View From The Big Hills

“Sitting in your chair you can travel farther than ever Columbus travelled and to lordlier worlds than his eyes had rested on. Are you not tired of surfaces? Come with me and we will bathe in the Fountains of Youth.” - Candle of Vision by A.E.

“It has been sometimes said that the Green Ray is without wisdom – that is complete nonsense. It is not the keynote of it, but there is a great wisdom aspect which develops from the Green Ray, and its wisdom in this case is the superlative knowledge of the subtleties and secrets of what is called Nature. Of the very deep inward knowledge of fish and bird and beast, and of their ways and their needs, and above all of a remarkable communication with their Group Souls.” Excerpt from Orpheus , by Margaret Lumley Brown, published in Pythoness by Gareth Knight Eighty-two years ago, on the evening of the 14th of March, Dion Fortune gave a public talk on the oft misunderstood concept of the Green Ray. A member of the audience, also then a member of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, took notes on the main points showcased during the lecture. This post presents a summary of that presentation and provides a good insight into Dion Fortune’s then thinking about the subject. Whil...

  “ Beloved, gaze in thine own heart, The holy tree is growing there; From joy the holy branches start, And all the trembling flowers they bear. The changing colours of its fruit Have dowered the stars with merry light; The surety of its hidden root Has planted quiet in the night......” From The Two Trees by William Butler Yeats NB . The picture is of the well-known Dryad tree in Lesnes Abbey Woods, South-east London, and a favourite of many DRAGON members.

“ 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...

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” T he Cosmic Doctrine is perhaps Dion Fortune’s most overlooked and undervalued work. Next to The Mystical Qabalah , it is also possibly her most important. The text presents a near complete cosmogony stuffed full with enough images and concepts to keep the adventurous seeker busy for a lifetime. As a comprehensive philosophical and magical system, it presents a detailed interpretation of the origin of life, the Universe, Deity and Humankind. Like any cosmogony, it has some imperfections, interspersed with occasional annoyances and contradictions. This article is offered in the hope that it will whet readers’ proverbial whistles to further explore the depths of The Cosmic Doctrine. Before we go any further, it’s important for me to set out a key foundational premise – the honoured place of cosmogony in the occultist's toolbox. In any longer term esoteric endea...