In this enlightening keynote, Teffa Honan, a seasoned Medicine Woman and Ayahuasquera will explore the dynamic interplay between ancient plant medicine traditions and modern holistic healing practices. Drawing from her deep experience within the spiritual traditions of Colombia and the Amazon rainforest, Teffa will illuminate how the ancestral wisdom of these cultures can be harmoniously integrated into contemporary therapeutic approaches for enhanced healing and personal transformation.

Beginning with exploring the historical and cultural roots of traditional Amazonian and Colombian plant medicines, particularly Ayahuasca, Teffa will share insights from her apprenticeship under Taita Pedro Davila. She will provide a rare glimpse into the preservation and transmission of this ancient knowledge through generations.

Transitioning to the present, Teffa will discuss the relevance and integration of traditional practices like limpias, energetic clearings, sound therapy, and Reiki into modern healing modalities. She will offer a unique perspective on the intersection of science and spirituality in understanding plant medicines, discussing both scientific research and the profound spiritual implications of these practices.

Central to the keynote will be personal anecdotes and case studies from Teffa's practice, showcasing the transformative impact on individuals and communities. These stories will vividly illustrate the profound changes and healing possible when ancient practices meet contemporary needs.

Teffa will also address the future, speaking to the ethical considerations in the use of plant medicines, including respecting indigenous knowledge and responsible sourcing. She will share her insights on the potential future trajectory of holistic healing and the integration of age-old practices into mainstream wellness paradigms.

The keynote will conclude with a practical and experiential component, inviting the audience to participate in a guided meditation or mindfulness exercise. This will provide a taste of Teffa's holistic approach to healing. Informative and transformative, this keynote promises to offer a deeper understanding of the powerful synergy between ancient plant medicine traditions and modern healing practices.

Resins such as Frankincense and Myrrh have been revered for millennia as aids to spiritual connection, magickal workings, and health. Their smoke consecrates sacred space, gives spirits manifest form, and drives off illness and negative influence.

In our Alchemical lab, we've brought many resins through our Spagyric processing, creating Initiatic medicines to consecrate the inner temple and open consciousness for the workings of magick, meditation, and journeying.

In this lecture, I will explore the entheogenic chemistry of Frankincense and its enhancement of visionary states of connected bliss, and how Myrrh can help us integrate our most painful experiences, weaving together the light and dark within us.

I'll share my experience with Mastic resin, which I have come to rely on as a powerful cleanser of inner and outer space for ritual, invocation, and ceremonial work. I will also talk about Amber, a fossil resin used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a protective to personal energy and the spirit of the heart, which keeps us collected and coherent in all our journeys.

All of these insights come from my own experience of immersion in each resin as we worked with it: burning it in our sacred space, ingesting the raw resin in preparation for the lab work, sitting with the extractions as they revealed their intelligences, and using the completed Spagyric internally to draw all those experiences together within the temple of the self.

Within any spiritual praxis exists a space of liminality, an intersection of life and death. To some these concepts are viewed as independent of one another, however, many pursuers of magic and the poison path can agree, they are one in the same, different wings of the same bird, and to others still, a source of unmentionable topics and applications that are known, but rarely discussed outside of certain company.

This lecture is designed to examine the various practices of magic that dance the line between life and death, and the taboo of corpse medicine and magic. What ensures a good death for the denizens of the verdant realms? Death rituals have an illuminous history amongst humans and even animals, but far fewer guidelines are well detailed for the spirits of the plants. What measures can be taken to avoid displeasing the spirits when harvesting constituents, regardless of the genus?

The auspicious nature of any components extracted from the corpus of a plant, undergoes a particular metamorphosis, permitting the plant to retain elements of what once was, and by ways of sympathetic magic, transfers that knowledge through the veil.

This lecture will also discuss historical practices of folk magic associated with transference of illness or curse into living plants, as well as pseudo necromantic arts involving medicines and components harvested from the bodies of the dead.

