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Summary - click on links to go to full details:
- Wicca Today - Changes, Evolutions and Practicalities: An Informal Lecture with Anecdotes and Q&A, Mon 5 Jan, London
- Montague Summers: Occultist, Catholic, Witch-Hater, Fri 9 Jan, London
- Herbal Folk Magic: Potions, Brews, Sachets, Poppets: Intensive One-Day Course, Sat 10 Jan, London
- Ritual of Protection, Sun 11 Jan, Hill of Tara, Ireland
- The Gods of the Witches: Divinity, Worship, Ritual and Transgression, Mon 12 Jan, London
- Some Secret Place: Ritual Evening for Pagans, Thu 15 Jan, London
- The Unwitting Separation of Humans from the Natural World, and the Consequences for Our Health, Fri 16 Jan, Oxford
- Thelema Intensive: The Magical System of Aleister Crowley: I of III: The Way of Thelema, Sat 17-Sun 18 Jan, London
- Tarot Foundation Course: Eight Week Course on Monday Evenings, begins Mon 19 Jan, London
- Some Secret Place: Ritual Evening for Pagans, Thu 22 Jan, London
- The Gorsedd of Rhiannon, Sun 25 Jan, The White Horse, Uffington, Oxon/Berks border
- Greyhound Action Protest, Sun 25 Jan, London
- Ghouls, Demons and Vampires from Malaysia & the Philippines: ... And How to Deal with Them, Wed 28 Jan, London
- An Assault on Childhood? Illuminating Modernity's Troubled Relationship with Childhood Experience, Fri 30 Jan, Oxford
- Awaken the Bard Within Dayschool, Sat 31 Jan, Bath
- Bards of the Lost Forest Imbolc ritual, Sat 31 Jan, Lickey Hills, near Birmingham
Monday 5 January 2009
WICCA TODAY - CHANGES, EVOLUTIONS AND PRACTICALITIES: An Informal Lecture with Anecdotes and Q&A
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Christina Oakley Harrington
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
Solitary witchcraft, or 'Wicca for One', is a branch and outgrowth of initiatory Wicca, a path which really has come into its own over the past 20 years. This talk opens up the Wicca religion's deities, rituals, ethics, magic, worship, and some particular challenges. Christina will elucidate some of the more unusual features of Wicca, those parts of it that challenges common assumptions about the very word 'religion': What is divinity in Wicca? What is it to worship? What is the nature of the body, and what are attitudes to sexuality? What does priesthood mean in Wicca? After the talk there will be an period for questions and answers, so do bring all your queries and 'I-always-wondered' thoughts. Whether your interest is academic, curious, or if you are a Wiccan yourself - you are warmly welcome.
Christina Oakley Harrington speaker has been a Wiccan for almost 20 years, and has worked as a solitary as well as in the initiatory tradition. In the early 1990s she edited Pagan Dawn, the journal of the Pagan Federation, and is occasionally involved in interfaith meetings. She has a doctorate in history, and has lectured in medieval religious history and in the history of belief; for a while she even taught church history to trainee Roman Catholic priests. This talk is presented in response to popular request. Places limited.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Friday 9 January 2009
MONTAGUE SUMMERS: Occultist, Catholic, Witch-Hater
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Dr Juliette Wood (Cardiff)
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
Introducing Montague Summers (1888-1948), one of the 20th century's greatest eccentric occultists. Tonight is a romping and informative night on the Englishman who translated the Hammer of Witches, who dressed as a Christian bishop, who lived with his boyfriend in Twickenham, who performed private pseudo-catholic rites, and who claimed to have dabbled in the black arts as a youth in Oxford. Montague Summers believed that the people persecuted in the witch hunts had really been satanic devotees, members of an evil cult. One can only wonder what he would have made of Wicca.
Juliette Wood is one of Britain's leading experts on myth and folklore. A Director of the Folklore Society, London, she is also an associate lecturer in the School of Welsh Cardiff University . A regular contributor to TV and radio, she is the author of several books on Celtic myth and legend, such as The Celts: Life, Myth and Legend (Duncan Baird 2003) and The Rose and the Thistle: Essays on the Culture of Late Medieval and Renaissance Scotland (Tuckwell Press). Her most recent book is Eternal Chalice: The Enduring Legend of the Holy Grail (IB Tauris, 2008).
