Philip Carr-Gomm - The Book of English Magic

Also by Philip Carr-Gomm

Sacred Places
What do Druids Believe?
Druid Mysteries
The Druid Way
The Elements of the Druid Tradition
Druidcraft The Magic of Wicca & Druidry
In the Grove of the Druids
The Druid Animal Oracle (co-author)
The Druid Plant Oracle (co-author)
The DruidCraft Tarot (co-author)
La Force des Celtes (co-author)
The Book of Druidry (editor)
The Druid Renaissance (editor)

Also by Richard Heygate

Endangered Species (co-author)

THE BOOK
of
ENGLISH
MAGIC

Philip Carr-Gomm & Richard Heygate

To all the magicians of England, who have allowed us to understand, and sometimes experience, the extraordinary other world in which they live.

First published in Great Britain in 2009 by John Murray (Publishers)
An Hachette UK Company

Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate 2009

The right of Philip Carr-Gomm and Richard Heygate to be identified as the Authors of the Work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library

Epub ISBN 978-1-84854-386-7
Book ISBN 978-1-84854-041-5

John Murray (Publishers)
338 Euston Road
London NW1 3BH

www.johnmurray.co.uk

Contents

CHAPTER ONE
Ancient Roots and Magic Wands
Caves and the Hidden Treasure of the Land

CHAPTER TWO
The Magicians Organise Themselves
The World of the Ancient Druid

CHAPTER THREE
Star-Cunning and Wyrd-Craft
The World of the Anglo-Saxon Sorcerer

CHAPTER FOUR
The Matter of Britain
Merlin, King Arthur and the Search for the Holy Grail

CHAPTER FIVE
Skin-Turning and Spellcraft
The World of Witches and Warlocks

CHAPTER SIX
Transmutation and Transformation
The World of the Alchemists and Puffers

CHAPTER SEVEN
The Queens Astrologer
The Man Who Conversed with Angels

CHAPTER EIGHT
The Shag-Haird Wizard of Pepper Alley
Cunning Folk, Girdle-Measurers and the Faery Faith

CHAPTER NINE
The English Mercury Lover
Freemasonry and the Power of Numbers

CHAPTER TEN
The Spirits of Dead Magicians
Secret Chiefs, Hidden Masters and Adepts of the Rosy Cross

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Opening Pandoras Box
The Great Beast and the Priestess of the Sea

CHAPTER TWELVE
The Wizards Return
The Renaissance of English Magic in the Twenty-First Century

Preface

The Book of English Magic explores the curious and little-known fact that, of all the countries in the world, England has the richest history of magical lore and practice.

English authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett, Susanna Clarke, Philip Pullman and J.K. Rowling dominate the world of magic in fiction, but while children accept the magical world without reservation, most adults are not only sceptical of its place in modern society but are ignorant of the part magic and magicians have played in English history.

From the earliest times, England has acted as home to generations of eccentrics and scholars who have researched and explored every conceivable kind of occult art. The Book of English Magic surveys Englands magical past from the moment the first humans inhabited her shores to our present-day fascination with all things magical. Here, historical explorations and biographies of leading figures are combined with suggestions for sites to visit and experiments to perform that will allow you to begin experiencing for yourself the world of magic and enchantment that has intrigued generations of seekers. In the following pages you will also meet many of Englands leading magicians and hear directly from them how and why they practise their art.

In The Book of English Magic, an extraordinary parallel world is revealed in which secret societies still practise ritual magic, our ancient landscape yields up its hidden powers, and the lost magical origins of centuries of tradition and folklore are revealed.

Key

1. Mooted site of Camelot

2. Arthurs Chair

3. Pendragon Castle

4. The Cumbrian Round Table

5. Greymoor Hill

6. Bewcastle Cross

7. Bedes World

8. Mother Shiptons Cave

9. Pendle Hill

10. Cresswell Crags

11. Biddulph Moor

12. Church of St Chad

13. Kinver Edge rock houses

14. Royston Cave

15. Witches cottage, Brickett Wood

16. Mother Ludlams Cave

17. Co-Masonry temples

18. Garway

19. Golden Valley

20. Meon Hill

21. Chislehurst Caves

22. Barge Inn

23. White Horse of Uffington & Dragon Hill

24. Waylands Smithy

25. Rollright Stones

26. Sulgrave Manor

27. St Johns College, Cambrige university of Dee & Nichols

28. Rufus Stone, New Forest

29. Kingly Vale

30. Long Man of Wilmington

31. Silbury Hill

32. West Kennet Long Barrow

33. Wilton House

34. Cadbury Castle

35. Cerne Abbas Giant

36. Exeter Castle

37. Witchcraft Museum, Boscastle

38. Merry Maidens

39. Steyning

40. Nine Maidens

41. Grimes Graves

42. The Devils Arrows

43. Rudston Monolith

44. Old Bewick

45. Shell Grotto

A Magical Map of England

A Magical Map of London

At the present day, Britannia is still fascinated by magic, and performs its rites with much ceremony...

PLINY, HISTORIA NATURALIS, XXX, 13

Magick is a faculty of wonderful virtue, full of most high mysteries, containing the most profound contemplation of most secret things