Category Archives: Hermetic Library Calendar

Current and upcoming events for the Hermetic Library Calendar. Read more about the Hermetic Library Calendar, and if you’ve got something, send it as a submission. Also, you can look for events happening in your city and country by viewing posts tagged with specific locations.

UK Tarot Conference — October 6–7, 2023, London, UK and online

UK Tarot Conference, October 6–7, 2023, London, UK, which appears to be sold out of in-person-tickets but there is a waitlist and also a complete online offering.

Hermetic Library Calendar UK Tarot Conference 6 and 7oct2023 London UK Online

“UK Tarot Conference
6th & 7th October 2023
Holiday Inn, Coram Street, Bloomsbury

(Nearest tube Russell Square)

Speakers:
Friday: Wicca Meier-Spring, Lara Van Zuydam, Steven Bright, Geraldine Beskin, Bel Senlle and Ethony Dawn

Friday evening with your host Kim Arnold

Saturday: Kristoffer Hughes, Caitlin Matthews, Richard Abbot, Neil Kelso,

Lunchtime speakers: Friday Andrea Aste & Kirsten Buchholzer Saturday Karen Currie & Ari Wisner

Celebrate 20 years with us!! We have some very special surprises for you all!

Our Pre Conference Thursday evening dinner at the Marquis Cornwallis has SOLD OUT. There is a waiting list, please contact us if you would like to join us.”

Hermetic Library Calendar UK Tarot Conference 6and7oct2023 London UK Online Logo

Also there is a “Full Digital Experience” for those who wish to attend remotely:

“Join us online for the 2023 Tarot Conference, with an amazing line up of speakers. Get the full digital experience with private live streaming, exclusive online content, great digital community, PDF presentations, and a download at the end so you can work back through exercises and spreads from the weekend!”

Hermetic Library Calendar UK Tarot Conference 6and7oct2023 London UK Online Banner

20 Years of the Da Vinci Code — September 7, 2023, London, UK

20 Years of the Da Vinci Code: The Inside Story From the People Who Inspired It with Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, hosted by Atlantis Bookshop, September 7, 2023, London, UK.

Hermetic Library Calendar 20 Years of the Da Vinci Code 7sep2023 London Uk

“A TALK by LYNN PICKNETT and CLIVE PRINCE,
authors of The Templar Revelation
The Gardner Room at The Atlantis Bookshop
Thursday 7th September, 2.15-5.00pm
Cost £15

Dan Brown said of his phenomenal bestseller, The Da Vinci Code: ‘I got everything I needed from The Templar Revelation.’

Now, 20 years since the publication of The Da Vinci Code and 25 years since The Templar Revelation was published (with its first chapter entitled ‘The Secret Code of Leonardo da Vinci’!), Lynn and Clive will speak about the secrets of their immensely influential book – plus what Brown got right, what he got wrong and what he thought just too controversial in their book to use… Not to mention the inside story of what he nearly wrote, which would have been based on yet another of their books!

As the people who first discovered the secrets in Leonardo’s artwork, they will also reveal their new findings – some shocking and some plain hilarious. You will never look at his so-called pious paintings the same way again, especially with one particularly jaw-dropping revelation!

So while da Vinci was not the Messiah, he was certainly a very naughty boy….”

About The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ [Amazon, Bookshop, Publisher, Local Library] by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince.

Picknett Prince the Templar Revelation

“The most closely guarded secret of the western world is about to be revealed—and you will never see Christianity in the same light again.

In a remarkable achievement of historical detective work that is destined to become a classic, authors Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince delve into the mysterious world of the Freemasons, the Cathars, the Knights Templar, and the occult to discover the truth behind an underground religion with roots in the first century that survives even today.

Chronicling their fascinating quest for truth through time and space, the authors reveal an astonishing new view of the real motives and character of the founder of Christianity, as well as the actual historical—and revelatory—roles of John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene.

