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EARTHQUEST
NEWS
The
Andrew Collins and Questing Conference Newsletter,
Vol. 7, No. 1, Spring 2004
Greetings to everyone. Let me begin by giving you the stunning line up for this year’s Questing Conference, QuestCon04, which takes place on Saturday, 6 November at Cecil Sharp House (home of the English Folk, Dance and Song Society (EFDSS)), 2 Regents Park Road, London NW1, from 10 am onwards (doors open 9.15 am).
Lynn Picknett
and Clive Prince - The Priory of Sion: the Whole Truth
Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince’s classic work THE TEMPLAR REVELATION
(1997), was unquestionably the inspiration for Dan Brown’s world
super-seller THE DA VINCI CODE. It utilises their entire thesis on the
hidden symbolism found in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci, their
concept of the importance of female sexuality and the sacred feminine
in early Christianity, along with their findings regarding the mysterious
organisation known as the Priory of Sion. Lynn and Clive were the true
pioneers of this genre of esoterica, and in an exclusive presentation
for QuestCon04 they are intent on revealing the real history of the
Priory, culled from research they have been conducting ahead of a book
being put together at this time. They will outline da Vinci’s
true role in the modern evolution of the Priory, and reveal the sequence
of events that led to the organisation’s modern-day emergence
in 1950s. In the light of this new information, the two authors will
review their own theories on John the Baptist as the true identity of
Christ, and the role played in this mystery by Rennes-le-Château.
Robert Feather
- Uncovering the Spear of Destiny
Robert is a trained metallurgist and technical engineering writer of
25 years standing. His work on Jewish and Middle Eastern history and
the Dead Sea Scrolls resulted in his book THE COPPER SCROLL DECODED
(1999), which showed the undeniable link between the Dead Sea community
responsible for the scrolls and the religion of dynastic Egypt. Yet
some years ago he embarked on new research into the true history of
one of the world’s most enigmatic religious artefacts - the Spear
of Destiny, or Spear of Christ, housed in the Hofsburg Museum, Vienna.
Coveted by emperors and kings, this relic has the strongest claim to
be the authentic weapon that pierced the side of Jesus at his crucifixion.
Legend has it that the Spear passed from the Roman Centurion Longinus
into the hands of St Maurice, Emperor Constantine, Charlemagne, Charles
IV of Bohemia. Moreover, it was this single, immensely potent artefact
that Adolf Hitler seized following the Nazis’ successful invasion
of Austria in 1938. In a manner unprecedented before this time, Robert
Feather was able to gain permission not merely to examine this priceless
treasure in a laboratory environment, but also to take apart the delicate
bands that hold it together. Using this invaluable information alongside
the spear’s known provenance, Robert will present an unmissable
audio-visual presentation in which he reconstructs the relic’s
fascinating history, which goes back at least 1500 years.
Paul Broadhurst
- Exploring Europe’s Sacred Axis
Imagine a straight corridor of sacred places - all linked with the archangel
Michael and dedicated to his name - crossing Europe from Ireland to
Italy. Moreover, a line that is targeted on key oracle and temple sites
in Greece, and terminates at Megiddo, ancient Armageddon, the place
of the final confrontation between good and evil in Revelations. Sounds
fantastic, I know, but such an incredible concept of sacred geography
forming the backbone of Europe was quite literally dreamed of in the
1950s by Frenchman Jean Richer, and later investigated by his brother
Lucien (author of THE ST MICHAEL-APOLLO AXIS, English trans., Gatekeeper
Trust, 1994).
