The Centre for Magic and Esotericism
The Centre for Magic and Esotericism
Posted by vk290
6 June 2026On the 22nd of May a spirited cohort of MA Magic and Occult Sciences students took to the grounds of Powderham Castle for a day of Thesis Prep and whimsy!
The day begun (as days out often do!) with the Magic cohort piling onto a coach at the ripe hour of 9.30 (fueled by various amounts of caffeine and sleep!) and taking the short 30 minute drive from the University Campus to the Powderham estate. It was an exciting day for some of the students as it was the first time many had been to the Castle and indeed any Castle (though I did have to disappoint slightly as despite it being called a Castle from around the 17th century, really it is more of a fortified manor house!). Nonetheless the Grade I listed building and II listed gardens are indeed stunning (and full of deer!) so in the beautiful weather it was sure to be a treat!
The event, now in it’s second year, was designed by co-convener of the Magic Program Emily Selove to be a day of explorative writing and whimsy, prepping students for their upcoming dissertations while simultaneously being a chance to kick back and relax following an intense second term coming to an end (and with it many essays and exams!)
Once everyone was gathered in the Music room and supplemented with caffeine in the form of a rather fancy tea and coffee spread, Emily began the day with a short talk firstly about a brief history of the estate, specifically the influence of a particular Earl of Devon, William “Kitty” Courtney (the somewhat scandalised designer of the music room where we were sat in and someone that would return to us in more ways than one later on!), before shifting focus on the ways one could curate an outline in order to break down the daunting task of planning a Thesis of this size.
This was particularly useful for the students many of whom would agree that the idea of their upcoming theses was a daunting one, and thus having the ability to break it down into manageable chunks was a welcoming one!
Following Emily’s introduction, we were lucky to be joined by Dr Richard Noakes from the Humanities and Social Sciences department who shared some of his own wisdom on the processes of writing. Many parts of Richard’s talk stuck with us, especially his particularly profound revelation that you can indeed “polish a turd”! Aside from this, he also shared common mistakes students make in theses as well as tips and tricks for creating the perfect Literature Review.
One final, rather magical activity was waiting for us before this portion of the day was complete and that was Emily’s suggestion to try some Automatic/Surrealist Writing, where without thinking or raising your crayon (in our case!) from the page you simply just see what appears! I hadn’t tried this before and I was surprised how much I was able to produce (despite breaking 3 of my crayons in the process!) and it was an interesting experience though I’m not sure how readable it was afterwards!
At this point the students were given some free time around the castle (including the promise of Lunch and Cake!), to either try some writing of their outlines (on rather patchy wifi!) join Emily for an alfresco Office Hours or simply enjoy the beautiful grounds in the sun. Many, in fairness, choose the latter but with this cohort, you can bet it was no less magical! Activities included, but were not limited to, Oujia boards, genuinely mind-boggling magic tricks (courtesy of our very own magician Charles!), Tarot cards and even a brief encounter with a spirit (possibly even Kitty themselves!) through the use of Divining Rods.
The adage is that time flies when you’re having fun, and that was certainly was the case as before we knew it, it was 4.45 and unfortunately time to go home!
Reflecting on the day Emily said: “It was really fun and little surreal to meet in such a setting, and to talk about writing strategies with Professor Richard Noakes and PhD students Vic Kendall Weiss and Charlie Clark. I wish I could always hold my office hours in a rose garden overlooking a deer park!”
Thank you very much to Powderham for hosting, Emily for organising, for Richard for his infinite wisdom and to PhD Student Charlie (and myself!) for being extremely gifted Bus Captain(s) making sure no one got left behind (or at least we think…).
Write up by Vic Kendall Weiss
