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History & Practice of Geomancy 3: Mastering Shield Charts – Prof Alexander Cummins

History & Practice of Geomancy 3: Mastering Shield Charts

The fundamental act and process of European Renaissance geomantic divination, of “casting geomancy”, is setting a shield chart. So called because of the shield-like shape of the chart, this charting of geomantic influences distills down assessment of any and all aspects of the querent’s situation into a careful and stable judgement concerning how likely things are to happen, as well as offering advice on what will help and hinder one’s success in such matters.

The geomantic shield chart generally consists of fifteen (or, as we shall see, sixteen) ‘places’, not unlike the places of, say, a classic cartomantic three-card spread. As a sister art to astrology, geomancy of this sort uses the Twelve Houses of the Heavens as the first twelve of a shield chart’s places to assess the various specific moving parts of any given set of circumstances, situations, and conditions. As such, this class will carefully consider what information, perspectives, and insights can be gleaned from assessing the placements of the Sixteen Figures across the Twelve Houses.

This class will also offer some training in the so-called “advanced” techniques of analyzing geomantic shield charts, presenting how to locate and interpret the Via Puncti for considering underlying influencing factors in a reading; as well as setting and understanding the place of the Index of the shield chart for beneficial spiritual foci and the Part of Fortune for grounding the reading’s advice in practical action. Finally, this class will offer some tips and tricks on best phrasing your questions to minimize confusion and maximize helpful clarity in one’s own geomantic divination.

Bio:

This presentation is delivered by Dr Alexander Cummins, himself both a historian of magic and professional geomancer. And so, in this class, we will not only examine the historical practice of this incredibly popular Renaissance system of divination, students new to it will be taught how to consult this most worldly oracle. And even seasoned geomancers should appreciate the shared techniques and tips on exploring geomancy’s spirits and spell-craft!

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

See all the events in the series – Collection: Al Cummins – Geomancy Series

Phil Baker on Artist and Visionary Austin Osman Spare: A Live, Illustrated Lecture – LIVE

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

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

Doors open at 6:30pm and lecture starts at 7pm

Phil Baker on Artist and Visionary Austin Osman Spare: A Live, Illustrated Lecture – LIVE

Forgotten and famous at the same time, Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) is now a cult figure, much mythologized since his death. Controversial enfant terrible of the Edwardian art world, Spare was hailed as a genius and a new Aubrey Beardsley, but instead, he fell out of the West End art scene and went underground, living in poverty and obscurity in South London. Absorbed in occultism and sorcery, voyaging into inner dimensions and surrounding himself with cats and familiar spirits, he continued to produce extraordinary art while developing a magical philosophy of pleasure, obsession, and the subjective nature of reality.

Phil Baker’s groundbreaking biographical study offers wide-ranging insights into Spare’s art, mind and world, reconnecting him with the mainstream art history that ignored him and exploring his parallel London; a bygone place of pub pianists, twentieth-century alchemists and gigantic owls.

Richly readable and illuminating, it takes us deep into the strange inner world that this most enigmatic of artists inhabited, shedding new light while allowing just a few shadowy corners to flourish unspoiled.

Phil Baker

Phil Baker’s books include Austin Osman Spare, The Dedalus Book of Absinthe, a biography of Dennis Wheatley, The Devil is a Gentleman, and critical works on Samuel Beckett and William Burroughs. He lives in London

We are unable to give refunds for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances

Devil’s Botany is London’s first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society’s Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar.

Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth, with Cathi Unsworth – LIVE

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

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

Doors open at 6:30pm and lecture starts at 7pm

Season of the Witch: The Book of Goth, with Cathi Unsworth – LIVE

As Margaret Thatcher enters 10 Downing Street, a handful of bands born of punk – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and the Cure – find a way to distil the dissonance and darkness of the shifting decade into a new form of music. Pushing at the taboos the Sex Pistols had unlocked and dancing with the fetishistic, all will become global stars of goth.

By the time Thatcher is cast out of office in 1990, the arrival of goth will have imprinted on the cultural landscape as much as the Iron Lady herself.

Now, forty years since its inception, author Cathi Unsworth provides the first comprehensive overview of the music, context and lasting legacy of goth. This is the story of how goth was shaped by the politics of the era – from the miners’ strikes and privatisation to the Troubles and AIDS ­­- as well as how its rock ‘n’ roll outlaw imagery and innovative, atmospheric music cross-pollinated throughout Britain and internationally, speaking to a generation of alienated youths.

