Dr Leo Ruickbie's Witchcraft Blog

Obama Will Lose, Says Mexico's Chief Witch

2012-01-05T08:00:00.004Z

The Brujo Mayor - Supreme Sorcerer, Witch-in-Chief, or Grand Wizard as the BBC likes to call him - of Catemac in southern Mexico has made public his New Year predictions. Top of the list: Obama will lose the 2012 elections.Speaking at a press conference in Mexico City, Brujo Mayor Antonio Vazquez revealled that Obama was finished. Vazquez was quoted as saying, "I feel Obama will lose. They will

Christmas or Yule? Pagan secrets of the festive season

2011-12-17T09:43:00.001Z

It's that time of year again. Behind display windows sprayed with fake snow, stores play all our Christmas favorites, endlessly, and bearded men in red suits loiter in grottoes. But as you order your tree and hang up mistletoe, have you ever wondered what any of this has got to do with Christmas?Read my full story on the real meaning of Christmas in The Sierra Sun, published Thursday, December 15

Monsters Need Your Help

2011-11-28T08:37:00.002Z

Call for Papers for Preternature 2.2:Monstrophy: The Academic Study of Monsters ''Monstrophy'' is a term referring to the academic study of monsters as representational and conceptual categories, which has gained recent currency in several related fields of study (literary and cultural history, sociological theories of identity and difference, et al.), as well as in a number of recent books and

11-11-11 Fears Close Great Pyramid

2011-11-11T20:31:00.000Z

"Egypt has closed the Great Pyramid outside Cairo after rumours that groups would try to hold special rituals on 11 November at 11:11", claimed the BBC earlier today. The Great Pyramid was indeed closed, but Egyptian authorities said it was for routine maintenance only. The Associated Press noted an increased police and armed military presence in the area. Discovery News reported that Atef Abu

Vampire Conference Great Success

2011-11-08T16:36:00.004Z

'Vampires: Myths of the Past and the Future' at London University's Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies took us from the eastern European vampire epidemic of the 18th century right through to the monster's modern incarnations in Twilight, True Blood, and all the rest. Co-ordinator Simon Bacon brought together a diverse group of scholars from all of the world - even Romania - to discuss

Vampire Conference in The Herald

2011-10-31T12:46:00.005Z

From The Herald newspaper:Why we’ve fallen in love with 21st-century vampiresIT’S a topic most people would assume has too little bite for the attention of high-minded academics.But several of Edinburgh University’s brightest social scientists will speak in London this week at a conference set up to discuss how vampires are portrayed in contemporary pop culture.Hey, we're not all talking about

Hallowe'en in the Sierra Sun

2011-10-30T16:12:00.003Z

Read my article on Hallowe'en in the Sierra Sun: Faith Factor: Hallowe'en then and now.

Vampire Conference Programme

2011-09-02T12:23:00.003+01:00

Vampires: Myths of the Past and the FutureAn International Conference at the Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of London Wednesday, 2 November - Friday, 4 November 2011 Co-Ordinator: Simon Bacon (London) ProgrammeWednesday, 2 November 2011 9.15 Registration 10.00 Simon Bacon (London): Welcome and Introduction 10.15 Plenary Session:Ken Gelder (Melbourne): 'Our Vampires, Our

Contemporary Esotericism Conference

2011-09-02T11:34:00.003+01:00

Call for Papers: International Conference: Contemporary Esotericism Department of History of Religions, Stockholm University, Sweden. August 27-29, 2012 Keynote speakers: - Wouter J. Hanegraaff (Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, University of Amsterdam) - Christopher Partridge (Religious Studies, Lancaster University) - Kocku von Stuckrad (Study of Religion,

Edges of Freemasonry Conference

2011-09-02T11:24:00.003+01:00

Call for Papers: *EDGES OF FREEMASONRY -- WESTERN ESOTERICISM AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT* 7--8 September, 2012, University of Tampere, Finland -- www.edges.fi The School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Tampere is organizing an international conference on Freemasonry, Western Esotericism and the development of the Enlightenment ideas. The conference is organized in association

Harry Potter and Witchcraft

2011-07-14T10:49:00.003+01:00

Satanist to some, saint to others, why have the religious reactions to Harry Potter been so contradictory?Plus, just how do you make a Horcrux?New pages on the website exploring my recent work on Harry Potter from fundamentalism to the concept of the external soul. Read it all here http://www.witchology.com/contents/harrypotter/articles.php

Magic, Witches and Parapsychology

2011-06-30T08:50:00.006+01:00

Books received for review:Butler, Alison, Victorian Occultism and the Making of Modern Magic: Invoking Tradition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011)DescriptionIn the midst of increasing secularization and the birth of scientific naturalism, a curious group emerged in Victorian Britain. From 1888-1900, hundreds of men and women were initiated into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn at temples across

