Uncategorized | The Blog of Baphomet

Hello Friends

The December solstice approaches and with it the season of Yuletide, a time charged with a multitude of meanings and memories for many of us. The winter sun hangs low at these northern latitudes while the moon rides high in the sky.

On clear nights I’ve been experimenting with using moonlight to make photographic prints, a little artistic side project. I use cyanotype paper onto which I place shells, stones and other found objects. These need to be bathed in moonlight for many hours in order for the exposure to work. The process creates some interesting distorted shapes and, as in this example, the paper also reacts with night time rain when it falls.

My main art project right now is preparing for The Order of the Sun and Moon exhibition which takes place in St Ives, Cornwall next year. Neil Scott, Kate Southworth, Greg Humphries and I are the members of the Order, the name of which is taken from an essay by occultist and artist Ithell Colquhoun. Colquhoun, like many surrealist artists, was a great fan of using natural and automatic processes in her art, I like to think she might have enjoyed my experiments with moonlight, rain and photoreactive paper.

The Order of the Sun and Moon exhibition, runs from Imbolc, the 1st of February, until the 13th. The show includes a day of lectures and performance by some of the leading scholars of Colquhoun’s oeuvre. We’ll also have some examples of her art on show in the gallery alongside our own work, which is a real honour and delight. Colquhoun’s art can also be seen at another gallery in town from the 1st of February to the 5th of May.

I’d love it if you could join us, for our opening on the 1st, the talks on the 2nd, or perhaps for one of the Dreamachine sessions we’re offering. For full details please check out our website.

Meanwhile, over the last few months I’ve been focused on writing. I’m about 40,000 words into my new book, which I hope means I can have the first draft completed by the end of this month. That’s my plan anyhow, as next year is already full of many cool things. Here are some of them in case you’d like to join me.

Opening the New Year – Workshop, 07 Jan, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Magical methods for welcoming in 2025, cleansing and banishing the old to make room for the new.

Scrying Skills – Workshop, 14 Jan, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Learn the art of seeing visions in a crystal ball, black mirror or a flickering candle flame.

The Beastly Prophet; Aleister Crowley and Thelemic Magick – Talk, 27 Jan, doors open at 6:30pm and talk starts at 7pm, at Viktor Wynd’s Museum, London. A deep dive into the story of the most notorious occultist of the 20th century, tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil’s Botany Absinthe.

The Order of the Sun and Moon, Third Exhibition. 1st Feb – 13th Feb, St Ives, Cornwall.

British Folk Magic – Workshop, 20 Feb, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Charms and spells from an array of British folk magic traditions, in theory and practice.

The Magical Body – Talk, 18 Feb, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. Chakras, auras, meridians and medical astrology are just some of the approaches to the magical body that I’ll be exploring in this lecture.

Ghost in the Machine: Spirit Technology – Talk, 2 Mar, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing. 19:00-20:30 UK time. There are unseen forces in the world, invisible radiations that carry information between minds. This is how your phone works, and the history of this and many other technologies are rooted in occultism.

(The two talks above are with The College of Psychic Studies. Details of these and other lectures, workshops, in person teaching and ceremony will be upload here soon!)

The Thoth Tarot of Aleister Crowley & Frieda Harris – Workshop, 2 & 9 Mar, 7 – 9pm EST. Online and Delayed Viewing.

Baphomet Magic – Workshop, 13 & 20 Mar, 19:00 – 21:00 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing.

Sigil Magic in Theory and Practice – Workshop, 23 & 30 Mar, 7 – 9pm EST. Online and Delayed Viewing.

Psychotropics and the Western Magical Tradition – Talk, 03 Apr 2025, 19:00 – 20:30 UK time. Online and Delayed Viewing.

…and then it’s Breaking Convention, the largest and most diverse conference on psychedelic consciousness in Europe at The University of Exeter, 17- 19 April. Sign up to the Breaking Convention newsletter to be notified about tickets, the call for contributors and more.

There’s much more deliciousness planned for later in 2025, please keep your eye on my social media for details.

And that other little side project, started during the pandemic, My Magical Thing is still ongoing on my Youtube channel, enjoy!

