News

Witch Hunts - Matthew Hopkins Africa
A friend of Treadwell's, Zoe Young, is involved in a documentary about West African 'witch' hunts, and a project of safe haven for accused women and children. We invite you to check it out, lend support if you are drawn to, and well, remember that persecution of the 'other' can happen anywhere. Four hundred years ago it was in England that this was happening, except with no refugee camps as there are today in Ghana.

http://www.indiegogo.com/witch_camp

21 July 2010. Wandering Silversmith Brings Blessings...
Into the shop he came, smiling gently, with something of the free-spirit about him. Silver hair, loose cotton shirt, sandals, a demeanour of happy serenity.  'Hello.' Sweltering afternoon, June, quiet day. 'Hello?'  He was sent by friends, to come by and introduce himself. Just back from India, on the way down to Somerset. Yes, hello. We talk about the powers of pure silver, sacred symbols, old books, Egypt, pentagrams.  He left two hour later, and we had gained a friend.

Thus came Simon Guenier into the Treadwell's two months ago. Silversmith who travels between Varanasi and Wells, wandering, a Fool of the Tarot, with a love of symbols and talismans... and a master's art of silversmithing.  We have learnt about the 92.5 or better percentage of his preferred ingot silver, his commitment to sand casting, the vagaries of his research into outer limits of magical symbols.

And, as of yesterday, we have a selection of his silver jewellery, and it's on display in our cabinets.  Probably the most impressive is the stunning Anubis head, but also from Egypt is a Tet Ankh, an early form of this symbol from ancient Egypt, and an Eye of Horus.  From the Northern Tradition is an unusual Odin pendant (based on a Danish museum original). Simon's magical symbol pendants feature, of course,  a range of pentagrams -- which are, like all his work,  individually hand-cast, not mass produced.  We are pleased to be able to offer them all. 

And Simon, wherever you are wandering till we see you next, hail and farewell, and may the gods of smithcraft bless you.

16 July 2010 - Online Learning Academy in Western Esotericism
From Sasha Chaitow in Greece yesterday, we received notification of an online learning academy in Western Esotericism, taught by scholars both independent and within the academy. This is a welcome development and we're pleased to publicise it -- noting that among the tutors listed so far are a couple of scholars who have been speakers at Treadwell's. 

Here's their description:

Phoenix Rising Academy of Esoteric Studies and Creative Arts (www.phoenixrising.org.gr) it is a new, independent, distance-learning academic initiative based in Athens and London. We are preparing to launch our courses in the autumn-winter of 2010. Our aim is to provide a flexible and holistic approach to the study of topics in Western Esotericism and the Liberal Arts - remaining academic while allowing space for a number of perspectives for which there is little space even in existing academic fora for the study of Western Esotericism. We will be covering a wide range of topics within the Western Esoteric corpus, also extending into Philosophy and the Arts, seeking to create a truly cross-disciplinary curriculum which we hope will ultimately allow for cross-disciplinary research projects within the Academy. Our faculty (the list is not yet complete) comprises several EXESESO graduates, as well as more senior scholars including Amy Hale, Angela Voss and Hereward Tilton, and  others from around the world.

 http://www.phoenixrising.org.gr/

SilkMilk Journal of Orryelle Defenestrate Bascule
Just arrived - Silkmilk, the latest issue of Orryelle's Wild mad journal/ publication - this one is a beauty and has about 175 pages, many full colour. Comes with CD and poster insert. Limited to 1000 copies. This is a Treadwell's Special import, 9 copies in stock. £25 each. No reserving copies without payment, but we are open till 7pm, and can take payment for later collection or posting. £3 postage in UK, £6 EU, £8 elsewhere abroad. What's it like? Click here.

Acid Psychelica & English Folk Custom Event
Tickets at Treadwell's!

A celebration of the psychedelic with reference  to England’s ancient magical heritage. Circulus take us to a ‘future  medieval’ world, weaving beautiful acid folk ballads and   instrumentals, whilst Bridget Hayden leads us into transcendence by  fusing evocative imagery with experimental and improvised music.  The  Spiral Tribe Dance Company perform dances inspired by ancient  ritualistic dance and Paganism. A selection of Ben Van Meter’s rare  psychedelic films from the 1960s will be screened throughout. Peter  Sundae sets the scene with a ‘far out’ DJ set comprising wyrd,  psychedelic and acid folk vinyl gems. The event is hosted within The  Bedford’s circular ‘Globe Theatre’, lit by the Bardo Light Show’s  hand-manipulated oils, chemical slides, films and video effects. Sunday 29th August, 3pm – 12am, Globe Theatre at The Bedford, 77   Bedford Hill, Balham SW12 9HD, Tel. 0208 682 8940.   Train/tube: Balham.   Tickets: £8 available at Treadwell’s Bookshop (Covent Garden), Sister  Ray (Soho). Surplus tickets will be sold on the door.

