W O O D & W A T E R An occasional newsletter of sacred Wells and Springs .NUMBER THREE WINTER 1979/80

I N T H I S I S S U E

Bureaucracy and wild water Neoeton - a Pagan vision Ancient Wisdom from China

P L U S . . . Literary section Poetry Short Story

and much else

Wood & Water 38 Exmouth St Swindon Wiltshire SN1 3PU England

WOOD & WATER 3. *.. WINTER 1979/80 Occasional newsletter of saci-ad wells and springs...............

• EDITORIAL

There is no truth in the rumour that we're closing down for lack ox contributions ! However, this issue lias been greatly delayed while we've been waiting for material, and eventually we've decided to produce it anyway, though nearly all ox it has been thrown together by your ,editors. Once again we stress to all our readers: please let us have your articles, letters, comments, snipoets of information or whatever ! We have not set out to write a magazine ourselves, to be merely a vehicle for our own ideas and prejudices; WS-.W is conceived of as mainly a newsletter to serve a network of people dedicated to preserving the sacredness, the lore and the beauty of our wells and springs. It is also attempting to be a forum for varied opinions and ideas about "paganism" and the spiritual aspect of Earth Hystéries ....so it's vital that our readership become actively involved to make it a shared effort. You can make this newsletter much more interesting than we can! '

We've included several poems and a story in this issue, so it has acquired a literary flavour. It's good to receive poems and other "intuitive" or "emotional" pieces, as well as more "factual" or scholarly work.

This issue also includes further details of the W&W Gathering to be held in Yorkshire next spring. We have had quite a few bookings al-ready, but we'd welcome more. It will be a great opportunity for readers to meet face-to-face and talk over a lot of ideas: so come if you can.

OBITUARIES

I-ICWlisMRD Shortly after W&W2 went out last August, we had the sad news that Picwinnard had ceased publication» We gathered that this', had some-thing to do with pressure of work on the editor Vince Russett and lack of committment to the magazine by one or more of the regular contributors. Tis is a great pity, as Picwinnard was full of origin-ality and energy and was very highly thought of by a great many people. We hope Vince may be able to revive it some day. '

ALBION Just befox-e going to press we heard that the recently-started magaz-ine Albion has also expix ed. We're sorry about that, as we felt that Albion's radicalism, its mixture of satire and' "serious" pagan comment,-.filled a gap in the small mags scene. Some people have been shocked by its anarchist flavour and by certain of its emphases, which only, goes to show that it was succeeding in stirring things up and forcing people to look from a different angle. It would appear that the reason for its demise was largely economic, but that in itself suggests rather less support than its editor Rigel Pennick had hoped for. Perhaps the world isn't ready for it yet!

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BUHEAUCiîÀCY Ai«H liAGIC WAïi-.-.-iS

Our wells and springs are steadily disap earing. Readers of WSoW often write to us of their disap ointaont, on finding the site of a well, to discover that it has been capped off, filled in, or has degenerated into a muddy patch at the edge of a field. Usually the individual farmer or landowner is not to blame; the well owes its decay to the heavy hand oí bureaucracy, aairily in the form of the 'Water Board, but also represented by the Ministry of Agriculture. Streams are diverted or culverted, land is drained, "obsolete" sources of .water such as wells are disposed of. Yet the attitude to water that leads to main pipelines, huge reservoirs and sewage works is not as coldly clinical and rational as it may at first seem. I suspect that even in the minds of the most efficient government official, the most zealous industrialist or the most logical town-dweller there remain traces of old fears and magical associations with the power of water; pa.rticule.rly well water that springs so directly from the ground. „Here are a few examples of the bureau-cratic attitudes to the magic of water: there are also interesting attitudes to other sacred and ancient sites or manifestations, but someone else can write that article.

Firstly, the anarchic tendency of water. It tends to go its own way, and the immediate response is to try to "tame" it, control it and standardise it as much as possible. But this isn't always easy to do, and such schemes (notably on rivers) often get out of hand. It also presents itself freely to all, regardless of wealth or posi-tion. This intolerable situation is corrected by discouraging the use of "natural" water from local wells, and by trying to get every household to use mains water-. If you use a local well or stream, you still have to pay water rates. Farmers are often reluctant to acknowledge the existence of a well on their land, as they'd have to pay an extra-rate if it was discovered. This can be frustrating for well-seekers. Governments suspect the qualities of elusive-ness and'surprise that water has, and they feel a need to claim ownership of it in order to break the spell.

Now in spite of scientific scepticism of the paranormal and the spiritual, the government employs dowsers to search for new water supplies(this happens all over the world). Money is paid out for an act of natural magic that cannot be explained by science -because a good dowser is far more accurate than a geologist or a computer. Dowsing tends to be regarded as a special gift, and the

servantaand ^ L ^ l ^ ™ ' *hat v o u l d h ^ n "¿very top civil servit and scientistdiscovered the dowser in themselves?

^ ^ U ^ - ^ S Á c ^ H ^ - ^ ' ^ ^ ^ "*• the contents of es s s C a ul^on, is inexhaustible; that it can be exploited

and-wasted but still replenish itself. In a sense, that may be true in the long ran (see below), but in the short term it's a fallacy. Water is drained from the land at an ever-increasing ríate: the _ water table drops lower every year. Many species of wildlife die, including shallow- ¡oted trees. A long spell of dry weather causes an acute water shortage, as in 1976. And yet the draining and pumping and industrial wastage of water goes on. The upper Thames is disappearing; it has gone from the Gotswolds now, end is no more than a muddy trickle"not far above Cricklade, near Swindon.

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.aid wells dry up, never to be replenished.

The idea that water is disposable leads to its pollution. In this case, water takes on the magical quality of getting rid of anything unwanted. The fact that it only dumps the. stuff elsewhere is ignored as much as possible; the magical "disappearing" quality persists in many people's minds. So"many poisonous chemicals (e.g. agricultural nitrates),are dumped that can't be purified out, that soon the only water left safe to drink may be from remote wells..... In the summer of 1976, in the intensively farmed and chemicalled area of East Anglia, mothers were told not to give their babies tap water: it wasn't safe! Bottled water was provided, thus increasing the reliance of people on centralised authorities for the necee-:.ities of life. Could this be the beginning of a trend?

watex" can be made the vehicle for compulsory mass-medication as well as poisoning. This idea delights some and terrifies others. Good or bad magic may be worked on whole populations, with or without their consent. The Prime Minister has declared her intent-ion of making the addition of fluoride to the water supply compul-sory all over the country (August 1979). That raises all sorts of questions. Why, in spite of mounting evidence linking fluoride with significant^ higher cancer deaths, is there such a fanatical lobby of scientists and bureaucrats in its favour? Do we glimpse again something of the magical power of water, the power that its total control can give to a few?

What, then, of sacred wells and springs? As we've seen, the bureaucratic and capitalist mind is not neccs arily "rational" (the human mind is never totall3r so). But ancient sacred water shrines are at best ignored or at worst destroyed wilfully. We're expected to make do with municipal fountains where we can throw coins in aid of the local "Round Table". However, there is some evidence that the powers that be have not really ignored the uniqueness of our sacred springs, and even fear them in a funny sort of way.

It seems that a real difference has been discovered between two sorts of water on Earth. Geologists and scientists have made this discovery, but are remarkably silent about it. One sort of water originates from .condensation of water vapour from seas and lakes etc., falling as rain. This creates what is known as the"water table" which rises and falls. The other sort issues from the depths of the Earth, mysteriously created there, feeding the seas and coming to the surface as a special typa of well or spring, rich in minerals. They call this "primary water". Dowsers have always known about it: it flows in veins di_ep within the Earth, creating complex patterns of energ3r. Many sacred sites are placed in accor-dance with this pattern, or where the water springs out of the ground. It is feared by the powerful patria lechal instituions because they can't account for it, and it heals and energises in a way that can't be easily explained»

In 19571 while the foundations of Harlem Hospital, Mew York, were being built, a huge gush of watei' suddenly appeared.(1) It flowed at a continuous rate of 16o- gallons a minute, and throughout a very cold winter its tempex'ature remained constant at68 degrees F. i-o-one could trace the source of this water, even after several experiments putting dye into other local water to see if it appeared page 4

in the r, wly - iecov red spring. It didn't. The water was analysed and f-'une to be beautifully pute- hevertholess, ¡;hc sprine eas not diverted to be usee in the hospit .1. .¡.'ht outlet was plugged with concrete blocks, ana the building expensively reinforced to cope with the water pressure.

