The Unknowable: Cosmic Horror, Awe & Inner Worlds

There are things we understand, things we think we understand, and things that seem to resist understanding altogether.

The Unknowable is an evening about our attraction to mystery: cosmic horror, the sublime, dreams, symbols, strange landscapes, and the parts of ourselves that remain just beyond conscious reach.

We’ll begin with the feeling at the heart of cosmic horror: the unsettling possibility that reality is far older, stranger and less comprehensible than the stories we tell ourselves about it.

But rather than staying only with horror, we’ll follow that feeling towards awe, imagination, mysticism and transcendence.

Why can something vast and frightening also feel beautiful, sacred or strangely familiar? What happens to the ego when confronted with something much larger than itself?

And what if the unknown is not only somewhere beyond us, but also somewhere within?

£3 PAID EVENT • All materials provided • Payment link below

The evening draws inspiration from H. P. Lovecraft and the weird-fiction tradition, Carl Jung, Romanticism, Tarkovsky, Bloodborne, Mortal Shell, poetry, mystical writing and the sublime.

Think strange maps, ruined worlds, impossible skies, ancient symbols, dream-fragments, forgotten places and the old suspicion that reality goes far beyond our ability to describe it.

You don’t need to know any of these beforehand.

They are influences rather than homework.

AIM OF THE EVENING:

The aim is to use cosmic horror and the idea of the unknown as a doorway into deeper questions about identity, awe, mortality, imagination and transcendence.

Rather than treating the unknowable only as something frightening, we’ll explore how encounters with mystery can loosen our everyday sense of self and open up new ways of thinking, feeling and creating.

THE EVENING:

We’ll begin with a short guided meditation, using imagination and stillness to settle into the atmosphere of the evening and approach the unknown without immediately trying to explain it.

From there, we’ll spend time with a handful of short readings, poems and images, followed by an informal group discussion around questions such as:

• What happens to us when we encounter something we cannot explain?
• If reality is stranger than we can comprehend, how should that change the way we live?
• What do we lose when every mystery becomes an explanation?
• Does everything meaningful need to be understood?
• What is the difference between imagination, intuition and revelation?
• Can dreams, symbols and imagination reconnect us with neglected parts of ourselves?
• How did Carl Jung understand the unknown regions of the psyche?
• What if some parts of ourselves are not meant to be fully known?
• Why do certain symbols seem to affect us before we understand them?
• What might “magic” mean if we think of it as a deliberate way of engaging with mystery, attention and symbol?

We’ll then move into a short creative writing / image-making exercise, using printed images, old maps, words, symbols and fragments as starting points.

You might create a few lines of poetry, an impossible place, a dream fragment, a symbol, a map, a sketch, or simply something unknowable that resists explanation.

There is no pressure to make anything polished, and no pressure to share.

The idea is simply to follow an image or thought somewhere unexpected.

MUSIC:

I’ll also be putting together an atmospheric soundtrack for the evening, somewhere between doom, drone, cosmic ambient, psych, dark folk and dream music.

Think slow guitars, distant voices, enormous spaces and music that seems to open a landscape around you.

Daevar are one of the musical inspirations behind the event.

Music suggestions are very welcome.

WHO IS IT FOR?

Anyone interested in myth, psychology, weird fiction, poetry, art, mysticism, dreams and philosophy.

No previous knowledge of Jung, cosmic horror, philosophy or poetry is required.

Curiosity is enough.

Expect something somewhere between a discussion circle, literary salon and small creative expedition into the unknown.

Come with questions.
You do not need to leave with answers.
Some mysteries become smaller when solved.
Others become doors.

CONTRIBUTION:

£3 per person

Ghostlights is independently organised, and the contribution helps towards printing, materials and the ongoing costs of running the group.

All materials for the evening will be provided.

Places are limited, so please only RSVP if you’re reasonably confident you can attend. Thanks! :)

Pay here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=VELPUMRYRU4LW