exhibited artifacts about the coniunctio of cybernetics and sorcery, including Technomancy 101: Advanced Cybermagic for Beginners. He is currently working on a book of robomancy.

THIS CLASS IS ONLINE ONLY! If you are unable to make the live  streaming of this class, don't worry - the recording will be available for you. The class link will be emailed to you in your registration confirmation. The class recording link will be emailed to you within 3-5 business days of the conclusion of the Festival.

By purchasing access to this event you agree to the following Non Disclosure:

This Agreement is between The Salem Witchcraft & Folklore Festival (also know as Salem Witch Fest)(“OWNER”); and the Purchaser (“RECIPIENT”). WHEREAS, OWNER has developed through substantial effort, research, time, and expense certain inventions, design concepts, methodologies, technical know-how, copyrightable material and trade secrets directed and related to this class.  (“INFORMATION”); WHEREAS, OWNER desires to disclose the INFORMATION on a confidential basis to RECIPIENT.  The OWNER wishes to maintain the confidentiality of the INFORMATION and the protection of OWNER'S intellectual property rights. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the   mutual promises, covenants, and conditions contained herein, the sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows: I. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION A. OWNER agrees to disclose INFORMATION to RECIPIENT for the purposes of an online class. B. RECIPIENT agrees to receive such INFORMATION and to refrain from copying, disclosing, using, selling, or offering for sale any and all of said INFORMATION. RECIPIENT agrees to keep confidential and refrain from disclosing any and all of the INFORMATION, and to take all necessary and reasonable steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure or use of any and all of the INFORMATION.  Failure to uphold this NDA may result in legal action.