I hope my friends in the northern hemisphere will be able to successfully navigate this dark time as we turn towards the within. The winter can be a difficult period for many of us so let’s keep the Yule fire burning bright this season as we rest, regenerate and renew ourselves for the wild and weird year ahead.

Sending you Seaons’s greetings and many blessings from sunny Devon!

Julian

XxX

Living in the northern hemisphere, in the British Isles, as we head towards Midsummer there is so much light! As I write this it’s 9:30pm on the 19th of June and the sky is still blue with the longest of twilights.

Spring, with its blossom and bluebells, gives way to the branching white heads of umbellifers and the yellow glow of St John’s Wort as we reach the height of the year. The floral gems of Sedum acre, also known as ‘biting stonecrop’, – from its habit of growing low across almost bare rock – are scattered over the ground at Midsummer. Its habit of growing in luxurious patches over stone gives rise to an alternative name for this vibrantly coloured plant, ‘golden carpet’. The ones shown here are from a little spot beside the river where I like to practice my Qigong.

I’ve been pulling back on some of my work, or at least trying to, so I can focus on doing more writing, I’m currently about 13k words into a new book project. That said, there’s still plenty of cool things planned over the next few months that I wanted to share with you…

One big project that reaches its next stage this year is the release of more of my Magical Qabalistic pathworkings with Treadwell’s Books. These guided audio journeys through the tarot paths and sephira of the Tree of Life are designed to work even if you only know a little Qabalistic symbolism, while those more familiar the Tree will be able to appreciate the rich iconography woven into the pieces. Each journey is built using a carefully crafted blend of spoken word and original soundscapes, using contemporary and cross-cultural imagery to make the Qabalistic system really accessible. There is some challenging material here; these are not a series of easy-going well being meditations. Unsurprisingly the path of The Tower and sphere of Geburah include some challenging material. My intention has been to provide a deep and, at times, intense set of practices which can be used multiple times. I’m planning eventually to produce guided audio journeys for every sphere and path of the Tree of Life.

The first group of pathworkings are already available here and I’ll be teaching a two-part workshop which will sit alongside the new audio tracks that are due be released in the autumn. If you’ve never explored the Qabalah before these workshops will give you an easy introduction to the system, while experienced practitioners will discover new ways to think about and connect with the various zones of the Tree.

I’ll also be teaching sessions on The Magick of Aleister Crowley and Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel online, and presenting two in-person events at Treadwell’s for those who are able make it to London in September, The Magic of Sound and Vision and Psychedelic Magic.

Another big project, this time with The College of Psychic Studies, is the first London exhibition from The Order of the Sun and Moon (OSM). Kate Southworth, Greg Humphries and I will be showing our magical artworks at the College from the 30th of August until the 27th of September. We’re also doing some in-person esoteric art workshops and a group ceremony on the opening weekend. And before that we’re inviting you to a free online event where we’ll be sharing some of our practice, including a preview of some of the artworks we’ll be showing in London. In February 2025 OSM will be exhibiting again in St.Ives, Cornwall to coincide with a show at the Tate gallery, St Ives of work by the occultist, artist and esoteric founder of the Order, Ithell Colquhoun.

I’m going to be doing additional workshops with the College later in this year – see my listings on their site for details – which will include a deep-dive, eight-part course on the Eight Colours of Chaos Magic in theory and, most importantly, practice.

Finally, I’m proud to be a member of The Fellowship of Psychonauts; we offer multidisciplinary teaching in psychedelic space holding, with a focus on an apprenticeship model and practical skills development. Our next psychedelic ceremonial retreat in the Netherlands will be held in October this year, from the 9th to the 15th, with additional sessions before and after the retreat providing a six month training program. This program is for people who already have some psychedelic experience, and want to broaden and deepen their space-holding practice. It’s also for those who want to get a better understanding of ceremony, and to have an opportunity to explore what other roles they might be suited to within the wider psychedelic community. To find out more and register your interest click here.

The sun stands still, the tide of the year changes. I wish my friends in the northern hemisphere a bright Midsummer, and a cosy Midwinter for my friends in the south.

From the heights of the heavens, to the depths of the earth, we are one heart, connected.

Sending blessings to you all from sunny Devon!

Julian