To pagans it is obvious that the unlockod-for fountain was a gift from the Earth to be used in he.ling the sick in the hospital: but modern science couldn't handle the idea. hen another spring mysteriously appeared in Lourdes in 1S5o the established Church die all it could to hush up the .affair \nd to discredit tee peasants who claimed its miraculous powers; but the enthusiasm of the people could not be quelled and so the authorities had to accept (and inevitably take over!) who pilgrimages. The Lourdes spring has worked undoubted healing, but its special properties defy analyees. The Harlem spring was nev r given a chance.

¡. : J. jury i.\. 1 X... d ..!..- I 1" — W X .Uj.. A.JTÍL ' j

1) F. hitching: The World vtlas of Mysteries pp 93-95

WELLS AaD SPAS - SOME PROBLEMS

We nearly had an article on St. Ann's Well, ottingham, in this issue. Our Nottingham correspondent writes:

"Have researched a lit le into this, and it se.ms that the actual well has long since be. n cove-red by a railway embankment (¿ottingham to Lincoln line? Eds.). The earliest printed reference is about 1810-20 where it describes it as 'a popular watering place for...»kings and....gentry etc'. It did in fact have ¿one ort of palace or big house, in which lived various high!powered-type churchpcople , and one bloke apparently used to use it every day or something. ....I'm afraid there's little chance of my producing any-thing before the nev; year, say. This is partly due to unavailability of information (i.e. I never have time after school) and p .rtly because there simply isn't any information on the well itself really...."

Our correspondent's struggles with this mat,erial raise some inter-esting questions (leaving aside th: obvious ones of the general non-existence of written information about wells, and an "educational" system that rejects a student's interest in bona fide original research in favoux1 of the mindlese grind of the examination mill.) Two questions are, we f< el, significant, and would repay further research. One is the survival of pi .ce-names, in contrast to the non-surviv.l of the wel:s embodied in the place names. "St.Annes", as an area» of Nottingham, has long been thriving and famous, or at least notorious. Built as part of Nottingham's mid-1pth century expansion (into the tightly limited areas permitted by the close control and ownership of sumounding land) to house stoc'eingers rind other artisans working in newly-centralised industries, St. Annes was the subject, in the early 1960s, of a study of poverty and urban deprivation, in n community which even then vans being broken up by the planners. „1. Annes

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now is another (hoped-for) classic, this time of urban re-develop-ment which is intended to set . standard for tie future» Embodying new sociological ideas about ''defensible space" (!) and privacy, some of the new estate climes down (or up) the steep valley sides in the supposed style of an Italian village, the sun glinting off its wet roofs. however, ..¡any locals still regret the demise of the St. Anne's Well Inn, an authentic city pub and focus of the Real Ale revolution in Nottingham. Somewhere under, or through it all broods the spirit of the bell. Has the area, somehow, always been energised by power from this long-lost and buieied site? be suspect there may be many place-names which perpetuate the memory of wells and which seem to be pieces of significance and vigour. Do readers know of other examples, and would anybody be interested in doing some research on this?

The other question is the orie ebout spas. There is n clear connect-ion between the "holy" wate.s ob a sacred well and the "healig" or "healthy" pieperties of spa water, to be se n simply in the spas that grew up around sacred sites. The city of Bath, unusually, seems te have done it without any Christianisatien of the site between iagan and modern times. But in general, the link is complex and unclear» be don't even know what information there is on the development of various spas. fherc is r. little information on our heme locality of Wiltshire. From the late 18th century onwards seme large (and some quite sa, ill) Wiltshire towns opened centres for "taking the waters". in some cases it is clear that the supply was artificially obtained (i.e. wells were dug) though there may have been older and respected springs on the site. In other cases there were known to be health-giving springs or wells there before the commercial! process of "spa-ification ' began, and in several cases it is recorded that the source had previously been "in. the care of an old woman" - one of the known markers of sacred source. I further complexity is the relationship between ancient "holiness" and modern "health"'. Does this lie simply in the cultural mores of a rationalist 18th century which insisted on seeing health as a matter of chemicals, rejecting the wise woman and her cures?^ Or is it the case that wells revered as sacred were, in terms of modern analysis, also sources of water with physical healing properties?

And what of the spas now? The Wiltshire ones have had their day (though even in the 1950s the owner of the pump-house in Purton Stoke near Swindon hadn't entirely written it off!), and so have many ethers. Modern medicine relegates the taking of these (chemical) waters to the status of fringe healing, along with such things as Homeopathy and Acupuncture. Presumably this places reverence fer water for its spiritual properties at an even further remove of "silliness" ( from "sole" , an archaic word meaning "hapoinoss, prosperity"!). bet it is (or was until recently) poss-ible^ to take the waters on the national Health in certain circum-stances, .eionie of the great Spas are doing all right as generally healthy olaces to be in, but all too often their waters arc locked away behind ears or gLess plates, the pump-r~cro \ mere disce. How many will succumb to the t©gody of Bath, whose mysteriously "polluted" eaters are pren mnced by the establishment tc be un-_ drink blG (see Hilarv's article elsewhere in this is ue fer a view of the establishment'). All in all there ere lot of complicated issues that n.e-d lacking at, 'hat it n eds is for someone with time, ind a taste for energetic research .nd spa water, to begin looking !

fi r ï j .e.DblbLD page 6

Jo O'Cleirigh, the author of this article, is the instigator of Nemoton, a pagan Group forming in Kerncw. In Fart I of this important article he discusses what he sees as the central themes of Paganism and his own growing awareness of them. Part II will follow in the next issue of Wood & Water.

When in the 1960s I began to realise that my religious views were being transformed into the pagan mould (full commitment was not made, until the Winter of 1970) one thing which held me back was the sheer complex-ity of the pagan inheritance, and its motifs: what was one to make of it all ?How could you relate to such a multiplicity of symbols and divine manifestations? The feeling was there as it had been since childhood -born of numinous experiences induced by the sheer beauty and wonder of Nature Herself, yet though emotionally so attracted the mind had not yet fathomed it; and the more you read, in many ways the more confused you became! For ages as it seemed I struggled to make some coherent whole out of the studies I made, and my own inner feelings» One thing which troubled me about this complexity was that I had long believed that true religion should be equally available to the simple and unletterd as to 'the learned end sophisticated. Those with curious minds would always delve and analyse, and that was fine and often fascinating, yet it could not be a condition of entry into religion as such, for,true spirituality was freely available to all who were open to its message and its grace. The continuity of pagan ways is related directly to the survival of genuine peasant peoples - they are the Fagani; those who live in the country and follow the old ways no matter if a Christianity or a commun-ism is imposed on them from above. S if the study of paganism to modern urban people is complicated, it is probably because most moderns have no 'feel' for the rhythms and laws of the natui'al world upon which pagani; is based. My guide here was the poet Robert Graves in that inspired thoug] difficult book The White Goddess. Yet I must have read it carelessly the first and second time because the significance of a crucial passage was not then noticed by me. Graves seems to have been introduced to the idea ey another poet, the Welsh Alun Lewis, who wrote just before his death in Burma in 1944 of " the single poetic theme of life and death ... the question of what survives of the beloved " - the elements of the single infinitely variable theme found in so many of the myths. Here is the relevant passage which first helped me to make sense of The White Goddess and much else:

