THE JOHN MICHELL ARCHIVE

 
John Michell was a best-selling author and world authority on the mysteries of existence. Between March 2001 and August 2002, John wrote a series of articles on a variety of esoteric subjects for Jonathan's website and the Daily Mirror newspaper in the UK.

Jonathan writes: It was a thrill to have John writing for us about unexplained phenomena. I have been an admirer of his work since I was a teenager. I hope you enjoy his thought-provoking work.

December 20, 2001

The lost world of Atlantis

There was once a huge island-continent called Atlantis. Its capital, Atlantis city, was a centre of world trade. It lay in the Atlantic, outside the Straits of Gibraltar. Travellers from the Mediterranean crossed it on their way to America.

Suddenly there was a great natural disaster. Atlantis was broken up by storms and earthquakes, and the whole island sank beneath the waves.

This story was written down by Plato in about 350 BC. It was an old story even in his time. It came, he said, from the temple records of ancient Egypt.

Atlantis was a rich and mighty power. It invaded the countries around it, and its armies advanced as far as Greece. There they were defeated by the brave Athenians. The Atlantean empire fell - and then came the catastrophe.

It may have been a falling comet that destroyed Atlantis and devastated a great part of the world. But Plato gave no details. He just said that Zeus, the chief god, was behind it. And he made the story into a moral tale, saying that the fall of Atlantis was because its citizens had become wealthy and decadent.

It was not till modern times that people began looking for Atlantis. One of the first was our prime minister, William Gladstone. In 1882 he read a book called Atlantis, The Antediluvian World. Its author was a radical American politician, Ignatius Donnelly. No one since Plato had written seriously about Atlantis, and the book caused a sensation.

Gladstone ordered the Royal Navy to explore the Atlantic. The islands of Azores looked to him like peaks of the drowned continent. Unfortunately, the Treasury refused to allow him funds for the expedition.

Since then, discoveries of Atlantis have been claimed all over the world. Thousands of books have been written in dozens of languages. Thousands of ancient ruins have been identified as Plato's lost city.

Many of the books on Atlantis are fantastical. Some say that the Atlanteans were the original people. They were giants before they grew decadent. They developed a technology, fuelled by the earth's living energies. But they went too far into black magic, and the system destroyed them.

I have no doubt that Plato's story was old and genuine. But he was a teacher, and he adapted it to his own purpose. He made it into a good lesson - that pride goes before a fall. His Atlanteans were smitten, with a comet perhaps, because the gods thought they were asking for it.

England's Atlantis

There are lost lands all round the British coastline. Most famous is Lyonesse off Cornwall. It stretched 50 miles from Lizard Point to the Scilly Isles. Fossilised trees and other relics have been dredged up from the sea bed. St Michael's Mount, now an island, was its trading centre in Roman times.

December 27, 2001

Secret governments of the underworld

When we think about life beyond the surface of the earth, we think about space. But, as far as we yet know, there is no life out there. That does not mean we are the only creatures in the universe. What about inside the earth?

There are many accounts, both ancient and modem, of contacts with beings from the under-world. At first sight they seem improbable. Nothing can live more than a few miles below the earth's surface because the pressure becomes too great. But it is a curious fact that, throughout the world, vast tunnel systems have been discovered, and no-one knows who constructed them, or why. In parts of Europe they were a local secret. When armies invaded, towns and districts were deserted and the people moved underground. In Africa, merchants and camels travelled unseen through large tunnels. One of these was recorded in Tanzania by the explorer Captain Grant. It was so long that it took from sunrise to noon for a caravan to pass through it.

In the wild parts of Asia - the Himalayas and the Gobi desert - are secret entrances to underground cities. This is an ancient tradition, and it is still widely believed. One of these cities, Shambala, is said to be the real capital of the world. It is the seat of the hidden Ruler. He and his court are wise and benevolent. But not all the underworld beings are like that. Some are spiteful and evil, and they are the cause of all troubles in this world.

Many people have searched for these buried cities. Some were looking for treasures, others for ancient wisdom. No-one in modern times claims to have found the world capital. But there are stories of 'hidden masters', deep in the mountains, who have passed on the secret doctrines of Shambala. In the 1930s, while searching for these masters in Tibet, Theodore Illion, found his way to an underground seat of government. He soon realised it was a black-magic centre, staffed by zombies, and managed to escape.

There are many such stories, and I do not suppose they are all true. I do not like to believe in an underground world-government. But I think there is some truth in the Shambala story. Which is, that we really are under divine rule, and the earth is full of all kinds of beings or spirits, above ground and below.

