Past Presentations & Events
Benjamin has appeared as a speaker and guest at many events both in Europe and in North America. Below are a selection of the events he has appeared at and presentations he has delivered. If you would like Benjamin at your event whether in-person or virtually, please reach out via the Contact Form.
Presentation: “Resilience Magic of Urban Folk Culture: Modern Stories for Modern Issues”
Salem Witchfest 2025, August 19th, 20th, & 24th 2025 - 90 Minutes
In this hour and a half long virtual offering for the Salem Folklore and Witchcraft Festival we will explore a potent form of historiola: urban folklore. So often modern Witches rely on the stories of old to gain inspiration and power, while ignoring modern urban legends. In this modern political climate, fear and hate are being wielded as weapons of control. Modern witches and magical users can fight this tool of oppression by connecting in with the spirits and stories of urban legend that already speak to our fears and panic. Witches are no strangers to the liminal and the outside edge, and it is here that urban legends exist. We will explore various urban legends from the past forty years and new innovations from the Internet, and how these can be harnessed for magical practices and spellwork.
Presentation: “The Apothecary's Notebook: Plant Lore from the Middle Ages”
Botanica Obscura Conference 2025, March 7th 2025, 90 Minutes
During Classical and Medieval times, vast trading networks connected Asia, Africa and Europe supplying the markets of the old world with all manner of flora for culinary, medicinal and magical uses. Often, specimens from distant lands accrued fantastical origin stories that formed the basis for later folklore and magical correspondences. The Medieval European worldview was a continuation of the Classical, and the world was understood to contain all manner of miraculous and magical plants from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden, to the Lamb of Tartary originating somewhere on the Russian steppes, to the common mandragora whose scream could kill. In this presentation, we will explore the lore of plants one might expect to find in a medieval market or apothecary, and those legendary plants believed to exist both within the known world and just outside.
Presentation: “Hidden Help: The Spirit Helpers of Witches and Magicians of Great Britain”
Ancestral Pathways Conference 2024, November 1st - 3rd 2024 - 45 Minutes
A recurring theme across folklore is the use by witches, magicians and cunning folk of various types of spirit helpers, fairies or demons. Sometimes these beings took form, sometimes they were completely discarnate. In this brief presentation, folklorist Benjamin Stimpson takes you on a journey across the landscape of Cornwall, England, Wales, Scotland, and the northern isles to meet some of these invisible and mostly-invisible helpers and the magical practitioners who worked with them.
Presentation: “Approaches and Techniques in Ancestral Veneration”
South Wales Occult Conference, November 2nd 2024 - 45 Minutes
In this multimedia presentation, we will explore advanced techniques and approaches in ancestor work, including an exploration of some of Ben’s personal practices.
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Available to watch a replay here: Approaches and Techniques in Ancestral Veneration
Presentation: “Medieval Monsters”
Salem Witchfest: Spring Agora - March 24th, 2024 - 120 Minutes
The European Medieval world was populated with all manner of strange and fascinating creatures. from the wild men of the woods, to the cyclopes of deserted islands, to the Dogheads who lived just over the horizon, the medieval world was filled with wonders. But what were these creatures? What role did they play in Medieval European culture? And how do they still show up in our imaginations today? In this lecture we will invite these beings from the margins of illuminated manuscripts and explore their important role in folklore and legend.
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Available for stand-alone purchase here: Medieval Monsters with Ben Stimpson
Presentation: “All Our Relations: Expanding the Concept of Ancestor Veneration”
Ancestral Magic Summit - November 1st 2023 - 30 Minutes
In this brief presentation, Ben Stimpson (author of Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Building Ancestral Veneration Practices) explores other forms of ancestor other than purely biological.
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Available to watch here: All our Relations: Expanding the Concept of Ancestor Veneration
Presentation: “Embedded in the Land: A Theoretical Approach to Relationship with Folklore & Magic”
The Salem Witchcraft and Folklore Festival - August 4th 2023 - 120 Minutes
Folklore often encompasses rich bodies of knowledge and wisdom handed down within communities. Yet, it is all too easy to relate to folk tradition through the lenses of our modern society as being mere stories, practices divorced from their originating landscapes, or as mere regional manifestations of universal archetypes. In this presentation, we will explore folklore theory deeper and expand on understanding on it's mechanics, the importance of regional differences, and it's function. We will explore, with case examples, of how a magical practitioner might relate to their own landscape and the various denizens existing there.
