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The magic of Findhorn
Findhorn is a small community in Scotland situated on the North Sea at a latitude that puts it as far north as Juneau, Alaska. Hawken dropped in on the New Age Community which lives there, growing a garden that sounds like something out of a fairy tale: roses and hawthorn, eucalyptus and honeysuckle. Once upon a time, though not just when Hawken was visiting, they had 40-pound cabbages and 60-pound broccoli plants. It's a community we've heard of before (see William Irwin Thompson's Passages About Earth, 1974), the seat of a unique experiment in cooperation between Man, the Devas--they're ""archetypal beings"" that oversee the forms of each plant species--and the Nature Spirits, headed by Pan. Yes, he of the cloven hoofs and pipes. At Findhorn Peter and Eileen Caddy who started the place address the Landscape Angel and the Spinach Deva like old friends, getting very sensible advice on planting and hoeing and watering the plants--who respond to this intimacy and kindness by getting ever bigger in the sub-Arctic sand in order to support 130 souls who live there. Since its rocky beginnings, recounted in reverent detail by Hawken, the community is doing very well due to the wisdom and sanctity of its people who receive all their needs in accordance with the Law of Manifestation--ask and it shall appear. It requires a certain suspension of disbelief, which Hawken is willing to make, having noticed from the moment of his arrival that ""the Buzz and the Magic are as thick as pudding"" here. Merlin would be right at home along with all the other creatures of Celtic mythology.
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First published January 1, 1975
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About the author
Paul Hawken
41 books343 followersPaul Gerard Hawken is an American environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, economist, and activist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
January 28, 2015
I stand by my original impressions that Peter Caddy is probably a bit of an arsehole.
I started reading this book to satisfy my partner and his mystic leanings. So, I was a bit skeptical to say the least, but I was hoping for some sort of useful discussion on gardening (I like digging in the garden and making things grow). I also wanted the author to directly address claims regarding the size of the cabbages produced at Findhorn. Neither of these things happened.
I guess this is a book about some 60s alternate lifestylers who through an altered state of consciousness believed that they had contact with an assortment of non human intelligent beings and planted a garden that they claimed to be very successful. If that's what you want to read, go ahead.
Apparently you can still visit Findhorn. Maybe if I went there and saw that they are indeed producing monster cabbages in sand and abundant all year round on the sides of a wind-blasted dune, then I might be open to the suggestion that there was something "other" going on here. In reality, though, if you heap good compost on top of sand for about 50 years, then it won't be sand anymore. If you plant trees to create microclimates, it won't be a wind-blasted dune any more. So visiting Findhorn today would prove nothing.
I started reading this book to satisfy my partner and his mystic leanings. So, I was a bit skeptical to say the least, but I was hoping for some sort of useful discussion on gardening (I like digging in the garden and making things grow). I also wanted the author to directly address claims regarding the size of the cabbages produced at Findhorn. Neither of these things happened.
I guess this is a book about some 60s alternate lifestylers who through an altered state of consciousness believed that they had contact with an assortment of non human intelligent beings and planted a garden that they claimed to be very successful. If that's what you want to read, go ahead.
Apparently you can still visit Findhorn. Maybe if I went there and saw that they are indeed producing monster cabbages in sand and abundant all year round on the sides of a wind-blasted dune, then I might be open to the suggestion that there was something "other" going on here. In reality, though, if you heap good compost on top of sand for about 50 years, then it won't be sand anymore. If you plant trees to create microclimates, it won't be a wind-blasted dune any more. So visiting Findhorn today would prove nothing.
December 5, 2012
Magical book! Even through it was written in 1975 it's still just as relevant today.
This is a 'must book' for those wishing to delve deeper in their spiritual connection to the land and nature realms. Its a biography about the founders of Findhorn and talks about their experiences, methods and the people Findhorn has attracted.
I find the conversations with the nature spirits fascinating and refreshing. It heralds a new approach to interacting with the planet and other realms. We certainly need it. I loved this book about Findhorn - I'm now looking for other books on the same subject.
This is a 'must book' for those wishing to delve deeper in their spiritual connection to the land and nature realms. Its a biography about the founders of Findhorn and talks about their experiences, methods and the people Findhorn has attracted.
