Event Category: Esoteric

An essential guide to Viking culture and traditions – Lena Heide-Brennand

An essential guide to viking culture and traditions

Vikings are more popular than ever before thanks to the numerous documentaries and tv-series that have popped up on various streaming platforms over the past decade. Us viewers often wonder what is historically accurate and what is completely made-up to make good television in series and movies about the fierce warriors and tradesmen from the North. In this lecture we will step into the captivating world of the Vikings and delve into their rich culture and enduring traditions. Fancy a digital journey back in time to explore the legendary tales, customs, and beliefs that defined these seafaring warriors? Ready to reveal what is made-up and what is true? From their mastery of shipbuilding to their intricate societal structures and awe-inspiring sagas, discover the complexities of Viking life that continue to intrigue and inspire us today. Gain a deeper understanding of the enduring legacy of the Vikings and the indelible mark they left on history in this exploration of their culture and traditions.

Bio:

Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Trolls in Scandinavian 1800’s Art – Lena Heide-Brennand

Trolls in scandinavian 1800’s art

Are you ready for a spellbinding voyage through the romantic landscapes of the 18th and 19th-century Scandinavian art as we focus on the mesmerizing presence of trolls in 18th and 19th century art. Join us for a lecture that intertwines artistic mastery with mythical folklore, shedding light on the rich and intriguing portrayals of these legendary beings. Witness how artists of the era breathed life into the different types of trolls, adding depth and mystery to their vivid representations on canvas. We will take a closer look at the artwork of John Bauer, Erik Werenskiold, Theodor Kittelsen and Louis Moe.

Bio:

Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Cats in Mythology and Culture – Lena Heide-Brennand

Cats in Mythology and Culture

Warm welcome to an evening dedicated to our feline companions and their role and status in different cultures and mythology through history. From ancient Egypt to modern times, the fury enigmatic creatures have purred their way into our hearts and minds, leaving an indelible mark on our collective imagination. In this lecture we will take a closer look at the myths, the legends and the numerous superstitions that surround these fascinating and elegant creatures and try to unravel the secret behind their prominent status throughout the ages. Don’t miss out on this pur-fect opportunity to explore the fascinating and multifaceted history of cats and their influence on our cultural tapestry. Meow-ver miss out on this evening!

Bio:

Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience

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Medieval Mermaids – a Zoom talk with Professor Sarah Peverley

Medieval Mermaids: Sirens of Shipwreck, Salvation and Folklore

Spotting a mermaid in the Middle Ages was easy. In both real and imaginary waterscapes merfolk had many guises, appearing as saints, sinners, and fantastic creatures. Chroniclers recorded encounters with merpeople, especially in the oceans encircling the British Isles and Ireland, which were believed to be home to a burgeoning population of seductive sirens with sleep-inducing voices and a propensity for shipwrecking sailors.

Across medieval Europe, fountains, pools, marshes, and rivers teemed with water spirits inherited from earlier mythologies, some of which were said to have founded royal dynasties, like Melusine of Lusignan. But mermaids and their male counterparts (mermen) also had a foothold on land, inhabiting the borders of richly illuminated manuscripts, swimming through the decorative stone and woodwork of churches, and adorning images of the world like the Hereford Mappa Mundi. Even noble households were not immune to the charms of fish-tailed women, as mermaids frolicked on royal embroideries and paraded across the heraldry of families like the Berkeleys.

Focusing on mermaids in medieval culture, this illustrated talk draws on literary and visual evidence, to offer new ways of thinking about the evolution of the mermaid. Join Professor Sarah Peverley as she draws on fresh evidence from her ‘Mermaids of the British Isles and Ireland, c. 450-1500’ project to consider the various ways that medieval people used mermaids and the complex interpretative frameworks that defined their aesthetic.

No prior knowledge of the Middle Ages is required, just a love of mythical creatures and a sense of adventure as we dive into mermaid history!

