Pagan Events Over Samhain In and Near London

Hallowe'en - or Samhain - is the time when the veil between the worlds is thin, and the spirits of the dead can  return to the land of the living. For pagans, Samhain is one of the most important festivals of the year. It is a time to honour and remember the ancestors and loved ones who have died, but it is also a time to tell ghost stories. Here are some of the pagan events taking place in London and nearby in the couple of weeks leading up to Hallowe'en.

Now until 6 January 2013; Collective Observations: Folklore and Photography from Benjamin Stone to Flickr. Exhibition at the Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, Sussex. Free event. For more details, visit http://www.townereastbourne.org.uk/exhibition/collective-observations-folklore-photography-from-benjamin-stone-to-flickr/

Friday 19 October; Treadwells Hallowe'en Party at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm start. Free event but advance booking essential. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Friday 19 October; Demonstration of Mediumship by Anthony Kesner at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm Cost: £8/£12. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Saturday 20 October; Hallowe'en: Custom, Lore, Magic. One-day workshop about the lore of Samhain or Hallowe'en with Wiccan priestess Suzanne Corbie. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 11am-5.30pm. Ticket price £35, deposit of £20 in advance. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Sunday 21 October; Samhain Celebration with Pagan FutureFests. One-day pagan festival in Balham, South London. Venue: The Bedford Hotel, 77 Bedford Hill, Balham London SW12 9HD. Time: noon until 10pm. Tickets £13 all day, £7 evening only, includes entry to all activities. For more details and to book tickets visit: http://www.paganfuturefests.org.uk/id1.html

Sunday 21 October; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Sunday 21 October; October Plenty - an Autumn harvest celebration held annually in Southwark, starting at noon on the Bankside, by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Free event. For more details, visit http://www.thelionspart.co.uk/octoberplenty/index.html

Monday 22 October; Hecate Goddess Of Transformation, Magic, And Death. Talk by Carrie Kirkpatrick and showing of the film Hecate Rising, showing a Samhain ritual. Venue: pagan forum Secret Chiefs, Devereux public house, 20 Devereux Court, off Essex Street, London WC2R 3JJ. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8.30pm. Admission £2. http://secretchiefslondon.wordpress.com/

Monday 22 October; Choice Point. Movie screening at Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.45pm. Tickets £10/5 concs. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Tuesday, 23 October; Halloween Vigial to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard, with elements of the Halloween of Crossbones Ritual Dramas from previous years. Gather from 6.45pm in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1, opposite the Boot and Flogger, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge, 5 minutes walk away. The event is free, but bring ribbons or other items to decorate the shrine. http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Wednesday 24 October; The Energy and Folklore of Crow as Spirit Companion and 'Sin Eater'. Talk by hedge rider Jacqueline Gemini Honeybee at The Moot with No Name. Venue: The Blue Posts at 81 Newman Street just off Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 3ET. Meet from 7.30pm, event starts at 8pm. Admission £5.

Thursday, 25 October; The Moon and Madness. Talk by Dr Niall McCrae, lecturer in mental health at King’s College, London, at the London Fortean Society, upstairs at the Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, London E1 7EX. 7.30pm for 8pm start. £3/£2 concessions. Society meets on the last Thursday of each month. For more details, visit http://forteanlondon.blogspot.co.uk/

Friday, 26 October; Labyrinths And Mazes Worldwide. Lecture by Robert Stephenson at
Research into Lost Knowledge Organisation (Rilko). Venue: Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, W1U 8EA. Doors open 6.45pm. Admission £7 non-members, £5 members. http://www.rilko.net/EZ/rilko/rilko/home.php

Friday 26 to Sunday 28 October; The Yoga Show 2012 at Olympia in London. Admission: Adults £12; Concessions £10; Children free. Book early online and save money. For details visit: omyogashow.com

Friday 26 October, Spooks and Spoofs: Psychologists and Psychical Research in the Inter-War Years. Lecture by Professor Elizabeth Valentine at The Royal Society, London. Free event, no tickets required. Doors open at 12.30pm; talk 1pm – 2pm. Full details here: http://royalsociety.org/events/2012/spooks-and-spoofs/

Friday 26 October, An Evening of Angel Readings with Amanda Roberts at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm.- 8.30pm Cost: £8/£12. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Friday 26 October; an evening for adults to celebrate Samhain with live music, fortune telling and a bar at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. From 7pm. Tickets £12. For more details, call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butser.org.uk/

Friday 26 October; Inauguration of the CoH Sanctuary Hekate Magna. First public event of the Covenant of Hekate sanctuary in London - a devotional meeting to celebrate the magic of Hekate. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London WC1A 1LY. 7pm start. Entry: £6.

