The notable rise of other ‘truth’ events and freedom networks is a welcome development which should ensure that far from becoming an irrelevance, such assemblies will become a fixture for the foreseeable future. The Glastonbury Symposium, here since 1990, comfortably keeps its place in this curve, having come full circle perhaps, needed again in a new context (it first began as an opportunity to discuss the burgeoning crop circles in a pre-internet age when information was hard to get). It will thus continue to tread its modern path of investigating truth and mysteries of many kinds whilst highlighting possible solutions and balancing paths – for whilst dealing with darkness, we must be careful to focus also on light. This is Glastonbury, after all, believed by some to be a ‘Free State’ where people can explore other ways of living and thinking without fear of censure.

The significant challenges that humanity faces will be discussed across the weekend, but in an atmosphere of hope and comradeship in the beautiful cocoon we create here, for even the hardiest seekers need some home comforts while wielding their swords of truth. Enjoy.

Following a lively introduction to the weekend by MCs Andy Thomas and Helen Sewell, the 2023 Symposium made a gentle but firm start by revisiting a classic conundrum: the apparent presence of unexplained structures on the Moon and Mars, courtesy of Ananda Sirisena. As current president of the Society for Planetary SETI Research, Ananda is a diligent long-time UFO researcher with a fascination for official orbital photographs which appear to show evidence of unnatural features, especially the configurations of large mounds on the Martian surface. Showing the images and discussing the possibilities of who or what might have created these structures, Ananda also revealed fascinating details of his meetings with famous sci-fi author and scientist Arthur C Clarke and reminded the audience of the importance of figures such as George King, who founded the Aetherius Society and gave a surprisingly prominent interview about its beliefs in alien life being active in our solar system on the BBC in 1959.

After a break for lunch, the afternoon went from softness and healing to a harsher but crucial reality that needs to be faced. Adrian C Smith’s account of the Canadian Freedom Convoy of trucks (lorries) which took to the streets of Ottawa in January 2022 to protest against disproportionate lockdown rules and imposed medication was calm and collected but equally heartfelt. Freedom has long been an issue the Glastonbury Symposium has championed and Adrian’s account of what happened in his home country of Canada and why there are lessons that the whole world needs to learn from the draconian path that was taken there to put down objectors was riveting. His presentation provided a sober and very necessary reflection on how fear and crises enable governments, under the influence of unelected organisations such as the World Economic Forum, to make unwise and serious constitutional violations with impunity. Adrian also shared insights into his background as a one-time minister in a fundamentalist Christian sect and how having his eyes opened to the abuses of power within his own movement set him on a redemptive path to understanding how dominant minorities are able to control large numbers of people.

The Symposium always likes to start the Friday evening with a musical treat to ‘clear the energies’ and set the scene for the following special guest speaker. Glastonbury’s award-winning and highly respected choir have been present at the majority of Symposiums over the years but after the lockdown breaks of 2020–21 they were unable to join us when we came back to full live events in 2022. This year, then, after such a long break, it was wonderful to have the choir back at their soaring best, filling the rafters with their interpretations of choral pieces from around the globe, some uplifting and others quieter and contemplative, but all of them beautiful. In their new blue and purple stage gear, they looked the part and it was a real pleasure to have them back once again, as was clear from the audience response.

Then it was onto Andy Thomas … As a key organiser of the Symposium – as well as a leading investigator of truth and mysteries – Andy’s traditional Saturday morning slot acts as a voice for the event itself, taking the temperature of global events and the ‘alternative’ community’s response to them in his authoritative and inimitable style. This year, after some general thoughts on what is left of democracy and freedom, Andy focused on a very particular and crucially important thread that threatens to tear up everything we have taken for granted thus far – artificial intelligence. Believing that the alternative world has been especially slow to realise the impact of this technology, with both passion and dark humour Andy showed how even convincing poetry and art can now be written by AI. When it eventually infiltrates all aspects of our lives and replaces most human employment – and selects what knowledge is made available – what then for freedom, the economy, our social lives and place in the world? Huge in its implications, these thoughts left a shaken but enlightened audience, with Andy asking whether spirituality could be the last bastion left which AI will not be able to replicate..? 

The Saturday Forum sits right in the middle of the Symposium’s weekend schedule and it feels appropriate that this is where a gathering of speakers from the weekend and a handful of other guests from the world of the ‘alternative’ come together to react to questions and statements from the auditorium, enabling a lively exchange. Chaired, as ever, by Andy Thomas, this year’s actual speakers on the panel were Adrian C Smith, Natasha Leach and Wendy Stacey, all of whom had spoken the previous day and who were able to expand on their wider thoughts and feelings in their areas of expertise. The special guests were Simon Best, editor of the very influential magazine Caduceus, and Roeland Beljon, the expert Dutch crop circle researcher who helped lead the Symposium’s annual circle coach tour earlier in the week. Everyone had their moment to shine as some very frank opinions were shared on paranormal matters, the erosion of free expression and the state of the world. As ever, the hour seemed to go in a flash.

Concerns about the bias of the mainstream media against alternative thinking have long been a concern at the Symposium, but hearing from Jemma Cooper, someone who was once a key presence in that media, was a revealing exercise. Although Jemma has been a quiet attendee of the Symposium for several years, her former work as a BBC presenter and journalist prevented her from speaking overtly of her interests and of her concerns about the state of free expression. Now she has left this mammoth organisation, she is free – within certain contractual strictures – to finally share her thoughts and feelings on the perils of modern media censorship and narrow-mindedness. For someone who had not given a major live presentation before, without notes or slides Jemma used her innate presenting skills to give a very erudite and compellingly honest sharing of the story of her career and the admittedly attractive trappings of being a celebrity, explaining how this all changed when her own beliefs about the pandemic lockdowns began to clash with the BBC’s enforced orthodoxy. Making the point that both mainstream and alternative media need to ensure they do not go down roads of irretrievable prejudice, she left the audience with many important thoughts about the future of truthful reporting.

