Henna: Herstory, Ritual & Magickal Uses

In this virtually hands-on presentation, we will dive into the herstory and significance of the henna plant (Lawsonia inermis), native to many African, Indo-Pak and SWANA (decolonial term for the Middle East / SW Asian + N African) regions. We will be looking at its dyeing and medicinal herbal properties as historically used by women for millennia in ritual, gatherings and ceremonial rites. We will discuss the cultural significance of henna in today’s world before exploring how it could be used ritually in the context of witchcraft/occult applications. Recipes, resources and demonstrations of basic application techniques will help all in attendance get started. Bint has been working with the henna plant for over 20 years, both as a professional artist and in the recent decade–ritually.

About the Presenter:

Bint is an interdisciplinary folk artist, witch-mage and experimental musician exploring contemporary applications of traditional esoteric + cultural technologies. Her most recent work uses folk crafts, sound and astrological magic to create multimedia talisman installations. Across all mediums, her work heavily incorporates motifs, methods and materia informed by early childhood training in Islamic art as well as her Egyptian, South Asian and Moorish ancestries. Bint is also founder and podcast host of the Barzakh, a collective aimed at the education and reclamation of Islam’s rich occult heritage.

*This class is part of the General Admission & Saturday 8/14/21 Day Pass registrations, if you are interested in attending all of the events during this festival, or all of the events offered on Saturday 8/14/21, please select the appropriate registration type on our Events & Registration page.*

**Attendees will have access to this recording until the end of 2021 - class recording links will be emailed to attendees within 7 business days of the conclusion of the festival. To protect the IP of our presenters, class recordings will not be downloadable.**

***Your class link will be emailed to you in your confirmation email. If you have not received your registration confirmation email within 24 hours please email info@salemsummersymposium.com***

****PLEASE NOTE: We cannot guarantee that any class registration within 24 hours of the class start time will be admitted to the livestreaming of the class. You will however receive the class recording link within 7 business days of the conclusion of the festival and will have access to the recording for the remainder of 2021****