Tuesday 17 December 2019

Pagan Events for Winter Solstice, Yule & the New Year


Here are some of the events in London plus a few in other parts of southern England over the Winter Solstice, Yule and New Year's Eve that could be of interest to pagans. However, you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Yuletide.

Now – 26 January 2020; The front of the Tate Britain has been transformed into a winter temple in an immersive art exhibition by Anne Hardy, combining light and sound to explore the natural rhythms of the earth, the tides of the Thames and the winter solstice. Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Entry: free. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/anne-hardy?

Now - 2 February 2020; William Blake exhibition. Venue: Tate Britain, Millbank, London SW1P 4RG. Entry: £18/£17/Free for members. https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/william-blake-artist?

Now - March 2020; Ithell Colquhoun exhibition. Venue: The Last Tuesday Society and the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RS. http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

Now - 8 March 2020; Troy: Myth and Reality exhibition. Venue: The Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery, British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. You need to prebook tickets unless you are a British Museum member. Standard tickets: £20. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/troy-myth-and-reality

Now - 23 May 2020; Gods and goddesses of Roman Britain eye-opener tour - daily gallery talk. Venue: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. Time: 11.15am-11.55am. Free, just turn up. For more details visit: https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/gods-and-goddesses-roman-britain-eye-opener-tour

Tuesday 17 December; Witches of London Gathering. Venue: front bar of the Cittie of Yorke, 22 High Holborn, London WC1V 6BS. Starting 7.30pm. Meets on the third Tuesday of each month. For any questions email coacentral@witchcraft.org or visit http://www.witchfest.net/ or https://www.facebook.com/coawitchesoflondon/

Tuesday 17 December; Talk on the Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas by author Al Ridenour. Venue: The Last Tuesday Society and the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, 11 Mare Street, London E8 4RS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £15. http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/

Wednesday 18 December,  An Evening with Al Ridenour, author of The  Krampus and the Old Dark Christmas. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. For more details, call 020 7405 2120 or visit http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Wednesday 18 December, Professor Ronald Hutton, author of Triumph of the Moon, on Wicca: in Conversation,with Book Signing. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 5.45pm. Cost: £25 includes a copy of one of his books. You can book online at https://www.treadwells-london.com/ or reserve a place by visiting the shop.

Wednesday 18 December, Yule Social at the Hertford Moot and Ware Pagan Moot. Venue: The White Horse, 33 Castle Street, SG14 1HH Hertford, Hertfordshire. Time: 7.30pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/1018858728473355/

Thursday 19 December; Numerology Inspiration For Life. Talk and book signing by Sonia Ducie. Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6.30pm. Free event. For more details visit the websites http://www.watkinsbooks.com/  or https://www.meetup.com/WatkinsBooks/

Thursday 19 December; An Evening with…Nancy Polet on Sekhmet, Lion Beings and White Lions. Venue: The Atlantis Bookshop, 49a Museum Street, London, Eng WC1A 1LY. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £10. For more details, call 020 7405 2120 or visit http://theatlantisbookshop.com/

Thursday 19 December; Treadwell's Yule Fete. Mulled wine, games and special offers. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm. Tickets: £5. You can book by visiting the shop or online: https://www.treadwells-london.com/

Thursday 19 December; PFL Winter Solstice Ritual facilitated by Kith of the Tree and the Well. Venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. Time: 7.30pm for 8pm start. Entry: £6/£5 (PF members and concessions). https://www.facebook.com/groups/pflondon/

Thursday 19 December; December Moot - Yule Celebration with Pagan Pathways Rochester. Venue: Sun Pier House, Medway Street, ME4 4HF Chatham, Medway. Time: 7.30pm. Entry: £3.50. https://www.facebook.com/events/2319015091498299/

Friday 20 December; Woodland Mid-Winter 2019 - Gathering and Yule Ceremony with London Woodland Witches. Venue: Queen's Woods, Highgate, North London. Meet at The Woodman pub patio area at 6.30pm to walk to the outdoor site. Fee: £5/£3. Details: https://www.meetup.com/London-Woodland-Witches-Pagans-Magicians/

Friday 20 December; Meditation and Om Healing. (Weekly, usually on Friday). Venue: The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London, W1U 8EA. Time: 7pm. Entry free. http://theosophicalsociety.org.uk/

Friday 20 December, Breath Ceremony with Lisa Li. Venue: Aho Studio, 13 Prince Edward Rd, London, E9 5LX. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £35. www.aho.community

Saturday 21 December; Wheel of the Year Meditation - Winter Solstice, gather at the well head for meditation at noon, followed by conversation on the lower lawn. Venue: Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Free admission to the gardens from 10am to noon. Refreshments on sale. For more details, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Saturday 21 December; Free and Open Gorsedd Yule 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. https://www.facebook.com/events/208158800090214/

Saturday 21 December; Yule Ceremony with Watchers of the Old Ways. Venue: Rollright Stones, Little Rollright, Warwickshire, OX7 5. Time: 2pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/936152540089447/

Saturday 21 December; Northern Tradition Talk and Rite. Venue: Treadwell's Bookshop, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury London, WC1E 7BS. Time: 2.30pm. Tickets: £10. You can book by visiting the shop or online: https://www.treadwells-london.com/

