Programme

Saturday 14th February

LectureS

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  • Caitlin Matthews will be delivering the Keynote Lecture to open the Conference.

    Who Are You Trying to Reach, Caller?  : The Voice of Magical Evocation

    From the barbarous names of the Greek Magical Papyri to the invocations of high magic, the voice is our first magic tool, whether you are calling spirits from the vastly deep or angels from the realms of glory. We’ll explore the panoply of evocation and voice, with examples from Orpheus to Florence Farr, from Theurgy to Theosophy. From basic blessing to the great enchantment, with footnotes from Dion Fortune, Caitlín will do her best to connect you. 

    Caitlín Matthews is a ritualist and singer of souls. She is the author of 85 books on aspects of the Western Esoteric Tradition, including Walkers Between Worlds (with John Matthews), Celtic Devotional,  Art of Celtic Seership, and The Lost Book of the Grail, as well as creating many tarots and oracles. She lives in Oxford where she has had a shamanic healing practice for 36 years. For courses & books see www.hallowquest.org.uk Most of her new writing can be found at: https://substack.com/@caitlinmatthewstigerna

  • This talk explores the imagery and hidden meaning of the Green Man in his many forms, from The Green Knight to John Barleycorn. He looks at the challenges this ancient figures offers to everyone, and to acknowledge the things we have done and the things we may yet do – both to ourselves and to the world in which we live.  He explores how we can acknowledge this figure and what kind of response can we expect when we reach out to it.

    John Matthews is an independent scholar living in Oxford. He published his first book in 1980 and has since gone on to publish over 150 titles on Myth, Folklore, and ancient esoteric traditions. He has worked in the Film industry as an historical advisor and won a BAFTA for his work on the movie King Arthur (2004). He has made a lifetime study of every aspect of the Arthurian legends, from its origins to modern retellings.  Among his recent titles are Artorius: The Roman King Arthur (written with Linda Malcor, Amberley 2022) and The Great Book of King Arthur (Harper 2022) a huge collection of mediaeval stories omitted from Thomas Malory’s great work, Le Morte D’Arthur, retold for a modern audience and Realms of the Round Table, a sequel adding a further 30 forgotten tales to the collection. He is currently involved in a forthcoming TV series based on his work.  www.hallowquest.org.uk  He writes regularly at https://graal.substack.com

  • This talk explores ecological Paganism as a living relationship with land, plants, and spirits, rather than abstract symbolism. Drawing on long practice and research, Sian looks at responsibility, reciprocity, and how earth-centred spirituality can respond meaningfully to ecological crisis.

    Sian Sibley is an author and practitioner of ecological and animist witchcraft with over thirty years of experience. She leads the DragonOak Coven and is the author of Unveiling the Green and Black Paths and Green Cathedrals, weaving together science, magic, and land-based practice.

  • Can occult principles and practice be used productively in psychotherapy sessions as a useful enlightenment tool? What can we take from this to deepen our own spiritual practice? Can this marriage of practices be a representation of the cosmic consciousness and completeness that radiates from the beautiful phrase “As Above So Below”?

    My name is Michele Morphitis and I am a psychotherapist who has facilitated well over 18,000 hours of therapy during 18 years of practice. I have introduced elements of the occult into selected sessions as a way of opening a further door into the unconscious and to deepen self-awareness, with illuminating results.

    In this talk, I will explore how psychotherapy and the occult can potentially have a productive symbiotic relationship which can generate great insights both for the therapist and the client. I will explore, through words, images and film, how the paths of psychotherapy and the spiritual beliefs of the occult cross, weaving some psychoanalytic theory into a personal interpretation of the combined crafts.

    I will use my personal experience and some client case studies to bring these ideas to life.

    “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” - Carl Jung.

    Throughout the talk, you will be invited to go on a trip of wonder with me - to see if looking at the occult through a psychoanalytic lens offers up new insights. After all, we seek awareness to give real intention and direction to our choices… and, to paraphrase Socrates, to move from the unexamined life to one more known, increases the worth of our life and enriches our contribution to the world.

