While Serbia is home to a wide variety of richly preserved, oral traditions of folk magic and witchcraft, much of which on the surface appears to be overtly “pagan”, the actual practitioners of these "old ways" to this day largely identify as Eastern Orthodox. This presentation will serve as an introduction to some of the most significant saints in Serbian Orthodox folk magic, covering their syncretisms with older Slavic deities, oral legends, and a selection of rituals and charms. Each attendee will receive a booklet of translated Serbian-to-English prayers to each of the saints covered, including the Prophet Elijah, St. Petka, St. Marina of Antioch, St. Demetrios, SS. Cosmos and Damian, SS. Cyprian and Justina, and many more.
 
About the Presenter:
Katarina Pejović is a doctoral graduate student at the University of Toronto, researching the legends and grimoires of the sorcerer saint Cyprian of Antioch. In addition to her work on St. Cyprian, she writes on various topics including grimoire history, folk Christianity, Western occultism, and traditions of divination, witchcraft, and magic in Eastern Europe. Her lifelong passion for the unique folklore, sorcery, and spirits of the Balkans form the roots of her personal praxis; watered by ancestral veneration, enflamed by Quimbanda and dragon-fire, and nourished with an endless curiosity of mystery.