Sean Noyce

As a complement to my painting, Proserpina, I conducted a ritualistic performance titled A Message to Proserpina with Katya Usvitsky that conjured the spirit of the ancient Roman deity of the same name. The performance was set in motion on October 30, 2018, at Temple University, Rome, and lasted approximately 15 minutes.

A Message for Proserpina began by consecrating a magic circle about 9 feet wide around Proserpina with five candles at each of the four corners: red, yellow, blue, green and white in the center.

As Katya and I began the ritual, we lit a candle and a small stick of burning incense and held the consecrated seal of Proserpina, while and staring intently into it. We then began the intoning of the name of Proserpina, letter-by-letter, starting with the first letter, proceeding until the name was fully expressed. We performed this three times.

Afterward we blindfolded ourselves and meditated for approximately 10 minutes while seeking a connection with the spirit of Proserpina.

We then removed our blindfolds and used the white candle at the center of the magic circle to drip hot molten wax into a glass of water. Katya and I then interpreted our findings from the shapes expressed.

Once we came to a consensus, we then read our findings aloud. Once completed, we extinguished the candle and incense and closed the circle.