The hollow earth and the myth of Nazi UFOs

There are countless books on mysterious tunnels, the hollow earth, monsters from the underworld, secret conspiracies, the hidden wisdom and so on. Some are good and honest, others are stupid or nasty. The best I know is Arktos by Joscelyn Godwin (Thames & Hudson, 1992). It sums up the whole subject, from the dream of a lost paradise to the modern myth of Nazi survival and UFOs from hidden bases in the underworld.

January 3, 2002

Numbers and the secrets of harmony on earth

Jonathan has asked me to write about numbers, and I am pleased to do so. The reason is that number is at the root of everything. The whole world is made up of proportions and harmonies, which are numerical. Scientists describe it in the same way, through numbers and formulas. The great Pythagoras in the 6th century BC said about the universe, "It is all number".

That is all very well, but what does it mean to you and me? The answer is that we too are creatures of number - both in body and soul. Our limbs and features are geometrically proportioned, and our minds are constructed on the basis of number. That is why good music, composed of harmonies, soothes and pleases the mind, while ugly noise distresses it.

This subject is called traditional or esoteric science. Esoteric means hidden or secret. But the science of number is not secret; it is open to everyone. And it is only hidden because you have to find your own way into it.

It is not a secret, but a well-recorded fact, that the twelve gods or zodiacal rulers in ancient times each had their own number or set of numbers. And these numbers together provided the basic formula of the universe. Upon this formula or pattern great, long-lasting civilizations were founded.

This mystical science was inherited by the early Christians. Scholars among them created the holy names of the new religion to reflect certain numbers. Jesus was 888, the Holy Spirit 1080, and so on. The idea behind this was to regain the ancient world-order, with the twelve races of mankind united under the spell of music and universal number. The Church disapproved of this 'pagan' science and suppressed it.

Numbers are not just quantities. Each has its natural character and plays its own essential part in things. Twelve is the number that represents the order of the universe. That is because number itself is basically duodecimal. And that is why we recognise twelve gods and zodiacal signs" along with twelve tribes, astrological types and months of the year.

On the opposite pole to Twelve is the number Seven. Its character is spiritual, inspirational and 'lunar". In contrast to Twelve which represents the 'solar' values of rational order," Seven symbolises Mystery and the world-soul. Its images include the reclusive virgin" the oracle and the queen in her chamber.

Seven is the number of the planets or wandering stars, and of notes in the simple musical scale. Seven colours are seen in the rainbow, seven days make a week, and there are 4 x 7 or 28 days in the lunar cycle. The eternal goddess, source of nature, is known esoterically by the number Seven.

Having started this subject, I can hardly leave it here. So there will be another instalment next Thursday.

January 10, 2002

The beginning of number

The discussion here last week was about numbers, their hidden meaning and symbolism. This is a new start, introducing the first three numbers, beginning, as you would expect, with the number One.

But that is the most difficult way of starting. Great thinkers down the ages have been driven mad by puzzling over the One. What is it and how does it relate to the Many?

Some say that One represents the Creator. But that cannot be right, because the philosopher's God is beyond all description or numbering. More accurately, One is the unique symbol of the universe, regarded as one organic creature, independent and with nothing outside it. Each individual is an imitation of One, but can never be One itself. That is because we are not real individuals but parts of nature and of each other. You may think you are One (or even, if you are mad, The One). But you are just one of the Many.

In the Genesis story of creation, number Two arose when God divided everything into two parts. That is why there are two sexes and two sides to every argument. For its parts to be reconciled Two naturally gives rise to the number Three.

Three is the first truly odd number. Its shape, the triangle, is a symbol of fire and fertility. Odd numbers are considered to be male and active. A party with an odd number of people isd more inter-active than an even number, when the guests pair off.

January 17, 2002

Numbers and meaning

Last week we explored the natural symbolism of numbers 1, 2 and 3. Today we look closely at the remaining 'base' numbers...

Four is the first square number (2 x 2) and it is also 2 + 2. It completes the figure called the Tetractys, which stands for the basic Decad (the numbers 1 - 10) because I + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10.

Four is a sensible, practical number. Four-square means solid and well-based. We divide the year into four seasons and the compass into four points. There are four directions, left, right, back and front.

Five is a symbol of life and growth. There are five petals on the rose, five fingers to the hand, five extremities of the body and five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch). Relating to Five is the proportion known as the golden section (1: 1.618). This appears in many of nature's life-forms.