A fascinating social history, Season of the Witch tells the tale of an enduring counter-culture, one that steadfastly refuses to give up the ghost.

About the Author

Cathi Unsworth began her career on the legendary music weekly Sounds at the age of nineteen, where she topped a poll to be named the Sounds journalist readers would most like to go for a drink with. Her popularity was down to her identification with gothic music.

Cathi’s previous book, Defying Gravity, the life and times of punk icon Jordan, was described by Julie Burchill as ‘the only book about punk you’ll ever need’ and was chosen as ‘Book of the Year’ by Rough Trade, Uncut and the Daily Telegraph in 2019. She has also written six pop-culture-laced noir novels and her short-form work has appeared in The Guardian, the Financial Times, Bizarre, Melody Maker, Mojo and Uncut. She has appeared on TV and radio, given talks, organised walks and hosted events too numerous to mention.

We are unable to give refunds for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances

Devil’s Botany is London’s first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society’s Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar.

History and Practice of Geomancy 2: The Sixteen Figures – Prof Alexander Cummins

History and Practice of Geomancy 2: The Sixteen Figures

Systems of divination divide the universe and its events between various sets of icons of power and potentiality. The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, the Sixty Four Hexagrams of the I Ching, even the Seventy Eight Cards of the Tarot. The Sixteen Figures of European Renaissance geomancy are no exception.

Geomancy as a system consists of only sixteen figures, each attributed an astrological identity in terms of a ruling planet and a corresponding zodiacal sign. These sixteen figures are combined in specific charts (known as shields) to render very particular answers, often employing the twelvefold Houses of the Heavens to answer specific questions, and locate deeper perspectives in the querent’s life.

But the Sixteen Figures themselves represent not only working lots of fate in geomancy’s engine of divination; the Figures are coherences of differing patterns of possibility and potential, each with their own unique expression and instantiations of events, influences, energies, and spirits.

In this class, contemporary cunning-man and professional geomancer Dr Alexander Cummins will take us an on in-depth exploration and celebration of the practical mysteries of the sixteen figures of European Renaissance geomancy: considering the messages they bring when they show up in readings, particularly considering the blessings and obstacles they can represent, as well as assessing the ways the occult virtues and spirits of these patterns of energy can be actively engaged with and worked in our spiritual and material lives.

Bio:

This presentation is delivered by Dr Alexander Cummins, himself both a historian of magic and professional geomancer. And so, in this class, we will not only examine the historical practice of this incredibly popular Renaissance system of divination, students new to it will be taught how to consult this most worldly oracle. And even seasoned geomancers should appreciate the shared techniques and tips on exploring geomancy’s spirits and spell-craft!

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

See all the events in the series – Collection: Al Cummins – Geomancy Series

History and Practice of Geomancy 1: A Worldly Oracle – Prof Alexander Cummins

History and Practice of Geomancy 1: A Worldly Oracle

At its height in the Renaissance, geomancy was one of the most popular and well-regarded forms of divination. It was the preferred oracle of monarchs and sages. Occult philosophers swore by it as one of the most accurate and insightful divinatory practices available. While geomancy’s earliest origins lie in Arabic traditions, it swiftly became popular across Europe in the late medieval period.

Perhaps the most inherently elemental system of Western divination, the ‘geo-‘ of it is understood not only as elementally Earthy, but as worldly: for it maps practically and precisely any and all events and influences occurring in and on this world, offering advice both grounded and gnomic.

Geomancy examines the roles of the planets in our daily lives, and while it utilizes the language and expression of astrology, is not dependent on astronomical measure. Our questions are answered in this familiar language of the stars, showing how these titanic forces are playing out in our lives and under our feet. It is not a replacement for astrology but rather its “Sister” oracle, and so many of its terms will be familiar to an astrologer. That said, no previous knowledge of astrology or sorcery is needed to attend or follow this lecture; on the other hand, these explorations and presentation of the art should refresh and enliven those already familiar with divination and even geomancy itself.