In 1998, earth mysteries writer Paul Broadhurst and dowser Hamish Miller,
the co-authors of the ever popular book THE SUN AND THE SERPENT, about
Britain’s own St Michael-Mayday sunrise line, decided to investigate
the St Michael-Apollo axis. They travelled its entire course, beginning
at Skellig Michael in southern Ireland and taking in St Michael’s
Mount, Cornwall; Mont St Michel in Brittany, Bourges in central France;
Sacra di San Michele in Piedmont, Italy, before going on to explore
the sites linked to it in Greece and the Holy Land. For the two earth
mysteries researchers, it was a gargantuan challenge which resulted
in many breath-taking revelations outlined in their invaluable book
THE DANCE OF THE DRAGON (Pendragon Press, 2000), described by visionary
and modern antiquarian John Michell as ‘A tremendously exciting
book… surely the most remarkable antiquarian or questing journey
that has ever been undertaken’. Their discoveries take us back
to the roots of religion, embedded in the landscape and encoded in legend
and myth, and show that in antiquity a highly developed natural science
determined the siting and character of sacred sites. During a spectacular
audio-visual presentation, Paul will take QuestCon delegates on a sacred
journey 2,500 miles in length, which will demonstrate once and for all
the hidden reality of Europe’s sacred geography and its importance
to the evolution of human consciousness.
Alan Alford -
Secret Chambers of the Great Pyramid
Ten years ago Dr Robert Schoch, a geologist of Boston University, announced
that the water erosion on the Great Sphinx and its surrounding enclosure
walls meant that the carved monument must be thousands of years older
than had previously been imagined by Egyptologists. It started a revolution
in alternative and speculative history whereby the origins of the Giza
monuments were brought under a spotlight. Who built the Great Pyramid,
and when? What was its true purpose, and did the orientation of its
internal air-shafts point towards the conclusion that its architects
saw the starry sky as in some way reflecting a distant epoch in which
elder gods ruled Egypt?
There were a great many books written on this subject - some good, others
terrible - and then the band-wagon, driven by high-profile writers Graham
Hancock and Robert Bauval - virtually came to a stand-still as a backlash
of criticism brought into question the claims of their bestselling books.
Supposedly, there never was any good evidence that the ageing of the
Sphinx denoted its much earlier construction, and so the whole matter
of ancient Egypt’s greater antiquity was quietly put on the back-burner.
Yet one writer of alternative history who refused to give up was Alan
Alford. He continued to put forward new ideas concerning the origins
of the Great Pyramid, and even openly criticized his earlier books on
the subject. Through this cathartic process he has become more knowledgeable
on the purpose and design of this sacred monument than almost all of
his contemporaries. Moreover, major reviews of his most recent book
PYRAMID OF SECRETS (Eridu, 2003) have hailed it a masterpiece, and this
has come purely through Alan’s own determination to get to the
truth.
In his first ever presentation at QuestCon, Alan reinterprets the Pyramid’s
architecture in the light of the Egyptian creation myth. For him, there
is overwhelming evidence to indicate that the body of the king remains
buried beneath the Pyramid, and that the sarcophagus in the King’s
Chamber enshrined the material of creation (meteoritic iron). More than
this, he will conduct an audio-visual tour of the Pyramid’s known
chambers, while at the same time revealing fresh clues as to the whereabouts
of previously unknown chambers, including the intact burial place of
Cheops himself.
John Reid - Sonic
Technology of the Pyramid Builders
It is no secret that the builders of the Great Pyramid incorporated
into its design profound acoustic qualities, which have never been suitably
explained or understood by the scholarly community. Moreover, in the
late 1990s American researcher Chris Dunn, in a series of detailed articles
and in a book on the technology of the Pyramid builders, concluded that
they must have used ultrasonic drills to penetrate hard rock such as
basalt, granite and diorite. These were bold claims, which have been
since been severely criticised and are generally dismissed by other
researchers working in the field. However, quite independent to this
research, British acoustics engineer John Reid had initiated his own
search to understand the sonic technology of the ancient Egyptians.
Although his work began with the monuments of the Giza pyramid field,
it ultimately led him south to Amarna and Beni Hassan where he was able
to study the acoustics of the rock cut tombs, including what is believed
to be the royal tomb of Akenhaten.
