The Blog of Baphomet

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

I’m sitting and writing this in the days between the solstice and the New Year. Those strange, delicious in-betweenness days which, according to legend, are bonus dates that extend the 360 degrees of the horizon’s circle into the 365-ish days of the solar year.

I’m grateful that, as I reflect on the year that is on its way out, I’ve been so fortunate. Especially in Euro-American culture we tend to believe that what happens to us is the results of our choices, and up to a point that may be true. However, much of what happens in our lives is the result of conditions around us, and innumerable other factors over which we – in the sense of our consciousness awareness or even our ability to plan – wield little control. (I am reminded of an interview with the Duke of Westminster in which he wisely suggested that the best way to get rich in the UK was to have an ancestor who was friends with William the Conqueror.) I therefore praise the Goddess Fortuna for her favour.

My good fortune last year consisted of many opportunities to work with remarkable people. This is one way I endeavour to roll with the capricious Wheel of Fortune, by surrounding myself with wonderful friends, allies, colleagues and collaborators. I get to do cool stuff in part because I make it my business to hang out with wonderful humans, to be inspired, cared for, recruited and raised up by them. Amazing collaborations in 2023 included with the team of Breaking Convention and our first conference at the University of Exeter, the members of the Order of the Sun and Moon, The Fungi Academy, The Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros and many others. I was able to travel in 2023 to attend the MAPS conference in Denver, as well as Music, Magic & Medicine and Occulture in Berlin. Meanwhile I’ve been invited to contribute to the emerging academic fields of occult studies, psychedelics and philosophy and esoteric art. I’ve been administered intravenous DMT for an hour at Imperial College, and taught local NHS wellbeing programs. My strategy, such as it is, is to put myself in the right place (physically, psychologically etc) and then just wait for amazing things (collaborations, situations, inspiration etc) to arise. This echoes the view of my Tai Chi teacher, quoting his teacher Cheng Man-ching, that to access the power of chi all you had to do was put yourself in the right place and then it will just turn up. The analogy being catching a bus; you have to get to the right bus stop but once you’re there just be patient, and get on board when it arrives.

I recognise my privilege in all this, in all the opportunities I have been able to access. I thank Fortuna for the chance to doing things I love with people I respect, admire and whose company I enjoy. My happiness, as I reflect on 2023, is also born of the perception that some of the things I’ve done have helped others. For example, at the Breaking Convention conference Nikki and I had more than one person tearfully express to us how grateful they were to be in a setting in which their interest in psychedelics was accepted and indeed celebrated. For me it’s both a source of honour and of delight to be able to do this work which I consider an expression, speaking with my pointy occultist hat on, of my Great Work. Meanwhile for those who missed the conference itself, the talks from Breaking Convention 2023, like those of previous years, are all available free on YouTube.

Me on intravenous DMT, for science, selecting my post entity-encounter lunch.

I’ve also been honoured to directly support the next generation of psychedelic sitters by teaching on programs curated by Daniel Shankin, Laura-Dawn, and Natasja Pelgrom.

2024 looks like it is set to be equally busy in a good way, here are a few things that are already scheduled:

I’ll be speaking at The Occult Conference in Glastonbury, 17-18th of February in person, and the following weekend I’ll be part of the online Sacred Mycology Summit curated by The Fungi Academy, 23-25th February.

I’m facilitating a psychedelic retreat in The Netherlands with the excellent Nurse Jo and other very experienced space holders (Jo’s blog is here). This will be immediately after the Breaking Convention 2024 one-day event in London. For details of the BC event follow them on social media so you can grab a ticket once these go live, or sign up to their newsletter.

If you’re interested in joining me in the Netherlands for our retreat, which is specifically for psychonauts who want to develop their space holding skills, please drop me a message. The dates for this are Monday 22nd until Saturday 27th of April.

Meanwhile on the artistic front, there is another exhibition scheduled for The Order of the Sun and Moon, once again in St Ives, this time from the 9th to 15th of November. We’re also planning a show in London earlier in the year, details are yet to be confirmed so watch this space for updates.

The illustrated volume of essays by the Order of the Sun and Moon with foreword by Judith Noble remains available via Amazon. Contact me direct if you want one of the rare signed copies, or one of the editions that contain original artwork by Greg Humphries.

I was really chuffed that so many people attended the opening night, that visitors to the gallery keep the place buzzing for a week, and that I sold several pieces. The artworks that I produce for sale can be found on the gallery page of my website and you can see the pieces from the St Ives show here.

Kate Southworth, Greg Humphries and me in The Crypt Gallery, St Ives, Cornwall.

Also via my website I’ve got three inexpensive self-directed courses available (in fact one of them is completely free) and I’m working with the excellent Dave Lee to shortly add an extensive course on chaos magic too. Dave incidentally has just published another excellent book, Primal Chaos: Writings and Rituals from Then and Now through Nikki Wyrd’s publishing house The Universe Machine.

Finally, I’m going to be doing lots of online esoteric workshops with Treadwell’s Books (coming up next New Year’s Magic, Scrying, Chaos Magic and Psychogeography), Morbid Anatomy (Chaos Magic, Sigil Magic, and Navigating Psychedelic Space), Viktor Wynd (An Introduction to Aleister Crowley, and Thelemic Magick) and The College of Psychic Studies (details coming soon). Stay tuned to my social media for more details.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with my news! Now it’s back to the excellent home-made mince pies, baked and photographed by the ever skilful Nikki Wyrd…