Treadwells

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:38:41 GMT

Well, the Midsummer gave me a sunburn and lots of rest, for which I am very very happily grateful. Spent time his solstice meditating on self-knowledge, self-awareness, and compassion. Mmmm. Came back to work this morning to discover, ooh! lots of books delivered whilst I was away. Our dear friend Rowan is back in the UK, and will be at the shop over the next few weeks, which is a cause for celebration. Also hope to have various friends and acquaintances coming through town whom we hope to connect with if at all possible (hello Jay, hello Larry).

The Red Goddess reissued! Much talked about, by Peter Grey and published by his own Scarlet Imprint. Delivered this weekend, following the launch. It's selling fast but we got quite a few. £37 and we post worldwide. Email us or ring us to order. (0207 240 8906, info@treadwells-london.com).

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:22:03 GMT

19 June 2008 (Thursday)
Tomorrow, 19th June
Pop Culture Magick: A Practitioner’s Perspective
A talk by Elizabeth Maddison
At Treadwell's Boookshop, 7.15 for 7.30 start

Magick drawing on the archetypes, images and powers of fiction, media, television and film -- this is not a new phenomenon, as adherents of Cthulhu rituals can attest. But the television era and the related teenage witch phenomenon has given rise to a generation of young people whose primary magical instructors are fictional characters. In this illustrated lecture, Elizabeth Maddison speaks of her magical and pagan practices, grounded in popular culture. Along the way we meet Buffy, Willow, Xena the Warrior Princess, Stargate and even the CareBears.Sociologists of religion have commenced studying the teen-witch craze and the pop culture of the 1980s and 1990s, including its impact on paganism; perceptions of sacredness; gender perceptions; and social relations. Academic articles on it are appearing in considerable numbers, and so it makes it especially significant to have an experiential perspective here at Treadwell's. The speaker grew up in West London in the eighties and nineties amidst the heyday of the teen witch phenomenon, and is steeped not only in pop culture but also in Wagner, opera and literature. To book a seat just ring Treadwell's on 0207 240 8906. Hope we see you there!

DMT, Ayahuesca, Pineal Glands - And Sorcery with Entities

Wed, 28 May 2008 16:28:35 GMT

Last night's talk by David Luke, The Shaman the Vision and the Brain was sold out and we turned away about 30 people who hadn't booked far enough in advance. We have asked him to give the lecture on a second date and he has kindly agreed. So all of you who couldn't get in...
The Shaman, the Vision and the Brain
by Dr David Luke
2nd JULY at Treadwell's
What a generous sweetie to do it again! Thanks, David!

Mayday Update

Sat, 03 May 2008 14:51:05 GMT

Photos from the parade of green men and morris dancers round the City of London are coming soon, I've found a couple links (well, one at least) of the Mayday loveliness. Chilled Chimp was there and Skitster, I believe as well. The sun and summery prospect seem to have come out in response, which is fantastic. I am going out this evening to collect hawthorn blossom and make flower crowns in some woods by an uncle's old cottage in Hertfordshire. It makes the nicest reward imaginable for pricing and shelving approximately 1,100 books over the past week. I leave the shop in the capable hands of Julia (on Sunday) and Brian (Monday), who are two of the nicest people you could hope to know.

We have a very cool lineup of events, which has involved lovely chats and correspondents with the forthcoming speakers. One I'm really happy to have reconnected with is Jaq Hawkins, whom I knew slightly in aformer life. As I've come to know her better through her recent books (one in particular) it makes me all the more thrilled to be meeting her again soon. Events here (http://treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp).

We are settled down after meeting so many new faces and old friends at the CESNUR conference. Helloes and visits were had with Lynn Scholefield, Maria Balfer, John Crow, Marco Pasi, Amanda van Twist, David Barrett, Clive Harper, Graham Harvey... oh and lots and lots. Some interesting plots were hatched, too, but we can't say anything about those yet... (grin)

Best to all. We stil post here even though we do now have a facebook group as well. But there, you can't really write proper entries with news....
Christina

Green Men Dance with the City Boys

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:04:55 GMT

Okay all of you in Tower Bridge area and the City of London, here's the route for your Mayday entertainment. Go get some magic from them --
Christina

Fowlers Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green:
May Day 2008 - Route

10.30 - 11.30: Borough Market – Market Porter, (Free House) Stoney Street, London SE1 9AA Deptford Jack prepares, and leaves at 11.30 sharp.
Stoney St, Clink St, Bankside, Jubilee Walkway

