Tag Archives: abraxas

Events at Treadwell’s through June, 2014

Here is a selection from the upcoming events at Treadwell’s Books in London for through June, 2014, which may be of interest.

Surrealism, Satanism and Witchcraft
16 May 2014
Dan Zamani

Surrealism celebrated Satan and the witch as powerful agents of social rebellion, and tonight’s speaker argues their inspiration came from Jules Michelet’s 1862 book La Sorciere, which was violently anti-Catholic as well as shockingly erotic. Some women Surrealists confidently cast themselves as witches, and the talk looks at three of them: Dorothea Tanning, Leonor Fini and Leonora Carrington. Dan Zamani is completing his PhD in art history at Cambridge; he returns to Treadwells by popular demand.

Price: £7
Time: 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start

Crowley’s Liber Nu
23 May 2014
Bob Stein

Tonight a longstanding magical practitioner of Thelemic magic examines one of Crowley’s most magnificent ritual texts, Liber Nu (‘The Book of Nuit’, a rite for attainment of the Goddess Nuit) and relates the extraordinary experience of preparing and then performing the rite at Gosse’s Bluff in Central Australia. He goes on to interpret Liber Nu as Crowley’s “how to write and do a high magic ritual.” Bob Stein has been a member of O.T.O. since 1983 and has been involved with the organisation since then in a range of capacities.

Price: £7
Time: 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start

Abraxas 5 Launch Party
30 May 2014

Please join us for to celebrate Issue Five of Abraxas, the journal of esoteric studies issued jointly by Fulgur Ltd and Treadwell’s. We will have fascinating people, art, poetry and short talks. This issue has contributors worldwide on surreailsm, the Fellowship of Isis, Platonism, spirit-summoning, David Blank of the famed Oracle Magazine, an occult manuscript, Peladan, Bertiaux, and the wonderful ancient gods Antinous and Glykon.

Free, but please RSVP to [email protected]
Time: 7pm to 9:30pm. Short talks at 7:45pm

Elias Ashmole: London’s Forgotten Adept
2 June 2014
Ruth Clydesdale

Elias Ashmole (1617–1692) is famed for founding the first public museum, the Ashmolean, a fact that overshadowed his importance in the history of occultism. He was the astrological advisor to Charles II, an early freemason, an alchemical secret-holder. He collected rare esotericism texts and even saved a fellow astrologer from the gallows. Tonight revives him from obscurity, celebrating his secret life. Ruth Clydesdale is a writer and astrologer with interest in the history of astrology and its links to magic, alchemy and art.

Price: £7
Time: 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start

Walking Tour: Occult London
7 June 2014 (and again on July 5th)
Delienne Forget

London’s secret occult history comes alive as you traipse the cobblestone streets of the West End, and you learn the secrets behind some of the area’s past magicians, witches and sorcerers: some famous, some infamous. Delianne Forget is a London registered Blue Badge Guide with a solid grounding in London history. A white witch herself, she also knows her cauldron potions from her good-luck charms. These tours return after a two year hiatus, due to popular demand.

Price: £10
Time: 2pm to 5pm, starting at a central London tube station. Look for the lady in the witch hat.

Aleister Crowley on Rock’n’Roll
19 June 2014

Join us for a summer party to celebrate the launch of Gary Lachman’s new book: Aleister Crowley’s influence on rock-and-roll giants from the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, to Black Sabbath and Blondie, of which Lachman was a founding member. Gary will give an informal talk for about 20 minutes at about 7:45, and as ever we give most of the evening over to socialising, book-signing and gentle revelry. Please join us.

Free, but please RSVP to [email protected]
Time: Come anytime 7pm – 9:30pm. Short talk at 7:45.

Love Magic in Seventeenth-century England
20 June 2014
Alexander Cummins

This talk explores the occult theories and magical practices which grasped both the divinity and madness of love. Al Cummins takes us into the world of elemental humours, psychological notions of the passions, and the spiritual and physical mysteries of the heart. We will delve into the love magicians’ toolkit, examining means of seduction: from aphrodisiac herbs to conjuring matchmaking spirits … and onto bindings, leashes, and “erotic malefic” workings. A vibrant speaker, Alexander Cummins recently completed his PhD from Bristol: he is an historian of early modern magic, astrology and the passion. He is also a professional poet.

Price: £7
Time: 7:15pm for a 7:30pm start

And, Treadwell’s comes to New York!

New York City — The Night of the Witch
25 June 2014

Two illustrated lectures on witchcraft in a vibrant double-bill. Witch Pictures — Pam Grossman and British Witchcraft — Christina Oakley Harrington.

