Work with Spirits: Angels to Elementals

This five-week livestream course with author and occultist Julian Vayne invites you to step beyond the veil and explore the many forms of spirit that share our world, from angels and faeries to tulpas and gods.

Across cultures and throughout history, people have encountered a remarkable diversity of spirits, from ancestors and land spirits to elementals, djinn and divine beings. Yet one question has long fascinated mystics, magicians and scholars alike: what exactly are spirits? Are they inner archetypes, external intelligences, or something in between? Drawing on shamanic, animist and magical traditions, this course explores that question while offering practical, grounded ways to meet and work with spirits safely and meaningfully.

With over four decades of experience in esoteric practice, spanning Druidry, Chaos Magic, Shamanism, Freemasonry and Witchcraft, Julian is widely regarded as one of Britain's leading occultists. His collaborative, curious and creative teaching style makes him the perfect guide to this rich and fascinating realm.

What to expect

This is an experiential and interactive course that blends theory, history and hands-on practice. Each livestream class combines discussion, exploration, meditation and accessible ritual, giving you both a framework for understanding the spirit realm and practical tools to support your personal journey. Over five weeks, you'll learn how to perceive and connect with a wide range of entities, from the subtle presences of the natural world to the divine archetypes of the sacred imagination, all with plenty of opportunity for grounding along the way.

This 5-week online course includes:

• Exploring the many kinds of spirits, from angels and ancestors to elementals and land spirits, and the question of what they truly are
• Creating and caring for your own thoughtforms, servitors and familiar spirits
• Experiencing divine encounter through the Golden Dawn's Assumption of Godforms and gentle trance work
• Building your own spirit house or shrine, guided by inspired art and automatic writing
• Making conscious contact with spirit allies, plus essential techniques for protection, grounding and transforming difficult encounters

Who is this course for?

• Anyone curious about the nature of spirits and the unseen world
• Those who sense presences around them and want to understand and engage with them safely
• Practitioners of magic, paganism, shamanism or other spiritual paths who wish to deepen their spirit work
• Creative souls drawn to exploring inspired art, writing and devotional practice
• Those interested in the history, philosophy and comparative traditions of spirit encounter

The spirits have always been here, waiting to be met. Book your place now and discover how to step into meaningful relationship with the unseen.

Meet your tutor, Julian Vayne

Julian Vayne is a British independent scholar and author with over four decades of experience in esoteric culture, from Druidry and Chaos Magic to indigenous Shamanism, Freemasonry and Witchcraft. A senior member of the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros, Julian is widely recognised as one of Britain's leading occultists. In the 1990s he edited Britain's best-selling pagan newspaper, Pagan Voice, and today he writes books, essays and articles for both academic and esoteric publications, as well as sharing his work through The Blog of Baphomet since 2011. With an approach informed by chaos magic, deep ecology, Wicca and Tantra, Julian brings curiosity, collaboration and creativity to every class, making him an inspiring and trusted guide to the world of spirits.

Working with Spirits course syllabus

Each class combines theory, exploration, meditation and accessible ritual practice, offering both a framework for understanding the spirit realm and tools to support your personal journey.

• Week 1 | Meeting the Many: The diversity of spirits
  • We begin by exploring the great diversity of beings encountered in spirit work; angels, ancestors, elementals, land spirits, faeries, djinn and more.
  • Drawing on ethnographic perspectives from shamanic, animist and magical traditions, we'll ask: What is their ontological status? Are they inner figures, external presences, archetypes, or autonomous intelligences from other realms.
  • Practice: Learn foundational methods to open your perception; through scrying, dreaming and landscape attunement, to locate elemental and land spirits in their natural habitats.

• Week 2 | Spirits We Can Make: Thoughtforms, tulpas & servitors
  • Discover how belief, imagination and ritual can act as crucibles for creating spiritual intelligences. 
  • We'll explore the magical theory behind familiars, thoughtforms and servitors, drawing parallels with Tibetan tulpa practice and Western occult constructs.
  • Practice: Step-by-step methods to design, enliven and care for your own familiar spirit or servitor being; Learn how to maintain a respectful and reciprocal relationship of partnership and how to release or dissolve such creations when their work is done.

• Week 3 | Gods & Divine Beings
  
  • How do we approach the divine? This session examines the spectrum of divine encounter, from inspiration to possession, across ancient and modern traditions. 
  • We will discuss gods as vast spirit ecologies, and how their presences are invited and embodied.
  • Practice: Experience the Golden Dawn's Assumption of Godforms technique and experiment with light trance and movement to allow divine energies to speak through inspired writing, art or spontaneous prayer. Please rest assured that the trance is light and there will be plenty of opportunity for grounding.

• Week 4 | Shrines, Spirit Houses & Inspired Art
  • Working with spirits is not only visionary but also relational and creative. This week focuses on how to anchor the unseen through physical and artistic expression, building spirit houses, shrines and devotional spaces that act as bridges between worlds.
  • We will explore the aesthetic and magical logic of these creations, from Haitian Vodou altars to Japanese kamidana and British folk spirit bottles.
  • Practice: Create your own personal spirit house or shrine, guided by intuitive design and spirit inspiration. Engage in trance and automatic writing or drawing to invite your spirit allies to help shape their dwelling and communicate through art.

• Week 5| Knowledge, Conversation & Spirit Protection
  
  • We culminate the course with the art of making conscious contact from devotional invocation and divinatory communion to the profound process of Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel.
  • Alongside this, we'll address spiritual hygiene and balance: How to protect oneself, stay grounded, and transform difficult encounters into growth.
  • Practice: Learn classic methods of banishing and protection, and explore compassionate techniques for transforming troubling entities into allies, including the Feeding Your Demons practice from Tibetan Buddhism.

Entry requirements

• This course is open to all.
• To enrol on this course, click 'BOOK NOW'.
• If it is fully booked, click 'REGISTER INTEREST' for updates.
• It is important to read these 11 Course Agreements before your first class.

Live online with replay

This course will be recorded. You will find the recording links in your College Account within two working days from each class - an email will alert you when it is ready. These recordings will be available for replay for three months. Please see our terms for more information.

Previous participants say:

"I thoroughly enjoyed this five-week course and would happily recommend it to anyone interested in exploring relationships with spirits, angels, elementals and other non-physical beings."

"Julian Vayne is a warm, engaging and knowledgeable tutor. Each session was well structured, consisting of a theoretical presentation followed by a short comfort break and a guided meditation. I found the presentations particularly informative and professional, with clear explanations and thoughtfully prepared slides. The meditations complemented the lectures well and provided an opportunity to explore the material through direct experience."

"Julian Vayne was very knowledgeable in an extensive sort of way and that helped me to grasp the meaning of some difficult esoteric subjects. He made a complicated issue simple."

"Amazing. Julian Vayne created an atmosphere where participants were able to share very personal experiences while experiencing a sense of community."

"Julian Vayne is an extremely informative presenter with a very engaging speaking style."

"Julian Vayne blended his extensive and in-depth knowledge base with a facilitative, experiential approach that honoured contributions from students."

"This was a very engaging and thought-provoking presentation with Julian Vayne. I learned a lot."