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Saturday 10 January 2009
HERBAL FOLK MAGIC: Potions, Brews, Sachets, Poppets: Intensive One-Day Course
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Sorry, sold out.
Paul Wood (Wood-Moss Herbals)
12 noon - 5.45 pm. £30.
Herbal preparations are an integral part of natural magic, cunning witchcraft and folk magic. This workshop provides a hands-on environment to make bath salts, sachets, special teas, and herbal potions that you can use yourself, or give to another. The underlying structure of Western magic, that of planetary correspondences, is outlined in brief, and handouts are given. Purposes of herbal magic include: house protection, good luck, love, prosperity, success, and spiritual attainment.
This is a perfect place to learn to make preparations at home, for use in daily life. In the course of the day, each person will mix three items to take away, and hands-on practice is at the core of the activities. All of Treadwell’s herbal supplies will be on sale at 10% off on the day (for those attending the workshop). Registration is taking place now, and places are limited.
Paul Wood is half of Wood-Moss Herbals, historical incense and herbal product makers.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Sunday 11 January 2009
RITUAL OF PROTECTION
Hill of Tara, Ireland
The next “Ritual of Protection” for and on Tara will be at 8pm on the Full Moon, Sunday 11 January 09, eight days before the Sun enters Aquarius. This is an Eclipsed Moon but it will not be visible from Ireland. We will start our ceremony by 8ish and finish by ten. Meet on the gravel patch beside the Rath of the Synods at 8pm. We will use our native Celtic Irish language during this ceremony with explanations in English. All are welcome to attend this free and open ritual ceremony on Tara.
Website
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Monday 12 January 2009
THE GODS OF THE WITCHES: Divinity, Worship, Ritual and Transgression
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Christina Oakley Harrington
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
This talk is a sequel to that on 5th January. This time Christina Oakley Harrington turns to focus on the Wiccan understanding of the divine and spiritual forces, and how the tradition, including in the solitary path, transmits the ideas of what is sacred and how it should be worshipped. What are witches doing when they do a ritual, and what does a Wiccan ritual aim to do? What does it worship and how can it be both religious and magical simulaltaneously? The speaker asserts that Wicca's religious tenets are more challenging, perhaps even radical, than people realise nowadays. Tonight's talk reveals how, and what she thinks this can mean for society as well as for witches themselves.
Once again, there is ample time provided at the end for questions and discussion. This is a talk for people who are exploring Wicca as well as for those interested in comparative religion. This lecture can be attended as part of a pair, in conjunction with that of 5th January. It can also be attended on its own.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Thursday 15 January 2009
SOME SECRET PLACE: Ritual Evening for Pagans
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Peter James
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
Some Secret Place is a regular ritual evening for, with a short talk discussion, meditation, and participation in ceremony. It is for people who are pagan, but who may not have much ritual experience. It is presumed those attending have done reading on witchcraft, Wicca and/or paganism, and are familiar with its general theological tenets. Group size is kept deliberately limited to enhance the personal experience - maximum 17 places per session. Booking in advance is required.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Friday 16 January 2009
THE UNWITTING SEPARATION OF HUMANS FROM THE NATURAL WORLD, AND THE CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR HEALTH
NOA Community Centre (Ferry Centre), Summertown, Oxford
Dr. Robert Verkerk for the Jupiter Trust. 7:30pm. £8 (Friends £3).
This talk will reveal the process by which humans, since the Industrial Revolution, have become increasingly alienated from the natural environment in which they have evolved. Since WWII, this process has accelerated dramatically, with a massive escalation of governmental efforts to control every aspect of natural health - the EU's regulatory model acting as the template for regulatory agencies worldwide. Many aspects of the EU model have now been incorporated in global guidelines by the UN's Codex Alimentarius Commission. These relate to GM foods, antibiotics and other contaminants in the food supply, organic foods, food supplements and health claims relating to food and food products.