Presentation: “Who Are You? Identity and Ancestral Veneration”
LlewellynCon2023 - June 19th 2023 - 30 Minutes
Join author Ben Stimpson as he explores the concept of self-identity and ancestral veneration work. LlewellynCon is the annual online conference of Llewellyn authors sharing presentations on various topics related to their work.
Available to watch here: Who Are You? Identity and Ancestral Veneration
Presentation: “Inner Journey: The Potential of Spirituality in Psychotherapy”
The Queering Mental Health Conference - April 21st 2023 - 90 Minutes
Often the queer experience of religion and spirituality is religious trauma and ostracization, and this has frequently translated into a narrative in the helping professions that this is the only experience queer people could possibly have. In this workshop, we will challenge the view that spirituality must be an uncomfortable subject for the queer experience and explore how it can be utilized by helping professionals working with queer clients. We will challenge biases and myths about queer people and spirituality; explore various ways queer people have reclaimed religion and spiritual expression; and, how helping professionals can incorporate spirituality into their work with clients.
Panel: Psychospirituality Discussion Panel
Psychospirituality and Paganism Conference - August 21st 2021 - 90 Minutes
Organized by the Sisterhood of Avalon, the Psychospirituality & Paganism Conference sought to explore the connection points between Paganism and psychospirituality. Panelists Ben Stimpson, Danielle Blackwood, and Jhenah Telyndru answered questions related to psychology and spirituality.
Presentation: “Psychology and the Occult: A History”
Occulticon Conference - August 11th 2017 - 60 Minutes
Western psychology has had an intimate history with metaphysics and the occult, with many early founders being deeply interested in occultic arts and philosophy while also developing the early structures of modern psychology. Many important occult figures such as Aleister Crowley was likewise deeply interested in the emerging field of psychiatry. In this presentation, we explore that history and the intertwined roots of both systems.
Presentation: “The Hindu Pantheon”
Four Winds Festival - June 24th, 2016 - 60 Minutes
In this hour long presentation, we explore the principal deities of various Hindu sects, including their principal sacred stories and relationships. Deities covered include: Shiva, Vishnu and Avataras, Brahma, Lakshmi, Sarasvati, Parvati/Durga/Kali, Ganesha, and the prinicpal other beings in the Hindu universe.
Panel: The Crone Archetype in World Traditions
Tribal Hearth’s Northern Lights Gathering - November 1st 2023 - 30 Minutes
In this panel discussion, several members of the TribalHearth community come together to have a discussion on the crone archetype as she appears or does not appear in world traditions. Practitioners grounded in Norse Heathenry, Irish Celtic Paganism, Hinduism, African Traditional religion, and Wicca come together to discuss the archetype, and the dangers of projecting western concepts onto non-western traditions.
Presentation: “Symbol and Magic in Hinduism”
Durham Region Pagan Pride - August 14th 2016 - 45 Minutes
In this brief presentation, we explore the power of symbol in Hinduism, including comparable practices of western magic in Tantra and Brahmanical Hinduism. We explore the chief use of symbol in ritual and sacred story, iconography, yantras, mantras, and other ritual traditions.
Presentation: “The Cosmology of Hinduism”
Wic-Can Fest - June 10th 2016 - 60 Minutes
Hinduism is a set of religious traditions shared by over a billion people worldwide, but it is still widely misunderstood or unknown to the West. In this brief talk, we explore the cosmology of popular Hinduism, the deities, demons and important places of the Hindu Universe.
Presentation: “The Magic of Amulets”
Toronto Spring Psychic Fair - April 23rd 2016 - 45 Minutes
In this brief presentation, we will explore the magic of amulets and how amulet work can be applied to your own practice. We will outline the various types of amulets and amulet magic prevalent in the world today, including common amulets you see for sale in stores and in psychic fairs. We will briefly touch on amulet construction, dangers, and safeguards; as well as amulet working utilizing relationship with specific deities and spirits.
Presentation: “The Power of Symbols”
Peterborough Fall Psychic Fair and Expo - November 7th 2016 - 45 Minutes
In this short presentation, we will go over the cognitive and metaphysical power inherant in symbols and thus also amulets, sigils, yantras, talismans, and other ritual objects and figures that utilize symbolism. We will explore deeper the cognitive reality of why symbol tends to be so powerful to human consciousness, and how it can be applied in our own lives.