Six relates to the material creation - to rocks and crystals. Snowflakes are typically six-sided. Natural structures, like the cells of honeycomb, are built up of hexagons.

Seven is called Mystery and the Virgin. The 'virgin' name arose because the number is not the product of any two numbers in the Decad, it can't be pinned down, can't be laid! It is the number of the world-soul that existed before the physical creation. It stands for hidden wisdom and the seven stages of initiation into the secret knowledge of the ancients. In astrological charts the seven wandering planets are held within the 12-part framework of the zodiac.

The powers represented by the numbers 1 to 7 comprise the 'sublunary world' - the sphere of earth under the influence of the moon. These numbers, multiplied together, make 5040. With this number the study of ancient science begins.

January 24, 2002

The riddle of the Great Pyramid

What is the most famous building in the world? There is only one answer - the Great Pyramid of Egypt. It is also the most mysterious. In its dimensions are encoded the secrets of ancient science and wisdom. That is why learned people in many ages have devoted lifetimes to studying it. That is why there are more books and writings about it than about any other man-made object.

It was built almost 5,000 years ago, in the reign of a pharaoh named Cheops or Khufu. So they say. but nothing about the Great Pyramid is certain. It is so perfectly constructed that experts call it uncanny. Some say that it could not be a work of human hands. Despite our wealth and technology, it certainly could not be built today.

It is a building of immense size Britain's tallest steeple, on Salisbury Cathedral, is 404 feet high. The Cheops pyramid is about 80 feet taller. And it is all of solid masonry, made up of 2.3 million huge stone blocks, each one trimmed to fit its particular position.

Originally the Pyramid was made smooth and gleaming by a finish of white polished slabs. They were carved and fitted together with the precision of a jeweller. It is said that you can not insert a cigarette paper into their joints.

This degree of perfection occurs in every aspect of the pyramid. So what was the purpose of it? One purpose was to get us thinking, and that is what we shall do here next Thursday.

January 31, 2002

The lesson of the Pyramid

As promised last week, the discussion here is about the meaning of the Great Pyramid of Cheops. No other building has been so carefully examined by scientists and scholars. All kinds of specialists have studied it - archaeologists, astronomers, astrologers, engineers. geographers, mathematicians and mystics. And they all say the same thing. That the Great Pyramid is, as nearly as possible, a perfect structure.

For many years I have studied the Pyramid. mainly through its geometry and measures. Like others. who investigate its different aspects, I glimpse a beautiful mind behind this work the mind of a divinely inspired architect. it was someone who understood the number code behind the universe, and expressed it in one great building.

The moment you begin studying the Pyramid you make contact with that mind. It is worth doing so, because it can lead to deeper understanding to initiation even. That is one reason why they built the Pyramid.

The other reason is highly controversial. It was to do with ancient knowledge about life and death and the career of the soul. The Pyramid was an instrument of priestly technology. It preserved the spirit of a pharaoh and kept his influence alive within the state. This led to a very conservative form of government.

The advantage of that system was that it maintained the high civilisation of ancient Egypt over a long period. The drawback was that it abolished personal freedom. For that reason the system fell apart. That is another riddle of the Pyramid. Can we be civilised without falling under tyranny?

February 7, 2002

Who are you staring at?

Everyone knows that it is rude to stare at people. It is not just a question of manners. It can be dangerous. The person you stare at soon feels your gaze and returns it, angrily. It happens even when that person has his back to you.

A good place to test this out is on the bus. Suppose you are sitting at the back, and someone in front takes your attention because they are attractive or weird or whatever. Stare at them a while, and it is likely enough they will turn round.

It has happened to me while trying to peep at another man's newspaper on the train. The man could not see my eyes, but he felt what I was doing. He rustled the paper and frowned at me.

The ancients believed that eyes have power, and that you can affect people just by looking at them. They also believed in the 'evil eye'. Certain people were said to have it. By gazing at someone they could make them ill or unlucky. That must be the origin of the rule against staring.

Scientist Rupert Sheldrake has tested this claim by experiments. He proved that certain people are highly aware of being stared at. Others feel it at times, but not always. The conclusion he came to was the old one that there is power in the eye, and it can influence other people. We call this telepathy, or animal magnetism. It used to be seen as a branch of witchcraft.

February 21, 2002

England' s centre

Everyone has a centre. That is the point from which you think and see. It is an important subject, because until you are properly centred (in the divine mystery rather than your self) you have a miserable life. Countries also have centres. Last week I promised to identify the centres of England, Ireland and the British Isles.

