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Ley Hunter - 1974 no 55
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Title: THE LEY HUNTER Issue: No. 55 Date: May 1974 Publisher: Paul Screeton Country: United Kingdom Language: English
Magazine Overview
Title: THE LEY HUNTER
Issue: No. 55
Date: May 1974
Publisher: Paul Screeton
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
This issue of The Ley Hunter delves into the fascinating world of ley lines, ancient sites, and British folklore. It features a review of John Michell's book, "The Old Stones of Land's End," which is hailed as a significant advancement in ley research, exploring the geometrical arrangements of ancient sites, their astronomical orientations, and connections to dowsing and earth fertility currents. The magazine also examines the Britannia Coconut Dancers of Bacup, Lancashire, a group whose traditional dance is analyzed for its potential links to ancient rituals and historical migrations.
Articles and Features
An Appreciation of "The Old Stones of Land's End"
Allen Watkins reviews John Michell's latest book, expressing profound admiration for its contribution to ley thinking. Watkins highlights how Michell's work builds upon earlier discoveries, such as Major Tyler's "Geometrical Arrangement of Ancient Sites," by providing precise details and filling in gaps in the understanding of these patterns. The book is credited with revealing that sacred sites exhibit features beyond simple alignment, including orientation to celestial bodies, parallelism with dowsing, and connection to earth fertility currents. Michell's research aims to deduce the outlines of ancient magical thought, contrasting it with modern scientific approaches and offering a new concept of ancient man. Watkins emphasizes the book's imaginative sweep and the extensive local inquiry it involved, stating that Michell has "completely transformed the original concept of leys and immensely strengthened the evidence."
The Britannia Coconut Dancers of Bacup, Lancashire
John Radford writes about the Britannia Coconut Dancers, a group from Bacup, Lancashire, known locally as "The Nutters." The article describes the annual Easter Saturday event, where eight dancers, dressed in black breeches, clogs, and jerseys, with blacked faces and red and white striped skirts, perform dances that blend clog and morris styles. The "coconuts" are wooden discs worn on knees and waist, and held in hands, used to create rhythmic sounds. Radford speculates that the dance might be a local variant of morris dancing, possibly a remnant of ancient seasonal rituals. He also relays a theory that the dances were brought to Cornwall by Moorish pirates and later introduced to Lancashire by Cornish miners. The dancers' origins are traced back to the Tunstead Group, celebrating its half-century in 1907, with the current group being descendants. The article notes the unique atmosphere of the event, where the dancers seem to embody a sense of tradition and pride.
Webs and Mesh
Guy Ragland Phillips presents an in-depth exploration of ley lines, referring to himself as "John Grimshaw" from a previous article. He discusses his method of ley hunting, primarily using maps due to physical limitations. Phillips examines historical accounts, particularly Geoffrey of Monmouth's tradition of "King" Belinus and his inviolable roads, and how these might relate to geographical alignments. He identifies two main ley lines: the "Belinus Line" running approximately 500 miles from St David's Head to Caithness, and a parallel line, BL-1, 12 miles to the west. Further lines, BL+1, BL+2, etc., are described, suggesting a prehistoric "National Grid" across Britain, with alignments spaced about 10 to 12 miles apart. The article posits that this grid could have been used for rapid communication by couriers. The orientation of these lines, primarily Magnetic North-South and East-West, is discussed, with a hypothesis that lodestones might have been used for navigation.
Dragons Over Albion
This section, taken from CYMBELINE No. 1, explores the concept of "dragon lines" and "serpent power" in relation to ancient sites. The author suggests that Albion (Britain) is imbued with a forgotten power, symbolized by the serpent, which is linked to ancient man's knowledge. High places, hills, and mountains are identified as traditional resting places of the dragon-serpent. The article draws parallels between the serpent and the Megalithic religion, and the Christian heroes like St George who fought dragons. It posits that the serpent represents the extraterrestrial life force of the four elements, and its paths are the flow of this energy, scientifically verifiable through dowsing and electromagnetic methods. The article connects these concepts to ancient religious sites, significant constructions, and even UFO sightings, suggesting that the serpent is a universal symbol found across cultures, irrespective of supposed ancient barriers.
