Philip Peter Ross Nichols (28 June 1902 – 30 April 1975) was a Cambridge academic and published poet, artist and historian, who founded the
Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1964. He wrote prolifically on the subjects of
Druidism and
Celtic mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed ...
.
Work
He revived the interest in
Celtic neopaganism and
Druidry in the 20th century. Nichols was a Member and Chairman of the
Ancient Druid Order which traces its lineage to a meeting at the Apple Tree Tavern in
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
, London, in 1717' although Professor
Ronald Hutton
Ronald Edmund Hutton (born 19 December 1953) is an English historian who specialises in Early Modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion and Contemporary Paganism. He is a professor at the University of Bristol, has written 14 ...
has demonstrated that it only dates back to 1906, the 1717 story being a modification of the founding of modern
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. His main work, ''The Book of Druidry'', was published posthumously in 1990.
Life
Philip Peter Ross Nichols was born in
Norwich, England, and educated at
Bloxham School. While a graduate history student at Cambridge University, Nichols became influenced by the work of
James George Frazer
Sir James George Frazer (; 1 January 1854 – 7 May 1941) was a Scottish social anthropologist and folklorist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion.
Personal life
He was born on 1 Jan ...
,
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
,
Carl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, phil ...
,
T.S. Eliot,
Robert Graves and
Jessie Weston Jessie Weston may refer to:
*Jessie Weston (scholar) (1850–1928), English independent scholar, medievalist and folklorist
*Jessie Weston (writer)
Jessie Edith Weston (also known as Jessie Weston-Campbell, 1865 – 21 May 1939) was a New Zeala ...
among others. He worked in journalism, teaching and social work through the Great Depression, and became a committed socialist and pacifist, favoring for the rest of his life the new economic theories of
C.H. Douglas
Major Clifford Hugh "C. H." Douglas, MIMechE, MIEE (20 January 1879 – 29 September 1952), was a British engineer and pioneer of the social credit economic reform movement.
Education and engineering career
C.H. Douglas was born in either Edg ...
, whose concept of
Social Credit
Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
advocated a total reform of the monetary system to make it more equitable. Ross was also a vegetarian and
naturist
Naturism is a lifestyle of practising non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms a ...
, joining Britain's first
naturist community
A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practise naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...
, Spielplatz, near St. Albans in Hertfordshire, in the 1930s.
In 1939, Nichols became principal of a private college in London, while staying at Spielplatz during time off. It is assumed that on one of these trips he met and befriended
Gerald Gardner
Gerald Brosseau Gardner (13 June 1884 – 12 February 1964), also known by the craft name Scire, was an English Wiccan, as well as an author and an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist. He was instrumental in bringing the Contemporary ...
.
Later, Nichols was asked to edit Gardner's seminal work, Witchcraft Today.
Between 1941 and 1947, four of his poetry books were published, including an essay in The Cosmic Shape (1946) focusing on the power of myth and the value of seasonal celebration. Two were published by Fortune Press - 'Prose Chants and Proems' (1942) and 'Sassenach Stray (1942).
In 1949, Ross was hired as assistant editor of The Occult Observer, a short lived publication by Michael Houghton of the Atlantis Bookshop. It was an important step as it marked the first time Nichols wrote about Druidism and also fellow author Mir Bashir wrote a story in it entitled The ‘
Book of Shadows’ inspiring Gardner to adopt the term for Wicca.
While Gardner worked to introduce
Wicca
Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and w ...
to the modern world, Nichols worked to change the practice of modern Druidry. He introduced a concern for Celtic mythology and Bardcraft, and the celebration of the full eight seasonal ceremonies in addition to arranging the teachings into three grades, in accordance with classical accounts of the three divisions of the Druids.
Nichols also edited, published and arranged the translation of Jean Baptiste's (aka Paul Christian) book "The History and Practice of Magic" in 1969.
In 1988 one of his students,
Philip Carr-Gomm, was asked to lead the Order.
Published works
* Sassenach Stray A Set of Eight Variations and Tailpiece published by The Fortune Press 1941
* Prose Chants & Proems published by The Fortune Press 1941
* The Cosmic Shape (with James Kirkup) published by The Forge Press 1946
* Seasons at War – A Cycle of Rhythms published by The Forge Press 1947
* The Occult Observer – A Quarterly Journal of Occultism, Art & Philosophy (Contributor and Assistant Editor) published by Michael Houghton 1949, 1950
* The History & Practice of Magic by Paul Christian (Editor) published in 2 vols by The Forge Press 1952
* Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner (Editor) published by Rider & Co 1954
* The Book of Druidry published by the Aquarian Press (now Thorsons) 1990
* Prophet Priest & King – The Poetry of Philip Ross Nichols edited and introduced by Jay Ramsay published by The Oak Tree Press 2001
* In The Grove of the Druids – The Druid Teachings of Ross Nichols Introduced and edited by Philip Carr-Gomm, Foreword by Professor Ronald Hutton. Watkins 2002
* The Secret Lore of London: The city's Forgotten Stories and Mythology Coronet "Parliament Hill and the Druids" article 24 March 2016
Biography
* Carr Gomm, Philip Journeys of the Soul: The Life and Legacy of a Druid Chief
See also
*
Bricket Wood
Bricket Wood is a village in the county of Hertfordshire, England, south of St Albans and north-northeast of Watford.
History
The area of Bricket Wood was mostly occupied by farmers until Bricket Wood railway station was built in 1861. In 1 ...
*
Neo-druidism
References
External links
* https://druidry.org/about-us/ross-nichols-founder An extensive section on the site of the Order he founded, which includes his biography, details of his books, and selections of his artwork and poetry
* https://www.philipcarr-gomm.com/book/journeys-of-the-soul/ Details of his biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Ross
Neo-druids
Founders of modern pagan movements
1902 births
1975 deaths
People educated at Bloxham School
People from Norwich
British modern pagans
Modern pagan writers
Modern pagan poets