Join seer and herbalist Rissa Miller to step into the practice of cultivating herbs and flowers during the dark of night under various moon phases, as well as in the rain, or even during storms. The energetics of varying times of days changes the vibration of the remedies created, be it a tincture, an herb bundle for burning/cleansing,a tea, or a flower essence. With the moon phases and weather patterns in mind, the herbal practitioner can craft a fully changed energy in the remedies.

We will explore harvesting while respecting the earth-garden in rest phase, understanding the change of energy as the sun and moon make their trade, and how variations in moon phase as well as rain/storms can affect the resulting plant creations - and some ideal uses for each (tincture, herb bundles, tea, flower essences).

Every planet in our natal chart is prone to dis-ease and together we will look at how it may manifest in our bodies and how we can counteract the effects these specific planets have on us utilizing different plants. The natal chart becomes a blueprint that enables us to better understand our constitution and how to incorporate different herbs to maintain balance within the body.

This class is easily accessible to beginners as well as seasoned practitioners. You will leave this class having a better understanding of how to read your natal birth chart as well as find potential areas where you can supplement herbs safely into your daily life.

When it comes to re-enchanting our modern world, myth and story contain instructions hiding in plain sight. Greek mythology is full of plants and animals, and these beings are important parts of the story — they not only have the power to enrich our magical and ritual practices, but they can also enhance our understanding of complex, multifaceted mythological figures like the gods.

In this presentation, Jamie will introduce a surprising variety of plants associated with the Greek god Hades and his Underworld. She'll share her methods for identifying and investigating the magical properties of these plants, while also discussing their usage and mythic origins. (Here's a hint: it's way more than just that infamous pomegranate!)

In various cultures, traditions and religions there is a known protector guarding the gates of the Underworld. Their names and job descriptions change throughout the world but today, we will call her Datura. Datura is an introductory poison priestess for many and supports the initiation of power, self sufficiency and protection. There are many species of her potent medicine throughout the world and it has been connected to in various ways.

In this class, we will explore the multi-cultural applications, lore and medicine of Datura. Further delving into what makes Datura a prominent protector and gatekeeper of the poison path. We will also talk about magical, energetic applications when working with datura in spellwork and gnosis. Concluding on working with her in her physical form such as safety measures, care instructions and anything shared intuitively through nurturing my own datura plant. The ultimate goal of this class being preparation for our own shadow work integration journeys and understanding what is palatable in the poisonous.

Tamarisk is a powerful Saturnine plant with a remarkable ability to purify and remediate energies, to constrain spirits, and to act as a strong apotropaic, making it extremely useful in the work of magical practitioners. A simple preparation of the dried leaves, powdered and enchanted, creates a useful materia I call “green salt”, which can be used in several ways.

It is associated with the mythology of Osiris, has been thought of as an axis mundi, and also has a part to play in the lore surrounding the Manna from Heaven that supported the Israelites on their sojourn through the desert. How to apply this tree’s lore, its astrological associations, and its magical abilities to a practical style of witchcraft is the major topic in this talk, as well as the recipe for and ways to use green salt.

An introduction to the Spirit of poison plants, on how to connect with them, create and maintain a relationship and learn about their wisdom and Medicine.

Cristina is a solopreneur, creatrix of the esoteric herbal apothecary In Lumine Lunae and founder of the Dianic spiritual organization Templum Dianae. She has been initiated in the Dianic Tradition and officially ordained Dianic Clergy (Priestess) by the Temple of Diana (Los Angeles, CA).

Cristina is also author, ritual perfumer, esoteric herbalist trained in herbal medicine, certified Plant Spirit Healing practitioner behind Lumen Viridia, member of the British Flower Essence Producers (BAFEP) and landscape architect specialized in healing gardens and therapeutic landscape.

She has been teaching classes and workshops about occult-craft, esoteric herbalism and female spirituality in Italy and abroad since 2010.

