am4 Programme
Speakers - Individual & COLLABORATIVE Talks
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Gary P. Caton
Embodying Trismegistus: Integrating Alchemy with Astrology and Magic
According to Hermetic tradition, there are Three Parts to the Wisdom of the Whole Universe. We're privileged to be part of a recent leap forward in the integration of Astrology and Magic. But what about Alchemy?
First we'll look at the astrology of the most recent historical flourishing of Alchemy, and its emergence along with the entrance of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in Fire signs. Next we'll note how ancient grimoires like Picatrix display understanding and use of Alchemical principles. Finally we'll discuss some ways, both theoretical and practical, that we as modern teachers and practitioners can invite and embody further integration of our rich Alchemical tradition.
Gary P. Caton is a transdisciplinary Hermetic practitioner integrating diverse traditions, art forms and practices gathered over a full Saturn cycle. Initiated an astrologer by a magnificent Dream in 1993, he's since become an accomplished counselor, writer, podcaster, teacher, photographer and mage. A long time veteran presenter, Gary is author of Hermetica Triptycha: The Mercury Elemental Year, the first ever comprehensive, holistic and integrated treatment of Mercury's retrograde cycles. Gary is also the astrologer and forecaster for Celestial Planting Calendar, which facilitates practitioners of biodynamics, a form of modern agricultural alchemy.
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Alexander Cummins
Geomancy at the Crossroads of Earth and Stars
In the Prayer of the Gnomes, the patron power of the Earth elementals is addressed as “Thou who hidest beneath the Earth, in the Kingdom of Gems, the Seed of the Stars”. We may look to this appeal as an example of how geomancy – that worldly sister of Astrology – works at a crossroads of astral and chthonic craft.
In considering foundational astral transmissions and manifestations, we may understand that geomancers do not simply borrow astrological schema (such as the sympathies of the planets or the useful taxonomy of the Twelve Houses) but also engage in drawing knowledge of an astral origin back up from the earth, precisely insofar as that earth and its denizens of plant and mineral remember and collect every ray of starlight that ever graced or instantiated them.
The geomantic techniques of marking sand or dirt with the points of figures may here be apprehended as a way of reminding the earth’s embodied spirits that they too have an astral heritage, just as Agrippa speaks of ritual action as stirring and re-awakening the indwelling occult virtues of materia.
In this geomantic manner, the world – and its spirits of stone and soil – can be approached as a treasure-house of astral knowledge and sorcery.
Dr Alexander Cummins is a contemporary cunning-man and historian of magic. His magical specialities are the dead (folk necromancy), divination (geomancy) and the grimoires.
His published works include Nazarth: Pillars of Gladness (Hadean Press, 2022), An Excellent Booke of the Arte of Magicke (Scarlet Imprint, 2020) with Phil Legard, The Starry Rubric (Hadean Press, 2012), A Book of the Magi (Revelore Press, 2018) and several chapbooks as well as essays in collections by Three Hands Press, Hadean Press and academic publishers.
He is a frequent speaker on the international circuit, co-hosts the podcast Radio Free Golgotha, and is a founding editor of Revelore Press’ Folk Necromancy in Transmission series.
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Peter Duchemin, PhD
Realist Astral Projection
The idea of communicating with stars through astral projection is not a new one - the framework for doing so, is, however usually based on the star's appearance astrologically. I present a method of astral projection that investigates the local group of stars as they would appear on an astronomer's stellar map. Nevertheless, this remains a magician's project - granted that it is assumed that mind can make real, energetic interventions into phenomenal, extended reality. By means of a "sector system", and an original methodology called the Universal Mnemotechnic Imager, I introduce a system for realistically exploring the cosmos - respecting spatial position, star type and size, and accurate ratios of distance and proportion. Combining this methodology with active imagination, mantra, and other magician's skills, it becomes possible to position psycho-aetheric fields in precise spatial locations throughout the mapped universe. A wide variety of possibilities are opened up which include experiments in direct communication with specific stars, the creation of "psychic satellites" around stars and planets, and even stargate-like structures that allow the operator to mentally traverse expanses of astral space in a realist manner that can be verified and tuned by the close study of astronomical data and maps such as provided by radio telescopes, or made available by organizations such as NASA.
Peter Duchemin is an artist, scholar and inventor, who has made innovations in the design of calendars for the planets, and in other fields. Working with diverse magical systems - Enochian, Hermetic Qabalah, and magic squares, he has developed approaches to spiritual work which are sensitive to the data of contemporary science - particularly astronomy. His astral magic practice is consequently heliocentric in nature. He holds a PhD in philosophy, sociology and religious studies, with a dissertation entitled "The Art of Hidden Causation: Magic as Deep Mediation". He has presented and performed both academically and artistically all over the work, from Canada, to Hong Kong, to Ghana, to Siberia. He currently works as a sculptor and foundry technician in Newfoundland, Canada.
