Jesse Hathaway Diaz

Lecture & Workshop Host

LECTURE: On the Very Viscous: In Defense of the Material and Immaterial Magical Oil
Through the centuries, magical oils have often followed a similar maxim as incense- sweet for fair things, noxious for foul things. However, such over-reliance on scent as the primary importance is a fallacy that has led to oil as secondary support rather than an oil as the magic itself. Much like traditional suffumigations, scent is a secondary, often collateral quality, of a traditional oil. So too are its constituent physical ingredients. An oil itself is a bottle-spell, containing the essences of plant, fungi, animal, mineral, place, human, and things subtler still–whereby the physical oil is the carrier of the combined essence and force of these ingredients delivered through the menstruum of a given oleum. They may come from inspired recipes brought forth from intellect or spirit communication; found in or inspired by ancient texts; and others the children of established tradition or any combination of such. Some oils can take years to make, being buried, stored away for certain tides of the year, or are merely prohibitive in their ingredients and can be made with ease once these are procured. Some are simple macerations and infusions, others given to the art of distillation, many combine both techniques. Some may address simple purposes, and others may be spirits unto themselves. But the Oil is more than the sum of its parts, and knowing all the ingredients will not, and should not, make the same oil. In this lecture, Hathaway Diaz will explore how the immaterial demands relationality that enhances the often over-commodification of the material and how, as magicians and witches, we should nurture and defend both the material and the immaterial oil.

WORKSHOP: By Slick, By Grease, By Fat and Sap: The Devil’s in the Details
3 HOUR INTENSIVE– space is limited to 15 participants

Building upon this exploration of the immaterial and the material oil, workshop attendees will explore a variety of materia- botanical and mineral, by which to construct their own magical oil. Using traditional and personal exemplars, we will discuss and explore seven different oils (four traditional recipes and three personal) detailing their construction, use, and care. Examples of empowerments and ensouling will be given as means of empowering the oil to life and purpose. Each participant will leave with a newly constructed ‘condition’ oil an oil used to aide a specific purpose. Further means by which each oil may be empowered and animated further will be detailed in further instructions should each participant choose to do so.

$65 workshop add on fee
$15 materials fee
*Materials fee paid to Jesse at time of workshop

BIO: Jesse Hathaway Diaz is a folklorist, artist, performer and independent scholar with a Masters in Performance Studies from NYU. With initiations in several forms of witchcraft from Europe and the Americas, he is also a lifelong student of Mexican curanderismo, an initiated priest of Obatalá in the Lucumí Orisha tradition, and a Tatá Quimbanda. He co-hosts an occult themed podcast called ‘Radio Free Golgotha’, and edits the ‘Folk Necromancy in Transmission’ imprint through Revelore Press. For the better part of two decades, he has been involved with Theatre Group Dzieci, a New York based experimental theatre ensemble which explores theatre and ritual as a way, blending service with self-exploration and performance. Dividing his time between the Bronx and a farm in the Hudson Valley, his artistic and written work navigate the world-as-magic through exploring orality and transmission, decolonialism, ritual theory and praxis, herbalism and healing modalities through private study, apprenticeship, and community involvement. You can find his artistic and written work at http://www.jessehathawaydiaz.com and his magical wares at signthepact.com.

Featured Sponsors