In his first appearance at QuestCon, John provides firm evidence for
the existence of sonic technology in ancient Egypt, yet shows that this
is just the tip of an iceberg which reveals the advanced capabilities
of the ancient Egyptians. More importantly, his findings - like those
of Alan Alford - do not rely on the ageing of the Sphinx or the existence
of some kind of prehistoric advanced race inhabiting the Nile Valley
before the rise of the Pharaohs. Having already been privileged to John’s
beautiful audio-visual presentation, I can honestly say that it is so
vivid that you feel part of his extraordinary research project.
Andrew Collins
- Twenty-first Century Grail
Three years ago I was charged with a quest to find a representation
of the Grail. As mad as such a venture might seem, it was followed by
a series of dreams, visions and revelations which led me, and those
around me, ever nearer new answers concerning the true origins of the
Grail, the ultimate vision quest of the past. Gradually, it became apparent
that the true gnosis of Christianity kept alive by the Gnostics of the
first centuries of the Christian era, and later adopted by their medieval
counterparts, concerned the intervention into human affairs of the divine,
the light of God. This was expressed through the nocturnal rite of baptism
and a secret communion meal, the cup of which became the symbol not
only of Jesus’s Agony in the Garden in Gethsemane, but also for
the blood which he, and through him every saint and martyr, would shed
in the name of Christianity. It was a mystical doctrine embraced wholly
by the followers of John the Evangelist, Christianity’s first
priest and the bearer of the original Grail cup, before a schism forced
one half of the community to merge with the orthodox Church of Rome,
leaving the rest to become outright Gnostics. These same individuals
revered Mary Magdalene as Jesus’s successor and an apostle in
her own right. Yet very gradually her role in the foundation of Christianity
was not only suppressed, but altered into that of her shadow, her male
counterpart John the Evangelist. The two individuals became one androgynous
figure, which merged with the memory of the Beloved Disciple of John’s
Gospel. His dual nature was preserved within the underground stream
of occult activity known to the Cathars, the Knights Templar and the
renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, who portrayed the Beloved Disciple
as distinctly feminine in his famous fresco of the Last Supper.
These discoveries were, however, merely the beginning of an amazing
Grail quest across the British countryside, which brought with it revelation
after revelation as we were led ever closer towards our goal. Eventually,
we were to take possession under mysterious circumstances of a small
green stone cup, which becomes arguably the most authentic physical
Grail in the world today. It is an extraordinary story, which also throws
an entirely new perspective on the mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau. It
also initiates a separate quest for a Templar relic, a representation
of their idol Baphomet, known as the Head of God, spirited out of Britain
following the arrest of the English Templars in January 1308.
This then is the subject of my presentation during the day at QuestCon04.
I will initiate delegates into this divine quest, and reveal the identity
of the Grail, before providing the very latest evidence towards its
authentication as a religious object of incredible spiritual value.
25TH Anniversary
Green Stone Presentation
It was 25 years ago this October that Graham Phillips and I instituted
the modern era of psychic questing with the discovery at a place called
Knights Hill Pool, Worcestershire, of a short steel sword bearing the
inscription MEONIA FORE MARYE. Its location helped lead Graham to retrieve
a small green cabochon stone found hidden in a seventeenth-century brass
casket. Since then, we have independently taken part in literally dozens
of psychic quests, which have often involved the discovery of hidden
artefacts, all described, traced and retrieved by psychic processes
alone. No one has ever been able to suitable explain these acts of paranormal
adventure, and still they continue to occur on a frequent basis.
