John Michell (writer)
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John Frederick Carden Michell (9 February 1933 – 24 April 2009) was an English author and esotericist who was a prominent figure in the development of the pseudoscientific Earth mysteries movement. Over the course of his life he published over forty books on an array of different subjects, being a proponent of the Traditionalist school of esoteric thought. Born in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
to a wealthy family, Michell was educated at Cheam School and
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
before serving as a Russian translator in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
for two years. After failing a degree in Russian and German at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, he qualified as a chartered surveyor then returned to London and worked for his father's property business, there developing his interest in
Ufology Ufology, sometimes written UFOlogy ( or ), is the investigation of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) by people who believe that they may be of extraordinary claims, extraordinary origins (most frequently of extraterrestrial hypothesis, extrate ...
. Embracing the counter-cultural ideas of the Earth mysteries movement during the 1960s, in ''The Flying Saucer Vision'' he built on Alfred Watkins' ideas of
ley lines Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognis ...
by arguing that they represented linear marks created in prehistory to guide extraterrestrial spacecraft. He followed this with his most influential work, ''The View Over Atlantis'', in 1969. His ideas were at odds with those of academic archaeologists, for whom he expressed contempt. Michell believed in the existence of an ancient spiritual tradition that connected humanity to divinity, but which had been lost as a result of
modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular Society, socio-Culture, cultural Norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the ...
. He believed however that this tradition would be revived and that humanity would enter a
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
, with Britain as the centre of this transformation. Michell's other publications covered an eclectic range of topics, and included an overview on the Shakespeare authorship question, a tract condemning
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
during ''The Satanic Verses'' controversy, and a book of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's quotations. Keenly interested in the
crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the sort of thing ...
phenomenon, he co-founded a magazine devoted to the subject, ''The Cereologist'', in 1990, and served as its initial editor. From 1992 until his death he wrote a column for ''
The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...
'' magazine, which was largely devoted to his anti-modernist opinions. He accompanied this with a column on esoteric topics for the ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily Tabloid journalism, tabloid newspaper. Founded in 1903, it is part of Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the tit ...
'' tabloid. A lifelong
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
smoker, Michell died of
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
in 2009. Michell's impact in the Earth mysteries movement was considerable, and through it he also influenced the British Pagan movement. During the 2000s, his ideas also influenced the "Radical Traditionalist" sector of the far right, epitomized by the journal '' Tyr''.


Biography


Early life

John Frederick Carden Michell was born in London on 9 February 1933. His father, Alfred Henry Michell, was of Cornish & Welsh descent and worked as a property dealer in the capital, while his mother Enid Evelyn (née Carden) was the daughter of Major Sir Frederick Carden, 3rd Baronet, great-granddaughter of Sir Robert Carden, 1st Baronet, who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1857, and 3x great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
''. The eldest of three children, Michell's siblings were named Charles and Clare. Michell was raised at
Stargroves Stargroves (also known as Stargrove House) is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. The house belonged to Mick Jagger during the 1970s and was a recording venue for the Rolling Stones and vari ...
, his maternal grandfather's Victorian-era estate on the Berkshire Downs near to Newbury, and it was here that he developed a love of the countryside, learning about the local flora and fauna from a neighbouring
naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
. He was raised into the
Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
denomination of
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
, although in later life rejected the religion. Michell was initially educated as a boarder at the preparatory Cheam School, where he was Head Boy and excelled at the
high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...
. From there he went to study at
Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, where he was a contemporary of Lord Moyne and Ian Cameron, the father of future Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
. He spent his two years of
national service National service is a system of compulsory or voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act ...
in the
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
, during which time he qualified as a Russian
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
at the School of Slavonic Studies. He then went on to study Russian and German at
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...
, although was unable to secure a
third-class degree The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant va ...
. He then qualified as a chartered surveyor at a firm in
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...
, before moving back to London to work for his father's property business. Commenting on this job, he later stated that it was "quite amusing, but of course I wasn't any good at it", with property speculators eroding much of his fortune. In 1966 one of his properties, the basement of his own residence, became the base of the
London Free School The London Free School (LFS) was founded on 8 March 1966, principally by John Hopkins (political activist), John "Hoppy" Hopkins and Rhaune Laslett. Description The London Free School was a community action adult education project inspired b ...
. The Black Power activist Michael X, having previously run a gambling club in the basement, had now become active in the organisation of the LFS and brought Michell into counter-culture activities. Michell began to offer courses in UFOs and ley lines. In 1964, with Jocasta Innes, Michell fathered a son, Jason Goodwin, who also became a writer. The relationship with Innes did not last. Jason Goodwin did not meet his natural father until 1992, at the age of 28, at which point they became quite close.


