occulture | The Blog of Baphomet

In the season of Leo there is a delicious warmth in the air. Some days are bright, bold and blue, their horizons punctuated with towering Jupiterian thunder clouds. On others the breeze caresses the river reeds into sibilant susurrations as they sway beneath the sultry west country skies. High summer is here.

This time of the academic summer holiday is one I feel fully entitled to embrace, having finally finished another book which Psychedelic Press will release this autumn:

Trip Sitting is your essential guide to supporting safe, meaningful psychedelic journeys. Informed by cutting-edge science and extensive real-world experience, this book offers practical insights into the skills, techniques, and mindset that every effective trip sitter needs.

From preparing the space and setting the tone, to navigating the journey and supporting successful integration, Trip Sitting takes a holistic approach to care. With a strong foundation in ethics and practical experience this guide will help you hold space with clarity, confidence, and compassion, maximising the benefits and minimising the risks when exploring these magical medicines.

Whether you’re already working with psychedelics or preparing to hold space for yourself or others, Trip Sitting is a valuable resource. With a focus primarily on one-to-one sessions, its principles and practices can be adapted to a variety of contexts, from small group settings to personal journeys. This book is equally useful for those seeking a safe and effective psychedelic experience, offering clear guidance on what good practice looks like and how to recognize a trustworthy setting.

Foreword by Julie Holland, MD

* PRE-ORDER NOW! Out September 2025 *

Music is an important part of my life and I celebrate being born in a time when so much amazing recorded music is available so easily. As a great fan of analogue electronic music — the first album I ever bought was Rubycon by Tangerine Dream — I’ve been enjoying the work of Caught in Joy, a prolific composer whose music can be found on both Bandcamp and YouTube. Being able to support content creators whose work I enjoy directly is also a real blessing. I’ve recently subscribed to the Patreon of Justin Sledge who is a real treasure in the scholarship of the western esoteric tradition and allied currents. Do check out his work if you’re not familiar with it.

Later this year I’ll be back in teaching mode with classes hosted by Treadwell’s Books, The College of Psychic Studies and Morbid Anatomy. I’ll also be available for one-to-one mentoring sessions, just message me for details.

A History of Chaos Magic – a lecture linked to the publication of This is Chaos edited by Peter J. Carroll, which includes my essay Chemognosis Redux, is on Tuesday 16 September. (All these session are live online and also offer the chance to catch up with the recording.)

I’ll also be lecturing on Cannabis in Magical Practice on Tuesday 30th of September and then on Sexual Magics on the 16th of October.

I’m teaching with Treadwell’s The Magical Qabalah on the 11th and 18th of November and participants on that course will also get access to the set of audio pathworkings which I’ve been working on over the last three years.

Then on the 4th and 11th of December we’ll be exploring Trancing in the Dark.

Check out the teaching I’m doing on the Qabalah, the Thoth Tarot and Samhain with The College of Psychic Studies here, and my two part Morbid Anatomy workshop on Crowley and his channelled text The Book of the Law.

I’ll be speaking at the wonderful Occulture conference in Berlin in October, hope to see you there!

I’ll also be speaking at the online Earth, Sea and Sky Conference on the Role of Fungi in Magic on the 8th of November and in-person in Cornwall on the 9th of October at the Penzance Pagan Moot, and in Wales on the 18th of October as part of the Annual magic and witchcraft conference 2025.

Expect too more films from My Magical Thing, the charming and instructive pandemic side-project of mine that refuses to die, I think I’ve done more than 100 episodes to date!

Right that’s enough for now, back to reading the excellent book by my friend — and My Magical Thing participant — Rupert Callender What Remains: Life, Death and the Human Art of Undertaking and enjoying the sunshine in my garden which right now is full of flowers.

Wishing you many Blessings,

Julian

XxX

Hello Friends,

Here in the northern hemisphere the equinoctial shift has passed and we begin to enter the rich darkness. The new academic year begins and we move inside, away from the frolics of the summer, and our attention is once more drawn within. As they say in psychedelic therapy ‘the darkness is where the treasure lies’; the darkness may be challenging but it is also in this deep within that insights can be found.

Like it says on the Thoth Tarot card Art (aka Temperance): “Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapiiderm”, Latin for “Visit the interior parts of the earth; by rectification thou shalt find the hidden stone.” The hidden stone is the philosopher’s stone. Rectification is an alchemical process of purification through repeated distillation. In the dark part of the year we distil and refine what we have learnt in the bright months to create the conditions for transformation.

I hope that you’ve been able to grow successfully this year and if, like me, you are feeling that northern descent into the darkness, you can experience it as nourishing, empowering and good.

I’m very pleased to have been invited to do more psychedelic teaching this year on Laura-Dawn’s Transilience Program and for the Stewards of the Sacred Global Online Gathering led by Natasja Pelgrom (details to be released soon).

I’m also offering a workshop on Psychedelic Magic with Treadwell’s and looking forward to working with the fabulous Fungi Academy at their HQ in Guatemala teaching on the Sacred Space Holder Program.

This autumn also sees me showing some of my magical art at St Ives in Cornwall from the 4th to the 9th of November alongside Kate Southworth and Greg Humphries. Collectively we’re known as The Order of the Sun and Moon, a name taken from the title of an essay by artist-occultist Ithell Colquhoun.

We’re running a series of both online and live events including discussions, rituals and workshops. You’re also invited to attend the private view of the gallery, just drop me a message to contactdeepmagic@gmail.com to let us know you’re coming along.

I’d also like to draw your attention to the work of The Good Beast with their swirling psychedelic sound and cool merchandise that features an artwork by me 😀 Their first album is launched this month.

And just for fun I’ll be visiting Berlin for a second time this year to attend the Occulture Conference. I’m not to speak this time so I can focus on the delight of simply hanging out at Europe’s foremost occult conference.

Closer to home, my old home city of Bristol in fact, I’m doing a talk about Psychedelic Magic at the local Pagan moot. Here’s the fabulous poster that a friend designed for the event:

Finally, I’m doing a deep dive into the Thoth Tarot online in November, suitable both for complete novices to the tarot and to old hands with the Thoth or other decks.

Sending you best wishes, dear friends, for your autumnal adventures – or spring explorations for those in the southern hemisphere – and hope I’ll see you online or in person soon.

Much love from sunny Devon!

Julian