EARTHQUEST NEWS

The Andrew Collins and Questing Conference Newsletter

Vol. 7, No. 2, Autumn 2004

 

Greetings to Everyone ...

Just to let you know that Virgin Books have now published my new book TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL, which is available in shops and from Amazon. Signed copies are available from me either using the website's secure online ordering service or by post. For full details, plus two breakdowns of what the book is about, one long the other briefer, go to www.andrewcollins.com.


TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL
The Grail book does away with old out-of-date theories on the nature of this most precious of holy vessels. For instance, it dismisses the medieval stories concerning Joseph of Arimathea coming to these shores bringing with him either the Grail or two cruets containing the blood and sweat of Christ. It shows that the original guardians of the Grail were John the Evangelist, whose symbol is the Poison Chalice out of which emerges the Gnostic serpent of wisdom, and Mary Magdalene, whose vessel containing the spikenard used to anoint Jesus before the Crucifixion, became a container for Jesus's blood. Both individuals, as well as both vessels, merged as one in the Early Church, creating virtually an androgyne figure holding the cup or chalice. Moreover, John's followers might even have seen Mary Magdalene as the writer of the proto-form of the Fourth Gospel, traditionally John's Gospel, which was revered by the Gnostics, Templars and Cathars. In here it refers to the writer only as the Beloved Disciple, who leans upon Jesus's breast during the Last Supper, and witnessed the Crucifixion from the base of the Cross. Although I would not go so far as to accept this hypothesis it at least shows the close relationship between the two figures, who are so intimately concerned with each other in apocryphal lore (their marriage at Cana, their retirement together in Ephesus, their identity as Jesus's Disciple). It was this dual relationship which filtered into renaissance Europe and was exploited by the likes of painters such as Leonardo da Vinci in his The Last Supper and Albrecht Durer.

These ideas form just one small part of the Grail book, which is a personal quest to discover the Holy Grail, which culminates with me becoming guardian of what is arguably the most authentic Grail cup in Britain today. I will leave the story for now, as I don't want to spoil the ending for everyone. All I can say is that book is the first questing style book I have done since THE SECOND COMING back in 1993. It is in hardback format, and since there is no guarantee that it will appear in paperback I do suggest that if you want a copy it is purchased now. Judging by the obscene prices of my other questing books such as THE BLACK ALCHEMIST and THE SEVENTH SWORD, I surmise this would be a worthy investment.

COMING TALKS
In addition to my presentation on the Holy Grail at the upcoming QuestCon04 (see below), I shall be giving just two talks this year, and both of them are on the subject of the Grail. The first of these is on Tuesday, 12th October at the London Earth Mysteries Circle (LEMC), The Diorama Centre, 34 Osnabugh Street, London NW1 between 7.30 pm and 9pm. Admission is £3.50 for non-members and £2 for members (concessions available). The nearest tube stations are Great Portland Street (4 mins), Regents Park (5 mins) and Warren Street (6 mins). Buses are - 10, 18, 24, 27 29, 30, 73, 134, 135 & C2. For further information contact Rob Stevenson, the LEMC organiser, on lemc@ic24.net

The second talk will take place at The Book Inn, 49 Broadway West, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on Thursday, 14th October between 7-9 pm. Admission is £2 (redeemable against the purchase of a copy of TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY GRAIL from The Book Inn).. For further information contact the shop on + 44.1702.716614 (01702.716614), email thebookinn@btconnect.com Tickets will be available from the shop in advance, and I strongly advise you to get one.

QUESTCON04
Other than this it should be a quiet autumn making plans for QuestCon04, which will take place on Saturday, 6th November and Sunday, 7th November. The speakers' list remains as given on the flyer and online, with other key speaker/authors from all over the world asking whether they could take part. However, what they don't realise is that these events are planned a year or more in advance, and that I am now booking speakers for 2005. Already I have three top people lined up - two of them novices to the event. No details until next year.

Tickets for QuestCon04 are £30 in advance and £32 on the day (with further breakdowns for those wishing to attend the special Green Stone 25th Anniversary event in the evening). These can be obtained either by credit card from Atlantis Bookshop on +44.1702.405.2120 (0207.405.2120), by secure online ordering service via the website. Take a look at the website as it is all there, complete with a breakdown of all presentations and the speakers behind them. www.andrewcollins.com

ASHES SEQUEL
With the promotion of the GRAIL book and QuestCon04 out the way, I look forward to commencing my next book, which I can exclusively reveal will be the long-awaited sequel to FROM THE ASHES OF ANGELS. Recently, I had the chance with my wife Sue to go to eastern Turkey, former Kurdistan, where we visited what can only be described as the oldest temples in the world. I speak of 11,000 year old megalithic complexes that display a level of sophistication unattested until several thousand years later. A full diary report of our trip there in May-June is soon to be posted online, and this will give you a taster of where exactly I am going next. It is hoped that I can return out there within the next year to complete the research begun already.

Harran's enigmatic Astronomical Tower. See 'Seven Days in Kurdistan' for further details. (pic credit: Andrew Collins)


MOTHMAN, MOUNDS AND MEMPHIS
In addition to going to Kurdistan this summer, Sue and I were also able to spend some quality time in the United States, after I was asked to deliver a key series of talks and meditations on psychic questing at the headquarters of the ARE (Association for Research and Enlightenment), the public branch of the Edgar Cayce Foundation in Virginia Beach, VA. With our friends Greg and Lora Little, we travelled on to Point Pleasant, West Virginia, home of Mothman, before taking time to examine the extraordinary earthworks and mounds constructed by the Hopewell peoples mostly in Ohio and Kentucky during the first millennium BC. From here we went on to Memphis, where Greg and Lora live, and visited Gracelands and Sun Studio. A full account of this trip will be posted online in due course.


CAN YOU HELP
Since I shall be going into some specialist fields for my next book, I do require some assistance with certain areas of research, and wondered whether there is anyone out there who might be able to help me about any of the following subjects:

a) Asian-Indian and East Asian starlore,

b) the most ancient Chinese records and sacred texts with particular reference to cosmology and star mythology,

c) Australian aboriginal starlore and cosmology.


THE BLACK ALCHEMIST
That's it for the moment. Please excuse me if you have sent me an email or letter over the past few months, as I haven't had the chance to answer any queries. This has stemmed from a preoccupation in other areas, which has set me back almost a year. For this I apologise. I do appreciate receiving correspondence, and do read everything, but only occasionally am I in a position to reply directly.

I also apologise for not having done anything about producing a new version of THE BLACK ALCHEMIST. I simply have not had the time, and can only hope that this will be available to me over the next year or so. I thank the hundreds of you who have written in asking me to secure them copies. To you I can say only bear with me. One day it will happen. I promise!

Will be in touch again about QuestCon04, but don't delay if you want tickets. Book now!

Andrew Collins