One guest the Symposium has long wanted to welcome is Bosnian explorer and archaeologist Dr Sam Osmanagich, and this desire finally came to pass this weekend. It was worth the wait. Wanting to make the best of his presence, Sam gave two separate presentations with a short break between them, one in the late afternoon and another in the early evening. Best-known for his extraordinary – if often attacked – work with uncovering and exploring what he believes to be a complex of buried pyramids in central Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sam began with a fascinating presentation laying down the background to the importance of his claimed find, looking at the many different kinds of pyramids around the world, far beyond the ones we usually hear about. Some of these were a revelation to many people present and it set the scene perfectly for his second lecture on the details of his work in Bosnia. Despairing of the archaeological world’s rejection of his findings, which he was disarmingly frank about, Sam has ingeniously created his own workforce and compound – indeed, forged his own community – around the complex of tunnels and mounds which he believes is far older and more significant than many of the more famous ancient sites. Defending his beliefs and sharing his evidence, including some on the more mystical properties that many people have reported at the complex, Sam was a charming and engaging presenter and held everyone’s attention for the full two sessions. He certainly made the point that whatever the full origins of the Bosnian structures his investigations there are valid and should be considered more by others in his profession.

After the traditional morning introduction by Andy Thomas and Helen Sewell, Colin Woolford became another long-time attendee of the Glastonbury Symposium to make his first and successful onstage appearance this year. Starting the Sunday morning sessions with a unique and new take on the subject of UFOs, extra-terrestrials and universal consciousness, Colin blended these subjects with his equal fascination with the now iconic Star Wars franchise. Arguing that many of the characters, plots and concepts embodied in the mythology of that other “galaxy far, far away” neatly – and possibly deliberately – hold strong allegorical meaning for us here in our real galaxy, he shared some intriguing and often convincing insights into the social, political and spiritual lessons the films have to offer. Indeed, the Star Wars universe has now become a whole new mythology for our times and although Colin focused primarily on the movies rather than the ever-expanding television spin-offs it became clear that, as allegories go, this is as useful a way as any other of holding up a mirror to our own society and the problems and possible evolutionary paths that it faces. Perhaps ‘The Force’ is a more meaningful and present concept than ever we knew …

The concepts of passive resistance and ‘freeman’ philosophy are ones that have grown in these times of ever-increasing control and seemingly excessive restrictions on human liberty. Torbz, the singly-named community leader and peace activist, through his long years of fighting for freedom of speech and with his strong views on sovereignty, law and the degradation of Western morals and ethics, was perfectly placed to speak very frankly about methods of resisting the creeping control agenda. Literally a towering presence onstage, Torbz described the “legal fictions” that have been imposed on humanity throughout centuries of quiet enslavement enforced through small print, bureaucracy and clever wording, and detailed his own inventive efforts at breaking free of these bonds which claim ownership of us. Whether everyone present agreed with his methods of resistance – refusing to pay parking fines and by throwing back at authorities his own complex interpretations of the law, etc. – was unclear! But it was hard not to be impressed by Torbz’s determination and rigorous, and sometimes humorous, attempts to stay a truly free man.

Investigating UFOs – or, as officialdom now describes them, UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena) – has always been a part of the Symposium’s remit but the recent surge of interest since the US military’s official recognition that there IS a phenomenon after all, after years of denial, has put it back onto the top of the agenda. The top Belgian researcher Bart Uytterhaegen gave a very striking and fat-free presentation on the current state of UFO/UAP awareness and where the seemingly new programme of disclosure is likely to go. Speaking in affable tones, but with great authority, he cited several major cases, some from Belgium which were fresh to the Symposium audience, and described the developments which had only just occurred that month, as the US held its first ever openly-declared congressional hearings on UAPs. With whistleblowing USAF officers now speaking openly about witnessing the reality of physics-defying technology and, extraordinarily, ex-intelligence official David Grusch claiming that the US is openly covering-up knowledge of, and withholding physical evidence for, ET activity, something big is surely in the offing. Often illustrated with his own unique paintings and drawings (to avoid copyright issues), and interspersed with some of his crop circle research, Bart left a big impression on everyone, now in no doubt that whether this strange tech is alien, foreign or black-ops, the world has changed irrevocably, with huge implications for the economy, environment and humanity itself.

After a short tea break it was off to the adjacent Glastonbury Abbey ruins for another tradition – a standing meditation in its beautiful grounds. After the earlier rain, the weather was kind and stayed dry as once again Jason Porthouse stood in the middle of a large ring of attendees to lead everyone in a soothing visualisation, helping to balance and synthesise all the huge amounts of information and stimulation from the weekend proceedings. After closing hugs, everyone was freed to seek out dinner, or head for home (for those unable to stay for the Sunday night), leaving the stalwarts preparing for the final tour-de-force to come …

And so ended the 33rd Glastonbury Symposium, going out with a bang and hoping to return yet again to plough its necessary furrow in 2024 … Thanks to everyone who attended, watched us via live-streaming, helped or organised in any way: it is very appreciated.

Photos by Andy Thomas