    As Above, So Below – the spiritual, energetic and mental forces (above) directly influence the physical reality (below) – and our external life is also a reflection of our internal, mental and spiritual state. Everything is connected – and the correspondences of the occult world beautifully manifest this. We need more spirituality in the therapy world – this is my passionate belief. This talk will bring to life why I believe this so fervently and is also my love letter to my occult trajectory this far – much more will be revealed, I am sure.

    Michele is a psychotherapist and has a private practice in Bond Street, London and Hampton, Surrey and holds a Master’s degree in Psychoanalysis from the Tavistock and Portman (NHS) and an Economics degree from The London School Of Economics. Over 18 years, Michele has facilitated well over 18,000 hours of therapy for clients and patients.

     Michele is also the Business Development Manager for White River Manor treatment centre and rehab in South Africa, on the edge of the Kruger Park. Michele’s first therapy job was with the Rehabilitation of Addicted Prisoners Trust in HMP Coldingley. From there, she went to the Priory Hospital Roehampton and was the Addiction Treatment Manager for 7 years.  After leaving the Priory, she was the Business Development Manager for the mental health treatment centre Cottonwood Tucson in Arizona for 5 years. She still runs weekly alumni groups for both treatment centres.  

     Michele believes the therapeutic relationship is the most important conduit for therapy and it is from there that a plan is made together with the client. Michele lives in London with her son, who is training to be a professional golfer, her husband and a very large German Shepherd.

     Michele’s interest in the Occult took a circuitous route – starting in the White Spring in Glastonbury, via the Cat and the Cauldron in Glastonbury and then culminating in buying the Starman Tarot in the Atlantis Bookshop in London. From there, Michele has studied in many workshops, including many years of being a very happy and curious participant at the Occult Conference.  She has deepened her rather eclectic magickal practice both communally and privately – and what an enriching experience it has been.

    Michele started with introducing some tarot cards into some selected psychotherapy sessions as a way of opening a further door into the unconscious, connecting to emotions on a deeper level and also to increase self-awareness. After a rather tentative start, this proved to be an illuminating experience and Michele continues to develop the use of spiritual practices, including reaching into the worlds of the occult and the tarot, as a therapeutic tool. ‘More will be revealed…’ she feels….

    www.michelemorphitistherapy.co.uk

  • Author and practitioner Marian Green will deliver a talk on Green Witchcraft focusing on working with trees as natural allies.

    Marian is the author of seminal books such as A Witch Alone and Natural Withcraft with four decades of published work behind her. She is also the organiser of Quest Conference, one of the longest-running esoteric events in UK history.

Workshops

  • This year our Keynote and JSK Memorial Lectures will be the only 10:00am event.

  • In this workshop, participants will be invited to take part in a working of astrological magic and ancestral craft, in which the virtues of the present moment are fixed into a divinatory talisman. Guided by the active powers of the heavens, and supported by ancestral and herbal aid, each talisman is ritually awakened during the workshop.

    All consecrated talismans may be taken home for continued use beyond the circle.

    Paul is a practicing witch of Kingfisher Coven, based in East London. His work is grounded in Wiccan thought and informed by a study of astrology, herbalism, and the tarot, with particular emphasis on their magical and spiritual applications. His practice focuses on the integration of celestial influences, plant lore, and divinatory systems within ritual and talismanic work.

  • A workshop reconstructing folk magic through the lens of contemporary chaos magic(k).

    Dr. Cavan McLaughlin is a Senior Lecturer in Media Production at the University of the West of England (UWE), with research interests related to the role and function of occulture. Editor of the volume Trans- States: The Art of Crossing Over (2019), Cavan has also published on Crowley, esotericism and narrativity, open-source occultism, and contemporary occulture.

    He has recently completed a PhD entitled ‘Occultural Production as Re-visionary Mythmaking’, they remain a practicing filmmaker, artist, and all-around creative media practitioner. As a media professional of over twenty years, Cavan has been involved in almost all aspects of audiovisual production, specialising in video art, music videos, and visual poetry.

