“Not on the thorn, not on the bush, not on the stone, not on the tree, but in the field under the walnut tree!” – there are countless oral charms recorded under this general formula as being chanted by Balkan witches with the dual purpose of loosening the bonds between their souls and bodies, as well as those of their victims. Mirroring initiations into witchcraft, in which the witch’s soul is torn apart, its humanity shred and transformed, bonded with new souls from allied plants, animals, spirits, and patrons—oral charms, rituals, and sorcerous techniques for spirit or night flight frequently refer to the trees, plants, and spirits thought to rule the ability to disjoin spirit from flesh. Trees like the walnut, willow, elder, and pear—all feared for their links to fairies, night hags, and demons—emerge within these rites as the protectors of witches and the snares of those they vampirize for fertility, luck, prosperity, and vitality. This presentation, drawing on ethnographic scholarship and years of personal study, will consider some of the legends and understandings of night flight and witchcraft within the Balkans, while also exploring a sample of attested techniques for its use, the capture of other spirits, and the pulling forth of the souls of the sleeping into fetishes for manipulation.
 
About the Presenter:
Katarina Pejović is a PhD Candidate at the University of Toronto. Her SSHRC-funded research examines the legends and grimoires of the sorcerer saint Cyprian of Antioch. In addition to her work on St. Cyprian, she writes on various topics including grimoire history, folk Christianity, Western occultism, and traditions of divination, witchcraft, and magic in Eastern Europe. She has presented at numerous international academic and occult conferences, including at the International Association for Comparative Mythology, Viridis Genii Symposium, and the Magickal Women Conference, and has published with peer-reviewed academic journals and occult publishing houses alike. Her lifelong passion for the unique folklore, sorcery, and spirits of the Balkans forms the roots of her personal praxis; watered by ancestral veneration, enflamed by Quimbanda and dragon-fire, and nourished with an endless curiosity of mystery.
 
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