Painstakingly researched and thoroughly documented, The Templar Revelation presents a secret history, preserved through the centuries but encoded in works of art and even in the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe, whose final chapter could shatter the foundation of the Christian Church.”

The Wind in the Willows — September 12, 2023, online

The Wind in the Willows with Ronald Hutton, hosted by Viktor Wynd & The Last Tuesday Society, September 12, 2023, online.

Hermetic Library Calendar the Wind in the Willows 12sept2023 Online

“The Wind in the Willows – Professor Ronald Hutton – Zoom Lecture

Part of the Ronald Hutton – Series of lectures collection

This talk looks at how and why it came to be written, and at the story of Grahame himself, the outwardly boring and conventional bank clerk”

“Kenneth Grahame’s books changed the nature of children’s fiction for ever, giving childhood its own authentic voice. Of them, of course, the one which stars the animal characters Ratty, Mole, Badger and Mr Toad is by far the most famous. It is not only a rollicking comic tale, of a quite unique kind, but a disturbing social parable, one of the finest portraits of the southern English countryside, and the most intense evocation of paganism in Victorian and Edwardian fiction. This talk looks at how and why it came to be written, and at the story of Grahame himself, the outwardly boring and conventional bank clerk who created it. His life turns out to be one of triumph, pathos and tragedy, and by understanding him, we come to understand also when and why his masterpiece was created, and how it has been so effective.”

Harnessing the Magic and Creative Power of the Cut-up Method — beginning September 10, 2023, online

Harnessing the Magic and Creative Power of the Cut-up Method à la William Burroughs, David Bowie, Genesis P-Orridge, with Vanessa Sinclair and Carl Abrahamsson, hosted by Morbid Anatomy, September 10, 17, 24, and October 1, online.

Hermetic Library Calendar Harnessing the Magic and Creative Power of the Cut-Up Method Beginning 10sept2023 Online

“September 10, 17, 24, October 1
1 pm – 3 pm ET
$120 Patreon Members / $150 General Admission”

“The cut-up method was originally discovered by Dada instigator Tristan Tzara. In his 1920 manifesto To Make a Dadaist Poem he teaches us how to create what he called “accidental poems” by cutting words from a newspaper, putting them all into a hat, shaking the contents, and pulling them one by one to create poetry by chance.

At the Beat Hotel in Paris in 1958, creative partners William Burroughs and Brion Gysin rediscovered the cut-up method and elaborated upon it, moving from wordplay to audio recording, film, painting, collage, and further iterations. Gysin and Burroughs had been immersed in the magic of Morocco when they spent time with Paul and Jane Bowles in Tangier, and began to see the magical aspects inherent in their cut-up methodology.

David Bowie collided with William Burroughs and integrated the cut-up method into his way of writing song lyrics. A master of cutting up identity, Bowie played with the performative aspects of persona, gender, and sexuality.

Collectives such as Crass and Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY) experimented with cutting up behavior and expectations through their “life as performance art” philosophies, challenging norms put upon them by parents, family, and society. TOPY intentionally wove magical elements into their creative practices, pulling heavily from the methods of Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, while idolizing Burroughs and Gysin as creative, magical masters.

TOPY ringleader Genesis P-Orridge harnessed the Third Mind work of Burroughs and Gysin and took their ideas even further, in a project coined Pandrogeny, through which Genesis and he/r other half Lady Jaye Breyer underwent a series of surgical, chemical, behavioral, spiritual, and psychological procedures to break down their individual identities and come together more fully as one. In this life as performance art endeavor, the pair challenged ideas of difference between self/other, man/woman, and even life/death.

In this class, Dr. Vanessa Sinclair and Carl Abrahamsson will review the history and evolution of the cut-up method over the past century. They will demonstrate how to apply cut-up techniques to a variety of artistic mediums, and participants will be encouraged to create, bring in, and share their own works of art (if desired, not required). A wonderful thing about the cut-up method is that it can be applied to whichever medium you enjoy. Words, images, sounds, video, fashion, and performance art may all be cut-up and rearranged to create something new and unexpected.