    Cavan is the founder and Chair of Trans- States (trans-states.org); co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Monad: Journal of Transformative Practice (monadjournal.com); a trustee of the Research Network for the Study of Esoteric Practices (www.rensep.org); and, Vice-Chair of the South-West Association for the Study of Esotericism (SWASE). Cavan has a profound affection for cows, fungi, and rainbows.

  • Alongside being an accomplished international musician and our star turn for the evening performance, Damh the Bard is also Pendragon of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids and will be sharing practices to develop your understanding of land-based magic.

  • Angels have existed since the beginning of existence itself and thus are liberated from any one faith or system of magic. This workshop will focus on getting to the core on how these intelligences can benefit your life and how you can do your part working with them to benefit the world.

    Robert Peter is an eclectic magician hailing from England. Walking in the footsteps of those who tread the path of both darkness and light to bring knowledge forth from parts unknown to the hearts and minds of seekers of the esoteric arts.

Dr. Halo Quin

Saturday Evening

This year’s evening social will be held in the Town Hall, with live music from Damh the Bard! Entry included with all Weekend and Saturday tickets.

  • By the Elements we call the spirits near, and they speak.

    “WE have been waiting for you beyond time, beyond the edges of the world you know, beyond the blindfolds you peek out from underneath. Un-bind your eyes, un-block your ears, step into our realms and take our hands. We are waiting, for you.

    Let us make magic together, let us know each other, let us stand in the world beside you in these interesting times.

    WE are here, waiting for you.

    Will you come?”

    ~~~

    At the heart of the Western Magical Tradition live the elements; Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Aether; powers and realms where our allies as magicians, witches, and occultists can be found. In this multimedia ritual we will journey through the elements to shift our perception, meet our allies, and charge a talisman to strengthen our magic with them.

    They say that power shared is power squared, so lend your magic to this collective enchantment and open the gates.

    ~~~

    ACCESSIBILITY NOTE: there will be music, chanting, and projected visuals. Textual cues will be included for those who are hard of hearing. Movement will not be required as this ritual is designed for the conference hall, and with varying abilities, experience levels, and traditions in mind. Any accessibility questions please contact me on: halo@haloquin.com

    ~~~

    Ritual designed and led by Dr Halo Quin, storyteller, ritualist, spirit-led witch, and co-founder of Star Club. Halo is the author of practical magic books including “Storytelling for Magic”, “Folktales, Faeries, and Spirits”, and the forthcoming “The Goddess Babalon”. Pixie-led since childhood, performer by trade, teacher of magic, and a philosopher by nature, Halo's mission is to re-enchant the world. Find their work here: www.haloquin.net

  • At 6.00pm we will close the Main Hall to prepare for the evening social, and recommend you find sustenance in the local eateries of Avalon.

    While food will not be provided, we can recommend a host of restaurants and pubs around Glastonbury.

    Booking may be advisable in advance.

  • The Occult Conference is proud to host the return of our evening social in the Town Hall, complete with music from the incredibly talented and world-renowned musician Damh the Bard.

    Damh is a modern-day Bard whose spirituality and love of folk tradition is expressed through his music, storytelling and poetry. His performances are both entertaining and educational, speaking directly to the heart, and never without a good splash of humour.

    With twelve outstanding albums, and singing and speaking engagements all over the world, Damh has become one of the most popular contemporary Pagan musicians – a musical storyteller who works within the world of myth: where the Elves dance on Midsummer’s Eve, where the trees talk, and the Hollow Hills take you into the Otherworld, where the Goddess rides her horse, guiding you to magic, and the Horned God and Greenman of old call to you from the shadows of the Greenwood.

    You can find out more about his music at www.paganmusick.co.uk

Damh the Bard

Sunday 15th February

LectureS

  • The History & Mystery of the Secret Grimoire of Turiel

    The Sworn and Secret Grimoire was one of Jake Stratton-Kent’s final works to be published; this brief but fascinating text was actually Jake’s reworking of a short, enigmatic book entitled The Secret Grimoire of Turiel. While Turiel is something of a mishmash of materiel from different sources,  Jake’s work turned the ‘Secret Grimoire’ into a coherent, fully workable grimoire, making numerous changes and additions to complete this task.

