Lexa Roséan (born May 1958), is an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and licensed

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: + . is a set of Theory, theories and Therapy, therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a bo ...

as well as a

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

ess in the neo-

Gardnerian Gardnerian Wicca, or Gardnerian witchcraft, is a tradition in the neopagan religion of Wicca, whose members can trace initiatory descent from Gerald Gardner. The tradition is itself named after Gardner (1884–1964), a British civil servant ...

Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450BC ...

tradition. She lives in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. Also known as the Supermarket Sorceress, she was voted "Best Witch in NYC" by ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' in 2005. As a lecturer and pagan writer she has authored and published eight books on spellcraft,

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

, and

Tarot The tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a pack of playing cards, used from at least the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots ...

(four of which have been translated into German, Polish and Russian). In 2015, Roséan completed her master's degree in Psychoanalysis and in 2022, certification at a psychoanalytic institute in New York City.

Early life

Originally from Miami, Roséan also grew up in Colorado. Her family became "baalat teshuva" (meaning: to return to the faith) and joined the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

community. It was then that Roséan also became actively interested in

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The de ...

the study of which was forbidden to women. At age 15, she came out as a lesbian and was officially

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

Mark, Jonathan (January 29, 1999)
Got Her Mojo Workin. ''The Jewish Week''
. by a Beis Din (council of Rabbis). In 1976 she moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, to attend the

Stern College for Women The Stern College for Women (SCW) is the undergraduate women's college of arts and sciences of Yeshiva University. It is located at the university's Israel Henry Beren Campus in the Murray Hill section of Manhattan. The college provides progra ...

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

, which she graduated with a

B. A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in English and Communications in 1980. As part of her studies, she worked as an intern from 1976 to 1982 at the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founde ...

where she studied with

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American theatre director, actor and acting teacher. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 193 ...

Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American actress whose career spanned seven decades. She appeared in numerous films. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and '' A Patch ...

and

Ellen Burstyn Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complicated women in dramas, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Em ...

Career

In 1982 Roséan began her education as a witch, initially working as a solitary, then joined the Minoan Sisterhood study group, where she was initiated by Lady Rhea and Lady Miw. She 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 Astral projection (also known as astral travel) is a term used in esotericism to describe an intentional out-of-body experience (OBE) that assumes the existence of a subtle body called an " astral body" through which consciousness can func ...

, and spellcraft, and served as the official

coven A coven () is a group or gathering of witches. The word "coven" (from Anglo-Norman ''covent, cuvent'', from Old French ''covent'', from Latin ''conventum'' = convention) remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promot ...

oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The wor ...

. In an interview on Fox 5 with Alan Colmes in the Strategy Room in 2009, asked for her religious background, Roséan winkingly uses the term "JeWitch" and refers to herself as a Magickal Consultant. She has been the subject of numerous articles in publications including ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'', ''

Voice of Russia Voice of Russia ( rus, Голос России, r=Golos Rossii), commonly abbreviated VOR, was the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service from 1993 until 2014, when it was reorganised as Radio Sputnik. Its interval signal ...

'' and ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937, followed by the United Kingdom in 1941. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on w ...

'' (Chinese edition), as well as a featured guest on television programs, including

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the ...

, ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' ''The Joan Rivers Show'',

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

, and

Fox News The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...

. Kate Walter, writing for ''

'', described Roséan as "a cross between a psychic and a shrink". In 2015, Roséan completed her master's degree in Psychoanalysis at the New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (NYGSP). The title of her thesis, delivered in December 2014, is ''Dancing with the Locos: A Comparative Study of Argentine Tango and Psychoanalysis''. In 2022, she completed her certificate candidacy at the psychoanalytic institute CMPS in New York City. She was an associate editor of ''The Analyst'', the newsletter of the Society of Modern Psychoanalysis from 2017 to 2020.Weblink
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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'' (1993/94), ''Lesbians in the Bible'', and ''I Married a Lesbian Witch'' (1995/96), have been produced at New York City theatres, including The WOW Café,

La Mama La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

Dixon Place Dixon Place is a theater organization in New York City dedicated to the development of works-in-progress from a broad range of performers and artists. It exists to serve the creative needs of artists—emerging, mid-career and established—who a ...

, and

PS 122 Performance Space New York, formerly known as Performance Space 122 or P.S. 122, is a non-profitable arts organization founded in 1980 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in an abandoned public school building. Origin The former eleme ...

. 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 The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States. The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...

's ''100 Greatest Poets'' album, and was reviewed by

Michael Musto Michael Musto (born December 3, 1955) is an American journalist who has long been a prevalent presence in entertainment-related publications, as well as on websites and television shows. Musto is best known as a columnist for ''The Village Voice ...

in ''The Village Voice''. Through her writing on pagan subjects, she is also known as the "Supermarket Sorceress". She has authored and published eight books on spellcraft,

, and

(four of which have been translated into German, Polish and Russian); she has written special articles as well as a monthly

column for publications such as ''

CosmoGirl ''CosmoGirl'', also stylized as ''CosmoGIRL!'', was an American magazine based in New York City, published from 1999 until 2008. The teenage spin-off of '' Cosmopolitan'' magazine, it targeted teenage girls and featured fashion and celebrities. It ...

'', ''

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese ...

'' and the '' ReporTango'' Magazine.