The Theme, briefly, is the antique story which falls into thirteen chapters and an epilogue, of the birth, life, death and resurrestion of the God of the Waxing Year; the central chapters concern the God's

losing battle with the God of the Waning Year for the love of the capricious and all-powerful Threefold Goddess, their Mother, Bride and layer-out. The poet identifies himself with the God of the waxing Year and his Muse with the Goddess; the rival is his bleed brother, his other self, his Weird .... the three main characters are so much a part of our racial inheritance that they not only assert themselves as poetry, but recur on occasions of emotional stress in the form of dreams, paranoiac visions and delusions." (1)

All true myth, and the deepest strata of folklore were variations on a single theme. So for me the 'long-barred door' was open. My Roman Catholic upbringing had already introduced rne to some of the elements in this theme , principally the divine child born in the d ad of winter - the btar Child called Jesus by christians. His birth, life, death and resurr-ection is part of the christian inheritance. But digging deeper into the history of religion we discover that this same divine figure may be recognised in the earlier Osiris, adonis, Attis, Tammuz, Dienysos and

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the rest of the 'year gods ' i only the n->mes are different. Bishop Theocrastus in the second century knew how deeply the memory of the old gods were held, to by the people , and he it was who first established that Christ's birth should be celebrated on Oecembex 25th - the birth day of Mithras close to the Winter Solstice. This god is a personification of the Spirit of the Year manifested by the sun growing in strength from winter into summer followed by its decline, and also the cycle of vegeta-tion through spring into summer maturity and autumn 'death' in harvest. As the sun and the seeds spring again to life, so also does the God rise again from death. There are many examples in our own folklore of this link and its dramatic presentations, and a number of traditional folk songs and ceremonies celebrate this pagan re-enactment of death and resurrection which is so central to religion.

In Greece there is the old peasant woman who is quoted as saying: "If Christ does not rise tomorrow we shall have no harvest this year." (2) This ancient and Pagan emotion gives Greece - even Christian Greece - its atmosphere of suspense and excitement at Easter time. And in Víales up to 1880 you had the custom of carrying the King of Summer and the King of Winter; two boys being dressed with birch branches, only their faces being visible. Summer was crowned with bright ribbons, and Winter with holly. The procession was headed by a man with a drawn sword going from village to village and through farms. Dafydd ap Gwilym describes summer as a king on horseback invading woods and glens , and clothing all places with a web of green, and seems to be reflecting some symbolical process-ion» (3) Bob Stewart the folk singer, in his fascinating book "Where is St. George", shows how the theme survives in folk song and dance, with examples such as 'The Cutty Wren', 'The Two Brothers', 'The Padstow May Song' , the 'Corpus Christi Carol' and others. (4)

The theme is a way of picturing forth the great transformative energies of Nature in a seasonal sequence of little one act plays with the forces personified in British folklore , often as the King and his tanist or dark twin, and the Queen in her three aspects, his mother, lover, and layer-out. This brings a complex and inter-related life supporting system - the Biosphere, into the range of popular human comprehension, and makes it possible for us humans to focus our emotions on our relation-ship with Great Nature, presenting it to us in a way in which we can feel our oneness with it , and respond to that feeling.

From my Catholic background I also received the tradition of the Mother in Mary. The feminine influence had crept back into religion in a limited way over the centuries - evidence of that fundamental nostalgia of the people of the Mediterranean and Northern Europe for some form of goddess worship. Mary, in the Christian tradition, has also her aspect as layer-out, but as erotic lover she is not so represented. Again though, as with her divine son and lord, she may be recognised as an archetypal deity, especially by the innumerable titles which you find in her litany, her various attributes and dedications which link her with her Great Goddess forerunners. These include 'Star of the Sea' and 'Fount of Wisdom", and the many shrines to the Black Madonna; and her greatest title of 'Mother of God' was first applied to Mary the mother o<ff Jesus by the theologians of Alexandria, the great Egyptian centre of Isis worship, towards the close of the 3rd century. Shortly before AD 40u Epiphanius denounced the women of Thrace and elsewhere for worsipping Mary as an actual Goddess and offering cakes at her shrine. (5)

And so gradually I came to recognise the true nature and stature of the Goddess, She who is also the Muse of poets. Gary Snyder, a modern American poet and eco-pagan, points out in one of his books that the Goddess is that which:

"moves you, breaks through tee ego-barrier, and the archaic ritual dramas connected with her worship aim at breaking the boundaries of the e;- o , and expanding consciousness - the archaic

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end. primitive ritual dramas "which acknowledged ell sides of human nature, including tne destructive, demonic and ambivalent, were litera tin g and ha rmo ni sing»..." (6)

What a spiritual tapestry opens up to you when you culi the riches of Myth Poetry, history of religions and folklore. bow deep the wellsprings of our faith run in the strata of human ooneciousness and berth hexestory. Whatever advances we may feel we have made beyond, our 'primitive' and peasant forebears, in many ways we still share the same needs and emotions as they did. With all our increased knowledge ofthe world, life itself seems if anything more mysterious now than it probably did then. The little circle of light representing knowledge has grown apace, yet by virtue of its expansion it has increased its points of contact with the unknown, and the mystery deepens.

So while many perhaps today will oe capable of establishing some spiritual relationship with this most abstract and unknowebble spirit that is dis-cerned by logic , the majority still find the old personifications ana metaphors of the various religions a real help in focussing their human emotions, and though these images do not constitute the essence of the mysterious source of ell life, they do transmit that essence, acting as points of contact or bridges to the unknown. Gilbert Murray writing of the gods and how Pagans conceived of them says

"No doubt they are all ultimately forces, not persons, but for reasons beyond our comprehension they are manifest only under conditions of form, time and personality, and have so been x evealed and wox shipped and partly known by the great minds of the past."

For Pagans, thr personification of the central myth ox- theme seem the most suitable and informative because they dm not arise out of a vacuum, or the logic of men's minds only, but rather they are a poetic response to life, a flowering of the human psyche which draws together into a coherent whole and pictures forth the energies, tides, seasons and pattern of the natural world within our own human inner X- ulse. Thus helping to make us at one with hature - the same pulse of life that boats in all things from a tiny flower to the distant star. And if, as we believe, the Sacred is manifested in the creation, then to be ever more in harmony with it and all its life forms is our only hope of touching the ultimate sacrality of the Cosmos - and Great Spirit,

JO O'CLEIRIGH

(1) The White Goddess Robert Graves (2) Five Stages of Greek Religion Gilbert Murray (3) belsh Folklore T. Gwynn Jones (<4-) where is St» George? Bob Stewart (5) The I-aganism in our Christianity Arthur Woigall (6) Earth Household Gary Snyder ********* *********** ************************************ * * ************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * V * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

HAS YOUR SUBSCRIPTION RUN OUT? If there is an X in this box J '.". mTI-n AUOUTPP TQ W<3

4- .. XilJj Al, .OWJ_/I\- X O 1 X,e> Wood Sc Water keeps on happening in spite everything. The Gathering is coming up; we've got a listing in the Q directory, Spring is coming, the springs are overflowing, anything can happen. No, we won't be at Mind £ body this year, nor will we have a still at the Aquarian Fest (we could just about ai ford the area ox a floor tile) but who needs it?" With your support things will happen. Remember you're not just buying n magazine, you're linking up with a network of like-minde folk who are concerned in some small way to change the world. LOW take a deeo breath and tur- to p. 13 for subscription rates *•

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FOR BRIGHIL" OF THE oIL VER S beheb Me

Flowing deep in the Earth xor the kindled fire And the sacred well For the hope she guards through the dearth,

Find her in the snow-filled dell Where the old brown leaves lie still, Look fo her in the empfy woods Where the shoots are bidden But slowly as the fire grows, For her dark eyes are yet hide en.

GREG HILL * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

WINTER GODDESS

This is the dark season. Well water creeps under ice, leaves turn into mud forgetting greenness.

Beneath the black mad moon the banter Woman unpeels her flesh in the snow: the thighbone of death.

Frost cracks apart the stars they are close to earth tonight, and the seeds sleep underground.

My fingers are dry as sticks„ There is blood on the long mound footprints of blood that I follow to her hollow home;

my voice is the rattle of wind. She is raw as a flame, and with wide warm arms she waits for me.

