This talk unpacks the magic of the most extraordinary of all grimoires, the Picatrix. For those who know little of Arabic Philosophy and astrology, it can be a hard text to approach, much more challenging than those we are more familiar with, such as the Key of Solomon. This lecture serves as an introduction to this remarkable text: its structure, its underlying philosophy and its main categories of magic. This is a night for everyone who loves a grimoire, who burns a planetary incense, who knows astrology, or who works with the powers of the seven sacred planets. Liana Saif works on Renaissance philosophy and the development of the esoteric traditions of Arabic and Western cultures. She has recently completed her doctoral thesis at Birkbeck College, University of London.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start.

In honour of LGBT History Month, we present an evening of tale-telling, vibrantly performed and retold, telling stories from pagan myth which feature beings and heroes who are 'other-gendered.' Lindsay River is a gifted storyteller; a professional in the field of ageism and queer rights, she holds an MA in literature. Also an astrologer, she co-wrote The Knot of Time: Astrology and Female Experience. Lou Hart is a co-founder of Queer Pagan Camp, probably Britain's most important and longstanding community for people of alternative sexualities. An experienced and engaging speaker, she has also written about the need to include queer approaches in magical practice (Magic is a Many Gendered Thing) and is a contributor to The Wanton Green (just published). A wonderful evening is promised - everyone warmly welcome.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start.

Since 2006 photographer Sara Hannant has documented folk rites of the seasonal year, spending time talking to people and photographing events as they unfold. Tonight she tells what she has learnt: what is the state of folk custom today, and how do those involved feel about the rites they keep alive. She also reflects on her own experiences of witnessing the wheel of the year in this way, sharing with us her favourite shots from her own work -- and pulling out of the archives some amazing monochrome photographs from the distant past, when ceremonies were first recorded. A visual and personal smorgasbord is promised; join us! Sara is author of Mummers, Maypoles and Milkmaids, and will be signing copies after the lecture. Her website

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start.

Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki is a grand doyenne of the Western Mystery tradition. Now in her eighties, she is the longstanding director the Servants of the Light, an hermetic order descended from Dion Fortune's Society of the Inner Light (SIL), itself derived from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In this rare appearance, she gives a lecture teaching session on the individual spiritual journey: The Road as Symbol of the Quest: 'Roads, any road, all roads, are magical because we never know where they will take us. They can lie, or lead to a dead end. They can test us to the limit until we either turn back or press on regardless. They are the ways that lead us to the beginning of our Quest.' For a glimpse into the worldview of the Western Mysteries, from a lifelong occultist. Tonight’s speaker started her occult life in Dion Fortune’s order, was a student of the late WE Butler, collaborated with Gareth Knight, and is at the heart of Servants of the Light.

Price: £15.00 Time: 7.30 to 10.00 pm

Anglo Saxon Pagan practices and beliefs inspire contemporary heathens/pagans, and in this lecture Pete Jennings talks about the sources (textual, archaeological) which are drawn upon -- and talks as well about how the ways people (including himself) are inspired by them. In his engaging and vibrant style, he will bring the material to life. A lifelong heathen with decades of involvement, he is High Gothi of Odinshof and ex-President of the Pagan Federation. Also a writer, he is prolific - his many books include Heathen Paths and Penda: Pagan King of Mercia: His Anglo-Saxon World. A popular speaker, Pete Jennings returns to Treadwell's by special invitation.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start.

This evening is for people looking at paganism as a religious path and are at the early stages of exploration. An illustrated talk unfolds some central concepts, a demonstration of a pagan altar unpacks key symbolism. A simple pagan ceremony concludes the evening. Bring your enthusiasm, questions, confusion and curiosity. Christina Oakley Harrington, founder of Treadwell’s, is a longstanding pagan of 25 years experience. Long involved in pagan community, she also speaks at interfaith and academic gatherings.

Price: £10.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30, runs until 9.30 pm

Eighteenth-century London was awash with cheap, fiery gin. William Hogarth and Henry Fielding railed against it; politicians legislated against it; doctors blamed it for destroying the health of the nation. But what was the truth behind the epidemic of depravity? Celebrate Richard Barnett's new book The Dedalus Book of Gin by taking a guided walk into the darker side of Enlightenment London. We'll tour the historical gin hotspots of Soho and Covent Garden, and end with a book-signing and a glass of gin at Treadwell's Bookshop. Tickets cost £15 and include a copy of The Dedalus Book of Gin and a complimentary glass of gin. The event is supported by Hendrick's Gin.

Price: £15.00 includes book and glass of gin. Time: 2.45 for 3.00 pm start near Trafalgar Square.

