Join The Apothecary’s Daughter on this Vernal Equinox as she touches on the organs of elimination whilst discussing the merits of classic cleansing herbs, from dandelion to milk thistle, that encourage a lightness of being within the body and soul.
An equinox signifies an equal length of time between night and day, and is the ideal time to assess the equilibrium in one’s life: what needs to be eliminated and sacrificed to make way for the planting of new seeds.
This annual rite of spring extends beyond popular notions of detox, and is about living in tune with the seasons, recognising the wonder of weeds, and preparing rituals for self-care and nourishment.
Maria Vlotides began The Apothecary’s Daughter after completing a degree in Herbal Medicine at the University of Westminster in 2007. Having initially read PPE at Oxford University during the dark ages, she found herself hanging out with increasing regularity at the University’s Botanical Garden, fascinated by plant beds and the magic held within leaves and buds. She had a clinical practice until 2016 and has since continued to focus on teaching and writing. Her book Pharmapoetica in collaboration with poet and author Chris McCabe was nominated for the Ted Hughes Award in 2013. Visit www.the-apothecarys-daughter.com
In March 2020 Viktor Wynd’s book The UnNatural History Museum was published by Prestel, after a brief spur of delight the world moved onto other things. This is the lecture that would have happened accross the country in 2020 & will be illustrated from Mr.Wynd’s home not only with photos but also with extraordinary objects
Viktor Wynd, master of the contemporary Wunderkabinett, is back with a collection of artifacts and curiosities that are more bizarre and wonderful than ever.
For over a decade, from a tiny storefront in east London, the artist Viktor Wynd has been reinventing the cabinet of curiosities for the 21st century. The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History is now one of the city’s most tantalizing tourist destinations. Wynd first introduced his worldview in the book Viktor Wynd’s Cabinet of Wonders, which John Waters called »an insanely delightful how-to guide . . . told with lunatic humor and absolute joy.« In this new volume, he takes readers on a tour inside his mildly-twisted mind, delving deeper into his philosophy of collecting, and describing personal connections to the objects he treasures. Written in his trademark charismatic style, which blends whimsical stories with odd facts and obscure references, this book is filled with lavish and theatrical photographs and drawings. Loosely organized into thematic chapters, it ponders the beauty of skulls and masks; explores beasts, freaks, monsters, fairies, and mermaids; covers magical plants, hallucinogens, erotica, and dandies; and dips into the world of the occult. This might not be a book for everyone. However, it is a book everyone interested in cabinets of curiosities should have on their shelf.
Every year, as darkness falls upon woodlands, the nightingale heralds the arrival of Spring. For thousands of years, its sweet song has inspired musicians, writers and artists around the world, from Germany, France and Italy to Greece, Ukraine and Korea.
Passionate conservationist, renowned musician and folk expert Sam Lee tells the story of the nightingale. This talk reveals in beautiful detail the bird’s song, habitat, characteristics and migration patterns, as well as the environmental issues that threaten its livelihood.
This evening Ronald Hutton poses and answers the question of how and when the modern Western world came to have its most common image of what a goddess should be, as a divinity representing the natural world and the night sky in combination, often appearing in three forms, as maiden, mother and crone. He looks at the ancient sources for these concepts, and then at the way in which the image of the goddess in this form came to take over poetry and novels, and then visions of the prehistoric past of humanity. He goes on to consider the manner in which it became mixed up in feminist politics in the later twentieth century, with precisely opposite results among American and British radicals. Finally it asks what options, opportunities and personal choices this concept of the divine feminine provides for us.
Eleanor Tirtasana Chubb has spent much of her life exploring the curious world of the tortoise, including their often eccentric keepers and collectors, zoologists, vets, traders (legal and illegal) and conservation efforts both successful and hopeless. Her exploration has involved creation of and involvement in multiple conservation and welfare organisations, plus teaching, lecturing and attending world conferences. Her lecture will intertwine nuggets of historical trivia, stories of humanisation taken to the extreme, the characters making change, madness behind myth, political extinction threats and conservation dysfunction, among other matters. If you didn’t think tortoises where interesting, you will after this.
Scientific Monsters: Natural History, Teratology, and Extraordinary Biologies
January 9th
In this illustrated lecture Dr. Asma will explore the monsters of the modern era, specifically the natural history traditions from the Late Renaissance through the Victorian period. Focusing on the development of teratology, we will look at the medicalization of monsters and the reframing of monstrosity in evolution.
Watch a recording of This Lecture, & 100s of others, for free when you join our Patreon www.patreon.com/theviktorwyndmuseum
Medieval Monsters, and the Problem of Evil
November 15th
In this illustrated lecture Dr. Asma will examine the major kinds of medieval monsters that were feared but also “cavorted with” during the Middle Ages. Some natural monsters of the ancient period continued in the medieval, but also many demons and theological monsters emerged with unprecedented terror.
Watch a recording of This Lecture, & 100s of others, for free when you join our Patreon www.patreon.com/theviktorwyndmuseum
Ancient Monsters: Greek and Roman Traditions
September 28th
In this illustrated lecture Dr. Asma will explore some of the dominant types of monsters in ancient Western literature, natural history, and philosophy. We will learn about classic beasties like Cyclopes, but also lesser-known topics like Plato’s monster, and Aristotle’s theory of monstrosity.
Watch a recording of This Lecture, & 100s of others, for free when you join our Patreon www.patreon.com/theviktorwyndmuseum
Divination and Divination Tools Zoom Masterclass
Whether tarot cards, dowsing rods, a pendulum, ouija board… or the simple dance of a candle flame – divination is the art or practice of foreseeing future events or discovering hidden knowledge by the aid of spirit, magick or supernatural powers. Patti will teach you fun, simple techniques that will help add clarity and confidence to your divination and help open and deepen your awareness and your sight.
Patti Negri has been communicating with spirits since she could talk. She did her first séance when she was just seven or eight years old. She sat cross legged on the floor and I started asking the spirits to enter the room. She created her first chant – and low and behold – the room filled with orbs of bright light. They started in the corner and quickly began filling the room. It was amazing. She ran screaming out of the house… but had never been so excited. She had actually and consciously contacted the other side – and was able to control it. Her journey had begun. Since then she has studied religion, metaphysics, science, occult sciences and cosmologies and belief systems of all kinds and combined the truths within to create surefire and safe techniques to raise the veil between the worlds.
The Museum of Witchcraft and Magic is in the beautiful Cornish village of Boscastle, UK. It was opened in this location in 1960 and is still there today. The founder of the museum, Cecil H Williamson, acquired an array of artifacts, some donated, some bought and some that he may have made. These artifacts include a collection that were made to harm, or worse, to kill. They do not all come from practitioners, some were made in domestic settings as revenge. Dr Louise Fenton has been researching the collection of curses and cursed objects at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic for the past ten years. In this fully illustrated talk she will discuss a range of reasons for the creation of the curses, what the intention was behind the objects, and some of the stories behind these fascinating artifacts.
