tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post5674509888921560619..comments2024-03-01T14:27:35.794-08:00Comments on Albion Awakening: Review of the Geoffrey Ashe novel The Finger and the Moon (1973)Bruce Charltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-72362082282351400142017-11-05T22:38:51.235-08:002017-11-05T22:38:51.235-08:00@WmJas - You are right, and 360 was making a joke....@WmJas - You are right, and 360 was making a joke. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-80581998486724163632017-11-05T21:09:11.876-08:002017-11-05T21:09:11.876-08:00360, I assume the title alludes to the Buddhist me...360, I assume the title alludes to the Buddhist metaphor of the dharma as a finger pointing to the moon (i.e. reality), not to be mistaken for the moon itself.Wm Jas Tychonievichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07446790072877463982noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-50391603105160938302016-09-26T11:20:30.638-07:002016-09-26T11:20:30.638-07:00But what is one to expect from a novel with a titl...But what is one to expect from a novel with a title that contains the names, at least in American slang, of two disrespectful gestures?360 Decreeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04379887088965313654noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-14472715656283683572016-09-25T08:00:24.952-07:002016-09-25T08:00:24.952-07:00@David - To clarify - Finger and the Moon is not e...@David - To clarify - Finger and the Moon is not explicitly about New age/ Christian conflict - Christianity is only mentioned to dismiss it, e.g. a few sentences where characters explain what is wrong with Christianity. <br /><br />I don't know Phil Rickman's work - and I can't think of any novels with a significant role for Stonehenge - although there is a visit to Stonehenge in one of Colin Wilson's 'Lovecraftian' novels - maybe The Mind Parasites? Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-8728030285373902442016-09-25T07:29:36.416-07:002016-09-25T07:29:36.416-07:00Sounds like my cup of tea. I will try to get a cop...Sounds like my cup of tea. I will try to get a copy. Are you familiar with Phil Rickman? His books feature these themes of new age/ christian conflict from a standpoint of sympathy to both outlooks. " The Chalice" is his Glastonbury book with lots of references to Cowper Powys, Dion Fortune etc. I don't know if he is a christian but I think he has been through the new age scene and emerged with some wisdom and respect for the C of E in the end. <br /><br />On another tack, do you know of a novel that features Stonehenge ( other than Tess obviously?)David Stanleynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-18978998361434339492016-09-25T06:36:06.531-07:002016-09-25T06:36:06.531-07:00@William - I should point out that the above is my...@William - I should point out that the above is my interpretation of the implicit message in Geoffrey Ashe's book - it isn't what he says himself. Indeed, my impression is that - with some reservations, especially concerning drug use (his later annotations state that he regrets having used this device in the novel) - Ashe continues to regard the Hippie -> New Age spiritual movement favourably, and believes it led to good (and that modern Glastonbury is a place of innately beneficial 'vibes'). In sum, I don't think he personally learned the lessons I believe his novel embodies. Bruce Charltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09615189090601688535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7154359965221795553.post-80017678493960364252016-09-25T04:06:34.476-07:002016-09-25T04:06:34.476-07:00I haven't read this book (though I enjoyed som... I haven't read this book (though I enjoyed some of the non-fiction books by Geoffrey Ashe years ago) but this is an absolutely bang on the nose correct analysis of why the alternative spirituality movements of the '60s and '70s mostly fizzled out into nothing. It seems to be almost axiomatic that when Christ is rejected, or his centrality diminished, by people pursuing what can broadly be described as paths of Western esotericism any real spirituality is also lost. You are left with attempts to expand the self rather than go beyond it by which I mean not just in terms of consciousness but also, and primarily, character.William Wildbloodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13231219533755925897noreply@blogger.com