Spend the day immersed in the mysteries of the Spring Equinox. You will be treated to folklore, traditional customs, inner spiritual meanings -- and for ways in which it is celebrated in the present as well as in the past. It includes illustrated lecture, handouts, exercises, seminar discussion, meditation and some traditional craft work. A ceremony completes the day. You will leave with solid knowledge and experience which you can bring to your personal life. Ideal if you love folk customs, or if you are studying as a pagan. Suzanne Corbie has been studying and working with native British folk customs for over 35 years: she is a Wiccan priestess who has done fieldwork in several religious traditions.

Price: £35.00 (£20 deposit, balance due on the day) Time: 11.00 am to 5.30 pm

Krzysztof Azarewicz has been studying and practising Thelema for nearly twenty years, and tonight talks about his experiences on this path, starting with his early experiences in Poland to his years here in the UK. Krzysztof is an active member of the Ordo Templi Orientis and an ordained priest of Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica. He founded and heads Lashtal Press, which publishes in Polish books by Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare. We are delighted he has agreed to join us here tonight as part of our series, asking long-term esotericists what it is really like to live a magical life, with its rewards, challenges and evolving perspectives.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

Herbal spellcraft for protection, cutting away dead wood, breaking unhelpful ties and for establishing focus on new projects. This is seasonal magic for Spring, and this workshop's theme. This workshop teaches techniques of herbal magic which you can implement in your personal practice – so it's for you, solitary pagans and hedgewitches - join us! The key herb of the day is the nettle, a common weed with powerful qualities. In addition to teachings on the herb, you will taste herbal infusions, be led in meditation, and make your own charged herbal magical talisman. Karen and Fiona are long-standing hedgewitches who are also qualified herbalists; they have worked together for twelve years, teaching hedgewitchy herbalism through their company Sensory Solutions. They also have a blog.

Price: £25, includes all ingredients. Time: 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm

What is it like to be a Wiccan priest? How does a person's life start down that path, and what does it feel like some twenty years down the road? The experiences and adventures that make up the spiritual journey are individual, and this series is dedicated to speaking to individuals about their personal life stories and their own outlooks. Tonight's interviewee is known by the name Merlyn. He founded the Witchfest annual gatherings in Croydon, and some years ago founded Children of Artemis. He has been in Wicca for over 20 years. Tonight we ask about the lived experience of being in the Craft, and how it's evolved as a way of life, as well as talking about what it was like for him as a beginner.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

An evening working one of the core individual rites of the Western ceremonial tradition.

If you are starting out in ceremonial magic, and want to get some in-person experience, this evening is for you. This night teaches you the LBRP (as it is fondly called) from start to finish, with lots of practice and coaching, so that when you go home, you can incorporate it into your practice if you so wish. The tutor is a longstanding magical practitioner grounded in Western ceremonial, ritual magic and esoteric kabbalah.

Price: £10.00 Time: 7.30, runs until 9.30 pm

Other people's diaries are simply wonderful and important and they usually get thrown away. What are they? Chronicles of truth from real people. The speaker will consider how and why this under-appreciated side of human life and endeavour is so often disregarded, and discuss his plans to form a National Repository to rescue unwanted private diaries for the long-term future when they will be treasured as gold dust. Irving Finkel, in addition to being an assistant keeper at the British Museum and a published author of children's books, is a passionate advocate for the collection and preservation of personal diaries and journals: see the Independent, the Mail and the BBC. An inspiring and entertaining speaker, so we promise you an unforgettable night.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

Knowing your herbs is an essential skill in the path of the hedgewitch. Natasha Richardson leads seasonal walks to help you learn just this. She identifies native plants that are important in British folklore and in herbal medicine in this two-hour foraging walk in a part in Central London. Along the way Natasha will share stories, superstitions and also some basic biochemical facts about each. A lively speaker, she is both a hedgewitch and medical herbalist with her own established practice, Rowan Remedies. This walk concentrates on herbs visible in March.

Price: £8.00 Time: 12.45 for 1.00 pm departure, Hyde Park tube station.

Making sigils in a way to ensure effectiveness, maximising the techniques developed from Austin Osman Spare to Pete Carroll to hypnosis. This day takes you through the origins, essential qualities and mechanism of the sigil: from intent to inscription to implantation in the unconscious, with the creation of belief and bypassing the conscious censor. The techniques of sigilisation are explored in theory and will be implemented in practice. This is an afternoon for the chaos magician who wants a focussed treatment of this key tech, and for anyone interested in the nitty-gritty of results magic. Mark Smith is a longstanding chaos magician, a professional drummer, and a qualified hypnotist with an established practice in that field. His workshops receive rave reviews.

