CITROMANCY




              Citromancy is a divination ritual conceived by Lion Wintersea /Hannah Marie Marcus, and conducted utilizing scent-infused citrus. The citromancy ritual was performed three times in New York City at Olfactory Art Keller in the winter of 2023, and once in Los Angeles at the Reunion art space  in May 2023 in conjunction with Scent Week. Future iterations will occur.              
             
      The citromancy ritual is flexible and adaptive 
      but conforms to certain core elements
      which include: 
      • ~ Citrus fruit scent divination
      • ~ Invocation through sound
      • ~ Apocryphal narrative

      • Citromancy celebrates and utilizes: 
        •                  
      •    THE INELUCTABLE MODALITY
      • OF SURPLUS NARRATIVE.

                                                                                      

       RITUAL PREPARATION:


       
      Mandoquats, numbered flagpicks, scents and syringes
      Injecting the orange
      Instructions
      Expressions of the proto-citrus


        ITERATIONS JANUARY FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2023:

        The first citromancy ritual was performed  in New York City on January 14th 2023 at Olfactory Art Keller. The second ritual was conducted on February 25, and also served as a benefit for directrelief.org. Scent divination themes were built around the Syrian rose. The third event took place on March 18, the day of the spring equinox. Relative planetary positions were represented by citrus fruits. Pomelos and kumquats were ritually consumed. Each event included music performed by the ambient noise duo Wintersea Playboy (Finnish wizard Olli Hirvonen on guitar and Hannah Marcus/Lion Wintersea on processed accordion, fiddle and voice). A unique scent composition was created for each iteration, composed from a combination of component fragrance divination materials.

        Midwinter citromancy  flyer
        Satsumas, scent constructions and numbered citrus at O.A.K. N.Y.C.
        Equinox smells,  messages  and planetary relationships. 
        The second Citromancy ritual focused on the Damascus rose
        Experimental variations in scent divination poetry. Poems were given to participants to keep and ponder. 

        LOS ANGELES SPRING 2023


        For the spring 2023 citromancy ritual in Los Angeles, Hannah/Lion and members of the scent collective Nose Garde collaborated on the event as part of an evening curated by Halston Bruce. The “Maybe Lenormand”  deck designed by Ryan Capogreco was utilized for divination. Ryan created large facsimiles of his divination cards for the ritual participants. Nose Garde member Ana Maria De La Fuente helped to clarify, organize and facilitate the ritual.


        Lion Wintersea invoking the spirit of Fortunella Kumquat
        A card from Ryan Capogreco’s
        “Maybe Lenormand” divination deck
        Los Angeles  participants mid-ritual
        The Mother Orange Tree of Butte County, Ca,  where the Citromancy scrolls were unearthed 
        Ryan discussing the origins of the Lenormand divination deck
        A rhyme to remember
                                                                 

        S
        Still from a citrus film made for Citromancy 2023 Scent Week event