Hello Friends
The December solstice approaches and with it the season of Yuletide, a time charged with a multitude of meanings and memories for many of us. The winter sun hangs low at these northern latitudes while the moon rides high in the sky.
On clear nights I’ve been experimenting with using moonlight to make photographic prints, a little artistic side project. I use cyanotype paper onto which I place shells, stones and other found objects. These need to be bathed in moonlight for many hours in order for the exposure to work. The process creates some interesting distorted shapes and, as in this example, the paper also reacts with night time rain when it falls.
My main art project right now is preparing for The Order of the Sun and Moon exhibition which takes place in St Ives, Cornwall next year. Neil Scott, Kate Southworth, Greg Humphries and I are the members of the Order, the name of which is taken from an essay by occultist and artist Ithell Colquhoun. Colquhoun, like many surrealist artists, was a great fan of using natural and automatic processes in her art, I like to think she might have enjoyed my experiments with moonlight, rain and photoreactive paper.
The Order of the Sun and Moon exhibition, runs from Imbolc, the 1st of February, until the 13th. The show includes a day of lectures and performance by some of the leading scholars of Colquhoun’s oeuvre. We’ll also have some examples of her art on show in the gallery alongside our own work, which is a real honour and delight. Colquhoun’s art can also be seen at another gallery in town from the 1st of February to the 5th of May.
I’d love it if you could join us, for our opening on the 1st, the talks on the 2nd, or perhaps for one of the Dreamachine sessions we’re offering. For full details please check out our website.
Meanwhile, over the last few months I’ve been focused on writing. I’m about 40,000 words into my new book, which I hope means I can have the first draft completed by the end of this month. That’s my plan anyhow, as next year is already full of many cool things. Here are some of them in case you’d like to join me.
Opening the New Year – Workshop, 07 Jan, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Magical methods for welcoming in 2025, cleansing and banishing the old to make room for the new.
Scrying Skills – Workshop, 14 Jan, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Learn the art of seeing visions in a crystal ball, black mirror or a flickering candle flame.
The Beastly Prophet; Aleister Crowley and Thelemic Magick – Talk, 27 Jan, doors open at 6:30pm and talk starts at 7pm, at Viktor Wynd’s Museum, London. A deep dive into the story of the most notorious occultist of the 20th century, tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil’s Botany Absinthe.
The Order of the Sun and Moon, Third Exhibition. 1st Feb – 13th Feb, St Ives, Cornwall.
British Folk Magic – Workshop, 20 Feb, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Charms and spells from an array of British folk magic traditions, in theory and practice.
The Magical Body – Talk, 18 Feb, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Chakras, auras, meridians and medical astrology are just some of the approaches to the magical body that I’ll be exploring in this lecture.
Ghost in the Machine: Spirit Technology – Talk, 2 Mar, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. 19:00-20:30 UK time. There are unseen forces in the world, invisible radiations that carry information between minds. This is how your phone works, and the history of this and many other technologies are rooted in occultism.
(The two talks above are with The College of Psychic Studies. Details of these and other lectures, workshops, in person teaching and ceremony will be upload here soon!)
The Thoth Tarot of Aleister Crowley & Frieda Harris – Workshop, 2 & 9 Mar, 7 – 9pm EST. Online and Delayed Viewing.
Baphomet Magic – Workshop, 13 & 20 Mar, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing.
Sigil Magic in Theory and Practice – Workshop, 23 & 30 Mar, 7 – 9pm EST. Online and Delayed Viewing.
Psychotropics and the Western Magical Tradition – Talk, 03 Apr 2025, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing.
…and then it’s Breaking Convention, the largest and most diverse conference on psychedelic consciousness in Europe at The University of Exeter, 17- 19 April. Sign up to the Breaking Convention newsletter to be notified about tickets, the call for contributors and more.
There’s much more deliciousness planned for later in 2025, please keep your eye on my social media for details.
And that other little side project, started during the pandemic, My Magical Thing is still ongoing on my Youtube channel, enjoy!
I hope my friends in the northern hemisphere will be able to successfully navigate this dark time as we turn towards the within. The winter can be a difficult period for many of us so let’s keep the Yule fire burning bright this season as we rest, regenerate and renew ourselves for the wild and weird year ahead.
Sending you Seaons’s greetings and many blessings from sunny Devon!
Julian
XxX