Embracing the Earth Mysteries movement

Michell developed an interest in Ufology and Earth mysteries after attending a talk given by Jimmy Goddard at Kensington Central Library on the subject of "Leys and Orthonies" in November 1965. Michell's first publication on the subject of Ufology was the article "Flying Saucers", which appeared in the 30 January 1967 edition of the counter-cultural newspaper ''
International Times ''International Times'' (''it'' or ''IT'') is the name of various Underground press, underground newspapers, with the original title founded in London in 1966 and running until October 1973. Editors included John Hopkins (p ...
''. He proceeded to write a book on the subject, but lost the original manuscript after accidentally leaving it in a North London café, at which he had to rewrite it. The book eventually saw publication as ''The Flying Saucer Vision'', published in 1967, when Michell was 35 years old. ''The Flying Saucer Vision'' took the idea of Tony Wedd that
ley lines Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures, prehistoric sites and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognis ...
– alleged trackways across the landscape whose existence was first argued by Alfred Watkins – represented markers for the flight of extraterrestrial spacecraft and built on it, arguing that early human society was aided by alien entities who were understood as gods, but that these extraterrestrials had abandoned humanity because of the latter's greed for material and technological development. According to Lachman, at this time Michell took the view that "an imminent revelation of literally inconceivable scope" was at hand, and that the appearance of UFOs was linked to "the start of a new phase in our history". Lachman, p 370 Many fans of Michell's work consider it to be "by far his most impressive book". In their social history of Ufology, David Clarke and Andy Roberts stated that Michell's work was "the catalyst and helmsman" for the growing interest in UFOs among the
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...
sector of the counter-culture. Subsequently, there was a shift in Michell's emphasis as he became increasingly interested in the landscapes in which he believed that ley lines could be found rather than the UFOs themselves. He wrote an article on "Lung Mei and the Dragon Paths of England" for a September 1967 issue of ''Image'' magazine, in which he compared British ley-lines to the Chinese mythological idea of '' lung mei'' lines, arguing that this was evidence of a widespread pre-Christian dragon cult in ancient Britain. He built on these ideas for ''The View Over Atlantis'', a book which he privately published in 1969, with a republication following three years later. Believing this earth energy to be a real magnetic phenomenon arising naturally from the ground, Michell argued that an ancient religious-scientific elite had traveled the world constructing the lines and various megalithic monuments in order to channel this energy and direct it for the good of humanity. The tone of his work reflected "a fervent religious feeling", describing the existence of an ancient, universal, and true system of belief that was once spread across the ancient world but which had been lost through the degeneracy of subsequent generations. He added however that this ancient knowledge would be revived with the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, allowing for what Michell described as the "rediscovery of access to the divine will". The
Pagan studies Pagan studies is the multidisciplinary academic field devoted to the study of modern paganism, a broad assortment of modern religious movements, which are typically influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of premodern ...
scholar Amy Hale stated that ''The View Over Atlantis'' was "a smash countercultural success", while the historian Ronald Hutton described it as "almost the founding document of the modern earth mysteries movement". Fellow ley-hunter and later biographer Paul Screeton considered it to be a "groundbreaking" work which "re-enchanted the British landscape and empowered a generation to seek out and appreciate the spiritual dimension of the countryside, not least attracting them to reawaken the sleepy town of
Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...
". The book inspired an array of Earth Mysteries publications in the 1970s and 1980s, accompanied by growth in the ley-hunting movement. Among the most prominent works to build on Michell's ideas during this period were Janet and Colin Bord's ''Mysterious Britain'', which used them in its presentation of a gazetteer of ancient sites, and Paul Screeton's ''Quicksilver Heritage'', which argued that the Neolithic had been a time devoted to spiritual endeavours which had been corrupted by the emergence of metal technologies. Michell associated with many individuals active in this ley-hunting community, and in July 1971 was one of many attendees at a ley-hunters picnic held at Risbury Camp, the largest outdoor gathering of the movement since 1939. In May 1969 Michell established a group known as the Research Into Lost Knowledge Organisation (RILKO) with his friends Keith Critchlow and Mary Williams. In conjunction with the Garnstone Press, RILKO founded the Prehistory and Ancient Science Library, a book series that brought out reprints of older works, such as Watkins' ''The Old Straight Track'' and William Stirling's ''The Canon'', both of which contained forewords by Michell. Michell also founded a small publishing company of his own, West Country Editions, through which he brought out his own ''A Little History of Bladud'' in 1973 as well as a reprint of Howard C. Levis's 1919 book ''Bladud of Bath''. With his friend John "Peewee" Michael, who lived in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, Michell also established a second small press, Pentacle Books, although it failed to become a commercial success and was short lived. Michell was involved in the summer 1971 Glastonbury Fayre music festival near