Bio:

This presentation is delivered by Dr Alexander Cummins, himself both a historian of magic and professional geomancer. And so, in this class, we will not only examine the historical practice of this incredibly popular Renaissance system of divination, students new to it will be taught how to consult this most worldly oracle. And even seasoned geomancers should appreciate the shared techniques and tips on exploring geomancy’s spirits and spell-craft!

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

See all the events in the series – Collection: Al Cummins – Geomancy Series

Magick in Mixology: Love Bitters-Making Workshop & Absinthe Tasting

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture. Tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil’s Botany Absinthe.

Magic in Mixology: Love Bitters Workshop & Absinthe Tasting

Harness the magical powers of nature in your very own botanical cocktail bitters making workshop. Whether it is love, luck, or good fortune, there is an herb or spice that’s been known to conceal the hidden virtues you’re after.

Join co-Founder of Devil’s Botany & Director of The Last Tuesday Society, Allison Crawbuck, for a magically-charged absinthe tasting and cocktail bitters-making workshop exploring the principles of love magic and herbal astrology.

Guests will begin the evening with a guided tasting of the award-winning Devil’s Botany London Absinthe and Devil’s Botany Absinthe Regalis. We will focus on the botanicals incorporated in the distillation process of each absinthe and explore their different uses in natural magic, herbal astrology and cocktail making.

Finally, guests will be invited to create their own cocktail bitters based on their chosen natural flavours and supernatural powers. Your finished botanical bitters is the perfect Valentine’s gift or addition your home bar magically-charged twist to any cocktail.

Tickets include a serving of Devil’s Botany London Absinthe and Devil’s Botany Absinthe Regalis. All materials will be provided for the cocktail bitters making-workshop, including a 75ml bottle of neutral spirit and a selection of botanical.

Event suitable for over 18s only.

About the Host

Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett have always shared a passion for unearthing curious tales and rendering them in liquid form. The duo are co-owners of The Last Tuesday Society’s cocktail bar in East London, transforming Hackney’s best-kept secret into the city’s favourite Absinthe Parlour. In 2019, it was voted the Best Bar in London at the 7th annual Design My Night Awards by a public vote of over 180,000 Londoners, and in 2020, their absinthe menu was shortlisted for Imbibe’s Specialist List of the Year.

In January 2021, Allison Crawbuck and Rhys Everett launched the UK’s first Absinthe distillery: Devil’s Botany located in the city’s east end.

They are also authors of Spirits of the Otherworld: A Grimoire of Occult Cocktails & Drinking Rituals, published by Prestel/RandomHouse (Sep 2021 | ISBN 9783791387147).

Refund Policy: Refunds for in-person events are only possible up to 7 days prior to the event date.

Magick in Mixology

Curepedia: Explore The Cure’s Legacy & Musical Mythology with Simon Price

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture. Tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil’s Botany Absinthe.

Doors open at 6:30pm and lecture starts at 7pm

Curepedia: An Exploration of The Cure’s Legacy & Musical Mythology with Simon Price

Join music journalist Simon Price on a journey through the world of The Cure, as chronicled in his new book, ‘CUREPEDIA: An A-Z of THE CURE.’

Over the past five decades, The Cure have created a musical mythology and canonical body of work that straddles the worlds of music, film and art, which continues to resonate with audiences around the world with their irreverent, defiant and mythical spirit.

Price’s definitive guide to the band’s past and present, paints a comprehensive portrait of the band’s inimitable legacy, politics, image and their rich cultural influences from existentialist writers like Albert Camus; Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series set in a decaying Gothic castle; to the menacing literary, musical and cinematic connotations behind ‘A Forest’ – a definitive, epically long single that has mutated over the years through series of covers.

Simon Price is a British music journalist whose career includes nine years as one of the main feature writers at Melody Maker and twelve years as the senior Rock & Pop Critic for the Independent on Sunday newspaper. His first book, Everything (A Book About Manic Street Preachers) became the fastest-selling rock biography in British history on its publication by Virgin in 1999, selling the first 10,000 copies in record time and the next 10,000 almost as quickly. It was named Book of The Year by NME and Rock Book of The Decade by the Guardian.

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, music & mixology, Devil’s Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.

Refund Policy: Refunds for in-person events are only possible up to 7 days prior to the event date.