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Margherita Fiorello
GEMMAE MAGICAE: Engraved Gemstones in Magical Texts
Starting in the 1st century, the production of gems characterized by magical symbols and syncretic religious references, pertaining to Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish cultures, as well as the emerging Christianity, became prominent. These are the so-called “gnostic gems”; which provide crucial evidence of the new religious practices that had diverged from officialdom. Many of them were prepared according to astrological principles: some of them represent a planet, a sign, or a decan, while others were engraved at a specific moment, according to the principles of electional astrology. Sometimes, the gem represented a particular configuration in the natal chart. Indeed, the gems possess natural properties that can be enhanced by following the instructions in magical texts, exploiting the resonance of names, shapes, or the power of the stars. These stones possess innumerable virtues: they heal diseases, promote happiness, and ward off danger, but their power is not limited to humans. They also command Nature and the Gods: they drive away rain, calm storms, and compel the gods to grant what humans desire. General works such as Pliny’s Natural History and magic texts like Kyranides or the PGM collected information about the use of these stones, while lapidaries, such as the Damigeron-Evax or Techel lapidary, were copied throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In this presentation, we will explore some peculiar ancient gems useful for love, healing, and—this is a part of life too—cursing.
Margherita Fiorello is an Italian traditional astrologer since 2000, lecturer and teacher of traditional techniques. Collector of books of magic and astrology.
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Jo Flinders
Astral Tech and The Rosette Stone
Through the lens of a little known and mystical form of harmony, we will trace the origins of culture, cultural intelligence, language and star magic from prehistory to the modern age, and we will conclude with a way any seeker may construct a piece of Astral Tech for their own creative and spiritual use: a spiral strand from Harmony's Mirror, the scrying tool for finding the mystical music of anything we can measure in the cosmos.
Harmonys Mirror is not only nature's mirror but also the mirror of any imaginary or potential nature. It is also a system that has been used in some form for developing fair and meaningful culture that lasts, from prehistoric large game hunting to industrial markets and planetary resonance science.
Making rhythmic patterns of the planetary positions in orbit relative to one another. Using the frequencies of the comparative spins of the planets (planetary day length), we can make musical themes and decipher harmonic patterns in the planets in a number of ways, especially using Natal Charts.
The Rosette Stone of the title comes from how the rosette is a way to break up a circle into equal parts by using a Pisces Vescica as petals from a common center, it is also much the same as flower of life in some forms except only one circle is complete. It is commonly found on barns in rural America but also in Egyptian Tombs and Temples across the world. This is a pattern we use musically in a 12 petal form, if you correspond notes to petals.
Joseph Flinders is a filmmaker, writer, musician, natural mystic and everyday sort of dude with a BA in philosophy (with a high concentration in physics and mathematics). He studied magic in a classical mystery school mold as a Quareia Apprentice for 3-4 years. Trained in Qi Gong and Ba Gua Zhang 4 - 5 yrs. In 2024, Jo wrote and published two books about the mystical form of harmony: the Musical Cosmos Hypothesis (a thesis in 5 different disciplines about testing the oldest mystical theory of the cosmos) and Natural Mystic (divine harmony for the non-specialist). Music can be found at bandcamp under The Invisible Army.
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Demetra George
From Text to Translation: A Long and Winding Road
The Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius on the Thirty-Six Decans is an astro-magical hermetic handbook written in the first century milieu of Greco-Roman Egypt. It gives instructions for creating magical gemstone rings for each astrological decan in order to avert illnesses. When we read this text in English translation, we assume that it is a straightforward rendering of the original text.
This next instalment of my AM series of talks on the Egyptian decans will focus upon transmission of the Sacred Book itself which travelled across many countries before reaching contemporary eyes. What myriad roles were played by earlier authorities and mythic deities who informed the authors themselves, followed by the long line of orators, scribes, book collectors, private libraries, monasteries, merchants, universities, professional copyists, museums, editors of critical editions, and translators who all had a hand in passing on the wisdom of an ancient text to future generations?
The Egyptian Thoth, credited with inventing writing, was the patron of both scribes and magicians. Giving something a name by writing it down was considered a magical act that gives life to a notion. How do the scribe, the editor, and the translator take on the power of the magician who not only imbue the words with renewed life, but also shape, modify, substitute and add to text they receive, whereby the changes become part of the tradition itself?
Finally, this talk will discuss some of the challenges encountered in the actual translation of the Sacred Book regarding the accurate identification of the Egyptian deities invoked and the plants and gemstones of Greek taxonomies of the natural world so that the text may be used as a practical manual, as well as a historical document?
Demetra George, scholar, translator, and practitioner, brings the practice of contemporary astrology back to its ancient roots. Early in her career with the publication of Asteroid Goddesses (1986), she looked to cross-cultural mythologies to draw out the archetypal meanings and psychological expression of newly available planetary bodies. She then turned to Greek and Latin texts, articulating the history, cosmology, and techniques of traditional astrology. Author of seven books, her most recent is Ancient Astrology in Theory and Practice: A Manual of Traditional Techniques, Vols. 1 &2 (Rubedo Press, 2019,2022).
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JM Hamade
Connecting Dots: On the Stellar Origin of the Alphabet
Hidden within the recesses of astral knowledge scholarship were a series of thinkers who posited stellar origins for our familiar alphabet. These origins tend to focus around the stations of the Moon, or the lunar mansions, as the first formulation or standardized list of letter-signs. Later Semitic mystics and magicians would persist in these connections between the stars and their letter correspondences as a ‘divine language,’ capable of being used towards magical ends. Using their texts as well as an imago-speculative chronology from cave paintings to today, this lecture will explore the possibilities of language as it is connected to our earliest stargazing and beyond.
J.M. Hamade (he/they) is an independent researcher, writer, and educator at the crossroads of occultism and artistic practice. They’re work bridges contemporary creative modalities with archaic forms of knowing. Various species of ‘image magic,’ both general and historical, are explored through like practices of astrology, poetry, and oneiric journeying. Similarly, the investigation and experimental application of talismanic art forms is at the forefront of their work.
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Kadmus
Panta Rhei/Everything Flows: Paradoxes and Pluralism within Astrology
Join Kadmus and JD Kelley as they investigate celestial polarities, planetary dualities, and stellar oppositions to speculate on the fecundity of astral paradoxes and the pluralism they produce.
Embedded within the coherence of Western Astrology are a series of fundamental relationships to the great circles, the elements, the luminaries, the planets, the signs, the stars, and the houses. These relationships are not exclusive to, but perhaps best approached foremost through their arrangement in polarities.
Polarity, in a strict astrological sense, refers to the division of the twelve zodiacal signs into two groups, positive/odd/masculine/finite and negative/even/feminine/infinite, with roots in Pythagorean philosophy. However, we can approach the term in a broader way metaphysically to involve duality and the interplay of seemingly opposing forces.
By way of introduction we will focus on Mercury. For it to be most fully understood astrologically, we can relate it to the polarity of which it is a part, that of the Mercurial-Jupiterian. Wherever we find Mercury we, too, find Jupiter. Considering the Mercurial and its associated impulses within this pairing offers a fuller spectrum of expression to clearly describe this necessarily ambiguous force.
While it may be easy to assume that these connections are allotted, fastened to their associations and like oil and water, never mix, this goes against the coherence implied within these relationships. For even prior to the sources of Hermetism, Heraclitus reminds us, “everything flows”, and, equally, “the way up and the way down are one and the same.” These fundamental relationships are paradoxical in nature—constantly pushing us to go beyond the polarities out of which they are made—and as such they are decidedly generative in effect, much like the cosmos from which they are based. It is these productive paradoxes, attesting and giving rise to pluralism, that we will seek to explore.
Kadmus is a practicing ceremonial magician. He published the book True to the Earth: Pagan Political Theology through Gods and Radicals Press and has taught classes every year for Salem Summer Symposium as well as for The Cauldron Black. He has also presented at the AstroMagia astrological magic conference the last two years including two keynote address, “Towards a High Pagan Astrology” and “Orpheus and Art as a Model of Magic”. Most recently he published the paper "Every Nekuomanteia is a Katabasis: Ancient Insights for Contemporary Necromancy" in Hadean Press’ Conjure Codex: Black anthology.
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JD Kelley
Panta Rhei/Everything Flows: Paradoxes and Pluralism within Astrology
Join Kadmus and JD Kelley as they investigate celestial polarities, planetary dualities, and stellar oppositions to speculate on the fecundity of astral paradoxes and the pluralism they produce.
Embedded within the coherence of Western Astrology are a series of fundamental relationships to the great circles, the elements, the luminaries, the planets, the signs, the stars, and the houses. These relationships are not exclusive to, but perhaps best approached foremost through their arrangement in polarities.
