How many people can say they were taught magic by their grandmother? Geraldine and Bali can both claim that as they are 3rd and 4th generation practitioners of the Artes Occultique.
Bali Beskin
by Geraldine Beskin
It is fashionable nowadays to say your grandmother was a witch - Bali's was, and plenty of people still remember her with great affection. At risk of boasting, her great grandmother was an unusual healer as she could cure animals as well as people and was a fabulous fortune teller too. It must be genetic as her maternal grandfather who owned The Atlantis Bookshop was with the Traditional witches on the Channel Islands when Gardner was establishing his branch of witchcraft just across the water on the south coast in the late 1940's.
Bali has a degree and a Masters in Business Administration and Management. As well as keeping the shop in some sort of order, she really enjoys staging the window displays that are photographed every day by people from all over the world. If you have one, please send it over to us, we'd love to see the photos.
Bali has a sympathetic and no-nonsense empathy with the customers who ask her for advice. We strongly feel there is no point in making difficult situations impossible by adding a complex layer of solutions. Simple, clear and from the head and heart actions work best.
More about . . .
Bali has grown up with the Atlantis Bookshop - she was trained at her grandmother's knee from an early age and is currently the third generation of her family to own the Shop. She has contributed to a growing number of publishing ventures, including being one of the youngest ever authors to appear in The Magical Link, an International OTO publication which featured her assessment of the Rites of Eleusis she witnessed at an early age. Having both a Degree and a Masters in Business Administration and Management, she is well placed to manage the business and takes great pleasure in developing the aesthetics associated with the Shop, whether it be the overall look of the business, the stock, the acclaimed and frequently-photographed window displays or the culinary delights she provides as part of the Book Launches and special events held there. Her interest in Epicurean and Aesthetic Magic is well-known and she is extremely empathic, helping customers (many of whom have become dear friends) with their wants lists and book requests. She has also technically had lunch with Israel Regardie - why not pop in and ask her more about this and her other magical exploits next time you visit?
Geraldine Beskin
by Bali Beskin
Geraldine is in constant demand as she so strongly represents the living history of magic. Her biographical lectures on many of the esoteric luminaries have taken her all over the world and she has written numerous articles and has helped the Media with various projects.
Her memory for people, events and books goes back 40 years. She knows the contents of the books, often knew the authors and can recall the book jackets going back to the 1970's too. I chose to work with my mother as we both feel it is our true destiny to be involved at The Atlantis Bookshop together and we enjoy coming to work every day.
Geraldine is very deliberately a historian, not an academic as she is far too loud and opinionated for that! Generally she is pretty comfortable with the history of esoteric thought and practice over the last 150 years, with the Golden Dawn, Aleister Crowley, Austin Osman Spare and Dion Fortune as special interests. She has witchcraft in the mix too through her family connections and because it suits her. She has an extensive personal collection of books and has collected Austin Spare and curated four big exhibitions of his work, the first one in 1986.
More about . . .
Geraldine is an international speaker on esotericism and a social historian, bringing the various important occult characters and places to life with her narratives and biographical talks. As co-owner of The Atlantis Bookshop with her daughter Bali, she has had a life-long interest in all things magical ever since seeing Gerald Gardner ascend from the depths of the Shop after one of his regular meetings held there. She is also a contributor to many esoteric books and publications and has a deeply-held passion for Austin Osman Spare, the famous artist who worked for a time with Aleister Crowley, ever since finding her first two paintings by him whilst working at The Atlantis Bookshop. At the present time, her esoteric and historical research for future articles and books takes her far and wide across the UK and overseas.