Picatrix, Jung's Red Book, Dee and Spare
From America, at long last, we have in stock the Picatrix in English (from the Latin version) produced by Renaissance Astrology Publishing. We have paperack version in now, and hardbacks on their way in a fortnight. For price and details see Featured Books

In other news, the Austin Osman Spare documentary is proceeding apace, and we'll provide updates as it gets closer towards completion -- in the interim, collectors of Spare, or people who have an insider's knowledge of his life and work, are invited to come forward to participate - write in the first instance to Treadwell's and we'll gladly put you in touch with the makers. By the way, we've a folio of Inferno to Zos, for you Spare collectors. Enochian fanatics might want to view our True and Faithful Relation -- all these in our Rare Books.

Jung's huge amazing volume, The Red Book, is back in stock. We have four copies of this extraordinary illuminated volume from Jung's most extremely occult dimension. We have a display copy open for everyone who wants to come by and have a gawp.  In-shop purchase only for this volume .

Esoteric London in the Sixties and Seventies
Well, yesterday was a day for wonderful surprises. We received a visit from Francesca Rossetti who, under the name Francoise Strachan, wrote a number of the classic books and guides to paganism and the occult in the 1960s and 1970s.  She regaled us with tales of the drama of getting published her famed Aquarian Guide to Occult, Mystical, Religious and Magical London in 1970, and promised us stories of what it was like working for Mr Watkins (of the famed Watkins Bookshop) in those days.  With her sunny and perky personality, she enchanted us. On the spot, we invited her to be featured in our Interviews series this autumn, and she kindly agreed.  If you're interested in hearing about what occult London was like forty years ago, keep alert for the announcement.

Tarot is on our minds, as it seems to be all of this year. Diana Taylor, one of our two house readers, has a new personal website.  She's also teaching a foundation course this summer (and one this autumn) so you can read all about her readings and courses there as well as here. 

30 May
Tarot was the subject of the short segment on the One Show, and our lovely friends Beth, and Mark, and possibly a few others, kindly recorded it and made it available for viewing.  It's a four-minute piece on the hundredth anniversary of creation of the Rider-Waite tarot deck by the much-overlooked artist Pamela Colman Smith.  The piece was shot at Treadwell's -- can you recognise it? A little interview with Christina, in there too, drawing on research from Diana Taylor, who did a good deal of the background prep.

25 May
Okay, what's uncanny, evocative and enchanting all at the same time? Okay, other than a visit to the secret dungeons below Treadwells... !? The SPILL Festival Of Performance gets our vote for making our imaginations go to strange places and have surreal encounters. SPILL is  London's premiere biennale of experimental theatre and live art, and it's the love child of a Treadwell's friend, Robert Pacitti. Robert's vision is, well, magical, and we love what he does. For the 2009, he got an idea to have a special SPILL tarot deck; he commissioned photographer Manuel Vason to work with a range of ‘maverick’ artists of the 2009 festival, with 78 artists restaging 78 tarot cards -- one each. The Magician card was shot at Treadwell's, using Treadwell's props, staged by performance artist Helena Hunter. Those who know the shop will recognise the background to the striking image -- yes, it's Treadwell's bookshelves! The other stagings are unique, arresting - each bearing the stamp of the performer and designer. Manuel Vason is now widely considered to be one of the world’s foremost performance photographers so his work is itself a part of the project.  Treadwell's tarot reader Diana Taylor co-chaired the launch seminar of the deck in Soho Square, and did an inaugural divinatory reading for the festival director. Robert Pacitti's company is busy working towards the next festival, and the next one looks to be remarkable. Mythic dimensions featured at the festival included the work of Helena Hunter, mentioned above, is respected performance artist based in London - we invite you to check out her work, which is deeply inspired by occult and mythic themes  (http://www.helenahunter.com/).

7 May
In amidst all the counting of votes and seats in the General Election here in the UK, we've been leafing through oversize volumes that have come in this week.  Jung's Red Book is back in stock, and the illumated manuscript quality of the work is almost as breathtaking as the esoterically-extavagant ideas. This beautiful volume, yours for just £120, is blowing our tiny minds.  On the heels of that, there arrived a John Dee classic, the Askin Press tome of Casaubon's Dr John Dee's Actions with Spirits (otherwise known as 'True and Faithful Relation').  And soft! What light by yonder window breaks? It is a delivery box, and  Ixaxaar's own Queen of Hell! Bouncing back from Shakespeare's Elizabethan era to the twentieth century, we caress the pages of the big black volume that is - volume III of Frank Letchford's From the Inferno to Zos,  a life of Austin Osman Spare issued by First Impressions in 1995. Lurking underneath is a 1905 book of Aleister Crowley's self-published poetry (Orpheus in  green boards). Yes, it's a veritable orgy here  of gilt stamping, quarter leather, maroon cloth. The little gaggle of us at Treadwell's are reaching for the smelling salts, it's rather over-exciting.

The smaller format books have their own power, too, of course.  In addition to Orpheus and Queen of Hell, we have been perusing the books arriving from the smaller specialist presses in North America and other places abroad.   To have a look at the books we mean, you can look here:  Specialist Presses.  Enjoy!