Hadean Press in association with the Magickal Women Conference LLP is presenting a SAINT CYPRIAN SYMPOSIUM in London March 21.
Symposium Schedule
9:00 Delegate check-in
9:30 Opening
9:40 – 10:25 José Leitão
10:35 – 11:20 Humberto Maggi
11:30-12:15 Dr Alexander Cummins & Jesse Hathaway Diaz
12:15-13:00 Lunch
13:00-13:45 Jake Stratton-Kent
13:55-14:40 Verónica Rivas
14:50-15:35 David Rankine
15:45-16:30 Felix Castro Vicente
16:30-17:00 Closing
PUB
Confirmed Speakers:
José Leitão
The Book of Saint Cyprian and the Portuguese Inquisition: The History so Far
The contemporary Portuguese Book of Saint Cyprian can be understood as a 19th century object of unknown authorship and origin. While often tangential to this current arrangement of material, investigation into the late 18th and 19th century has so far revealed that this title can also be found on several other publications, not at all coherent with its current representative, and some of which can be clearly identified as local adaptations of other French and Italian grimoires. Going beyond these, and into the Portuguese Inquisition archives, one can find other instances of books carrying this title, as well as others which seem to be largely unknown today and which shed additional light onto the roots of this Portuguese literary tradition.
This talk hopes to expose and explore a number of 16th and 17th century Portuguese Inquisition trial records that mention either books or practices that can be understood to represent several instances and iterations of the Book of Saint Cyprian literary tradition. While not simplifying our understanding of this book, these offer a number of unexpected glimpses into the complexity of early modern Iberian magical literature and its circulation, and a new understanding of the 19th century version of the Book of St. Cyprian.
Dr Alexander Cummins & Jesse Hathaway Diaz
By Book & By Crook: Saint Cyprian in Early Modern English Grimoiric Texts by Dr Alexander Cummins:
Often spoken of as a patron of all tomes of magic, the Sorcerer Saint casts his shadow – and his shades – across a variety of specific early modern English texts of spirit conjuration. From the saint’s patronages of De Nigromancia and the Book of the Offices of Spirits, to the specific conjuration instructions attributed to Saint Cyprian found in the Book Called the Dannel, we find various expressions of Cyprian’s magic in these tomes. This talk will assess the Cyprianic manners and materials found in early modern English grimoires of nigromancy, and consider the demonological specifics as well as broader mythic patronages of the saint of grimoiric magic.
Our Book is Never Finished: A Survey of New World Cipriano Traditions by Jesse Hathaway Diaz:
San Cipriano, São Cipriano – the Sorcerer Saint, has enjoyed an upswelling in popularity in the anglosphere in the last few years, in no small part to the increased translations and new material in English on the Saint. In Latin America, the Saint has always been strong – his legacy secured by the various eponymous ‘Books of Cyprian’- the Black, the Silver, the True, etc. This talk will examine several streams of Cyprianic current in the New World, not as an exhaustive list, but as an exploration of several extant traditions embracing the Saint in various ways: from syncretic mask, to folk catholic expression, to spiritism and shamanic praxis, to patronage and ritual possession. Here Cyprian manifests as patron of magicians not solely from the textual transmission that ensures his popularity, but from the orality and practice of New World living traditions who continue to ‘write the Book’ of the Saint.
Verónica Rivas
Five Spells: The Presence of Maria Padilha in the Book of Saint Cyprian
The name of María de Padilla was brought to the Brazilian lands with European women accused of witchcraft and exiled from Portugal. This powerful spirit of Hell fitted perfectly into the archetype of the Pombagira, the Feminine Exu, giving rise to the image of Maria de Padilla as a witch with new characteristics and new powers.
In the Portuguese Book of Saint Cyprian published at the end of the 19th century by the Livraria Economica, we find five spells where Maria de Padilha’s magical powers are called. Saint Cyprian was considered among certain circles of Quimbanda practitioners as a Chief spirit, but his importance diminished until it almost disappeared from Quimbanda circles. There is most likely a strong connection between the adoption of Maria de Padilla as a Pombagira and the introduction of the Book of Saint Cyprian in Brazil.
This lecture will be broken down as follows:
Maria Padilha: a brief introduction.
The five spells: description and analyses.
Comparison between the Spanish spells and the Portuguese spells.
Maria Padilha as a Pombagira: analyses and conclusion.
Humberto Maggi
Cyprian Necromancy: Examples of Continuity, 4th and 19th Centuries
This lecture will approach the necromantic practices behind the narratives of the life and death of Saint Cyprian written in the 4th century, and how similar concepts and techniques reappear in the Iberian books of Saint Cyprian published in the 19th century.
David Rankine
Who knew the Key of Hell led there?
This presentation will explore Clavis Inferni, the 18th century cypher grimoire attributed to St. Cyprian. As well as discussing the manuscript contents, and the journey to translate it, I will also be discussing the unexpected and unpublished material which this journey unearthed that has never been made seen until now.
Jake Stratton-Kent
My Adventures with Cyprian: Divination, Practice & More
This talk will cover the writing of The Testament of Cyprian the Mage and how Cyprian influences my Goetic practice, from Cartomancy to conjuration, exploring his simple yet subtly sophisticated role in necromancy defined as practical eschatology.
And special guest:
FELIX CASTRO VICENTE
The Saint Cyprian Symposium will be held in the Brockway Room of Conway Hall located in central London. Find information about the venue, including how to reach it and its accessibility here on the Conway Hall website. The event will run from 9:00am to 5:00pm sharp.
Conway Hall (Brockway Room)
25 Red Lion Square | London | WC1R 4RL
For more information: https://www.hadeanpress.com/cyprian.