Pilton, Somerset Pilton is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, situated on the A361 road in the Mendip District, Mendip district, 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Shepton Mallet and 6 miles (10 km) east of G ...
, where the pyramid stage was built to Michell's specifications and situated at what he claimed were the apex of two ley lines. Through Michael Rainey, Michell was introduced to the members of rock band
The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
at the Courtfield Road home of band member
Brian Jones Lewis Brian Hopkin Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969) was an English musician and founder of the Rolling Stones. Initially a slide guitarist, he went on to sing backing vocals and played a wide variety of instruments on Rolling Stones r ...
. Michell befriended the band's lead singer,
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
, and he accompanied the band on a visit to
Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric Megalith, megalithic structure on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, to ...
. Michell then went on a visit to Woolhope in
Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
with
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...
, Anita Pallenberg, Christopher Gibbs, and the filmmaker
Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927 – May 11, 2023) was an American Underground film, underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and writer. Working exclusively in short films, he produced almost 40 works beginning i ...
, where they hunted for ley lines and UFOs.
Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress who achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her UK top 10 single " As Tears Go By". She became one of the leading female art ...
later recounted that band member Jones was particularly interested in Michell's ideas. He would later meet with the members of
The Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, folk, country, bluegrass, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, and world music with psyc ...
on their 1972 European tour; band members Phil Lesh and
Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...
expressed an interest in Michell's Earth Mysteries ideas. Michell's impact on the hippie subculture was recognised by mainstream media, and he was invited to submit an article titled "Flying saucers" to '' The Listener'' in May 1968, which was accompanied by a critical piece by editor
Karl Miller Karl Fergus Connor Miller FRSL (2 August 1931 – 24 September 2014) was a Scottish literary editor, critic and writer. Biography Miller was born in the village of Loanhead, Midlothian, and was educated at the Royal High School of Edinbu ...
, in which Michell was described as "less a hippy, perhaps, than a hippy's counsellor, one of their junior Merlins." Hale noted that Michell promoted the idea of "England as a site of spiritual redemption in the
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
", bringing together "popular ideas about sacred geometry, Druids, sacred landscapes, earth energies, Atlantis, and UFOs". In 1972 Michell published a sequel to ''The View Over Atlantis'' as ''City of Revelation''. Shortly after publication he stated that he had written the work in "almost two years of near total solitude and intense study in
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
." This work was more complex than its predecessor, including chapters on sacred geometry,
numerology Numerology (known before the 20th century as arithmancy) is the belief in an occult, divine or mystical relationship between a number and one or more coinciding events. It is also the study of the numerical value, via an alphanumeric system, ...
,
gematria In numerology, gematria (; or , plural or ) is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase by reading it as a number, or sometimes by using an alphanumeric cipher. The letters of the alphabets involved have standar ...
, and the esoteric concept of the
New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...
, and required an understanding of mathematics and Classics to follow its arguments. Bob Rickard, founding editor of '' Fortean Times'', has written that Michell's first three works "provided a synthesis of and a context for all the other weirdness of the era. It’s fair to say that it played a big part in the foundation of ''Fortean Times'' itself by helping create a readership that wanted more things to think about and a place to discuss them. The overall effect was to help the burgeoning interest in strange phenomena spread out into mainstream culture." Rickard, Bob
The Man from Atlantis
, '' Fortean Times'', April 2009


