Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture at our museum – tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil’s Botany Absinthe
Bar open at 6:30pm and lecture starts at 7pm
The contemplation of mortality is an intrinsic aspect of the human experience, prompting deep reflection on what, if anything, lies beyond the final threshold of death.
This talk by Sharon Day will take a profound journey into the themes explored in her book, The Witch as Psychopomp: Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross meets Dion Fortune at Maxine Sanders’ Temple of the Mother, which originated from her presentation at the Death, Dying, and Disposal Conference 13 at the University of Central Lancashire in 2017.
In addition to focusing on the contributions of these three remarkable women, this talk will use their work as a foundation for a broader discussion on the dying process and the role of the witch as psychopomp. These figures, two of whom were and are occult luminaries, offer unique perspectives on guiding souls through death, comforting the dying, and supporting the bereaved.
Her discussion will explore how Dr Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s pioneering work in the 1950s on the dying process and her development of the Five Stages of Grief has shaped contemporary end-of-life care and inspired others, from hospice care professionals to occultists, to embrace the role of a psychopomp.
In her work, Through the Gates of Death, occult luminary Dion Fortune provides a spiritual framework for understanding the Soul’s final journey.
The insights of Dr Kübler-Ross and Dion Fortune influenced Maxine Sanders, a prominent figure in contemporary witchcraft and one of the founders of the Alexandrian Witchcraft tradition, and it is this nexus that dovetails her more than forty years discreetly serving as a psychopomp and counsellor to the dying and bereaved.
Through these discussions, the talk will illuminate the enduring and evolving role of the psychopomp in human society, exploring how the act of guiding souls and supporting the dying process continues to be a vital, though often hidden, part of spiritual and end-of-life practices.
THE SEASON OF THE WITCH
This event is part of The Last Tuesday Society’s Season of the Witch series of lectures & workshops running in conjunction with our autumn/winter exhibition: Four Witches and a Warlock. For a full list of events in The Season of the Witch series, please see https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/the-season-of-the-witch-3426299
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sharon Day is an initiated Alexandrian priestess who has led the Coven of the Stag King in London since its inception at the Summer Solstice 2015.
The Coven, established in collaboration with Maxine Sanders, one of the founders of Alexandrian witchcraft, focuses on the teaching and training of both new initiates and experienced high priesthood, many of whom hail from multiple countries.
Beyond her role within the Coven, Sharon is the founder of Rose Ankh Publishing Ltd www.roseankhpublishing.com, a niche occult publishing house dedicated to the preservation of the legacies of magical luminaries. She has also curated an online historical archive www.alexandrianwitchcraft.org, which serves as a research resource on the Alexandrian witchcraft tradition.
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Devil’s Botany is the UK’s first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society’s Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar. Celebrating spirit’s connection to art, literature & mixology, Devil’s Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.
We are unable to give refunds for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances
