Tag Archives: occulture

Tarot talk at Brighton University

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As a favour for a friend of a friend I gave a tarot talk yesterday at Brighton University as part of Simon Ward’s MA on Critical Art.

I was expecting a bunch of bored students in the audience who knew nothing about Tarot, but actually everyone were Occulture veterans, so it was more like a reunion. Some were at my debut talk in the Hanbury Arms in 2002, so they got to hear the same talk again, but hopefully a lot more polished, and without the stage fright I experienced the first time round. Continue reading →

Tarot at the Infernal Salon

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Great to see everyone who turned up last night in the cold and wet for the start of the Infernal Salon talks in Brighton, as part of Occulture.

We started off with a 20 minute video exploring the occult and esoteric synergies between Occulture and Brighton. The photography is beautiful, and we were treated to some new angles and views of this great seaside town.

As so many people had not heard me talk before, I started with my own background in Tarot, meeting Punditt Maharaj, and how he influenced me to begin reading the Tarot. Then it was on to understanding tarot interpretation via the odds of winning the National Lottery – surprisingly the two are linked. After a chat about the new book, I ended up with the Tarot Cabaret; spontaneous short readings for members of the audience. The talk was taped, but I have not had a chance to check the quality. If it is good enough, I will post some excerpts on youtube.

Doing the talk has got me warmed up for the Rider-Waite anniversary on 5th of December. I hear it has sold out, but there might be tickets available if people are unable to come. Kim Arnold will be giving away a copy of Beyond the Celtic Cross at some point, and I will have more copies. This is pretty much an exclusive for the Conference, and I hope to be able to talk about the book informally in the evening. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Tarot Cabaret in Brighton

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On December 1st 2009 I will be a doing my Tarot Cabaret as part of the Occulture/ Infernal Salon Show at the Caroline of Brunswick in Brighton. As well as a demonstration of tarot I will be talking about my new book Beyond the Celtic Cross, co-written with Catherine Chapman.

Included will be a video of the recent 2009 Occulture Festival.

From 8 to 10.30pm, GBP3 on the door.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Facebook event

Howlings Reborn

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The second edition of Howlings will be published on the 9th of June 2009, and apparently it has been redesigned – the content remains the same. The first edition of 333 copies sold out within days, so here is your chance to get your hands on a rare esoteric book on the Goetia. Numbering starts 334, and there will be 666 printed.

As you may know, I contributed a chapter on my experiences of a visit from Andromalius. Andromalius appeared to me a few days after I was commissioned by Scarlet Imprint to write a chapter.

Howlings II is destined to appear in the Autumn.

Scarlet Imprint are doing lots of interesting work in revitalizing the occult literary scene. I wish I had got to Occulture early enough to have seen their talk.

Lifting Spirits at Occulture

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After a very long wait of six years Occulture has at last come back. The Solar Event was originally going to run till around 6pm, but an evening Lunar event was added later. I was asked to reprise my talk on the Tarot which I had done in 2003. Immediately I decided to name the talk Tarot Cabaret, which sound great unless you knew that my experience of cabaret is insignificant. Continue reading →

Tarot Talk at Occulture 2009

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I am going to do a ‘Cabaret Tarot’ at Occulture 2009 in London this Saturday. As well as doing some 3 card readings for the audience, I am going to talk about new directions tarot can take, and some of the projects I am working on at the moment.

Occulture gave me my first talk on the Tarot back in Brighton in 2004, and it was a time when my publisher first contacted me, which resulted in Tarot and the Magus. I also spoke at the Toronto Tarot conference that year.

Talking to an educated audience in magic and esoterica, can be a bit daunting, but I do enjoy the challenge.

Delving into the magical powers of the Tarot

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My first ever appearance on stage to talk about the tarot was with the help of Jon Tapsell as a precursor to speaking at the Occulture Festival in Brighton a few years ago. As part of my talk, I did some three  card readings for some members of the audience, which was very entertaining (many said it was the best bit).

Jon has kindly asked me to come back to the re-launched Occulture Festival on the 23rd May 2009 in London. This time I am really going to push the boat out, as I explore the powerful spiritual forces associated with the tarot, and how they can benefit or influence your life. The nature of such an enterprise makes it live, immediate, and just a bit scary, as I have no idea who I will be doing the readings for, what cards will turn up, and which spirits will want to make themselves known.