Price: £25.00 Time: 1.00 pm to 5.30 pm

They say that pagans are tree huggers, and so it is fitting that tonight's talk is on the importance of trees and woodland in the beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons and their Norse neighbours. He uses current interdisciplinary approaches to sources, so you will be treated to Old English and Old Norse texts, Anglo-Saxon art, sacred landscapes, and ritual objects. And, he argues that the veneration of the tree did not cease with the adoption of the cross; indeed, the shift from paganism to Christianity was a case of gradual assimilation rather than sudden abandonment of old ways. Mike Bintley (Oxford University) wrote his doctoral thesis on 'Trees and Woodland in Anglo-Saxon Culture', and has also taught medieval literatures at University College London and Birkbeck. We welcome him to Treadwell's for the first time.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

A practical evening teaching hypnosis methods to self-induce trance states and to work on unconscious mind patterns, in your magical practice. Techniques will enhance visualisations and pathworkings and intensify your ritual workings -- whether you work in chaos magic, shamanic journeying, general meditation or witchcraft. Practical exercises through the evening mean you can immediately apply these methods. Repeated dates due to popular demand. Mark is a professional clinical hypnotherapist, professional drummer, gym addict and chaos magician. An outstanding opportunity from someone with experience and skill.

Price: £10.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 start, runs until 9.30 pm

Learn the basics of herbal medicine from a qualified herbalist who will combine lectures on principles and methods with in-class practical sessions on making basic preparations and potions. Aimed at those with a calling to the hedge witch or cunning man, this course is full of the rich culture of traditional remedies, underpinned by an holistic approach to healing. Independent work will include research, finding plants, and doing home preparations. Tutor Natasha Richardson is a qualified medical herbalist with a deep love of plants and nature, who has a private practice as well as five years working with Neals Yard Remedies. Eight Tuesday evenings. Price includes materials and handouts.

Price: £170 (£80 deposit, balance due first session) Time: 7.00 to 9.00 pm

Whatever your angle on alchemy the Nigredo is where it all begins. The dusky flight of the Raven, the intractable stubborness of the Toad, the snarling aggression of the Bear. It is the prima materia, deep down in the dark earth; the scrambled, depressing rag-bag of indeterminate qualities which forms the lead which is to be transmuted into solar gold. Paul Cowlan this year gives a series of four lectures on the four main stages of the alchemical work, with particular reference to the pictorial imagery, and its relevance to the personal quest. This is the first. Paul Cowlan has been working in spiritual alchemy for over twenty years. A lucid and engaging speaker, he is a Treadwell's favourite for his lectures unpacking the symbolism and meanings of spiritual alchemy from its vivid image codes.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

A fervent, compelling mystical and magical vision burns at the heart of the art of British occult artist Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956). First articulated in The Book of Pleasure, it continuously developed throughout his lifetime’s work. In this illustrated talk Michael Staley explores Spare’s mysticism and magical vision, using drawings and paintings which communicate it especially clearly, and drawing upon his mature writings of the late 1940s and the 1950s. If Spare intrigues and compels you, then this night’s for you. Michael Staley is the founder of Starfire Publishing, who last year published two early sketchbooks by Spare as Two Grimoires. An enthusiastic collector of Spare’s art, and immersed in Spare’s work for many years now, Michael is particularly interested in how this work resonates with other mystical and magical traditions.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 pm start

Stories of the walking dead are common in medieval literature, from romances to saints' lives. Ghouls, ghosts and vampires were said to return from their graves to terrorise the living. But how much did ordinary people actually believe these tales? Can the odd items found in some medieval graves shed more light on these beliefs? Join James Holloway for a tour of some of the stranger burial practices of medieval Europe, and learn about the archaeological evidence for belief in the dangerous dead. Dr James Holloway studied archaeology at Cambridge University, and remains fascinated by the strange things that people are willing to do to dead bodies.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 pm start

Tonight offers an opportunity to see a Thelemic ritual performance containing pentagram and Hexagrams rituals, litanies, chants, and is performed by four temple officers in full robes, and a temple space appointed with a full complement of Egyptian nemysses, candles and magical weapons. The Rite of Isis was composed in 1914 by two of Aleister Crowley's magical students in a Canadian Lodge of the O.T.O and was performed there that year. The authors drew heavily on Crowley's writings, most heavily Rites of Eleusis. It is not in print to the public and has almost never been performed before an open audience. Tonight is ideal if you wish to take a closer look at Thelemic ceremony. Due to space constraints, numbers are limited.

Price: £15.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

Spend the day immersed in the ancient pagan festival of Beltane, or May Day. You will be treated to folklore, traditional customs, inner spiritual meanings -- and for ways in which it is celebrated in the present as well as in the past. It includes illustrated lecture, handouts, exercises, seminar discussion, meditation and some traditional craft work. A ceremony completes the day. You will leave with solid knowledge and experiental workings which you can bring to your personal life. Ideal if you love folk customs, or if you are studying as a pagan. Suzanne Corbie has been studying and working with native British folk customs for over 35 years: she is a Wiccan priestess who has done fieldwork in several religious traditions.