I find the conversations with the nature spirits fascinating and refreshing. It heralds a new approach to interacting with the planet and other realms. We certainly need it. I loved this book about Findhorn - I'm now looking for other books on the same subject.
August 9, 2019
While this book contains a somewhat interesting account of the history of Findhorn, the disturbing patriarchal leanings of the author and era is profoundly evident. The 'divine' is never referenced unless it is male/Christ centered. The author bestows upon the men of Findhorn a deep and profound spirituality, while thoroughly ignoring the contributions of the women, such as Eileen Caddy. Peter Caddy clearly has major psychological issues, yet the author glosses over those, dismissing Caddy's obvious and extreme problems quite easily, while relegating the women of Findhorn to simplistic "house-wifey" roles - or portraying them as complete nut-jobs, as in the case of Sheila Govan. And while Govan was probably mentally ill - she was certainly no worse than Peter Caddy who was clearly a narcissist and serial philanderer. Eileen Caddy - the spiritual key to so much of what happened at Findhorn (and whose writings are the ones that are still distributed by Findhorn today) is barely addressed as anything more than the wife of Peter Caddy and hostess to guests. Her critical contributions and spirituality are almost irrelevant to this author. And Dorothy MacLean's contribution is pretty much ignored - she is relegated to only a few pages.
Not a book I would necessarily recommend to anyone. It contains nothing spiritually useful and is chock full of the typical veiled patriarchal BS of the era.
Not a book I would necessarily recommend to anyone. It contains nothing spiritually useful and is chock full of the typical veiled patriarchal BS of the era.
May 31, 2012
The Magic of Findhorn is a magical book. I first read it when it came out in paperback more years ago than I care to remember. For more than a decade, I reread it now and then to savour Hawken’s sweet distillation of the spirit of the time. Those were the heady days of pot-smoking hippies and smiling flower children and idealistic communes. Findhorn added fairies and giant cabbages and bushes that got out of the way when you wanted to make a path through them. It was wonderful to imagine that I might run off and join the small band of romantics building a new kind of community on what was once a garbage dump. I never did, of course. Sometimes I think I missed a great chance. Findhorn still exists, although it is now a foundation and calls itself a “New Age” community. Naturally, there is a website.
Hawken visited Findhorn in its early days and stayed in one of the small caravans reserved for visitors. (Caravans housed most of the community at that time.) His perceptive portraits of those who lived there, and a few more who were regular visitors, are a real treat. He shared in the daily round of activities and lived the free life that had brought such an odd assortment of individuals together. He talked about the strange beliefs in “power points” – there is one very near the community, atop a grassy hill – and fairies and Pan and vegetables that miraculously grew to immense size and many other things more related to The Lord of the Rings or children’s fairy books than reality. Anything and everything was accepted. Everything was spiritual. It was the dawn of inclusivity.
If you love the natural world, long for a sense of enchantment, or feel the need to belong to a special kind of community, The Magic of Findhorn will satisfy on all counts. The book is currently out of print, but abundantly available on second-hand websites where copies of the paperback can be had for as little as a dollar. If you are at all interested in the mystical aspects of life on planet Earth, do not miss the chance to read this book. It really is something special.
Hawken visited Findhorn in its early days and stayed in one of the small caravans reserved for visitors. (Caravans housed most of the community at that time.) His perceptive portraits of those who lived there, and a few more who were regular visitors, are a real treat. He shared in the daily round of activities and lived the free life that had brought such an odd assortment of individuals together. He talked about the strange beliefs in “power points” – there is one very near the community, atop a grassy hill – and fairies and Pan and vegetables that miraculously grew to immense size and many other things more related to The Lord of the Rings or children’s fairy books than reality. Anything and everything was accepted. Everything was spiritual. It was the dawn of inclusivity.
If you love the natural world, long for a sense of enchantment, or feel the need to belong to a special kind of community, The Magic of Findhorn will satisfy on all counts. The book is currently out of print, but abundantly available on second-hand websites where copies of the paperback can be had for as little as a dollar. If you are at all interested in the mystical aspects of life on planet Earth, do not miss the chance to read this book. It really is something special.
June 7, 2015
Changed my life. I think a lot about what I read in this book and my life reflects what I learned.