HILARY LLEWELLYN WILLIAMS * * # * * * * * * >j; * * ;;; !; * * *

TO FETCH THEE HOME

Rain threatened all day but the sky remained leaden and cold. Driving up from the West Country hour after hour she watched the pallid haze in front expel trees, road signs, villages; while behind her the same grey distance swallowed them up again. Somewhere to the right were the challe hills she and Carl had walked last summer» Back again, she thought. Does something keep bringing you back to starting points, over and over, so you can choose again ?

The cottage seemed an age away, perched on its hillside with the sound of the sea and the wind. She had been ["lad to borrow it for this weekend -glad o£ a chance to try to get things in perspective. But now, on the road back, the perspective narrowed again: the grey haze swallowed her.

Names on road signs brought cameos of m-.mory of Inst summer. They bad walked the length of these hills, pitching their tent illicitly near cattletroughs for water. The sunlit days had been shadowed by resentment, tensions, argument. By winter, she and Carl bad parted. She had not realised till then how her life was lived through him: she scarcely knew who she was any more.

There was a name on an old ! fashioned finger-post, and she suddenly remem-bered the well They had never found the well itself, but at the end of a long , hhpt daj there was alittle wood marked "Lady Well" and "Chapel (Site of)" on the map„ Looking down from a high, conical hill she had insisted they went exploring. "It's late," Carl had objected, "It won't take us long," she said, and they had scrambled down the hill's strange terraces and across fresh stubble to look for the Lady's well. The wood was a tangle of bx'ambles , elder, nettles and ivy, criss-crossed with little paths, wholly magical. She splashed irto the stream, sank to her knees in decayed tree-mould, soaked her jeans and lost tra.ck of time or place» There was no sign of a well, and Carl was impatient. "We have to find n campsite", he said, "and anyway the bloody gnats are eating me alive." Later he told her that the well had probably been washed out years ago. "You know what the Ordnance Survey are- like". "Yes," she agreed, thinking of the green shade.

What Lady? see wondered now, and turned abruptly into the next lane on the right. It was nearly four o'clock, she was empty with fatigue, the sky was black. What well? What LadyV You must be mad, she told herselfj but smiled as she wound the car around the bends, back through the village and up into the hills , to a gateway she remembered and a grass verge where she parked and got out.

Her first sense was of enormous silence, and of a wet mist, faintly falling on her cheek. Go home ! ehe thought: but then, having come so far.... She got her coat from the car, climbed the gate and set off. Even along-side the hedge the going was muddy and difficult» She set her teeth and plodded on. She got to the first stile, and as she stepped down a Rare got up from under her feet and dashed into the field. It followed a regular little beaten path, almost straight,that led into the farther woods. The Hare slowed, stopped, sat down and looked at her. Almost at on^e she saw another, trotting casually down the field some distance away. It passed by the hedge, shook its ears, and then melted into the under-growth, then she reached the spot, there was another Here path curving over the newly-disced earth. It occurred to her that the little tracks in the wood might have been made by Hares too.

In the next field she saw the Hare again, or another, trotting on a parallel track some way ahead; moving more slowly than she as if enjoj ing the pull of the earth under its paws. " As she drew near she saw its bright eye focussed on her, though its pace did not chango.

Sne reached the wood and climbed through the wire. Winter gales had wrought havoc hee'e and the ground was choked with fallen timber. She was able to follow the network of paths down to the centre ob the wood: the stream was brimming and green with' cresses; grass, nettles and ground: ivy were sprouting underfoot o The winter had left this place weeks before, but it was dark now under the bare boughs. She stepped into the icy stream and began to wade up towards its source; and. as she did so a gust of wind stirred, the tree-tops.

Before, Carl had been talking loudly, snapping sticks and trampling about - as he had trampled about in her life for aoiong» Remembering, she felt sharply alone. This tangle of wood was her life, hedging her about with dimly perceived barriers. How could she start all over again? Hex1 eyes filled with tears as she forced her way in anger up to the hollow at the

page 11

top of tee weed.. H this had once be n ene "well there was no hope :aow. The bank had collapsed in a chute of subsoil; water surged, strongly up from the earth- a black stuiup thrust up over the hole., warning and phallic» Power flowed into her from out of the ground - her legs ached, she felt a sharp contraction inside her like a period pain. And now the storm arrived, sweeping in on a freshening wind with a rattle of rein on bare trees» what well? Blindly she slithered down from this place of too much power, into the darkness of the wood. What Lady? She fell, soaked. Rain fell in torrents. She dug her fingers into sodden moss. ho way. Fc way; at all.

Something - a subtle change in the light- made her look up» Brightness from the West fell on an unnoticed tributary of the main stream through o gap in the hedge where , silhouetted against the light , sat the Hare, its ears twxtching, seeming to look at her.

Numb, she scrambled up the bank.into the tributary stream and climbed towards the light. It was quieter"1 here, the rain less harsh. The Hare-sat still in *"he hedge. She felt sudden excitement, and laughed. "Here-puss, puss, puss!" The Hare did not move - then a gust of wind caught its ears and it became just a tangle of dead leaves in the hedge.

oho hit her shin on a stone, stumbled ..end fell against the bank, still tingling with excitement. It was o big stone; the bank she was sitting on was stone too. She sat for a long time.in the rain, nursing her leg, before she comperehended che way the stones made a broken curve , water pooling between them at her feet, She reached out and fingered away the moss and felt ancient masonry: saw the scattered and half-buried slabs, the line of a foundation wall; a flat sward where ancient paving lay under the grass.

She had arrived. She bent cupped hands to the water, and drank. Closing her eyes she tried to formulate some prayer of thanks, but all that came into her head were the words "This is mine..." Not uneherstand-ing, she rose and muved to the edge of the wood. Here the rain fell harder on a windswept landscape - but the Hare paths were clear, lumin-ous in the silver light. She smelt wind, earth, rain, her own body; her direction; even distantly the car and the tar of the road and . another, subtle scent far away, hard to identify. She set off on the Hare paths. They took her directly and easily, her feet pat-teredeeffort-Icssly instead of sinking in mud» Scents flooded in on her and the light grew silver and gold as the clouds broke.

How clear things were ! Thex-e was no past, no problem of the future, just the path and everything sloping av/ay from her easily , towards that far subtle scent that seeped around the edges of the clearing storm. Intoxica.ted, she reached the car with no memory of stiles or the acres of soaked ground» She stood, dripping, by the car door and heard laughter - her own. Her hands remembered the keys and how to open the door, her muscles started the machine and got it onto the road, while her ears listened to her own strange laughter and her eyes unravelled the colours of the sunset.

The road back to the village turned best and picked up the light in the sky; became a path of gold and silver, sweeping her down the hill in a kind of enclosed, golden silence» Into the silence, onto the golden road, stepped the Hare: turned to face tee car: met her eye for a second with its own, serene, unwinking»

There was a sickening thump. The wheels scrunched gravel arid the car slid to a standstill as Helen stamped on the brakes, got out and made her way back along the road.

"Puss, puss.»»oh, puss!" page 12

The Hare ley by the verge» There was very little bloed en the road. but a lot had r^n a,wry onto the grass. Hie animal felt limp and warm; it hardly looked injured, but its eyes were fil-..od with death, end there was mud. in its nose end mouth. Helen bent ever it, not crying, not any-thing, re-living those last few secones. "Why, puss? Why me?" she said, and pulled a handful of grass and wiped the earth from its muzzle. The head flopped under her hand; she stroked its whiskers, the unbreathing mouth. "Pine.»»" said the silent voice in her head again.

Presently she rolled the hare down into the long grass under the hedge , wiped her hands-, walked bac]-: to the car. The rain had stopped. Che cried a little. Behind the tears Helen locked cut on the world as if for the first time. The light had lost its magical brightness but she could ciearly see the solid hills, the lamps of the village. They looked real, substantial, and she felt a part of them. She breathed as if ehe had been rescued from drowning..

