Magical Symbols: Patterns in Ritual Building with Wayne Perkins - LIVE

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture. Tickets include a complimentary glass of . Doors open at 6:30pm and talk starts at 7pm

Published in June 2026 by Aeon Books

Join author Wayne Perkins at The Last Tuesday Society for an illustration exploration of magical ritual artefacts in the ancient buildings of Britain.

Built on nearly four decades of research, this fascinating anthology is a vital guide to understanding the ways in which British householders used magic and ritual to protect their homes from perceived or spiritual threats.

Exploring both symbols (such as graffiti) and deposits (such as concealed objects), A Consensus of Symbols is an essential text that unravels many of the mysteries which have shrouded the academic discourse surrounding ritual building protection: who created the ritual markings? What concerns and intentions lay behind this use of ritual? Was magic intentionally evoked through these symbols and deposits, or were they simply ‘good luck’ charms?

Answering these questions and more, Wayne Perkins begins the book with a discussion on the socio-economic, political, and cultural contexts of the ritual building phenomena. This is followed by useful exploration of the supernatural beliefs which permeated the Early Modern Period, including a brief outline of the Laws of Sympathetic Magic.

The research includes intriguing and engaging observations on apotropaic graffiti; ritual taper burn marks; deliberately concealed old boots and shoes; spiritual ‘middens’ or caches; dried, mummified and smoked cats; witch bottles; and much more!

A Consensus of Symbols is not only a clear and accessible guide to understanding the strange and engrossing world of ritual building protection, but it will also empower both the individual and the local history groups to undertake historical and archaeological surveys of their own.

Author Biography

The author is an archaeologist with more than twenty-two years of experience who undertook his degree in archaeology at the University of Birmingham. He began his career as a field archaeologist with Oxford Archaeology.

Anticipating a career in France he volunteered on excavations for Poitiers and Rennes University respectively. In due course he worked for France’s premier scientific organisation, I.N.R.A.P. (Institut Nationale des Récherches Archéologiques Préventives) for five years.

Returning to the UK in 2013, he has since been undertaking historic building surveys and has supervised urban excavations in Greater London. He is currently overseeing rural excavations in the surrounding counties of Sussex, Surrey, and Kent. He has been published in a number of archaeological journals and periodicals.

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The Absinthe Parlour at The Last Tuesday Society is London’s best award-winning alternative cocktail bar hidden within The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities. A drinker’s cabinet of wonder filled curious cocktails & extraordinary elixirs —The Last Tuesday Society’s Absinthe Parlour is truly a hidden treasure of East London. Opened by collectors, drinks historians & absinthe experts — Allison Crawbuck (Brooklyn) & Rhys Everett (London) in 2016, the duo bring with them a shared passion for the mysterious world of spirits & the macabre.

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is the UK’s first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society’s Absinthe Parlour. Celebrating spirit’s connection to art, literature, magic & mixology, Devil’s Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.

The venue opens at 18:30. Doors will close at 19:00 to avoid disrupting the speaker. We kindly ask that all guests arrive before 19:00. Refunds are not possible for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances.

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