Polarity, in a strict astrological sense, refers to the division of the twelve zodiacal signs into two groups, positive/odd/masculine/finite and negative/even/feminine/infinite, with roots in Pythagorean philosophy. However, we can approach the term in a broader way metaphysically to involve duality and the interplay of seemingly opposing forces.
By way of introduction we will focus on Mercury. For it to be most fully understood astrologically, we can relate it to the polarity of which it is a part, that of the Mercurial-Jupiterian. Wherever we find Mercury we, too, find Jupiter. Considering the Mercurial and its associated impulses within this pairing offers a fuller spectrum of expression to clearly describe this necessarily ambiguous force.
While it may be easy to assume that these connections are allotted, fastened to their associations and like oil and water, never mix, this goes against the coherence implied within these relationships. For even prior to the sources of Hermetism, Heraclitus reminds us, “everything flows”, and, equally, “the way up and the way down are one and the same.” These fundamental relationships are paradoxical in nature—constantly pushing us to go beyond the polarities out of which they are made—and as such they are decidedly generative in effect, much like the cosmos from which they are based. It is these productive paradoxes, attesting and giving rise to pluralism, that we will seek to explore.
John-David (JD) Kelley is the chairman of the Scottish Astrological Association, having served since 2020; the founding president of the International Association of Astral Magic (IAAM), and the organiser of Astro Magia.
JD is a professional natal and electional astrologer, as well as a practicing astral magician. His astrological leanings are both traditional and modern alongside a deep interest in astrological and astral magic. JD is influenced by historical approaches to magic, the mixing of magical traditions throughout the world, by an animist view of the Cosmos, by art and art-making, and by visionary and ecstatic practices. You can find him at Cunning as Folk where he teaches and practices his range of esoteric and interpretive arts, or you can follow his dance on all channels @cunningasfolk.
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Rory Keys
The Hermetic Lots
The origin of the Hermetic Lots is elusive, as the fragments handed down to us by history pose an open ended question. Are they simply the (remarkable) invention of some long-dead astrologer, or rather, a gift to the sages of humanity from that wise & benevolent teaching spirit known famously as Hermes Trismegistus? After exploring what little we know of the Hermetic Lots according to the tradition, we then pivot to a more pragmatic and experimental approach, discussing the various applications of these lots that the Modern Mage may employ to develop and fortify their existing astral-magic practice.
Rory Keys is a professional Astrologer, based in London. His research revolves around the revival of Traditional Astrological techniques, specifically innovations emerging from Hellenistic Egypt. When consulting with clients, Rory’s speciality is in helping them mitigate difficult natal placements with novel remedial techniques, helping them alter the trajectory of Fate.
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Danny Larkin
Mapping the Egyptian Gods onto Planets
In an astrological lapidary attributed to Damigeron and Evax from 2nd century BCE Alexandria, we encounter a set of correspondences that connect the luminaries and 5 visible planets with old Egyptian gods. The sun is syncretized with Re and the Scarab. The moon is given to Isis. Jupiter is connected to Amun. Mercury is cast as Thoth. Saturn is linked to Sobek. Mars is lost but consistently connected in other sources to Horus, while Venus is named simply as Venus. This talk will draw upon images from a recent trip to Egypt along with research into myths and archeology to draw out the connections in this old neglected magical lapidary between the Egyptian lore and certain core significations associated with the planets in our astrological tradition. Our magical work can be fertilized by unveiling the legacy of Egyptian gods in the core significations that form the bedrock of our astrological tradition.
Danny Larkin is the Vice President of the International Association of Astral Magic (IAAM). He previously served as Vice President and then President of the Association for Young Astrologers (AYA) (2017-2020). He is a lifetime member of the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR) as well as the National Council for Geocosmic Research (NCGR). He is a pillar of the astrology community in New York City, organizing the largest monthly gathering of astrologers.
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Drew Levanti
SOUND, SHAPE, SPACE
Music goes all the way to the roots of western esotericism. In Ancient Greece, the music of the seven-stringed lyre was widely considered to cultivate the divine intellect, mirroring the logos of the sky’s seven wandering stars. In cult ritual and Dionysian revelry, however, another instrument rang supreme: the aulos, a double-piped wooden horn similar to today’s oboe. An extremely controversial instrument, Iamblichus is quoted maligning its spiritual effects as compared with the lyre: the former “stains” the spirit, while the lyre chases away the irrational desires of the soul. With Greek music and ritual dance as a case study, this talk will explore how “the divine” can be constituted at a sonic level.
