Organizational information II

Notice for Attendees Arriving by Car:

Please note that attendees arriving by car will need to pay for parking from the start of the conference (5:00 PM) until midnight. Parking is free during weekends and holidays. If you need assistance, feel free to contact the organizers, who will gladly provide guidance.

Below is a QR code that you can use to download an app for convenient parking payment (the first hour of parking is free).

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1. Meals:

As previously mentioned  light refreshments will be provided throughout the conference, including a Friday welcome gathering with refreshments at the Mahen Memorial.

Lunch and dinner on Saturday and Sunday, as well as Monday’s lunch if desired, will be at your own expense.

Saturday – Lunch:

• Restaurant: Stavba
• Address: Grohova 2 (accessible by trolleybus lines 38/39)
• Distance: 13 minutes by public transport or a 20-minute walk from the Mahen Memorial
• Details: The restaurant is accustomed to large groups.
• Price: Approx. 180 CZK (including soup)

Saturday – Dinner:

• Restaurant: U Dřevěného vlka
• Website: drevenyvlk.cz
• Details: Orders will be taken on-site. Pricing details are available on the restaurant’s website.

Sunday – Lunch:

• Restaurant: Paprika
• Website: my-paprika.com/zelny-trh-10-brno-1
• Address: Zelný trh 10
• Cuisine: Mediterranean and Middle Eastern (staff speaks English)
• Price: Selection of dishes, approximately 200–400 CZK per dish

Sunday – Dinner:

• Wine Bar: Vinotéka Bukovský
• Website: vinarstvibukovsky.cz/vinoteka
• Menu: Goulash and vegetarian options (gluten-free and lactose-free options, including mushroom or soy goulash)
• Price: 180 CZK per portion (includes bread)

Monday:

The restaurant location will be confirmed in advance. All restaurants offer vegetarian, gluten-free, and lactose-free options.

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2. Monday City Tour:

We have prepared a tour of the most interesting sites to visit in the afternoon, including locations accessible only with a guide. The program is as follows:

• 9:00 AM – Tea Ceremony
• 9:30 AM – Virtual room tour via a projection at the Mahen Memorial, focused on Romani magic with commentary by Dana Kroková, educator at the Museum of Romani Culture in Brno.
• 11:00 AM – St. James’ Church: guided tour of the church, including newly accessible attic and tower areas (please note the ossuary is temporarily closed for technical reasons). Fee approx. 300 CZK
• 12:30 PM – Lunch
• 1:30 PM – City center tour with commentary by historian Mgr. Jan Ševčík
• 2:30 PM – Tour of St. Peter and Paul Cathedral with a guided visit to the Diocesan Museum (entry: 60 CZK for the tour + 50 CZK guide + 30 CZK for the tower)
• 4:00 PM – End of official program
• 4:30 PM – Optional tour of Špilberk Castle, including the casemates and armory

Organizational Information I

Transport to the Jiří Mahen Memorial:

The Jiří Mahen Memorial is located near the "Žlutý kopec" stop, which can be reached by the following trolleybus lines:

We would like to inform you about a change in transportation arrangements for the conference. If you plan to take a trolleybus from the city center from the Česká stop, please note that its location has unexpectedly changed (see map for details).

If you are arriving by car and need parking assistance, do not hesitate to contact the organizers, who will be happy to help you with parking options.

Organizer Contacts:

In case you need assistance, here are the contacts for the main organizer and individuals who can help with interpretation, accommodation, or parking:

Introducing Lectures IV.: Eleusinian Mysteries, an Initiation Cult in Ancient Greece

Lecturer: Dr. Marion Vrbicky
Lecture Abstract:
Eleusinian Mysteries were a religious cult that lasted from the dawn of Greek history until 5th century C.E., using the Magical Theatre as a way of initiation, attracting people from all over the then-known world. Through all this time, its secrets remained unbroken. In this talk, I will summarize what we know about it from written and archaeological sources.

Exhibition "The World of Tarot"

Dear friends, the next part of our accompanying program is a tarot exhibition prepared for you by Pavel Langer. At the exhibition, you will see the development of tarot from the 18th century to the present day. The exhibition starts with Minchiate tarot, continues through Marseille tarot, and ends with Besançon tarot. There will also be special tarot decks featuring contemporary themes.

Publishing Houses at Our Conference + Astrologia Gallica

Dear Friends, We are pleased to announce that our International Conference, "Tea with Mephisto 2," is being supported by the publishing houses Vodnář and Sol Noctis. Selected titles from these publishers will be available to conference participants at a special discount of 30% to 60%.

Additionally, the book Astrologia Gallica - a rare publication that has been fully published only in Latin, its original language, and in Czech - will also be available. This is a world rarity sure to spark admiration globally.

Introducing Lectures III.: Mephistophilis and Faustus

Lecturer: prof. György E. Szönyi
Lecture Abstract:

In this presentation I will concentrate on the origins of the Faust story as it emerged in Germany, soon followed by Christopher Marlowe in England who made it a huge theatrical success. In this context it is worth remembering that Queen Elizabeth's famous mathematician and magus John Dee has been considered as a historical model for both the white magician (Shakespeare's Prospero) and the black one (Marlowe's Faustus).

Time limits will allow just a glimpse at the later literary and artistic reception of the Faust story by Johann W. Goethe, Charles Gounod, Thomas Mann, István Szabó, Jan Švankmajer and others.

