The Magical Mind of Ithell Colquhoun

Having languished as a footnote in art history for decades, Ithell Colquhoun (1906-1988) is finally gaining recognition as one of the most interesting, dynamic, and theoretically sophisticated women Surrealists. Colquhoun was a visual artist, writer, poet and essayist whose dedication to enlightenment through the pursuit of occult knowledge was the foundation of all of her work.

This richly illustrated lecture will sample the astonishing range of Colquhoun’s occult experiments and theories, ranging from her extra dimensional aspirations and ideas about sex magic, to her magical implementations of the esoteric paradigms of W.B. Yeats.

Dr. Amy Hale is an anthropologist and folklorist writing about esoteric history, art, and culture. Her biography of Ithell Colquhoun, Genius of the Fern Loved Gully, is available from Strange Attractor Press, and she is also the editor of the forthcoming Essays on Women in Western Esotericism: Beyond Seeresses and Sea Priestesses (Palgrave Macmillan).