The Spellwork & Ritual Intensive

** This event is hosted through The Morbid Anatomy Museum. Please purchase tickets here on their website **

Whether you're an experienced occultnik, a skeptic, or an eager aspiring practitioner, this rigorous, five-week deep-dive into the world of witchcraft and magic will give you a firm grounding in what it means to walk the path of the witch, preparing you to take up the tools and techniques of the magical arte for yourself.

In this beginner-friendly and inter-traditional program—taught by Melissa Jayne Madara, witch, author, and one time co-ownwer of NYC’s famed Catland Books—students will engage in comparative analysis of historical spells and charms, exploring magical operations across cultures and time periods in an attempt to define the undefinable work of the witch. Each week, our curriculum will delve further and further into the details of magical practice, looking at tools, techniques, and examples of witchcraft in action. Students will even receive spells assigned as homework, to try their hand at a few procedures discussed in class. At the culmination of this series, students will construct an initiation rite of their own design, and use this ritual to create a magical practice of their own.

If you have ever wanted a peek within the occulted world of witchcraft, to read ancient spell books and examine rituals from the most famous magicians of history, this class is the perfect place to begin!

Melissa Jayne Madara is a witch, herbalist, and educator based in New York City. You may know her through Catland Books, her now-closed occult bookshop in Brooklyn, or through one of her two books, The Witch's Feast & The Witch's Workshop. As a writer, she loves discussing plant magic, herbcraft, and presenting deep analysis of historical spells and charms. Most of her research is centered in the magical traditions of classical antiquity, but you can find her writing about folklore, mythology, and rituals from the ancient world all the way through the modern era. She’s passionate about making witchcraft accessible and easy to learn, while providing high-quality research and education to those who want to pick up this work for themselves.