MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis John Michell’s Sacred Place Theory. Alternative Religion, Traditionalism, and the notion of Glastonbury as New Jerusalem. verfasst von / submitted by Marleen Thaler, BA BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2018/ Vienna 2018 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 800 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Masterstudium Religionswissenschaft degree programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: Ao. Univ. Prof. Dr. Karl Baier Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.1. Fascination and Purpose ............................................................................................. 4 1.2. Methods ...................................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Structure ..................................................................................................................... 7 2. Alternative Forms of Religion ....................................................................................... 10 2.1. Defining Religion ..................................................................................................... 11 2.2. New or Alternative Religious Movements ............................................................... 13 2.3. New Age ................................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1. New Age as a Movement ................................................................................. 15 2.3.2. New Age as a Religion ..................................................................................... 18 2.3.3. New Age and Esotericism ................................................................................ 19 2.3.4. Occulture .......................................................................................................... 20 2.3.5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 21 2.4. Traditionalism .......................................................................................................... 22 2.4.1. Traditionalism as a Movement ......................................................................... 22 2.4.2. Traditionalism and its Religious Components ................................................. 24 2.4.2.1. Perennialism ................................................................................................. 25 2.4.2.2. Traditionalistic Perennialism ........................................................................ 27 2.4.3. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 28 3. Sacred Space ................................................................................................................... 29 3.1. Defining Sacred Place .............................................................................................. 29 3.2. Eliade’s Sacred Place Theory ................................................................................... 30 3.2.1. Sacred vs. Profane ............................................................................................ 31 3.2.2. Hierophanies ..................................................................................................... 32 3.2.3. Sacred Place as Centre ..................................................................................... 34 3.2.4. Critics ............................................................................................................... 35 4. Alternative Theories on Sacred Place and Nature ...................................................... 36 4.1. Nature Perceptions ................................................................................................... 37 4.2. Nature Religion ........................................................................................................ 39 4.3. Gaia .......................................................................................................................... 42 4.4. Earth Mysteries ......................................................................................................... 44 1 4.4.1. Earth Mystery Movement ................................................................................. 46 4.4.2. Prehistory ......................................................................................................... 49 4.4.3. Ley Lines and Earth Energies .......................................................................... 50 4.5. Alternative Sacred Place Theory .............................................................................. 54 5. John Michell .................................................................................................................... 56 5.1. Biography ................................................................................................................. 56 5.1.1. Early Phase ....................................................................................................... 57 5.1.2. Late Phase ......................................................................................................... 64 5.2. Ideology .................................................................................................................... 67 5.3. Michell’s Literary Corpus ........................................................................................ 71 5.3.1. Michell’s Miscellany ........................................................................................ 72 5.3.2. Style .................................................................................................................. 74 5.4. The Seminal Three ................................................................................................... 76 5.4.1. The Flying Saucer Vision ................................................................................. 77 5.4.2. The (New) View Over Atlantis ........................................................................ 77 5.4.3. City of Revelation ............................................................................................ 80 6. Glastonbury .................................................................................................................... 81 6.1. Historical Descriptions ............................................................................................. 83 6.2. The Legacy of the Avalonians .................................................................................. 85 6.3. Many Glastonburys .................................................................................................. 88 6.3.1. Traditional Glastonbury ................................................................................... 88 6.3.2. Glastonbury in between the Worlds ................................................................. 91 6.3.3. Alternative Glastonbury ................................................................................... 95 6.4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 100 7. Michell’s Sacred Place Theory .................................................................................... 100 7.1. Atlantis ................................................................................................................... 101 7.1.1. Plato’s Atlantis ............................................................................................... 102 7.1.2. Plato’s Legacy ................................................................................................ 104 7.1.3. Atlantis within Esotericism ............................................................................ 105 7.1.4. Britain ............................................................................................................. 107 7.1.5. Michell’s Reinterpretation .............................................................................. 108 7.2. New Jerusalem ....................................................................................................... 111 7.2.1. New Jerusalem in the Bible ............................................................................ 112 2 7.2.2. Christian Reinterpretation .............................................................................. 115 7.2.3. New Jerusalem in a British Context ............................................................... 117 7.2.4. Michell’s Reinterpretation .............................................................................. 120 7.3. Sacred Engineering ................................................................................................. 124 7.3.1. Michell’s Numerology ................................................................................... 124 7.3.2. The New Jerusalem Diagram ......................................................................... 127 7.4. Glastonbury as the Spiritual Hub ........................................................................... 128 8. Conclusion and Outlook .............................................................................................. 132 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................