Poetry as Ritual at the Thinning Veil

As the veil between worlds grows thin this Halloween, join us for an in-person workshop where poetry becomes incantation – a magical practice for those ready to cast intention and speak in tongues older than language itself.

Poetry has long been entwined with magic, ritual and the unseen. From prophetic verse and incantation to automatic writing and spirit communication, poetry has functioned not merely as art, but as a technology for contacting forces beyond the self – a tool for spell-setting, invocation, divination and altered states of consciousness. It's this dual nature of poetry, as both aesthetic form and ritual instrument, that makes it such a rich practice to explore.

What to expect

Taking place on Halloween – also the birthday of John Keats, and traditionally a season of oral folklore and ghostly storytelling – this workshop explores poetry's particular power at this liminal point in the year. We'll begin by looking at how poetry has functioned as magical practice throughout history, drawing on writers such as William Blake, W.B. Yeats and John Dee, as well as Anglo-Saxon charms, tracing how sacred chants, prophetic utterances and oral folklore have been inseparable from poetry as an art form. From there, we'll move into a range of writing exercises, inviting you to experiment with poetry as ritual practice for yourself. The format is participatory throughout, blending historical exploration with hands-on creative work.

This in-person workshop includes:

• A form of automatic or channelled writing
• A method of spell-construction and intention-setting
• A ritual act capable of opening liminal or visionary states
• Access to universal symbols

Who is this workshop for?

No prior experience of poetry is required. This session is designed for anyone interested in incorporating poetic language into their own magical, spiritual or ritual practice.

Book now to explore poetry as spiritual and magical practice, opening the door to your intuition and inner muse at this threshold time of year.

Meet your tutor, Sarah Fletcher

Sarah Fletcher is among the most compelling voices in contemporary British poetry. Her work has appeared in The Poetry Review, The White Review, Poetry London, and beyond. Alongside her creative work, she is completing an AHRC-funded PhD at Aberystwyth University exploring the relationship between chronic pain and language, and has presented academic work on poetry as a mode of knowledge and inspiration, including a paper at All Souls College, Oxford, on "Poetry as an Epistemic Tool." Sarah brings both a poet's instinct and a scholar's rigour to exploring language as something far more than expression alone.

Previous participants say:

"A lovely rich day and we were made to work hard, mentally and psychically. It was invaluable having someone with a strong academic background, which has been one of the features of early magical systems- it adds diversity."

"Sarah Fletcher has clearly the knowledge and know-how to deliver a workshop like this!"

"Sarah Fletcher prepared a well-thought-out program. The exercises were inspiring and covered a range of practices. She was very good at holding the space for the diverse group of participants."