 

Professor Sarah Peverley is an academic, writer and broadcaster who divides her time between being immersed in the depths of mermaid history and lost in the medieval world. As professor of medieval literature and culture at the University of Liverpool she teaches across English and History and regularly speaks at festivals and heritage events. She has consulted for organisations like Guinness World Records, and has written, presented or appeared in over eighty TV, radio and press features. She is currently writing a cultural history of the mermaid. For more information see www.sarahpeverley.com.

Your curator and host for this event will be the writer Edward Parnell, author of Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country. Ghostland (William Collins, 2019), a work of narrative non-fiction, is a moving exploration of what has haunted our writers and artists – as well as the author’s own haunted past; it was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley 2020 prize, an award given to a literary autobiography of excellence. Edward’s first novel The Listeners (2014), won the Rethink New Novels Prize. For further info see: https://edwardparnell.com

Don’t worry if you can’t make the live event on the night – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day.

[Image: a Mermaid in The Luttrell Psalter: London, British Library.]

Count Stenbock: Decadent master of the macabre – a Zoom talk by James Machin

On 26 April 1895, the first day of the criminal trial of Oscar Wilde, Count Eric Stanislaus Stenbock, who had just turned 35 and was already cirrhotic of liver and heavily dependent on opium and alcohol, died after collapsing into a fireplace at his mother’s home in Brighton. According to Arthur Symons, Count Stenbock lived a life that was ‘bizarre, fantastic, feverish, eccentric, extravagant, morbid, and perverse’. W. B. Yeats commemorated him as that ‘scholar, connoisseur, drunkard, poet, pervert, most charming of men’.

Today, Stenbock is remembered (if at all) for his eccentricities as much as for his writing, not least his alleged habit of travelling everywhere with a life-sized wooden doll he named ‘Le Petit Comte’.

In this talk, James Machin will be discussing his strange, short life, his collection of weird tales, Studies of Death (1894), and their ongoing fascination to connoisseurs of the weird and decadent.

 

James Machin is an editor, researcher, and writer who lives in Tring. Recent books include British Weird: Selected Short Fiction, 1893–1937 for Handheld Press and his short fiction has been published in Supernatural Tales, The Shadow Booth, and Weirdbook. He is co-editor of Faunus, the journal of the Friends of Arthur Machen.

Your host for this event will be the writer Edward Parnell, author of Ghostland: In Search of a Haunted Country. Ghostland, a work of narrative non-fiction, is a moving exploration of what has haunted our writers and artists – as well as the author’s own haunted past; it was shortlisted for the PEN Ackerley 2020 prize, an award given to a literary autobiography of excellence. Edward’s first novel The Listeners (2014), won the Rethink New Novels Prize. For further info see: https://edwardparnell.com

Don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day after the talk

The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend – Professor Daniel Ogden – Zoom

The Dragon in the West: From Ancient Myth to Modern Legend – Professor Daniel Ogden

How did the dragon get its wings? Everyone in the modern West has a clear idea of what a dragon looks like and of the sorts of stories it inhabits, not least devotees of the fantasies of J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin. A cross between a snake and some fearsome mammal, often sporting colossal wings, they live in caves, lie on treasure, maraud, and breathe fire. They are extraordinarily powerful, but even so, ultimately defeated in their battles with humans. What is the origin of this creature?

Professor Ogden’s book The Dragon in the West was published in 2021 – the first serious and substantial account in any language of the evolution of the modern dragon from its ancient forebears. Daniel Ogden’s detailed exploration begins with the drakōn of Greek myth and the draco of the dragon-loving Romans, and a look at the ancient world’s female dragons. It brings the story forwards though Christian writings, medieval illustrated manuscripts, and the lives of dragon-duelling saints

Bio:

Daniel Ogden is Professor of Ancient History at the University of Exeter. His previous publications include: Polygamy, Prostitutes and Death: The Hellenistic Dynasties (1999; 2nd ed., 2023); (ed.) The Hellenistic World: New Perspectives (2002); (co-ed. with Elizabeth Carney) Philip and Alexander: Father and Son, Lives and Afterlives (2010); Alexander the Great: Myth, Genesis and Sexuality (2011); and The Legend of Seleucus (Cambridge, 2017).

