Ketzirah haMa’agelet
TL;DR Bio
Ketzirah Lesser, haMa’agelet (The Circle Maker), is a maker and teacher of the sacred arts as well as an ordained Kohenet and Celebrant. Through Devotaj Sacred Arts, she explores Jewishly-rooted making, mussar, and magick to connect past, present, & possible future(s); cræfting artifacts for a forgotten future that is more equitable, just, and spiritually alive. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, two pet rabbits, and a house filled with ensouled teddy bears, enchanted appliances, and magickal creatures.
Come Say Hello:
Full Story
Ketzirah Lesser, haMa’agelet (The Circle Maker), is a maker and teacher of the sacred arts as well as an ordained Kohenet and Celebrant. Through Devotaj Sacred Arts, she explores Jewishly-rooted making, mussar, and magick to connect past, present, & possible future(s); cræfting artifacts for a forgotten future that is more equitable, just, and spiritually alive.
She was a member of the first cohort to receive ordination as a Kohenet, through the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute (2009). She also received ordination as a Celebrant of Becoming, a spiritual community she co-led in Washington DC from 2002-2012. In addition, she holds a BFA from the University of Miami (1995).
She is the creatrix of Eit/Aht: a Netivot Wisdom Oracle a 53-card feminist oracle deck & companion booklet rooted in the wisdom of the Netivot (נתיבות), Jewish pathways of the Divine. She also crafts magickal judaica including pocket shrines, adorable soft sculpture golem/et, sacred stickers. She often writes and teaches about Jewish magick and spirituality as well as the Kesharim K’doshim approach to mussar. In addition, she is the author of a collection of poetry, prayer, and midrash; several Haggadot, and on going writing at devotaj.substack.com.
For 10 years, she wrote and published about earth-based magickal Judaism at the website Peeling a Pomegranate. From 2008-2017 led live-streaming interactive services for OneShul, an online synagogue, and continues to lead services and torah study for the Kohenet virtual temple and monthly Soul Trait Studio mussar practices through Devotaj Sacred Arts.
In 2016 Ketzirah created Devotaj Sacred Arts to be her studio for the sacred arts rooted in Jewish magickal, healing, and folk practices from across the world and across time.
Ketzirah lives in Washington, DC with her husband, two pet rabbits, and a house filled with enchanted appliances and creatures. She splits her time between her work with Devotaj Sacred Arts and as a marketing, communications, and brand strategist.
Learning Lineage
Jewish Teachers
Ketzirah’s foundational Jewish learning took place at Temple Israel of Brockton,Massachusetts, under the primary guidance of Rabbi Bruce Erhman (z”l) and Cantor Maurice Singer, as well as a host of Hebrew school teachers. She celebrated her bat mitzvah in 1985 with Rabbi Ehrman presiding, as he did for her older sister two years before and her father a generation earlier.
Ketzirah’s experience with Jewish magick began by discovering a copy of Jewish Magic and Superstition in her great aunt’s bookshelves 25+years ago. Since then she has studied Jewish magick, modern Hebrew, liturgy, spirituality, Jewish history, folk practices and more over the years. Ketzirah’s primary teachers for the past 15+ years have been Rabbi Jill Hammer, Taya Mâ and Shoshana Jedwab. She has also taken classes at Darshan Yeshiva and Judaism Unbound as well as taking advantage of many other learn resources.
Lastly deep gratitude to scholars such as Gideon Bohak, Yuval Harari, and author Maggie Anton whose work has helped many, many people have better access to our magickal past.
Non-Jewish Magickal Teachers
Ketzirah’s primary magickal teachers include all the members of Magick Belly #9, as well as Katrina Messenger, Ivo Dominguez, Angela Raincatcher, and Joanna Powell Colbert – to name just a few. In addition she has studied with a variety of other teachers from multiple magickal traditions over the the past 25 years who taught at festivals on the East Coast — as well as taking advantage of many books and other writings published by teachers such as Starhawk, Judika Illes, and Christopher Penzack. She has also been blessed to have been a part of the Jewitchery listserve and House of Chatter, an early online magickal communities.