11.40 - 11.50: Globe Theatre

11.55 - 12.35: Founders Arms, (Youngs) Hopton ST. SE1 9JH

12.35 -12.45: Tate Modern
Hopton St, Upper Ground

12.55 - 1.35: Gabriels Wharf (various refreshments) & National Theatre
Upper Ground, Waterloo Road

1.45 - 2.40: Hole in the wall, (Free House) 5 Mepham St, SE1 8SQ
Exton St, Roupell St, Meynott St, Blackfiars Rd, Union St

2.55 - 3.45: Charles Dickens, (Free House) 160 Union St, SE1 0LH
Union St, Pepper St, Doyce St, Clenham St

4.00 - 4.40: Lord Clyde, (Free House) 27 Clenham St, SE1 1ER
Marshalsea Rd, Great Dover Rd, Silvester St

4.45 – 5.45: Royal Oak, (Harveys) 44 Tabard St, SE1 4JU
Borough High St, Stoney St

6.00 – 11.30? Market Porter (again) – Thankyou and Goood night

http://www.deptford-jack.org.uk/

Green Leaves Amongst the Pinstripes

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:01:16 GMT

Hey there everyone
If you work in the City, then do look out your window next Thursday, which is of course Mayday, around lunchtime. You might just see a procession of foliage-covered chaps and a big Green Man, in a procession. Big Green hairy leafy fertility Blokes meet suits and laptops in London's financial district. I shan't be there, but believe me, I want to see photos!

Here's Their Blurb

Thursday, 1st May - Lunchtime
Fowlers Troop and the 'Deptford Jack in the Green' will be out on May Day, in the City of London. We will start our proecession from the Market Porter, Stoney Street (SE, by London Bridge) at approximately 11.00am on Thursday. The route will include crossing the river by London Bridge and stopping at pubs such as the Lamb in Leadenhall Market and Ye Old Watling in Watling Street.. and other pubs too.

Wednesday 30th April 2008 - After Work in London Bridge
The evening before, we will be out as well. We will decorate, or 'green' the Jack during the evening of Wednesday 30th April opposite the Market Porter and the sausage shop, Stoney Street. All welcome to come and help or just pass the time of day - bring some flowers!

Here's a map showing Stoney Street, in London Bridge, Southwark, where the Jack will be dressed on the Weds evening, and from where he will set out on Thursday 11 am.
http://www.deptford-jack.org.uk/mayday2008.htm
Contact us: S.J.Crofts(@)gre.ac.uk

Best from Treadwell's folks as we lead up to Beltane.
Christina

Remote Viewing & Academic Conference Bookselling

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:04:04 GMT

Well, it is sunny and clear in Covent Garden, and the lovely Paul Wood is here working away with me. So far we have inventoried the magazine stock, unpacked boxes of carrier bags (quite adorable ones, we think), and displayed quartz pendulums. The big excitement, however, is that as of tomorrow morning, we will be having a stall at the CESNUR conference at the London School of Economics - an academic conference on new religious movements and esotericism. The shop will be open as usual, staffed by the inimitable Brian Schwartz of Offstage and by Julia W. on Thursday. Tonight I'll be packing up boxes of books to be transported, at dawn, over to the conference venue on the Aldwych.

Just got notice for a rather cool thing happening on 26th April, at Treadwell's Meeting Rooms. A group is doing a remote viewing experiment, preceded by a lecture. If you fancy being part of a PSI experiment and learning about remote viewing, you can come along. Here's the link - to sign up to attend you just drop them an email (via their website). At Treadwell's for Saturday 26th April, all day long. They say 'an introductory lecture followed by a series of experiments'. Website: http://www.psi-society.com/remote-viewing.htm - sign up via email through the site.

That's it for now -- Christina

Polytheist Traditions Conference - 19 April, Birmingham

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 16:28:30 GMT

Dear Friends,
Here's a Birmingham Pagan Conference of a partly academic nature, with a heavy emphasis on practice and practitioners. Do sign up if you are in the area and it appeals.
I will be waving at you from London,
Christina

Association of Polytheist Traditions Conference
"Local Deities - Gods of the Land"
Saturday 19th April 2008
Come and learn about the old deities of Britain, the gods in the landscape of Birmingham and the West Midlands.Come and tell us about your spiritual practice now. . AGM 10-12 ; Speakers and discussion 1.30-4.30. In the evening we're heading for a local hostelry for ale and good company. All welcome – we ask for a small donation (to help cover cost of the room) or a raffle prize. Please contact the APT for info or to let us know you will attend – email mailto:manygods@gmail.com. Venue: Conference room 4, Birmingham Central Library, Chamberlain Square, Birmingham B3 3HQ.
--