Dr. Verkerk will demonstrate how the totality of incremental changes, coupled with attempts by the orthodox medical establishment to quash evidence of the benefits of natural health, conspire to increasingly limit our access to natural health. He will also show how these pressures now endanger the survival and continued development of some of the great traditional medical cultures such as Ayurveda, Unani and Traditional Chinese Medicine, which are thousands of years old. Owing to the long-term nature of these pressures, the effects on future generations are of particular concern. Finally, Dr. Verkerk will address how the Alliance for Natural Health is working to offset these challenges, using a diverse range of strategies based on good science and good law.
Dr. Robert Verkerk is an internationally acclaimed scientist with over 25 years of experience in the field of sustainability, relating in particular to health, agricultural and environmental issues. He founded the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) in 2002 after 7 years postdoctoral research at Imperial College London, where he was also awarded both his MSc and PhD degrees. The ANH, based in Dorking, Surrey, has become one of the leading non-governmental campaign organisations working to protect and promote natural health worldwide.
FFI ring 01865 407490
Trust Website
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Saturday 17 to Sunday 18 January 2009
THELEMA INTENSIVE: The Magical System of Aleister Crowley: I of III: The Way of Thelema
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Marcus Katz
10 am - 4.45 pm both days. £93.
Thelema is notoriously challenging in the initial approach, yet is a highly influential and historically important system attracting much interest today. This two-day course offers a serious introduction for those seeking an intelligent yet experiential immersion into Thelema's key concepts, practices and intellectual principles. It consists of illustrated lecture, group discussion, document examination and ritual work. Presentations will explore core deas: Liber Al, the HGA, aeons and grade systems, always explaining how it fits into the wider Western esoteric tradition and the life of Crowley himself. Interspersed with these are ritual sessions and exercises, in which the theoretical ideas are experienced. Textual study sessions will look more closely at important texts of the tradition. The tutor will make use material unavailable to the general public, including research conducted in Egypt, rarely-seen photographs and notes from Crowley’s original manuscripts. Course is two full days - Saturday and Sunday.
Marcus Katz holds an MA in Western Esotericism (University of Exeter), where he is now doing doctoral research on western occult groups. He is also a longstanding magical practitioner in the British occult community. Over the past two decades he has appeared somewhat anononymously and under various noms de plume in the occult community’s best-known journals. His eclectic contributions to early magazines include a gematria computer program in the first issue of Chaos International; visionary texts inspired by Ma'at Magick in the Lamp of Thoth; and nature poetry in the Pipes of Pan.
Note: this course is not affiliated with any particular thelemic order or any particular interpretation of Crowley’s philosophy. Further weekends, building upon this one, will follow in later 2009. Held for the first time at Treadwell's in July 2008, it received glowing reviews from those attending.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Begins Monday 19 January 2009
TAROT FOUNDATION COURSE: Eight Week Course on Monday Evenings
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Sue Merlyn Farebrother
7.00 pm. £140.
Always wanted to learn tarot? Then start your new year with a fun, intensive class to do just that. It is designed for those starting out in tarot - either with no knowledge or a little knowledge already. You will become familiar with major and minor arcana, and learn the basics of card interpretation. You will be taught the meaning of a spread, and how to read a simple layout. In addition to teaching and discussion, there is plenty of in-class practice. To sum up, this course will get you a solid start on understanding and reading the tarot.
The tutor, Sue Farebrother, has 25 years experience as a tarot consultant, and is an experienced, effective teacher. Class size is deliberately limited so you get individual attention. This course is recommended by Treadwell's. Eight Monday evenings starting Monday, 19 January. Sue's website. Register for the class with Sue directly: merlyn2 [at] blueyonder [dot] co [dot] uk( email her), or ring on 0207 503 0599. Eight sessions, on Monday nights, starting Monday, 19th January. Places limited.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Thursday 22 January 2009
SOME SECRET PLACE: Ritual Evening for Pagans
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Peter James
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
Some Secret Place is a regular ritual evening for, with a short talk discussion, meditation, and participation in ceremony. It is for people who are pagan, but who may not have much ritual experience. It is presumed those attending have done reading on witchcraft, Wicca and/or paganism, and are familiar with its general theological tenets. Group size is kept deliberately limited to enhance the personal experience - maximum 17 places per session. Booking in advance is required.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Sunday 25 January 2009
THE GORSEDD OF RHIANNON AND THE WHITE HORSE
Imbolc Rite
The White Horse at Uffington, near where Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Wiltshire meet
Welcome to the Imbolc Meeting of the Gorsedd of Rhiannon and the White Horse (Yr Orsedd Riannon a'r March Canwelw).
