Speakers 2024
Madeleine LeDespencer
From the U.K. - Madeleine LeDespencer is a visual artist and author whose varied interests range from French Decadence, Catholic mysticism, Diabolism, Legerdemain, and Spiritualism. She identifies as a Demimondaine, Absintheuse, and Adoratrice de Satan. She lives in London.
Shea Bilé
From the U.S. - Shea Bilé is an author, occult lecturer, musician, performance artist, and podcast host. A researcher and devotee of esoteric practice for nearly 25 years, his committed adherence to subversive forms of spiritual expression has served as a vital foundation for his work. He has conducted lectures and workshops throughout the United States and beyond, primarily on subjects related to Left Hand Path occultism and religious heterodoxy. His writings have appeared in numerous print and digital publications, his most recent treatise being, "Friedrich Nietzsche and the Left Hand Path," a book of occult philosophy published by Atramentous Press in 2023. His forthcoming work, "Hymns of the Red Dragon," a daemonic hymnal, is to be published by Theion Publishing. He is the host of the Deferred Gnosis Podcast, a show that explores fringe philosophical, spiritual, and religious subjects. As a ritual performance artist, he blends various forms of esoteric practice with transgressive ritual expression. His more notable musical artistic effort is delivered through his most recent album, Tzimtzum, which combines spoken word lyricism with neoclassical instrumentation. He has been a guest on a multitude of podcasts and has been the subject of various articles and documentaries, many of which relate to his life, his art, and his expertise and experience in the realm of the occult and alternative spirituality. Profile pieces of which Shea Bilé has been the subject have appeared in Vice, the documentary series 60 Second Docs, and is soon to appear on the forthcoming AppleTV documentary series, The Secret Teachings of All Ages. He is also the founder of the Occult Student Alliance, based at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California; and The Black Sun Sect, based at KU Leuven in Leuven, Belgium – both are esoteric organizations created to provide an empowering and sympathetic community for those who feel called to a path outside of conventional spirituality.
Shea Bilé holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in religious studies from San Francisco State University, in San Francisco, California, and a Master of Arts degree in philosophy from The Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven), in Leuven, Belgium.
Sarah-Jayne Farrer
From the U.K. - Sarah-Jayne Farrer is an established writer on magic and the occult, public lecturer, and community leader. She is a passionate believer in merging factual rigour with immersive encounters of place and its spirits. Her roots are knotted into the ancient landscape, and she has spent over a decade exploring the paths that carve Britain’s psychic landscape. She is also the founder of the on-line Edgeways community which brings together experts on folklore, art, and science with historians, archaeologists, and esotericists.
Bill Duvendack
From the U.S. - Bill Duvendack is an internationally known astrologer, psychic, presenter, teacher, tarot reader, and author. He has presented at many venues, ranging from colleges and high schools to national and international conferences. He is the author of over a dozen published books on modern spirituality, with more soon to be released. Over four dozen essays of his have been published in various anthologies, and his magical writings have been translated into seven languages. He regularly teaches digital courses on magick, astrology, and modern spirituality. He has been interviewed by the NY Times, RTE 1, and has made many TV and radio appearances. For more information about him, please consult his website:
Sam R Geraghty
From the U.K. - Sam R Geraghty is the author of two collections of poetry and has given talks on the history of the poetical craft, as well as the Greek Titan, Prometheus. He identifies as a Satanist who embraces an immanent material philosophy, having sought and rendered wisdom from, among others, archaic and classical Greek mythology.
He is a dedicated amateur athlete, and often rides the thin line between indulgence and restraint in the pursuit of the personal divine within the very world in which we live, breathe, enjoy and excel.
Kayla Mavrakis
From the US. - Kayla Mavrakis is not only presenting but is also our guest artist, so she will be exhibiting her art at the Friday night 'Meet and Greet'.
Kayla Mavrakis is a ritualistic visual artist and Talismanic painter. Her artwork is informed by her religious praxis seeded within the Goetic tradition, a magickal custom that blurs the line between art and devotion. Her primary medium is acrylic on canvas; influenced by the abstract tradition, she often utilizes her craft to transfigure and illuminate endarkened esoteric themes. Her paintings have been sold worldwide and featured in various occult publications and visual esoteric projects. She recently illustrated the occult philosophical treatise Friedrich Nietzsche and the Left Hand Path, published by Atramentous Press in early 2023.
Claire Pingel
From the UK - Claire Pingel is a wiccan high priestess running a coven in south Wales. An arch druidess in the fellowship of Isis. She runs the local iseum and works with Mary Magdalene, Hekate and Isis. Her main interest is building a successful relationship with the Goddess and working with her in daily life.
She talks at moots and gatherings as well as running workshops.
Claire has guested many times on various TV channels and is an established speaker. She also wrote a weekly coloumn in her local newspaper for many years, as well as writing for various magazines. She has written a successful course for a well known college and has had over seven hundred students complete it.
She has committed the rest of her life to serving the Goddess, the study of the Goddess and helping people deepen their connection to her.
Jonathan Argento
From the U.K. - Jonathan Argento is a teacher, speaker and author based on the South Coast of England, where he facilitates the Wickham Coven and the Wild Witchcraft Conference. He has had an active interest in the occult for over forty years and holds a BA and MA and formerly taught religion and philosophy in secondary schools and 6th form colleges.