    The Secret Grimoire of Turiel itself, in its original form, has something of a chequered history, with many believing it was just a modern fake. That was, until handwritten manuscripts compiled by a noted Victorian occultist came to light, suggesting that the Secret Grimoire had a longer and more complex history than previously imagined. The talk with explore that history.

     And, what was it like to work with the Secret Grimoire of Turiel in the form that it was first published?

    A.D. Mercer is a writer, researcher and 'retired' professional psychotherapist with over thirty years experience investigating both the esoteric and the paranormal, primarily from a phenomenological perspective, examining phenomena as 'lived experience', free of supposition. Outside his professional publications in the field of psychotherapy, his occult works include 'The Wicked Shall Decay' and 'Underground Gnosis: Occult currents in Dante's Inferno' for Three Hands Press. 'Liber Coronzom', 'Runen: The Wisdom of the Runes' (1st ed.) for Aeon Sophia Press, and 'Runa' for Troy Books. Plus articles and introductions for Occult anthologies published by Three Hands Press, Aeon Sophia Press, and Anathema Publishing.

    More recently, Mercer's work has been published by his own publishing company, Ninth Circle Press, including 'Sefer ha Sitra Achra' and a new edition of Charles Goodwin's 'Fragments of a Graeco-Egyptian Work Upon Magic'.

    Mercer is also a musician, composing 'Dark Ambient' electronic music, as well as the co-organiser of 'The Nameless Arte' annual occult conference in the UK. Mercer is additionally the producer of a number of podcasts for the Paranormal UK Radio Network, including the 'High Strangeness Factor', where he can occasionally be heard discussing various aspects of the paranormal, often from an occult perspective.

  • Have you ever wondered what it is like to have a familial relationship with a spirit? This talk delves into Shullie’s personal history and gnosis of The Dark Man.

    Shullie Porter is a Witch, Writer, Card Slinger, Chocolate Lover, Tea Drinker, Cake Eater & Mystic. A walker between this and that.  She works closely with Hekate and has an ongoing relationship with The Dark Man, also known as the Man in Black. 

  • Art objects (such as Austin Osman Spare’s paintings and drawings) can act as portals between the divine, the unconscious, the imaginal, and the material world. Max Kornfield will expand understanding of of Spare’s infamous sigil practice by elaborating the magician’s gorgeous visual artwork. The lecture will cover some of Spare’s main visual motifs, their significance, and share the power of beauty and grotesquerie to entice the powers that be. The talk will conclude with examples from a contemporary artist-practitioner utilizing Spare’s artistic-magical method today.

    Max Kornfield, born in Los Angeles, CA, graduated from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY. His interdisciplinary research is presented across Western Europe and the United States through oil paintings and exhibition curation. Kornfield’s paintings are rooted in the combination of artistic practice, community engagement, philosophical and theological inquiry across Jewish, Christian and Pagan esoteric, magical, and mystical traditions. His paintings embody ritual, prayer, meditation, and catharsis in chalk, gold, and oil. The resulting artworks represent visionary experiences entwining the symbolic and material to push unity and tension beyond the widest breadth and depth currently imaginable.

  • How did the modern pagan revival first get going? A lot has been written about the history of revived paganism in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the period before that is still relatively obscure. This talk takes the history of the revival back to its origins in the 1700s. It considers the poets, intellectuals and hellraisers who sought to reanimate the ancient gods, and it looks at how and why they went about doing so.

    Robin Douglas is a historian of religions who specialises in the history of pagan and esoteric traditions. He received his PhD from Cambridge University (examined by Ronald Hutton and Owen Davies). His website is www.robindouglas.org. His last book, Paganism Persisting (co-authored with Francis Young), was published by Exeter University Press in 2024. His next book, The Pagan Revival, is forthcoming from Equinox Publishing in autumn 2026.

  • This lecture is an introduction to the labyrinth as both a tool for personal reflection and a magical asset.