Curepedia

Cabinets of Death: Morbin Museum & Cocktelarium

Bompas & Parr and The Last Tuesday Society present

CABINETS OF DEATH

— Death Museum & Cocktelarium —

Celebrate ‘Cry January’ at the UK’s first Cabaret of Death since 1954

Free exhibition on view 16 January – 18 February 2024 at The Last Tuesday Society. Book a table in The Absinthe Parlour for the Cabinets of Death cocktail menu.

To celebrate the launch of the new publication Cabarets of Death by Mel Gordon and Joanna Ebenstein and published by Strange Attractor Press, Bompas & Parr & Joanna Ebenstein have co-curated an exhibition celebrating the spectacle of the ‘Death Cabarets’ found in Paris in the early 20th century and the rituals and motifs surrounding death.

The Cabinets of Death exhibition, death-based cocktail menu and convocation will be launching on 15th January, following ‘Blue Monday’ the saddest day of the year, and open to the public from 16th January.

Wednesday 31st January 6PM – 9PM — You’re invited to the launch party for the ‘Cabarets of Death’ book, Death Museum & Cocktelarium at The Last Tuesday Society (11 Mare Street London E8 4RP). Entry is free but RSVP is required.

Programming:

15th Jan: Not Fearing the Reaper: A Talk on the Cabaret of Heavenly Hell with Eleanor Crook

16th Jan – 18th Feb: Cabinets of Death – Death-based exhibition and ‘Cry January’ experience open to the public at The Last Tuesday Society. Exhibition is free and located in the main seating area of The Absinthe Parlour. Reserve a table in The Absinthe Parlour to explore the special Cabarets of Death cocktail menu via https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/absinthe-parlour

31st Jan: Launch party for the ‘Cabarets of Death’ book and exhibition. Free RSVP via this event page.

5th Feb: Laughing at Death: An illustrated talk about Death Themed Cabarets with Joanna Ebinstein

The History of Cabarets of Death

In 1892, Paris’ Montmartre district saw the opening of three eerie cabaret restaurants which were dedicated to offering their guests bardo-like journeys into the afterlife. Each of the three venues presented a unique, comic-grotesque vision of death, set in menacing environments of Nothingness, Hell, or Heaven. They featured costumed characters, hidden optical illusions, improvisational spectacles, nudity, invented cuisines, and audience participation. For a small fee and a dinner, guests could experience the great mystery of the afterlife as a daunting amusement. An order of ‘‘Two glasses cholera, one gangrenous leg and two consumptions!’ were often heard at the bar for drinks, which were then served by a waiter dressed as a pallbearer chanting ‘Thy will be done’.

“To astonish you, to give you a sensation, to quicken into some sort of action your jaded nocturnal nerves, is the object of all these places.” New York Times May 14, 1911.

The Science behind #CryJanuary

Bars have historically held a significant place in society as essential public spaces for social interaction and sociability. They serve as meeting points where individuals from diverse backgrounds gather to socialise, engage in conversation, unwind, and establish connections. However, data from CGA by NIQ revealed that the number of licensed premises has decreased by 31% in the past 20 years, particularly drink-led pubs and bars. With their increasing closure, this removes societal support networks hence diminishing the opportunities for community engagement.

As emerging theories gain traction regarding the importance of crying, new perspectives suggest that tears play a role in triggering social bonding and human connections. To delve deeper into the science behind emotions, especially concerning tears, we will be collaborating with scientists who specialise in the world of neuroscience.

During the 19th century, and especially in America during and after the Civil War, supposedly, tear catchers were used as a measure of grieving time. Once the tears cried into them had evaporated, the mourning period was over. It’s a good story—too good. In truth, both science and history agree, there’s really no such thing as a tear catcher.

This myth will be transformed into an interactive experience for Londoners in the month of January. Guests will have the chance to contribute to London’s largest tear catcher throughout January. We’ll provide guests with prompts and tools to shed tears into our ‘Cry January’ vessel, gradually building it up over the month.

Cabarets of Death

The Cabarets of Death book, authored by Mel Gordon and edited by Joanna Ebenstein, explores the intriguing emergence and impact of three eerie cabarets in Paris’ Montmartre district in 1892: Cabaret du Néant (Cabaret of Nothingness), Cabaret de l’Enfer (Cabaret of Hell), and Cabaret du Ciel (Cabaret of Heaven). These venues provided chilling experiences focused on death and the afterlife, distinct from the typical entertainment-driven cabarets of the era. Despite their irreverent approach, these cabarets garnered attention and influenced other cities like New York, Berlin, and Brussels. The book also highlights the work of renowned photographers and artists who immortalised the eerie scenes and characters within these cabarets through souvenir postcards and publications, a captivating legacy that continues to fascinate enthusiasts.