Price: £35 (£20 deposit, balance due on the day). Time: 11.00 am to 5.30 pm

Shinto, the traditional spirituality of Japan, appears to be an unbroken pagan path that meets the needs of an urban, technological society. Here in the West pagans are connecting to their own ancient spiritual cultures – also urban people. Tonight's speaker outlines the basics of Shinto which, like other paganisms, can be seen as monotheistic, polytheistic or neither. Also like other pagan religions, it is indigenous, with very specific Japanese cultural and ecological roots. Sp does it have to be ethnocentric? The issues and challenges of Shinto also apply to Druidry, heathenism, Wicca and all western paganism. A talk for all thinking pagans who are concerned about how we think about religion. Aidan Rankin is a researcher on spiritual and esoteric matters. His most recent book is Shinto: A Celebration of Life, and he is now working on Jainism and science.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

The Roman festival of Floralia, held in honour of Flora, the Goddess of Flowers, took place between 27th April to 4th May. Many European Beltane observances come from it: Flora's echo is in the May Queen and the garlands of flowers worn in modern Beltane celebrations. Tonight is a talk on Flora and Beltane followed by a Beltane ceremony in her honour, welcoming the coming summer and the flowering of the land. This event is suitable for beginners and those experienced in ceremony alike. Beginners to ritual especially welcome. This evening is led by Caroline Wise, an arch-priestess in the Fellowship of Isis who runs events in the UK, Germany and the USA. For the last 30 years she has been working in discovering and celebrating the goddesses of London. She returns to Treadwell's by special invitation.

Price: £10.00 Time: 6.45 for 7.00 pm (please note early start time)

Knowing your herbs is an essential skill in the path of the hedgewitch. Natasha Richardson leads seasonal walks to help you learn just this. She identifies native plants that are important in British folklore and in herbal medicine in this two-hour foraging walk in a part in Central London. Along the way Natasha will share stories, superstitions and also some basic biochemical facts about each. A lively speaker, she is both a hedgewitch and medical herbalist with her own established practice, Rowan Remedies. This walk concentrates on herbs which flourish in May.

Price: £8.00 in advance Time: 12.45 for 1.00 pm departure, Hyde Park tube station.

Say 'Madame Blavatsky and the Theosophical Society' and we think of the mystic East; yet Blavatsky's roots lie rather in the western esoteric tradition. She synthesised Eliphas Levi, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Mesmer, Paracelsus and Neoplatonists into a thrilling mix. And though she worked with spiritualists, she declared herself a magician, able to command elementals and not merely be a medium for the dead. She also espoused left-wing politics, allying with progressive, even radical movements. To top it off, she was a woman, a female in a world where the male magician was the norm. See this amazing character in a new light. Gary's forthcoming book is Madame Blavatsky:the Life and Times of the Mother of Modern Spirituality.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for 7.30 pm start

When is the earliest appearance of the threefold goddess in history? What does it mean to modern pagans who speak of the Moon, and the Goddess of Nature as 'Maiden, Mother and Crone'? Why should you sing the praises of a Cambridge scholar named Jane Ellen Harrison? Prudence Jones answers these questions and more, in a lively scholarly talk. By the time you leave, you will know why and how the triple goddess lived, and lives again. If you’ve ever gazed at the moon, done a magic spell, or secretly worshipped a goddess, this night is for you. Prudence Jones is a writer and commentator on European Pagan traditions and associated spiritual systems, especially Wicca and astrology, though she began as an academic philosopher at Cambridge. A past president of the Pagan Federation, she is co-author of History of Pagan Europe.

Price: £7.00 Time: 7.15 for a 7.30 pm start

An evening meditative circle led by Chris and Vivianne Crowley. It draws on Western magical tradition, Wicca and Buddhist practice and is open to those of all paths. Spiritual attunement, honouring Goddess and God, and developing visualisation, insight and healing. More on their web page. Please write in advance via BMDeosil@aol.com.

Price: £8 Time: 7.15 pm for 7.30 pm start

The Druid Order is well known for their public ceremonies, most notably the Midsummer rites at Stonehenge, performed in distinctive long white robes. Throughout the year, they hold open evenings for those who wish to learn more about them. Druid Order 020 8659 4879. Future dates: 3 Mar, 22 Mar, 19 Apr, 3 May, 17 May, 31 May, 14 Jun, 12 July.

Price: £5.00, just turn up. Time: 7.30 pm

How to decide what you really want; ensure it fits with your life; make it achievable; get the help you need; plan to achieve it. Full details and booking on the organisers' website.

Attendees assess their life from a position of esoteric knowledge, including discerning the purpose of their current incarnation through the natal horoscope and prediction techniques, also freeing residues from the unconscious. Keith Magnay is a Western Mysteries initiate, a qualified shamanic practitioner, curandero, past life regression therapist and astrologer. More on the organisers' website. Email Keith or ring 07958746208.

Price: £99