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Haunted Houses in the UK – Lena Heide-Brennand

Haunted Houses in the UK

” There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy” — Hamlet.

Do you believe in ghosts? Are you fascinated by the stories of haunted places and the people who lived there? If so, you won’t want to miss this one-hour lecture on “Haunted Houses, Palaces and Places in the United Kingdom”.

In this lecture, you will learn about some of the most famous and spooky locations in the UK, such as:

– The Tower of London, where the ghosts of Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, and the Princes in the Tower are said to roam.

– Glamis Castle, where the secret chamber of the Monster of Glamis is hidden, and where the ghost of Earl Beardie plays cards with the devil.

– Borley Rectory, dubbed the most haunted house in England, where paranormal phenomena such as apparitions, voices, and writing on the walls were reported.

This lecture is illustrated with stunning artwork of the haunted places, and packed with historical facts, legends, and anecdotes. You will be entertained, educated, and maybe inspired to take a trip to check the different places out for yourself.

Don’t miss this chance to explore the dark and mysterious side of the UK. Book your tickets now and join us for this unforgettable lecture.

Bio:

Lena Schattenherz Heide-Brennand is a Norwegian lecturer with a master degree in language, culture and literature from the University of Oslo and Linnaeus University. She has been lecturing and teaching various subjects since 1998. Her field of interest and main focus has always been topics that others have considered strange, eccentric and eerie, and she has specialised in a variety of dark subjects linked to folklore, mythology and Victorian traditions and medicine. Her students often point out her thorough knowledge about the subjects she is teaching, in addition to her charismatic appearance. She refers to herself as a performance lecturer and always gives her audience an outstanding experience

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

John Kruse – The Faes’ Anatomy

The Faes’ Anatomy

The peoples of the British Isles have lived alongside faeries for several thousand years and have accumulated a deep knowledge of their ‘Good Neighbours.’ We have become intimately familiar with the culture, morals and, even, lifecycle of the population that shares these lands with us. In this talk John Kruse will examine what we know about the anatomy and physiology of faery-kind:

· How closely related to us are they?

· Can they fall sick?

· What do they eat?

· Do they have wings?

· Are they immortal or can they be killed?

John draws on hundreds of years of folklore tradition to give sometimes surprising answers to these questions- and others.

Bio

John Kruse has been interested in faery-lore since his early twenties. In 2016 he started the British Fairies blog on WordPress and has since written nearly two dozen books on the subject, including Faery and Beyond Faery for Llewellyn Worldwide and British Fairies and nine other titles for Green Magic Publishing. He has also written several books on nymphs and other aspects of classical mythology.

Curated & Hosted by

Amy Hale is an Atlanta based writer, curator and critic, ethnographer and folklorist speaking and writing about esoteric history, art, culture, women and Cornwall. She is the author of Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor 2020) and is currently working on several Colquhoun related manuscripts. She is also the editor of Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022). She has contributed gallery texts and essays for a number of institutions including Tate, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and she is a curator and host for the Last Tuesday Society lecture series.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

The Satanic Panic: Its Roots and Branches – Peg Aloi

The Satanic Panic: Its Roots and Branches

Although the recent resurrection of the Satanic Panic discourse tends to locate this phenomenon in the late 1980s through the early 1990s (thanks to a storyline on the series Stranger Things), the roots of this cultural oddity go back decades further. Of course, one could argue that the fear of Satan and all his works has been part of human history for centuries, as long as Christianity remains a powerful religious influence in the world, that fear is likely to continue. But the late 20th century Satanic Panic marked a volatile confluence of factors: an occult revival in the 1960s followed by a rise in secularism in the 1970s, and increased religious factionalism combined with the rise of right-wing political movements in the early 1980s. By the early 1990s, the stage was set for a number of prominent events that later came to define the Satanic Panic era. This talk will explore a number of disparate but often related elements that converged to create the Satanic Panic of the 1980s-’90s, including Satanic themed horror films (such as Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and The Omen), the Manson Family murders, and the rise of the Moral Majority in the US.

