View from the Big Hills

“ It has been said, 'If you want to put the world right, begin with yourself'. In its measure this is true counsel, but it needs a corollary. The Alchemist says, 'If you want to work upon your inner self, start working on something outside yourself.'” What does Druidry really offer to Humanity? By Vivian Godfrey In July 2012 I pulled together a blog about the magical aspects of the successful campaign to save Oxleas Woods from a proposed new East London River Crossing. If Trees Could Cry – Oxleas Wood - a 20th Century adventure in eco-magic told the story from the viewpoint of an active member of Dragon and T.R.B. rather than the well-known public campaign by the marvelous folk in People Against the River Crossing (PARC). I've subsequently received a number of emails from people asking for more about the campaign. So, at the fag end of January 2015 , here is a little more about Dragon's campaign. Recently I was reminded by an old friend o...

“That which derives from our native folk tradition springs up like water from the soil, made alive by the good brown earth and fresh with the breath of herb and tree; it springs, it sparkles. It vitalizes a man's nature because it puts him in touch with the sun-warmed rain-wet earth -- his native earth, that his bare feet trod as a child when his soul was open and he still could feel the unseen." - Dion Fortune, Esoteric Orders and their Work, 1928 Some 50 years after Dion Fortune published her ground-breaking book Esoteric Orders and their Work, Richard “Kip” Carpenter produced a successful and fantastic children’s TV series, Catweazle. The series was called after the show’s main character, “Catweazle,” an 11th Century travelling magician. The series took arcane themes and wove wonderful tales to inspire and uplift a whole generation of children (and quite a lot of their parents and grandparents too). Carpenter was an experienced character ac...