John and I have been teaching in the magical and mythic tradition for over 40 years. Now that we are in our seventies, we try to do work slightly closer to home than we used to do when we were younger, but I hope that those who are overseas will be able to join us in a few of the online talks and seminars that we are doing this year. The kist of treasures that follows is as far as the schedule is known: some talks may become added to this list but that will be shown on our website, as things arise. www.hallowquest.org.uk.
MAGICAL AND MYTHIC COURSES & OTHER EVENTS
These courses, events and signings are open to all who are on their spiritual path.
FiOS MASTERCLASSES offer opportunities to deepen spiritual practice with a living exemplars of traditional wisdom. Courses marked * give £20 member’s discount.
27 April 2024 TELLING THE STORY AGAIN: The Myths of the Mabinogion. An online talk with Caitlín Matthews.
The stories within the Mabinogion are a rich quarry for all who seek the core myths of the British tradition. But these myths do not remain stationary or time-bound, but find their way into other times, as we can see in the Dream of Rhonabwy – a story set in the region of Arwystli - where the battle of Badon is replayed. As we tell the stories again, something happens to the listener, as the myth strikes home, new-minted in our imagination. Caitlín, who is the author of a definitive two volume mythic study of the Mabinogion, Mabon & the Heroes of Celtic Britain, and King Arthur and the Goddess of the Land, will range across the mythic terrain of the Mabinogion, seeking the motifs that resonate strongly with our time. We will conclude with a meditation, The Sacred Treasures. Fee: $25. East West Centre. Booking: https://eastwestseattle.org/products/april-27-2024-saturday-11-1pm-pdt-telling- the-story-again-the-myths-of-the-mabinogion-with-caitlin-matthews-webinar
4-5 May 2024. MEGALITHOMANIA CONFERENCE. As part of the conference, Caitlín will be leading a practical session on: Temporal Resonance: Timeless Belonging: Sounding the Ancestral Landscape.. We inhabit a land whose sacred monuments were created by ancestors for their descendants, not only for themselves. Caitlín will explore the ancestral signature of those places that still call to each of us, to understand ourselves as part of a community through time. We will also sound our participation in the Perpetual Choirs of Song, whereby we infuse with song the sacred land, bridging time and timelessness in one bond. Held in Glastonbury, Somerset. Booking: www.megalithomania.co.uk
25th May 2024. THE SHERWOOD ORACLE with John Matthews and Mark Ryan will be in Atlantis Bookship 49a Museum St, in the afternoon to chat, give an overview of the deck, and if stock has arrived, be on hand to sign lots of copies! 2.30 - 5.00pm FREE, but please contact Atlantis as places are very limited. https://theatlantisbookshop.com/contact/. ALSO, see below.
28 May 2024 WE ARE NOT THE GODDESSES Caitlín Matthews & Imelda Almvist - a shamanic conversation on the topic of women self-identifying as goddesses, and what the consequences and causes of this might be. This follows my Substack piece of the same name, which you can see here:
Imelda is an international teacher of Sacred Art and Seiðr/Old Norse Traditions (the ancestral wisdom teachings of Northern Europe). She is also a Forest Witch and runs a Forest School in Sweden! So far she has written four non-fiction books, one art book and four picture books for children. Imelda uses about 23 languages when she does research for her courses and writing.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
Our dialogue will now take place on Tuesday evening 28 May, from 8 - 9.30 pm UK time (please adjust for local time, using a site like World Time Buddy).
Our talk is open to the public. Our moderator for the evening is Christian Thurow, the editor of Shaman Portal Quarterly Review. Initially this was going to be a small scale free event, but that is no longer possible due to the time and cost involved in managing the number of people who expressed interest. (We need to pay Christian, manage a crowd, buy an extended zoom licence for a month and so forth).
However, the recording will be uploaded to my YouTube Channel, The Pregnant Hag Podcast, one month later (meaning when paid access for paying participants has expired). This means that, from that point onward, anyone can watch and listen, free of charge in their own time. What participants in the live event are paying for is the privilege of interaction, asking questions and perhaps even sharing a perspective (again depending on the number of responses and fair use of available time). If you subscribe to my YT Channel, you should get a notification when the recording goes up.