Howlings at Treadwell's

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 13:13:10 GMT

In Stock at Treadwell's - today! Scarlet Imprint's new limited edition book,‘Howlings’ -- a collection of 14 original and extensive essays exploring grimoires, written from a variety of perspectives, but all are passionate and informed by firsthand knowledge of contemporary magical practice. The editor, Peter Grey, has spoken at Treadwell’s in the past on Babalon. Contributors: David Rankine, Donald Tyson, Peter Grey, David Beth, Stafford Stone, Paul Hughes-Barlow, Krzysztof Azarewicz, Jack Macbeth, Thea Faye, Aleq Grai, Zaheer Gulamhusein, and the anonymous author of The Grimoire of Pharaon. They draw inspiration from, and explore their reactions to, such works as The Picatrix; The Goetia or Lesser Key of Solomon; Four Books of Occult Philosophy; The Voudon Gnostic Workbook; Liber 231; Andrew Chumbley’s Qutub; And the grimoire itself. The volume itself is 8vo, 4 colour plates, bound in peacock blue and gilt-stamped cloth. It has been called 'strikingly handsome' and we are inclined to agree.A strictly limited first edition of 333 copies. Brought to you by publishers of the Red Goddess. Treadwell's has them in, for your perusal and delectation. Come early and choose your favourite lucky number... £33.00 per copy. ALSO! We are hosting their launch party on Friday,4 April. Email us to be added to the guest list (info@treadwells-london.com).
Christina
PS. Lots of new events being added to our 'lectures' and 'courses' page of the website this week.

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:08:02 GMT

The Guardian ran an article for the equinox about druids, or more like, a slide show.
Here tis - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/gallery/2008/mar/21/1?picture=333201479
Christina

Magic Circles last night

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:19:08 GMT

Treadwell's had William Kiesel here last night (he of the legendary Ouroborous Books) and he gave the most deliciously beautiful illustrated talk on ceremonial magic's circles. Shock and awe of delight as we were shown not only classic pictures but rare images from Czech printed material, almost never yet seen in the West -- as the talk concentrated on the medieval, Renaissance and early modern period the images were spectacular throughout. I think his talk is really perfect as an introduction to the old works of magic and the underlying cosmology of Western ceremonial magic. I wish I could have had this talk when I was starting out. It's also talk I would highly recommend for any modern magical practitioner, since this is about the history that lays the foundation of the circle as used today. The scholars in the audience, or at least those who specialise in the the history of magic, didn't find it very demanding, but their pleasure lay in feasting their eyes on the visual delights and hearing a lucid speaker open up their subject area to the nonspecialist and the practitioner. William is such an agreeable and engaging lecturer that it was a pleasure for everyone.

Afterwards at the soiree amongst the books on the shopfloor, there was much chat and mingling - and comparing of notes with bits from the Voynich manuscript (thanks Nick). At the end of the night the lovely william left us with the last ever cloth hardback copies of his vol 1 of the Picatrix (Vol1, containing Books 1 and 2. Bless him, he signed every one of them. And he promised volume 2 will be out in April or May.

Today is coffee, clearing up the last wine glasses, and receiving customers and visitors. One particular old friend came in this afternoon, the wonderful Damien DeBarra of the provocative and hilarious blather.net (that's a plug, yes!)
Back to work --
Christina

Christian Kabbalah's Renaissance Origins

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 12:24:55 GMT

Here is a write-up and notes of Crofton Black's recent lecture at Treadwell's on the origins of Christian Kabbalah. CroftonBlack's doctorate is on Pico della Mirandola, so it was very apt.

Title: Treadwells Lecture: Christian Kabbalah in the Renaissance
URL: http://simontomasi.livejournal.com/44735.html

Thanks! It is so nice to have a record of the talks. It was a great night altogether, I felt.
Christina

One-Woman Show - The Goddesses are Coming!

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 16:25:01 GMT

The Goddesses are Coming! And to North London, no less, this Saturday afternoon and evening.

Treadwell's road trip. You are cordially invited to meet me and other Treadwellians at the venue in Willesden Library for all three shows which start at 2pm, 4pm and 8pm.