The British Isles centre is in the Isle of Man. The exact spot is half way along our main axis, the straight line between Land's End and John 0' Groats. Around it was the inner sanctum of British Druidry. A circle of 50 miles radius, drawn from there, touches England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

To find the centre of England - or mainland Britain - you drawn the axis from its central southernmost point, St Catherine's Point on the tip of the Isle of Wight, up to John 0' Groats. Upon this line is the village of Meriden in Warwickshire, 'The Heart of England'. The stone cross on Meriden village green has stood for over 500 years and is recognised as the national centrepoint.

There used to be an an annual festival at Meriden on May 24. It has not been held for a couple of years, but I am happy to report that it wil take place again this year. I am planning to go.

Most interesting of all, especially today, is the centre of Ireland. In Ireland's ancient divisions and its mystical, royal centre is the key to peace and happiness throughout the whole land. But there is no room for it now, so it must wait till next week.

February 28, 2002

The sacred centre of old Ireland

The object of mystical thinking is to approach the ideal. The alchemists, while seeking to make gold, were also trying to restore the Golden Age. That was when the greatest possible amount of happiness was shared by everyone.

A relic of that age survives in the ancient divisions of Ireland. From times before history, Ireland has been divided into four provinces, north, south, east and west. Each has its own traditional character. Ulster in the north is warlike and industrious. Leinster in the east is rich and prosperous. In the south is Munster, famous for music, and Connacht in the west produces the great scholars of Ireland.

Each of these four provinces was divided into three sections, ruled by a provincial king and two below him. This made up the circle of twelve sections, corresponding to the twelve gods or signs of the zodiac.

Originally there was a fifth, central province. This was the realm of the high king. Within it lay the national centre. Its location was carefully worked out by the Druid surveyors, and it is perfectly accurate. You will find it to the east of Athlone, near the village of Ballymore.

The problems in Ireland today are not so much political as spiritual. That is why the centre is so important. In happy times, when the high king was ritually married to the goddess of the country, the four provinces were independent but united by the same magic. That is how it will be again one day.

March 7, 2002

Our sacred measures

One of tragedies is to lose something, or someone, and only then realise how much you valued them. It happens all the time in love. And it is happening now, as we part company with our most ancient and precious possession our units of measure, the foot, mile, acre and so on.

It is now known that our present British units were the standards behind all other measure in the ancient world. For example, 24 British miles equal 25 of the classical Greek miles. This gives you the exact value of the Greek mile and of its 5000th part, the Greek foot by which the Parthenon was built.

All these traditional units - Roman, Egyptian, Sumerian and others - are related to each other by simple ratios. It was all one system, universally. Even across the Atlantic, the Mexican pyramids were designed by the same units of measure as those of Egypt.

The ancient units were fractions of the earth's dimensions. One standard was its mean circumference, equal to a tenth part of 12 x 12 x 12 x 12 x 12 English miles. When the French tried to measure the earth in order to establish their metre, they got it wrong and their system is based on error.

There is nothing political about this. It plays no seriously part in the debate over Europe and the Euro. It is just that our units are sacred in origin. They measure the universe and the human body by the same standard, whereas the metre has no natural meaning. That is why we traditionalists say, Stand up for the foot!

A vigorous campaign to preserve our measures is run by The British Weights & Measures Association. visit www.bwmaonline.com for more details

March 14, 2002

Esoteric geometry

The most famous school in ancient Greece was Plato's Academy at Athens. It was open to all, but Plato really wanted the children of kings and chiefs. There will never be a just society , he believed, until there is a perfectly just ruler. He taught the art of government, beginning with how to shape and govern yourself. Only if you know that are you worthy of ruling other people.

Over the door of his school Plato wrote, "Do not enter unless you know geometry." His reason was that geometry comes nearer to truth than any other art - apart from music which ranks equally with it. They are both, in different ways, expressions of number ratios, and number is the same in all ages and in every part of the universe. We did not invent it, we discovered it.

By studies of geometry, music and, above all, number itself, Plato prepared his students for initiation into the reality of our existence. He did not preach or give opinions, but led them by a series of proofs towards true perception. He showed the way to a happy and useful life. And he showed that the world is God-made and our souls are immortal.

Next week we shall have a look at geometry from Plato's point of view - as a true source of knowledge about ourselves and the universe. They do not teach that aspect of geometry in schools today, and you cannot expect them to. It is an esoteric subject.

March 21, 2002

The Geometry of Creation

At the beginning of the Bible, the first chapter of Genesis describes the stages by which the Creator fashioned the universe. First he brought it to order, then he divided it between the upper part and the lower part, and separated the land from the sea.

