Keynote Address

I’m not Saying it was Aliens… but it was Alien[ated Agency]: Occultural Studies, Other-Than-Human Encounter, and the Co-Production of Knowledge

Dr Cavan McLaughlin delivers insights from his years of practice which informed his recent PhD in Occultural Production.

Thelema’s history is a history of contact: Aiwass and the Holy Guardian Angel, the Secret Chiefs, Amalantrah, Lam, Typhonian stellar and Nightside cosmologies, and all manner of encounters with seemingly praeterhuman intelligence(s) and alienated agencies. This keynote brings these entities and currents into conversation with occultural studies, magic(k)al practices, practice-based research, and direct personal experience with strange and radically estranged alterities. It asks not what such alienated agencies “really are,” but what they make possible: how encounters with the Other reshape "selves," practices, knowledges, and the worlds we inhabit. In doing so, it offers Thelema as a living (col)laboratory of weird worlding: a tradition in which angelic, alien, artistic, scientific, magic(k)al and scholarly modes of being and knowing meet in the risky work of learning—and shaping—how reality responds.

Cavan is a Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries at the University of the West of England (UWE), a filmmaker, artist, and creative media practitioner.

Tantra, Sound Power, and India’s Hidden Influence on Western Occultism

Avinash Lagoo brings the history of Vedic practice to illuminate their influence on Crowley in the development of Thelema and the Western Mystery Tradition. Full information to follow.

Avi is an Ayurvedic practitioner and Vice-President of the Glasgow Theosophical Society, who has presented lectures and workshops across Europe and India. Avi is trained in nutrition, lifestyle, and a range of therapies.

Half hour for coffee and stalls!

Dr Halo Quin draws from their forthcoming book on Babalon to introduce you to practical techniques of connection with yourself and the Goddess. An experiential workshop of devotion and embodiment exploring the nature of Babalon as Goddess of the flesh.

Halo is Co-founder of Star Club, training multi-disciplinary magicians in the UK, and the HeadWitch of pagan school The Enchanted Academy (TEA). Their books focus on practical, accessible magic, and include ‘Gods and Goddesses of Wales’, and ‘Crimson Craft - sexual magic for the solo witch’.

An hour to find food at the fabulous market behind the Old Fire Station, peruse stalls, and make friends with your fellow guests.

During this workshop, inspired by the magical life of Marjorie Cameron, aided by the Spirit of the Rose of Sharon, and the creation frequency of the Aramaic–Hebrew letter Shin, we will journey to meet and reconnect with our inner outcast, to find healing and reintegrating lost power.

Cristina (Astrum Lucifera) is a solopreneur and creatrix of the esoteric herbal apothecary "In Lumine Lunae", as well as the founder of the Dianic spiritual organization "Templum Dianae" and the occult female society "The Ladies from Outside". She has been initiated into the Dianic Tradition and officially ordained as Dianic Priestess by the Temple of Diana (Los Angeles, CA). Cristina is also a claircognizant offering spiritual guidance and teaching, a certified myrrhophore, esoteric herbalist and ritual perfumer, as well as a certified Plant Spirit Healing practitioner and a member of the British Flower Essence Producers (BAFEP).

www.astrumlucifera.com

Another half hour to pick up those deals you’ve been thinking about in our trader and media area.

Danny has spent over thirty years fooling people as a magician, studying how the mind can fool itself and what remains when the trickery stops and the magick starts. Sometimes laughter is the most powerful Magick and you can expect a lot of that!

Danny is an international comedian, stage magician, and occultist who has toured the world. He is a headline performer and speaker for Disney, as well as bringing his one man shows to the world’s most exclusive cruise lines. He is a writer for shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats and Channel Hoping.

Following a brilliant set at the 2025 e.v. Symposium, Danny will return with more amazing anecdotes from the world of occultism and showbusiness.

Julian Vayne explores Aleister Crowley’s experimental use of mescaline and peyote in early twentieth-century occult practice. He examines Crowley's deployment of this ancient psychedelic in both public rituals and private ceremonial workings.

Julian has spent over forty years immersed in magic, meditation, and entheogenic ceremony. A leading voice in contemporary occultism and co-organiser of Breaking Convention, Julian bridges deep tradition with modern psychedelic culture. He is a longstanding member of The Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros, AMOOKOS and both Alexandrian and Gardnerian lineages of Wicca. Julian teaches internationally, mentors practitioners, and leads ceremony informed by chaos magic, tantra, and earth based spirituality. He is the author of numerous books, essays, and journals. His work invites curiosity, creativity, and grounded exploration, offering a blend of scholarship, lived experience, and visionary insight.

Join our wonderful speakers to answer any burning questions you might have been holding from their lectures and workshops while we whip around the theatre with microphones and pizzazz.

The ritual team of Star Club return to offer a Mass of Babalon, a highlight of the 2024 e.v. Symposium. This accessible Eucharist allows connection and experience of the Thelemic current and will close the event.

Aye, Feast! Rejoice! There is no dread hereafter!

Celebrate with the speakers until the event closes at 10pm, with music and bar serving favourites both.

There may even be an after-party…