She remembered a pub in the village,'with a huge fireplace. She would. have a drink, and dry eutu If they did bed and breakfast she would stay the night. She would have a lovely hot bath. She would ring Jane and say she wanted the week off. It seemed so much was possible, and she needed time to think, to explore herself, to look in new directions. A life had been given to her1. Her own, not another's. "Mine... "

Pausing with her hand on the car door, Helen caught a trace of that far, elusive smell; like flowers, like sun after rain; soft hair; sweet breath of someone loved.

Like Spring.....

TONY PADFILLD *************************************************************************

MAGIC VbbTERS

Over the hill and across the field Alone in the light of early acra A hollow weithin a ring of trees Hazel, holly and twisted thorn.

Within the hollow a silent pool Such as no lilies might adorn, Waters clear and waters cool, Hazel, holly and twisted thorn.

Holy pool that healed the sick And washed both mother and new-born , waters sacired and magic , Hazel, holly and twisted thorn.

They dried the pool with new-laid drains, They ploughed the hollow with grinning scorn, They dragged the trees from the soxl with chains, Hazel, holly and twisted thorn.

GUY HAGLAND PHILLIPS ************************************************************************-'

V/OOD 8i WATER - an occasional newsletter of sacrée Wells and Springs. Single copies 40p post frj^jpL^l^JLi (preferably blank PCs) Three consecutive issues £lo55 (U.S. S/S)

Back issues. Issue 1 is out of print (as is the extremely rare leaflet Tssue that preceded Wo 1) A very few copies of issue 2 are still àvailabl

Wood & later 38 Exmouth St Swindon Wilts page 13

Guy Ra.g3.and Phillips looks at .. .

THREE GREAT BOOKS

Wood & Water is growing into a movement, and with the Gathering next Easter that move-ment is likely to gain momentum. But movement towards what? Not merely the preservation of wells- Central though that is, it is only central, just as the Vieil was the centre of a whole social and communal structure - the village - Li ancient life all over the world.

I believe it is that ancient structure that we have to aim at, "UtopianismI" will be the sneering reply. Veil yes, so it is - and more than that. If you read Genesis in your Bible you will see that that ancient structure is what vre had in "the Garden of Eden., That's where we ail went wrong, That's where ¿fee original sin took place sure enough, only it was nothing to do with fig-leaves and sex and something blamed on the woman by the man. The sin was the invention of power exercised by one person over others.

Power, not authority. Power to compel others to do something whether they wished to or not, whether they thought it was desirable or not. Power backed by punishment. Power which previously had been the prerogative of Divinity - and which, often enough, ivas now exercised falsely in the name of that Divinity. But not authority, for that lay in the mouths of those who had experience: parents as compared with children, or grand-parents as compared with the 'big family' as a whole. Authority is natural, and is recognised, not enforced. Power is unnatural and it damands fundamental distortions of 'reality to 'justify' it, distortions which have led in the end to huge naticn-states, huge international commercial and industrial concerns, huge pollution, and the danger of nuclear war. Our movement will have to eschew power like the devil, Humanity will liave to dissolve all power in order to survive, and will have to get back to the Garden of Eden.

This is by no means as far-fetched as is often pretended. Humanity has lived in the Garden for almost the whole of its existence on Earth so far. The sin, the invention of power, took place only about 4,000 years ago - only a moment in the human story. Genesis tells us something of what life in the Garden was like, but other accounts give us considerably more detail. Luckily the Chinese began v/riting at an earlier stage than most peoples, and have left us some interesting accounts. They look remarkably like the sort of thing that modern pagans- the protagonists of the Great Goddess, or what Kit Pedler calls the Gaians, are aiming at.

The three oldest Chinese books are Chaang Tse (or Chuang Tsu), a work written by the Taoist philosopher of that name about 2500 years ago - Tse or Tzu means 'philosopher' -the Tao Te Ching of a century or two earlier; and the book of oracles called the I Ching, the core of which was collated from traditional wisdom and committed to writing 5000 years ago. Here is a passage which Chuang Tse wrote (Prom Father Merton's The Way of Chuang Tzu) :

In the age when life on earth was full, no one paid any special attention to worthy men, nor did they single out the man of ability. Rulers were simply the highest branches on the tree, and the people were like deer in the woods. They were honest and righteous without realising that they were 'doing their duty'. They loved each other and did not know that this was 'love of neighbour'. They deceived no one yet did not know that they were 'men to be trusted'. They were reliable and did not know that this was 'good faith'. They lived freely together giving and taking and did not know that they were generous. For this reason their deeds have not been narrated. They made no history.

This was not airy-fairy nonsense. Fr Merton understands full well that Chuang Tse was talking about practical politics. "Chuang Tzu's Taoism is nostalgic for the primordial climate of paradise in which there was no differentiation, in which man (ßic) wao utterly simple, unaware of himself, living at peace wich himself, with Tao, and with all other creatures. But for Chuang this paradise is not something that has been lost by sin and cannot be rep;ained except by redemption. It is still ours, but we do not know it, since the effect of life in society is to complicate and confuse our existence making us forget who we really are" That is, if people were not confused, this would be the kind of society to get back to. page 14

The i'ao Us Ching can t s a l i g h t on the sanie kind of o r i g i n a l soc i e ty from a r a t h e r d i f f e r e n t . ingle . The penu l t imate chap te r of t i i i s wonderful book reads ( t r . Cia Fu-Fenr? and Jane Engl i sh .1.975) -

A small count-.y has fewer peop le . Though the re -ire machines t h a t car: work ten te a hundred times f a s t e r than men

they are not needed, The people take dea th s e r i o u s l y and do net t r a v e l f a r . Though they have b o a t s and c a r r i a g e s , no one uses them. Though they have armour and weapons, no one d i s p l a y s them-hen r e t u r n to the k n o ' t i n g of ropes i n place of w r i t i n g . The i r food i s p l a i n bu t good, t h e i r c l o t h e s f ine bu t s imple,

the i r hoce s se cure ; They a re happy in t h e i r ways. Though they l i v e w i t h i n s i g h t of t h e i r neighbours , And crowing cocks and bark ing dogs are heard acx-oss the way, Yet they leave each o t h e r in peace whi le they grow old and d i e .

At t h a t t ime, China was s t i l l very much conscious of the ex i s tence of t h i s kind of s o c i e t y . C h i n a ' s f i r s t h i s t o r i a n , Szema Chien, w r i t i n g about 100 30, desc r ibed the Chinese a rmies ' advance down the Yangtse Kiang in the process of e s t a b l i s h i n g the empire . They came upon Wo ' s t a t e s ' c a l l e d Ch'u and Yueh which they e a s i l y absorbed because these ' s t a t e s ' put up no r e s i s t a n c e . They were no t , in f a c t , s t a t e s a t a l l . The i r people l i ved i n p r e c i s e l y the p r imord i a l cond i t ions of happy l i f e wi thou t power t h a t were de sc r i bed by Chuang Tse and by Lao Tse, the presumptive au thor of the Tao Te Ching.

