Pagan Federation Wessex Conference* TICKETS ON SALE NOW! * Glastonbury Town Hall Confirmed Speakers:Nathaniel Harris, Christina Harrington, Patrick "Jasper" Lee and The Jal Folk Theatre, Pete Jennings.  The Jal Folk Theatre Company specialises in presenting folk tales and ancient travelling theatre. Artistic director, Patrick Jasper Lee, author of We Borrow the Earth, Beyond A Near Water, and Gypsy Goddess (CD), has a wealth of knowledge and experience to pass on regarding the Romani Gypsy culture and the lost art of travelling theatre. He will be presenting a talk entitled 'The Lost Art of Ritual Stagecraft,' together with a masked performance entitled, 'The Awakening', which typically presents the ritual elements of waking the soul, a theme much used in earlier times by Gypsy travelling players. Ancient masked theatre is something that he will be both illustrating via the performance and explaining within the talk as a means of helping us understand how rich the cultural past has been in ritual performance and how important it is to revive .  Pete's Northern Tradition Ritual Group at the 1999 PF National Conference. .  TRANCE & MAGICK Nathaniel J. Harris The training of the magician includes the ability to willfully alter one's own consciousness. Any effective spell or divination requires a clear communication between the mundane realms and the Greater Mind. Hence it is that the Mystery schools all require their students to train in meditation. It does not matter if you receive instruction from a Taoist, Sufi, Buddhist, Hindu, witch, Wiccan, Thelemite, Chaos Magician, Orisha, Hermeticist.. or any other tradition.. any genuine teacher worth their salt will say the same, "Go away and learn how to meditate, and when you are ready I will teach you some more." Disciplined meditation reveals to the practitioner, over time, fresh perspective on all perceptions, ideas, illusions and 'realities'. It provides an intensification of magical power, and glimpses of those Mysteries essential to its mastery. It is only through such disciplines that the student may come to Know Thy Self. Without this self reflection their can be no genuine readiness for initiation. Hence today's talk and workshop, which will be of value to complete beginner and advanced practitioner alike. Nathaniel has many years experience as an esoteric teacher and leader of ritual. His published works include the influential Chaos Magic text NEONOMICON, the controversial WITCHA- A Book of Cunning (Mandrake of Oxford). As 'Nathan Satan' he also contributed to the c.d. TIMEDRAGONS (Original New Falcon). His coming book CHAOS PUNK is already causing speculative waves in the occult underground, and will be available May 1st. There will be opportunities to advance order this work, as well as buy copies of MIND CONTROL, written specially for this event. Nathaniel is a full time multi-media artist whose work may be found at http://www.myspace.com/sidereality. .  Christina Harrington - Magical Grimoires Introduced Looking at the main texts that instruct on dealings with angels and demons from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The aim of the talk is go give a foundation in the history of Western ceremonial magic by looking at actual extracts from the Armadel, Almadel, Greater Key of Solomon, the Lesser Key (Goetia), the Abramelin, the Black Pullet and the Book of Secrets of Albertus Magnus. The speaker is a former university lecturer in medieval history, and now runs Treadwell’s Bookshop. . Evening Entertainment Damh is a modern-day Bard whose spirituality, and love of folk tradition, is expressed through his music, storytelling and poetry. Drawing on the Bardic traditions his performances are both entertaining and educational, weaving a tapestry of myth, peace, and anthems that speak directly to the heart, but never without a good splash of humour. Damh is a musical storyteller who works within the world of myth that cannot be proved; where the Faerie really do dance on Midsummer's Eve, where the trees talk, and the Hollow Hills take you into the realms of Annwn. Where the Goddess rides her horse, guiding you to magic, and the Horned God of old calls us from the shadows of the Greenwood. So relax, and let the music take you there. .  The Dolmen are a Dorset based Celtic rock combination, with the mix of raw musical talent and onstage showmanship that makes for a band not easily forgotten. Their infectious mix of Mystical Celtic Rock and Raggle Taggle Folk has captivated audiences all over the country for the last couple of years, now with their strongest line-up yet plus the recent release of the new album Ah Ry Ah, The Dolmen are already making a memorable inpact in the UK. . Please note that Damh and The Dolmen are back by public demand. The audience insisted that we book The Dolmen for 2009 and the booking was made on stage before they finished their final number. |