Bøker av Nigel Pennick

An in-depth study of the sacred meanings behind ancient and enduring symbols.

A guide to the ancient wisdom of the Ogham and Coelbren symbols as well as Celtic tree lore.

Many readers will know Nigel Pennick as the author of over fifty books on geomancy, folklore, paganism, and the runes. But who is Nigel Pennick? In this comprehensive and convivial memoir, Pennick describes his formative years growing up in a London devastated by the Blitz. Beyond the obvious physical destruction wrought by the war, it was a world characterized by severe psychological trauma. For the adults in his life, this could lead to a spirit of callousness and disregard for human life. For his young contemporaries, it was the catalyst to question every received opinion and established institution. During his time as a biology student and scientific researcher, Pennick threw himself into the realms of alternative publishing, avant-garde art, and experimental music. Unlike the American counterculture, however, the British underground embraced elements of localism, ruralism, and the supernatural, which resonated in Pennick's consciousness (the recent popularity of the "folk horror" genre of film and literature is proof positive that these ideas have lost none of their imaginative appeal). While he rejected the naive political utopianism of his peers and shunned the excesses of the drug culture, it was these deeper themes of tradition and the spirit of place that would inform his career as a writer over the last half-century. But Wyrd Times is more than just an inventory of Pennick's intellectual interests. Abundantly illustrated with rare material from his private archives, it is a rollicking ride through a personal universe populated with Dadaists and Diggers; dowsers and ley hunters; witches and toadmen; heathens, football hooligans, UFO fanatics, and eccentric outsiders of every stripe. What's more, it is a virtual catalog of the incredible array of roles Pennick himself has played throughout this unfolding drama: researcher and lecturer, scientist and magician, mummer and musician, artist and craftsman, and far-ranging traveler between worlds-both seen and unseen. Throughout it all, Pennick's unique perspective and wry sense of humor shine forth, illuminating topics like art, religion, tradition, the nature of fate and mortality, and an undying spirit of personal resistance. Nigel Pennick is the author of Elemental Magic (2020), A History of Pagan Europe (with Prudence Jones, 1995), Pagan Magic of the Northern Tradition (2015), The Spiritual Power of Masks (2022), Witchcraft and Secret Societies of Rural England (2019), and many more. His book The Eldritch World (2019) is available from Arcana Europa.

Traces the history of good fortune traditions from sacred divination to modern gambling

Explores how runes relate to the cycles of time.

Explores ancient mask customs, rituals, and traditions throughout Europe, from Scandinavia and England to Germany and France to Greece and Rome

The author reveals how geomantic principles are rooted in the structure of the world, showing how they transcend the ages and are just as meaningful today as they were to our ancestors.

An illustrated exploration of the origins and history of amulets, lucky charms, talismans, and mascots

Learn how to use the principles and practices of natural magic for personal development and spiritual empowerment

"Learn to cultivate a traditional, beneficial relationship with the land by embracing the forgotten practices of our ancestors"--

A comprehensive look at the history and practices of rural English witchcraft

A comprehensive account of the rich folk culture preserved in the rural secret societies of the British Isles

A practical guide to the Anglo-Saxon Futhark and how runes were used in Old England

London has a unique series of churches built after the Great Fire of 1666, when most of the City of London was destroyed. Among these iconic churches are St Paul's, St Mary-le-Bow, St Bride's, St Clement Danes, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St Mary-le-Strand, St George Bloomsbury and Christ Church Spitalfields. They remain today as outstanding landmarks that define their local cityscapes. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren and his followers - Hawksmoor, Gibbs, Archer and James - these beautiful churches embody spiritual principles expressed through the conventions of Classical architecture. Underlying their outward, visible forms is sacred geometry, an ancient art that explores the invisible inner structure of the Cosmos and gives expression to it in physical form. In this book, Nigel Pennick explains the sacred geometry, spiritual symbols and emblems that make these churches among the most notable buildings of London.

Today, King's College Chapel is the iconic image of the City of Cambridge.The chapel was founded in 1446 by the mystically-inclined King Henry VI, known in his time as "the royal saint". The king gave his builders complete instructions for a magnificent chapel of cathedral dimensions, every part of which had a mystical and spiritual meaning. This "final flowering of the Great Work' was designed from the principles of sacred geometry, laid out and orientated by the ancient geomantic practice of the operative masons who built it.This book gives an historic overview of the chapel, and a summary of its construction, notable for its stunningly beautiful fan-vaulting and exceptional stained glass which still exists in its entirety. Although the chapel's original significance as a symbolic structure has been eroded over the centuries, it remains a place of wonder and reverence for countless thousands of visitors and those who watch on television the annual Christmas carol festival broadcast from there every year.

With a foreword by Iain Sinclair. London is an ancient city, whose foundation dates back literally thousands of years into the legendary prehistory of these islands. Not surprisingly it has accumulated a large number of stories, both historic and mythical, during this period, many of which, though faithfully recorded at the time, have lain almost forgotten in dusty libraries throughout the city. The Secret Lore of London is a guide to the legends, including a discussion of their importance as part of the oral tradition of Britain, combining Prehistoric, Celtic, Arthurian, Roman, Saxon and Norman levels - each of which has contributed to the many-layered life of the city. The first part contains a unique selection of essays (some printed here for the first time) by experts in their fields, each of whom possesses a unique interest in the legends of these islands, and who have written widely on associated themes. The second part of the book will consist of a Gazetteer of the sites mentioned which are still in existence, together with various other sites of associated interest, compiled by the Editor, the contributors, and members of the London Earth Mysteries Group. This part will be fully updated and extended to include many more sites. The result is a wide ranging and wholly fascinating book, with wide sales application possible. A series of appendixes will include William Stukley's extraordinary document The Brill, which relates to the ancient prehistoric sites around the area of present day St. Pancras, and excerpts from some of the best known 19th and early 20th century works on Legendary London by Lewis Spence and Harold BayleyContributors to the book are: Nigel PennickJohn MatthewsCaroline WiseCaitl n MatthewsCarol Clancy R.J. StewartBernard Nesfield-CooksonGareth KnightRobert StephensonGeraldine BeskinChesca PotterWilliam StukeleyLewis SpenceHarold BayleyAlan V. InsoleRoss Nichols