Anyone can harness the magical and creative potential of the cut-up method. Even if you don’t have any experience with the creative arts or magical practice, the facilitators of this course will walk you through the basics, and show you fundamental ways you can begin a creative and magical practice through work with the cut-up method. There will be plenty of time in class to share and to ask questions.”

Freud and the Occult — September 5, 2023, online

Freud and the Occult with Vanessa Sinclair, hosted by Viktor Wynd & The Last Tuesday Society, September 5, 2023, online.

Hermetic Library Calendar Freud and the Occult 5sept2023 Online

“Freud and the Occult by Dr. Vanessa Sinclair

This talk will delve into the occult aspects of Freud’s work.”

“Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, maintained an interest in occult phenomena longer than most people realize, conducting thought-transference experiments with his daughter Anna Freud and colleague Sándor Ferenczi late into his life. At the same time, the occult was one of the topics at the center of the split between Freud and Carl Jung in 1914, the other being the centrality of sexuality to human psychology. While Jung felt compelled to delve into the more unexplainable psychical phenomena coming to the fore in his psychoanalytic research and clinical practice, Freud insisted that the burgeoning field of psychoanalysis be considered scientific, not spiritualist, and warned his followers not to delve into the occult, at least not publicly.

Freud’s inner circle was well-aware of his occult experiments and research, however, as he often presented this work to small groups of his closest followers. ‘Psychoanalysis and Telepathy’, for example, was written in 1921 to be presented to the Central Committee of the International Psychoanalytical Association. Freud also penned quite a few papers on occult topics throughout his lifetime. ‘Notes on the Unconscious’ – the preliminary research that informed his seminal work ‘The Unconscious’ (1915) – was published in the journal of the Society for Psychical Research in 1912, and ‘The Occult Significance of Dreams’ was published in Imago in 1925. While Freud’s ‘A Premonitory Dream Fulfilled’ was written in 1899, but only published posthumously in 1941.

This talk will delve into the occult aspects of Freud’s work.”

Lilith, Maman Brigitte and Pomba Gira: The Dark Goddesses of Your Dreams — August 29, 2023, online

Lilith, Maman Brigitte and Pomba Gira: The Dark Goddesses of Your Dreams with Lilith Dorsey, hosted by The College of Psychic Studies, Tuesday 29th August 29, 2023: 7pm–8:30pm UK time, online.

Hermetic Library Calendar Lilith Maman Brigitte and Pomba Gira the Dark Goddesses of Your Dreams 29aug2023 Online

“The goddesses of the night have been honoured for centuries, and in some cases millennia. Allow Lilith Dorsey to introduce you to three of the most powerful – Lilith, Maman Brigitte and Pomba Gira – in this livestream talk.

First, there is Lilith, mistress of the dark, draped in sensuality and strength who has long been demonised by a male-dominated society.

Next we have Maman Brigitte, Queen of the Dead, who devotees turn to for justice and protection.

Last, but certainly not least, this livestream talk will discuss the bare-breasted and unapologetically sexual Pomba Gira who can spin the world.

Discover the symbolism, stories and imagery associated with these sacred feminine forces, as well as how to honour and offer tributes with shrines, spells, and more in this fascinating online talk with Voodoo Priestess Lilith Dorsey.”

Exploring the Situationists, a yearlong exploration, beginning September 10, 2023, online

Exploring the Situationists, a yearlong exploration with Ken Knabb, of Bureau of Public Secrets and ed/trans of Situationist International Anthology, beginning September 10, 2023, online.