Witch Pictures — Pam Grossman

The witch burst into Western art in the late 15th century and never left: the likes of Durer, Fuseli, Goya, and Blake used the image of magical women to titillate their patrons or reflect their own anxieties — with results both grotesque and beguiling. Then in the 19th century women took up the brush to create works inspired by personal occult experiences, reclaiming the witch, and we see a female ‘witchcraft’ in action in Abstraction, Surrealism, Modernism, making a corner of art history where craft and Craft are one and the same.

British Witchcraft — the Fifties to the Seventies — Christina Oakley Harrington

British Witchraft revived in the 1950s and 1960s. To the horror and fascination of the English press and public, some of these witches gave interviews and even allowed secret rites to be photographed. They wanted the world to know a non-Christian basis of ethics, a radical concept of the sacred, and the power of altered states of consciousness. Both tradition-based and forward-thinking, they were paradoxical yet compelling. Tonight’s speaker comes from the UK Wiccan community, and brings these characters to life and shares insights into their vision of the Craft.

Pam Grossman is the Brooklyn-based guiding spirit of Phantasmaphile, and was co-host of the 2013 Occult Humanities Conference at NYU. Christina Oakley Harrington is founder of London’s famed Treadwells Bookshop and a former academic; she also co-edits Abraxas Journal and gives occasional lectures.

Venue: New York City’s META Center, 214 W 29th Street. The talks will be followed by an informal social at a nearby restaurant: all are invited.
Tickets through Brown Paper Tickets
Time: 7pm – 9pm

Abraxas: Issue 5

Abraxas: Issue 5, edited by Christina Oakley Harrington and Robert Ansell, from Fulgur, is due to release on March 20th, 2014, in limited paperback and even more limited hardback editions, which includes many new works that will certainly be of interest, including a contribution by K Lenore Siner, who you may recogonize from her participation in the Hermetic Library visual pool.

“Abraxas Issue #5 offers 180 large format pages of essays, poetry, interviews and art.

Printed using state-of-the-art offset lithography to our usual high standard, contributions for Abraxas #5 include an interview by Pam Grossman with Greek artist, Panos Tsagaris; an analysis of Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas by Silvia Urbini, a visual interpretation of the Dionysian mysteries by Arrington de Dionyso; a substantial essay from Shasha Chaitow on the grandfather of esoteric art, Joséphin Péladan; an introduction to the art of Michael Bertiaux by Ariock Van de Voorde; reminiscences by Caroline Wise of her friend Olivia Robertson (1917-2013), and much more…

CONTENTS

Editorial, Christina Oakley Harrington
Olivia Robertson: A Visionary Life, Caroline Wise
A Brief History of the Use of Spirits in European Occultism, Stephanie Spoto
Mycology, Madeline Cass
De Vermis in Se, Max Razdow
John Augustus Knapp: Modern Master of Occult Illustration, Ken Henson
Marrasio’s Masque, translation by Merlin Cox, illustrated by Gromyko Semper
Black and White & Gold All Over: An Interview with Panos Tsagaris, Pam Grossman
Musings on Breath, David Blank
The (Not Entirely) Lost ‘Art of the Apothecary’: Abramelin Oil and Ancient Perfumery, Ioannis Marathakis
Blind Love, K Lenore Siner
Victor Brauner at the Crossroads of Magic and Chance, Jon Graham
La Villa dei Misteri, Arrington de Dionyso
Esoteric City: Theological Hermeneutics in Plato’s Republic, Edward Butler, with photography by SF Said
Sonnet, Comte de Saint-Germain, translated by Sebastian Hayes
Nihilalia: In conversation with Bea Kwan Lim, Randall Morris
A Brief History of Witchcraft: Inquisitors & Witches, Ian Pyper
Games of Fate: Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne, Plate 23a, Silvia Urbini
Oversoul, Joanna Pallaris
Hidden in Plain Sight: Joséphin Péladan’s Religion of Art, Sasha Chaitow
Bené-Satan, Sasha Chaitow
Isis and Taweret with tomb of Hafiz, Adela Leibowitz
Meeting Le Maître: An Introduction to the Art of Michael Bertiaux, Ariock Van de Voorde
Antinous and Glykon: The Gods of Good Hair in Late Antique Anatolia, P. Sufenas Virius Lupus” [via]

Four Rivers

Video for the track “Four Rivers” from Psychomagia, composed by John Zorn, played by Abraxas, from Tzadik.

Psychomagia

Psychomagia, composed by John Zorn, played by Abraxas, from Tzadik [HT David B Metcalfe, Alarm].