September 4, 2013
I read this book not long after it came out in the mid-seventies. I was a teenager and searching for answers and "The Magic of Findhorn" was an eye opening story for me. I'd never been exposed to the idea of being closer to the earth and it's resources and the idea of growing HUGE vegetables and being self-sustaining fueled my desires to be part of a community of people who care for the planet and its inhabitants, even the non-human ones. I never did join such a community, unless one considers the human race to be such and that's questionable, but I've not forgotten this book. It's still on my top 10 favorites list.
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March 9, 2014Because of his own skepticism, Paul Hawken is a good person to introduce Findhorn and the synergies it develops. The garden is still a focus, but they are trying to model a new awareness, a new wholeness in which form is not separate from conciousness, matter is not separate from spirit, the body is not separate from the soul. No one wins out over the others and everyone gains. This depends on deep inner reflection and the embodiment of the higher laws which have been given down through the ages.
July 3, 2015
This was written by a journalist who went to investigate Findhorn. The language is charmingly dated, and I enjoyed the 60's woo woo line drawn illustrations, sort of a cosmic coloring book in miniature. I like this book as something to read before going to bed when I am stress, largely because it is uplifting.
September 23, 2012
I read this when I was very young — fifteen or so. I am not sure if it would hold up to a five star rating if I were to re-read it today, but at the time it opened up my mind to the possibility that the limits that science puts on to life are arbitrary. This book freed my mind enough, at a young enough age, to be able to question accepted truths. Even now, I have the power to question the truth of Findhorn. However, a memorable part of my childhood experience was a day long workshop with one of the people who was there as the Magic of Findhorn was being discovered and expanded. She discussed her experience with rats and the Spirit of Rats (diva), which was interesting. There is far more to life than meets the eye, and the views of science, religion, political-economy, psychology, or whatever, are merely the tiniest of fleas meandering around an elephant bigger than the galaxy, and claiming that the hair they've discovered is the singular truth of existence. An invaluable read.
April 4, 2012
This is one of those books that seem to have been around forever and yet you never get round to reading it. My sister lent me this one and it's just brilliant - how they grew cabbages the size of beachballs up in the windswept Scottish highlands - no soil, just sand. I have to presume it's true - but it's a story of where mankind is going wrong and how if we connect back with the diety and the spirits, we can change the course we are on. The book gives us an insight into the personalities that set up and ran Findhorn and how they connected up God. The book was set in the early '70's so I must find out what happened to the Findhorn community.
However, given our current troubles with climate change etc, this book is still just as relevant today as it was back then.
However, given our current troubles with climate change etc, this book is still just as relevant today as it was back then.
December 3, 2012
An audio-visual presentation in 1974 in Portland, Oregon, by Peter Caddy, founder of the Findhorn Foundation in Scotland, followed by an avid read of this and three related books, sparked curiosity in me that was so strong that I couldn't not go there. Going there totally changed my life, and gave me life-long hope for a future for my kids and our troubled planet. The other three books are: "Revelation, the Birth of a New Age", "The Findhorn Garden", and "God Spoke to Me".
October 16, 2009
A book about the confluence of land, humans and earth entities communing in a collaborative project to establish a healing community in a place where in the beginning had such perfect conditions that vegetables and fruit grew to immense sizes. Some will not believe this, but I do.
April 29, 2008
Great learning the backstory to Findhorn. I'll be slowing down abit to take in more whispers from the garden. I planted a bunch today.
September 18, 2010
This book changed my life. It made me believe the Kingdom on earth just might be possible.
April 19, 2011
I read this in the '70s...when I imagined being an earth mother and still I hope to find the way to tap into the secrets of growing HUGE vegetables and living better
March 6, 2015
a magical ride into the world of mystical experiences and life beyond logic. well written from the point of view of the open-minded skeptic
February 8, 2018
The ideas that were originally brought together by the early New Age movement have been stretched to a ridiculous extent in the last 40 or so years. The practices and philosophies that were used back then to catalyse personal and collective breakthroughs are now equally successfully employed for effective spiritual bypassing. Some of the more sellable propositions, like getting something for nothing by just thinking about it, have been marketed and highlighted in the popular media to such extent that it is a cliché now to make cliché jokes about The Secret and the likes. In the early days though, the name "New Age" was used by the people who didn't know yet that they are to become the elders of the movement. There was a bunch of individuals sprinkled across the world who were following (or were dragged kicking and screaming by) their calling. They lived and worked before New Age was spoilt by being so popular.