Spiritualism and the Golden Dawn

2011-06-19T10:07:00.004+01:00

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the most important magical society of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was established on the basis of spirit communication with supernatural entities. Known as the ‘Secret Chiefs’, these entities provided the source of authority for the leaders of the Order as well as later becoming the subject of dissension, functioning in a similar way

Call to End Ghana 'Witch Camps'

2011-06-16T10:08:00.003+01:00

George Asekere of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation has issued an emotional plea to abolish the so-called 'witch camps' and bring the persecution of alleged witches to an end.Many Ghanaians believe witchcraft is real and can be destructive. This non-empirical and intuitive mentality with no justification in today’s scientific world, is unfortunately the bane behind the inhumane treatment meted

Paranormal is now Supernatural

2011-06-15T16:52:00.003+01:00

My forthcoming book The Paranormal has now been renamed The Supernatural following negotiations for a US deal. Part of Constable & Robinson's Brief Histories/Guides series, the book is scheduled for publication on 19 April 2012, although that change. Already there's been a lot of interest and I'll be posting some advance reviews in the coming months.

'Magic is Might 2012': Call for Papers

2011-06-05T15:31:00.001+01:00

Harry Potter conference in Ireland. Call for papers just announced: 'Magic is Might 2012': Call for Papers: "The Harry Potter series has become a publishing phenomenon that has captured the imagination of children and adults all over the world. The ..."This two-day event will feature twenty 15-20 minute presentations on papers relating to popular culture and the Harry Potter series. We will

Vampire Conference Paper Accepted

2011-05-23T15:36:00.002+01:00

'Vampires: Myths of the Past and the Future' - An interdisciplinary conference organised by Simon Bacon, The London Consortium in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Cultural Memory, Institute of Germanic & Romance Studies, University of LondonFrom the conference description:Myths of vampires and the undead are as old as civilisation itself, wherever humans gather these ‘dark

Reinventing the Renaissance Occult

2011-04-23T08:38:00.004+01:00

Review of 'Reinventing the Renaissance Occult in Modern and Postmodern Culture' now available at http://jwmt.org/v2n20/reinventing.htmlFive hundred years ago the occult – what we think of as ‘the occult’ – was taught in university and practised by many of the foremost personalities of the age. Still it was persecuted. Dangerous. Between the Church and the deep blue sea: Scylla and Charybdis. It

Reinventing the Renaissance Occult

2011-02-24T09:48:00.002Z

Review of the 'Reinventing the Renaissance Occult in Modern and Postmodern Culture' conference accepted by the Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition (JWMT) for the forthcoming edition, vol. 2, no. 20. Will post link when the journal is published.

"How to cure a witch..."

2011-02-05T12:11:00.002Z

A guide on how to convert witches to Christianity has been published by the Roman Catholic Church in Britain. The move comes in response to fears that growing numbers of teenagers are being lured into Wicca, occult practices and paganism by the heroic depiction of witches in entertainment including the Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice films, and TV.The booklet, called Wicca and

The Paranormal is Finished!

2011-01-20T14:25:00.003Z

Of course I mean my book about the paranormal, not the paranormal itself! Yesterday afternoon I pressed the send button and sent the manuscript flying through the ether to my publishers. The editor's immediate reaction was 'wow'. After working ten hours a day, all the weekends, most of xmas, to produce 100,000 thoroughly researched, double-checked, fully referenced words in a record six months,

Tonight we are going to invoke Satan - just for fun

2010-10-20T09:48:00.004+01:00

Did I ever tell you about the time I went to a Black Mass? No? Pick up this month's copy of Paranormal magazine and read 'Talk of the Devil, Part 2' - all will be revealed.From the contents page:Continuing the history of the Prince of Evil, the Devil is brought in to the modern age of theological doubts, possession and Satanic cults and murders. The author also describes the night he attended a

At the Mountains of Madness

2010-10-15T08:36:00.003+01:00

Just heard about this new exhibition, thought I would pass it on. From the press release:Gallery Nucleus PresentsAT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS: H.P. LOVECRAFT TRIBUTE EXHIBITOctober 16, 2010 – November 8, 2010Opening Reception: October 16, 2010 (7 pm – 11 pm)Alhambra, CA – Gallery Nucleus presents an art exhibit tributing H. P. Lovecraft who is considered by many to be the most influential horror

Remember The Exorcist?

2010-08-31T10:38:00.005+01:00

The priest approaches the bed, a smile on his face. His words are kindly as he addresses the girl bound to the bed frame...Leo Ruickbie, 'Talk of the Devil', Paranormal, 51, September 2010.

Witchcraft Out of the Shadows 2nd Edition

2010-08-18T08:56:00.003+01:00

A second edition of Witchcraft Out of the Shadows is now in the works. First published in hardback in 2004, the last copies of the first edition of Witchcraft Out of the Shadows left the warehouse some months ago. There are now only four copies being sold through Amazon.co.uk. There are more Stateside with ten selling on Amazon.com. But be warned, prices are going through the roof. One seller is