Via email:

“‘First of all, we think the world must be changed. We want the most liberating change of the society and life in which we find ourselves confined. We know that such a change is possible through appropriate actions. Our specific concern is the use of certain means of action and the discovery of new ones.’ (Guy Debord, 1957)

Dear Friends and Contacts,

As an experiment, I am going to facilitate a yearlong exploration of Guy Debord and the Situationist International. I’ve done this same sort of thing previously with several small in-person groups in the Bay Area, but this will be the first time I’ve tried it on Zoom with a larger number of people taking part from elsewhere in the world.

We will be reading and discussing my Situationist International Anthology (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2006) and my annotated translation of Guy Debord’s The Society of the Spectacle (2014).

Participation is free and anyone is welcome to attend, regardless of their political viewpoints or of their knowledge or lack of knowledge of the situationists, as long as they are respectful of the other participants.

The group will meet via Zoom every other Sunday, 5:00-7:00 p.m. Pacific Time, beginning on September 10.

(As many of you know, during the last several years I’ve been leading a literary discussion group [“Exploring the Classics”] that also meets every other Sunday via Zoom. That group will continue, and this new group will meet on the alternate Sundays.)

We will begin with the SI Anthology, which presents the different stages of the situationists’ evolution, from their “psychogeographical” experiments and cultural agitations of the 1950s, through their analyses of the Watts riot, the Vietnam war, the Prague Spring, the Chinese “Cultural Revolution,” and other crises and upheavals of the sixties, culminating in their perpetration of the 1966 “Strasbourg scandal” and their role in triggering the astonishing May 1968 revolt in France. Covering about 50 pages per meeting, this will take us 10 meetings.

Then we will move on to The Society of the Spectacle. Because this book is more concise and more difficult than most of the SI articles, we will be taking our time, reading the whole book aloud and discussing the meanings and implications of each paragraph in detail. Our previous reading of the Anthology articles will also help to clarify what Debord is getting at. Reading about 10 pages per meeting, this will take us 11 meetings.

The two books can be ordered from any of the distributors listed at the bottom of this webpage: https://www.bopsecrets.org/cat.htm. You can also read the books online at the same website […].

NOTE: This is not intended to be any sort of political action group or forum for political debate. Our aim will simply be to look at what the situationists actually said and did (in contrast to the wide variety of silly rumors and misconceptions about them). What you do with what you learn is up to you.

Let me know if you’re interested.” [via the contact email on the website or linked above]

Debord Knabb the Society of the Spectacle

Knabb Situationist International Anthology

Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy — July 20, 2023, Brooklyn, NY, US

Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy, an in-person book talk with the author Colin Dickey, hosted by Morbid Anatomy, July 20, 2023, in Brooklyn, NY, US.

Hermetic Library Calendar Under the Eye of Power How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy 20jul2023 Brooklyn NY US

“In-Person Book Talk · Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy with Colin Dickey
$0.00
July 20
7 pm
Barrow’s Intense Tasting Room, 86 34th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232 (Map here)

This lecture is FREE to all. Please RSVP with your email address at checkout.

Join us for a reading from Colin Dickey’s latest book, Under the Eye of Power: How Fear of Secret Societies Shapes American Democracy. Colin will discuss the rise of conspiracy theories involving the Freemasons, the Illuminati, lizard people and other strange groups, and how conspiratorial thinking is driving the modern world.

The event will feature a reading and Q&A, along with mingling and book signing.

Angels and Demons — July 4, 11, & 16, 2023, online

Angels and Demons, a three part workshop with Julian Vayne, hosted by The College of Psychic Studies, July 4, 11, & 16, 2023, 7pm BST, online.

Hermetic Library Calendar Angels and Demons July 4 11 16 2023 Online

“Angels and Demons
Julian Vayne
Starts: Tuesday 4th July 2023 : 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm (UK Time more information )

3 sessions, 2 hours per session, Online Workshop, Level: Open to all

Learn how to connect and work with spirit beings in this 3-part livestream workshop, guided by occultist Julian Vayne.