Drew Levanti is a consulting astrologer and mystical educator based in San Francisco. His work cultivates godly presence through astrological relationship and poetic craft. Levanti’s teaching spans astrology fundamentals, elections, predictive technique, and the magic of the Orphic hymns, co-teaching STAR: An Orphic Initiation with Kristin Mathis. In his own class Initiate, astrology is an everyday tool for fortifying collaborative, spirit-enriching engagements with Time, understood as a relational entity. His client practice is fueled by astropoetic interpretation that is realistic, strategic, and affirming of a free-will world. Levanti received an undergraduate degree in 2018 from the University of Chicago where he studied cultural anthropology.
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Arturo Martinini
Etruscan Magic: Language as Embodied Divination
The "Piacenza Liver" is one of the most extraordinary Italian archeological findings, a life-sized bronze model of a sheep's liver covered in Etruscan inscriptions. From this artifact we have been able to learn some incredible information regarding the tradition of Etruscan divination. This talk will introduce the basic techniques and mythological origins of Etruscan magic and its profound connection with the Mesopotamians, drawing connections that will span from the Enūma Eliš (Myth of Creation) to Chthonic Hermes, Enoch's Book and the Qumran scrolls.
Arturo Martinini is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Portland, OR and Rome, Italy. Author of The Oracle of DelphA.I., published by Revelore Press. He has recently embarked on a 30 years long project concerning our world's' Mythology.
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Kristin Mathis
“Great Things in Riddles”: Deciphering the Mystery Language of the Orphic Hymns
The Orphic Hymns, a collection of 87 poetic invocations of deities and divine natural forces dating from the pre-Platonic period, are arguably the most complete liturgical texts surviving to us of all ancient Mediterranean Mystery religions. Since ancient times, these hymns have been noted for their “riddling” use of language, as well as their extraordinarily long lists of epithets for each deity. Philosophers, magicians, and astrologers from Plato to Vettius Valens to Iamblichus and Proclus all believed the hymns contained great esoteric wisdom, but no modern scholar has sought to understand the hymns in light of what we know about ancient theories of language and interpretive practice, particularly as they pertain to the ancient Mysteries.
Perhaps for this reason, English translations of the hymns–from Taylor to Athanassakis–have never yet explored the full depth of the esoteric content embedded in the original Greek text. In this talk, classically trained scholar of ancient Mediterranean religion and magic Kristin Mathis explores the deeper layers of meaning in the poems, revealing surprising esoteric content that sheds light not only on the historical development of astrological magic and Western esotericism, but also on the nature of magical incantation and of language itself.
Kristin Mathis is a scholar of religion and ancient history; translator of Ancient Greek texts on magic, myth, and esoterica; poet and teacher. Kristin is dedicated to revealing the wildly liberatory power of the teachings of the Ancient Mediterranean ancestors to transform and undermine oppressive social structures, showing us how to connect to each other, to our earth, and to the realm of the “more than human”—animals, plants, minerals, and the wide heavens above.
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Sabrina Moncini
Chasing Hermes Down the Rabbit Hole
When we approach Hermes, we are dealing with a multifaceted archetype. He is a shapeshifter and psychopomp, spanning realms and domains, and overall, a symbol of knowledge, communication, and transition. Its knowledge ranges between the peaks and the depths: it can lead you upward towards the intellect or accompany you in the ecstatic expansion of consciousness, depending on how you engage with it. The only thing you know is that if you are kidnapped by Hermes, you will face an initiation, a passage that will profoundly transform you and by crossing a boundary, it will make you wiser. I will engage with a specific image of Mercury taken from the work of Giordano Bruno and reveal the many levels of work we can do with it, while also outlining a possible path for learning astrological magic, where I want to combine depth research historical, philosophical with imaginative processes and expansion of consciousness, such as art, meditation, dreams. I will take inspiration from some key texts of our practice, outlining how from them we can recover astrological prescriptions and indications and develop a hypothesis of coherent learning and practical application of our discipline.
Sabrina Moncini: I am a professional astrologer, astro magician and body-oriented psychotherapist. Interested in multidisciplinary contaminations that broaden our vision of the world, I combine modern and traditional astrology, promoting a harmonious and inclusive dialogue between the two approaches. I obtained a Diploma from the Faculty of Astrological Studies (London) and subsequently dedicated myself to the study of traditional astrology where I learned Astrological Magic and became a fervent practitioner of the discipline. In providing detailed astrological services such as analysis, predictions and personal talismanic suggestions, I aim to primarily cater to the needs and well-being of my clients. In addition to my private practice, I am a teacher and collaborate with some astrology schools in Europe.