The Ta Chuan, a s c r i b ed to the school of Confucius, i s a commentary on the I Ching. Confucius was a t g r e a t pa ins to l e g i t i m i z e the monarchy and the n a t r i a r c h a l s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , and the commentary cor respondingly throws a nega t ive l i g h t where Chuang Tse and l ao Tse threw a p o s i t i v e one. (Confucius was severe ly c r i t i c i s e d by both t he se ph i lo sophe r s ) For i n s t a n c e , where the Tao Te Ching says "Though they have b o a t s and c a r r i a g e s , no one uses them" the Ta Chuan says "They scooped out t r e e t runks f o r b o a t s and they hardened wood i n tï e f i r e for o a r s . The advantage of b o a t s and oars lay in p rov id ing means of communication . . . They tamed the ox and yoked the h o r s e . Thus heavy loads could be t r a n s p o r t e d and d i s t a n t reg ions reached, for the b e n e f i t of the wor ld . " The Ta Chuan approvingly adds:"They in t roduced double ga te s and n igh t watchmen w i t h c l appe r s in o rde r to d e a l w i t h r o b b e r s , " - where the Tao Te Ching had desc r ibe d a s o c i e t y which had no robbers and needed no ga t e s or watchmen,

Can we ever do wi thou t double g a t e s and n igh t watchmen wi th c l apper s? That i s , can vre do wi thout the 'Ear ly warning system' and the ' D e t e r r e n t ' nuc lea r m i s s i l e s ? We s h a l l have t o , o r v a n i s h . As fo r the b o a t s and o a r s , the loaded c a r t s - the Concorde and r a i l -ways and o i l - t a n k e r s and a l l the o t h e r p a r a p h e r n a l i a of i n d u s t r i a l i s m - again we s h a l l have no cho ice : even wi hout a war the whole s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e based on indus t r y i s v i s i b l y on the p o i n t of c o l l a p s e . We might as w e l l be prepared for something l i k e the p i c t u r e pa in t ed by Chuang Tse and lao Tse, and l i f e w i l l be f u l l and we s h a l l be happy i n our ways, i n the s o c i e t y p o r t r a y ed i n the I Ching (Wilhelm E d i t i o n ) of the v i l l a g e grouped around the Wel l . Imprac t i ca l ? I t had b e t t e r not b e .

L O B Q T O K Y O F T H E S P I R I T

The Four Fire Festivals by /idam McLean. Megalithic Research Publications 12 Antigua St Edinburgh 1 Scotland. £1„20

"The four Fire Festivals - Sajnhain, 3rigantia:, Beltane and Iammas - were until relatively recently enthusiastically celebrated by people in the more Celtic areas of Britain..., SLice the Industrial Revolution understanding of the nature of these festivals has progressively diminished, until now, as the twentieth century draws to a close, to many people even the names of these festivals seem strange." So Adam WcLean in the opening paragraph of his booklet The Four Fire Festivals - which goes a long way towards restoring some of that understanding and laying bare the underlying symbolism and spirituality. Fundamental to this culture (any culture?) that was integrated - Sun and Moon, earth and

page -15

si-." , the growth and iTiOve.'ü-.-'jt o." not« i one paxterr. va people s ^av •: - " a'_ '. a\ .; y they marked their year in festivals, which were themselves rio" to be separated from every other part of liic

Most readers will be familiar with some aspect oï the four Lunar 'quarter-day' festivals-Beltane, still struggling along as May Day, with its over-touristy dances at Padstcw and elsewhere. Samhain, more alive perhaps as Hallowe'en in the USA, but hanging on here too as Guy Fawkes night, or Mischief ; ight in parts of the North. Neglected Lammas, it.; harvest hills overgrown and privatised, its great hilltop fairs long gone (the Tan Hill fair near Devizes was abandoned early this century because the motor-lorries that now brought the cattle could'nt get up the hill). Mysterious Inibolc, Brigantia, largely forgotten even as christian 'Candlemas '. McLean's detailed picture of each festival is thought-provoking and informative. Many questions arise - for instance the author firmly locates the festivals in a Celtic context: I'd have thought the Celts were simply passing along the pattern (though they may have been almost the last people to make it authentic-ally their own) from neolithic times and earlier? It wculd have been interesting tec to lock at the place of earth artifacts - Hill, Well, Henge and 3ai-row - in the cycle . however, as might be expected from the Editor of an alchemical q/uarterly, Mclean goes beyond detail to seek underlying links and patterns. Some of his conclusions may stir you, as they stirred me. He returns constantly to the tneme of our relationship with three realms: the Unconscious, the Earth, and Male/Female polarity. He stresses partic-ularly the repression of the female part of ourselves (men and womenJ, the rejection of important female and male archetypes, the suppression of the Goddess and women's mysteries. His stress on the female - part, as he points out, of a process of recreating balance in our unhealthy patriarchal culture -- has already provoked unenthusia.stic comment, or grim silence, among diehard members of the patriarchal orthodoxy whose heavy hand extends even into the world of esoteric and spiritual little magazines.

This book, small in s¿0pe and intention, is big in resonance and implication. Like Michael Dames, controversial author of studies of Keolithis Avebury, McLean writes with clarity and commitment of matters which strike at the rotten roots of this present mater-ialistic world. He, like Dames, says clearly that things weren't always like they are now. Unlike Dames, he suggests they don't have to go on being like it, either. The forgetting of the fire festivals, with all they represent, has been part of a ghastly lobotomy of the Spirit, a seIf-mutilation that reduces us to the status of pathogens on the planet. But we can, argues Mclean, be healed, and one way is by connecting again with the mystery of the Fire Festivals and the living forces of the Earth. T.P.

(Adam McLean also edits The Hermetic -Journal, single copy £1 from the same address)

THE WOOD & WATER GATHERING 4 - 7 APP.IL 1980 *******************************************

Arrangements for this are going ahead - a provisional outline follows. Insofar as Wood & Water is a magazLie, the Gathering will be partly a Rea.ders ' Pee ting at which we'll be discussing the future of W£7. If you have ideas and you can't get to the Gathering please let us know so your views can be included in the discussion. InsofaraSW&W is not a magazine but is more of an information exchange between people concerned about sacred vre lis and springs and allied matters, the weekend will, we hope, be active arid practical and lead to new and interesting developments. By one of those amazing coincidences a group called the Northern Earth Mysteries Group will be holding its weekend Moot the weekend b*f6cr, at Barmoor, near Hutton-le-Hole, just down the road. HEM are a very active group of Earth Mysteries enthusiasts and their event"looks like being a most interesting one. Like ours, it's se If--catering, Liexpensive and informal; clearly there's an oppor-tunity here for anyone who wants to take the week off and go to both functions. Details of the NEM Moot from: PHILIP HESELTON, 61 CLUMBER ST. HULL KU5 5RH. '.Te and KEM are discussing possible ways of extending activities through the intervening week - perhaps in the form of some practical project. Meanwhile proposals for discussions and workshops al-ready mooted for our Gathering include: The N.Yorks Area: Wells and Leys: Dowsing: Values and Spirituality: Robin Hood the Pagan: 'Towards Community' ....The final programme will probably be put together by everybody there on the 3?iday night. Up-to-date details will continue to be sent to anybody who had paid a deposit or sent an SAE. The next W&W will be a Gathering Special and will include further details, copies of discussion papers sent for circulation beforehand, and 'guidelines' to the style and format of the weekend.

p age 16

X10ÖD & WATER GATHERING: BLAST ci*. 1 9 8 0 _ _ _ _ F H J O V X S I O N A T . TOOGaAMME A * * . - » * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * « , ! ,

THE PURPOSE OF THE GATHERING l) It will be an opportunity for readers of W&W («r^ oU*>i-s) to meet together and discuss their interests in wells etc., to plan any action to be taken regarding them, to discuss spiritiial/ecological/political implications of caring for sacred springs. Also the future of W-W.

2) We shall have general discussions and workshops(which may be initiated by anyone present), to cover related topics to wells and springs, e.g. spiritual alternatives today; ecopaganism/Gaianism; The Goddess and the suppression of female magic under patriarchy; dowsing; healing; earth energies etc. etc.

"} It's a chance for a group of diverse people to meet and relate on equal terms, to learn from each other, have some fun together, say some things that are important. Wells and springs will be the focal point that will draw these people together.

FORMAT The format will be important to what happens. It will be flexible, to allow for everyone's needs. People with special knowledge can talle about their particular field or initiate discussions. Workshops or small discussion groups will form around certain specialised topics (e.g. wells and leys), and people can choose which to go to. Main group discussions will be structured to provide maximum opportunity for everyone to have their say, and we may have games to help break the ice or relieve tensions. There will be space for music-making (bring any instruments you want); dancing; yoga; massage; walks and visits to local wells (weather permitting).