Saturday 21 December; Astrology and the Winter Solstice. One-day workshop with Demian Allan. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 10am-5pm. Tickets: £85/£105.  https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Saturday 21 December; Yuletide Traditions Workshop with Liz Gale. Venue: Friends Meeting House, Hemnall Street, Epping, CM16 4LL. Time: 1.30pm to 5.30pm. The cost is £20, which includes light refreshments plus a raffle ticket. To reserve a place in advance text 07927 288904 or email rainbowhealingsanctuary@outlook.com More details: https://artfromtheheart1.blogspot.com/

Saturday 21 December; Winter Solstice Celebration - Singing, stories and shamanic drumming. Venue: Cambrian Community Centre, 1 Grove Road, London, TW10 6SN. Time: 6pm. Entry: £15. https://www.facebook.com/events/583003955777048/

Saturday 21 December; Winter Solstice celebration at the Hope Pub, 48 West Street, Carshalton SM5 2PR. http://www.hopecarshalton.co.uk/Events.html

Sunday 22 December; BDO Winter Solstice Solo Ceremony hosted by British Druid Order. Light a candle and address the rising sun. Take a photo and post it online. Venue: Wherever You Are. Time: 7am-9am. https://www.facebook.com/events/2019739658141100/

Sunday 22 December; Stonehenge, the 5,000-year-old megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is the most famous place in England to celebrate the solstices. Free entry for solstice rituals from 7.45am-10am. Sunrise at 8.11am. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stonehenge/plan-your-visit/winter-solstice-at-stonehenge/

Sunday 22 December; A Winter Solstice Celebration with Edwin Courtenay. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 10am-5pm. Tickets: £85/£105.  https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Sunday 22 December; Coffee + Crystals Presents: Yule Festivity including wreath-making workshop. Venue: Eden Coffee Club, 88 High Street, Epping, Essex, CM164AE. Time: 11am – 4pm. Free event. If you want to take part in the wreath-making workshop, you need to book a place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/coffeeandcrystalsldn-25719715503?  More details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1003915119943817/

Sunday 22 December; NWK Yule Ritual at Coldrum Long Barrow, West Malling, Kent. Time: noon. You must be a member of the group to attend. https://www.facebook.com/groups/445487428816887/

Sunday 22 December; Winter Solstice Celebration on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Gather in the Hawthorne Grove at Primrose Hill, London, NW1 8YH, from 12.30pm for a 1pm start. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm. Bring food and drink to share. All  welcome. https://www.facebook.com/LooseAssociationOfDruidsOfPrimroseHill/

Sunday 22 December; Rite at Luna Iter for Pagan and Wiccan Seekers (normally on a Sunday close to the full moon each month). Venue: a historic site in East London for the ritual. Time: 4.30pm. Fee: £7. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1230392930656154/

Sunday 22 December; Winter Solstice Service with Woody Green and Jeramesa and Friends. Venue: Helgi's, 177 Mare Street, London E8 3RH. Time: 4pm to late. Free entry. https://www.facebook.com/events/592871048218945/

Monday 23 December; Winter Solstice Gong Event with Gong Master Olaf Nixon. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, Kensington, London, SW7 2EB. Time: 11am-3pm. Tickets: £80/£60.  https://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/

Monday 23 December; Vigil for the Outcast at Crossbones Graveyard. Gather from 6.45pm for a 7pm start in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, London SE1 1TA. For more details, visit  http://crossbones.org.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/GooseandCrow/

Wednesday, 25 December- 6 January; The 12 Days of Christmas, Meditation Special. Guided meditation in your own space from 6pm-6.30pm via Zoom link. Free event. https://www.meetup.com/Independent-Transcendental-Vedic-Meditation-London/events/266975640/

Friday 27 December; Holistic Sound Bath Meditation - Summoning The Sacred (weekly ceremonial gathering). Venue: Training Points Fitness and Therapy, 6 Coopers Yard, Crystal Palace, SE19 1TN. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £20. https://www.facebook.com/summoningthesacredsound/

Saturday 28 December; Trip to Rendelsham Forest from London by coach with guided tour of the site of the famous UFO flap by Minimum Labyrinth. Includes pub lunch. Meet at Stratford to catch the coach at 10am. Tickets: £50/£65. http://minimumlabyrinth.org/

Monday 30 December, Fortean Christmas Drinks hosted by London Fortean Society. Venue: Cittie of Yorke, 22 High Holborn, London WC1V 6BS London. Time: 8pm. https://www.facebook.com/events/585199075576835/

30-31 December; Aphrodite's Monthly Festival, hosted by Aphrodite's Flame. Everyone around the world is invited to light Aphrodite's Flame in honour of her monthly festival. Keep a candle lit for as long or as short a time as you wish from dusk on the date listed to dusk the following day. https://www.facebook.com/aphroditesflame/

31 December - 1 January; New Year's Eve Event with Peace Fires. Light a candle or fire for peace wherever you are in the world, for just for 10 minutes or an hour or longer and state the intention: “Let there be peace on earth and love for one another.” Details: http://peacefires.org/

Note: I do not organise any of these events. Although I try to make sure my listings are accurate, I am not responsible for late changes or ticket availability. Please contact the organisers before attending any event. If you notice something that needs correcting or changing - or if you want an event to be listed on my events page in future - please email me at badwitch1234@gmail.com

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