We will meet in the main car park at the White Horse around noon and then proceed to the area where the Gorsedd will be held. This could be anywhere in the White Horse complex dependent on numbers and weather. Recently this has either been at Dragon Hill or in the field east of the car park. We will make the decision on the day. (For those who are unable to manage the walk we'll lay on cars to ferry you to the site.) The format will be very much the BDO/TDN style of Gorsedd with Bardic initiation and handfastings offered if required. Contributions for the informal eisteddfod (songs, poems, stories) will be very welcome.
For further information contact Kestrel
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Sunday 25 January 2009
GREYHOUND ACTION PROTEST
Hilton Metropole Hotel, 225 Edgware Road, London W2 1JU
We have received the following communication from Greyhound Action:
- IMPORTANT DEMONSTRATION -
GREYHOUND KILLERS' ANNUAL AWARDS
Hilton Metropole Hotel, London W2
Sunday 25th January, 5.30pm
On Sunday, January 25th, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain (GBGB) will be holding their annual awards ceremony at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, 225 Edgware Road, London W2 1JU.
This is a yearly booze-up and banquet, where the GBGB (formerly known as the British Greyhound Racing Board) hands out trophies to their various pals within the greyhound racing industry.
Just like last year, Greyhound Action supporters will be there, outside the hotel, to protest loudly against the suffering and slaughter of many thousands of dogs caused by the greyhound racing industry and for which the GBGB are directly responsible.
We’re not going to let them get away with their wining, dining and mutual back-slapping without vociferously bringing home to them exactly what we think about their disgusting so-called “sport” that makes them all a nice living from the ruthless persecution of innocent creatures.
If you possibly can, please try to attend this important demonstration, which will begin at 5.30pm outside the hotel’s main entrance in Praed Street. Anti greyhound racing banners and placards are very welcome, as are whistles, airhorns, megaphones and anything else that makes a noise, but please don’t bring dogs.
The Hilton Metropole Hotel is situated opposite Edgware Road underground station and about 10 minutes walk from Paddington and Marylebone railway stations.
Please don’t hesitate to contact Greyhound Action info [at] greyhoundaction [dot] org [dot] uk( by email) or on 01562 700 043, if you require any further information. (Contact number on the day will be 07703 558724)
A map showing the hotel's location can be found on the Streetmap Website.
And pics of last year's demo are on the Photobucket Website.
Greyhound Action Website; MySpace; Donations.
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Wednesday 28 January 2009
GHOULS, DEMONS AND VAMPIRES FROM MALAYSIA AND THE PHILIPPINES: ... And How to Deal with Them
Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock St., Covent Garden WC2E 7PB
Janina Bas
7.15 for 7.30 start. £5.
In this talk, Jenina Bas (of Filipino-American extraction) re-visits some of the creatures and superstitions she grew up with, and puts them in the context of an animistic pantheon of demons, ghouls, ghosts and spirits – and their accompanying familiars and conjurers – that spans the Malay archipelago, which includes the Philippines.
This region (roughly equivalent to modern Southeast Asia) formed a recognisable cultural continuum before Western Europeans came on the scene. This is reflected in pre-colonial folklore, mythology and superstitions that may well have influenced 20th century Wicca and certainly continue to influence 21st century popular culture in East Asia. So.... if you see an upright torso in a banana grove should you:
· call a bomoh (shaman)?
· reach for the salt?
· call the police?
These and other questions (What are the uses of a zombie baby?) will be answered.
Jenina Bas is a vibrant, intelligent and personable speaker. She grew up in the Philippines and Hong Kong, and lived in Singapore, before coming to London. She was a journalist, editor and arts organiser, beginning her career at the art, travel and history journal ‘Orientations’. She now practices the dark arts of Public Relations.
BOOKING: Please book in advance via info [at] treadwells-london [dot] com( email) or Tel. +44 (0)20 7240 8906 or via Skype at treadwells-london. Map on our website.
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Friday 30 January 2009
AN ASSAULT ON CHILDHOOD? Illuminating Modernity's Troubled Relationship with Childhood Experience
NOA Community Centre (Ferry Centre), Summertown, Oxford
Dr. Richard House for the Jupiter Trust. 7:30pm. £8 (Friends £3).
Many believe that today's children are being subjected to unprecedented levels of pressure and anxiety, and from many different sources: consumerist and celebrity culture and their crass materialistic values, the managerialist 'audit culture', and the seductive addictions of televisual and other technologies - all of which are in turn leading to children being dragged into precociously premature adulthood at ever earlier ages. The place of childhood and children's experience has certainly been jettisoned into public awareness since the publication of Sue Palmer's book Toxic Childhood in 2006, and the accompanying 'Open Letter' that appeared in the Daily Telegraph in September 2006, and which precipitated a global news story on the state of childhood in modern technological society.
In this talk, Richard House will attempt to illuminate just what is happening to childhood experience today, focussing on epochal 'paradigmatic' issues around 'modernity' and 'hyper-modernity', materialism, technology, and the evolution of human consciousness. In the process, the contributions of some of humankind's greatest thinkers will be explored, including Rudolf Steiner and Martin Heidegger.
Richard House, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in Psychotherapy and Counselling, Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, Roehampton University. Richard is also an early-years Steiner teacher who helped to found Norwich Steiner School. He is Series Editor of Hawthorn Press's acclaimed Early Years series, writes on child care and educational issues for The Mother magazine, and contributes to a range of educational publications and peer-reviewed psychotherapeutic journals. His books include Therapy Beyond Modernity (Karnac, 2003), and (as co-edior) Against and For CBT (PCCS Books, 2008). Through his campaigning work with 'Open EYE', he was recently chosen by the London Evening Standard as one of London's 1,000 'most influential people'. With Sue Palmer, he co-orchestrated the two Daily Telegraph Open Letters on 'toxic childhood' and 'play' in autumn 2006 and 2007.
FFI ring 01865 407490
Trust Website
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Saturday 31 January 2009
AWAKEN THE BARD WITHIN DAYSCHOOL
St Marks Community Centre, Widcombe, Bath
1pm-4pm. £30/20 concs.
Every one has a story to tell, but can you tell it? Do you get tongue-tied or terrified speaking in public? Do you wish you were more eloquent? Able to entertain friends, family, even a paying audience? Tap into your creative potential today! There are few things more satisfying than saying what you mean and meaning what you say in an engaging, articulate way. We all need to express ourselves. We all deserve to be heard, our stories to be told. We all should have a chance to shine … well, this is it! Kevan Manwaring, author of The Bardic Handbook and professional storyteller will share his skills and knowledge as a 21st Century bard. Winner of the Bardic Chair of Bath, he teaches a storytelling course for the University of Bath, and creative writing for the Open University. The day will consist of a
mixture of practical activities, discussion, feedback, & fun! The atmosphere will be informal and encouraging, the tutor supportive and informative. There will be some gentle voice and movement exercises
(within your capacity). Information sheets will be handed out, but bring pen & paper for making notes, and some water. No previous experience necessary.
Tel: 01225 334204. bard [at] tallyessin [dot] com( Email). Website.
Supported by The Druid Network
Awaken the Bard Within participants, Alternatives, London, Spring 08:
‘Absolutely loved it! Do want to carry it on.’
‘I really enjoyed the workshop. The whole day was lovely.’
‘I loved the whole day. It was fun and inspiring.’
‘A most enjoyable workshop. Hope you can host more like this in London.’
‘Very interesting – loved the way you led us through the build up!!!’
‘Excellent workshop…Enjoyed this a lot.’
‘Great fun – especially the community performance...Ceridwen is a Goddess!’
Tallyessin: awaken the bard within.
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Saturday 31 January 2009
BARDS OF THE LOST FOREST IMBOLC RITUAL
Warren Lane visitors' centre in the Lickey Hills, near Birmingham
Meeting 2pm.
Stout footwear and outdoor clothing essential, children welcome.
bryn.colvin [at] blueyonder [dot] co [dot] uk( Email Bryn) for further information.
