A light bulb moment from the fiction of Moyra Caldecott
Many years ago David Goddard introduced me to
the fictional writing of Moyra Caldecott. Her stories captivated me, covering
mythical and magical themes against backdrops which included Ancient and Roman Britain,
Glastonbury, Egypt and Bronze-age Greece.
Her trilogy, “Guardians of the Tall Stones” blew
me away. As a great adventure of initiation and the Mysteries, the Guardians
saga is interspersed with profound inner teachings which remind me from time to
time of some of the “channeled” elements in the fictional writing of Dion
Fortune.
Round about the end of the 1990's, I was
blessed to be able to meet Moyra at an event David arranged at Avis Ades’ home
in Wiltshire. A beautiful person, charming and vastly knowledgeable, she
occasionally let slip a mischievous twinkle from her eyes. Etched into my consciousness,
I will cherish this meeting for the rest of my life.
The meeting came at a point in time when I
was really struggling to relate to something my then teacher "Charles Fielding" was
trying to convey to me about being careful with those in the Mysteries who
slavishly and bombastically profess to be committed to “serving the Light”.
Moyra read out a small section from one of her novels to the small group of us.
This was the section:
“Light is a construct too, a
Symbol…Light and Dark have no relevance to what Eternally Is.
You have made an idol of Light,
as others have made idols of wood and stone.
You can see in darkness and in
light.
You do not See.
The Seeing is You.”
Suddenly the point he had been trying to make
to me all made sense. The penny dropped and a bigger world opened up for me.
Metaphorically I traded in the old black and white television set for a Nicam
digital stereo, LED widescreen set with 3D. Thank you Moyra!
If you haven’t already read some of her work,
I’d strongly encourage you to explore it. Much of it is available on www.abebooks.co.uk at insanely inexpensive
prices. You can also purchase and download her novels as e-books from:
I’d begin with the following as starters:
- Guardians of the Tall Stones – a magical romp from the standing stones and culture of pre-Roman Britain to the Temple of the Sun and beyond.
- The Waters of Sul - set around Aquae Sulis (modern day Bath - see the picture of the Roman Baths below) in Roman Britain c.72 AD
- The Silver Vortex Sequel – critical sequel to Guardians of the Tall Stones
- The Winged Man – a fantastic tale about the legendary King Bladud in Britain c.500 BC
- Hatshepsut - Daughter of Amun - a gripping story of the legendary female pharaoh Hatshepsut
- Crystal Legends - nothing New Agey in sight! A great collection of short mythical and magical stories from all around the world associated with gems and crystals. Also includes a few Arthurian tales which will repay contemplation too!
If you enjoy these starters there are plenty more to enthrall and entice your imagination with.
I do think Moyra Caldecott is one of Britain’s
most under-rated writers of entertaining and informing magical fiction. Since
leaving her native South Africa in the 1950's to live in England she deserves to
be recognized as a national treasure. Check her out!
Your blog is impressive and it is a pity that you don't have more followers & commentators. I shall circulate it amongst my friends.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest that you read George Russell otherwise known as AE, he was an associate WB Yeats & a member of The Golden Dawn. AE can best be described as an Irish artist/mystic /poet; it would be interesting to hear what you make of him.
Warm regards,
Mel
Glad you've enjoyed dipping into it Mel. I love George Russell, particularly "The Candle of Vision." Hope at some stage to get round to some unedited ramblings about his works and influence. My real passion is Willie Yeats, but, after 25 years of exploration, I'm still slouching on the road from Belfast to not so much be born as to write my thoughts up.....
ReplyDeleteNUI has quite a collection of AE's illustrations on their walls.
ReplyDeleteI travelled from Béal Feirste area over 20 years ago after a short three years of slouching in Bangor bars with professional topers! Coole park now is a favourite haunt whenever I get the chance to look at the autograph tree and feed the swans.
I'll throw in as a jest William Sharp and Fiona Macloed .... wink! :)
William Sharp indeed! One for a future project....
ReplyDeleteOn a related tack, I've just thoroughly enjoyed reading Alan Richardon's book "The Giftie." A real fictional gem. Merging and alternating time and consciousness around a woman with mental health issues in modern day Bath and the semi-mythical Reverend Robert Kirk (from Aberfoyle in Scotland). Kirk was rather different kind of church minister in Aberfoyle during the 1600s.He wrote a most peculiar book you may be aware of about the world of faery - 'The Secret Commonwealth'. This is not the fluttering winged twee faery of children's cartoons either. Potent stuff, the story is a faced paced and magical adventure in consciousness. Well recommended.
Wonder why I've never tried Moyra Caldicott? Thanks for the links - am about to max the plastic over on amazon . . .
ReplyDelete