Bio: John Matthews is an independent scholar living in Oxford. He has published over a 150 titles on Myth, Folklore, and ancient esoteric traditions.
He has worked in the film industry as an historical advisor and won a BAFTA for his work on the movie King Arthur (2004). John has made a lifetime study of every aspect of the Arthurian legends, from its origins to modern retellings, and has created 13 Tarot and Oracle decks.
Topic: John Dee: Old Magic and a New Oracle
Bio: Marco Visconti is an author, speaker, and occult educator known for his sharp, practical approach to Thelema, Aleister Crowley, and the Western Esoteric Tradition. He is the author of “The Aleister Crowley Manual” and “Aleister Crowley’s Mysticism: A Practical Guide”.
Marco is the founder of Magick Without Tears, where he has taught hundreds of students worldwide. Blending lived practice with serious scholarship, Marco is known for making difficult esoteric material clear, usable, and alive.
His work spans books, courses, live events, television, and public talks, always with a focus on what magick actually does in a person’s life.
Topic: The Athanor of Thoth: Using the Thoth Tarot as an Alchemical Engine in the Holy Guardian Angel Experience
They have also contributed essays to a number of anthologies from Avalonia books. They are a full-time actor, specialising in immersive work and Shakespeare, and see it as their mission to encourage others to connect with and express through their own creativity. For more info visitwww.emilycarding.com
Topic: A Workshop with the Transparent Oracle
Bio: I am a trans-disciplinary artist, researcher, and Tarologist, delving into the intersections of art, magick, and mysticism. My research focuses on analyzing, deconstructing, and contextualizing Middle-Eastern mystical traditions, alongside Western esoteric practices.
As a performer, I utilize my research to decipher, translate and perform the mystical Persian poetry of Rumi, Hafez, Nasimi, and others. Additionally, as a Tarologist, I synthesize my research and performance to engage in the transcendental art of divination, offering insights drawn from both Eastern and Western wisdom traditions.
Speech topic: Tarot Without Borders: Reclaiming Collective Wisdom
Tarot did not appear fully formed from a single ancient source, and the history of how it actually developed is far more compelling than that mythology suggests. This lecture examines how many of Taromancy’s most influential figures worked within, and built upon, intellectual climates marked by Eurocentrism and antisemitism, embdeing assumptions that quietly shaped the way the cards have been taught, interpreted, and divined ever since.
Drawing on current scholarship, we will trace the genuine cultural threads—the diverse traditions, histories, and peoples—that gave Tarot its symbolism and magic. This is an invitation to move beyond a flattened origin story toward a more rigorous, more honest, and ultimately more expansive practice; one that honors the full complexity of what these cards are and where they truly come from.
Bio: Rebecca Birrell is an Artist, Designer, Cartomancer and Creator of “My Inner Witch“. She is a professional reader and teacher of Tarot Lenormand and the Magickal Arts.
Bec is a regular speaker at international divination conferences and co-author of the Original Petit Etteilla- a Cartomancers Guide to Divination with Caitlin Matthews.
For more about her readings, decks, wearable art, courses, events and divination tools see: https://www.myinnerwitch.com
Topic: Contemporary Cartomancy: How Etteilla can inspire our modern tarot reading
Bio: Peter Mark Adams is an author, poet and essayist specialising in the ethnography of ritual, sacred landscapes, esotericism, consciousness and healing. A Philosophy graduate, Peter pursues advanced studies in iconology, iconography, Renaissance art and material culture with the Warburg Institute’s School of Advanced Studies.
Published works include:
- ‘Ritual and Epiphany in the Mysteries of Mithras’
- ‘Two Esoteric Tarots’ (with Christophe Poncet)
- ‘The Hagia Sophia/Sanctum of Kronos’
- ‘The Power of the Healing Field’
- Mystai’
- ‘The Game of Saturn: Decoding the Sola-Busca Tarocchi’.
Bio: Juliet Sharman-Burke has been practising and teaching astrology and tarot for over forty years. She taught and supervised for the Centre for Psychological Astrology since its inception in June 1983 and has taught tarot world wide. She is a qualified analytic psychotherapist with a private practice in London. Juliet has designed two tarot decks, The Mythic Tarot and The Sharman-Caselli deck and is the author of The Complete Book of Tarot, The Mythic Tarot Workbook, Understanding Tarot, Mastering the Tarot, Beginner’s Guide to the Tarot, and is co-author of The New Mythic Tarot and The Mythic Journey with Liz Greene.
Topic: Mythological Cycles : From the Fool to the World and back again – Happy 25th Anniversary TABI with Juliet Sharman-Burke
As TABI is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, it seems appropriate to look at the journey of The Fool, a new beginning starting with excitement and risk, through the many highs and lows along the way, to a sense of achievement, completion and celebration with the World, and the inevitable return to the beginning of a new phase. This talk will concentrate on these two cards as they represent two important stages on the eternal cycle of life. We will look at some of myths that are associated with these cards and how they add richness to the tarot symbolism.
Maddy Elruna
Bio: The runes found me first. I moved to Orkney in 1999 to study Norse shamanism using chant ‘lokk-siedr’ and loved it. Then pregnancy arrived, lokk-seidr fell quiet. I was living off-grid, remote, and needed a project to fill 9 months.
Luckily I found a RWS Tarot deck and Rachel Pollocks ’78 Degrees of Wisdom’ and my new passion was found.
Today I work full time as a Tarot reader, Rune expert and Norse Shaman and write when life allows. No two clients, no two sessions are ever the same. That’s the joy of my work.
Topic: The World Tree: an embodied way to read Tarot and Runes
Bio: Tudorbeth is a hereditary practitioner of witchcraft with over 30 years of experience. A prolific writer and columnist for international publications like Kindred Spirit, she is the author of A Spellbook for All Seasons and the popular Hedgewitch’s Little Book series.
Beyond her books, Tudorbeth is the creator of The Hedgewitch’s Tarot and The Witchiac, a unique witch’s zodiac. She views Tarot not just as a tool for divination, but as a vital resource for crafting spells and charms. A frequent guest at LlewellynCon and on various podcasts, she actively shares her magical recipes and daily practices with her community on social media as @Tudorbeth.
Topic: Tarot and Publishing: A Guide on Tarot Leading the Way.
The talk will be both a practical guide to publishing tarot along with anecdotes of my journey with The Hedgewitch Tarot and the strange things that happened.