Tom Hurlock – The World Tree

1 minute read

I’m based in South Wales, an artist/folk magician/witch. Though the popular dark ‘aesthetic’ of folk magic and the bizarre allegory of alchemical illustrations inspires me, I’m drawn to the bright colours and bold forms of street art and the 80s club scene.

Trees, particularly the World Tree, form the pillar and spine of my magickal and artistic praxis. Whether Ygdrassil of the Norse, the Old English Irminsul, or the serpent-wrapped pillar in a Vodoun temple, the constancy of the Tree leaves me in awe. Pantheons and myth may come and go, but the World Axis remains and anchors me in the cosmos.

As for magic and art; to me they are the same. I can either scatter powders or tag a doorstep. Carve a ‘traditional’ rune or paint an eyecatching sigil. An illustration such as my painting ‘Lacnunga’ served as a personal healing charm, just as much as any herbal charm or Glory Twigs. Illustrating a written/spoken charm does it for me, I’m obsessed with the power of the Image. The Numenous.

An enduring childhood memory is of taking sanctuary in the woods. Age 9 I’d escape a turbulent home life and run to a nearby wood where I got a very distinct ‘feeling’ I wasn’t alone. I suppose like many kids I wrote off the ‘Lord & Lady’ in the trees as imaginary friends. But they were constant.

And they had to come from somewhere, right?

Find tom here: @thurlock_norton