Ogum's Sword is a presentation about the magic of Snake Plants ( Dracaena trifasciata) based on the Macumba tradition that my family practices. We will talk about how this amazing plant, now associated with the Orixa Ogum can provide us with protection spells for ourselves and environments such as our homes and offices, exorcise unwanted spirits, protect our astral travelling and sleep, as well as aid us in some friendly (or not) necromancia.

Ogum's Sword is a simple, but extremely powerful ally and tool to the modern magical practitioner: being a representation and channel of Ogum's energy or a plant spirit ally on their own, this plant can certainly make us feel protected and revenged ( and you don't even need a green thumb to keep her alive!)

Certain stones command our attention because of their apparent beauty, durability, and value, while others have captivated humanity because of their hidden dangers. Throughout history these toxic gems have been used for uses both mundane and magickal, from arts to alchemy. Join occultist and award-winning author Nicholas Pearson on a foray into the shadowy landscape of poisonous stones.

In this class you will:

• Learn to identify toxic and dangerous rocks, minerals, and gemstones

• Explore safe and effective methods for handling, storing, and communing with toxic stones

• Uncover the lore and mythos underpinning the power of poisonous rocks

• Discover how toxic minerals forge connections between medicine, magick, alchemy and the angelic Watchers

Nicholas will draw from his decades-long study of geology and gemstone lore to introduce you to the Poison Path of the Mineral Kingdom.

Within the pages of that infamous manual of black magic known as the Grimorium Verum are found not only the instructions for conjuring devilish spirits but the very means to consecrate, regulate, and empower one’s instruments and operations – that is, by asperging with three potent purifying herbs: marjoram, mint, and rosemary.

These three purifiers – neatly instantiating the three ancient Greek worlds of Sky, Underworld, and Sea – offer much for those who traffick with all manner of so-called ‘unclean’ spirits: from chthonic elementals to demonised daimones, and indeed (perhaps especially) those spirits deemed dangerous even by our pagan ancestors. Working with oroganum, menthe, and coronis presents means for the conjuror to make pacts, the exorcist to cleanse spaces, and the witch and sorcerer alike to return themselves to grounded and stable humoural equilibrium.

In this presentation Dr Alexander Cummins will share advice and techniques gleaned from years of practical and occasionally hard-won experience for working with these three powerful plant allies in cunning works of goetia and beyond.

Jennifer Vatza, owner of Belladonna's Botanicals shares her healing journey of using psychedelic medicine for her C-PTSD trauma healing and treatment-resistant depression combined with her occult explorations on the poison path and working with the dark goddesses and demonic divine.

Meet the power and medicine of green allies in love, intimacy and pleasure with V. Faemana, herbalist and animist. Faemana will share about lore, virtues, green gnosis, personal experiences and some amazing recipes to try!

Many of these plants were once revered by ancient cultures as openers of ecstasy, love and expression, from physical pleasure to the highest sense of bliss, that comes forth directly from our heart.

The "fairest of the ancients" in Ogham, the Yew is associated with ancestors, immortality, death, and rebirth. How did the Yew become guardian of the underworld, the purifier of the dead, the toxic healer? Enduring, reincarnating, connector to Elders, the Yew is a mysterious and enduring presence in Celtic lore and life. Come dream awhile its origin stories, folklore and mysteries and learn how to utilize its magic for traversing a psychopomp's liminal spaces and navigating its Underworld places...

Some say if you speak to a plant and ask it for assistance, it will listen. However, what happens when we stop and listen to what the plants have to say? In this interactive discussion, we’ll explore various rituals and techniques of connecting to plants on an intentional level and tiptoe along the liminal space between the physical world and the world where the plant spirits communicate. Have a journal and a favorite cup of tisane ready as we discuss the methods on how to conduct a 28 Day Plant Devotional.

The history, presence and uses throughout time and culture of one of the worlds most maligned and medicinal plants.

The witch is a rose- sprouting beautiful and unfurling her petals from hellish germination. Amongst a garden of thorns and briar she resides. Governed in this infernal garden stands Venus as Witch Queen. Her vein and haughty portents comprised of her most beauteous and Venefic poisons: mandragora, Datura, Burgmansia, Rosa, Rubeus, prunus and more. In this lecture we will delve into her mysteries of celestial, terrestrial, and marinal. Walking the path of Venus as Witch Patroness, her magic and powers.