The Magic of Findhorn is following a few of those early New Age pioneers through their life trajectory that took them to play their part in a birth and a development of a new intentional community in a small village in the northern Scotland. Starting in a small caravan park next to a rubbish dump and growing their first plants on barren sand dunes, they managed to seed and nurture a community that is still alive, thriving, and growing 50 years later. The key to their success was cooperation with the "unseen" - plant Devas, nature spirits, and other inhabitants of the inner worlds that were still willing to work with people.
The book first talks about Findhorn as it was at the time when the author visited it back in 1972 and then pictures a life story of a few of its key members. At times it blurs the line between the biographical narrative and a fiction which, to my mind, turned it somewhat over-dramatic and made the whole saga less believable and less practical to me. I wish it was a little bit less of a hero story by introducing a few more people who just did their job and didn't have to go through the tribulations to be an effective part of that community. In the end of the day what is going to bring a change towards the dreams of the New Age is the barely noticeable small changes in the ordinary lives of the ordinary people, not the single heroic acts.
Despite this dramatic focus, The Magic of Findhorn is a fascinating read with a rather poetic language. It paints a beautiful scene of what the early New Age movement was like (the words "New Age" are mentioned in the book maybe a few hundred times!) and it is a good starting point to understand Findhorn Foundation as a phenomena.
The Magic of Findhorn is following a few of those early New Age pioneers through their life trajectory that took them to play their part in a birth and a development of a new intentional community in a small village in the northern Scotland. Starting in a small caravan park next to a rubbish dump and growing their first plants on barren sand dunes, they managed to seed and nurture a community that is still alive, thriving, and growing 50 years later. The key to their success was cooperation with the "unseen" - plant Devas, nature spirits, and other inhabitants of the inner worlds that were still willing to work with people.
The book first talks about Findhorn as it was at the time when the author visited it back in 1972 and then pictures a life story of a few of its key members. At times it blurs the line between the biographical narrative and a fiction which, to my mind, turned it somewhat over-dramatic and made the whole saga less believable and less practical to me. I wish it was a little bit less of a hero story by introducing a few more people who just did their job and didn't have to go through the tribulations to be an effective part of that community. In the end of the day what is going to bring a change towards the dreams of the New Age is the barely noticeable small changes in the ordinary lives of the ordinary people, not the single heroic acts.
Despite this dramatic focus, The Magic of Findhorn is a fascinating read with a rather poetic language. It paints a beautiful scene of what the early New Age movement was like (the words "New Age" are mentioned in the book maybe a few hundred times!) and it is a good starting point to understand Findhorn Foundation as a phenomena.
September 17, 2022
I knew nothing about Findhorn until running across the name and a brief description while reading another book. But the description was enough to make my eyes go wide as it is eerily like a place I'm designing for my next novel: A place where fairies and gods and magic work on the people who live there. So I absolutely had to find out more about Findhord which led me to this book.
This book does the trick. We meet the main actors who founded the Findhorn community. We have Peter the leader; Eileen who talks to god during daily mediations, dorothy who communicates with the Devas, spirits who are responsible for vegetation and nature and then Crombie, who was sort of held at arrow point by elves one day. And oddly enough, it was with Crombie that I became skeptical of the whole matter. It's one thing to think you're communicating with god and spirits (which may only be your own conciousness talking back to you). But Crombie had an entire origin story that was too television scrip ready and hard to believe. The same goes for Roc who has a similar Hollywood origin story with elves. Crombie and Roc's claims reminded me of other people who I researched on regarding pathological lying. But who's to say, really.
The most interested, undisputed fact is the immense garden that shouldn't be. Everyone who examined the soil and area said all those different species of plants and trees shouldn't be able to grow in that sand and yet, there it was. I only wish the author did more, excuse the pun, digging, to get to the bottom of it.
This was a very enjoyable book in examination of one of the many New Age communities that sprang up in the 1960s. It's interesting to note that such communities still exists, telling the same origin stories and having similar encounters with "the others". Such stories never get old.