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Michael Ofek
Aion, Kairos, and Chronos: Astral Magic, and the Dimensions of Time
The art of astrological timing is the most fundamental practical aspect of Astrological magic. Time is the substratum by which planetary dynamics unfold, converge, and diverge, seldom aligning in ideal configurations for our desired elections. Time is the irrevocable necessity to which we must patiently adhere for our intended future aims to manifest within it. All earthly creations are inevitably dependent on and constrained by time. It is the soil by which we must plant and germinate our seeds, in order to eventually harvest their fruits. Therefore, a deep understanding of the workings of time is paramount to our practice.
In contrast to the modern conception of a linear Chronos-logical arrow of time, the ancients had a much more nuanced understanding, differentiating among its Chronic, Kairotic, and Aionic dimensions, which were nested in their corresponding cosmological levels. Understanding these dimensions and their influence on temporal manifestations broadens our magical perspective and guides us in our ritual elections and our internal practices.
Michael Ofek is an astrologer, cosmologist, astral magician, and shamanic practitioner, has practiced astrology and magic for over two decades, alongside avidly researching all branches of the ancient tradition.
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Micki Pellerano
Austin Spare and his Avant Garde Legacy
Magic has consistently suffered the threat of extinction. Its preservation has historically been entrusted to hidden sanctuaries, such as secret societies and lands remote from ecclesiasticism.
The arts have also played an important role as keeper of esoterica. Medieval craftsmanship, neoclassical architecture, the French decadents, and the Surrealist movement cultivated magic within their time and culture. From their combined periphery emerged Austin Osman Spare, whose channelled artworks and innovations upon magical philosophy and practice were seminal to the development of an esotericism that thrived through the end of the twentieth century.
The rich prolific publications of ancient texts in our time and their resulting furor are an unprecedented forward surge for the occult. But its backward gaze obscures the development of the same Greco-Egyptian paradigms enshrined in Trismegistus, Picatrix, and Agrippa in the forms they assumed from the 1940s to the new millenium.
In this lecture, Spare's extravagant tapestry of works will be discussed, along with his magical ethos and its impact on his devotees who broke boundaries in magical theory and practice. It reveals how their cultural influence forced esoterica out of the arcane and avant-garde to disseminate through the reaches of popular culture itself.
Micki Pellerano is a reputed professional astrologer and a practitioner of Hermetic Magic with over twenty years' experience. His practice derives inspiration from a broad range of systems including yoga, tantra, and chaos magic. Occultism permeates Pellerano's history as a visual artist. He speaks and presents regularly, while maintaining his program and educational platform Time Lord TV.
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Sasha Ravitch
Deep Space Objectification: Philip Sedgwick Interviewed by Sasha Ravitch
In this live conversation, career astrologer and deep space astrology pioneer Philip Sedgwick is interviewed by Sasha Ravitch, known for her documentation of her experiments in stellar and deep space witchcraft. This interview will showcase Sedgwick's unprecedented contributions to the cutting edge of astrology concerning deep space objects and phenomena (such as black holes, pulsars and quasars, superclusters, and more), and the way aforementioned objects might inform the nativity of the magical practitioner, and the magic they are practicing, as well.
Sasha Ravitch is a professional author, educator, consultant, and critic on the subjects of Stellar Witchcraft, Cosmic Horrors (both real and imagined), and the ecstatic-grotesque of the body (monster-flesh). She regularly sees clients on the aforementioned matters of their witchcraft practice, presents at in-person and virtual conferences, as well as writes film and literary criticism on these subjects. When she is not experimenting and expositing for her Patreon and Substack, she continues working on her collection of short-stories and watches endless re-runs of Deadliest Catch.
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Chris Reppucci
Fidelity and Saturation: Navigating Alien Incoherence
The Air Period series in two acts
As we are headlong into an AIR Period with Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus soon to be in Gemini we are experiencing a new and novel texture of reality which functions on unfamiliar dynamic principles. As magical practitioners this shift should also cue us to adapt in our practices. In delving into the current predicament we find ourselves in culturally and looking at likely incoming societal scenarios we can begin to compose a picture of what even existence is and how we might situate within it for optimized coherence in an increasingly dissonant era, finding basic techniques such as journaling useful as it has been for magic historically throughout the ages. Considering elemental modes, presence within environments, and what endures throughout the perpetual flux.
Chris Reppucci is a full time practicing astrologer and diviner that has applied his work across a variety of spectrums: personal consultation, art, design, spatial conditioning, installations, objects, events, star tours, lectures, forecasts, and mundane modeling. He likes to keep the pulse on what is budding in the macro while keeping his body immersed in nature. Growing up with magic and divination in the home his practice has been long form morphing over life and is ultimately an integrated dialogue with the symbiotic field and what is phenomenologically occurring. His existence is entangled within wharfs, uninhabited islands, red glass, blood orange, olives, stars, saints, dogs and playing cards.
