Journal of Geomancy vol. 4 no. 3, April 1980
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In reply to the article by Vince Russett in a previous JOG, here are some notes of a similar “Adam–Eve” connexion in the Cuffley Zodiac. Although the Adam figure has been placed on Sagittarius by both Vince Russett and Mary Caine in her Glastonbury work, I discovered that Leo in the Cuffley Zodiac in particular (it is also true elsewhere) seems to be a better candidate,
To start with, Leo and Virgo seem to have a close similarity to the relationship between Lancelot and Guinevere. It was their desire for each other that was the weakness in the Round Table and eventually brought it down. Their love aspect seems to be the first pointer, however she did also love Arthur and the path becomes overgrown again. Between the two figures is a rather large space of about 5 miles, most of which was originally Enfield Chase, a royal hunting ground. Trent Park is the only really preserved part of the area and it contains two interesting place names, ‘Snake’s Lane’ and Leeching Beech Gutter, a drainage ditch. I felt they may refer to some unexpected Hydra figure, and old maps of the Chase showed an outline which was not long and stretched as in the celestial beast, but curved and coiled, turning to face the lion and seemingly about to bite its leg.
The Leo figure is suggested by the placenames, BARNET (from the Anglo-Saxon, BERNE) which means ‘place of the fire’ and possibly hints at the fact that Leo is a fire sign. CAT HILL lies on his hind leg, so called because of the 500 year old pub of the same name (The Cat) that, until recently, lay at its base. Previously the road was called Doggets Hill which seems to tie in with the Babylonian Leo which is a dog. The old Knightsland Farm which lies near the mouth of the beast perhaps verifies the Lancelot connexion.
Returning to the Hydra effigy, it also seems to be the serpent of the apple tree in the Garden of Eden, which Vince. Russett attributes to Scorpio as it lies between the archer and maiden. In Trent Park there is an important site known as Camlet Moat. It was at one time known as Camelot Moat and therefore suggests another Arthurian link. The serpent effigy coils equally around it and makes it appear to represent the apple on the tree. Apples are also present in another Adam link in the Nuthampstead Zodiac, for the lion there has orchards on its lips. Must be that fatal apple he tasted! And if Virgo is Eve, whose fault it was anyway, she ties in with the northern folk tale/song about Allison Gross who beckoned a young man into her bower and tried to persuade him to become her ‘lemman so true’. He refused and had to pay the price for she blew her grass green horn (wheatsheaf?) and turned him into an ugly worm (the serpent figure again?)
There are dozens more zodiac clues in the song which may be. a sort of ‘blueprint’ for the zodiax. A witch was Allison Gross indeed! But then so is Virgo. Theobalds Park which lies on the hand of the Virgin was once the home of the Oylers, a family famous for their {7} farming. They certainly chose the right place to work, at the base of the sheaf! I an grateful to John Billingsley for his ideas and thoughts on the Zodiac/Robin Hood connexion. There seems to be some doubt as to whether Maid Marian ever existed but her evil half (in contrast with Morgan le Fay – Arthur’s sister) Elizabeth de Steynton, seems once again to bring out the witch in Virgo. For she betrayed Robin and let him bleed to death in the Priory she governed. And who is Scorpio but her lover, Sir Roger of Doncaster who must therefore be an immediate enemy of Robin’s. Other figures that may or may not have existed (the right ones still have to be sorted out) seem also to be relevant to some of the Zodiac figures. Taurus is perhaps Alan Adele, the minstrel. I have no back-up for this. suggestion. It just ‘feels’ right and being a Taurian myself, I may be right. Gemini would seem to be either Little John or some other rogue. As John Billingsley points out, it would really be the correct place for Little John being somewhere near Robin’s match and since Gemini and Sagittarius are opposite in the circle, it is the ideal place. The second twin (this figure is reasonably important) would seem to be a similar ‘weaker’ figure, perhaps Will Scarlet.
The Scorpion in the Cuffley Zodiac seems to have been thought of as some sort of reptile again by the residents of the area as the placename of Wormley is commonly used. The name means something like “frequented by reptiles”, and either springs from dragon legends thereabouts, which would link with the effigy any way, or are indeed a reference to the Scorpion. As Vince Russett mentions, there is a similar name Warmley in the Bristol scorpion’s area which may suggest the same thing.
The original point of this article was to show that although the archer is not incorrectly related to Adam, but in some more eastern zodiax, Leo was perhaps chosen as the victim of evil in at least one way, many other links are of course present. As the half-borrowed title of this piece suggests, Leo is one of the strongest of the zodiac family and although evil often got the better half, good always triumphs as the infinitive turning of the Earth and the zodiac circle tells us.