Challenging academic archaeology

The work of Michell and others in the ley-hunting and Earth mysteries communities were rejected by the professional archaeological establishment, with the prominent British archaeologist Glyn Daniel denouncing what he perceived as the "lunatic fringe". In turn, Michell was hostile to professional and academic archaeologists, accusing them of "treasure hunting and grave robbery" and viewing them as representations of what he interpreted as the evils of modernity. In response to the academic archaeological community's refusal to take the idea of ley lines seriously, in 1970 Michell offered a challenge for professional archaeologists to disprove his ideas regarding the West Peninsula leys. He stated that were he to be proved wrong then he would donate a large sum to charity, but at the time no one took up his offer. However, in 1983 his case study was analysed by two archaeologists, Tom Williamson and Liz Bellamy, as part of their work ''Ley Lines in Question'', a critical analysis of the evidence for ley-lines. They highlighted that Michell had erroneously included medieval crosses and natural features under his definition of late prehistoric monuments, and that arguments for ley-lines more widely could not be sustained. The impact of their work on the ley-hunting community was substantial, with one section moving in a more fully religious direction by declaring that leys could only be detected by
intuition Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning or needing an explanation. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledg ...
, and the other renouncing a ley line belief in favour of a more ethnographically rooted analysis of linear connections in the landscape. Responding to their work, Michell said that "I just feel sorry for Williamson and Bellamy that the most exciting thing they can find to do with their youth is to discredit the ley vision." In 1983 Michell published an altered version of his best known work as ''The New View Over Atlantis''. Ioan Culianu, a specialist in
gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...
and
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
esoteric studies, in a review in 1991 of ''The Dimensions of Paradise: The Proportions and Symbolic Numbers in Ancient Cosmology'', expressed the view that, "After some deliberation the reader of this book will oscillate between two hypotheses: either that many mysteries of the universe are based on numbers, or that the book's author is a fairly learned crank obsessed with numbers." In 1970, Michell founded the Anti-Metrification Board to oppose the adoption of the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
of measurement in the United Kingdom. Believing that the established imperial system of measurement had both ancient and sacred origins, through the Board he brought out a newsletter, ''Just Measure''. In 1972 he published the first of his "Radical Traditionalist Papers", ''A Defence of Sacred Measures'', in which he laid out his opposition to the metric system. In his third Radical Traditionalist Paper, published in 1973, he argued against population control, critiquing the ideas of
Thomas Robert Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English economist, cleric, and scholar influential in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
and arguing that correct use of resources could maintain an ever-growing human population. His fifth Radical Traditionalist Paper, ''Concordance to High Monarchists'', offered Michell's proposed solution to
The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
of Northern Ireland; in his view, Ireland should be divided into four provinces, each administered separately but all ultimately pledging allegiance to a High King, in this way mirroring what Michell believed was the socio-political organisation of prehistoric Ireland.


Other publications

Following the 1975 execution of Michael X for a murder committed in Trinidad, Michell published a souvenir pamphlet to commemorate the execution, claiming that all royalties from its publication would go to Michael X's widow. In 1976 he published ''The Hip Pocket Hitler'', a book containing those quotations from
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, the leader of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, which Michell deemed to be humorous or insightful, thus seeking to portray a side to Hitler that was more favourable than the dominant paradigm. In 1979 he provided an introduction to a translation of
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...
's '' Inventorum Natura'', which had been illustrated by Una Woodruff. That same year he brought out ''Simulcra'', a work in which he examined perceived faces in natural forms such as trees. In collaboration with Bob Rickard, in 1977 Michell published ''Phenomena: A Book of Wonders'', an encyclopedic work devoted to
paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...
and fortean phenomena which covered such topics as UFOs,
werewolves In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a therianthropic hybrid wolf–humanlike creature, either purposely or after bei ...
, lake monsters, and spontaneous human combustion. They followed this with a second encyclopedic volume, ''Living Wonders: Mysteries and Curiosities of the Animal World'', which appeared in 1982 and was devoted to fortean topics involving animals, with much of it focusing on cryptozoological topics. In 1984 he published ''Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions'', in which he provided brief biographies of various figures whose ideas had been rejected by mainstream scholarship and society, among them Nesta Webster, Iolo Morganwg, Brinsley Trench, and Comyns Beaumont. In ''Euphonics: A Poet's Dictionary of Sounds'' he then argued that every name represents a "vocal imitation" of the subject that it describes, for instance arguing that "s" appears in the words "snake" and "serpent" because it resembles the curved movement of the animal. Following the controversy that erupted around
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...
's 1988 book '' The Satanic Verses'', Michell published a tract condemning Rushdie, accusing him of deliberately and provocatively insulting
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Titled ''Rushdie's Insult'', Michell later withdrew the publication. Michell was keenly interested in the
crop circle A crop circle, crop formation, or corn circle is a pattern created by flattening a crop, usually a cereal. The term was first coined in the early 1980s. Crop circles have been described as all falling "within the range of the sort of thing ...
phenomenon, and with Christine Rhone and Richard Adams he established a magazine devoted to the subject in 1990. Initially titled ''The Cereologist'', some issues would be alternately titled ''The Cerealogist'', and although Michell initially served as the magazine's editor, he stepped down after the ninth issue, although continued to contribute articles to it. In 1991, he published a book on the subject, ''Dowsing the Crop Circles'', and in 2001 followed this with a booklet titled ''The Face and the Message'', which was devoted to a circle depicting the face of a Grey alien which had appeared in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...
in August 2001. Despite the longstanding animosity with which Michell held academic archaeology, in 1991 the peer-reviewed archaeological journal '' Antiquity'' invited him to author a review of a Southbank exhibit, "From Art to Archaeology", which was duly published in the journal. In the 1980s Michell was a member of the Lindisfarne Association and a teacher at its School of Sacred Architecture. He lectured at the Kairos Foundation, an "educational charity specifically founded to promote the recovery of traditional values in the Arts and Sciences". He was for some years a visiting lecturer at the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...
' School of Traditional Arts, which had been established by his friend Keith Critchlow. He became a Fellow of the Temenos Academy, a religious organisation which had Traditionalist underpinnings.