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Sonal Sachdeva
Nakshatras, Rashis, Planets: Uncovering the Nature of Names
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.” William Shakespeare uses this line in his play Romeo and Juliet to convey that the naming of a thing is irrelevant to its nature. He could not have been further from the truth, especially if had he lived in the Subcontinent.
The sounds of your name has a profound impact. What it constellates in your natal chart, and the house it influences, will stay with you for the rest of your life. Hence, people who change their name change have remarkably different experiences afterwards.
We will explore in depth how the sounds of the Nakshatras, or lunar constellations, have unique sounds and thus lend those sounds to the Rashis, or the zodiac signs. Planets too have sounds assigned and classified by elements.
Through understanding these relationships, it is easy to gauge compatibility in partnerships, etc., simply based on the sound of the names.
We will focus on the practical application of these name, sound, and celestial associations, as well as discuss ideas for choosing names for businesses, children, pets, and renaming alike.
Sonal Sachdeva is an certified Vedic Jyotiṣa Paṇḍita (Vedic Astrology), holds the Diploma from Liz Greene's School of Centre of Psychological Astrology and an on-going Student of Vedic Scriptures (Bhagavad Gita, Mantra Sastra, Jaimini Sutra, Puranas and Upanishads). Her learning of the Vedic Astrology began under the tutelage of celebrated Indian astrologer, Pandit Sanjay Rath and Vedic learning through Swaminiji Brahmaprajnanda of Arsha Vidhya gurukulam. She is the founder of the Divinations Bhārata Conference
She is also Vedic Astrology Consultant at Watkins Books, the highly acclaimed and one of the oldest esoteric bookshops, based in Central London.
A few years ago, she launched Divine Astro Essences – a range of skin care and wellbeing products using the principles of Aromatherapy and the ancient wisdom of planets and Astrological influences.
Currently she runs various courses from 'Foundation in Vedic Astrology' Vedanga Jyotisha to a on-going course in Pañcāṅga and Nakshatras.
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Philip Sedgwick
Deep Space Objectification: Philip Sedgwick Interviewed by Sasha Ravitch
In this live conversation, career astrologer and deep space astrology pioneer Philip Sedgwick is interviewed by Sasha Ravitch, known for her documentation of her experiments in stellar and deep space witchcraft. This interview will showcase Sedgwick's unprecedented contributions to the cutting edge of astrology concerning deep space objects and phenomena (such as black holes, pulsars and quasars, superclusters, and more), and the way aforementioned objects might inform the nativity of the magical practitioner, and the magic they are practicing, as well.
Philip Sedgwick commenced his study of astrology in 1969 while serving in the U.S. Navy and conducted his first astrological session in 1975, quite by accident. Since that time he has read charts for clients, conducted research and written extensively. In 1976, while attending a lecture by a colleague, the late Joyce Werhman, she referred to the Galactic Center. That provided the push for Philip to explore the astrology of those things in near and deep space, no longer limiting his work to the confines of this solar system. Forever on the leading edge of astrology, Philip will keep his finger on the pulse of the latest astrophysical discovery and bring it down to Earth for others to enjoy and use, with such works like The Astrology of Transcendence, The Astrology of Deep Space, The Sun at the Center - A Primer of Heliocentric Astrology, The Soul of the Sky, The Galactic Trilogy, Astronomy for Astrologers, and more.
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Frank Sivilli
Hands of God: Exploring Sublunary Astrological Spirit Magic
Learning from, listening to, and turning back the spirits of the sublunar is a powerful skill, which is often lost in larger discussions of astrological magic and practice that focus on procedure and theory. By reconnecting with these skills of process and bringing awareness to the ways that the sublunar influences our astromagical workings, we gain access to a world of spirits that are shaped by the stars and capable of enriching and co-creating in our astrological workings. Through this course, the process and practice of engaging with sublunar spirits will be inspected across time to help us synthesize a mode of practice that works. Ultimately, we are faced with recognizing the commonalities in the experience of the sublunar mage and the sublunar spirit — and that’s where the exploration begins.
Frank Sivilli is a writer, poet, psychotherapist, and astrologer. He works primarily in the psychoanalytic tradition in his therapy practice based out of Ridgewood, NY. And his astrology practice is an amalgam of Hellenistic, Medieval, and Archetypal teachings. His talks have been featured at previous AstroMagia conferences, in addition to other forums on mysticism, spirituality, and psychotherapy. His recent artistic practice focuses on the slow art of Bonsai.
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Elodie St Onge-Aubut
Dreaming Awake, Sifting Through Air, & Shapeshifting Across Realities
9thhouseastrology.wordpress.com
The Air Period, a series in two acts.
