The City as Oracle: A Manchester Grimoire

“The cold finds its way in under your skin. You shiver, and the city shivers with you.”
Shivers, Disco Elysium

What happens when we stop treating Manchester as a backdrop and begin listening to it?

For one evening, we will approach the city as though it were alive: something that might be listened to, dreamt about, bargained with or asked for an answer.

Drawing on psychogeography, divination, poetry and the wandering attention of the flâneur, we will explore Castlefield in search of signs, fragments and accidental messages.

Castlefield is an ideal place for this. Roman foundations, canals, locks, warehouses, railway arches and glass towers all occupy the same small piece of ground. Older traditions sometimes spoke of a place having its own presence or spirit, a genius loci.

This event costs £3 per person, helping to cover printed materials and Meetup running costs. Please use the payment link in the Practical Details section to confirm your place.

THE WALK

We will meet beside the reconstructed Roman gateway at Mamucium, where Manchester began.

After a short introduction, we will either explore together or divide into pairs or small groups, depending on numbers.

Each person or pair will receive a printed field map, seven optional prompts and a pencil. You can record discoveries on the paper, in your own notebook or on your phone.

Over the next 50 minutes, you might:

• follow a symbol that keeps repeating;
• join two found phrases together;
• look for the guardian of a threshold;
• notice where the older city is breaking through;
• record something discarded, concealed or strangely out of place;
• or hold a private question and allow the next few encounters to form an imaginative answer.

There is no correct route and no requirement to complete every prompt. This is not a history quiz, and nobody will be made to perform, interpret their findings or explain themselves.

THE BOOK OF GHOSTLIGHTS

After the walk, we will return to the gateway and share only what we choose.

Each person or pair can contribute one fragment to The Book of Ghostlights, an evolving physical archive of the group’s walks, workshops and encounters.

The first chapter will be:

The Invisible City

It will be assembled from selected field notes, found words, photographs, drawings and other traces gathered during the evening.

You can hand in a paper fragment, add one photograph to the event album afterwards, or keep everything private.

Contributions can be anonymous or credited. One sentence, one image or one badly drawn symbol is enough.

The book will continue to grow through future Ghostlights events and will be brought back for people to browse, annotate and add to.

You do not need to believe that every road sign contains a supernatural message. The point is to experiment with attention, chance and imagination, and with the old idea that a place may possess a character of its own.

Players of Disco Elysium may recognise something of the game’s Shivers skill: those moments when Harry seems to tune into the streets, weather, memories and hidden life of the city. No knowledge of the game is needed.

PRACTICAL DETAILS

Meeting point: the reconstructed Roman gateway at Mamucium Roman Fort, 106 Duke Street, Castlefield, Manchester M3 4RU.

Please note that Meetup’s map may display Castlefield Bowl, as the Roman gateway is not listed separately. We are meeting at the reconstructed gateway on Duke Street, not inside the Bowl. A marked map and photograph of the meeting point will be posted before the event.

Please arrive approximately 10 minutes early. The event runs from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm, followed by an optional drink nearby.

Bring practical footwear, weather-appropriate clothing, water and a charged phone if you would like to take photographs.

Each group will receive a printed field map, seven optional prompts and a pencil. You can record discoveries on the paper, in your own notebook or on your phone.

Castlefield includes cobbles, canal edges, slopes, bridges and uneven surfaces. The prompts can be completed without using every part of the suggested area. Please message me before booking if you have an access requirement, and we can discuss a suitable version honestly.

Please pause the activity before crossing roads, take care around canal edges, and remain aware of your surroundings throughout.

Light rain is part of the atmosphere, and the event will usually continue. Dangerous weather, flooding or a route closure may require postponement. Attendees will be messaged by noon on the day if plans need to change.

£3 per person, covering the printed field materials, meetup admin costs, and the creation of the collective grimoire. Pay here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VELPUMRYRU4LW

18+. Maximum 12 people.

Ghostlights Collective explores practical esotericism, folklore, myth, depth psychology and the imaginative arts through participatory events in and around Manchester.