Speakers

Abstract Title: Encounters with Trees: A Study of Extraordinary Experiences in Nature

Abstract:
There has been much focus in recent years on plant intelligence and the modes of communication between trees, but very little on the possibility of communication between trees and humans. This presentation will explore the results of research on people's encounters with trees—moments of connection during which humans experience the consciousness, communication, or 'being-ness' of trees. Employing a phenomenological approach, this research investigates what these encounters entail and how they affect the people who experience them. While existing research has explored communication between trees as well as human attitudes towards trees, this study brings new context to the interactions and rich relationships between humans and trees, as well as the effects these encounters may have for all beings involved.

Name: Jake Eshelman

An Ethnographic Exploration of Sacred Apiculture in Present-day United States

Abstract:
As the first dedicated ethnographic study of its kind, this research delves into the nature of sacred apiculture as it’s currently enacted, understood, and experienced by contemporary practitioners throughout the present-day United States. This presentation will combine Eshelman’s photographic and ethnographic field work conducted throughout the past eight years to explore the myriad rites, beliefs, and experiences associated with sacred apiculture. During his image-rich lecture, he will consider the origins and evolution of these practices, the mechanisms through which bees provide practitioners with access to the sacred, and an overview of what practitioners gain from these sacred interactions.

Name: Tina Jensen Friis Auster

Prevalence of cosmologies from the Old Norse narratives in the Asetro communities in Denmark in 2025

Abstract:
This presentation explores the findings from an award-shortlisted master's dissertation. Focusing on Denmark, the research was inspired by how Old Norse cosmologies from the ancient texts of The Prose Edda and The Poetic Edda are experiencing a revival. Using an innovative literature methodological approach, the study conducted a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative website content analysis of nine Danish Asetro websites in 2025. The cross-analysing examination against the ancient texts was specifically designed to capture themes from single words to broader ideologies. In short, the research explored whether and in which manner Thor and Odin are still going strong.

Name: Sian Humphries

Is the Earth at the Centre? Paganism, Ritual, and the Question of Ecological Action

Abstract:
Does contemporary Paganism actually live up to its econcentric reputation, or is that reputation more aspiration than practise? Drawing on survey and interview data from practising Pagans, this talk asks three questions: is modern Paganism genuinely Earth-centred, does that worldview translate into real ecological behaviour, and how does Paganism sit alongside, or push back against, capitalist values?

Contemporary Pagan traditions, rooted in animist cosmologies, tend to frame the natural world as sentient and relational rather than as a resource. This talk explores what role ritual plays in that framing: seasonal celebrations, land-based ceremonies, offerings, and magical workings are examined as potential sites of ethical relationship-building with the more-than-human world, and I ask whether, and how far, these relationships carry through into sustainable living, activism, and ethical sourcing.

In doing so, I push back against a familiar academic dismissal of ritual as politically inert, and against the idea that Paganism is too centralised to matter environmentally. I test this against the framework of Dark Green Religion, where nature is sacred and a basis for mobilisation, and ask what it would mean for Paganism to be understood this way. Contradictions around consumer culture are part of that picture too, and I'll set out what emerges when all of this is weighed together.

Name: Antje Klaehn

Abstract Title: Was the German revival of Astrology at the Turn of the Twentieth Century based on its re-importation from England?

Abstract:
This presentation investigates the predominant academic view that astrology had died out in German speaking countries by the nineteenth century and that its revival at the turn of the twentieth century was based on its re-importation from England, where astrology had survived.

An examination of primary literature newspaper archives from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries produced evidence to question the notion of astrology's death in German speaking countries. The evaluation of astrological literature from between 1880 and 1920 showed that while German astrologers were aware of contemporary English astrology and engaged with it critically, they had derived most of their knowledge from older German and Latin literature, incorporating techniques and concepts in their work that had already been dismissed in England after the end of the seventeenth century.

It was found that astrological knowledge continued to be transmitted throughout the eighteenth century and the revival in the nineteenth century was founded on ancient Renaissance astrological sources. After the 1920s, a reformation process ensued, dismissing many of the traditional techniques which could not be aligned to principles of scientific validation and the translation of Alan Leo's work facilitated a growing popularity of English Astrology in Germany.

Name: Ayeshah Lalloo

Abstract Title: An Exploration to the Cosmology of Modern Druids

Abstract:
With Paganism on the rise in England, and increased awareness of solstices and astrology, many people flock to Avebury in Wiltshire to observe these significant moments of the year. Often, people will find themselves in a ceremony led by the Avebury Order of Druids - but without a holy book, a written history or any form of agreed doctrine, how does one come to be a Druid? What defines Druidry for modern Druids? Through surveys, site visits and in depth interviews, this presentation will explore how Druids come to define themselves as Druids, including important life events, connections to the land and sky, and an animist worldview.

Name: Sandrine McLocklin

Abstract Title: Between Life and Death: A Philosophical Analysis of Near-Death Experience Phenomenology

Abstract:
This presentation examines the phenomenology of near-death experiences (NDEs) from a philosophical perspective, focusing on the profound transformations reported by individuals who have undergone such events. Drawing on key areas of philosophy, it explores metaphysical questions concerning the nature of the self, reality, alongside epistemological issues related to knowledge, truth and human understanding. The study also considers the ethical implications of NDEs, particularly the shifts in values, attitudes, and behaviour frequently described by experiencers, as well asthetic dimensions involving meaning, love, and a renewed sense of purpose.

Name: Lisa Stockley

Abstract Title: Astrological Knowledge in Practice: the Meeting of Objective and Subjective

Abstract:
This paper considers the nature of astrological knowledge, exploring how Western horoscopic astrologers understand and work with the epistemological issues of astrology. Astrology's status as "rejected knowledge" is considered along with the impact of that status on astrological practitioners. The research surveys practising astrologers on whether they see astrological knowledge as objective, subjective or a combination of the two, and also considers the perceived sources of that knowledge. The role of the astrological tradition of knowledge along with intuitive connections are examined as ways in which astrological knowledge is created and used. Building on previous ontological and epistemological studies of astrology, it is argued not only that both the rational and the irrational are necssary for the creation of meaningful knowledge, but that it is the connection between different knowledge frameworks which characterises astrology.