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THE
BACKGROUND TO THE WALKS
FAQ
Q. Are the walk's information content true or made up? Are they
real history or just speculation?
A.
Neither and both! The dividing line between fact and fiction becomes
very tenous as soon as any narrative is used to organise data. This
is as true for academic work as much as it is for fiction writing. As
science has shown truth lies only in empirical facts and definitions,
theory ties these facts together in speculative 'stories', stories that
are often superceded by better stories at a later date. This is even
more true for soft sciences, such as archeology and history, than for
the true sciences. Similarly works of fiction are often creative reworkings
of 'true history'. The narratives used by Wyrd Walks are based on rigourous
scholarly research geared to be as entertaining as possible. They differ
from academic narratives in their breadth and degree of bold speculation,
and from fiction in their adherance to basic facts. Where theses are
used to contectualise the historical facts they are unique, original
and as entertaining as possible, in order to stimulate the imagination
and allow their audience the freedom to judge for themselves.
Q.
Where does Wyrd Walks get its information from?
A. A large part of Wyrd Walks activity is its research work, the actual
walks are just the tip of the iceberg. Wyrd Walks undertakes original
research based on the best available factual information and well rooted
folklore, and comes up with unique explanatory narratives not found
elsewhere.
Q. What topics do you cover?
A. We specialise in alternative, suppressed and forgotton histories
and are always developing new themes. Current walks include pagan histories,
magical traditions, ghost and phantom walks and legend and folklore
explorations.
Q. Do you believe in Ley Lines and Earth Energy?
A. There are many forms of energy most of which are well understood
by science. It is therefore unlikely that new forms of energy will be
found. Though this is not impossible. More likely is the possibility
that known forms of energy function in anormalous ways under atypical
conditions, or that certain factors have been missed in the standard
picture painted by science. Areas of potential research here involve
the role of consciousness in physical phenomena and the presence of
extra dimensions to the conventional space-time model. Any reality for
Earth Energy would probably be found here. Empirical non-scientific
disciplines, such as Feng Shui, can also be a starting point for research.
This is not a very big element of Wyrd Walks however and so left an
open mystery.
More central to the walks is the phenomena known as 'ley lines'. In
the context of the walks ley lines, or 'alignments' to use a term with
less baggage, defines a short linear alignment of old churches, or other
ancient features. Some of these alignments have prosaic explanations,
others however are apparently often orientated to significant sunrises
or sunsets at certain times of the year. It is likely that the moon
and other astronomical bodies are also involved, but research here is
still underway. In London such alignments appear to run to or from elevated
points of land, primarily the main hills Central London: Ludgate Hill,
Cornhill, the Barbican hills as well as the artificial mounds of Tower
Hill and Tothill. This is no doubt a general feature too. The most rational
conclusion from this, given other known customs, is their origin as
processional ways to sacred hills at significant times in the pagan
religious calender. In fact unique research performed for Wyrd Walks
indicates that all of London's genuine alignments are orientated to
significant sunrises or sunsets over their focal hill. Churches on these
alignments also often preserve the myths or feasts associated with these
orientation dates, the most obvious being their Saint's feast days.
This surprising feature can be used to distinguish authentic 'ley lines'
from the many spurious and rightly discredited alignments produced from
maps alone. As can their ability to be traversed by human precession.
The idea behind these processional ways may have been based on mankind's
percieved role as the completer or perfecter of creation. Sunrises and
sunsets over the highest points of land in a territory, liminal areas
where earth met heaven, were once seen as evidence of 'underworld gates'
also existing there (the nocturnal sun was believed to traverse the
underworld beneath a flat Earth in archaic belief). An idea that probably
originated in the ancient cultures of mountainous regions, where the
horizon is alway a nearby mountain range. However exactly where the
sun sets or rises depends on the perspective of the viewer to the horizon.
So by processing towards a certain highpoint on the angle of the sun's
path for that day, the luminary can be 'made to set or rise' over that
particular mountain or hill. Thus 'gates' can be 'located' in this way
within the 'appropriate' places for that festival or ritual. Or more
often it appears all significant sunsets and sunrises can be focused
on the highest land in a tribe's territory, creating a sacred omphalos
or tribal centre, a tradition probably closely associated with the myths
of kingship (where kings are often also seen as manifestations of a
solar deity and a people's link to the gods). Thus the tribe, or king,
creates or maintains a 'natural order' in this way. The original markers
of such processional ways, perhaps used in the same way as Christian
'pilgrimage stations'; standing stones,sacred trees and wells or other
pagan shrines were historically built over by the Church creating the
patterns we see today. Local Christian lore also usefully preserving
coopted pagan traditions as well. Research carried out by others, notably
Paul Devereux, has demonstrated similar processional ways to burial
grounds, known in medieval times as 'coffin ways', which may in fact
be connected to the hill alignments, given that sacred hills were where
ancient man buried their dead.