“Psychomagia is the new album by the fabulous quartet of Abraxas, the acclaimed tribal rock arrangements for the Book of Angels series. Here they perform a complex new suite of music written expressly for them by Downtown alchemist John Zorn. Drawing inspiration from the magical writings of Giordano Bruno and Alejandro Jodorowski and others, Zorn has written a bold collection of compositions that challenge the musicians to the breaking point. With a program ranging from some of the most intense ritualistic sounds you are likely to hear to tender minimalistic odes, this is a surprising new volume in Zorn’s mystic series that matches the intensity and power of Moonchild, PainKiller and Naked City. Recorded at Orange Music and mixed by Bill Laswell. Essential.” [via]

Abraxas 1

Abraxas Issue 1 [also], International Journal of Esoteric Studies, the Autumn Equinox 2009 standard issue from Fulgur, is part of the collection at the Reading Room. It appears, as of this writing, there is at least one copy of this still available through J D Holmes.

This was the inaugural issue for this new journal, and had contributions from Daniel A Schulke, Stephen Grasso, Stuart Inman, Francesco Parisi, Edward Gauntlett, James Butler, Sarah Penicka-Smith, Zachary Cox, Allyson Shaw, John Callow, Ellie Hughes, Phil Hine, Naagrom, Rebecca Beattie Stephen J Clarke, Lily Moss, Roberto Migliussi, Dolorosa, and Aleister Crowley.

“Nearly twelve years ago, while reading the typescripts for Zos Speaks! I found myself absorbed by plans between Austin Spare and Kenneth Grant to launch an esoteric magazine in the early 1950s. It was to be ‘essentially a coterie of adepts’ affirmed Spare, and ‘a work of art as a production’ with ‘the best typography and reproduction of drawings.’ This seemed to me such an excellent proposition that it was easy to become inspired, but the practical challenges against starting such a lavish venture in the late 1990s were daunting.” — Robert Ansell [via]

The Hermetic Library Reading Room is an imaginary and speculative future reification of the library in the physical world, a place to experience a cabinet of curiosities offering a confabulation of curation, context and community that engages, archives and encourages a living Western Esoteric Tradition. If you would like to contribute to the Hermetic Library Reading Room, consider supporting the library or contact the librarian.

The Search for Abraxas

The Search for Abraxas by Nevill Drury and Stephen Skinner, is newly released from Salamander and Sons. This is a second edition of the 1973 The Search for Abraxas, and I understand it will be distributed through Weiser Antiquarian, though as of this writing there is not yet in their catalogue, but it does appear to be available directly from the publisher.

“‘There is an animal in man, and there is a God in man. In order to produce a harmonised microcosm these aspects of our nature have to be firstly acknowledged: it is then that the self may be transformed. Perhaps the God which best symbolises this mystical venture is the one who is both a man and a hawk; He who is of the Sun and whose legs are coiling serpents, symbol of Wisdom reaching down to Earth. He who holds the sacred shield … and whose name is Abraxas.’

Hailed as ‘the manifesto of a new generation’, The Search for Abraxas examines the nature of human potential emblematised by the transcendent Gnostic deity Abraxas – a figure associated not only with Time and Eternity, but also representative of the polarities of good and evil. Navigating the complex terrains of ‘The World of Light’, ‘The World of Shadows’ and ‘The World of Dreams’, renowned esoteric researchers and authors Nevill Drury and Stephen Skinner map the major themes of the Western esoteric tradition and elaborate upon the philosophies and cosmologies underpinning them.

From modern occult revivals and the international counter-culture and psychedelic revolution of the late 1960s to theoretical and practical qabalah and ceremonial magic; from witchcraft, sorcery and ‘transformation phenomena’ to astral and etheric projection and reincarnation, The Search for Abraxas reminds us that ‘magic is essentially about altered states of awareness that can lead alternatively towards cosmic transcendence and spiritual integration or towards dark alienation and even evil.’

Explorations of this duality – the polar opposites within the psyche – are particularly pronounced in the works of various artist-magicians, including the unconventionally brilliant and visionary Austin Osman Spare; the phantastically sinister yet transcendent Late Art-Nouveau, Decadents Aubrey Beardsley, Harry Clarke, Alastair, Edmund Dulac, and Kay Nielsen, and the Surrealists Yves Tanguy, Wolfgang Paalen and Max Ernst. This connection between magical thought and visionary art is a central motif of ‘this far-ranging and highly readable book.'” [via]

“Skinner and Drury met – at university – and Drury was impressed by Skinner’s Qabalistic erudition … Drury’s belief that the artist is a vehicle for, not a creator of, his artistic productions, produced a desire to explore methods of charting the hidden sources of inspiration. ‘The levels of inspiration achieved by different artists seems to me to parallel the stages of consciousness outlined in the Qabalah, and for this reason, one of my main aspirations is to achieve greater rapport with the higher levels of my unconscious.’ And so Skinner’s need for scientific exactitude and Drury’s desire to tap hidden levels of subconscious vitality combine in a common purpose. The first result of their cooperation appears in this far-ranging and highly readable book … What Stephen Skinner and Nevill Drury have done in this book is not to make an anthology of the weird and wonderful, but to state, with a kind of modesty and quiet precision, what they consider the relevant facts to be. It is their manifesto, and the manifesto of a new generation.”—Colin Wilson, from the introduction [via]

Events at Treadwell’s Books for September, 2013

Here is a selection from the upcoming events at Treadwell’s Books in London for September, 2013, which may be of interest.

Tarot Foundation Course
3 September 2013 (Tuesday)
Sue Merlyn

Learn to read Tarot with a gifted experienced teacher. In an active class, you learn the mystical symbolism of the cards, the visual language of their codes and archetypes. By the end of the eight weeks course, students can do basic readings and use tarot in mediations. Includes practice sessions, homework, backup support and exclusive handouts. Tutor Sue Merlyn has been reading Tarot for over thirty years and her teaching gets rave reviews. Students who successfully complete the class will receive a Treadwell’s certificate and can attend follow-on sessions. Max 14 students per class.

Price: £200 (£100 deposit, balance due on first night)
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm

Tarot Intermediate Course
4 September 2013 (Wednesday)
Diana Taylor

This eight-week course is for people who have a working familiarity with the Tarot. It is dedicated in full to an in depth analysis and exploration of the 22 trumps of the major arcana — from the Fool to the Star to the World, and all in between. Each is covered in turn, with discussion on the multifaceted ways of understanding it, including Kabbalah, depth psychology and Western classical magical tradition. Students receive a large body of handouts, exclusive to those on the course. Diana Taylor is a knowledgeable and gifted teacher with 20 years experience in the subject. Class size is limited to 14 students, and those who successfully complete the course will receive a Treadwell’s certificate.

Price: £200 (£100 deposit, balance paid on the first night)
Time: 7:00pm-9:45pm

Abraxas 4 – Launch
20 September 2013 (Friday)
Treadwells and Fulgur invite you

This night launches Abraxas Issue Four, with a night of partying, 40 minute session of speeches, short presentations and a few words from each of the contributors who can join us. When you’ve finished looking at the art on the walls we will serenade you with three short readings. Think of it as a salon for magic and the imagination. Join us, meet the contributors, and revel in the delight of magic and the imagination. Brought to you by Christina, Livia, Robert, Merlin — all of whom work behind the scenes to bring Abraxas to life. Let us meet you, the community we celebrate.

Price: free but please RSVP to Treadwells
Time: 7pm to 10 pm

The Lairs of Cthulhu II: The Hollywood Years
30 September 2013 (Monday)
Dr James Holloway

Tonight archaeologist and Cthulhu buff James Holloway explores archaeological concepts found in Lovecraft’s mythos, turning to look at how these concepts of land, history and the past are reformulated in Lovecraftian-based films which have come out in the decades after the author’s death. A riveting and intelligent speaker whose ideas always invite new questioning, this lecture is a sequel to his now-famed 2009 Treadwell’s Lecture. Dr James Holloway studied archaeology at Cambridge University, where he received his doctorate, and returns to Treadwell’s with a warm welcome.

Price: £7
Time: 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start

New website for Abraxas journal

Abraxas: International Journal of Esoteric Studies has a new dedicated website which you might want to check out. You can still find the old Abraxas pages at the site for Fulgur Limited, but I would imagine the new site will become the go to place for the journal.

As an aside, it appears there are only a few copies of the first issue left and apparently only a few copies of quite a number of the other books in the Fulgur catalogue. You can gander at those on the UK and Eurpoean Catalogue page, or in the US check out the Fulgur Limited page at J D Holmes.

Abraxas 2 – Summer Solstice 2011

You may be interested in Abraxas Issue 2, for Summer Solstice 2011, recently available for pre-order. There is a standard edition available as well as a special issue of “200 hand-numbered copies only with an ORIGINAL hand-printed four colour silkscreen print of Babalon by Barry William Hale”.

Abraxas is an International Journal of Esoteric Studies published by Fulgur, and this second issue looks to top the first:

“Substantially larger than the previous issue, Abraxas 2 offers over 210 pages of essays, poetry, interviews and art, much of it published for the first time. Uniquely produced in a large high quality format, printed on a variety of papers, richly illustrated in colour and monochrome, and offering our first free audio supplement, we hope this issue of Abraxas will provoke and inspire.”

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Faint gibbering heard from somewhere near the restricted stacks