Saturday 27 October; London Ghost Conference, presented by London Fortean Society. Venue: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M 4QH. Time: 10.30am-6pm.  Tickets £20 plus £2 booking fee. Tickets can be booked here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/183287

Saturday 27 October; Free and Open Gorsedd of Caer Abiri Samhain Ritual at Avebury Sun Circle, in Avebury, Wiltshire. Open druidic style ceremony to mark Samhain, the end and beginning of times. Meet at the Red Lion Pub, Avebury, around noon for rite at around 1.30pm, ending at around 3pm. As it is Halloween there will be small gifts for children in fancy dress. Contributions of song, poetry, mead and cakes are welcome. There will be music and entertainment in the Red Lion pub in the evening. Overnight camping will be allowed in the nearby overflow car park.

Sunday, 28 October; Anderida Gorsedd Samhain 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, 28 October; The Shamanic Journey and Personal Creativity. One-day workshop suitable for both novices and experienced practitioners by Zoe Bran of Shaman UK at a venue in Covent Garden, London. Time: 10am until 5pm. Tickets £90. For more details visit http://www.shaman.uk.com/ or call 07847 894453.

Sunday, 28 October; The Mantra Of Life, The Song Within. Workshop with Bruce Scott at Caer Corhain Shamamic Development Centre of the Isle of Sheppey, North Kent. Time: 10am-4pm or 5pm. Cost: £35 bring a packed lunch. To book a place email Bruce on auberzone@yahoo.com. For more details, visit http://www.touchtheearthuk.com/

Sunday 28 October; Samhain Celebration to Honour the Ancestors. Wheel of the Year ritual drawing from Celtic earth/pagan traditions at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. Tel: 020 7433 3267.

Sunday 28 October; Ghosts, Revenants and Witch Hunters - Hallowe'en at the Rose. Hallowe'en walk with Boo Tours and the Rose Bankside. Venue: The Rose Theatre, Bankside, 56 Park Street, London SE1 9AS. Tickets: £22/£20 Concessions. Time 7pm. For more details and to book tickets visit http://www.rosetheatre.org.uk/events/

Monday 29 October; Songs of the Prophet. Evening Concert at Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £10/5 concs. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Tuesday 30 October; Tarot - A Potted History and the Practical Value of Oracles. Talk by Avril Price at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 12.30pm - 1.30pm Cost: £5/£8. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 30 October; Destiny And Purpose Demonstration. Talk by Tracey Ash at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm - 8.30pm Cost: £5/£8. Advance booking advised. Tel: 020 7589 3292. http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 30 October; Chertsey Moot. A social moot held on the last Tuesday of the month at the Golden Grove pub, Ruxbury Road, St Annes Hill, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 9EN. All welcome. From 8pm to 11pm. For more details, email: sian_ap_pysgotwr@yahoo.co.uk

Tuesday 30 October; Journey to the Dark Goddess. Talk by Jane Meredith, author of the book of that title. Venue: Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 5.30pm. Free event. For more details Tel 020 7836 2182 or visit the website http://www.watkinsbooks.com/

Wednesday 31 October; Circle of Ankerwycke Samhain ritual under an ancient yew tree, deep in the woods near Staines, just west of London. Meeting at 7.30pm in a car park and at 7.45pm processing through the woods to the ritual site where the ritual will begin at 8pm. Advance booking essential as numbers are limited. Email ankerwycke_steering_group-owner@yahoogroups.com

Wednesday 31 October; All Hallow's Eve at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Programme of events including activities for children and fancy dress. Gardens open at 4.30pm and go on until a resting ceremony at 8pm. Price £7 adults, £4.50 children. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website
http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Thursday 1 November; Druid Order Open Introductory Evening. A chance to learn more about at The Druid Order (A.D.U.B.) at an evening with talks and a meditation. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Price: £7. For more details, call Druid Order on 020 8659 4879.

Thursday 1 November; PFL Samhain Open Ritual by The New Broom Ritual Team in Central London. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn London. Time: 8pm start. Entrance: £6/£5 PF members. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share at feast after ritual. For more details, visit http://london.paganfed.org/

Sunday 4 November; Celebration of Samhain with the loose association of druids of Primrose Hill. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, between 12.30pm and 12.45pm to prepare the site ready for a prompt 1pm start. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring a small contribution of picnic food and drink to share. All are welcome. For more details, contact Jeremy on 07956 831503 or visit the facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LooseAssociationOfDruidsOfPrimroseHill