The question of the 'energetic' qualities of these alignments is an
open mystery. While the Energy Line theory has found little supporting
evidence, and it is unlikely that natural energy would follow straight
lines, there is a long history of ghost and spirit paths, as well as
shamanic 'flight paths', associated with the alignments, one compatible
with the above thesis. It is notable that all of these are human, or
at least sentiently, produced phenomena rather than natural phenomena.
Though of course such divisions may be artificial. There is some evidence
that human activity can leave dowsable traces. Wyrd Walks thus often
include dowsing experiments to test the idea of an energetic component
to the alignments. This is frought with difficulties however due to
the suggestible nature of dowsing. The mechanism behind this technique
is controversial but it seems to involve delicate balenced physical
systems of various kinds influencible by muscular twitchings. The twitchings
themselves being subconsciously produced. Thus not only do dowsing instruments
amplify unconscious cognition, be it psychic or more prosaic forms of
intuition, but also subjective bias and unconscious assumptions of all
kinds. To explore this, some walks have included 'fake alignments' (always
revealed afterwards) as dowsing experiments. The results of which are
curious in that 75% of people appear to obtain positive responces from
both the 'real' and 'fake' alignments, while 25% get nothing on either.
Results differ however between 'fake' and 'real' alignments in that
the 'fakes' give a wider band of results and are significantly weaker
(the band range being around a matter of feet), while 'genuine' alignments
are typically strong and more focused (most reactions occuring while
crossing the same line with a variation of only a few inches). This
has been repeated on dozens of walks involving many people, but numbers
are still too small to draw definitive conclusions, and more experiments
of different kinds may be needed.
Q. Do you believe in ghosts or spirits?
A.
The terms ghost and spirit are quite different and not necessarily related.
Though some people may have been drinking spirits when they saw a ghost!
The term ghost is a broad and uncommited one, probably covering a range
of diverse phenomena. In addition to 'ghosts of the dead', people have
experienced 'ghosts of the living', ghosts of fictitious people, and
even in the case of doppelgangers, ghosts of themselves! In addition
some ghosts do not appear human at all, and other alleged psychic phenomena,
such as poltegeists, have often been unwarrantedly attributed to ghosts.
The term 'spirit' is usually used for one particular kind of 'ghost
of the dead' associated with religious beliefs or after life theories,
as opposed to the more scientific notions of 'human residue' or 'place
memory'. Bizarre phenomena such as 'timeslips' may also be the cause
of some 'ghost stories'. Strangest of all are the 'phantoms' that appear
to dwell halfway between ghosts and physical beings, be they ghouls,
vampires, demons, faeries or 'little grey men'! All of these have been
explored in various tours conducted by Wyrd Walks.
Q. Are the walks religious in anyway?
A. Not at all. Religion is often a topic of discusion, but no religious
beliefs are either promoted or refuted.
Q. Are conspiracy theories involved?
A.
Alternative theories of history, particular the history of paganism
and esoteric belief, often involve what might be termed 'secret societies'
of various kinds. This does not imply the existance of some absurd Grand
Conspiracy of the paranoid imagination, simply that human beings tend
to form associations and that not all of these are open, visible or
even always legalistic! The classic example of the legal kind being
Freemasonry, the oldest and still largest of the various secretive,
and interlinked, fraternal associations for members of the Establishment,
and at a lower level mainstream institutions, industries and businesses.
Which while generally mere charitable associations and social clubs
used, and abused, for more mundane networking, sometimes contain even
more secretive and diverse esoteric orders within them. Amongst such
orders, as well as the more numerous but usually smaller groups outside
of Freemasonry and their ilk, exist a wide range of beliefs and socio-cultural
agendas. The common denominator of the majority of these groups in Western
countries would best be labeled as Rosicrucianism, with the conservative
or 'mystical' and the radical or 'scientific' fringes of this cultural
milieu often styling themselves 'Neo-Templar' and 'Illuminoid' respectively
(though it does not follow that many, if any, have any historical continuation
with either the long disbanded historical Templars or the much hyped
Bavarian Illuminati). Study of such groups and the parapolitics of their
shifting alliances and attempted manipulations can be difficult but
facinating, and has been a focus of many walks.
SAMPLE WALK ESSAYS:
The Ludgate Circle
The Spring Heeled Jack Page
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