The Air Period is here for the next two centuries and our relationship to information, light, technology, language and consciousness is changing extremely rapidly. What does this mean for those of us who actively engage with Logos and Light? We are on the verge of major breakthroughs with quantum computing and the merging of binaries, proving what many ancient traditions already knew; that we can be in two different places at once.
This presentation will serve as an exploration of various states of consciousness and their interaction with what we deem to be real. From remote viewing, to ritual trance and prayer, to being on the internet while interacting with a multitude of beings along with the cultural egregore floating out there, words and language shape the perception we have of ourselves and of the world around us.
Elodie St-Onge-Aubut is a French Canadian born on the east coast of Québec and relocated on the island of Newfoundland where she has been haunting the meadows since 2006. A professional astrologer since 2014, Elodie writes, teaches, and lectures on a variety of astrology-related topics along with having a full-time consultation practice. Research, divination, archeoastronomy and the study of various healing and magical modalities are her main interest outside of being in nature.
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NM Thomen
The Descending and Ascending Power of the Kerykeion: Thaumaturgic Transmissions
The Kerykeion as a symbolic emblem of the genesis of humankind can be traced back to the Egyptians and Babylonians. The wand of Hermes brings that which is liminal, unnamed and formless into being, transmuting death and life through the agency of the daimones entwined upon its sceptre. Drawing from the Papyri Graecae Magicae, Vettius Valens, Zosimos and other sources we survey thaumaturgical ritual praxis by exploring the lineages of the alchemical to astral magical traditions birthed from the interweaving relationship between Hermes and the daimones that descend and ascend upon the Caduceus.
NM Thomen is an astromancer, spirit-worker and body-worker, writer, researcher and multi-hyphenate creative based in Ouidah, Bénin where they serve as the official astrologer for the Supreme Chief of Vodoun, Dada Daagbo Hounon Houna II. Their work centers at the intersecting roots of various mystical traditions, ancestral cosmologies and the creative impulse.
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Chris Warnock
Choosing Talismans: A Deep Dive
As the astrological magic community has grown, a variety of different ways of choosing talismans have sprung up. Christopher Warnock discusses alternative means of choosing talismans, in particular, the use of the natal chart and the underlying assumptions that underlie talisman choice. Chris offers multiple examples and will make talisman suggestions for audience members to illustrate his approach. Chris discusses his approach to using a wide variety of talismans including planetary, fixed star, constellation, Mansion, Decan/Face and House based talismans while recognizing that many different talisman choice methods are valid.
Christopher Warnock has been a traditional astrologer and Renaissance astrological magician since 1998. He has been called "the father of the traditional astrological magic revival" and the "elder statesman" of astrological magic. With John Michael Greer, Mr. Warnock translated the Latin Picatrix, the most important grimoire of traditional astrological magic and has written and published many books on astrological magic and traditional astrology. Mr. Warnock also teaches astrology and magic courses and offers authentic astrological talismans.
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Jenn Zahrt
Essential Dignities: To Weigh or Not to Weigh?
This talk traces the development of weighing essential dignities—by 5,4,3,2,1, -4, -5—from a tradition that employed an equal point method. Textual sources before 900 CE reveal equal considerations that appear to morph into a hierarchy, and ultimately a compound system of planetary “winners,” or almutens. As the classical tradition developed into the European Renaissance, the split of essential dignities into major and minor camps led to the “minor” varieties withering on the vine of astrological transmission. The recent revival of astrological image magics alongside the larger restoration of traditional threads of astrology through translation projects has revitalized the use of minor dignities in assessing planetary condition, yet the point system remains. By returning to earlier understandings of these “minor” conditions, we will deepen our relationship with what they signify and what they make possible in astrological interpretation. At the heart of the inquiry is an examination of power, power preferences, authority, and a critique of positivist scientism and islamophobia.
High-octane Germanistin par excellence, Dr Zahrt delivered a veritable Blitzkrieg upon the academic world with her resounding 2012 doctoral debut, The Astrological Imaginary in Early Twentieth Century Germany (University of California, Berkeley). She honed her razor-sharp editorial skills on the relentless interdisciplinary journal, Representations (2007–2010), the cutthroat literary arts quarterly, Threepenny Review (2011–2013), and an onslaught of seminal releases from the Sophia Centre Press, Rubedo Press, and Revelore Press. Audacious translator of Elsbeth Ebertin, intrepid Director of the Celestial Arts Education Library (CAELi), and newly minted President of the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR)—Zahrt wields her arsenal of professional superpowers with consummate sophistication. Dr Zahrt resides in Olympia, WA.