Nat Clegg
From Italy - Nat Clegg has lived in Turin, Italy for 20 years. This environment has provided Nat with a long-term connection to the cities esoteric past and peculiar culture. Nat works with energies; this is translated through his art and healing.
Nat runs workshops on automatic drawing and painting, sourcing imagery, unconscious connections using symbolism and metaphors. Nat’s own work is that of the sacred mountain, in this case Monviso or Monte Viso the spiritual mountain of Torino. At other times angels and their influence on our development. Zophiel, the angel, has had a significant influence upon Nat and how he functions in life. Zophiel, an ancient angelic presence communicates through Nat’s imagery with messages and strong emotional reactions. Angel possession has been documented in various literature; Nat’s encounter was in Perugia where Zophiel became part of Nat’s life while hacking rock on a stone sculpture weekend.
Nat is dedicated to art and mark making towards the divine concept of that which is greater than human existence.
Diane Narraway
From the U.K. - Diane Narraway is a long term practitioner of witchcraft and the Left Hand Path.
She is the co-owner of Veneficia Publications, Ginger Fyre Press and Highschool Horror. Narraway is also an author of non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. She is the initiator of Lucifer: Light of the Aeon & Songs of the Black Flame, which is currently due for re-release. She is also an international speaker at various pagan and occult events, as well as hosting several events per year.
She is the Arlahes of Clan Dolmen and the publisher of Clan Dolmen Chronicles, which is a free online magazine aimed at all pagan, heathen, and occult communities.
Humberto Maggi
From Brazil - Humberto Maggi, in his work we find the struggle between the trained scientific mind and the magicians yearning for the supernatural, the daemonic experience, and an ecstatic awakening which is the key feature of the writers endeavours. For more than thirty years he has dug deeply into the textbooks of magic and into the layers of his own psyche, showing throughout these essays a profound grasp of both the esoteric literature of magic and the subtle nature of our relationship to the spirits.
Verónica Rivas
From Brazil - Verónica Rivas (Melong Yeshe) is an Uruguayan author and researcher based in Brazil. Her cosmological and anthropological studies in magical practices among Eastern cultures led her to become interested in healing techniques as a way to understand the link with our environment and its consequences in daily life.
When she became a Reiki Master, she started to research the possibilities of integrating Reiki techniques with other forms of energy work, using her academic training in Philosophy as an epistemological background. Verónica is also an initiated practitioner of Vajrayana Buddhism (Esoteric Buddhism), focusing her practical work in the deity known as Kurukulla.
Currently, her research is focused on female deities and spirits of the Buddhist and Hindu traditions, Tantra and Maria de Padilla and her connection with Quimbanda.
Lenni George
From Italy - Lenni George is a lone wolf when it comes to her magical practice. Her work is literally grounded .. growing medicinal and magical plants, creating elixirs and infusions, each made through ritual and spell casting and under the auspices of divine Feminine energies.
She is an experienced psychic quester and has worked on quests involving Epona and Boudicca. Her international travel has enabled her to access and learn about feminine divinities from India to Central America.
Called crazily psychic by her friends, Lenni is the first daughter of a first daughter going back seven generations. Today, from her home in Italy she teaches potion making and is known for her dream and waking vision elixirs. Lenni is particularly interested in working with the internal landscape for oneiric practices and has written on her experiences of trance work as an alternative to using psychoactive agents to connect with the Divine
David Beth
From Germany - David Beth was born and raised in Africa, living all over the world in service of the spirits. He was initiated as a priest of Haitian Vodou (Houngan Asogwe) in Port au Prince, Haiti and is also an adept of various Western occult and esoteric systems.
David serves as the current Heresiarch of the Kosmic Gnosis – a magical current focused on chthonic mysteries and sorcery.
University educated in Germany and the USA; David is also the co-founder of esoteric press Theion Publishing. He has lectured and published his writings internationally.
Lou Hotchkiss Knives
From the UK - Lou Hotchkiss Knives is a teacher, author, witch, lyricist and punk singer. Born in France, she moved to the UK in 1999 and there embarked on a journey of magickal discovery. She walks an eclectic path where country Witchcraft, Thelema, History, feminism, music and writing intersect with Babalon devotional practices. A regular speaker at Dolmen Grove events, her work on Babalon has been featured in several occult anthologies and journals, including Women of Babalon (Black Moon Publishings), and the Eloquent Blood by Manon Hendeborg White (Oxford University Press). As a self-confessed incorrigible scribbler, she has also contributed to various fiction, poetry and punk publications such as Songs of the Black Flame, Tales from the Tarot and Voices from the Ashes (Veneficia Publishings), The Gloucestershire Poetry Society journal, photographer Lawrence Hine's Muted-Musicians under Lockdown, punk zine Slutcake and the Dolmen Grove Chronicles. After 12 years of fronting Riot Grrrl quatuor Husbands N Knives, she is currently writing and singing with her new band WAGS to Wytches whilst also performing with pirate act The Boarding Crew. Her interests include punk rock, female-centered spirituality, WW1 literature and History, the Tarot, languages, vintage fashion, roses, butterflies and dead poets.
