Paul Devereux (born 1945) is a British author, researcher, lecturer, broadcaster, artist and photographer based in the UK. Devereux is a co-founder and the managing editor of the academic publication ''Time & Mind – the Journal of Archaeology, Consciousness and Culture'', a research associate with the Royal College of Art (2007–2013), and a Research Fellow with the International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL) group at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

. Paul Devereux' work primarily deals with archaeological themes, especially

archaeoacoustics Archaeoacoustics is a sub-field of archaeology and acoustics which studies the relationship between people and sound throughout history. It is an interdisciplinary field with methodological contributions from acoustics, archaeology, and compute ...

(the study of sound at archaeological sites), the anthropology of consciousness (ancient and pre-modern worldviews),

ecopsychology Ecopsychology is an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinarity field that focuses on the synthesis of ecology and psychology and the promotion of sustainability. It is distinguished from conventional psychology as it focuses on studying the emotion ...

, unusual geophysical phenomena, and consciousness studies, spanning the range from academic to popular. He has written or co-written 28 books since 1979. He originated two Channel 4 (UK) television documentaries.

Biography

Paul Devereux grew up in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

. He painted and studied at the Ravensbourne College of Art and Design in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. With a preference for

abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

, he found increasing inspiration in the geometry and ground plans of ancient sites. He admits to experiencing LSD and mescaline in college, and having at least one profound epiphany under the influence in 1966. He also witnessed, along with all the students on campus, the passage of a UFO in broad daylight in 1967.Paul Devereux on LSD, leys, The RCA, and Places of Power
''Artconwall.org'' Throughout the 1970s, he exhibited his work that a critic described as «a collision between

Op art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...

and

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

». He was also a teacher, eventually teaching an evening class in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

called ''Earth mysteries''. Interested in researching the ideas behind

ley line Ley lines () are straight alignments drawn between various historic structures and prominent landmarks. The idea was developed in early 20th-century Europe, with ley line believers arguing that these alignments were recognised by ancient soci ...

s, he took over as editor of ''The Ley Hunter'' magazine in 1976.

Work

Ley lines

Devereux is indelibly associated with “leys", or “

s". In 1976, Paul Devereux took over as editor of the magazine ''The Ley Hunter''. His first order was an article on the mystical power of ley lines, but none of the writers could provide concrete documentation on the matter. According to him, Alfred Watkins' alignments «were really just chance alignments of points on maps. This can be demonstrated quite conclusively». Paul Devereux' work on ley lines was mainly focused on debunking the mystical properties ''falsely'' attributed to them. He argues that fake information about ley lines started in 1936 with

Dion Fortune Dion Fortune (born Violet Mary Firth, 6 December 1890 – 6 January 1946) was a British occultist, ceremonial magician, novelist and author. She was a co-founder of the Fraternity of the Inner Light, an occult organisation that promoted ph ...

's book ''Goat-Foot God'' where the author introduced the idea that ley lines have mystic power. He also mentions Aimé Michel's 1958 book, ''Flying Saucers and the Straight Line Mystery'', which stipulates that UFOs followed straight specific lines, an idea that ex-RAF pilot Tony Wedd later linked to

Alfred Watkins Alfred Watkins (27 January 1855 – 15 April 1935) was an English author, self-taught amateur archaeologist, antiquarian and businessman who, while standing on a hillside in Herefordshire, England, in 1921 experienced a revelation. He noticed ...

' ''

The Old Straight Track ''The Old Straight Track: Its Mounds, Beacons, Moats, Sites and Mark Stones'' is a book by Alfred Watkins, first published in 1925, describing the existence of alleged ley lines in Great Britain. Presentation Watkins presents a methodical and th ...

''. This idea then bloomed in the psychedelic movement of the 1960s and became a pillar of the

New Age New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...

philosophies.Jeff Belanger
Ley Lines, Old Straight Tracks, and Earth Energies
''Ghostvillage.com'', 13 December 2003 About the

Nazca Lines The Nazca Lines are a group of geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. They were created between 500 BCE and 500 CE by people making depressions or shallow incisions in the desert floor, removing pebbles and l ...