PRACTICALITIES We shall be based at the Friends Meeting House, Pickering, Yorkshire, on the edge of the beautiful North York Moors National Park. Details of how to get there will be sent to you. It is booked from midday Friday 4th April to Monday 7th April (Easter Monday). Accomodation will be in the hostel attached to the Meeting House, which offers basic accomodation in rooms with 4 bunk beds each. Other facilities, camp and caravan sites etc., are available in the area, and Guy and Ivy Phillips have kindly offered limited accomodation at their cottage in nearby Appleton-le-Moors.

The FMH has a large kitchen and meals will be eaten and cooked communally there. Food will be wholefood and vegetarian: good but cheap. People will be invited to sign up on the Friday evening for cooking, washing-up and cleaning-up sessions over the weekend.

A creche may be organised if needed, with volunteer helpers from the Gathering, parents or non-parents, women or men. Some children may want to join in certain games, talks and activities: we hope so.

The weekend will cost £9.00 per person from Friday night to Monday morning, including food. Reductions for children (we don't know by how much yet; we'll let you know). For those who camp or have MB, £5.00. Please send a 50 f-deposit as soon as possible (as we have to confirm the booking by the end of December).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

PROGRAMME (This is ONLY PROVISIONAL and may be changed during the course of the w/end)

FRIDAY: 4pm onwards: meet, choose rooms etc. 7.00: Supper (some to be kept hot for late arrivals) General discussion on purpose, style and content of Gathering. Everyone chat about what they hope to get out of the Gathering, any particular interest, how they came to be drawn to the subject of holy wells, etc. Some ice-breaking games.

5ATulblbíb 8 ,00 B r e a k f a s t 1 0 . 0 0 Gather- t o g e t h e r . " S t e w a r d s h i p " o f w e l l s and s p r i n g s .

T a l k by Guy P h i l l i p s on l o c a l w e l l s and numinous s i t e s . Songs a b o u t vre l i s e t c . by Guy and Ivy., Workshop t h e m e s : p l a n n i n g p . m . a c t i v i t i e s ,

1 .00 Lunch 2 . 0 0 c h o i c e o f v i s i t s , workshops and a c t i v i t i e s 5 . 0 0 Tea 6 . 0 0 The New Age and Womanmagic 8 . 0 0 S u p p e r

F r e e t i m e .

SUNDAY: 8 . 0 0 B r e a k f a s t 1 0 . 0 0 G a t h e r t o g e t h e r . P l a n s f o r t h e d a y . 1 0 . 5 0 Quaker m e e t i n g ( o p t i o n a l ) . V i s i t s ( i f w e a t h e r ' s n i c e ) .

Yoga, m a s s a g e , m e d i t a t i o n , any p e a c e f u l o c c u p a t i o n t i l l 1 .00 Tjonch 2 . 0 0 Talles by anyone w a n t i n g t o g i v e them: w o r k s h o ps 5 . 0 0 Tea 6 . 0 0 P o l i t i c a l / e c o l o g i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s ; l i i ' e s t y l e s ; t a c t i c s ;

wha t we have t o c o n t e n d w i t h 8 .00 S u p p e r

PARTY m u s i c , d a n c i n g , mummer's p l a y ( ? ) f o l k songs . . . . .

MONDAY : 8.00 Breakfast 10.00 Parting ceremony

leavetakings.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + •>• + + + + + + + + +

Booking forms available from: Hilary and Tony, 58 Exmouth Street, Swindon, Wilts.

J O U R P A G / . N V I E V,' S

Dasle Paganism - fpuip views 5PPK, PO Box 146, Finchingfie Id, Braintree, Essex 40p.

This is a collection of essays written by some of the founder members of the SPPK (Societ for the Promotion of Pagan Knowledge): Nigel Pennick, Mike Howard, Jacky Craig and Chris Ogden.

All the writers seek to present a view of what modern Paganism is, and how it differs from other religions and from the dominant philosophy of modern western society. All also include suggestions for simple pagan rituals of celebrations, stressing the need for flexibility and experimentation.

Nige] Pennick's essay is in Wo parts: the first is a description of pagan values, the second deals with creating your own ritual enclosure for pagan celebrations. He stresses throughout that paganism is concerned with being at one with Nature, a d that it has nothing to do with power, domination and authoritarianism. I'm glad he makes this point as paganism is often confused with occultism, which is often caught up in quests for power, 'Taming' forces or spirits, and elitism of various kinds. He contrasts paganism wi the repressive systems of major world religions and political systems* and suggests that paganism promotes 'harmony and balance, understanding and. tolerance'. It may not have the monopoly of these virtues, though it's fair to add that ancient paganism was probably the basis on which the religions concerned with harmony and balance were founded. The second ; part of his essay deals with the celebration of eight pagan Festivals and suggests a way of constructing a sacred enclosure for use in rituals. He stresses the non-authoritarian approach to such rituals - the absence of heirarchies, etc. He makes refreshing reference to the individual as 'herself instead of the dreary usual conditioned 'himself. The who: article illuminates the general non-sexist and anarchist tendencies in modern paganism which can only be to the good.

^ike Howard, Editor of The Cauldron (see mag. section) titles his essay 'Pagan Ways'. He dews how many people, disil usioned with today's society, turn to paganism to rediscover the magic of Nature; but emphasises that this is not an entirely new phenomenon, and that those persecuted as 'witches' kept alive a pagan tradition dating from earliest times. He outlines some pagan philosophies, especially regarding the 'Life Force', and says 'A paga seeks freedom, but such freedom as harms no-one.' It's a good basic introduction to pagan beliefs written in a clear matter-of-fact way.

Jacky Craig gives an account of her own brand of paganism in 'Views of a Country Pagan1. She writes with wEarmth andfeelir.g about Nature Religion and her personal worship of Natur She points out that simply living in the country doesn't guarantee closeness to Nature -some country dwellers are as cut off from the Earth as any city person. She gives an ex-ample of a pagan celebration based on her own practice, stressing that it is not a set rite and that no-one is 'in charge1. It is a beautiful celebration involving the elements earth, air, fire and wa"uer; I feel that some general, sensitive suggestions such as hers for Pagan ritual are really uself as a. guide for those who are new to pagani, and are unsure how (or whether) to express worship in a group. As she sa.ys, vre can exper-iment with the details ourselves, but "the idea is to express friendship with others, to communicate in some way with the God and Goddess and celebrate the wonder of Nature." It's certainly not claimed to be a magical formula. She concludes "don't forget the most important thing is to have FUN.'" This idea will appeal to those who feel that some branches of the 'Occult' or unorthodox beliefs mirror the rather tedious lack of humour and over-seriousness of the established religions. Lack of humour and joy is not only sterile and boring; it can induce a dangerously false perspective and lead to fanaticism and repression if it dominates a group.

'Thoughts for the Day' by Chris Ogden has in the title an obvious allusion to the BBC's religious spot on the morning radio which has been one of the targets of SPPK's wrath due to its boringly predictable wi ite-protestant-christian bias. However ... Chris outlines some definitions of paganism and says that although it is often described as a 'primitive religion, it's certainly not 'regressive'. S/he lists some pagan ideas and shows how they can be blended vrith modern thinking, such as beliefs in equality of worth, the importance of the individual and care for the environment and society as a whole. S/he says that modern paganism is constantly graving and developing, and is not an archaic, rigid.a.ystem Modern pagans can find it difficult to explore their individual belief in the context of a group, and Chris suggests a possible 'Earth Rite1 and 'Sun Rite' which can be used

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oy 3na1vj.au"is for their pei-sonal devotions. The leaflet ends with a list of recommended books and periodicals which is very interesting as a rough guide to where the SPPK lias drawn some of its inspiration,

I recommend this to anyone seeking a concise, readable introduction to modern pagan beliefs, and to anyone interested in some personal statements from those who call themselves pagans. Of course a certain 'line' is taken (ecological, anti-authoritarian, non-sexist etc) which not all who call themselves pagans may subscribe to: this general emphasis is also present in other SPPK writings. I feel that a large number of newcomers to paganism already hold this basic philosophy and form a kind of pagan 'left' as contrasted with a pagan 'right' of sorcery, domination cults, Grand Masters etc, which is the stuff so dear to the headline writers of the 'News of the World'.