Newspaper columnist: 1992–2009

From January 1992 until his death, Michell published a monthly column, "An Orthodox Voice", in ''
The Oldie ''The Oldie'' is a British monthly magazine written for older people "as a light-hearted alternative to a press obsessed with youth and celebrity", according to its website. The magazine was launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who was its edit ...
'' magazine. He primarily used this as an outlet for condemning the modern world and lambasting what he perceived as the stupidity of most contemporary humans. His first article in this outlet contained an attack on
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
which resulted in a published response from the evolutionary biologist
Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...
. He also used his column to encourage the use of mind-altering drugs, in particular
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
. Two anthologies that collected together some of these ''Oldie'' columns would be published; the first appeared in 1995 as ''An Orthodox Voice'' while the second was published in 2005 as ''Confessions of a Radical Traditionalist'' and contained an introduction from the scholar of esotericism Joscelyn Godwin. During this period, Michell also authored occasional book reviews for the conservative magazine, ''
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...
''. In 1996 Michell published ''Who Wrote Shakespeare?'', in which he outlined various candidates in the Shakespeare authorship question. ''Who Wrote Shakespeare?'' received mixed reviews: ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
'' was critical, while ''The Washington Post'' and ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' praised his treatment of the subject. To mark their fiftieth anniversary in 1999, the publisher Thames and Hudson – who had published many of Michell's works – suggested that a biography be written by Michell's friend Paul Screeton. Michell however refused to cooperate with the project, which was abandoned. In 2000, Michell published ''The Temple at Jerusalem: A Revelation'', in which he outlined his own interpretation of
Jerusalem's Old City The Old City of Jerusalem (; ) is a walled area in Jerusalem. In a tradition that may have begun with an 1840s British map of the city, the Old City is divided into four uneven quarters: the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Arm ...
. From 2001 to 2004 he contributed several columns to tabloid newspaper '' The Mirror'' as part of an ongoing series run by the
astrologer Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
Jonathan Cainer. Cainer had sought to bring together a range of esotericists to write on related topics, with Michell's fellow contributors including Mark Winter, Patty Greenall, Sarah Sirillan, and Uri Geller. The series came to an end when Cainer left ''The Mirror'' to work for the rival ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
''. A keen painter, in 2003 an exhibit of his works was held at the Christopher Gibbs Gallery. In April 2007 Michell married Denise Price, the Archdruidess of the Glastonbury Order of Druids, at a ceremony held in Glastonbury's St Benedict's Church, although their relationship ended several months later. A lifelong smoker, Michell contracted
lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...
, and in his final days he was nursed at his son's home in
Poole Poole () is a coastal town and seaport on the south coast of England in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area in Dorset, England. The town is east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east ...
, Dorset, ultimately dying on 24 April 2009, at the age of 76. His body was buried at St Mary's Church in Stoke Abbott on
May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
. A
high church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...
memorial service was then held at All Saints' Church in Notting Hill, which was attended by around 400 mourners. His work, ''How the World is Made'' – which he regarded as his ''magnum opus'' – was published posthumously.


