Thursday 12 June 2014

Summer Solstice Events in London and Elsewhere


Here are some of the events of interest to pagans that are taking place in London and elsewhere in southern England from now until the weekend of the Summer Solstice.

Now – 22 June; Vikings life and legend. BP exhibition at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG. Open daily 10am–5.30pm, Fridays until 8.30pm. Tickets: Adults £16.50, free or reduced prices for members and Art Pass holders. http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/vikings.aspx

Friday, 13 June; Unveiling of Gerald Gardner Blue Plaque in Highcliffe, Dorset, organised by the Doreen Valiente Foundation and the Centre for Pagan Studies in collaboration with Children of Artemis. Time: 2pm - 8pm. Meet at 2.30pm at the Clifftop Car Park off Wharncliffe Road, Highcliffe, for a procession past Mill House, where Gardner was initiated, to the house where Gerald Gardner lived for the plaque unveiling. There is an evening event at Highcliffe Castle. Day event free, evening event £5. For more information and tickets, visit: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/unveiling-of-gerald-gardner-blue-plaque-evening-talk-and-entertainment-tickets-11619286599

Friday, 13 June; Symbol Magick. Lecture with Edwin Courtenay, author of The Ascended Masters' Book of Ritual and Prayer.Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 14-15 June; The East End Film Festival is featuring a 'Magic and Macabre' weekend of film screenings and lectures at the Masonic Temple on Liverpool Street. Events take place from 14-15 June and are sponsored by Strange Attractor Press. You can find more information here: http://www.eastendfilmfestival.com/uncategorized/12248/magic-the-macabre-at-the-masonic-temple

Saturday 14 June; Midsummer: Lore and Magic. Workhop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. 11:00 am - 5:30 pm. Price: £45 (£25 deposit, balance on the day). Ring 0207 419 8507 or book online http://www.treadwells-london.com/. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com

Sunday 15 June; 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 15 June; Heaven Or Hell – Shifting Definitions of the Unconscious and its Impact on Psychic Life. Lecture by Carol North. Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA. Time: 6pm-7.30pm. Fee £7/£5, TS members: £4. Website: www.theosoc.org.uk

Monday 16 June; The Way of the Witch - The Witch's Brew. Part of a series of three evenings on the theme at Pagan Pathfinders. Venue in Finchley, London N3. Starts: 7.30pm. Free event, but bring food and drink to share. Full details only given to members of the Pagan Pathfinders group: https://www.facebook.com/events/385637721578037

Monday 16 June; Plant Spirit Medicine. Talk by Eliot Cowan. Venue: Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £12/£8 concs if booked online in advance. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Tuesday 17 June; Crystals, Ancient Civilisations and Past Lives. Lecture with Judy Hall, author of The Encyclopedia of Crystals.Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm-8.30pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Wednesday 18 June 18; Meet the Magical Realm of Nature Spirits. Outdoor event with Cheri Barstow organised through the London College of Spirituality. Meet at Holland Park Station, Holland Park Avenue, London W11 3RB at 6.30pm for a walk into a nearby park. Cost £15. More information and tickets: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/events/

Thursday 19 June; Curator's introduction to Vikings: life and legend. Talk at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Time: 1.15pm-2pm. Free event in the BP Lecture Theatre. For more details and online booking visit: https://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/events_calendar.aspx

Thursday 19 June; Croydon CoA Witches Gathering with talks and social activities at 1 Matthews Yard, Off Surrey Street, Croydon. 8pm start. Entry: £1/£2. For more details visit: http://www.witchfest.net/

Thursday 19 June; Aleister Crowley on Rock’n’Roll. Lecture by Gary Lachman. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets £7, advance booking recommended. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Friday 20 June-Saturday 21 June; Stonehenge, the 5,000-year-old megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is the most famous place in England to celebrate the solstices. Sunset on Friday 20 June 2014 is at 9.26pm, Sunrise on Saturday 21 June 2014 is at 4.52am. Entry is normally restricted although English Heritage, which manages the site, will be providing what it calls "managed open access" to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice. English Heritage allows individuals and groups to conduct their own ceremonies and rituals during the opening times, from 7pm on 20 June until 8am on 21 June. No camping is allowed. There is a car park half a mile from the stones, but it is more environmentally friendly and probably easier to use public transport to get there, buses run from Salisbury railway station. For details about access to the stones, visit: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/summer-solstice/

Friday 20 June; Love Magic in Seventeenth-century England. Lecture by Alexander Cummins. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets £7, advance booking recommended. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 21 June; The Summer Solstice Festival at Stone Cross, Sussex, with Pentacle Drummers. Venue: Stone Cross Nurseries, Dittons Rd, BN24 5ET Pevensey, East Sussex. Time: 10m - 10pm. Tickets £8/£4. http://www.pentacledrummers.co.uk/summersolstice.html

Saturday 21 June; Midsummer Meditation at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gathering at the Well Head at 12pm for celebration and meditation until 12.30pm, then gather on the lower lawn for quiet conversation. Free admission from 10am until noon, then normal price admission. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Saturday 21 June; Free and Open Gorsedd Summer Solstice Rite at Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire. Open Druidic style ceremony to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Meet at the Red Lion pub from Noon for ceremony at 1.30pm until 3pm. Free event - offerings of song, poetry, cake, mead are welcomed. Camping is available on the Friday and Saturday nights.

Saturday 21 June; Solstice Walk starting at Camelot Moat in Trent Park and finishing at Forty Hill
 Enfield
 EN2 9HA. Forty Hall Learning and Conservation Officer Jason Peters will be leading a wildlife and heritage tour along Turkey Brook and the Estate. Walk lasts 2 hours 30 minutes, 7.30pm start. Free event but booking essential. http://www.fortyhallestate.co.uk/whats-on/events/solstice_walk

Saturday 21 June; Summer Solstice Ceremony, Sound Healing and Community Gathering organised through the London College of Spirituality. Composer and Sound Healer Tim Wheater and Cherub Sanson will be leading the ceremony. Venue: Conference Room, Nutford House, Nutford Place, Marble Arch, London W1H 5UL. Time 2pm-6pm. Cost £33. More information and tickets: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/events/

Saturday 21 June; Open Pagan Summer Solstice ritual at Lewisham Unitarian Church, in the garden, led by Yvonne Aburrow. The ritual will be participatory. Time: 7pm. For more details: http://www.ukunitarians.org.uk/lewisham/index.htm

Sunday, June 22; London Pagan Pride Parade and Hern's Tribe Midsummer Ritual. Venue: Red Lion Square outside Conway Hall (25 Red Lion Square), London WC1R 4RL. Time: 11.30am to 3pm. Free event. More details on: http://www.paganfrontiers.com/Events_-_Socials/Pagan_Pride_London/pagan_pride_london.html, http://hern-tribe.org/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/PaganPrideParadeLondon

Sunday 22 June. Fairy Festival at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. For more details and to book tickets call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

Sunday 22 June; Midsummer on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Open ritual hosted by Jeremy Morgan, the Druid of Wormwood Scrubbs. Venue: The Hawthorne Grove, Primrose Hill, Regents Park, London NW1. Meet at 12.30pm for a 1pm start, ends at around 2.30pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm.

Sunday 22 June; Dragons and Initiates. Lecture by Janet Hoult, author of Dragons: Their History and Symbolism.Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U 8EA. Time: 6pm-7.30pm. Fee £7/£5, TS members: £4. Website: www.theosoc.org.uk

Sunday 22 June; Summer Solstice. Evening service led by the Wheel of the Year Group at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. http://www.rosslynhillchapel.com/

No comments: