"Wormwood Star" is a short film by Curtis Harrington about the extraordinary artist and occultist, Marjorie Cameron. You can watch it here.
Cameron, born in 1922, led a fascinating life. She practiced the religion of Thelema (created by the infamous occultist, Aleister Crowley). She was also married to Jack Parsons, a rocket scientist and fellow Thelemite whose life story is also well worth looking into (check out the book Strange Angel if you're interested).
"Wormwood Star" shows Cameron's magical paintings, and gives a peek into her mysterious world. One thing that makes this film so special is that "the vast majority of Marjorie Cameron's paintings were destroyed by her — burned— in an act of ritualized suicide. There are very few pieces by Cameron that have survived—a few paintings and some sketches—and The Wormwood Star is the only record of most of them." [Dangerous Minds]
Cameron lived within the realm where life, magic, and art combine. I'm thankful that this brilliant footage of her work exists.