Thus in order to celebrate 25 years of psychic questing, I have hired
Cecil Sharp House for the evening of the conference in order to present
a special audio-visual presentation. This will not only feature new
questing stories and revelations, but for the very first time publicly
I will show a digital recording that records the actual discovery of
an artefact by psychic means. This incident occurred on Saturday, 17
April 2004, when myself, my wife Sue and Richard Ward were led to an
Essex churchyard by psychic means and here unearthed what we refer to
as the Pan dagger - an antique brass paper knife with a handle fashioned
into a representation of the god of nature playing the syrinx. Other
recordings record how persons unknown attempted to block our vehicle’s
exit from the site, and how the final recording on the digital camera
somehow caught for posterity mysterious voices which have had a profound
effect on those who have heard them. The presentation - which will be
less formal than the round of talks scheduled for the day - will take
place following a break of an hour or so after the last lecture, scheduled
to finish at 6.30pm. This means that QuestCon04 should end around ten
o’clock that evening, and so staying in London might be a good
option (see the site for a list of hotels close to the venue).
Graham Phillips has said that he will attend QuestCon04, subject to
availability. He is currently putting the finishing touches on two books.
One, THE TEMPLARS AND THE ARK OF THE CONVENANT (published by Inner Traditions,
2004) is a part historical, part questing book (his first since THE
EYE OF FIRE in 1986), involving his friends Graham and Jodi Russell
from the USA. It concerns the search for the Ark of the Covenant both
in the region of Mount Sinai, which he (and I) see as located at Petra
in Jordan, and in this country. This British leg includes the retrieval
of some semi-precious stones thought to be linked with the breastplate
of Aaron, the high-priest of Israel and brother of Moses in Jewish tradition.
Graham’s other book is ALEXANDER THE GREAT: MURDER IN BABYLON,
which, as the title suggests, concerns the likely theory that Alexander
was put to death in Babylon, following his ill-fated campaign in India.
Its publication in October-November is tied in with the release of a
new film on the life of Alexander the Great starring Leonardo DiCaprio
and Nicole Kidman.
QuestCon04 Extra
What an extraordinary line-up, you might think. Yet this is by no means
all you’ll get for your £30 ticket in advance, for on Sunday,
7 November, the day following the lectures, I intend to conduct QuestCon
delegates around the British Museum to see various items of interest
to us all. This will include the Franks Casket, an eighth century carved
whale-bone box, which my friend and colleague the artist Yuri Leitch
has recently identified as bearing an image of the Holy Grail, plausibly
the oldest physical representation existing today. It is a subject I
cover in some depth within the book, even though I see the Franks Casket
symbolism slightly differently to that of Yuri.
There will be no fringe talks at the conference this year since they
succeed mainly in confusing people, some of whom feel they are being
cheated out of seeing presentations going on in other rooms at the same
time. Obviously, the concept of split stages, like those at major gigs,
does not work at events such as QuestCon, and so it is best to focus
the whole show on the main hall alone.
Tickets for the event are on sale now. You can either purchase them
via the website and using our secure on-line server. They can be purchased
using your credit card by ringing Atlantis Bookshop on 020 405 2120
(+44.207.405.2120), although remember there is a GBP £1 handling
charge per ticket if you do it this way. On the other hand, you can
send off for tickets either using the reply coupon found on-line or
on the flyer, Tickets will be available on the day, priced at £32,
and as in previous years there is a 10 percent discount on all bookings
- advance or on the day - of four or more tickets purchased by any of
the means stated here.
We realise also that some questing aficionados might only wish to come
along to the 25th Anniversary Green Stone Presentation, and to them
we say a certain number of evening-only tickets will be available on
the day priced at GBP £10 (they will not be available in advance).
However, exactly how many are available can only be based on the amount
of spare seats freed up by those people who will not wish to stay for
the evening’s entertainment (Please note that the £30 day
ticket covers you for the evening show).
By my reckoning, this will be the 18th Questing Conference, which began
in 1986, and by all accounts, with the line-up we have this year, it
should be the best ever. So help us by supporting it, for nowhere else
in Britain is there an annual event with such a calibre of speakers
as those you will find on stage that day.
