Time: 7 pm Eastern time
Admission: $8 - Tickets HERE
This lecture will take place virtually, via Zoom. Ticket sales will end at 5 pm EST the day of the lecture. Attendees may request a video recording AFTER the lecture takes place by emailing proof of purchase to info.morbidanatomy@gmail.com. Video recordings are valid for 30 days after the date of the lecture.
Ticketholders: a link to the conference is sent out at 5:30 pm EST on the day of the event to the email used at checkout. Please add info.morbidanatomy@gmail.com to your contacts to ensure that the event link will not go to spam.
PLEASE NOTE: This lecture will be recorded and available for free for our Patreon members at $5/above. Become a Member HERE.
The links between love and magic, of enchantment and sympathia, have long been considered by poets, philosophers, and magicians alike. This talk explores the variety of pre-modern occult theories and traditional magical practices that seek to grasp both the divinity and madness of love through natural materials, amulets, and magical assemblages: ranging from remedies of the ancient world, through to the love sorcery of Shakespeare’s day, and even offering some compare-and-contrast to various techniques and ingredients of modern African-American folk magic and hoodoo.
Such love talismans could take many forms: from complex and sophisticated astrological images to simple charm-bundles of herbs and prayers. They could be constructed from various metals, wax, clay, parchment, or even carved onto an apple.
In looking at such materia magica, we will consider medical ideas about the four elemental Humours, as well as psychological notions of the passions, and both spiritual and physical mysteries of the heart. We will delve into the love magicians’ toolkit, examining means of both therapy and seduction: from aphrodisiacal herbs to conjuring matchmaking spirits to more forceful bindings, leashes, and so-called “erotic malefic” workings. We will also look to beneficent workings of healing the heart, re-kindling the fires of a long-term relationship, and techniques of fostering loving and open communication skills between lovers.
Dr. Alexander Cummins is a magician, diviner, historian, and poet whose work focuses on magical books, demonology, geomancy, and folk magic as well as love divination and enchantment. His doctoral research centered on magic and the emotions in the pre-modern world. He can be found at www.alexandercummins.com
Image: Heart with pins, Lovett Collection, Pitt Rivers Museum