The Magical Technology of Defixiones
Thanks to their characteristics,defixiones are one of the most vivid, direct and well-preserved testimonies of the magic that was actually practiced thousands of years ago.
They tell us about the desires and emotions of our ancestors, about what sparked their desire for vengeance or their accorate appeals for justice, about how their magic would interact with their religious practice, about the magical strategies they employed and how the formulas in the magical handbooks were put into practice by people from different cultures and social classes.
In this course we will analyze in detail the magical technology of defixiones, joining an accurate archaeological and historical background to the unique perspective of those that don’t limit themselves to the study of magic but they practice it as well.
N.B.
This course will be offered first in a live online format. The students that will follow the live lessons will have the possibility to ask their questions directly at the end of each lesson and they will be able to buy the course at a lower price. Afterwards the course will be available at full price as a recording.
The live lessons:
January (2024), Saturday 13th; 2 pm EST
January (2024) Saturday 27th; 2 pm EST
(each lesson will last approximately 2h and a half).
What you will find:
- Topics of lesson 1:
- what are defixiones;
- the historical roots of their magical technology;
- the practitioners that used them;
- places of deposition (common and uncommon);
- reconstructing the ritual process;
- Q&A
- Topics of lesson 2:
- writing tricks and strategies;
- figures and charakteres;
- the use of dolls, sacrifices and magical materia;
- gestures and spoken formulas;
- spirits and deities;
- the defixiones and the magical handbooks (a comparison with the formulas from PGM and other collections);
- Q&A;
- access to a private forum where you will be able to submit your question for the live Q&A sessions and get in touch with other students
Learn with me
Giulia Turolla
Giulia is a contemporary witch, High Priestess and teacher in the Tempio di Ara tradition.
She graduated with honors in Classical Letters and Archaeology and Cultures of the Ancient World from Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna.
Her personal path focuses on the practice of Witchcraft as an indigenous form of shamanism and aims to rediscover and rebuild the Sacred Net that binds us to the Spirits and the Gods of the place we live in.
As a researcher of European Witchcraft and magic in the Ancient World, she has participated to many conferences and events, both national and international.
About the Instructor
