Speaking & Lecturing — Helena B. Scott, MA

What Helena Offers

Four Formats

Signature Lectures

60 – 90 minutes

Existing, fully researched talks from Helena's repertoire, designed to bring specialist scholarship to life for academic, heritage and public audiences. Each lecture is interactive, historically grounded and visually rich, combining compelling storytelling with carefully selected historical and visual material. Choose from Helena's established research worlds and lecture topics below.

Suitable for — Universities, colleges, heritage organisations, Jungian societies, historical societies, cultural institutions, private learning communities.

Masterclasses & Courses

Masterclasses: typically 3 hours, with one-day or two-part formats available · Courses: 4–6 weeks, 2 hours weekly

For audiences who want to go beyond a single lecture. These interactive, in-depth formats create space for deeper exploration, discussion and engagement with primary sources, historical evidence, symbolism and interpretive frameworks. Masterclasses are typically around three hours and can also be developed as one-day intensives or two-part programmes. Courses usually run for four to six weeks, meeting once weekly for two hours. Participants receive supporting handouts and take-away materials, with certificates of attendance when the programme is delivered directly by Helena.

Suitable for — Colleges, Jungian institutes and societies, esoteric study groups, heritage professional development, museum education programmes, private learning communities and specialist audiences.

Commission Available

Custom / Commissioned Lectures

By agreement

For organisations seeking something created specifically for their audience or programme. Helena can research and develop a bespoke, interactive lecture for an exhibition, conference, anniversary, institutional programme, learning series or specialist event. From the initial brief, Helena shapes the scope, undertakes any additional research required and creates a presentation tailored to your context, audience and objectives.

Suitable for — Conference organisers, exhibition curators, anniversary programmes, institutional learning series, specialist publishers, documentary and media productions.

Series & Residencies

Multi-session — by agreement

For organisations and communities looking for sustained engagement rather than a single event. Helena can develop an interactive themed series, multi-session online programme, seasonal programme or recurring lecture presence across an academic term or cultural season. Formats can be shaped around the interests of your audience and wider programme, with supporting handouts and take-away materials and certificates of attendance when delivered directly by Helena.

Suitable for — Jungian societies, learning membership communities, heritage organisations, institutional continuing education, cultural subscription programmes.

Research Worlds & Topics

Lecture Topics

01Knights Templar, Medieval History & Crusading Worlds

The Knights Templar — history, myth and legacy
Templar Ireland and the medieval landscape
The Templars and Cistercians — spiritual kinship, networks and sacred landscape
Military-religious orders, crusading culture and medieval spirituality
William Marshal, medieval Ireland and the world of the crusades
Templar archaeology, manuscripts, seals and material evidence

02Sacred Feminine, Black Madonnas & Mary Magdalene

Black Madonnas — history, archaeology, iconography and living tradition
The Dark Mother — history, archetype, descent and transformation
Mary Magdalene — history, legend and symbolic resonance
Sophia, sacred wisdom and feminine traditions
Marian imagery and the feminine within medieval spirituality
Sacred Feminine landscapes, pilgrimage and cultural memory

03Jung, Consciousness & Archetypal Psychology

Symbols as Maps of Consciousness
Jung, the conscious and unconscious mind, and the collective unconscious
Archetypes, myth and cultural memory
Shadow, individuation and the transcendent function
Dreams, active imagination and the imaginal
The Red Book and Jung’s encounter with the unconscious
Synchronicity, transformation and the symbolic life

04Alchemy, Gnosticism, Hermeticism & Esoteric Philosophy

Alchemy as historical practice, philosophy and symbolic tradition
Nigredo, albedo, rubedo and the language of transformation
The coniunctio — alchemical marriage from historical tradition to Jung
Gnosticism, Sophia and traditions of hidden knowledge
Hermeticism, correspondences, microcosm and macrocosm
Exoteric and esoteric interpretation
The Green Language / Language of the Birds and initiatory interpretation

05Symbols, Mason’s Marks & the Language of Stone

Mason’s marks — origins, functions and transmission across medieval Europe
Medieval graffiti — devotional, personal, protective and everyday marks
Symbols carved into churches, monasteries, castles and historic buildings
Apotropaic marks, crosses, geometry, inscriptions and protective symbolism
Craftsmen, workshops and marks as evidence of movement and construction
Exoteric and esoteric interpretations of historical symbols
How historians read symbols — evidence, context, comparison and later interpretation

