Laura Tempest Zakroff

Laura Tempest Zakroff can be described as a professional artist, author, dancer, designer, muse, mythpunk, teacher, and witch. She holds a BFA from RISD (The Rhode Island of Design) and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. As Tempest, she has been a major pioneer of fusion bellydance for over fifteen years. Her fascination with sacred and ritual dance lead her to bellydance, and she strives to help others connect mind, body, and spirit through movement

A practicing Modern Traditional Witch for over 2 decades, her early days were defined by being a community leader and public spokesperson for Paganism. Laura was the Associate Editor of Crescent Magazine, A Pagan Publication of Art, Philosophy, and Belief from 1998-2004, founder of the Cauldron of Annwyn Pagan Society in New England, and the youngest attendee of the Pagan Leaders Summit in Bloomington, IN in 2001. After nearly a decade-long hiatus from being publicly active, Laura began to write and get involved again. She blogs at Patheos as A Modern Traditional Witchand at Witches & Pagans as Fine Art Witchery. She can be frequently found touring the country, doing workshops and performances at various events and festivals.

She lives in Seattle, Washington with her partner, musician Nathaniel Johnstone and three cats: Eleanor, Simon, and Sam. A fourth cat is imminent.

Features contributed to The Witches' Almanac:

Art as Magick, The Witches’ Almanac 2017, p. 78
Sigil Witchery, The Witches’ Almanac 2018, p. 130
Embracing the Witch’s Bodies The Witches’ Almanac 2019, p. 94

Bibliography:

Books on Magic, Western Esoteric Tradition, etc.
The Witch's Cauldron: The Craft, Lore, and Magick of Ritual Vessels, Llewellyn, 2017
Sigil Witchery: A Witch's Guide to Crafting Magick Symbols, Llewellyn, 2018
The Witch's Altar (co-authored with Jason Mankey), Llewellyn, 2018
Weave The Liminal: The Path of the Modern Traditional Witch, Llewellyn, 2019

Laura's website can be found here