Lexa Roséan

Lexa Roséan
Born 1958 (age 56–57)
Other names Supermarket Sorceress
Alma mater Yeshiva University
Occupation Professional Witch, Writer, Tango Instructor, DJ
Website lexarosean.com

Lexa Roséan (born May 1958), is an American Wiccan high priestess and an initiated neo-Gardnerian Minoan witch, dancer and writer.

Also known as the Supermarket Sorceress, in 2005 she was voted "Best Witch in NYC" by The Village Voice. Roséan has been the subject of numerous articles in publications including The New York Times, Newsday, USA Today, Voice of Russia and Marie Claire (Chinese edition), as well as a featured guest on television programs, including CNN, 20/20 The Joan Rivers Show, MTV, Food Network, and Fox News. She is also a lecturer and pagan writer. She has authored and published eight books on spellcraft, Wicca, astrology, and Tarot (four of which have been translated into German and Russian); she has written special articles as well as a monthly astrology column for publications such as CosmoGirl, Seventeen and ReporTango.

Though she prepares spells for clients regularly, she is very adamant about her role: "I have always been clear that no one can do it for you—you have to participate in it,"[1] she insists. "I am great at soul diagnostics and prescribing magickal solutions, but the client has to take the medication (work the spell) once I prepare it for their specific needs."

Kate Walter, writing for The Village Voice, described Roséan as "a cross between a psychic and a shrink".[2]

Early life

At age 12, her mother had given her both an Ouija board and her first deck of Tarot cards. By her early teens, however, her family became (as she terms it) "born-again Jews" and joined the Orthodox Hasidic community. It was then that Roséan also became actively interested in Kabbalah – the study of which was forbidden to women. At age 15, she came out as a lesbian and was officially excommunicated[3] by a Beis Din (council of Rabbis).

Originally from Miami, at age 17 she moved to New York City, New York, to attend Yeshiva University, where she earned a degree in English and communications and was instrumental in starting a theater major. As part of her studies, she worked as an intern at the Actors Studio where she studied with Lee Strasberg, Shelley Winters and Ellen Burstyn. It was at this time that she also began her education as a witch.

"I was on my way to a rehearsal for a show called The Late Comers – and I was late – and suddenly something made me turn and slow down. I looked and there it was: The Magickal Childe." There she began reading books on the occult. Subsequently, she attended weekly meetings and took initiations into the Ordo Templi Orientis, attended lectures with Grady Louis McMurtry and Leo Martello, and received tutelage from Rolla Nordic and Hans Holzer, with whom she developed a close friendship. Roséan also became a member of the Rosicrucians, read Aleister Crowley, studied Golden Dawn ceremonial magick, and then committed to the path of Wicca. "In Wicca the focus is on the seasonal rites, and spells and herbalism; in ceremonial magick it is more on angels and demons and incantations – and Crowley re-introduced me to the Kabbalah, with an occult twist," Rosean observed. "And they are all interconnected." After two years of study at the Magickal Childe, under the guidance of Lady Rhea, she was initiated as a witch, and after two more years became elevated to third-degree High Priestess and witch.

Roséan managed the original Enchantments in the East Village (owned by Lady Rhea and Lady Miw) and was the Priestess for the Minoan Sisterhood training circle from 1982 to 2000. During those years, in addition to giving astrological and psychic readings, she also taught astrology, Tarot, Kabbalah, Wicca, astral projection, and spellcraft, and served as the official coven oracle.

Writing

Aside from her writing on the occult, Roséan is also a playwright, short-story writer, poet and novelist. Her plays, which include The Swim, The Prisoner, Lesbians in the Bible, and I Married a Lesbian Witch, have been produced at New York City theatres, including The WOW Café, La Mama, Dixon Place, and PS 122. Her short stories have been published in various journals as well as anthologized in the collections Women on Women 2 and Celebrating the Pagan Soul. "A Kosher Megila" an excerpt from her novel, Spinoza's Daughter, was also included in Women on Women 3. Her poetry can be found on the Knitting Factory's 100 Greatest Poets album, and was also reviewed by Michael Musto in The Village Voice.

Tango

Roséan is also a dancer. In 2008 she competed in the US Tango Championship, dancing with Gayle Gibbons Madeira, and placed third in Salon and first in stage; in 2009, she placed third in stage.[4]

In 2008, Roséan hosted the first weekly lesbian milonga in New York City's West Village, at the Rubyfruit Bar and Grill. In 2009, Roséan was invited to the Queer Hamburg Tango Festival as a guest teacher, DJ and performer. In 2010, as part of New York City's first Queer Tango Festival, she taught, DJ'd and performed at various venues including the Players Club. In 2012 she guest DJ'd at the Queer Tango Festival in Berlin. Roséan lives in New York City, teaches privately, DJs, and dances social tango.

Bibliography

  • Lexa Roséan, "AmaizeN", edited by Naomi Holoch and Joan Nestle, Women On Women 2: An Anthology of American Lesbian Short Fiction. Plume/Penguin 1993
  • Lexa Roséan, "A Kosher Megila", edited by Joan Nestle and Naomi Holoch, Women On Women 3: A New Anthology of American Lesbian Fiction. Plume/Penguin 1996, pp. 243–253.
  • The Supermarket Soceress. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1996.
  • The Supermarket Sorceress's Sexy Hexes. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1997.
  • The Supermarket Sorceress's Enchanted Evenings. St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1998.
  • Easy Enchantments: All the Spells You'll Ever Need For Any Occasion. St. Martin's Griffin, 1999.
  • PowerSpells: Get the Magical Edge in Business, Work, Relationships, and Life. St. Martin's Griffin, 2001.
  • Zodiac Spells: Easy Enchantments and Simple Spells for Your Sun Sign. St. Martin's Griffin, 2002.
  • Bitchin’ at the Gods: Celebrating the Pagan Soul -- Our Own Stories of Inspiration and Community. Citadel Press, 2005. (Chapter 5)
  • The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients: A Wiccan Guide to Spellcasting. Paraview Pocket Books, 2005.
  • Tarot Power: 22 Keys to Unlocking Magick, Spellcraft, and Meditation. Citadel Press/Kensington, 2005.

See also

References

External links

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