Tango

Lexa Roséan initially became interested in Tango Argentino in 1984 when she saw the show

Tango Argentino Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as ABA ...

on Broadway. But it was not until 1995, in a tango lesson taught by Brigitta Winkler, that she set upon the journey to learn the dance. In 2001, Roséan was invited to teach her own classes at the New York City dance school

Paul Pellicoro Paul Pellicoro (born 1956) is a professional ballroom dancer, instructor, and choreographer. He has owned and operated New York City's largest ballroom dance studio, Paul Pellicoro's DanceSport, since 1985, which is currently located in its new (as ...

's DanceSport. Among her most influential teachers were

Carlos Gavito Carlos Eduardo Gavito (April 27, 1942 – July 1, 2005) was an Argentine tango dancer. In 1956 he started to dance in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1974 he worked with Juan Carlos Copes. He also traveled the world with his dance company and his da ...

Susana Miller Susana Miller is an Argentine tango professional who is one of the most prominent teachers and dancers of the modern milonguero style of tango. She introduced the term ''Milonguero Style'' in the mid 1990s when she was assisted by Cacho Dante, Pedr ...

, Laura Grinbank, Cacho Dante, Pupi Castillo, Graciela Gonzalez, Omar Vega and Alicia Cruzado. In 2007 (with Kumi Ueki), 2008 (with Gayle Gibbons Madeira) and 2009 (with Sarah La Rocca) Roséan competed in the US Tango Championship. In the three consecutive years she placed third in Salon Tango and in 2008, together with Gayle Madeira, first in Stage Tango. Also in 2008, Roséan hosted the first weekly lesbian milonga in New York City's

West Village The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to t ...

, 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 teaches privately in New York City, DJs, and dances social tango.

Awards

* 2015 Rose F. McAloon Award for Excellence in a master's thesis for ''Dancing with the Locos: A Comparative Study of Argentine Tango and Psychoanalysis'' * 2019 AIT Award for Student Writing by the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis (NAAP) for ''Unconscious fantasy: Wrestling with the clown'' * 2023 Winner of Essay Contest with ''The Office'', Society for Psychoanalysis and Psychoanalytic Psychology, Division 39, American Psychological Association * 2023 Phyllis W. Meadow Award for Excellence in a Final Research Project, by Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies

Works

Short fiction

*1993 "amaizeN". In: Holoch, Naomi; Nestle, Joan (eds.): ''Women On Women 2: An Anthology of American Lesbian Short Fiction''. New York: Plume. . *1996 "A Kosher Megila". In: Holoch, Naomi; Nestle, Joan (eds.): ''Women On Women 3: A New Anthology of American Lesbian Fiction''. New York: Plume. pp. 243–253. .

Pagan writing

* 1996 ''The Supermarket Sorceress: Spells, Charms, & Enchantments That You Can Make From Supermarket Ingredients''. New York:

St. Martin's Paperbacks St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the pub ...

. * 1997 ''The Supermarket Sorceress's Sexy Hexes''. New York: St. Martin's Paperbacks. . ** 1999 in German: ''Das Hexen-1x1 für erotische Momente''. München: Ullstein. . * 1998 ''The Supermarket Sorceress's Enchanted Evenings''. New York: St. Martin's Paperbacks. . ** 1999 in german: ''Das Hexen-1x1 für unvergeßliche Nächte''. München: Ullstein. . * 1999 ''Easy Enchantments: All the Spells You'll Ever Need For Any Occasion''. New York:

St. Martin's Griffin St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

. . ** 1999 in german: Das Hexen-1x1 für jede Gelegenheit. München: Ullstein. . * 2001 ''PowerSpells: Get the Magical Edge in Business, Work, Relationships, and Life''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. . * 2002 ''Zodiac Spells: Easy Enchantments and Simple Spells for Your Sun Sign''. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. . * 2005 "Bitchin’ at the Gods''".'' In: Laura A. Wildman (ed.): ''Celebrating the Pagan Soul – Our Own Stories of Inspiration and Community.''

Citadel Press Kensington Publishing Corp. is an American, New York-based publishing house founded in 1974 by Walter Zacharius (1923–2011)Grimes, William"Walter Zacharius, Romance Publisher, Dies at 87,"''New York Times'' (MARCH 7, 2011). and Roberta Bender G ...

. pp. 231–234. . * 2005 ''The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients: A Wiccan Guide to Spellcasting''. New York: Paraview Pocket Books. ** 2017 in Polish: ''Encyklopedia magicznych ingrediencji'': Wiccański przewodnik po sztuce rzucania zaklęć.

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

: Wydawnictwo Vis-à-vis Etiuda. . * 2005 ''Tarot Power: 22 Keys to Unlocking Magick, Spellcraft, and Meditation''. New York: Citadel Press. .

Psychoanalytic research

* ''Dancing with the Locos: A Comparative Study of Argentine Tango and Psychoanalysis.'' Masters Thesis, presented to the New York Graduate School of Psychoanalysis (NYGSP), December 2014. * "Unconscious fantasy: Wrestling with the clown". In: Faye Newsome (ed): ''Modern Psychoanalysis. The journal of the Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies'', 42: 39–52 (no 1), YBK Publishers, New York 2017.

References

External links

*
92 Notable alumni of Yeshiva University, No 79
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosean, Lexa 1958 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) 20th-century astrologers 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers 21st-century astrologers 21st-century American poets 21st-century American women writers Actors Studio alumni American astrologers American astrological writers American ballroom dancers American psychoanalysts American people of Jewish descent American religious writers American Wiccans Living people Writers from Baltimore Tango dancers Writers from New York City American women poets American women dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American women religious writers Wiccan novelists Modern pagan poets American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Wiccans of Jewish descent

Early life

Career

Writing

Tango

Awards

Works

Short fiction

Pagan writing

Psychoanalytic research

See also

References

External links