Paul Beyerl

Keynote Speaker and workshop host

Rev. Paul Beyerl has been known as an educator in the field of botanical medicine as well as Herbal Magick since the 1970s. His book The Master Book of Herbalism, published in 1984 is selling as strong as ever today. When his seminal book A Compendium of Herbal Magick was published in 1996 he had documented information on 330 species. Data he gathered for this book had to meet his requirement of being academically sound with documented historical accuracy. Today his research has files on approximately 2500 different species which are used in folk magick, religious ceremony and shamanic practices.

LECTURE: The World of Herbal Magick: A Meta-Analysis of Twentieth-Century Ethnobotanical Research

WORKSHOP: Herbal Sleuths

Visit Paul’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Brandon Weston

Lecture & Workshop Host

Brandon Weston is a healer, writer, and folklorist living in the Arkansas Ozarks. He is the owner and operator of Ozark Healing Traditions, a collective of articles, lectures, and workshops focusing on traditions of medicine, magic, spirit mediumship, food, culture and folklore all from the Ozark Mountain region. As an active healer, his work with clients includes everything from spiritual cleanses …

LECTURE: Cleanin’ the Blood: Ritual Emetics and Purgatives in Ozark Folk Medicine and Magic

WORKSHOP: Methods of Purifying the Body and Soul in Ozark Folk Healing

Visit Brandon’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Brita Wynn Dinsmore

Lecture & Workshop Host

Brita holds a four-field M.A. in Anthropology with an in-depth emphasis in Cultural Ethnobotany and Native American culture. She recently retired from 25 years as a college professor to open The Queen’s Ranch Herb Farm and Learning Center in Shelton, Washington. Course work includes medicine making workshops and aromatherapy as well as studies of what she calls “the great green teachers” …

LECTURE: Western Cultural denial of Plant sentience, and how shamanic cultures interact with plant consciousness.

WORKSHOP: Tools of consciousness: How to transcend cultural conditioning and access the wisdom of nature.

Visit Brita’s Profile Page to find out more about what she’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Charles Porterfield

Lecture & Workshop Host

Professor Charles Porterfield is a no-nonsense, old-school, Old Testament reader, rootworker, and well known cartomancer. His work includes Biblical and Psalmic magic, prescriptions, rootwork consultations, pendulum, playing card, and Bible divinations, custom-made mojo bags, candle work, spiritual cleansings, laying tricks and work for conditions, interpreting signs and dreams, magical coaching, giving out lucky numbers, lamp making, and good, old-fashioned, plain sense advice. Professor Porterfield writes, teaches, and lectures on hoodoo and conjure to help preserve and pass on the roots of the work. He has been published in …

LECTURE: Goofer Dust: The History, Use, and Substance of the Traditional Killing Powder of Southern Conjure.

WORKSHOP: Dusts, Powders, and Earths in Hoodoo and Conjure.

Visit the Professor’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Giulia Turolla

Lecture & Workshop Host

Giulia is an Italian witch, High Priestess and teacher in the Temple of Ara tradition (Tempio di Ara, in Italy). She graduated with honors in Archaeology and Ancient World Cultures from Alma Mater Studiorum –University of Bologna and her field of specialization is ancient magical/religious technology and culture. She has been leading circles for the Temple of Ara since 2008 and actively teaching study groups and advanced workshops since 2012. As an artisan, she also creates shamanic and magical tools focused on European magical traditions. Some of her work may be found at Bosco di ArtemesiA.

LECTURE: Two Sticks and a Gold Ring: The use of plants in Northern Italy folk magic.

WORKSHOP: The Making of Saint John’s Water.

Visit Giulia’s Profile Page to find out more about what she’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Jesse Hathaway – Diaz

Lecture & Workshop Host

Jesse Hathaway Diaz is a folklorist, artist and performer living in New York City. With initiations in several forms of witchcraft from Europe and the Americas, he is also a lifelong student of Mexican curanderismo, a root worker and card reader, an initiated olosha in Lucumí, and a Tatá Quimbanda. For the last decade he has been a member of Theatre Group Dzieci, an experimental ensemble based in NY dedicated to the search for the sacred through the medium of theatre. He is half of Wolf & Goat, a store …

LECTURE: The Garden of Death: The Herbal Lore of la Santisima Muerte.

WORKSHOP: Death in my Pocket: Crafting an ‘Amuleto’ and a Service for the Bony Lady.

Visit Jesse’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Richard Spelker

Lecture & Workshop Host

Richard Spelker is an independent researcher who has been researching the history of artist materials for over 25 years. He has collected over 1000 historical writing ink recipes including many for magical inks. He has given many ink making classes over the years, such as the San Francisco Friends of Calligraphy, The San Francisco Center for the Book and the National Paper and Book Intensive. He has a BFA from the University of Minnesota in studio arts and art history.

LECTURE: The Making of Magical Inks.

WORKSHOP: Making Magical Inks.

Visit Richard’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.

Robert Bartlett

Lecture & Workshop Host

Robert Bartlett is a world renown lab alchemist who teaches Alchemy at Spagyricus Institute located in Snohomish, WA.  He is student of Frater Albertus and chief chemist at Paracelsus Laboratories.

LECTURE: The Vegetable Quintessence and ways to prepare it.

WORKSHOP: Spagyrics 101 and preparation of the 7 basic planetary elixirs.

Visit Robert’s Profile Page to find out more about what he’ll be be presenting at the Viridis Genii Symposium.