GLASTONBURY, England – Having been postponed in 2022, the Glastonbury Occult Conference committee* made the decision to carry the line up forward into 2022.
Around the middle of December, it was decided to go ahead with 2022, which had been in some doubt due to the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Had the government asked us to go back into lockdown, the Conference would have once more been postponed; conference members were grateful that this did not happen.
That gratitude proved somewhat ironic when the Conference was nearly scuppered by Storm Eunice instead: amid dire predictions of the worst storm in English history since the infamous 1987 ‘hurricane,’ it was feared that committee members, speakers and attendees might be prevented from travelling. Those members on the ground in Glastonbury thought that their worst fears might be realised when the power went out across the district late on Friday morning due to high winds bringing down electricity lines.
Trevor Jones and myself went into Glastonbury on Friday evening, to meet attendees and distribute wristbands with some degree of trepidation, which turned to relief when we saw lights on at both venues, including the main venue of the Town Hall. In the event, our own power was restored the next morning and most of the Conference guests and speakers did make it, but there were a few programme changes.
The Conference was begun with a short speech from me and the Silent Minute, which was started in Glastonbury by Major Wellesley Tudor Pole in 1940, to remember absent comrades and those who died during the pandemic. After this, was a keynote speech by Professor Ronald Hutton from the University of Bristol, on Goddesses of Sex and Violence, followed by a talk by David Rankine on Kabbalah before the Tree of Life and the beginning of our weekend workshop schedule with a workshop by Trevor Jones on Magical Gardening.
Glastonbury Town Hall – Image credit: Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0
Regrettably, two afternoon speakers were lost, Paul Summers Young and Jonathan Woolley, as a result of train cancellations due to the weather. This led to a bit of guerrilla programming on the Conference’s part: Trevor and myself did a series of short readings from Diary of a Witchcraft Shop; local author Paul Weston brought everyone up to speed on what is being planned in Glastonbury for the Queen’s Jubilee, followed by an impromptu panel with Erzebet Barthold of Hadean Press, David Rankine and The Kite, which covered everything from occult publishing to whether or not lodge work is essential.
The Conference then resumed the scheduled programme with Dr. Sally North speaking on the magical work of W. B. Yeats. Workshops ran as planned, with James North undertaking a double session on the Celtic Mysteries and Geraldine Hudson following on with a practical workshop on clay working and magic.
Sunday commenced in a rather less frantic fashion with a lecture by Paul Weston on Colin Wilson and Robert Graves, and a workshop from me on working with the Behenian stars. Talks progressed with the Kite on The Christian Mysteries and Magic; playwright and author John Constable on his work with Crossbones Cemetery, a lecture from me in the afternoon on the work of Dennis Wheatley followed by one from Jake Stratton-Kent on Conjure Magic.
The Conference lost only one workshop in the day, due to Jonathan’s travel woes, but otherwise workshops proceeded as planned with David Rankine speaking on grimoire magic, the Kite on Christian Mysteries and Magic: The 7 Blessings of the Agathos Daimon, and ending with John Crow and Katy Kaos on Goose and Crow magic.
Glastonbury Abbey ruins – Image credit: Gerd Eichmann – CC BY-SA 4.0
The ongoing storms put paid to a walk round the Abbey on Monday morning, but Paul Weston regrouped with startling speed and held his accompanying lecture in the upstairs room of the George and Pilgrim hotel, instead.
The schedule this year was a little limited due to lingering issues with pandemic restrictions, but the Conference is planning to return in fuller strength next year (dates to be confirmed) with a return to the in-house café, and some fringe events on the Saturday night and Monday morning. The event is also looking at live streaming the proceedings next year for those who are unable to attend in person. Details will be posted to the event’s website as they become available.
*Editorial note: Liz Williams is a committee member, along with Trevor Jones and Sally North.
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