About Us
Abraxas is a quality printed journal of historical and contemporary occultism. Founded as an independent publication, Abraxas is uniquely positioned at the crossroads of scholarship, personal experience and artistic expression. It aims to offer the reader a rich resource of thought-provoking essays, vibrant art and poetic myth from some of the most inspirational thinkers, artists, writers, and practitioners working within and beyond the international esoteric community today.
Christina Oakley Harrington
Literary Editor, London
Founder and managing director of the legendary Treadwell’s of London, Christina is at the heart of this bookshop and events centre for the British pagan and esoteric community. As the daughter in a United Nations family working in economic development, she was brought up in Liberia, Burma and Chile before moving to the west in her teens, thus cementing a lifelong commitment to international approaches to culture. She gained a doctorate in History from University College London was a university lecturer for ten years, she is published with Oxford University Press. She feels passionately esotericism is an important strand in Western culture, to be studied, practiced and celebrated. She has been in the Times, the Guardian and other broadsheet newspapers on contemporary religious and cultural issues, as well as Radio Four and BBC World Service.
Livia Filotico
Contributions Manager, London
Raised in Rome where she completed her college studies in Classics, Livia Filotico moved to London 5 years ago where she graduated last year in anthropology and cultural studies at Goldsmiths University. Her projects were mainly focused on comparative religions, affect and embodiment. After a year working in marketing and events for a cabaret venue in East London, she is currently pursuing her interest in body studies by looking at ritualistic dance in afro caribbean contexts.
Robert Ansell
Art Editor and Publisher
Long immersed in the field of fine art, Fulgur’s managing director Robert Ansell began his career working for Sotheby’s, where he specialised in antiquarian and modern books for fifteen years. In 1986, his first client visit for the auctioneer took him to the home of the musician Kaikoshru Sorabji, where he encountered books and art by the Edwardian mystic, Austin Osman Spare. Finding inspiration, Robert founded Fulgur Limited in 1992, an imprint which has become one of the most respected and influential of modern esoteric publishers. Since 1992 he has published more than a dozen titles concerning the Spare and has worked to bring a wider awareness of esoteric artists such as Michael Bertiaux, Barry William Hale, Orryelle Defenestrate-Bascule and David Chaim Smith. He has appeared on the BBC Culture Show and has lectured on both Spare and the philosophy of the book in the UK and the US. He lives and works in Somerset.
Tony Hill
Creative Director, London
Tony Hill is a mystically minded cultural commentator and art director. His magical journeying began as a cobbled together philosophy extracted from pre-internet counterculture including a curious synthesis of no-wave punk rock, 1990’s virtual reality dreams and rave psychedelia. Following the art-school instincts of Gilbert & George, the Sex Pistols and Alexander McQueen he decided to study at Central Saint Martins. Since graduation in 2002 he has continued to explore and report back from his adventures in the collective unconscious of the modern world. Inspired by reality-hacking, visionary outsider art and hermetic philosophy, he has photographed, illustrated, written and produced designs for many cultural magazines, brands and thinktanks. His irregular journal Kinglux explores the idea of ‘Future Technology for the No-Money Generation’ and touches on concepts such as internet archaeology, voodoo-infused email spam, psychogeography, occult politics, mobile phone militias, neo-Luddites, DNA poetry and modern shamanism. Despite a restless, nomadic heart, he currently resides in London.
Pam Grossman
Associate Editor, New York
Pam Grossman is an independent curator and lifelong student of magical practice and history. She is the creator of Phantasmaphile, a blog which specializes in art and culture with an esoteric or fantastical bent. As co-founder of the Brooklyn arts & lecture space, Observatory, her programming aims to explore mysticism via a scholarly yet accessible approach. Her group art shows, Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists, VISION QUEST, and Alchemically Yours have been featured by such outlets as Boing Boing, CREATIVE TIME, Time Out New York, Juxtapoz, Arthur, 20×200, UrbanOutfitters.com, and Neil Gaiman’s Twitter. She lectures on such topics as “The Occult and Modern Art 101,” and teaches classes on herbalism and ritual. She is a graduate of New York University, where she studied anthropology, art history, and religious studies. A resident of Brooklyn, she lives with her playwright husband, Matt, and their two cat familiars, Albee and Remedios “Remy” Varo.