When Jim Kimmis died at the end of 2006, the neo-antiquarian world lost a figure whose contributions to its world-view went largely unrecognised. Here we have Jim embarking on a phenomenological journey that many of us will share. Elements of a Journey Any journey, from a short walk to a world tour, can be analysed […]
An Enquiry into Walking Read More »
Jim Kimmis muses further on the debate over whether earth mysteries can claim to be a discrete entity. Although I dropped out of the EM scene many years ago, I read John Billingsley’s ‘E.m is dead – Long live e.m.!’ (NE98) with interest. It is useful to locate the development of earth mysteries within a
People, Places and Phenomena: A model? Read More »
How far and how long can we trust the memory of a people? John Billingsley stirs the forgetfulness of a West Yorkshire village. Claims are often made for the longevity of oral tradition, and the belief that a people can hold memorable events in their minds and lore for long afterwards. The unspoken and quite
Collective Amnesia Read More »
This article by John Billingsley is a set of linked psychogeographical reflections deriving from a time, a place, an exhibition (a Richard Long retrospective), and a book (Colin Renfrew’s Figuring It Out, Thames & Hudson, 2003) . Tuesday, August 4, 1998. Pavilion Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park. Arriving late, just an hour till the gallery closes,
Taking the Long View Read More »
John Billingsley suggests a more mundane origin for some alignments The defining characteristic of a ley is – I hope we would all agree – straightness. That was the key point that Alfred Watkins drew attention to, and even advocates of the alleged energy lines that have come to be mis-labelled ‘ley lines’ generally feel
A New Line on the Ley: Desire Paths Read More »
This article from John Billingsley[1] is intended as a reflection upon the influence of urbanised and planned landscapes upon human perceptions and the social and political attitudes that may derive from shifting psychogeographic viewsheds Broadly and simply summarised, the Neolithic, or New Stone Age, was characterised by a change in human relationships with the land.
A New Mesolithic Mindset in place: When the rough beast returns Read More »
NE has made frequent references to psychogeography, a hydra-like conceptualisation of people’s interaction with place. Often seen as an urban pastime with origins in a post-war Marxist milieu, John Billingsley here explores how it is also pertinent to rural and traditional cultures and communities, and bears a clear connection with earth mysteries and the wider
The City and the Country: Psychogeography – As we see it Read More »
David Kaiser suggests that an Irish folktale may contain intimations of a native shamanic tradition In Patrick Kennedy’s 1866 seminal Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts, he relates the story of ‘The Corpse Watchers’ [1]. This, he tells us, was the tale most often repeated to him while collecting these stories. In light of modern
The Corpse Watcher Read More »
‘Old Blighty’ has rarely lived up to its nickname as persistently as it has in the last few years. John Billingsley looks at some old techniques used by farmers to keep their animals sickness-free. It’s been a grim spring all round for lovers of rural environments, and especially for British farmers. The spectre of
Medical Care, Magical Cure: Traditional strategies for healthy livestock Read More »
Folk cures for humans as well as beasts involved the medical, the magical and sometimes the simply mystifying. Peter Watson reveals some of the techniques in traditional and historical medical practice The library of Chetham’s school in Manchester contains a remarkable if largely forgotten herbal, beautifully written and illuminated in a hand of the
Folk Medicine and Magic in Lancashire Read More »