About Bompas & Parr

Architects of taste; feeding minds and stomachs. London based, operating globally, Bompas & Parr is recognised as the leading expert in multi-sensory experience design, delivering emotionally captivating experiences across various industries. Originally known for their expertise in jelly-making, founders Sam Bompas and Harry Parr expanded their venture into a full-fledged creative studio, specialising in food and drink design, brand consultancy, and immersive experiences. Leveraging backgrounds in marketing and architecture, alongside a diverse spread of talents among the 20-strong team, the studio’s activations are marked by bold ambition, distinct aesthetic style and interpretive vigour that’s unrivalled among creative agencies. Notable projects include Alcoholic Architecture, the world’s first Multi-Sensory Fireworks display, and the Taste Experience for the Guinness Storehouse. Additionally, they established the British Museum of Food and authored six books exploring humanity’s relationship with food. Collaborating with brands like Coca-Cola, Johnnie Walker, Mercedes, Vodafone, and cultural institutions such as The Barbican and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Bompas & Parr remains at the forefront of innovative experiential design.

bompasandparr.com

About The Last Tuesday Society

The Last Tuesday Society is a ‘pataphysical’ organisation founded by William James at Harvard in the 1870s and run by The Chancellor Viktor Wynd since the early noughties, for the last twenty years or so it has organised a bewildering array of literary salons, masquerade balls, exhibitions, expeditions, seances, courses and of course the infamous ‘Loss; an Evening of Exquisite Misery’ – a reconstruction of Gunter Grass’s Onion Cellar nightclub from The Tin Drum where guests gathered in their thousands to cut onions and cry the noughties away. Since 2009 it has been headquartered on Mare street, in the heart of London’s East End at The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & UnNatural History, a 21st century reinterpretation of the Wunderkabinett replete with two headed monsters, shrunken heads, an occult temple, surrealist & magickal paintings, an ossuary, mermaids, unicorns, fairies and other wonders. In 2016 Master Mixologists & Distillers Allison Crawbuck & Rhys Everett joined the society as directors and took the cocktail bar to new heights as the UK’s only Absinthe Parlour. The Absinthe Parlour is a drinker’s cabinet of wonder filled with unusual spirits, from the old world and new, together in one curious exhibition of extraordinary elixirs. In 2019, it was voted “Best Bar in London” at the DesignMyNight Awards and in 2020 their Absinthe menu was shortlisted for Imbibe’s “Specialist List of the Year”.

https://thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

About Strange Attractor

An independent publishing house and collective focusing on unconventional and fringe topics across various disciplines, including literature, art, history, science, and culture. Founded by Mark Pilkington and Jamie Sutcliffe in 2003, Strange Attractor Press aims to explore and publish works that delve into unusual, obscure, and often overlooked areas of knowledge. Their work explores themes such as occultism, paranormal phenomena, conspiracy theories, counterculture movements, folklore, and alternative histories. Nearly two decades since its inception, with numerous exhibitions and books in its past, Strange Attractor Press continues its mission to celebrate unpopular culture.

http://strangeattractor.co.uk/

About Joanna Ebenstein

Joanna Ebenstein is a Mexico-based author, curator, photographer and designer. She is the founder and creative director of Morbid Anatomy, an organisation that has been exploring the intersections of art and medicine, death and culture, since 2007. She traces her lineage back to Judah Loew ben Bezalel, credited with creating the Golem in 16th century Prague. She is also a proud member of The Order of the Good Death.

https://www.joannaebenstein.com/

Cabarets of Death

Folk Magic and Folk Games: The Occult Power of Play – Jeff Howard

Folk Magic and Folk Games: The Occult Power of Play

The history of folk magic and folk games are deeply intertwined. This is especially true in non-digital games, such as board games and card games, which are contemporaneous with the origins of folk magic and share much of its worldview. Ancient games, such as Senet and tarot, begin as entertainment and later acquire divinatory and ritual significance, while designers of modern tabletop games such as Solemn Vale and Dark Gods of Appalachia consciously weave the folk magic traditions of Cornwall and the Appalachian Mountains into their mechanics and worldbuilding.