In these classes, you’ll explore the role of angels in ancient and modern magic. You’ll also discover the techniques for interacting with demons: from methods designed to bind these forces, to others that seek to reveal their true nature as potential allies in our spiritual development.

Through a delicious blend of theory and practice, we’ll explore the role of the Holy Guardian Angel, ancestral spirits, elemental entities and much more!

We will not be recording these classes. One of the unique aspects of the College’s online events is that they are highly interactive. Participants are encouraged to discuss and share with the tutor and the group. These sharings can be very personal, and some may not feel comfortable with them being recorded. If you need to miss any sessions, your tutor will be happy to offer a brief outline of the material covered.”

Remedios Varo: Science Fictions — July 29–November 27, 2023, Chicago, IL, US

Remedios Varo: Science Fictions on July 29–November 27, 2023, an exhibition at The Art Institute of Chicago.

Hermetic Library Calendar Remedios Varo Science Fictions July 29–November 27 2023 Chicago IL US

“Remedios Varo: Science Fictions

Jul 29–Nov 27, 2023

Mystical musicians, eccentric scientists, voyagers in curious contraptions—Remedios Varo (1908–1963) mixed notions from disparate fields of knowledge to create modern paintings suffused with material enchantment.

Born in Spain, Varo (María de los Remedios Alicia y Rodriga Varo y Uranga) fled Europe in 1941 due to the growing dangers of World War II and emigrated permanently to Mexico City, where she worked amid a community of Mexican and European artists who drew inspiration from the culture and geography of Mexico. It was here that Varo developed her unique practice of juxtaposing Surrealist chance-based techniques with imagery from disciplines as wide-ranging as chivalric romance, ecology, geographic explorations, feminist critique, mysticism, psychology, and tarot.

Remedios Varo: Science Fictions—the first museum exhibition dedicated to the artist in the United States since 2000—brings together more than 20 paintings Varo created in Mexico from 1955 until her death in 1963. Additional materials from the artist’s archive—large-scale cartoons for paintings, notebooks, sketches, detailed studies, ephemera, and personal possessions—offer an even deeper understanding of her distinct and diverse practice. The exhibition’s subtitle, Science Fictions, alludes to the tensions and possibilities Varo brought together in her work as she searched to visualize hidden orders and unseen truths.

The exhibition builds upon the Art Institute’s 90-year tradition of collecting, exhibiting, and producing new research on Surrealist artworks, and it marks a significant milestone in the museum’s efforts to expand the borders of this global movement. Notably, this will be the Art Institute’s first solo exhibition dedicated to a woman Surrealist painter and to a woman artist working in Mexico.”

Also

Conversation: Remedios Varo—Science Fictions“—”Sit down with exhibition co-curators Caitlin Haskell and Tere Arcq as they discuss the making of Remedios Varo: Science Fictions, the first museum exhibition dedicated to the Spanish-Mexican Surrealist in the United States in over 20 years. Bringing together more than 60 of Varo’s paintings, drawings, and sketchbooks from 1955 until her death in 1963, this show considers the artist’s practice of combining science, alchemy, magic, and mysticism with Surrealist automatic techniques.” A related event on Sat, July 29.

“The artist Remedios Varo (1908-63) was a voracious reader and a fan of science-fiction authors such as Jules Verne, Arthur C. Clarke and Ray Bradbury. Her paintings might seem like scenes out of a fantasy novel, too, with their steampunk protagonists conducting alchemical experiments, questing after new discoveries and communing with the cosmos. A new exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago will present this singular body of work under the title Science Fictions, a phrase which the show’s press release says ‘alludes to the tensions and possibilities Varo brought together in her work as she searched to visualise hidden orders and unseen truths’.”—”Take a magical mystery tour of Remedios Varo’s surreal paintings in major new exhibition. A survey show at the Art Institute of Chicago brings together the Spanish Mexican artist’s extraordinary paintings and reveals new insights about their creation.”