Three themed short shows by the award winning performance artist, Xanthe Gresham. Her funny, wry, and upliftingly poetic one-woman shows are centred round the myths of the goddesses of the ancient world -- but as they live and repeat themselves in the life of a single forty-something girl living in London today. In the course of her monologues, given in the first person and based on her own life, she takes us back in time to the tales of the old myths, and down into some of the issues we face today about sexuality, personal authenticity, adulthood, responsibility, betrayal, and desire -- and she subverts them all, and you're not even watching.
They are each centred on a goddess myth, but really, don't think tofu and tie-dye, think Prada stilettos and hangovers from Jack Daniels. More on Xanthe at her web page: http://www.xanthegresham.co.uk/

2pm Aphrodite and the Real Red Shoes -- and -- Inanna.
Lasts one hour, approximately

4pm. Isis is You, Sis.
Lasts one hour, approximately

8pm Hecate Tango
Lasts one hour

I will be going to all three, making a day of it. Between the 4pm show and the 8pm show, a group of us will be going to dinner at a local restaurant in Willesden, and you are invited to join us. We are meeting in the lobby of the Willesden Library at 10 minutes before 2pm. It is all free (thank you to the Arts Council!).

Venue of performances:
The Space, Willesden Library
95 High Road, Willesden Green, London NW10
Tube: Willesden Green on the Jubilee Line
Map & Directions: http://www.brent.gov.uk/offloc.nsf/519c2f87bcd40ae78025679f0042d9e2/53ae2dcb88c76c4d802567a7004432e5!OpenDocument

Write to me to come to dinner and/or meet me there: info@treadwells-london.com
Christina

Ronald Hutton on the Horned God - Talk to download

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:49:08 GMT

I just discovered that there is a downloadable talk by Ronald Hutton on the history of the pagan horned god. It is on an OBOD podcast programme, and it all looks cool and fun. It looks like a new one comes out each month. Ronald's talk is here, in Episode Four:

http://www.druidcast.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=247656

Its very funny to hear him talking if you aren't used to hearing him on radio, I found. He is as lovable and funny and intense as in person.
Christina

Terry Pratchett this Saturday in Bath

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:34:52 GMT

Anyone in the Bath area, or mad enough on Terry Pratchett to go there specially, he is speaking there soon on the Discworld series. Jutta kindly sent me this link this morning, and I am pleased to post it to everyone here.... It's the Bath Literature Festival on Saturday.
LINK: http://www.bathlitfest.org.uk/terry-pratchett.html

British Museum Pagan/Magic Lunch Talks

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 15:25:14 GMT

If any of you lucky people are free at lunchtimes, tell me how these are.
Thanks Jutta for letting us know these are happening. The next one is tomorrow...

BRITISH MUSEUM LUNCHTIME TALKS of pagan and magical interest this month...
Feb. 20th Art in Heaven: Astronomy and Astrology in Islam
Feb. 21st Shamanism and hunting

Here is the link to the webpage:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar.aspx

Book-Buying Sunday Tomorrow

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 13:29:43 GMT

Tomorrow is Treadwell's Book-Buying Sunday
12 noon - 7pm
First Sunday of every month - bring Treadwell's your unwanted esoteric books. We offer cash and store credit.
Christina

Sex and Witchcraft

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:40:01 GMT

News from Gary Lachman to Treadwellians!
On 14th February (Valentine's Day), 6-9:00 pm, the Transition Gallery is hosting a private viewing of a new exhibition, Sex and Witchcraft, to which Gary Lachman contributed a "specially commissioned essay." Come along and read all about it. Transition Gallery, Unit 25a, Regent Studios, 8 Andrews Rd., London E84NQ Contact: 020 7254 4202/ 07941 208 566 or www.transitiongallery.co.uk info@transitiongallery.co.uk

Return of the Gods - To the Tate on Friday

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:33:42 GMT

A night of Greek gods and goddesses, with myth and religion. You will have dance, expression and storytelling on Greek deities, surrounded by their fabulous sculptural and painterly sexiness around you, cos it's at the Tate. It's a sort of 'happening' on the theme of Greek gods and goddesses, with dance, talks, food, drinks, and swanning around the museum. It is from 6pm - 10pm, THIS Friday.