Please note that this live event will be limited to 500 participants only .
And here is the link in long form, if you wish to share it, or cut and paste:
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/surbitonshamaniccircle/1228021
6th June 2024 THE FOOL’S NEW JOURNEY with John Matthews. To launch John’s ground-breaking new tarot at 5.30-6.30pm, he is giving a short talk with signing at Watkins Bookshop 19 - 21 Cecil Court WC2N 4EZ. To book a place and to order a signed tarot for yourself. Tel. 020 7836 2182 service.watkinsbooks@gmail.com
22 June 2024 MAGICKAL WOMEN CONFERENCE Caitlín appears as the guest of honour at this wonderful event which is held in Birmingham. 25 diverse speakers on the history, practice, and art of women in the occult will be speaking and teaching. The event includes a catered lunch, the (in)famous raffle, and vendor room. Details of speakers: https://www.magickalwomenconference.com/2024. Regular price £49. Booking: https://www.magickalwomenconference.com/events
*23-26 August 2024 THE 2024 FÍOS MASTERCLASS with IAN REES:
THE TREE, THE GARDEN AND THE HEALING OF THE WORLD introduced by Caitlín Matthews. Qabalah is a development of the Western Mysteries, with the Tree of Life at its heart, uniting opposites, deepening the web of connection, and irrigating the soul and the world. By exploring the Egyptian prayer and embodiment forms of the Eloquent Peasant, the Good Shepherd and the Silent Sage, we discover ourselves as B’tzelem, the living image of the Divine, with a capacity to create and bless, entering the deep stillness behind all manifestation. We will discover the Tree of Life as a way of the heart, learn the way of uniting opposites and healing disconnection, and gain expert guidance in the art of embodiment and mediation. Ian writes: ‘We will be once again considering the practice of transforming the qliphoth which are the distortions found in both self and in the world that restrict and twist the free flow of life. A particular focus this time will be the traditions of the Tree and the Fountain, the Moon and the Mountain in which we will consider the roots of the Tree of Life and the practice of the Divine Name. The 87th exorcism psalm of the sons and daughters of Korah will be a central feature of the course in which we will align the foundation of our being (Yesod) with the axis of the Universe.’
Fee: Early Bird price (booked before 31 May) single £570, shared £484, Non res £395. Book after 1 Jun) Single. £645 Shared £570 Non-res £465. Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034) Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034) https://www.hawkwoodcollege.co.uk/event/qabalah-meditation/
Ian Rees (above) is a psycho-spiritual psychotherapist, who leads the Annwn Foundation training. He has been a practitioner of the Qabalah for 52 years, trained by W E Butler and Tom Oloman. He has taught Qabalah in UK, South Africa and Israel for many years. He is the author of Keys to the Temple (with Penny Billington), and of The Tree of Life and Death Aeon Books. His forthcoming book, Aleister Crowley, Simon Iff, and the Way of Deep Magick, is a companion to the Tree of Life and Death comes with a foreword by Caitlín,
Sunday, 13th Oct 2024 ADVENTURES WITH THE SHERWOOD ORACLE A workshop with Mark Ryan and John Matthews. Join us at the famed Atlantis Bookshop From 11am to 4pm. Explore the brand-new deck The Sherwood Oracle, with enchanting images by Yvonne Gilbert. A follow-up to the best-selling Wildwood Tarot, this is the most eagerly awaited new system on the year. Join John and Mark for a workshop including an exploration of the art and symbology of the deck, guided meditation, and a signing by both the authors. Tea and coffee included. £50.00 payable in advance to Atlantis Bookshop, 49A Museum St, London WC1A 1LY. Book early, as places are limited. Bring your Sherwood Oracle or order one from https://theatlantisbookshop.com/contact/
ANNOUNCING THE CELEBRATION OF OUR 40th ANNIVERSARY COURSE
We have been teaching an open mystery school at Hawkwood College for 40 years this December. We hope that many of you who attended from 1985-2023 will join us for a wonderful reunion of the Company of Hawkwood at VOYAGES TO VISION: THE QUEST FOR WONDER. on 29 November- 1 December 2024
Yes, it’s been 40 years since we started teaching our Open Mystery School at Hawkwood College, and here are a couple of photos from over that time, R.J.Stewart and John back in the late 1970s when we first came there as students of Gareth Knight, and Gareth Knight with John in 2004, which was the last time our teacher taught there. We have given a big public ritual on these weekends ‘since pagan times’ as Cole Hawlings says in John Masefield’s wonderful and inspiring book, The Box of Delights.