What the FORTEAN TIMES had to say about QuestCon03:
‘Andrew Collins, the mercurial, dapperly gothic maître d’, regularly puts together a high-class cast for his annual foray into the leading edges of alternative theorising. In the investigative arena, Collins is no slouch himself; and the conference he engineers at the austerely lovable Cecil Sharp House is a highlight of the fortean calendar.’ (Noel Rooney, FT181, p. 27.)
Twenty-first Century Grail
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL is the title of my tenth international release
(not counting various self-financed booklets), published by Virgin in
the UK and USA in October, and I am proud to say that it is back to
my old roots - I am finally writing how and what I want to write. I
know this might sound like a strange thing, and don’t get me wrong
I have enjoyed writing all my existing books, it is just that with TUTANKHAMUN:
THE EXODUS CONSPIRACY, co-authored with Chris Ogilvie-Herald, I tried
to write towards a scholarly market. Whereas this is not a bad thing
in itself, the point is no orthodox scholar will even be bothered to
give it a second glance. It was with such thoughts, and, in my opinion,
a nasty (and unjust) review of the book in FORTEAN TIMES, that convinced
me to throw caution to the wind and do my first questing book since
THE SECOND COMING (1993).
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL shows the Grail’s darker side. Previously,
this holy vessel - seen generally as the cup of the Last Supper, but
which is more correctly the symbol of the earliest communion meals of
the first Christians - has been attached too much to the fluffy new
age Celtic genre of books. I have no doubt that to the earliest Christians
the communion cup, known in the Gospels as the Bitter Cup, was a powerful
symbol connected more with violent and bloody martyrdom than the words
of Christ. Moreover, it is important to put yourself into the minds
of those who wrote the first Grail romances at the end of the twelfth
century. They were in a world in which heresy was creeping into every
strata of European society, and there was every reason to suppose that
your patrons might well be sympathetic to these increasingly popular
views on the religion of Jesus Christ and the sacred feminine outside
of the Catholic Church.
TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL is a harbinger set to devour the public’s
long held beliefs of what they perceive the Grail to be. For instance,
in addition to everything alluded to so far, it dispels the long-held
belief that Joseph of Arimathea ever possessed the Holy Grail or even
came to Britain. In addition to this, the book questions the popular
view that the Grail is either the bloodline of Christ or the womb of
the Magdalene. It shows also that the cult of the Magdalene only arrived
in France during the eleventh century, and almost certainly replaced
a much older cult of Venus, the classical goddess of sex and love, so
integral to the Grail mythos.
Reading List
As one person has described it, it is the DA VINCI CODE’s darker
big brother, which I am very proud of indeed, especially with the book’s
powerful cover illustration courtesy of SheerFaith. I shall be presenting
more information about the book over the next few months, so watch out.
In the meantime, if you want to get into the spirit of the Grail myth
I suggest the following books, which all come highly recommended:
Allegro, John M., The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross; Baigent, Michael, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail; Begg, Ean, and Deike Begg, In Search of the Holy Grail and the Precious Blood; Brown, Raymond E., The Community of the Beloved Disciple; Bryant, Nigel, trans., Merlin and the Grail: Joseph of Arimathea, Merlin, Perceval: The Trilogy of Prose Romances Attributed to Robert de Boron; Green-Armytage, A.H.N., John Who Saw; Haskins, Susan, Mary Magdalen: Myth and Metaphor; Kahane, Henry, and Renée Kahane, written in collaboration with Angelina Pietrangeli, The Krater and the Grail; Malvern, Marjorie M., Venus in Sackcloth: The Magdalen’s Origins and Metamorphoses; Michell, John, and Christine Rhone, Twelve-Tribe Nations and the Science of Enchanting the Landscape; Olschki, Leonardo, The Grail Castle and Its Mysteries; Pagels, Elaine, The Gnostic Gospels; Picknett, Lynn, Mary Magdalene: Christianity’s Hidden Goddess; Picknett, Lynn, and Clive Prince, The Templar Revelation; Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ; Robinson, James M., general ed., The Nag Hammadi Library; Robinson, John J., Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry; Schonfield, Hugh J., The Essene Odyssey; Shah, Idris. The Sufis; Smith, Morton, The Secret Gospel; Stein, W.J., The Ninth Century and the Holy Grail; Subhan, John A., Sufism: Its Saints and Shrines; Wolfram von Eschenbach, Parzival; Weston, Jessie, The Quest of the Grail.
Plasma Balls -
Key to UFO Origins and Life on Earth?
I was intrigued to read recently in NEW SCIENTIST that scientists in
Romania have been able to create layered spheres of gaseous plasma which
are able to grow, replicate and communicate with each other. Moreover,
their existence is being hailed as radical new evidence of how life
might have begun on this planet. Yet over and beyond this is the possibility
that their discovery could throw light on the nature of certain UFO
phenomena, namely earthlights.
For years biologists have believed that living cells are generated through
a complicated process that requires the lengthy evolution of chemicals
which takes millions of years, starting with primary molecules and ending
with amino acids, primitive proteins and then what might be described
as an organised structure. Yet Romanian scientists led by Mircea Sanduloviciu
of Cuza University now believe that the self-organisation of cell-like
structures can occur in a mere matter of microseconds.
Examining the supposed environmental conditions which were thought to
exist on earth before life began, when the planet was subjected to constant
electric storms causing ionised gases called plasmas to form in the
atmosphere, the scientists attempted to re-create such gaseous plasmas
in the laboratory. They projected a pair of electrodes into a chamber
filled with low-temperature plasma of argon. This is a gas whereby some
of the atoms have been split into electrons and charged ions. A high
voltage was applied to the electrodes by Sanduloviciu and his colleagues,
and this instantly created an arc of energy that sparked across the
gap between them, like a mini lightning strike. The result of this was
the creation of an intense concentration of ions and electrons that
accumulated at the positively charged electrode, producing the aforementioned
spheres, each of which was made up of two layers - the outer one of
negatively charged electrons and an inner one of positively charged
ions. Contained inside was the inner nucleus made up of gas atoms. The
size and lifespan of the spheres was dependant upon the energy created
by the initial spark, meaning that they could be anything between a
few micrometres and three centimetres in diameter.
Apparently, a distinct boundary layer which confines and separates an
object from its environment is deemed one of the four principal criteria
that defines a living cell, causing Sanduloviciu to investigate whether
any of the other criteria for living cells could be established with
respect to the spheres. They included the ability to communicate information,
to replicate, to metabolise and to grow. As a result of new experiments,
the scientist discovered that they do indeed have the ability to split
in two, and under certain conditions to enlarge by acquiring neutral
argon atoms and dividing them into ions and electrons to replenish their
boundary layers. More significantly, Sanduloviciu found that they could
actually communicate information through emitting electromagnetic energy,
causing the atoms within other spheres to vibrate at a particular frequency.
Although it is accepted that the spheres are by no means the only things
to meet all of these requirements, they could be classed as the first
gaseous ‘cells’. Sanduloviciu is now of the opinion that
such spheres might have been the first cells on earth, being created
within the primordial storms. ‘The emergence of such spheres seems
likely to be a prerequisite for biochemical evolution,’ he commented
on his findings.
Seeing that electrical storms produce plasma balls, known generally
as ball lightning, which have often been compared with strange light
phenomena witnessed by individuals all over the world, might the spheres
created by Sanduloviciu reflect microscopic versions of such energy
forms? If so, then his discovery that the layered spheres are able to
communicate information to each other through emitting electromagnetic
energy, making other spheres vibrate at the same frequency, is also
highly significant. The effects of electro-magnetic pulses are a common
feature in UFO lore, and have been cited in connection with the creation
in the human mind of so-called abduction or time loss experiences, especially
by American scientist Michael Persinger. Such pulses are able to stimulate
areas of the brain not usually used resulting in the production of visionary
or dreamlike sequences which might just help explain encounters with
alleged extra-terrestrial entities or intelligences.