One treat for me is that there will be a few gallery talks by Professor Mary Beard, Cambridge Professor of Classics who is lively, curious and immensely knowledgeable. I keep trying to get her to talk at Treadwell's, in fact. Let me know if you are going, so we can meet up perhaps in one of the bars or at Mary Beard's 7pm talk....
Christina
http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/eventseducation/lateattatebritain/lateattatebritain2008februaryneoclassical.htm

Film - Rites of Eleusis

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 13:22:53 GMT

I just got this notice so am passing it on to all and sundry who might fancy going along to it. Last performance of these in London was in about 1990, and each rite was performed by a different magical group in existence at the time. A very sexy volume was produced at the end, as I recall. Me, I was a very junior priestess in the Rite of Saturn. Sort of a spear-carrier role, third on the left.... There were floods of Swinburne and Zachary Cox dashing around the stage very dramatically, as I recall. At any rate, the latest is an avant-garde film series, by an American chap visiting the UK. Anyone going, do let me know, I am thinking about popping along myself. -- Christina

Raymond Salvatore Harmon presents
Aleister Crowley's Rites of Eleusis
a 3 channel occult video performance
Friday March 7th 2008 - 9pm
The Horse Hospital, London

Celebrating the 100 year anniversary of the union of Miss Leila Waddell and Mr Aleister Crowley.
Experimental media artist Raymond Salvatore Harmon will present a live improvised set of 7 films. Each based on the individual rituals in British occultist Aleister Crowley's Rites of Eleusis, first presented in Caxton Hall, London in 1910. Crowley based the rituals of Rites of Eleusis on each of the seven classical planets of antiquity - "Saturn", "Jupiter", "Mars", "Sol" (the Sun), "Venus", "Mercury" and "Luna". Utilizing the entire text of Crowley's rites as subliminal content Harmon will improvise the abstract layers of imagery to a prepared score. Presented in a 3 channel video environment Rites of Eleusis promises to be an updated public occult ritual for the 21st century. Harmon's previous occult filmworks have been widely regarded as pioneering in the field of occult/transcendental cinema. His treatise Transcendental Cinema (available from GreyLodge Occult Review here: www.greylodge.org/ebooks/Transcendental_Cinema.pdf) outlines the use of experimental cinema/film/video as a medium for use in the expansion of the mental landscape and the exploration of the conscious mind. **Altered states of conscious welcome.**

The Horse Hospital, 30 Colonnade, London, WC1N 1JD. Tel. 020 78333644
thehorsehospital.com raymondharmon.com myspace.com/raymondsalvatoreharmon

Radio Show on Renaissance Magic Patron: Rudolf II at Prague

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:37:10 GMT

"The Court of Rudolf II - The lost jewel of the Renaissance"
will be on BBC Radio 4
Thursday 31st January, from 9.00 am to 9.45 am (GMT)

This on the Programme 'In Our Time' which is introduced by Melvyn Bragg.
Great show, superb topic. Christina recommends.

"Astronomer Johannes Kepler, magician John Dee and philosopher Giordano Bruno were among the brilliant thinkers at the late 16th-century court of the Holy Roman Emperor. Melvyn Bragg learns about one of the Renaissance's great patrons of magic, alchemy, art and philosophy."

I confess a crush on Melvyn Bragg...

Real Red Shoes for me

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 15:26:02 GMT

This is Tuesday coming, and I am very much looking forward to it. Xanthe Gresham is an award-winning storyteller and one-woman performance artist. She was storyteller-in-residence at the British Museum, and Phil Smith of the Arts Council says she 'speaks like a woman spitting jewels'. How cool is that. We discovered her when friends of the shop saw her perform in the North of England at a festival this past Spring. I've since met her a few times, arranging these nights, and she's really cool and really nice. This is the first of three evenings - the next two are on upcoming Tuesdays: 'Isis is You, Sis' and 'Hecate Tango'.

"Aphrodite and the Real Red Shoes: A One-Woman Show Xanthe Gresham
£8, or £21 for all three shows
29 January 2008 (Tuesday)
Treadwell's, 34 Tavistock Street, London WC"
7.15 for 7.30pm start

“Aphrodite is coming towards you, crushing aromatic flowers with her naked body or striding down the street in her thigh-high boots. Is your red heart strong enough, your black heart deep enough to share her starry secrets?”

Ransacking literature and mythology from the Stone Age to Hans Christian Anderson, from Ancient Greece to Soho, Aphrodite is summoned: six foot, perfumed with ambrosial oil, a perfect snake tattooed between her shoulder blades. Her gift: The Real Red Shoes.

Who's There?

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:45:41 GMT

Henceforth Christina will not be in the shop on Mondays - she will be either (shock) having a day off or (more likely) working from home. Treadwell's will be staffed on Mondays by our lovely downstairs neighbour, Brian Schwartz of Offstage Theatre Books. He doesn't know esoteric subjects, folks, so he won't be able to offer much advice on reading or magic. He does, however, know where the book sections are, and he is one of the friendliest and most competent booksellers you will ever meet. Christina will be about Tuesdays to Saturdays. Sundays she will be working downstairs more often, doing that lovely sexy stuff called paperwork.

No change to our opening hours. La Treads is open seven days a week, 12 noon to 7pm, with lots of evening events.

Mon, 07 Jan 2008 17:40:28 GMT

One of the funniest things that has happened to Treadwell's over the past two years is that we have been adopted, so to speak, by a lovely chap who is the world expert on Mesopotamian Demonology. Dr Irving Finkel rings us a few times a year to offer us a talk on some aspect of mesopotamian magic that is capturing his fancy, or that he is focussing on at work (he is assistant keeper at the British Museum). The latest episode occurred just before Christmas when Treadwell's received a very excited phone call from him, in which he told us he had just translated an magical tablet that has never before been translated, and it sheds some new light on a particular form of political magic. Could he, he asked, present his findings at Treadwell's? As soon as possible?

Of course, we replied. so here he is, our own beloved Uncle Irving, who is a gifted and enchanting speaker, bringing ancient Mesopotamian magic alive before our very eyes. This talk will contain the latest discovery, and is presented here for the first time.

22 January 2008 (Tuesday)
Mesopotamian Magic for Bending the King's Ear, or "Give me my Rights!".
Dr Irving Finkel (The British Museum)
7.15 for 7.30 pm start. £5 in advance to Treadwells
Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 34 Tavistock Street, London WC2. www.treadwells-london.com/getto.
In Mesopotamia, one form of practical cuneiform magic was called 'Entering the Palace' in which one magically disarms the court and the coteries that surrounded the king, so as to gain the king's ear. It is attested in incantation tablets, and the much-loved speaker, Dr Finkel of the British Museum, will be revealing a new one just discovered -- and this one is 1000 years older than these known ones. Dr Finkel is the magical word's beloved scholarly uncle in this subject area - his lectures bring ancient magic alive with verve, vigour and lively charm. Uncle Irving (as we nickname him fondly) will tell us also how this newly discovered magical incantation tablet gives unique insight into one highly-stressed and obsessive individual about to plead his case in front of the king. Come for a lecture that will make you fall in love with Mesopotamian magic all over again. Irving Finkel is Assistant Keeper of Near Eastern Antiquities at the British Museum.

Happy new year to everyone,
Christina

Pagan Midsummer Rites in Lithuania, anyone?

Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:02:55 GMT

Dear Friends,
Adam Pamment is a longstanding regular at Treadwell's Bookshop. He is going to Lithuanian Midsummer in 2008 for the 2nd time running, and is inviting others to join him. The hosts in Lithuania are the Romuva Group, who are very nice (and sane), and were utterly kind and charming when I met them in the 1990s. I have no hesitation in suggesting spending a week with their group. Here's Adam's invitation, to friends of Treadwell's:

Midsummer Rites in Lithuania, 20-25 June 2008

"We intend to drive across Belgium , Netherlands, Germany and Poland to cross into Lithuania and go to Kernave the most sacred of Pagan sites to Lithuanians. We will attend the Midsummer celebrations in a park in the capital Vilnius on the 22 June and go onto the Rasos Ritual in Kernave on the 23rd. This consists of a street market, Romuva ritual and many folk bands . The ritual comes in several parts , the setting of the sun, the night time ritual, the Midnight fire ritual and the greeting of the dawn. It was the most moving ritual I have ever attended this year. The following day will be spent recovering so I think a few tents or a nearby hotel will be in order. The rest is up to whoever comes with us."

"I was intending to drive and if anyone wants to return to UK after the ritual then its possible to fly back for under £50 I would then spend about a week visiting ancient ethnological sites under the guidance of Jonas. If those coming felt differently we could all fly out and hirer a vehicle there or we could pick up people from the airport if they didn’t fancy the cross Europe car journey. I have got an MPV as it won't be that uncomfortable."

If you are interested in participating in this trip with him and his friend Karina, do contact him on adampamment@yahoo.com.
Here is a bit more about Romuva, the Lithuanian group and their events:
http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl_romuva.htm
http://www.wcer.org/members/europe/lithuania/religion.htm

My best wishes, Christina