This talk will explore the ways in which games can function as ritual and folklore, with particular attention to the category of games referred to by Caillois as “ilinx” or “vertigo games”—games designed to disorient and, potentially, to alter consciousness. Approached in this context, games can thus operate as what Andrew D. Chumbley called “the widdershins dance of the sufi”: a deliberately countercultural practice by which play serves as a vehicle for transcendence and contact with the spirit world of ideas, archetypes, and visions. In this talk, the author will discuss the ramifications of an occult approach to games on theoretical game studies and practical game design.

Bio

Ludomancer, Technomage, Occult Game Designer. Dr. Jeff Howard is Senior Lecturer in Games at Falmouth University in Cornwall, where he specializes in occult and games. He has presented on games and the occult at a variety of international conferences, including Berlin Occulture, Trans-States, and ESSWE9.

Curated & Hosted By:

Dr. Amy Hale is an Atlanta based writer, curator and critic. She has a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA and has written about topics as diverse as psychogeography, occult performance art, Pagan religious tourism, color theory, and extremist politics in modern Paganism. She has written widely on artist and occultist Ithell Colquhoun, notably the biography Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor 2020) and is currently editing a selection of Colquhoun’s esoteric essays for Strange Attractor (2024) and an edition of Colquhoun’s erotic art and sex magic for Tate Publishing (December, 2023). She is the editor of Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022) and has contributed essays for Tate, Ignota Press, Burlington Contemporary, Correspondences Journal, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and Spike Island, Bristol. She is currently a curator and host for the internationally loved Viktor Wynd’s Last Tuesday Society lecture series and is an Honorary Research Fellow with Falmouth University in Cornwall.

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

Shadow over Ilkley: Modern Magick on the West Yorkshire Moors – Dr Phil Legard

Shadow over Ilkley: Modern Magick on the West Yorkshire Moors

“All those dark Victorian cellars and storm-blasted moors seemed to create a hotspot for UK magick at that time…” – Peter Carroll

The moors of West Yorkshire have plenty of antique folklore: giants, fairies, apparitions, and hermits have been enduring fascinations, particularly since health-tourism sprung up around towns such as Ilkley, where the Romantic imagination still cast its shadow over the mind of those seeking the novel therapies of hydropathy.

However, in this talk Phil Legard turns from the myriad tomes on local folklore and their well-inscribed tropes, and towards more contemporary manifestations of the weird on the moors: to UFOs, the Great Old Ones, cloaked spectres, entheogenic witches sabbats, serpentine goddesses, and the adventures of chaos magicians, psychic questers, pagans, and neo-antiquarians amidst the gorse and standing stones.

Phil’s account of Rombald’s Moor in contemporary occulture draws draws extensively on the zines and small press publications of the 80s and 90s to describe a contemporary landscape of enchantment in the heart of Yorkshire.

Bio:

Dr Phil Legard is a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, whose interests lie at the intersections of esotericism and music – particularly in terms of contemporary musical practices and subcultures. He recently completed his PhD thesis, which employed autoethnographic methods to explore creative seekership, musical practice, and occulture. He is also co-author of An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke, with Al Cummins (Scarlet Imprint 2020).

Curated & Hosted By:

Dr. Amy Hale is an Atlanta based writer, curator and critic. She has a PhD in Folklore and Mythology from UCLA and has written about topics as diverse as psychogeography, occult performance art, Pagan religious tourism, color theory, and extremist politics in modern Paganism. She has written widely on artist and occultist Ithell Colquhoun, notably the biography Ithell Colquhoun: Genius of the Fern Loved Gully (Strange Attractor 2020) and is currently editing a selection of Colquhoun’s esoteric essays for Strange Attractor (2024) and an edition of Colquhoun’s erotic art and sex magic for Tate Publishing (December, 2023). She is the editor of Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave 2022) and has contributed essays for Tate, Ignota Press, Burlington Contemporary, Correspondences Journal, Camden Arts Centre, Art UK, Arusha Galleries, Heavenly Records and Spike Island, Bristol. She is currently a curator and host for the internationally loved Viktor Wynd’s Last Tuesday Society lecture series and is an Honorary Research Fellow with Falmouth University in Cornwall.

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