So if earthlights or unidentified light forms are thus the big brothers
of Sanduloviciu’s spheres of gaseous plasma, then his findings
indicating that they can communicate with each other and are intelligent
in their own right, suggests that this is the true nature of alien contact
either on a microcosmic or macrocosmic level. I admit I don’t
know enough about this topic to be able to comment further, but I do
feel there is enough here to raise a debate among those interested in
the origins of the UFO phenomena. (Source NEW SCIENTIST website 17 September
03. Thanks to Adam Crowl for bringing the original report to my attention).
ARE Symposium
on Psychic Questing
For those in the United States, I shall be doing a two-day workshop
on psychic questing, complete with a series of meditations using creative
visualisation, at the ARE headquarters at Virginia Beach, Virginia,
between 9th and 11th July 2004. The programme reads as follows:
PSYCHIC
QUESTING: Use Your Intuition, Dreams and Psychic Work to Locate Lost
Treasures. Psychic Questing as re-invented
by our speaker, Andrew Collins, is a specific meditative way to explore
ancient archeological sites as well as other mysteries from the past.
For thousands of years enlightened individuals all over the world who
were inspired to find hidden relics have used similar processes and
methods of discovery. You will learn about the ancient treasures discovered
through this method and you will use the technique to explore on your
own. Training in advanced visualization techniques will enable you to
experience the moment of first creation through the multi-faceted “Crystal
of First Creation.”
How does psychic questing work? What do I need to do? How
can I get involved?
You will learn to develop your capability to attune to ancient and sacred
sites through special meditations. You will also learn how to work with
psychics and psychic information, and how to look for cues to begin
actual questing work in the field.
Meditation
Workshops
You will begin with a series of brief yet very specific visualizations
- easy exercises - that gradually become harder and harder, such as:
visualizing holding a rose, passing into and out of a matchbox, seeing
a cube from all sides, holding your concentration on one thing, and
attempting to hit a target site. The weekend includes several of these
experiential, targeted workshops.
For more information and registration go to www.edgarcayce.org/conferences. During this same period Sue and I will be accompanying Greg and Lora Little to Memphis via Point Pleasant, West Virginia, where in 1966 UFO writer John Keel began investigating claims of alleged mothman sightings, leading eventually to the book THE MOTHMAN PROPHECIES (1975), popularised recently in the block-busting film of the same name. Hopefully, we should be able to visit the abandoned TNT plant, which was the scene of one of the most dramatic sightings of mothman during this period. Strangely, on the same trip, we will probably visit Graceland - which should be a culture shock, if ever there was one!
Strange Attractor
I recently received for review issue one of a brand new monograph journal
entitled STRANGE ATTRACTOR, put together mainly by Mark Pilkington,
better known for his work in FORTEAN TIMES, and crop circle artist John
Lundberg. It styles itself an anthology of writings on esoteric culture,
art, anthropology and literature, and certainly from the eclectic selection
of articles, set against a backdrop of beautiful Victorian-style artwork,
there is much here for everyone. For me, the pieces which most took
my interest were: ‘The Psychology of Electronic Voice Phenomena’,
‘Imaginary Cults of London’, ‘H P Lovecraft, 9/11
and the Return of the Great Old Ones’, ‘Greenham Common
and Mind Control’, ‘Eric Count Stenbock & the Myth of
Punch’ and ‘Monte Veritas: 19th Century Artists’ Commune’.
All very good, and all worth the GBP £2 cover price for those
in the UK (GBP £3 for Ireland and GBP £4 for USA and the
rest of the world). Suggest that you check out the STRANGE ATTRACTOR
website at www.strangeattractor.co.uk,
or write to STRANGE ATTRACTOR JOURNAL, PO Box 961, Devizes, Wiltshire
SN10 2TS, UK.
