Journal of Geomancy vol. 4 no. 3, April 1980
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Summer is nearly upon us and we breathe a sigh of relief that postage and value added tax have not yet again been increased. Instead, we present for you the latest JOURNAL OF GEOMANCY, the fifteenth in the series, and for subscribers the added bonus of an OCCASIONAL PAPER by yet another forgotten geomantic pioneer – John Fraser, an antiquary who worked in the 1920s in Orkney on equidistant sites. Also in this issue, material by David Adams on William H. Black; Paul Screeton on books that nearly were; Jim Kimmis on the point of centre – that controversial omphalos of England; zodiacalia, letters and Fragments of a Universal Tradition plus another translation of material originally published in obscure journals in Nazi Germany.
The Aquarian Festival near Clapham Junction of Up the Junction fame was attended by IGR presence (thanks to Prudence Jones, Theresa Jane Nicholson, Michael Behrend, Rupert Pennick, Vince Russett and Simon Lewis). Rising costs of attending such festivals makes us question the whole idea of them. Small, non-profit organizations are charged large fees for attending, and then those who visit the festivals are charged admission – and the admission fees do not go to the organizations which provide the draw. Thus the Aquarian Festival, the Psychics and Mystics Fayre, and the Festival for Mind, Body, Spirit etc. take an undisclosed amount at the door, some of which must go as profit to the organizers. Now, be this as it may, one might say that legitimate business interests have the right to make money, if indeed they do. But these festivals, whilst no doubt profitable and worthwhile for the large, profit-oriented groups, do little for the small ones, and amongst them I include those in the Earth Mysteries field. It was noticeable that the majority of people who attended the Aquarian Festival came on the Saturday (it ran 2 days), to us it appeared that the Sunday trade was composed of the curious and those with nothing better to do, whilst the Saturday trade was people who were interested in the Festival per se.
What can be done about this? I suggest that perhaps this summer a meeting be held of all those involved in Earth Mysteries groups who would like to but cannot afford to appear at such a festival, with the intention of setting up a co-operatively run Earth Mysteries Festival with all the profits going to further geomantic research in all the groups represented. If anyone is interested or has any ideas, please contact the editor.
In a month or two, we will be producing the first paper in the CAMBRIDGESHIRE LEY PROJECT series, with an introduction
to the work of Watkins in the county, and its significance. Also with this issue subscribers receive the new
IGR/FENRIS-WOLF CATALOG, which catalogs all in print publications from IGR, Wolf and other places available from us,
including the last available copies of the excellent but defunct magazine PICWINNARD.
NIGEL PENNICK
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THE JOURNAL OF GEOMANCY IS THE ORGAN OF THE INSTITUTE OF GEOMANTIC RESEARCH, AND IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY AT THE ABOVE
ADDRESS. SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE JOURNAL ARE £3·75 A YEAR, WHICH INCLUDES 3 ISSUES OF OCCASIONAL PAPERS AND
ANY CATALOGS ISSUED DURING THE CURRENCY OF THE SUBSCRIPTION.
CREDITS FOR THIS ISSUE:
Editor/typer/artwork/printer of stencils, NIGEL PENNICK; Collators and helpers: Sheila Cann, John Cann, Ann Pennick;
thanx for donations from Vince Russett and Rupert Pennick; Lithoes printed by S-PRINT, Milton Road, Cambridge; paper
from Friends of the Earth, Cambridge; Stencils printed at AN MEN TRESSA A’N HOWL stencillery, People’s
Republic of East Anglia.
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