Over the years we have had many notable co-teachers from Marian Green, Philip Carr-Gom, and Mark Townsend, to Brian and Wendy Froud, Jessica and Martin Simpson, Meinrad Craghead, Ann Lister, Mary Ryan, Dwina Murphy-Gibb, Dr Ari Berk, Charles Newington, Felicity Wombwell, and R.J.Stewart.
We have explored many topics over this time, from the Mabinogion to the Arthurian Legend, from Winter’s treasury to the Enchantments of Story, from Faery traditions and Hearth Customs and to the Wildwood and the inspirations of the Starry Heavens. Please join us for our 40th Anniversary gathering! See Below.
29 November-1 December 2024 VOYAGES TO VISION: THE QUEST FOR WONDER With John & Caitlín Matthews with Ian Rees. For the last 40 years at Hawkwood, we have explored many topics which open the imaginal doorways of inner vision. This leap year, we chart the voyages of the soul which waken to wonder by passing through the portals that open along its course.
From the Irish voyage tradition of the Immram, and King Arthur’s voyage into the underworld of Annwfyn, to the voyages of the Grail, we come together again as questers in search of inspiration through ritual, meditation and deep conversation. Coming together again as questers old and new we go once more in search of inspiration through ritual, meditation and deep conversation, gathering as the Companions of Hawkwood, in celebration and gratitude. There is so much to remember and to gather up, so many songs, poems, and stories to be shared as we join together in a truly festive ceilidh. As deep winter calls us into the heart of solstice-time, let us prepare to embark on a memorable voyage together. Early Bird Booking: £289 non res, £348 shared, £391 single. Full Price: Single £460, Shared £410, Non-Res £340 - Please send your non-returnable deposit of £120 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034) Please send your non-returnable deposit of £150 payable to Hawkwood College, Painswick Old Rd., Stroud, Glos GL6 7QW (01453 759034
THE FOUNDATION FOR INSPIRATIONAL AND ORACULAR STUDIES.
The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies or FíOS is dedicated to the re-enchantment of the soul through the restoration of the sacred arts that shape the landscape of the soul, via vision, dream, memory. These creative, artistic and mystical arts are the gifting vision of all human beings. Discovering and sharing the ways by which inspiration comes is often an oral, rather than transcribed skill, whereby knowledge is shared with peers so that the inspirational pathways of our common life may be enriched. Such precious arts often remain without witness or record, although they were cherished by our ancestors. FíOS was formed to honour this sacred heritage.
In a world where mostly written and academic sources have respect, we recognize that there are sources of wisdom that fall outside of those categories, particularly the deep ancestral practices by which our world has been sustained. These oracular and sacred arts come to us from mouth to ear, unifying our understanding of the apparent and unseen world into one reality. They lead us to the place of our true abiding: to the communion with All That is, where we remember how to hear and trust the oracles from the heart of wisdom.
The FÍOS logo above shows the salmon of wisdom leaping to reach the hazelnuts of the Well of Segais, from whose waters five streams flow out into the world to transmit wisdom through the streams of the senses. The acronym FÍOS forms the old Irish word for the wisdom that is available by oracular and inspired means, rather than only by written or theoretical sources. Fíos,pronounced Fee'us, is also the modern Irish word for Knowledge.
FÍOS was founded in 1994 by Caitlín & John Matthews & the late Felicity Wombwell.
Annual membership of FIOS is £60 gives regular updates, as well as priority booking and £20 discounts on many courses. Paypal Caitlín Matthews £60 to tigerna9@aol.com.
Thank you for offering a couple of courses on zoom for those of us who live overseas, apart from our ancestral lands.
Wonderful, your courses are always so informative, inspiring and well worth attending.