Musical Things
I can say that rumours concerning the new release of brand new material
from the Nephilim are true, and would advise those interested to keep
their eyes on the official site at
www.fields-of-the-nephilim.com for any announcements in this respect.
I recently spoke at the Thelema Beyond Crowley symposium, organised
by Mick Staley and Caroline Wise (who got married recently - congratulations
to you both), and was approached afterwards by Darryl Kruger of gothic
rock act DESCENDANTS OF CAIN, which, I have to admit, I had not heard
of before. He gave me a CD sampler entitled ‘The Book of Changes’,
which is a prelude to the band’s new album ‘Yetzirah’,
inspired apparently by my work, particularly FROM THE ASHES OF ANGELS
(1996). One track, entitled ‘The Real’ is dedicated to me,
which is nice, and it’s excellent as well! I like what I have
heard so far, and so check out their existing albums ‘Atziluth’
and ‘Briah: Of Man and Magician’, the second of which is
available via the band’s website at www.descendantsofcain.co.uk
. Other music on the CD player recently: Finish rockers Him’s
‘Love Metal’; Guns n’ Roses ‘Greatest Hits’;
The Rasmus ‘In the Shadows’, Scissor Sisters ‘Comfortably
Numb’, Snow Patrol ‘Run’, Keane ‘Somewhere only
we know’, and US DJ/producer Armen van Helden’s sleazy but
brilliant 70s disco stomp ‘Hear my name’, featuring rising
NY electro girl duo SPALDING ROCKWELL.
My Old Books
Seems as if copies of my old books are still commanding high prices.
You can obtain copies of THE SEVENTH SWORD, the original hardback (Century,
1991) from around £40 upwards on ABE
Books, although prices do rise to around £150, while copies
of THE BLACK ALCHEMIST first edition (ABC Books, 1988) generally go
for between £30 and £100. My books are also very often available
on eBay. For instance, a copy of my 1982 booklet THE SWORD AND THE STONE
(about the Green Stone story) went on there for GBP £79. I do
still intend to publish a brand new version of THE BLACK ALCHEMIST,
but its all about time, as I was late delivering the manuscript for
the Grail book. This has led straight in to promoting QuestCon04, and
so I have not had time to do too much else at the moment, but it will
happen I promise!
Montague Keen
I was saddened to hear of the unexpected death of Montague Keen (1925-2004),
the agronomist, journalist and long-time member and psychic researcher
for the Society of Psychical Research (SPR). Indeed, he died in January,
just two months after he spoke at QuestCon03 on the subject of the activities
surrounding the Scole Group, who produced extraordinary evidence of
physical paranormal manifestations during the mid to late 1990s. His
was the author of the Scole Report, published in the Proceedings of
the SPR in 1999, written in collaboration with Professors Arthur Ellison
and David Fontana. He was also adviser for three years to the Centre
of Crop Circle Studies (CCCS), but left to concentrate his efforts on
proof of survival. He collapsed of a heart attack whilst speaking from
the audience during a debate on telepathy between his good friend Rupert
Sheldrake and Lewis Wolpert at the Royal Society of Arts in London.
I always found him a fount of knowledge, wisdom and understanding, with
an incredible patience and compassion for others. My condolences go
out to his family; he will be greatly missed.
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Mickey Mouse in Church Art Archaeologists are baffled by the discovery on a 700-year old church wall in Malta, Carinthia, modern southern Austria, of a mural which looks dangerously like Walt Disney creation Mickey Mouse. The resemblance is striking, raising the question of which came first - the church art or the cartoon character! Looking at it another way, perhaps the artist who created this image was inspired by a vision of the future as seen through the eyes of a Walt Disney fan. Either that, or Walt Disney was inspired to create Mickey following visions of this mouse-headed anthromorph revered by the townspeople of Malta, Carinthia several hundred years ago. You judge! (Source: Ananova at www.ananova.com) |
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