Pagan events for the week of Beltane

Here are highlights of pagan events in and near London for Beltane week. To see future events, click on the events link at the top of the page.

Bank Holiday Monday 25 April; The Magical Faerie Festival in Canterbury with stalls, workshops and entertainment (This is the last day of a three-day event but well worth going to). Special guest: Toyah Willcox. Venue: The Westgate Hall, Westgate Hall Road, Canterbury, Kent. For further information visit http://www.magicalfestivals.co.uk/ or phone 07845438340. The festival is organised by the publishers of The Magical Times magazine: http://www.themagicaltimes.co.uk/.

Tuesday 26 April; Meeting at London Earth Mysteries Circle. Admission is £4.50, concessions £4, members £3, concessions are £4. Talks are usually held on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 7.15PM at First Floor, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA.

Wednesday 27 April. Creative Meditation. Half-hour guided lunchtime meditation to experience the richness of our inner world in all its colours, shades and contrasts. Venue: Inner Space, 36 Short’s Gardens, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9AB. Time: 1pm-1.30pm. To register for a place visit http://www.innerspace.org.uk/

Wednesday, 27 April; Unveiling the Mystery of Divine Birth: Women's Greatest Shamanic Practice. Talk by American author Marguerite Rigoglioso. author of The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greeceand Virgin Mother Goddesses of Antiquity.Optional, affordably priced meal at 7pm offered by the Women's Café followed by the talk at 8pm. Free event. Location: Dalston Boys Club, 68 Boleyn Road, Dalston, London N16 8JG. For more info, contact Caroline Smart on 07515505732. For more information on Marguerite Rigoglioso’s work, visit http://cultofdivinebirth.com/.

Thursday 28 April; Crossing over Annan Water: A Scottish Ballad for Magical Journeys. Talk by Dr Michael Berman at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry £7, booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Thursday 28 April; PFL Beltane Open Ritual. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn, London. Turn up by 7.30pm for pre-ritual social. The ritual starts at 8pm. Entrance: PF members/consc £5. All others £6. Please also bring seasonal food/home-made food and drinks to share at the feast after the ritual. Visit http://www.pflondon.org/

Friday 29 April - Monday 2 May; Weekend Sweatlodge and Vision Quest with the Eva Mack. Location: The Martinsell Centre, Wiltshire. Cost: £245 – includes vegetarian food. For details and to book places, visit http://martinsellcentre.com/sweatlodge-events/

Friday 29 April; Steve Roud on London folklore. Steve Roud is the author of London Lore: The legends and traditions of the world's most vibrant cityand The English Year.Location: Museum of London. Time: 6.45pm-8pm. Book in advance, tickets cost £6 (concs £4.50, Friends £3). For more details and to book visit http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/

Friday 29 April; Shamen, Megaliths, and City Builders - The Hidden Connections. Talk by Lucy Wyatt at Research into Lost Knowledge Organisation (Rilko). Venue: Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, W1U 8EA. Admission £7 non-members, £5 members. Time: AGM at 6.30, lecture at 7.15pm. http://www.rilko.net/

Friday 29 April; Book launch party for Wormwood Star: Marjorie Cameron (Mandrake Press) at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. 7pm start. Entry free but booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Saturday, 30 April; Free and Open Gorsedd Beltaine Rite by the Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri at The Sun Circle, Avebury, Wilts, Avebury, United Kingdom. Druidic style open ceremony to welcome in summer - all faith paths welcome. Meet at the Red Lion pub from noon for ceremony from 1.30pm-3pm. Offerings of bread or cake, mead, poetry and song are welcome.

Saturday 30 April; The Circle of Ankwycke Beltane ritual. Location: Ankerwycke, near Staines. Time: 7.45pm for 8pm start. For more details and to reserve a place call 07733 554321.

Saturday 30 April; launch party for ATUA: Voices from La Société Voudon Gnostique by Fulgur Ltd and Treadwell's at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Entry free but booking essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Sunday 1 May; Fowlers Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green will be out and about in Greenwich this May Day.  Jack will start from the Ashburnham Arms, Greenwich, around 12 midday. From there the troop will make tour of Greenwich and return to the Ash later in the afternoon.  Everyone is welcome to come along. Details of the route are on the Deptford Jack in the Green web page at http://www.deptford-jack.org.uk/mayday2011.htm

Sunday 1 May; Understanding Beltane: Intensive One-Day Course on Symbolism, Folklore, Custom, Magic. Workshop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Price: £45 (£25 deposit, balance due on the day). Time: 11 am to 6pm. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com/lectures.asp

Sunday 1 May; Anderida Gorsedd Imbolc open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex. Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.

Sunday 1 May; Cauldron of Cerridwen Open Beltane Ritual. Open ritual to celebrate the Sabbat. Meet in the Golden Grove pub, Ruxbury Rd, St Annes Hill, Chertsey, at 8.30pm to travel to the ritual site. Bring food and drink to share, a torch and suitable clothing for an evening in the woods.

The photo at the top is by Sarah Crofts. It shows the Fowlers Troop and the Deptford Jack in the Green processing through the streets of London.