Introducing Lectures II.: History of women in astrology

Lecturer: Mgr. Alexandra Haratíková
Lecture Abstract:

Astrology is nowadays often considered primarily a woman's domain by the public, despite the fact that there is also a lot of men among astrologers and their clients. In my presentation, I will focus on the 20th and 21st centuries that brought this change into astrology, but also on the centuries prior to them. I will briefly describe the history of astrology and the women who practiced astrology in that time - for example, Heliodora, Hypatia, Queen Buran, Christine de Pizan, and, from relatively recent history, Evangeline Adams, Elsbeth Ebertin, Joan Quigley, and Linda Goodman. While describing the history of astrology, I will also mention the women who supported astrologers. Finally, I will also explain the changes that have resulted in the present predominance of women among people open to astrology.

Introducing Lectures I.: Prince of Darkness and Son of the Goddess Typhon: Antinomian Interpretations of Set in the Works of Temple of Set and Kenneth Grant

Lecturer: Mgr. Matouš Mokrý
Lecture Abstract:

In the 1970s, the emerging Left-Hand Path esoteric current witnessed an important rehabilitation of the Egyptian god Set as the patron of the Left-Hand Path and antinomian mediator of personal liberation from the restrictive norms of Christianity and other dominant spiritual traditions. Surprisingly, this rehabilitation was led at the same time independently by two ideologically very different actors – Temple of Set in the USA and Kenneth Grant in Great Britain. Via textual analysis of selected passages of Kenneth Grant's Typhonian trilogies and the works of Michael Aquino and Stephen Flowers from the Temple of Set, the paper searches for similarities and differences between the individual antinomian formulations of Set. These similarities and differences will then be interpreted in light of the particular projects of liberation and the literary sources used for the conceptualisation of this Egyptian deity.

We have opened registration for attendees! And the conference program has been published!

Registration for attendees, i.e., non-presenting participants, has been opened. There are 43 spots available! You can find more information on the “Registration” page.

We have also published the preliminary conference program, which we will continue to update and enhance. More details are available on the “Program” page.

The registration for presentations for our conference is closing!

The registration for presentations at our conference is slowly coming to an end. Therefore, if you would like to present your contribution, do not hesitate and send us its abstract via the conference website!

Speaker registration now open!

On 10th June, speaker registrations were opened. There are 17 slots available for your lectures, introductions of your discoveries, or presentations of your research. More information can be found on the registration page.

This year's conference is already being prepared!

Dear friends, we are pleased to inform you that we have started preparations for this year's edition of our conference!

This year, the conference will take place from October 25 to 28, 2024, once again at the Mahen Memorial and in the same format. It will be an international and public conference; there will be a live internet broadcast. We are also preparing a rich accompanying program for you again.

The novelty is the full transition to the new name of the conference. Thus, the conference will be held under the name Tea at Mephisto's 2.

This name refers to the theatrical drama Mephistopheles (1910) by Jiří Mahen (*1882-†1939), whose memorial repeatedly hosts our conference.

We will keep you informed about the progress of the preparations.

Your organizing team

In this year, the conference is behind us...

In this year, the conference is behind us. We thank everyone who attended, presented at it, and supported it. See you next year!

City Tour Program for Sunday

13:30 Visit to St. James's Church and its surroundings
14:00 Tour of the Ossuary at St. James's (with a guide)
14:30 Stroll through the city and St. Peter and Paul Cathedral
16:00 Exploration of the mummies in the Brno Capuchin Crypt (with a guide)
17:00 Tour of the underground labyrinth beneath Zelný Market (with a guide)
18:00 Visit to Špilberk Castle walls

Total costs for the three guided tours:

Adults: 460 CZK
Seniors: 240 CZK

Entrance fees to specific sites are to be covered by each individual participant. If you wish to only attend a only part of the city tour, it is, of course, possible to detach during the tour.

Conference live stream ready!

You can already find a special page on our website with the live stream of the conference prepared. You will be able to watch the conference opening and individual presentations from the comfort of your home or wherever you happen to be.

6 available attendees seats!

Due to illnesses and, in some cases, non-payment of the conference fee, 6 listener seats have become available. Registration is therefore extended until Monday, October 23rd (incl.)

Our conference has logo and final version of program!

New in the program: Within Saturday's program you’ll see two dance performances by Friday Dancers group!

This dance group connects many influences in their performances - from belly dance and oriental ethnic dances to modern elements and trends. “Dance is like a language, through which we communicate during the songs. No performance is therefore the same as another, our viewer sees an absolutely unique dance each time. For fast songs we accompany our dance with finger cymbals, when the music and event allows, we dance with requisites like skirts and swords.” The group is dedicated to improvisational FCBD dance style, which was created in the 80’s in the USA. Moves are inspired by folkloric dances of the Middle East, North Africa, Spain and India. We love to fuse this colourful mix with other styles, occasionally we deliberately enrich our costumes for example with Slavic influences.

Excerpts from the upcoming exhibition

As promised, we bring you excerpts from the upcoming exhibition "Contemporary Czech Hermetics in Photographs and Artefacts" which will take place as part of our conference.

Rosicrucian InsigniasProduction of antimony glass

Consecration of Elemental Elixirs

Bratislava magician at work

Extraction

News overview for August 24th

- On August 10th, a major meeting of conference organizers took place, during which the lectures for the conference were selected. You can find them in the "Program" section. Additionally, economic matters and the promotion of the conference in the media were discussed.

- On August 15th, The registration for non-speaker participants of the conference has been launched.

- The preparation of the exhibition "Contemporary Czech Hermetics in Photographs and Artefacts" is in full swing. As previews, we will gradually publish samples of the planned exhibits, photographs, and documents.

- Due to the international interest in our conference, it has been decided to enhance its bilingual nature. Lectures in English will have their own dedicated block within the program. English will be the conference language for this block. You can find more information on the "Program" subpage.