, Paul Devereux argues that they are walking tracks, and that their pattern mainly reveal the religious beliefs of the Kogi Indians around sacred roads. In his 2003 book ''Fairy Paths & Spirit Roads'', Paul Devereux studied many ley lines worldwide and concluded that these linear features are essentially «paths of spirits». He led the Dragon Project for 10 years and admitted that there are places of high radiation where some participants experienced powerful and vivid hallucinatory episodes of spirit-like visits.

Dragon Project

Devereux is the director of the Dragon Project Trust, which in the past used scientific measuring instruments as well as primary sensing (using dowsers and self-proclaimed psychics) to test modern rumours and traditional folklore of there being "energies" at sacred places. Between 1990 and 2000, it ran an ambitious ancient sites dream research programme (a modern, updated research version of ancient "temple sleep" practices).

UFOs

Devereux states that he suspects a small percentage of unexplained aerial phenomena are literally unexplained flying objects, their nature currently unknown. He strongly doubts they are extraterrestrial craft but rather exotic natural phenomena – probably some form of plasma with extraordinary properties. He coined the term “earth lights" to label these type of phenomena. Most

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

sighting reports he thinks result from misperceptions of astronomical objects, atmospheric effects such as mirages, or aircraft and other mundane objects, or downright hoaxes. Some reports, he feels, also stem from psycho-social causes. Devereux states that he became interested in unexplained aerial phenomena because of a bizarre sighting of his own in 1967. Devereux has written three books on the topic, ''Earth Lights'', and, in particular, ''Earth Lights Revelation'', and has co-authored (with Peter Brookesmith) a major work, ''UFOs and Ufology'', and has also written numerous articles on earth lights and given several lectures (including at the Dana Centre, Science Museum, London) on the subject.

Archaeoacoustics

In 2014, the Landscape and Perception Project led by Paul Devereux led research on the rocks in

Stonehenge Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, west of Amesbury. It consists of an outer ring of vertical sarsen standing stones, each around high, wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connectin ...

and concluded they were resonant rocks that work like a giant prehistoric

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

. This theory would explain why the rocks were brought from 200 miles away from the site. Other research led him to the observation that cairns on burial grounds resonate at 111 Hz (sacred resonance). According to him,

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samos, Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionians, Ionian Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher and the eponymou ...

created his acoustic scale starting with the sacred 111 Hz resonance.Mysterious Ancient Temples Resonate at the 'Holy Frequency'
''Interestingengineering.com'', 1 December 2016

Selected bibliography

* ''Sacred Geography: Deciphering Hidden Codes in the Landscape'' (Gaia 2010) * ''Fairy Paths & Spirit Roads: Exploring Otherworldly Routes in the Old and New Worlds'' (Vega & Sterling, 2003) * ''Mysterious Ancient America: An Investigation into the Enigmas of America's Pre-History'' (Vega & Sterling, 2002) * ''Haunted Land: Investigations into Ancient Mysteries and Modern Day Phenomena'' (Piatkus, 2001) * ''The Long Trip: The Prehistory of Psychedelia'' (Penguin Arkana, 1997) * ''Re-visioning the Earth: A Guide to Opening the Healing Channels Between Mind and Nature'' (Fireside, 1996) * ''Earthmind: Communicating With the Living World of Gaia'' (Destiny, 1992) - with John Steele and David Kubrin * ''Earth Lights Revelation: UFOs and Mystery Lightform Phenomena: the Earth's Secret Energy Force'' (Blandford Press, 1989) * ''The Ley Hunter's Companion: Aligned Ancient Sites : A new study with field guide and maps'' (Thames and Hudson, 1979)

References

External links

www.pauldevereux.co.uk
Paul Devereux Website
International Consciousness Research Laboratories (ICRL)
- at Princeton University.
The Ley Hunter's Companion
Google Earth placemark (KMZ) file based on the 1979 book (from th

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Devereux, Paul British consciousness researchers and theorists Mythographers Earth mysteries British parapsychologists British psychedelic drug advocates Psychedelic drug researchers Living people 1945 births English male non-fiction writers