Miscellany and Letters
The issue includes a "Miscellany" section with brief news items, such as York's plans for "enrichment holidays" including witchcraft studies, and an inquiry from Mr R.W. Davies about the original location of the "Devil's Ring and Finger" holed stone. There is also a report from "Awake!" about a superstition in Hong Kong involving a dragon and construction work, and a note about the U.S. developing a spacecraft to catch a comet.
"Readers' Letters" features correspondence from Brian Jackman, who thanks the editor for his letter and latest issue, and Frank Jordan, who shares points from "The Lost Gods of England" regarding the Norse god Thor and his connection to trees, weather, and symbols like the double axe found at Stonehenge. Debbie Turnbull seeks information on "expeditions" to trace leys and specifically asks about Warwickshire leys, mentioning Burton Dassett.
Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance
The recurring themes in this issue are the exploration of ancient landscapes through ley lines, the interpretation of ancient beliefs and symbols (such as the serpent and the god Thor), and the connection between these ancient phenomena and modern mysteries like UFOs. The editorial stance, as reflected in the content, is one of open inquiry into alternative historical and spiritual interpretations of landscape and human history, valuing traditional knowledge and challenging conventional scientific paradigms. There is a clear emphasis on the enduring power of ancient sites and beliefs, and a belief that rediscovering this knowledge is crucial for understanding humanity's past and present.
This document, identified as issue 'D3', contains extracts from 'The Story of King Fortager' by Peter S. Hannah, and a discussion on ley lines. The content is primarily in English.
Ley Lines Discussion The initial section of the document discusses the concept of ley lines. It explains that these routes are marked by physical objects such as mounds, ancient monuments, stones, moats, wells, beacon points, crossroads, old churches, castles, and camps. To identify a ley, one should carefully mark these sites on an Ordnance Survey map and look for straight lines joining a minimum of four points over a distance of about 12 miles. The text suggests that following a ley over several miles across country can be a rewarding experience.
Extracts from the Story of King Fortager This section presents an excerpt from a story titled 'King Fortager' by Peter S. Hannah. The narrative begins with an attack on Britain by Angys, the Dane, and the subsequent victory led by the King's steward, Fortager. After becoming King, Fortager faced betrayal and sought the aid of his former enemy, Angys, to retake Britain. Fearing the Dane and the Britons he had betrayed, along with the men of Brittany (Uther Pendragon and Aurilis Brosias), Fortager decided to build a strong castle on Salisbury Plain.
However, the construction was plagued by supernatural events. Each morning, the workmen found the stones scattered across the ground, and attempts to secure them with iron proved futile. Fortager then gathered ten wise men to read the stars. They reported that an elf-child, Merlin, was born in Britain with knowledge of past and future events. They advised Fortager to slay the child and use his blood in the mortar to ensure the castle's stability.
When the child Merlin was found, he demonstrated his psychic powers and foretold events. He revealed the mystery of the castle's instability, explaining that the fiends had deceived the wise men with false signs because Merlin had been baptized into Christendom, and beings from the air were wrathful. Merlin instructed that a yard beneath the castle's foundation would reveal a stream of water running over two mighty stones, under which lived two dragons. These dragons, he explained, would wake at sundown and battle, causing the earth to shake and the walls to fall.
Upon following Merlin's instructions, the dragons were found: one red, a rood in length, and the other milk-white with two heads. Their battle resulted in the red dragon being reduced to ashes. Merlin then offered a symbolic interpretation of this event as a parable for what would happen to Britain, framing the story as an allegory of age-old good against evil.
The text notes that while the story is simple and about good versus evil, the figure of Merlin and the dragons seem somewhat out of character, possibly containing fragments from a much older tale. A quote attributed to Drayton, referencing Merlin bringing Stonehenge to Britain overnight through skill and magic, is included, sourced from 'The Romance of Merlin' (13th or 14th Century).