Thought

Throughout his life, Michell's "views remained relatively static", albeit with some exceptions. He characterised his viewpoint as "Radical Traditionalism", which in his words was a perspective "both idealistic and rooted in common sense". Michell was a proponent of the Traditionalist school of esoteric thought. Michell was also interested in the writings of Traditionalist philosopher
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian far-right philosopher and writer. Evola regarded his values as Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist, Aristocracy, aristocratic, War, martial and Empire, im ...
, agreeing in particular with the sentiments expressed in Evola's '' Revolt Against the Modern World''. He held to the Traditionalist belief in an ancient perennial tradition found across the world, believing that this was passed on by a priesthood in accordance to divine will. He shared the Traditionalist attitude of anti-modernism, believing that modernity had brought about chaos, destruction of the land, and spiritual degradation. He believed that humanity would return to what he perceived as its natural order and enter a
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during wh ...
. Screeton believed that despite his "obvious acts of liberalism", Michell also had a "right-wing streak", with Hale describing Mitchell as being "quite right-wing in many of his views". She thought it would be "apt" to characterise Mitchell's thought as being " third positionist" in nature. Angered by the idea of
evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
, Michell repeatedly authored articles denouncing it as a false
creation myth A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it., "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the universe and its inhabitants came to be. Cre ...
. Instead he embraced a viewpoint that Screeton referred to as "intelligent design creationism". Accordingly, he was particularly critical of
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
and Dawkins, lambasting the latter alongside physicist
Stephen Hawking Stephen William Hawking (8January 194214March 2018) was an English theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who was director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between ...
as belonging with "the disappointed
Marxists Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, and ...
, pandering politicians, pettifoggers, grievance-mongers and atheistic bishops who set the tone in modern society." Condemning the scientific community's view of the development of the Earth and humanity, he embraced Richard Milton's claim that the Earth was only 20,000 years old, as well as
Rupert Sheldrake Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has ...
's idea regarding "morphogenetic fields", believing that it was these – and not biological evolution – that resulted in changes occurring within species. Michell's conception of the physical and spiritual worlds was strongly influenced by the ancient Greek philosopher
Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born  BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...
. He believed that sacred geometry revealed a universal scheme in the landscape which reflected the structure of the heavens. His views on geometry led him to the belief that pre-industrial societies across the world respected the Earth as a living creature imbued with its own spirit, and that humans then created permanent residences for this spirit. He also embraced a belief in the tenets of
astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
,
alchemy Alchemy (from the Arabic word , ) is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practised in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe. In its Western form, alchemy is first ...
, and
prophecy In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain di ...
, believing that all had been unfairly rejected by the modern world. Described as an exponent of "British nativist spirituality", he adopted the view of the British-Israelite movement that the British people represented the descendants of the
Ten Lost Tribes The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following ...
who are mentioned in the
Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...
. Michell sometimes referred to his approach as "mystic nationalism" and interpreted the island of Britain as being sacred, connecting this attitude to those of
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
and Lewis Spence. Adopting a millennialist attitude, he believed that in future Britain would be reborn as the
New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...
with the coming of a new Golden Age. He believed that humans really desired to live in a state of extreme order, deeming a societal hierarchy to be natural and inevitable. Generally opposed to
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, except within small groups in which every person knew the individual being elected, Michell instead believed that communities should be led by a strong leader who personified the solar deity. This embrace of the Divine Right of Kings led him to believe that Queen
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
should take control of Britain as an
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
leader who could intercede between the British people and the divine. He was critical of
multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
in Britain, believing that each ethnic or cultural group should live independently in an area segregated from other groups, stating that this would allow a people's traditions to remain vibrant. He did not espouse racial supremacy, with his ideas on this subject instead being similar to the ethnopluralism of
Alain de Benoist Alain de Benoist ( ; ; born 11 December 1943), also known as Fabrice Laroche, Robert de Herte, David Barney, and other pen names, is a French political philosopher and journalist, a founding member of the ''Nouvelle Droite'' (France's European Ne ...
and other New Right thinkers. He was an opponent of British membership of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
and also opposed the UK's transition to the
metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that standardization, standardizes a set of base units and a nomenclature for describing relatively large and small quantities via decimal-based multiplicative unit prefixes. Though the rules gover ...
, instead favouring the continued use of imperial measurement, believing that the latter had links to the divine order used by ancient society.