This book does the trick. We meet the main actors who founded the Findhorn community. We have Peter the leader; Eileen who talks to god during daily mediations, dorothy who communicates with the Devas, spirits who are responsible for vegetation and nature and then Crombie, who was sort of held at arrow point by elves one day. And oddly enough, it was with Crombie that I became skeptical of the whole matter. It's one thing to think you're communicating with god and spirits (which may only be your own conciousness talking back to you). But Crombie had an entire origin story that was too television scrip ready and hard to believe. The same goes for Roc who has a similar Hollywood origin story with elves. Crombie and Roc's claims reminded me of other people who I researched on regarding pathological lying. But who's to say, really.
The most interested, undisputed fact is the immense garden that shouldn't be. Everyone who examined the soil and area said all those different species of plants and trees shouldn't be able to grow in that sand and yet, there it was. I only wish the author did more, excuse the pun, digging, to get to the bottom of it.
This was a very enjoyable book in examination of one of the many New Age communities that sprang up in the 1960s. It's interesting to note that such communities still exists, telling the same origin stories and having similar encounters with "the others". Such stories never get old.
June 29, 2017
A fascinating account of the people who established Findhorn garden (featured in the Haven TV series) in the 1970s. It looks at how despite poor sand-based soil and harsh climate, the plants in the garden flourished as did the community around it. The book indicates that the reason for this is a partnership between the human community, God and nature spirits, including fairies. Even for the sceptical it's an interesting read.
April 25, 2020
The most telling (and, to me, amusing) thing about this book is that Paul Hawken begins his narrative by saying he had only intended to stay a week at longest, and yet the bit about the author reveals he stayed for a year, a fact which he does not address in his story.
I enjoyed those latter chapters deeply, but the history of Findhorn did leave me deeply concerned with the way all women involved have been treated.
I enjoyed those latter chapters deeply, but the history of Findhorn did leave me deeply concerned with the way all women involved have been treated.
January 1, 2020
A non fiction, magical book about a real place - Findhorn, Scotland. Author, Paul Hawken is an environmental activist and entrepreneur. He's founder of Smith & Hawken, a garden supply company. One of my fantasies is to write a book of fiction based on the narrative categories in 'The Magic of Findhorn.'
July 6, 2018
Have read and reread this several times since the 1980s and it never fails to fascinate and stimulate. The Caddy story is well-told here by Paul Hawken. Only wished it had been a little longer and contained more detail. Other than that it is a great book.
August 26, 2020
Shows us what can be behind the veil if we only choose to observe and listen to Nature. Quite a powerful and inspiring book; one that helped me to really begin to look into intentional communities and working with the land as well as the magic of it all.
January 1, 2019
A bit weird. I love plants and now I know that they love me...
December 6, 2019
never knew Paul Hawken was so intricately involved in Findhorn.
September 15, 2020
This was one wonderous book...and I'm going to keep this in mind it's lessons as I start making my own garden. Look up Findhorn..that place is still thriving.
February 7, 2022
An amazing book that inspires imagination as well as shows the strength of the human will and spirit. A must read…
June 11, 2024
Fantastic read…
Read years ago…and shows what can be accomplished & manifested by listening to our inner guidance
Read years ago…and shows what can be accomplished & manifested by listening to our inner guidance
January 28, 2021
I read this when I was young and interested primarily in Zen, depth psychology, and psychological growth. I was also into being in nature, and into gardening. It was a good read then, but when I've browsed through it in more recent years I've realized how young Hawken was when he visited Findhorn & wrote the book... My current rating is tempered by that.
July 15, 2014
This book changed my life ... not necessarily for the better. I went to live at Findhorn as a result and spent 20 years of my life actively dedicated to New Age culture. Meanwhile, I missed so, so, so very much about Western culture, which is obliterated by the New Age.
I don't think I can say this better than I did at my website: http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2012/...
For reasons indicated in the above, I now tend to think of this book as pretty naive - which fitted me perfectly when I first read it, age 14.
On the off-chance that anyone is interested in this, there is also a label "Findhorn" in the footer of my website. Many more posts abut Findhorn can be found there.
I don't think I can say this better than I did at my website: http://corjesusacratissimum.org/2012/...
For reasons indicated in the above, I now tend to think of this book as pretty naive - which fitted me perfectly when I first read it, age 14.
On the off-chance that anyone is interested in this, there is also a label "Findhorn" in the footer of my website. Many more posts abut Findhorn can be found there.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews