During the Victorian era, the intelligentsia, rich and
fashionable of London were fascinated by mysticism and spirituality. In this era
of excitement, one of the leading lights of the day, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky,
encouraged her friend, John Watkins to open the first ever specialist esoteric
bookshop. It bears the ‘Watkins’ name to this
day.
Watkins is situated in the dignified elegance of Cecil Court, off Charing Cross Road, London. The shop’s logo depicts Thoth, Egyptian God of Wisdom in the act of writing with pen and paper. The store stocks the UK’s widest selection of esoteric information in 60,000 book titles, cards, CD’s, DVDs, talismans, artefacts and other interesting items. In its early years, customers included W B Yeats, Aleister Crowley, G R S Mead, Carl Jung, Aldous Huxley, Dion Fortune and the Society of the Inner Light, MacGregor Mathers and members of The Golden Dawn.
John’s son Geoffrey had been educated in
Germany and was commissioned by British Intelligence to spy during WWI. Early in
WWII, Adolf Hitler had immense military success (perhaps due to the employment
of Karl Ernst Krafft who was Hitler’s personal astrologer). Heinrich Himmler,
Hitler’s commander, was known to hold round table rituals in an ancient castle
at solstices during the war years. It is said that our war-time Prime Minister,
Winston Churchill, sought the astrological expertise of Geoffrey Watkins to
assist with military decisions and an auspicious astrological configuration was
forged and presented to Rudolf Hess (Hitler’s deputy in the Nazi party, who,
like Himmler was known to believe in astrology) to manipulate a flight to
Scotland on a peace mission. Hess took the bait and was captured and
interrogated. Hitler’s belief in astrology might account for the choice of the
date of his suicide, along with his new wife, Eva Braun, on Walpurgis Night, a
spring Sabbath when witches and sorcerers meet to celebrate.
Today, Watkins Bookshop is
regularly frequented by leading lights of metaphysical organisations of all
kinds, by spiritual seekers looking for advice, by celebrities taking time to
browse or choose a gift, and by those who collect rare esoteric books. The shop
has close ties with the director of the imprint ‘Wessex Astrologer’, Margaret
Cahill, whose partner, Stephen Gawtry publishes ‘the Watkins Review’. On the
wall are Gurdjieff’s, Crowley’s and Anand’s natal charts (World Chess Champion)
to demonstrate to customers how astrology works.
Assistant
Manager, Karseten Sorensen provides a recommended list of gifts: Alan Oken's Complete Astrology by
Alan Oken: The
author is a New Age astrology pioneer and this book is a compilation of 3 books
that lead the way to greater personal fulfilment and spiritual
attunement. Aspects in Astrology by Sue Tompkins: This is a comprehensive guide to interpretation and a best
seller since its launch in 1989. The
Houses - Temples of
the Sky by Deborah
Houlding: Newly expanded and updated, this is an
excellent book about ancient, traditional and modern meanings of the
Houses. Astrological Insights into
Personality by Betty
Lundsted: A down to earth guide to Houses,
Aspects, Signs and Planets. The Art of Chart
Interpretation by Tracy Marks: Written by a
psychotherapist and astrologer, this is a popular classic for beginner and
advanced readers. The Chinese Astrology Kit:
£21.59 (23 January, 2012 begins Year of the Water Dragon) Astro Dice (£7.99): Provides zodiac profile and reading
software.
Recently, Watkins Bookshop was rescued from
permanent closure by a young American entrepreneur, Etan Ilfeld, whose art
gallery, Tenderpixel, is also situated in Cecil Court. I visited Etan to ask him
about his interest in astrology. “My mother and her partner are both
astrologers, so I grew up appreciating its importance, though my stepfather is
more deterministic in his approach and he uses a technique to find the exact
time of birth for those who don’t have this information. I have done several
things in my life that have been quite unexpected, though my chart does show
many parallels with events in my life. These days, if I need any astrological
information, I ask our in-house expert, Hugh Thomas, and he provides whatever
information I, or my customers, require”.
Hugh is Watkins Cosmologist, their in-house
astrologer and he has been with Watkins Books for 10 years. I asked him to read
Etan’s birth chart and within two minutes, a natal chart arrived to reveal
Mercury exalted in its own sign and house implying a quiet, studious, analytical
and attentive mind. Venus 15 Virgo denotes a love of detail and talent for
maths, a love of systems, patterns, codes, numbers and equations, language and
thought; Sun in 6th house is alongside Pluto both in Libra suggesting a radical
evolution and an interest in innovative art projects; a business oriented
Capricorn midheaven complimenting a ‘go getting’ and inspirational Aries Rising.
The position of Uranus in Scorpio, Pisces Moon and Jupiter in Cancer provide a
love magical secrets, mystical intuition and community spirit and are what Hugh
calls the ‘Watkins Bookshop Friendly Grand Trine’ many planets are in a dance
which endorse Etan’s intellectual, artistic and organisational ability. Etan
also delights in technology and showed me his ‘Starwalk’ interactive iPhone app
of the cosmos where, even during the day, you can find the position of any
planet or constellation.
Hugh drew my attention to
mysteries of Mithra, a religion that had strong similarities to, and could be
the origin of, Christianity. Mithraism developed from Zoroasterian beginnings in
Persia where astrology was used by kings and wise men. It is from here that the
Magi could have set out to follow a star in the east which led them to a cave
where the king of the Jews was born on 25th December, the same date
as the birth of their solar deity. The adherents practised a strict moral code
with seven planetary initiations. Experts think some of the cult’s beliefs could
still be extant within Freemasonry. Their icon depicts the deity (Mithra)
slaying a bull, an image which is surrounded by a dog, snake, raven and
scorpion; the moon, planets, sun and constellations are also represented. Their
temples could have been an astronomical star chart.
Hugh explains to me about what is selling
at the moment. Mayan astrology is still creating interest as are other astrology
systems for comparison (such as Chinese, Indian and Celtic). Astrology is used
ever more frequently in business, to choose staff and partners. Healing and
therapy are of interest as astrology can be united with the chakra system,
kabbalah, runes, numerology, feng shui and other popular disciplines. One of the
most common questions Hugh is asked is how to find a compatible love match.
I asked Etan about what he
expects to happen in 2012 and he likes James Redfield suggestion that we will
develop a stronger intuition that will enable us to recognise corruption. “This
will create a more open minded society with greater integrity. We need to manage
the energy of 2012 as there are strong indications it will be precede a time of
great confusion when everyone will need to increase their search for deeper
meaning and greater understanding.” Hugh follows this up by saying “For those
who are waiting for a ‘happening’ on the winter solstice next year, the 2012
creative energy is likely to be a personal apocalypse and an inner rapture
rather than a global epiphany”.
Etan qualified in Maths and Physics and
explains that Quantum Mechanics demonstrates that when something is seen, it
acts differently to when it remains unnoticed. By witnessing, we can change
circumstances. When difficulties occur, either on a personal or societal level,
we can make use of the vast knowledge base of great wisdom that the spiritual
masters of the past - and present - have provided for us to help us to gain
necessary enlightenment.
The Watkins Review features
the top 100 internationally influential people in the spiritual field and a new
iPhone application is available featuring spiritual books suitable for all
needs, tastes and pockets.
The remains of
a temple to Mithra have survived in London and can be found on Watkins website’s
Spiritual Map along with all kinds of paranormal and spiritual activity.
For all further
information, visit:
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