    A labyrinth is a winding, intentional pathway designed to draw a traveller inward along a single, unbroken route. Unlike a maze, it isn’t meant to confuse or challenge your sense of direction—its purpose is contemplative, rhythmic, and deeply symbolic. Many traditions understand the labyrinth as a liminal space, a threshold where the ordinary world thins and the inner landscape becomes more accessible.

    Because of this liminality, a labyrinth can magnify magical practice, amplifying intention and sharpening focus. Its slow, spiralling movement naturally opens the psyche, making it easier to slip into a trance-like state where intuition, insight, and symbolic thinking flow more freely.

    At the same time, the structure of the labyrinth creates a protective and contained space—a boundary that holds you, guides you, and keeps the work centred. Walking it can feel like stepping into a sanctuary where ritual, reflection, and transformation unfold with a sense of safety and quiet power.

    Jacqui Thackway has been working with labyrinths for over 25 years. She uses them both in her hypnotherapy practice and in workshops guiding people to a sense of self, balance and wellbeing. She also uses them regularly in her magical practice and for ritual. Her deep connection to this tool allows her a better understanding of her deeper self and her personal magical practice.

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Workshops

  • This year our Keynote and JSK Memorial Lectures will be the only 10:00am event.

  • They say, ‘The pen is mightier than the sword’, and there is no doubt that the written word holds power. This workshop explores ways to enhance that power when working with sigils or writing spells and rituals through the use of magickal inks. We will be look at the traditional methods of ink making, as well as some of the magical inks readily available. This will also include ways to empower traditional inks. 

    Diane Narraway is an accomplished author, event organiser and international speaker whose own magickal practices span several decades and are entrenched in the occult. 

    Diane has a wealth of knowledge and over the last 7 years has written several books, both fiction and non fiction, all of which feature various aspects of the occult.

    She co-founded Veneficia Publications, a publishing company which, amongst other things, specialises in both fiction and non-fiction books on witchcraft and magick, and more recently Witch Magazine. 
    Diane, alongside Marisha Kiddle, organises the bi-annual PanDaemonium UK event, which comprises talks, rituals and practical sessions that include a variety of topics surrounding witchcraft and the left-hand path. She is regularly sought after to give talks and workshops at a number of international occult and witchcraft events.

  • Soror Brigantia has enjoyed many bizarre magical adventures and looks forward to many more. She has been a practitioner of magick for 30+ years both in groups and as a solo practitioner exploring deeply the magical paradigms that sing to her soul. She has been a member of the Illuminates of Thanateros for over 20 years and is a past Section head of this Order. She is a 2* witch and complementary therapist enjoying the practices of aromatherapy, reflexology and ayurvedic therapies.

    She enjoys many interests including history, art, literature, martial arts, dance, and exploring the world in which she finds herself. The biggest influence on her magick and on her life is the principle of Carpe Diem, recognizing that experiencing life deeply and to the fullest as the highest form of Art. She rejects the dualistic concept of there being another more “spiritual” realm that is better than the one in which we reside, viewing all of creation as a divine manifestation of chaos.

    In her workshop, Soror Brigantia will be demystifying some of the common misconceptions about chaos magick and presenting chaos magick as a life affirming path to exploring the multi verse.

    Please note this is a double-workshop! Twice the time, 108 times the Chaos!

  • Dean will give an immersive workshop on the Assumption of Godforms, a key technique of the Western Mystery Tradition.

    Born was in Somerset and is a child of the Sixties… just! He is now based in northern Scotland, where Dean and his partner built their home and live in the Highlands. Having now retired, he had a career in education both here, in the UK, and abroad. For over twenty-five years he has been magus of three different magical lodges; became a Third Degree initiate; and a supervisor for students studying the Western Mystery Tradition. He is also a certified Master Practitioner of Neuro Linguistic Programming, using it therapeutically and magically. He has also developed, written and presented in magical workshops over the years, the most recent, Solas Alba, in Perth. Dean is passionate about creating art, reading, the environment, hillwalking and all things culinary! From an early age he had a curiosity and wonder for all things existential.