I am honored to have been invited to this year’s Viridis Genii Symposium as a presenter and workshop host! The virtual event took place September 23rd – 25th 2022. I am glad we made it work despite the 9 hour time difference. I shared nearly all my knowledge on plants and creating art with them and introduced my way of combining ritual magic with phytography. It was wonderful to receive such positive feedback both on my presentation and workshop.
Creating Magical Images of Plants – Combining Phytography and Ritual Magic
1 hour lecture + 3 hour workshop included the following topics:
methods of ritual magic, sympathetic magic and planetary magic
indepth information on plant pigments
short history of nature printing
alternative photography processes feat. work by Malin Fabbri and Kristina Feldhammer
Datura wrightii flower at Pinwheel Cave California
examples of phytographs created with coffee and plants
workshop guides through the ritual creation of your own magical plant paper talismans
question & answer on anything plant/ritual related
Workshop materials provided to attendents include:
ritually harvested, pressed flowers and plants
absorbent paper
signed print of the witch hazel seal
Phytographs created during the 3 hour Workshop:
Magnolia, hour of Venus
Fennel, hour of Mercury
California Poppy, hour of Mercury + Moon
Blue Lotus, hour of Moon
Witch Hazel, hour of Saturn
My gratitude goes to the organizers Catamara and Marcus as well as the team of people that made it all possible, especially Kim, Katrink and Prof. Porterfield. Huge thanks also to the people that attended and took part in the workshops, especially David!
I am looking forward to the next point in time when the portals open for communing with the genii of the plant kingdom.
In 2021 I reworked some designs in my Sigilla Magica series. I also continued experimenting with applying plants unto paper, by placing whole plant parts on the paper and then soaking everything in coffee and plant extracts. See videos of the process on my instagram. In a final step, the new sigils were drawn with india ink on the papers. The new series was done with Black Henbane, Deadly Nightshade and High John the Conqueror root. I created three pieces of each. I am proud to say that one edition is now in the hands of a collector in Bavaria and the second one has recently been purchased by photographer and friend Cyril Helnwein in Ireland. Thanks guys for supporting my art!
If you are interested in publishing my work or wish to purchase originals, please e-mail me at contact[@]wiebkerost.com
ROOT is the inaugural exhibition hosted by The Organic Centre & creatively coordinated by artist Sarah Ellen Lundy as part of the pairs ongoing collaborative ‘Project Earth’.
In December 2019, I finished fresh batches of “Rauhnächte” and “Winter Solstice” incense and started a new round of working with the birch’s arboreal spirit… Besides this, incense master Caroline Maxelon of Bussardflug and me began plotting a collaboration for 2020. Kicking it off, she sent me – along with a lot of powerful shamanic items for my ritual work – also her new book “Räucherstoffe aus aller Welt” (published by Nymphenburger). I was thrilled to read about so many new incense ingredients, that are not part of standard encyclopedias and which I had been discovering intuitively by myself over the past years. It feels, like my own wicked work and ‘wild’ incense formulas are now receiving confirmation and legitimization through Caroline and Christine Fuchs, who are icons and leaders in the field here in Germany. I thus highly recommend this book – both for its factual content as well as its photography.
Special edition of “Secret Ambrosian Fire” by MOSAIC/Eisenton Records
Yesterday I received another surprise in my mail – the special edition of “Secret Ambrosian Fire” by German black metal originators MOSAIC (Eisenton Records). I was asked to compose an alchemical inspired plant sigil for this record, which now adorns the cover of the digi-pack edition. Only now, I begin to grasp the idea behind this conceptual opus magnum and it is deeply satisfying to witness the fruits of our mutual efforts!
Everything points in to a new direction in my life, but it is also getting more complex, along with all these new impulses. Today I thus went to different trees, burnt some of the winter incense and blessed the new birch wood pentacle, among a circle of young birch trees, as well as at the roots of two older birch trees, which are frequently visited by crows… For me, thus the circle of the old year closed and I can now head into another phase of consolidation and start creative work again after the holidays.
Culmination: blessing the new “Berkano” birchwood pentacle in the smoke of my “Winter Solstice incense” and at the base of different trees
Years ago I began creating abstract line drawings, or ‘sigils’, inspired by nature. In these works I summarize nature science, folklore and personal experiences connected to the plants and animals that surround me. Some of these works are already 10 years old. The best known is perhaps the official Teufelskunst logo, which is inspired by the wormwood herb. Another is my sigil for the ‘black mandrake’ and the metamorphous art titled “Regina Amandrakina”, which were both published in “Pillars Periodical, The Ebon Kteis” (Anathema Publishing, Canada, 2014).
A first print edition of these works was introduced at the London “magical Art/E” event, which took place in 2014 at the old Hackney tower. Later (still self-produced) print editions sold out quickly. In follow, I created smaller ink drawings and miniature editions with these sigils. An important aspect of these drawings is the treatment of the paper, which is infused with tinctures and corresponding extracts of natural materials. In November 2017, these ink drawings premiered as part of the “Bad Intentions” group exhibition at Gallery CIRCLE1, Berlin.
“Raven King” Sigil
This is my second work in this line representing an ‘animal’ spirit. It combines mythology and spiritual lore connected to the Corvidae family.
Ravens and crows both feature extensively in the mythology and folklore of basically all continents and nations. I cannot remember when exactly my own journey with these animals started. But they continue to present me with the most auspicious magic and moments, whenever I open up and notice their ever-presence. Hence, when a friend inquired for a crow skull tattoo, I already felt a deep connection to the animal’s collective spirit. But then began a reading and study journey, for which I received some wonderful recommendations. The sigil art presented here is the quintessence of my autumnal journey with the crows, ravens, magpies, jackdaws and grosbeaks around me and their universal lore.
In November 2019 I created the first ink drawings on infused paper. The sigils are signed and numbered on the back. They come in a black cardboard box, which is also signed and numbered. Along with the artwork you also receive a 30 ml bag of evocation incense, created specifically for the King of all Corvid Folk, as well as one piece of cherry resin and one auspiciously branched “Pin of Slumber” from the blackthorn.
Totemic artwork, first show-cased at Circle1 gallery in Berlin last year. It is my homage to the great mother and queen, as she has been depicted in the form of crowned bees or half human half bee shaped spirits in ancient civilizations. She is surrounded by her servants, little bee demons.
Golden Bee Pendant, Malia, Crete, 1800-1700 BC
Honey Bee, Malia, Crete, 2018
“The Sacred Bee”, Hilda M. Ransom, Dover Press, 2004
“The Sacred Bee”, Hilda M. Ransom, Dover Press, 2004
After seeing the golden bee pendant from Malia in person, I started a new read: “The sacred Bee” by Hilda M. Ransom. It discusses the mythology and folklore of bees in ancient civilizations across the world and also features a chapter on the roll bees played in ancient Cretan life and worship practice. I am hence delving deeper into the concept behind my “Regina Bombina” and “Flower Devils“.
Wiebke Rost 