Previous Lectures, Events & Courses

Botticelli’s ‘The Birth of Venus’ with Mary Attwood and Angela Voss – 27 June 2021 – 10am-12 noon (UK time) – via Zoom – £15
Following our popular session on Botticelli’s Primavera, we are offering an in-depth contemplation of its sister painting, The Birth of Venus. We will study the mythology and cosmology behind this iconic image, and consider it in the context of the revival of the divine feminine in Renaissance Florence.

Natural Magic with Dr Angela Voss – Sunday 18th April 2021 – 11am-12:30pm (UK time) via Zoom – £10
Natural Magic with Dr Angela Voss Sunday 18th April 2021, 11am - 12:30pm (UK time) via Zoom What is magic? In this webinar we will look at the classical, medieval and Renaissance understanding of the sympathy between all things which gave rise to practices of natural...

Botticelli’s Primavera – Mysteries of the Divine Feminine with Angela Voss & Mary Attwood via Zoom – 21 March 2021 – 10am-12 noon – £15
In this session celebrating the Spring Equinox, Angela and Mary will introduce you to one of the most famous and iconic of Renaissance paintings by Botticelli, one of only four of his paintings inspired by pagan themes.

The Lynx & the Butterfly: Exploring the Esoteric Imagination with Leonard George – Fri 30th April (7-9pm EDT), Sat 1st May & Sun 2nd May (10am-1pm EDT) 2021
Defining the imagination is like grabbing the wind. Imagining is ambiguous, ambivalent, creative and subversive. Controlling others’ imaginations has long been a means of oppression; but fresh imaginings can bring liberation and healing.

Calling and the Inner Imaginarium with Sharon Blackie – Feb 23 2021 – 6.30-8.00pm – £10
The concept of ‘calling’ derives from threads in Classical Greek philosophy which suggest that each soul is incarnated bearing a unique gift that it chose to bring to this world, this place, at this time.

Crossing the Threshold – 5 weeks (Jan-Feb 2021) – £35
A five-week deepening the material we presented in our Opening the Magic Windows course.

Active Visions of Tarot with Sonia McNally – 11 Sessions (Jan-Feb 2021) – £150
In this course, Sonia will guide you through making a creative portfolio using the major arcana of the Tarot.

Dream and the Sacred with Simão Cortês – 4 week Course – £40 – STARTED
In this course Simão is going to explore some of the core issues around dreaming and the relationship between the dreamer and her dreams. Each session will focus on a specific set of approaches to dreams, both religious and psychoanalytic, private and communal, creative and playful.

Exploring the Thin Places – 22nd Nov 3pm – 4.30pm FREE
Exploring the Thin Places FREE online event by Zoom Sunday 22nd November, 3pm - 4:30pm Following on from our highly popular Opening the Magic Windows Course, in this online session, Angela Voss, Louise Livingstone, Mary Attwood, William Rowlandson and Geoffrey...

Enchantment with Patrick Curry – 14th September 2021 – 6.30pm-8pm (UK time) – via Zoom – £10
My subject is the fundamental human experience of wonder. With a mixture of personal examples and respectful theory, we will consider what it is and isn’t: its characteristics, conditions, limits, and dynamics. We shall also try to find out what we can learn from enchantment, with particular reference to the concerns of the Centre such as myth, magic and the sacred. It also has significant implications for how to best go about contesting the ruling ideologies of our time.

Zodiac Seminars 2020 – Scorpio – £8
The virtual return of the get-together each month to celebrate the starsign of the month. Everyone welcome, whatever their sign, astrologers and non-astrologers, but only those who have the Sun, Moon or Ascendant in the sign of the month will lead the discussion.

Opening the Magic Windows – £35 course
A five-week course with Mary Attwood, Geoffrey Cornelius, Louise Livingstone, Angela Voss and William Rowlandson.
Sunday October 4,11,18,25 and November 1 from 3:00-4:14pm UK time
In this course, the core team of the MCS Centre will each explore their own ‘magic window’ into the world of the mysterious, the ineffable, the impossible, the extraordinary and the numinous.

Introduction to Astrology with Angela Voss – £25
This two week course will be an introduction to astrological principles for those with little or no previous knowledge. Please email me at imaginalcosmos@gmail.com if you wish to attend and for payment details, as numbers will be limited. Cost will be £25 for both sessions.

How to Look at Art – Mary Attwood
via Surrey Adult Learning, starting Monday 21st Sept- 19th Oct, 10am- 1pm – ZOOM class.
This five week course is an extension of the one off classes I have taught on the same topic before. With our museums and galleries full of wonderful works of art, the average visitor still spends only an average of fifteen seconds in front of a work of art. How do we look at art for longer, how do we find a way in and what do we look for?

From Renaissance Magic to Baroque Nostalgia with Angela Voss (4 Sessions)
Friday 18th & 25th September, Friday 2nd & 9th October.
Time: all sessions 11:00 am to 12:15 pm
£40
By Zoom


The Law of Nature and the Law of Drama with Dr Joseph Milne – 19 September 2021 – 3pm-4.30pm (UK time) – via Zoom – £15
In Shakespeare’s England there continued a consciousness of a correspondence between the order of Nature and the human order, inherited from the Middle Ages. Human events and a universal unfolding of time were connected. This understanding is reflected in the heated debates over Church and state at that time, and in the jurisprudence debates over written and unwritten law.


Reclaiming Beauty – Sculpture: from Myron to Michelangelo – Mary Attwood
via Surrey Adult Learning, Friday 20th November, 10am – 1pm – ZOOM class.
To echo the words, ‘reclaiming beauty’ from Sir Roger Scruton, this course will focus on European Sculpture from Myron to Michelangelo, Rodin to Giacometti with an emphasis on the changing face and meaning of beauty.


Leonardo Da Vinci – His Life and Work – Mary Attwood
Two week course via Surrey Adult Learning, Wednesday 4th November and Wednesday 11th November, 7- 9pm – ZOOM classes.
Often heralded as the archetypal Renaissance man, Leonardo Da Vinci was truly one of the great polymaths of his time and arguably unrivalled since. Scientist, mathematician, inventor, painter, sculptor and writer, Leonardo had an insatiable yearning to discover what might lie behind the world of natural phenomena.


You Are Because Yew Is with Louise Livingstone – Sunday 17th October 2021 – 3pm-5pm (UK time) – via Zoom – £15
Reciprocal relationship/co-creative partnership embraces both parties in the wholeness of their being and creates the possibilities for a world where all beings can live within the fullest expressions of their own nature. This idea applies not just to human-to-human relationships, but also human-to-more-than-human relationships.


The Pre-Raphaelites – Beauty, Myth and Legend – with Mary Attwood
The Pre-Raphaelites - Beauty, Myth and Legend - £15 Thursday 13th August 7-9pm by Zoom Email for joining details: info@maryattwood.com "The more materialistic science becomes, the more angels I shall paint. Their wings are my protest in favour of the immortality of...


Imaginary Gardens and Real Toads with Victoria Field – 2nd November 2021 – 6.30pm-8pm (UK time) – via Zoom – £10
In this interactive talk, Victoria Field will explore some of the ways in which the poetic can enhance our lives and expand our sense of connection with ourselves, the world and the transcendent. Mindful reading of poems and writing in response can offer solace, pleasure, new insights and even awakening experiences. We will look specifically at how metaphor, form and rich ambiguity work in poems. No previous experience or knowledge is required. Please bring a notebook and something to write with.