H. Lb«.

(Membership of S1PK costs 60p per annum - members receive 4 newsletters)

00O00 * * * * * * * * * * * * * > • , . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > ! < * * * * * * * * x * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ; ? * * * * * * * * * * . ! < * * * * ^ * * * * * * "

H 11 it 11 n it 11 n » H r T H E S O U N D O F T R U M P E T S

The I s l e of Apples Guy Ragland P h i l l i p s . Outposts P u b l i c a t i o n s 50p.

This poem which was given a t the 1978 Glastonbury F e s t i v a l , wi th a musica l accompaniment, c o n s i s t i n g of e leven s t anzas of vary ing l eng th , i s now rreprod-uced as a 12pp book le t which i s w e l l p r i n t e d and commendably easy to r ead .

The theme i s the w e l l known one of a new s o c i e t y based on sp i r i t ua .1 v a l u e s , but u n l i k e many in a s i m i l a r ve in i t does not merely p r e d i c t doom and d i s a s t e r bu t b u i l d s up to an express ion of hope ending v/ith almost a sound of t rumpets . Without doubt those who a r e i n sympathy wi th t he se ideas w i l l ge t a g r e a t d e a l of p l ea su re and s a t i s f a c t i o n from the poem, bu t one does wonder i f the uncommitted w i l l be q u i t e so e n t h u s i a s t i c , as amongst t h e i r r anks a widespread b e l i e f i n the n u t r i t i o n a l value of Gold i s s t i l l an accepted d e l u s i o n . Never the les s i t i s recommended as reading for a l l .

H. V/igglesworth (Readers who have t r o u b l e g e t t i n g a copy of ' I s l e of Apples ' from t h e i r u s u a l b o o k s e l l e r can o rde r through Wood & Water. Enclose A5 s i z e SAE)

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooocoooooooOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

R e a d e r ' s L e t t e r

Dear Wood & Water - These few words a re aimed a t those who f ind themselves becoming i n c r e a s i n g l y a t t uned to the 'Old R e l i g i o n ' bu t for one reason o r ano the r do not be long , o r perhaps do not wish to j o i n , an e s t a b l i s h e d group cp; coven. Though f u l l y r e a l i z i n g t h a t power i s most r e a d i l y a t t r a c t e d by the l i nk ing of more than one mind,as i n r i t u a l magic, t h i s should not become a s tumbling block for those s o l i t a r y bu t very of ten ded ica ted sou ls who t r e a d a more lonely road .

Let us cons ider for a moment, how he , o r she , became a b e l i e v e r in the f i r s t p l a c e . This probably occur red w i t h the read ing of va r ious occu l t p u b l i c a t i o n s , whereby t h e reaxler was able to say to themselves : 'Yes I can ' o r 'No I cannot* go along wi th t h a t p a r t i c u l a r l i n e of argument. Prom then on i n , t h i n g s got b e t t e r , u n t i l a smal l voice s a i d , ' I t i s enough.' I now know which way I must gol ' I t i s then t h a t the f e e l i n g can come t h a t no f u r t h e r p rogress can be made wi thout the encouragement and companionship of a group. This may, t o o , be a more d i f f i c u l t t h i n g to achieve than one f i r s t imagined.

To any such, I would say t h a t from my own exper ience , t h i s need not be the c a s e . I f one i s p r i v i l e g e d to be i n v i t e d to j o i n such a group, w e l l , they are lucky, t h a t ' s a l l i Most o the r s w i l l not f ind t h i n gs so ' p a t ' . I have found in ray own c a s e , looking a t my l i f e in h i n d s i g h t , t h a t the t h i n g s t h a t have happened to me, have, in the g r e a t e r p a r t been for my even tua l good. The guide l i n e s of our f a i t h - 'Do what thou w i l t , p rovid ing t h a t i t harm no o t h e r . ' , i f t aken to inc lude a l l na ture as w e l l , have been, and a r e , s u f f i c i e n t for me to t r a v e l through l i f e and in to the land of shadows. I t i s a p or god, p a g e 20

and a poo-»" faith, that will not forgive the wrongs and mistakes committee by those that in all honesty commit them without premeditation, or through thoughtlessness. I am fortunate in that I am not clever, thus not rich. So many of the worries that seem to bedevil these persons, to me seem self-inflicted. I have a simple mind, and am spared many cards that the more intricate thinker deals himself. I can only say that this approach to life works for me. I therefore would say to the reader "Keep going - keep trying - keep loving." You may then find, as I do, that every day is an adventure, and that there is a reason for everyone and every creature in this wonderful world of nature. I fear that the actions of men in places like Cambodia, and in Uganda, show all too clearly what happens when we stop loving one another.

Arthur Lichfield Trowbridge, Wilts

WQOD&WATERWOOD&WATERWOOD& ATERWOOD&WATERWOOD&WATËR&WOOD&WATERWATERVJOOD&W

R E L A T E D M A G A Z I N E S & N E W S L E T T E R S Here is where we list some other magazines in the field that may be of interest to readers. While a listing here doesn't necessarily imply a reccomendation, it does mean that we've read the magazines, they don't clash too much v/ith the position taken by W&W, and the people who produce them have agreed to list W&W in a similar way.

THE CAULDRON A newsletter of the Craft and the Old Religion Ed. M.A. Howard. Single copy 25p; sub. 4 issues £1 (U.S. $ 3)Cash or blank P0-no cheques:Variety of topics, concise, informative, ecologically aware, JOURNAL OF GEOMANCY Quarterly journal Of Institute for Gecmantic Research. Ed. Nigel Pennick single copy 60p, or £3 p.a. including all IGR occasional papers published during currency of sub. Leys, earth zodiacs, earth mysteries with a solid academic 'feel'. IGR, 142 Pheasant Rise Bar Hill Cambridge CB3 8SD. WHOOPS ! ! Forgot the address of The Cauldron: ä^cc^^hü^oh^Hili^ewzl^y, .¿&nâ3_$r< (sorry Mike)_5S** 3o/ /_"35 /Uù^ûOAJ IAJC/V ¿yY THE PAGAN WAY Magazine for pagans and followers of the old religion. Ed. David Stasin Single copy 35p -, £1.80 p.a. (no cheques) Unique, irrepressible, forthright. David now offers to pay for contributions ! ! 51 Loates Lane, Watford, Herts . PENDRAGON Magazine of the Pendragon Society Ed. Chris Lovegrove. Quarterly 30p single copy. Long-established mag. of Arthurian topics. THE LEY HUNTER Magazine of Earth Mysteries Ed. Paul Devereux. Bi-monthl Single copy 50p £3 p.a.Classic, solid, proffessional EM Mag v/ith long and impressive history, currently undergoing (mid-life?) crisis but worth every penny. PO Box 152, London N10 2EF SANGREAL Mag. of Mysteries, Crafts and Polk Traditions of Britain. Quarterly. Single copy 65p £2.50 p.a. Nicely produced, varied, lots of small ads and useful reviews. BM Sangreal, London WC1V 6XX. NEM NEWSLETTER Official organ of Northern Earth Mysteries Group. Ed. Philip Heselton. Single copy 15p plus post, £1 approx 6 issues 61 Clumber St Hull HU5 3RH THE HEATHEN Published by The Pagan Movement for the Year's Festivals. Single copy 3)0p plus A5SAE. No annual sub as they don't encourage passive readers who don't participate. Can y Lloer Ffarmers, Llanwrda,Dy MJQLXWIR Occult, folklore, Earth Mysteries, original research. Single

P^3$P Torsdag Publications 56 Filkins Lane Chester. THE HERMETIC JOURNAL Alchemical quarterly Ed Adam McLean. Single copy £3 £3.60 p.a. Very open esoteric journal, full of good things. Spring 79 issue had article on nuclear power which'11 blow your mind. .. 12 Antigua St Edinburgh 1 Scotland PENDRAGON address: Garden Flat, 22 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2BY

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