Yuletide greetings
Hello Dear Readers!
I hope you have all been enjoying the winter (or summer!) holiday season so far. Although I’ve been a bit quiet, I have been paddling like a duck underneath working on a number of exciting new projects for 2025 and beyond that I can’t wait to share with you all. Despite the planning and preparation, I am taking a lot of time for introspection and quiet joy, as is rather customary for the dark period of the year. In many years I have been eager for the winter to be over and for the light to return, but I am currently savoring the coziness of the season and the opportunity to just be a bit of a house mouse after what has been a pretty wild year.
There are, though, a couple of things to announce:
On January 13 I will be doing an online lecture for Viktor Wynd’s Last Tuesday Society Series in support of the Victor Wynd Museum’s “Four Witches and a Warlock” exhibition in London. One of the “witches” is Ithell Colquhoun, and I am offering a lecture on transgression and taboo in Colquhoun’s work, “Ithell Colquhoun Between the Sacred and the Profane”. This talk is juicy and at times downright filthy, so please do join us if you like that sort of thing! Ticket prices are by donation.
Coming in March hosted by Morbid Anatomy the first in a series of courses I plan to offer in 2025, The Art of Magic and The Supersensual! From the description:
“Over the course of four weeks, we will undertake a survey of magical art, including spiritual abstraction, surrealism, feminist art of the 1980s, and the work of some of the best contemporary magical artists. We will also look at magical art outside of a gallery setting and the relationship between art, aesthetics and communities of practice as seen in the art and craft of Freemasonry and friendly societies, Pagan and Occult devotional art, magical tools and psychedelic art, as well as folk art, craft, outsider art, visionary art, and art brut. We will investigate the aesthetics of magic, and explore the role of clothing, jewelry, body art, décor, and the creation of sacred spaces as strategies of not just expression but also as an essential aspect of magical and spiritual practice. We will also consider recent scholarly debates about esotericism and magic, and the reconsideration of diverse magical themes in modern and contemporary art movements across the globe.”
The course runs from Thursday March 13- April 3, 2025 and is $100 for Morbid Anatomy patrons and $135 for everyone else. This is going to be a fun ride with a lot of interactivity and discussion, and I would love to see you there.
Inputs and Inspirations
My Yule playlist has been on regular rotation of late and I am really in love with the dreamy vibes it’s giving me this year. Here are three of my favorite selections:
Thea Gilmore’s Sol Invictus
Renowned men’s chorus Chanticleer performing Sarah Hopkins’ Past Life Melodies. It’s the aural equivalent of the aurora borealis.
Eric Whitacre’s shimmering, golden Lux Aurumque.
2024 has had some rough moments for many folks, so please take care of yourself during this holiday season.
Wishing you a joyous Yuletide and hoping for a peaceful 2025 for everyone.
Much love to you all,
Amy