Bio:

Peg Aloi is a freelance film and TV critic, a former professor of media studies, and co-editor (with Hannah Sanders) of The New Generation Witches: Teenage Witchcraft in Contemporary Culture (Routledge) and Carnivale and the American Grotesque: Critical Essays on the HBO Series (Macfarland). With Hannah she also co-organized two scholarly conferences at Harvard University on paganism, witchcraft and media. Peg’s forthcoming book The Witching Hour: How Witches Enchanted the World is a cultural analysis of the witch in contemporary media. Recently Peg was featured in the documentary film The Witches of Hollywood. She is currently editing a collection of essays for The University of Liverpool Press: Women in Folk Horror: Cradles, Cauldrons, Forests and Blood. Peg was also one of the co-founders of The Witches’ Voice and wrote about film and TV for the site for over a decade, and her long-running blog “The Witching Hour” can now be found on Substack. Peg also works as a professional gardener.

Curated & Hosted by

Amy Hale is an Atlanta based writer, curator and critic, ethnographer and folklorist speaking and writing about esoteric history, art, culture, women and Cornwall. She is the author of Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor 2020) and is currently working on several Colquhoun related manuscripts. She is also the editor of Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022). She has contributed gallery texts and essays for a number of institutions including Tate, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and she is a curator and host for the Last Tuesday Society lecture series.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day

Hymns, Myths and Mysteries of Orpheus – Ronnie Pontiac

Hymns, Myths and Mysteries of Orpheus

Despite the immense influence of the Hymns of Orpheus, did Orpheus even exist? Were the Hymns of Orpheus a literary hoax, possibly perpetrated by Pythagoras? Why did Ficino, the father of the Renaissance, write that “No magic is more powerful than that of the Orphic hymns.” What were the allegedly Orphic death passports and what are the passwords one most know in the land of the dead? How did these obscurities influence, to name only a few, Plato, the troubadours, Dante, the Italian Renaissance, the history of opera, Agrippa, Shakespeare, the English Romantic poets, the Parisian magus Eliphas Levi, Aleister Crowley, Jean Cocteau, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jack Kerouac, Jim Morrison, and the current Broadway hit musical Hadestown? Who were the wandering poet priests of Orpheus and why did Plato and Euripides despise them? Significantly, how can we benefit from the work attributed to Orpheus today?

Bio

Ronnie Pontiac was esotericist Manly P. Hall’s research assistant for seven years. He’s the author of American Metaphysical Religion: Esoteric and Mystical Traditions of the New World and co-author of The Magic of the Orphic Hymns: A New Translation for the Modern Mystic, both published by Inner Traditions. He’s lectured for the Theosophical Society in America, Camp Chesterfield, the European School of Theosophy, and the Last Tuesday Society. He’s also guitarist of Lucid Nation which evolved from a riot grrrl punk band to an experimental rock group. He’s produced award winning documentary films including Viva Cuba Libre: Rap is War.

Curated & Hosted by

Amy Hale is an Atlanta based writer, curator and critic, ethnographer and folklorist speaking and writing about esoteric history, art, culture, women and Cornwall. She is the author of Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor 2020) and is currently working on several Colquhoun related manuscripts. She is also the editor of Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022). She has contributed gallery texts and essays for a number of institutions including Tate, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and she is a curator and host for the Last Tuesday Society lecture series.

don’t worry if you miss it – we will send you a recording valid for two weeks the next day