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María Lionza is a folk saint and the central figure in the most widespread new religious movement in Venezuela. The cult of María Lionza, like many other African diaspora religions, is a blend of African, indigenous, and Catholic beliefs. She is revered as a goddess of nature, love, peace and harmony. She has followers throughout Venezuelan society, from small rural villages to Caracas, where a monumental statue stands in her honor.

According to the main legend, María Lionza was born in the 15th–16th century as the daughter of an indigenous chief from the region of Yaracuy. Her father sent her to live in the Sorte mountain. One day, while she was by the river, an anaconda attacked and devoured her. From within the serpent, María Lionza begged the mountain for help. The mountain agreed, María Lionza thus disintegrated and merged with Sorte mountain. María Lionza is sometimes portrayed as an indigenous woman and sometimes as pale-skinned with green eyes, usually surrounded by animals. She is often depicted naked riding a tapir.

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Stele of Revealing

• ... that the Stele of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu was translated by Alan Gardiner for Aleister Crowley?
• ... that The Key to the Tarot was plagiarized by L. W. de Laurence?
• ... that the salamander on the King of Wands is an emblem of fire?
• ... that the decan Ip-Djes provokes war and carnage?
• ... that the occult horror film Rosemary's Baby may have led to an increase in religious fundamentalism?
• ... that most Muslims consider followers of the Baháʼí Faith to be apostates?
• ... that the Sefer HaRazim has rituals to facilitate healing?
• ... that guitarist Jimmy Page once owned Boleskine House?

This month in history Angeline Tubbs 1 August - Occultist Edward Kelley is born. (1555) 1 August - Witchfinder Margaret Aitken is exposed as a fraud. (1597) 4 August - Scottish nobleman William II de Soules is brought before the Black Parliament on charges of treason. (1320) 10 August - Astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel determines Sirius has an unseen companion. (1844) 12 August - Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins dies of tuberculosis. (1647) 16 August - Angeline Tubbs, the Witch of Saratoga, dies. (1856) 18 August - French priest Urbain Grandier is convicted of "magic, maleficence, and possession." (1634) 19 August - Five people are executed in the Salem Witch Trials. (1692) 19 August - Occultist and author Damien Echols is freed from prison after making an Alford Plea. (2011) 21 August - A Voodoo ceremony turns into a violent rebellion sparking the Haitian Revolution. (1791) 25 August - Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible is born. (1530) 25 August - Galileo Galilei demonstrates his telescope to Venetian lawmakers. (1609) 25 August - The occult horror film The Ninth Gate premiers in Spain. (1999) 29 August - Lilias Adie dies in prison, accused of witchcraft. (1704) 29 August - Austrian painter Christoph Haizmann visits a church in Pottenbrunn seeking an exorcism. (1677) 31 August - Mary Ann Nicholas is murdered, the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims. (1888)

Featured image The Grimoire of Sigil Magic is a modern grimoire of ritual magic which focuses on techniques involving sigil and talismanic magic. The book was a collaborative effort written by Travis McHenry, Damien Echols, and Lorri Davis. The book was initially published by Bloodstone Studios in late 2024 as a companion to the Echols Sigil Oracle, a deck of oracle cards which uses the same sigils as are found in the book. The first edition is a hardcover book bound in red linen with a matte black metallic sigil embossed on the cover and the title embossed on the spine. The initial print run of 700 copies sold out almost immediately. Photo credit: Travis McHenry (More Images)

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