Free Online Talk · Witches & Their Poisons: A History of Flying Ointment, with Author and Occultist Melissa Madara
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025
7:00 PM ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This talk serves as the introduction for Occult Herbalism of the Poison Path, a class beginning March 11
Join author and occultist Melissa Madara for a look at the history and folklore of flying ointment, the most notorious preparation of medieval witches.
The flying ointment was the most feared and revered of magical concoctions in the folklore of medieval witchcraft. Made from a litany of transgressive ingredients—poisons, psychedelics, animal parts and human remains—this substance was believed to grant humans the power of supernatural flight, with which they could speak to spirits, wander unseen, and travel forth by night to meet the Devil. The history of flying ointment and its use in the magical arte walks the line between fact and fiction, existing as both a historical reality and a corpus of folk-belief.
In this lecture, we will explore the historical, botanical, and magical aspects of flying ointments, and how their perception has changed over time. We will cover a brief history of magical poisons, the appearance of flying ointments during the European Witch Trials, and historical evidence for their recipes and employment. We will also encounter myths and folklore about the effects of these ointments, and the variety of spirits, devils, and demons which accompany their use.
Melissa Madara is a occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work deals with the healing power of myth, divination, and immersion in the natural world, with an emphasis on plant folklore and traditional crafts. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @saint.jayne
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025
7:00 PM ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This talk serves as the introduction for Occult Herbalism of the Poison Path, a class beginning March 11
Join author and occultist Melissa Madara for a look at the history and folklore of flying ointment, the most notorious preparation of medieval witches.
The flying ointment was the most feared and revered of magical concoctions in the folklore of medieval witchcraft. Made from a litany of transgressive ingredients—poisons, psychedelics, animal parts and human remains—this substance was believed to grant humans the power of supernatural flight, with which they could speak to spirits, wander unseen, and travel forth by night to meet the Devil. The history of flying ointment and its use in the magical arte walks the line between fact and fiction, existing as both a historical reality and a corpus of folk-belief.
In this lecture, we will explore the historical, botanical, and magical aspects of flying ointments, and how their perception has changed over time. We will cover a brief history of magical poisons, the appearance of flying ointments during the European Witch Trials, and historical evidence for their recipes and employment. We will also encounter myths and folklore about the effects of these ointments, and the variety of spirits, devils, and demons which accompany their use.
Melissa Madara is a occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work deals with the healing power of myth, divination, and immersion in the natural world, with an emphasis on plant folklore and traditional crafts. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @saint.jayne
Tuesday, Feb 18, 2025
7:00 PM ET (NYC time)
Free! RSVP with email at checkout
PLEASE NOTE: Video playback of free events is only available to Patreon members. Become a Member HERE.
Ticketholders: A Zoom invite is sent out two hours before the event to the email used at checkout. Please check your spam folder and if not received, email hello@morbidanatomy.org.
This talk serves as the introduction for Occult Herbalism of the Poison Path, a class beginning March 11
Join author and occultist Melissa Madara for a look at the history and folklore of flying ointment, the most notorious preparation of medieval witches.
The flying ointment was the most feared and revered of magical concoctions in the folklore of medieval witchcraft. Made from a litany of transgressive ingredients—poisons, psychedelics, animal parts and human remains—this substance was believed to grant humans the power of supernatural flight, with which they could speak to spirits, wander unseen, and travel forth by night to meet the Devil. The history of flying ointment and its use in the magical arte walks the line between fact and fiction, existing as both a historical reality and a corpus of folk-belief.
In this lecture, we will explore the historical, botanical, and magical aspects of flying ointments, and how their perception has changed over time. We will cover a brief history of magical poisons, the appearance of flying ointments during the European Witch Trials, and historical evidence for their recipes and employment. We will also encounter myths and folklore about the effects of these ointments, and the variety of spirits, devils, and demons which accompany their use.
Melissa Madara is a occultist, author, and educator, teaching magic and witchcraft from a historical perspective. Their work deals with the healing power of myth, divination, and immersion in the natural world, with an emphasis on plant folklore and traditional crafts. Melissa is the curator of Moon Cult, an online community of curious witches who learn and practice together. Find Melissa’s interviews in the New York Times, Vice, Broadly, Teen Vogue, and Refinery 29, or see their published works in Fiddler's Green, Venefica Magazine, or their two books, The Witch’s Feast & The Witch’s Workshop. Follow Melissa at mooncvlt.com or on IG @saint.jayne