06Secret Societies, Initiation & Hidden Brotherhoods

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn — history, ritual and influence
W. B. Yeats, occultism and the Golden Dawn
Florence Farr — theatre, magic and women of the Golden Dawn
Rosicrucianism and the Rosicrucian manifestos
Freemasonry — history, symbolism and initiatory traditions
Brotherhoods of Light, esoteric fraternities and the transmission of hidden knowledge
Initiation, ritual, degrees and symbolic systems

07Haunted History, Psychical Research & the Unseen

Loftus Hall — anatomy of a haunting
Haunted landscapes, memory and the archaeology of place
Psychical research and the historical investigation of extraordinary experience
The history of mediumship, trance and psychical science
Automatic and inspirational writing
W. B. Yeats, George Hyde-Lees and A Vision
Consciousness, survival and the history of inquiry into the unseen

08Norse Worlds, Seiðr & Northern Traditions

The Norse in Ireland — encounter, settlement and cultural exchange
Medieval Icelandic sagas — history, landscape and the supernatural
Norse mythology and the pre-Christian religious world
Seiðr — magic, divination, ritual and altered states
Runes, symbols and northern visual traditions
Norse Christianity and changing religious landscapes
Archaeology, saga evidence and the problem of interpreting Norse belief

09Healing Through History & Ancient Wisdom

Egyptian, Greek and Roman approaches to healing and the body
Galen, Pliny and the classical inheritance of healing knowledge
Medieval medicine, herbals, herbaria and apothecary traditions
Monastic medicine and historical healing landscapes
Cistercian, Templar and Hospitaller healing traditions
Plants, herbs and natural preparations in historical practice
Alchemy, nature and historical understandings of body, mind and spirit

10Mermaids, Maritime Folklore & the Sacred Sea

Mermaids and sirens — mythology, folklore and cultural history
Sea magic and maritime supernatural traditions
Celtic and Norse sea traditions
The Sacred Feminine, water and the liminal sea
Ocean spirituality and water as symbolic landscape
Mermaids, transformation and the human imagination
Water, psyche and wellbeing — historical and contemporary perspectives

11Mythology, Magic & the Supernatural

Comparative mythology and the persistence of ancient stories
Magic, witchcraft and ritual in historical context
Natural magic and the enchanted landscape
Fairy belief, otherworld traditions and the Celtic Twilight
Mythopoetics — why myths continue to shape the imagination
Supernatural beings, liminality and encounters between worlds
From historical belief to modern interpretation

12Sacred Landscape, Pilgrimage & Cultural Memory

Sacred geography — how landscapes acquire and retain meaning
Pilgrimage, pathways and the movement of people and ideas
Holy wells, water, caves, mountains, trees and natural sacred places
Medieval sacred landscapes and religious memory
Christianisation, continuity and the reinterpretation of older traditions
Place memory, folklore and community identity
Archaeology, material culture and reading the layered landscape

Professional & Institutional Topics

Public History & Cultural Heritage

Helena is also available for professional and academic lectures on public history, cultural heritage, heritage interpretation, community engagement, museums and exhibitions, difficult and overlooked histories, material culture, sacred landscape, digital public history and communicating specialist research to wider audiences.

Selected Speaking Engagements · Past · Present · Forthcoming

Where Helena Speaks

College of Psychic Studies (Est. 1884)

London · United Kingdom

Current · Regular Appointment

Regular lecturer and tutor. Subjects include Templar and medieval history, the Sacred Feminine, the Cathars, Western esotericism, Gnosticism, alchemy, mythology, symbolism and Jungian perspectives.

C. G. Jung Society of Melbourne

Melbourne · Australia

Past · 18 September 2026

From Lead to Gold: Gnosticism, Alchemy & the Roots of Depth and Archetypal Psychology — an international online lecture tracing the relationship between Gnostic cosmology, alchemical symbolism, Jung’s analytical psychology and the later development of archetypal psychology.

View Lecture Details →

International Conference: St Martin, Precursor of the Christian Knightly Orders

Arad · Transylvania, Romania

Past · 24 April 2026 · Keynote Speaker

Keynote address on the Sacred Feminine within Templar spirituality and its later suppression and marginalisation within Christian tradition and modern scholarship. Helena’s research contribution was recognised at the conference with the OSTSM Meriti Crux (Cross of Merit).