This story reflects a simple figure of geometry. Last week I promised more on geometry as an esoteric art - an art with hidden meaning. Genesis is a good place to start. And another ancient book that tells the same story, but with more geometric details, is Plato's Timaeus.

The story, as geometers tell it, is that the Creator drew his plan of the universe with a ruler and fixed compass. He placed his compass point at the centre, and drew a circle to define the limits of the universe. That is what everyone does with their first geometry set.

He also drew the diameter of the circle through the central dot. Placing his compass point at one end of the diameter, he swung two arcs to cut the circle on either side of it. And he did the same at the other end. In this way he divided the circle into six equal parts, and went on to make those daisy patterns that everyone likes.

When you do that, you are imitating the material creation, symbolized by the number 6. Hexagonal geometry is beautiful but mechanical. Next week we will continue through other shapes and stages in creation.

March 28, 2002

The circle of Creation

Last week we drew a circle and divided it into six parts. From that you can make an endless pattern of hexagons, like cells of a honeycomb. That represents the material creation, before life came in.

Before going further, we should look qgain at the circle, the first figure of esoteric geometry . The circle has two parts, the central dot and the enclosing circumference. The distance between them is the radius.

The circle is a natural symbol of the whole, divine universe. It represents justice, because each point on its rim is the same distance from the centre. It is economical, because the circle encloses the largest space within the shortest perimeter. And it contains all the other regular figures of geometry . Like the universe, the circle can never quite be described rationally, because pi (the ratio between its diameter and circumference) is itself irrational.

The central dot, made by the point of the compass, stands for the pole on which the circle revolves. That makes it a symbol of the unchanging laws that govern the universe. Around it spins the world we experience, of constant change.

The circle in three dimensions is the sphere. Contained by it are the five other regular forms of geometry. They represent the four elements - earth, air, fire and water, together with a mystical fifth, whose symbol is the 12-sided dodecahedron.

The lessons you learn from geometry are not always the official beliefs of today. But they are always the same, and next week we shall look further .

April 4, 2002

Geometry practical and mystical

There are many practical uses of geometry - for combining beauty and function in architecture, for example, or for planning fortifications in wartime. But its greatest benefit is developing a sense of proportion in those who practise it. Like music, geometry can refine your perceptions and make you happier and more successful.

Architects at the Renaissance understood the link between music and geometry. They planned rooms and buildings as 'concrete music', using ratios such as 1:2, 2:3 and 3:4, which are the musical octave, fifth and fourth. You do not have to know their secret to feel pleasantly at ease in those buildings. Modern architects naturally relate to modern music, and that is why their products are often so chaotic.

In previous weeks we have followed the traditional creation myth to the point where the Great Architect constructs the material world. For that he used the hexagonal geometry of the number Six. For the creation of life he used the number Five.

The pentagon is quite different from the hexagon. For one thing, it does not 'tile'. You can put hexagons together endlessly, but the pentagon does not allow that. It is an individual. Like us, it has five extremities, and its proportions are reflected in the human figure. In the ratio between its side and diagonal it displays the 'golden section' that governs plant growth. Five is the number of fingers on a hand, petals on a rose and much else in nature. We shall meet it again next week.

April 11, 2002

The geometry of paradise on earth

Over the last four weeks we have looked at the basic shapes of geometry the divine circle, the rational, earthly square, the space-filling hexagon and the pentagon, symbol of life and humanity.

The next shape is the seven-sided heptagon. It is the most intriguing figure, the symbol of mystery. One reason is that no one can construct a perfect heptagon with just ruler and compass. Prizes have been offered for it, but they have never been won.

The heptagon relates to the soul and the eternal goddess. Ancient cities were laid out rationally in divisions of twelve, but at their centre was the number 7, represented by the state oracle. Its priestess gave advice to the rulers intuitively, as the spirit moved her.

Each of the simple shapes in geometry has its function in magic and enchantments. When set together in one diagram, each in its right place, they form the complete, ideal pattern of the universe. A magical saying is, "Like attracts like". That is why the old builders of towns and temples planned them in certain numbers and shapes. By imitating the ideal, they brought paradise closer to earth.

A geometric symbol of paradise is the dodecahedron. It is the solid, 12-sided figure, each of whose sides is a pentagon. The pentagon represents humanity, so in this figure are the twelve races or astrological types, set together in perfect order and harmony. It tells you what geometry is really all about the realisation (or an occasional glimpse) of paradise on earth.