About
Photo by Chris Switzer
Incendium
Ritual, 2016
Shiva Honey, Thea Grimm, Vincent Von Spohr, Ashlee Mosley
Incendium was a ritual cleansing performance that was inspired by “Malleus Maleficarum,” a legendary medieval treatise that instructed magistrates on how to identify, interrogate and convict ‘witches.’ Written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, a German Catholic clergyman, the text ledto the torture and death of tens of thousands of free-thinking, non-conforming women throughout the centuries. Incendium was an opportunity for us to reclaim the label of ‘witch.’ Instead of burning at the stake, participants burned insecurities and fears. and celebrating the rebirth and transformation that can occur through embracing ‘otherness' and finding self-acceptance in the face of degradation.
The ritual opened with Ashlee anointing attendees foreheads with gold leaf as they arrived to the venue. She then gave them small cups of ancient tea, which symbolized imbibing self-love and forgiveness. After finishing the tea, Ashlee gave attendees parchment paper and dove’s blood and instructed to write an insecurity or fear that they wanted to purge themselves of at midnight. At the witching hour, Vince began spinning fire as Shiva and Thea came to the stage. They both spoke an invocation and asked attendees to bring their insecurities forward to the cauldron to be burned. The crowd pushed forward, putting their parchment paper into the cauldron. Once every single piece of parchment had been deposited, Vince handed Thea a sword which she then lit on fire and passed it to Shiva. Then together Shiva and Thea held the burning sword and with it set the cauldron, along with all of the participants fears and insecurities aflame and attendees roared with joy