Personal life

At over six feet in height, Michell was described by biographer and friend Paul Screeton as having "a charismatic personality and imposing presence", being "placidly outgoing and the epitome of gentlemanly charm", and usually appeared "cheerful and optimistic". In keeping with his upper-class background, he was described as having an "unmistakable patrician hauteur", with "all the self-assurance, impeccable manners and debonair charm of one born to wealth." Screeton described Michell as "gregarious but slightly shy, unassuming but opinionated. Quixotic in behaviour, he was an exemplary host and fastidious and single-minded when embarked upon a project", although also noted that Michell was impatient with those who did not share his Traditionalist beliefs and values. In keeping with norms within the counter-culture, Michell regularly smoked
marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
, and publicly encouraged the use of mind-altering drugs. His favoured newspaper was ''
The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...
'', a right-wing daily. One of his hobbies was woodworking, and he constructed some of the bookshelves in his home. Although he had a strong dislike of computers and advised his readers not to possess a
personal computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
, in later life he obtained one in order to type up his writings using a
word processor A word processor (WP) is a device or computer program that provides for input, editing, formatting, and output of text, often with some additional features. Early word processors were stand-alone devices dedicated to the function, but current word ...
. For many years, he lived at 11 Powis Gardens in
Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a wikt:cosmopolitan, cosmopolitan and multiculturalism, multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting ...
,
North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...
.


Legacy

Screeton described Michell as "a countercultural icon", while Hale stated that on his death, Michell left "a rich legacy of publications and cultural influence". At the time he was remembered as "a charming British eccentric and champion of the outsider". His influence was strongly apparent in the British Pagan community, with many British Pagans being familiar with his writings. The archaeologist Adam Stout noted that Michell played "the major role in the 1960s rediscovery" of the work of Alfred Watkins. Hutton for instance noted that the influence of Michell's ideas could be seen on the Druidic Order of the Pendragon, a Pagan group based in
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
that arose to public attention in 2004. His ideas about dragon energies across the landscape have been incorporated into novels like Judy Allen's 1973 ''The Spring of the Mountain'' and Cara Louise's 2006 ''Annie and the Dragon''. Michell's books received a broadly positive reception amongst the "New Age" and "Earth mysteries" movements and he is credited as perhaps being "the most articulate and influential writer on the subject of leys and alternative studies of the past". Ronald Hutton describes his research as part of an alternative archaeology "quite unacceptable to orthodox scholarship." Hutton, p 127 Accordingly, Screeton noted that during his life, Michell was considered to be "anathema, lunatic fringe, and cranky" by his critics, although he rejected the idea that Michell was a "crank", claiming that such an accusation was "fundamentally mistaken". Following his death, various aspects of Michell's work have been adopted by thinkers associated with the European New Right and with related right-wing currents in the United States. Michell's term "Radical Traditionalism", which he espoused in his self-published series of "Radical Traditionalist Papers" in the 1970s and 1980s, would later be taken up as a self-descriptor by Michael Moynihan and Joshua Buckley, the editors of the right-wing journal '' Tyr: Myth, Culture and Tradition'' from their inaugural 2002 edition onward. The editors of ''Tyr'' gave the term political overtones which were not present in Michell's original usage of the term. Hale believed that through Radical Traditionalism and the New Right Michell's writings have been brought to "a whole new audience" where they have a "surprisingly different sort of relevance."


