About the Book
From the back cover. AVALONIAN AEON is an epic and encyclopaedic exposition of the total Glastonbury experience in the form of an autobiographical tale of magic and mysticism, ecstasy, hilarity, horror, the mystery of destiny, the charisma of landscape. Against the backdrop of Crowley's Aeon of Horus, the Thatcher years, and Gulf War, feeding on a diet of drugs and books, the author was pulled via the famous festival into the mystery of Glastonbury with its history and mythology of the Tor, Arthur and the Grail, Joseph of Arimathea, abbey, Chalice Well, and alleged terrestrial zodiac. Features - a misspent youth, perplexing outlandish paranormal phenomena, psychic abilities and manifestations, visions, and artefact retrievals. Includes Early days and inspirations behind the Stonehenge and Glastonbury festivals. Extensive previously unpublished Andrew Collins material providing a unique overview of psychic questing, including the entire story of the seven swords of Meonia and how Glastonbury proved to be a doorway to the mysteries of what may lie beneath the Giza plateau.
Complete survey of work of American visionary Robert Coon relating to Glastonbury, Crowley, global chakra sites, and the Omega Point. Green Stone, Sirius, Tintagel, Stele of Revealing, witchcraft, Tarot, Qabalah, Rebirthing, Fellowship of Isis, Harmonic Convergence, Synchronicity. Also starring a further illustrious cast of characters. Dion Fortune, Geoffrey Ashe, Jose Arguelles, John Cowper Powys, Gurdjieff, John Michell, Leonard Orr, Anthony Roberts, Oliver Reiser, Katherine Maltwood, Frederick Bligh Bond, Graham Phillips, Mary Caine, Robert Anton Wilson, Shirdi Sai Baba, Hank Harrison. WARNING: THIS BOOK MAY ALTER YOUR STATE OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
About the Author :
Paul is an unashamed eclectic, describing himself in his books as a Psychic Questing, Reiki, Crowley, Mother Meera, Fellowship of Isis, Adi Da, Druid, Osho, Scientology, Gurdjieff, Anthony Robbins firewalking, Kriya Yoga, UFOlogical, Avalon of the Heart, 2012 kind of guy. Having completed a degree in the Study of Comparative Religion (for which he produced a dissertation on Nazi Occultism) in 1983, Paul moved on to a period working as a hypnotherapist. Meeting Andrew Collins in 1988, he became seriously involved in psychic questing and makes appearances in 3 of Collins' books of that time, The Seventh Sword, The Circlemakers, and The Second Coming. Moving to Glastonbury in 1995 he immediately began a four-year period of a hundred public presentations on esoteric topics. From there he progressed to ten years of writing which resulted in his inter-related first three books, Mysterium Artorius, Aleister Crowley and the Aeon of Horus, and Avalonian Aeon. As a long-term resident he is passionately interested in all aspects of the total Glastonbury package of history and mythology and the current extraordinary spontaneous social experiment that the town itself represents. Paul is currently once again engaging in an extensive sequence of lectures to promote his books.
Review :
From the July edition of the Glastonbury Oracle. Those of us familiar with Paul Weston's talks in Glastonbury in the late nineties have long been waiting for this account of his occult journeyings during the 1980's and early 1990's. I am happy to report that it surpasses all expectations, starting with the early acid fuelled misadventures and developing into the main body of the book featuring epic vistas of psychic questing across the Glastonbury Zodiac and points further afield. Paul has always been wonderfully perceptive in his exposition of magical and mystical sources and Avalonian Aeon contains insightful studies of John Cowper Powys, Katherine Maltwood, George Gurdjieff and a host of other influences. It seems unlikely that any of these influences could have envisaged the kind of voyage Paul chose to launch upon. The demented early days rarely allow for boundaries and the purple hazed initiation of Solstice Eve at Stonehenge free festival in 1979 sets up a repeating cycle of especially intense Solstices throughout the eighties - an inspired all nighter up the Tor is particularly memorable, where Sufis, Wiccans and bongo crazies conspire happily together in creating serendipity. Psychic questing is an unaccountable phenomenon whereby information is psychically received, directions given to specifically described locations leading to the discovery of physical objects such as swords and gems, as well as apported objects, and further information. Paul was working in a group that included Andrew Collins, who has written extensively on the phenomenon, but much of the material in Avalonian Aeon has not been published before. A vast mass of Arthurian, Sumerian, Egyptian, Mayan and other historical/mythical sources creates an ever evolving matrix out of which further adventure happens. I cannot remotely give justice to the intensity and richness of the material. The appearance of Trebor the Follet, a Cornish Sprite, might give you a flavour: Trebor offers plenty of useful guidance, but has an unhelpful habit of fusing electrics and bursting plumbing, as one might expect from a sprite. And then of course, there is the Essex cultural background to deal with. For it is the Company of Essex trooping across the misty Vale of Avalon - hailing from Southend and all points East - very much in the tradition of Cowper Powys, where mystical ecstasies are counter-pointed by foul smells. Quests are deliberated upon in smoky pubs, excessive alcohol consumed and revelatory nights flow into breakfast at Little Chefs. Reaching for the stars and scaring themselves shitless in the process. This is a superb book, an indispensable addition to the Glastonbury canon, full of inspiration and bound to lead to further synchronicities and connections. The Glastonbury Zodiac is currently gaining much more attention and Avalonian Aeon is an invaluable source book for those interested in exploring its terrestrial esoteric initiations. The book does of course carry the usual health warning Not for those of a tender disposition but you may have worked that one out for yourselves already. Too much for me to absorb in one week's reading and I will be reading it in more detail again. But it sent me well doolally for the few days leading up to Solstice Eve 2010, so job done. Mike Jones