Holistic, synergistic, and complementary - these are just a few of the words we can use to describe the magick that transpires when we arrive at the intersection of plants and the Elder Futhark runes. Nicolette Miele, author of Runes for the Green Witch, guides her audience on a journey aimed at elevating one's spiritual practice through the use of various plant/rune correspondences. Discover how to incorporate both within ritual, spellcraft, medicine, and everyday life.

The amazing magical and sacred trees of North America are often overlooked in favor of European species. In this lecture, we'll begin by discussing the fascinating geography, ecology, and history of the North American Eastern Temperate Forests (EPA ecoregion 8). We'll then investigate some of my favorite native trees, including Black Walnut, White Pine, Red Maple, Flowering Dogwood, and several others. We will discuss the healing and magical virtues of these plants as magica materia, but the class will focus on developing relationships with native trees as living spirits, and courting them as magical allies. Although this class will be of special interest to people in the US Mid-Atlantic, the magical and animist techniques we'll learn can easily be adapted to your own eco-region

While it is true that mandrake, henbane, and belladonna have much to teach us as psychic allies, we can’t forget about the incredible virtues bestowed upon some of the most common houseplants on the market. In this workshop from bestselling author Devin Hunter, learn about thirteen houseplants that can be worked with as allies for divination and psychic development and reveal the potent magic of the green flame. This workshop includes an introduction to Varieomancy, an all-new divination technique presented in Devin’s latest book, Houseplant HortOCCULTure, available April 2024 from Lllewellyn Worldwide.

In this class, Herbalist Josh Williams will introduce you to his cultic practices surrounding that most enigmatic of primordial deities: The Green Man. Josh will cover a bit of history, then wander into the deep woods to meet with the evergreen god of the groves. This class will contain powerful working material from Josh's many years of connection to this wild deity- shared exclusively for Botanica Obscura. If the man hiding in the foliage has ever captivated your heart, this class is for you!

In this seminar- Kristy will be going over practical and venerative means of utilizing mandrake in practice. From seed to manikin, and all the stages in between, you'll leave with an understanding of this wild spirit and its parts. Topics will include : offerings, care, attainment, communication, the realms they rule, jobs they perform, and practical means for you to incorporate mandrake without a green thumb.

It will be an honor to have you in attendance, just know that it will be an interesting time. (I am not a well-behaved scholar.) Also note: there will be a good amount of time set aside for answering any and all questions that you have, pertaining to mandrake. Get ready to take notes and grab some earmuffs to protect yourself from my babblings. :D

This presentation will address the topical application of low-dose herbal preparations in clinical practice. Botanicals discussed will include Aconitum napellus, Corydalis yanhusuo, Atropa belladonna, Hyoscyamus niger, Datura stramonium, Veratrum viride, and Arnica montana, among others. Chemistry, actions, traditional use, dosage, application forms, and case examples will be reviewed.

The magical grimoire tradition of Medieval Europe, and up into the 18th and 19th centuries, are filled with descriptions of what are clearly profound, visionary experiences—the most significant perhaps being the direct perception of various gods, angels, demons, and other ‘spiritual,’ non-physical beings. It should come as no surprise then that entheogenic substances have long played a major role in the rituals recorded in these mysterious texts. In this short talk, we will examine many of the marvelous plants especially selected and employed toward this and similar ends, while at the same time considering how and why such psychoactive substances may have affected the successful accomplishment of said categories of magical workings.

Icelandic magical herbalism combines the use of magical plants, timings, staves and more. In this lecture Albert will break down a few examples of folkloric magic from Iceland involving certain plants and magical staves. From there we take things a step further and work in UPG, personal staves from Albert and those around him, and methods of making magic with our own local plant allies. The combination of plants and staves is a powerful practical technique for sorcery, and one that we can fit to work for us no matter where in the world we may be.