Bibliography

*1967 ''The Flying Saucer Vision: the Holy Grail Restored'', Sidgwick & Jackson, Abacus Books, Ace. *1969 ''The View Over Atlantis'', HarperCollins, ; first published by Sago Press in Great Britain in 1969; new edition published in Great Britain by Garnstone Press in 1972 and Abacus in 1973, and in the United States by Ballantine Books in 1972. *1972 ''City of Revelation: On the Proportions and Symbolic Numbers of the Cosmic Temple'', Garnstone Press, , *1974 ''The Old Stones of Land's End'', Garnstone Press, *1975 ''The Earth Spirit: Its Ways, Shrines, and Mysteries'', Avon, *1977 with R. J. M. Rickard, ''Phenomena: A Book of Wonders'', Thames & Hudson, *1977 ''A Little History of Astro-Archaeology: Stages in the Transformation of a Heresy '', Thames and Hudson, SBN-10: 0500275572 SBN-10: 0500275572, (reprinted 2001) *1979 ''Natural Likeness: Faces and Figures in Nature'', Thames and Hudson, *1979 Plinius Scundus C., ''Inventorum Natura'', HarperCollins, English Latin, D. MacSweeney (translator) *1981 ''Ancient Metrology: the Dimensions of Stonehenge and of the Whole World as Therein Symbolized'', Pentacle Books, *1982 ''Megalithomania: Artists, Antiquarians & Archaeologists at the Old Stone Monuments'', Thames and Hudson , Cornell University Press *1983 ''The New View Over Atlantis'', Thames and Hudson , , (Much revised edition of ''The View Over Atlantis''.) *1984 ''Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions '', Thames and Hudson, reissued Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, *1985 ''Stonehenge – Its Druids, Custodians, Festival and Future '', Richard Adams Associates (June 1985) , *1988 ''Geosophy – An Overview of Earth Mysteries''. Paul Devereux, John Steele, John Michell, Nigel Pennick, Martin Brennan, Harry Oldfield and more, a Mystic Fire Video from Trigon Communications, Inc, New York, 1988 (reissued 1990), also by EMPRESS, Wales, UK, 95 minutes, VHS. *1986 commentary, ''Feng-Shui: The Science of Sacred Landscape in Old China'', Ernest J. Eitel, Syngergetic Press *1988 ''The Dimensions of Paradise: The Proportions and Symbolic Numbers of Ancient Cosmology'', London : Thames and Hudson, 1988. *1989 ''The Traveller's Key to Sacred England '', reissued 2006, Gothic Image *1989 ''Secrets of the Stones: New Revelations of Astro-Archaeology and the Mystical Sciences of Antiquity'', Destiny Books, *1989 ''Earth Spirit: Its Ways, Shrines and Mysteries '', Thames and Hudson, *1990 ''New Light on the Ancient Mystery of Glastonbury'', Gothic Image Publications (p/b), (h/b) *1991 ''Dowsing the Crop Circles'', (Editor/Contributor), Gothic Image Publications, *1991 ''Twelve Tribe Nations and the Science of Enchanting the Landscape'', with Christine Rhone, Thames and Hudson, *1994 ''At the Center of the World: Polar Symbolism Discovered in Celtic, Norse and Other Ritualized Landscapes'', Thames and Hudson, *1996 ''Who Wrote Shakespeare?'', Thames and Hudson *2000, with Bob Rickard, ''Unexplained Phenomena: Mysteries and Curiosities of Science, Folklore and Superstition'',
Rough Guides Rough Guides is a travel company that offers tailor-made trips planned and arranged by local travel experts based in destinations around the world. Originally established as a guidebook publisher in 1982, Rough Guides expanded into customized t ...
, *2000 ''The Temple at Jerusalem: A Revelation'', Samuel Weiser. , *2001 ''The Dimensions of Paradise: The Proportions and Symbolic Numbers of Ancient Cosmology '', Adventures Unlimited, *2002 ''The Face and the Message: What Do They Mean and Where Are They From?'', Gothic Image, *2003 ''The Traveller's Guide to Sacred England: A Guide to the Legends, Lore and Landscapes of England's Sacred Places'', Gothic Image Publications, *2003 ''Prehistoric Sacred Sites of Cornwall'', Wessex Books, *2005 ''Confessions of a Radical Traditionalist'', Dominion Press, *2006 "Prehistoric Sacred Sites of Cornwall", Wessex Books, *2006 ''Euphonics: A Poet's Dictionary of Sounds'', Wooden Books, *2008 ''Dimensions of Paradise, The Sacred Geometry, Ancient Science and the Heavenly Order on Earth'', (revised edition of ''City of Revelation'') Inner Traditions, Bear & Company. *2009 ''How The World Is Made: The Story of Creation According To Sacred Geometry'', (with Allan Brown), Thames & Hudson *2009 ''Sacred Center: The Ancient Art of Locating Sanctuaries'', Inner Traditions, *2010
Michellany, A John Michell Reader
', ed. Jonangus Mackay, Michellany Editions, London.


References


Footnotes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*White, Rupert (2017). ''The Re-enchanted Landscape: Earth Mysteries, Paganism and Art in Cornwall'' Antenna Publications ISBN 9780993216435 * * * * * *


External links


The John Michell Network


* *
International Fortean Organisation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Michell, John 1933 births 2009 deaths 20th-century English novelists Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Ancient astronauts proponents Atlantis proponents English male novelists English writers on paranormal topics Mystics Fortean writers New Age writers People educated at Eton College Pseudohistorians Sacred geometry Far-right politics in the United Kingdom Traditionalist School