The Last Tuesday Society / Viktor Wynd Museum

London · United Kingdom · Online

Upcoming · 8 October 2026

Mermaid Spells: Sea Alchemy, Seiðr & the Goddess Mysteries of the Deep — exploring mermaids as archetypal initiators, ancient sea magic, Norse seiðr, sacred feminine traditions, ancestral memory, alchemy, depth psychology and the transformative symbolism of water.

Waterford Templar Historical Day

Tower Hotel · Waterford, Ireland

Past · 11 October 2025

Founder, organiser and lecturer. Helena presented her MA research on the Knights Templar in Ireland, including findings from Kilbarry Knights Templar Graveyard and the identification and reporting of previously unrecorded archaeological material arising from her dissertation, From medieval Crusades to modern communities: Interpreting the history of the Knights Templar at selected heritage sites in Ireland’s south-east.

Explore the Kilbarry Research →

Public History, Heritage & Library Lectures

Waterford & Wexford · Ireland

Past & Continuing

Research-led public lectures and heritage engagement for local and regional cultural, heritage and community audiences, including New Ross Library, Ardkeen Library in Waterford, and other invited public-history programmes in Ireland’s south-east.

Day of the Unexplained

New Ross, Co. Wexford · Ireland

Past · 18 February 2023

Speaker at Ireland’s paranormal convention and member of its Paranormal Expert Panel. Helena presented her interdisciplinary approach to haunted history and psychical research alongside investigators, researchers and academics including Dr Ciarán O’Keeffe and Steve Parsons.

OSMTH Ireland — Grand Priory of Ireland

Ireland

Past · Invited Lecture

Invited lecture presenting Helena’s research into the Knights Templar in Ireland and the wider development of her Templar-history and public-history work, delivered for members of OSMTH Ireland’s Grand Priory, including its senior leadership.

Independent & Specialist Venues

Ireland · Online

Past & Continuing

Lectures, workshops and specialist events for independent cultural, educational and community audiences, alongside privately hosted programmes and invited engagements.

Helena’s Own Educational Communities

International · Online

Current

Interactive lectures, courses, masterclasses, monthly talks and subscription learning programmes delivered directly through Helena’s own educational communities and channels.

A selected record of Helena’s institutional, cultural and independent speaking work. Current appointments, forthcoming engagements and completed events are identified individually. Contact Helena for a fuller list of past speaking engagements and hosted programmes.

Created for Your Audience · Research-Led · Visually Rich

Commission a Lecture

Bring Helena a subject, exhibition, anniversary, collection, question or programme idea and she can turn it into an original lecture created specifically for your audience. Each commission combines focused research, compelling historical storytelling and carefully developed visual material — shaped to complement your organisation, its objectives and the people in the room. Commissions can range from a single specialist lecture to a connected programme or learning series.

Tell Helena What You Need

Share your audience, theme or idea, preferred date and format, and what you would like the engagement to achieve. An initial concept is enough — Helena can help shape the direction.

A Proposal Takes Shape

Helena develops the lecture concept, scope and research approach around your brief. Length, delivery format, timetable and professional fee are agreed before commissioned research begins.

A Lecture Created for You

Helena researches, writes and builds the visual presentation, then delivers the finished lecture live and interactively — online worldwide or in person by arrangement.

Commission a Lecture Invite Helena to Speak

Questions about lectures & masterclasses

Does Helena offer online lectures for international audiences?

Yes. Live online delivery is Helena’s principal international format. Lectures and masterclasses can be arranged for organisations worldwide, with timing agreed to accommodate time zones and existing commitments. In-person engagements in Ireland and internationally are available by arrangement.

Enquire about an online lecture →

Can I commission a lecture for my museum, society or conference?

Yes. Helena can develop a bespoke presentation for your audience, exhibition, conference or educational programme. Her subject areas include Templar history, Sacred Feminine traditions, Black Madonnas, Jungian and archetypal psychology, alchemy, symbolism and cultural heritage.

Explore the research behind the teaching →

Where can I book a public lecture or masterclass?

Current public events and booking links are listed on the Events page. Each listing explains the date, format, host and registration arrangements. For an institutional booking or a programme created for your own group, use the speaking enquiry form.

See public events and booking links →

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