After a two year hiatus, Erich and Alannah Brown along with the Temple of Limitless Light reconvened the Swamp Mystics convention held at the Sienna Lee Gardens, located in the heart of the Tallahassee’s suburban countryside, with large crooked oaks, cypress, and plenty of Spanish moss to make the location seem timeless, eerie, and mystical. September in Tallahassee is still quite warm and summer-like without even the faintest hint that autumn was already occurring further north. So, when the sun shined it was hot and humid, and when it rained, it was soggy and misty.
Once again I was honored with the role of being a headliner for the event, but I had the company of Sen Elias, and Lon Milo Duquette. While Sen Elias and I were physically present, Lon elected to telecommute his presentation, and this worked out quite well. There were also many other presenters as well, and all of them were quite impressive in their own right. There was an enormous body of knowledge collectively accumulated in those who gave their presentations during the three days of the convention, and they covered many topics.
Although modest in scope, I found the second iteration of Swamp Mystics to be quite excellent, with good food and drink, and astoundingly exquisite company. I had a comfortable room in the Sienna Lee Gardens mansion house and the events took place both within the large parlor, the enclosed patio, and the outdoor pool pavilion. Because it was a small event it was also much more intimate than other, larger pagan/occult conventions. Friday and Saturday evenings had some kind of ritual activity for all to partake in, and there were lunches and dinners served from the large kitchen. Magic and mystery permeated the whole environment and transported us to another time and place, where magic was a common occurrence and spirits readily shared their secrets with the attendees.
Friday afternoon was when the head liners gave their presentations. I gave a talk on the Archetypal Gate ritual and Archaeomancy, which turned out to be quite good. Sen Elias conducted an uncrossing rite that was very remarkable and fully engaged everyone who participated. Lon gave a presentation based on his book Tarot Architect, which had a curious AI generated video that depicted the dimensional cube of space based on the Tarot trumps and included all 78 cards. The AI video was creaky, distracting and even quite poor at some points, but it fit perfectly into the whimsical and deeply knowledgeable lectures that Lon likes to give. I was both amused and also informed. Lon Milo Duquette is a treasure of knowledge and also a very humorous and humble occultist, easily accessible by one and all.
One thing that I wanted to discuss is how remarkable and amazing was the man I met named Sen Elias. He has the distinction of being a master of several magical disciplines at one time, and these are Witchcraft, Voudoun, ceremonial magic, the Qabalah, and Hoodoo. He has an Alexandrian pedigree and is a high priest and mentor for two or three covens. He resides in that magical and occult saturated town of New Orleans, and runs a botanical store in the French quarter. His knowledge of magic is quite extensive, and he is full of energy, being capable of projecting his personal power to fill any room that he occupies. I was electrified by his presence, and thoroughly enjoyed talking and listening to him. In some ways, he reminded me of my old departed friend Ronald Lugh McGhee, who also spanned many traditions and systems of magic.
Some other note worthy presenters were Ulix VanBeber, who gave a talk on runes, show-casing his own marvelous system and approach, which he had gained from his ancestors and other inner plane sources. What he presented though was cogent and very practical. He also gave a presentation on Alembic Distillation, and Eric and Alannah assembled the materials to showcase how this is actually done. They set up a distillation apparatus to extract the essence of some local plants. Aerik Arkadian, another Cross Crow Books author, gave a presentation based on his book, Fluid Condensers, and that lecture was very fascinating. I also enjoyed Max Thompson’s talk on the astrological timing when planning ceremonial and magical events, and the calendric rites of modern paganism.
Erich and Alannah, who were the hosts of this soiree also gave presentations. Erich gave a workshop on the magical wand, and had bamboo wand kits for all attendees, guided them through its construction and gave a thorough demonstration of its use. Alannah performed the opening ceremony on Sunday, which was the Vajrayana Buddhist Sadhana practice of the Green Tara. Both of these presentations were quite excellent, and both Erich and Alannah showed their expertise and the depth of their knowledge of magic and mysticism, both west and east. It was amazing to me that they were able to find the time to do these presentations and also manage the convention and all its activities as well.
Another presentation that was very interesting was given by a local occultist Robert Allen, who is steeped in the magic, mystery and ghostly phenomena of Tallahassee. Later in the day, he took a few of us on a tour of some of the strange geography located on the Sienna Lee Gardens grounds that he had previously discovered, where we saw a hidden underground entrance to some kind of mine or well, and also a couple of obscure grave stones marking forgotten grave sites.
On Saturday night, after dinner, I presented a ritual that celebrated both the Autumn Equinox and the event of Michaelmas using variations on the rituals that are part of the calendric rites of the Order of the Gnostic Star. I was assisted by a few of the presenters and attendees, and I surprised at how well the ritual working turned out. Those who attended were also intrigued by the style of ritual magic used in the Order, and maybe some seeds were sown that might bring additional people into the organization. I felt quite empowered and focused, sort of like my old magical self, even though I was admittedly out of practice. What it showed me was that the rituals of the Order of the Gnostic Star are still relevant and accessible to even those who know little about it.
Overall, my trip to Tallahassee to attend this convention was both rewarding and enjoyable. I made a number of new friends and found that my books were quite popular and attractive to those who attended. Sometimes, when I am at a convention I can feel disassociated, as if I were a stranger at a family gathering, but I did not for a moment feel that way at Swamp Mystics. That should inform anyone at how embracing, inclusive, and accessible to everyone this small but excellent convention is like. While I am not a fan of traveling by plane these days, the ordeal of flying was worth what I experienced and took home with me from that event. I felt honored and blessed by attending the Swamp Mystics 2026 convention.
Frater Barrabbas
