OMPHALOS MAGICKAL MOOT

2010 Schedule of Talks

10^th January: No Meeting.

14th February: Julian Vayne - Ceremonial Chemistry: the use of sacred medicines in magick.

Julian is a practicing occultist and writer. His own journey has taken him through shamanism, Wicca, Druidry and Thelema but he is probably best known as a chaos magician. So what exactly is chaos magic, and how is it connected to Julian's fascination with the spiritual use of mind altering chemicals?
In this talk Julian will lead us into the rich world of psychoactive plants, chemicals and even animals. Exploring why it is that governments, both Communist and Capitalist are dedicated to the War on (some) Drugs, we will discover the radical alchemy that underpins the magickal use of these substances. Mixing humour, academic research and personal accounts Julian's talk is one trip you don't want to miss

14^th March: Caroline Robertson - The Magick of Wicca.

Caroline is a Wiccan High Priestess who ran the Talking Stick talks forum in London for 10 years and was the co-publisher of "Talking Stick" magazine and "The Talking Stick Magickal Journal".
She is also a co-organiser (with Vivianne Crowley and Caroline Wise) of an annual series of magickal workshop rituals, the next being "The Emerald Tablet" in London on May 8th.

11^th April: Lydia Maskell - Cat magick: Working with the feline neteru-

Who were the sacred cats of Ancient Egypt? How can we work with them today?
This talk will tell the story of wild and domestic cats in Egypt and draw upon experiences from the speaker’s own practice.
Lydia has been exploring the Western Mysteries in their various forms since 1995. In 2007 she completed a course of study with the Lady of the Flame Iseum of the Fellowship of Isis. This talk brings together two of her greatest passions.

9^th May: Jake Stratton-Kent – Goetic Magic

Jake describes himself as an `unaligned pagan Thelemite'. A practical magician for nearly four decades, his focus is the grimoires and the Hellenic world. Scarlet Imprint recently published his reconstructed and extensively commented edition of the Grimorium Verum under the title The True Grimoire, the first volume of his Encyclopaedia Goetica. He is currently working on Volume Two, an extensive survey of the Greek origins and mythic background of goetia, with its roots in chthonic religion and the magical papyri.
Properly understood goetic magic is the only continuous tradition in modern neo-paganism. These origins permit a magical renaissance separate from the later Judaeo-Christian redaction of ancient magic.

13^th June: Ian 'Cat' Vincent - "Guttershaman and the Fictionals - or, why it doesn't have to be real to be true"

Stories and myth are the ground that magic, and culture in general, are rooted in. Although many magicians and pagans endeavour to base their practice on authentic historical roots, ...there are other ways... using the fictional tales that fill our culture as a modern mythology. Movies, TV, SF and fantasy fiction and comic books can all offer insights on magic and mysticism.

Cat Vincent coined the term Guttershaman to describe this perspective - an urban path based on the mix of 'fact' and 'fiction' with personal experience. He talks about some of the inspiration he has found along this path, with particular reference to the noted comic writers and practicing mages Alan Moore and Grant Morrison. Cat Vincent's Guttershaman Blog

11^th July: Professor Ronald Hutton – 'Fairies'

"Since the 1970s there has been a major revival of interest in traditional fairy lore. This talk is intended to examine accounts of fairies in folk belief from across the British Isles, and to discuss both the nature of fairy folk in the original stories, and the value that those stories had for the people who told them."

Ronald is Professor of History at Bristol University and a world renowned author and we are delighted he has agreed to speak for us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Hutton for bibliography.

Books referred to in the talk:

-Katherine Briggs, "The Fairies in Tradition and Literature" (Routledge,

1967)

-Diane Purkiss, "Troublesome Things: A History of Fairies and Fairy Stories" (Allen Lane, 2000)

-Lizanne Henderson and Edward J. Cowan, "Scottish Fairy Belief" (Tuckwell,

2001)

-Jeremy Harte, "Explore Fairy Traditions" (Heart of Albion, 2004)

8^th August: Michael Clarke - "The Hermetic Tradition"

The idea of an all powerful being Hermes Trismegistus has played a central role in the development of the esoteric tradition of the West up to the present day. The Hermetic tradition came into being in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Roman Egypt, survived throughout the Middle Ages and came back into full prominence at the Renaissance. Although having a reputation of being difficult, the Hermetic Tradition in Magic can be a clear and concise method of working with the deities of many traditions unconfined by considerations of locality and ethnicity.

18^th/19^th September 2010: Omphalos Magickal Fayre

We will not be meeting on the 2^nd Sunday of September but instead on the 3^rd weekend there will be 2 days of great speakers and a fabulous party on the Saturday night. Visit http://www.theoccultreview.com/page4.htm for further info.

10^th October: No speaker but there will be talking stick style discussion topics. Click the Discussion link for more info.

14^th November: Bristol Demons by Mike Slater: In the late 17th century a young man summoned an entity at a crossroads in Kingswood forest, it seems he got more than he bargained for. This event became entwined in a bizarre story involving possession and poltergeists, the newspapers and the Methodists.

Mike will attempt to lead you on this fascinating and occasionally hilarious romp through the backwaters of local history, from the Mangotsfield Magician to the Witch of Bedminster and the Yatton Demoniac.