London Alchemy - A Series of Talks on Alchemy and Magick at Brompton Cemetery

is June, Antique Beat and A Curious Invitation will be returning to Brompton Cemetery with a series of events on the theme of alchemy.
Following their annual London Month of the Dead celebration, the spirits of London magical characters John Dee, Francis Barrett, Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare (along with their Swiss cousins Paracelsus and Jung) will be evoked by historians, folklorists and practitioners over a weekend in one of the city’s most magni cent seven cemeteries.
rill to the music of ‘alchemist of sound’ Lydia Kavina (possibly the world’s greatest theremin player) and to tales of transformation performed by Giles Abbot (one of our greatest story tellers) in the candlelit cemetery chapel. And bene t Dead Londoners whilst you do it: each ticket includes a 20% donation toward a host of renovation projects as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund appeal for this most precious of London places.

And to help distill your own alchemical spirit, each ticket also includes an bespoke Hendrick’s Gin cocktail.
The London Alchemy weekend comprises of six events on the weekend of the 4th and 5th June including:

THE LONDON MAGE - John Dee and Francis Barrett
A salon in the cemetery with Glyn Parry & Mark Pilkington Saturday 4th June from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
Historian Dr Glyn Parry and champion of fringe science Mark Pilkington investigate the deeply strange and magical lives of two alchemists for whom London itself was the laboratory.

SECRETS AND WISDOM OF THE SORCERERS
Spell Books, Scryers and the Philosopher’s Stone
A salon in the cemetery with Owen Davies & George Hoyle Saturday 4th June from 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Hear tales of alchemical magic and its secrets as folklorist George Hoyle and historian Owen Davies distill the essence of the grimoire, the philosoper’s stone and the elixir of eternal life into a potent narrative of sorcery in theory and practice.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE
A Candlelit eremin Concert with Lydia Kavina and pianist, Thomas Ang Saturday 4th June from 7:00 pm
Join us for a special and unique candlelit performance by one of the world’s foremost theremin players, the ‘al- chemist of sound‘ Lydia Kavina, as she performs a selection of themes inspired by magic and mystery.

MIRROR OF THE SOUL - e Tarot Decks of Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare
A salon in the cemetery with Danny Nemu & Jonathan Allen Sunday 5th June from 1:00 to 3:00 pm
The tradition of divination using the 78 cards of the Tarot deck dates back to Protestant and Masonic sects in the 18th century. It later became an important part of the philosophy of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the 19th Century occult organisation which included Aleister Crowley, the so-called “wickedest man in the world”, as well as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle among its members.

ALCHEMY OF THE PSYCHE - Paracelsus & Jung
A salon in the cemetery with Philip Ball and Sonu Shamdasami Sunday 5th June from 3:00 to 5:00 pm
Writer Philip Ball and Jungian historian Sonu Shamdasami conjure up the spirits of two of the most signifcant alchemical visionaries: Paracelsus and Jung. Separated in time by 400 years, but linked by their Swiss birth place, they wandered Europe in parallel explorations of psychic health, science and alchemical symbolism.


TALES OF TRANSFORMATION
Faust and the Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Candlelit Story Telling in the cemetery with Giles Abbott - the UK’s only professional blind storyteller Sunday 5th June from 7:00 pm
A chance to hear these classic stories as you’ve never heard them before - in a graveyard. As dusk falls in Bromp- ton cemetery the gatekeeper will guide you down a lantern lit path, picking your way through the tombstones until you reach the chapel. Find a pew by candlelight, fortify your spirits with a complimentary glass of Hen- drick’s gin and listen to GILES ABBOTT performing a selection of tales of the occult including Goethe’s Faust an