Gandalf's Garden was a mystical community which flourished at the end of the 1960s as part of the London

hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to dif ...

-underground movement, and ran a shop as well as a magazine of the same name. It emphasised the

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...

interests of the period and advocated

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...

and psychedelics in contrast to hard drugs.

Location

The shop was based in World's End, at what was then the unfashionable end of Chelsea and a fair walk from Sloane Square tube station, passing the Chelsea Drug Store (where the record shop scene from '' A Clockwork Orange'' was filmed) and across the road from a clothes shop named Granny Takes a Trip, distinguished by the mini car protruding from its first floor level. Gandalf's Garden was directly opposite the World's End pub. The site is now unidentifiable under the World's End Estate. The shop promoted a peaceful "vibe" and large cushions were provided on the floor for customers to "hang out" and drink honey-flavoured exotic teas. The basement provided not only a toilet but also an area for a "shrineroom" where homeless street people crashed during the day and spiritual meetings were held every evening. It was the first popular centre to invite teachers,

guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s, researchers, etc., from every spiritual tradition and practice and gained worldwide recognition. Gandalf's Garden was dispersed in 1971 into various ''Gandalf's Garden Seed Centre''s in different parts of Britain, e.g.,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, holding weekly meetings of short meditation and discussion, and often speakers invited from the list of address of Muz Murray's main contacts near each Seed Centre's location.

''Gandalf's Garden'' magazine

The magazine emerged in 1968 and ran to 6 issues. It was part of the then-current

Underground press The terms underground press or clandestine press refer to periodicals and publications that are produced without official approval, illegally or against the wishes of a dominant (governmental, religious, or institutional) group. In specific rece ...

(although they preferred to be called "Overground") as an alternative to the ''

International Times ''International Times'' (''it'' or ''IT'') is the name of various Underground press, underground newspapers, with the original title founded in London in 1966 and running until October 1973. Editors included John Hopkins (p ...

'' and, particularly, '' OZ'' in departing from conventional black and white pages. In contrast to the psychedelic mayhem of many issues of OZ, ''Gandalf's Garden'' magazine was lyrical in choice of, for example, peach, light blue or pastel pink sheets with burgundy type, the colours rotating through the magazine. Articles in 1969 included: * ''Atlantis Rising'' by Mark Western (issue 4) * ''The Glastonbury Giants'' by Mary Caine (issue 4) * ''The God'seye: The Aetherius Society'' by Colin Bord (issue 4) * ''The Third Ear Band'' by Legolas (issue 4) * ''Quintessence'' by Legolas (issue 6) * ''The Cosmic Continent'' by Colin Bord (issue 6) The letters page was called the "Seedbag". A touch of satire came in the form of a page "Oh to be in England" (press cuttings). Some well-known contributors to the magazine included Christopher Logue, Adrian Mitchell,

Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...

and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

. The front cover of most issues set the tone with "Fear not, for you are now entering Gandalf's Garden" The introduction by Muz Murray included: ''Gandalf's Garden'' had ceased to function in London by 1972 however Muz Murray continued to be active, touring the ''Gandalf's Garden Seed Centres'' and gave inspirational talks. Copies of the magazine have now become collector's items and are selling for anything up to a hundred pounds per issue. However, all issues are now available on CD-ROM together with photos of the Garden Scene and a history of The Life and Times of GG. The members of the team have mostly gone on to be deeply involved in various aspects of the new age movement, including shamanism, Sufism and alternative medicine. Muz Murray is known in India as Ramana Baba and teaches mantra yoga and Advaita Vedanta worldwide. Dominic Monaghan, who played Merry the hobbit in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film, praised Muz Murray and Gandalf's Garden as a major influence in the United Kingdom in the documentary film '' Ringers: Lord of the Fans'' regarding Tolkien and his influence around the world.

References

External links

Site about ''Gandalf's Garden''

Gandalf's Garden on Facebook

Muz Murray's website
{{Use British English, date=June 2024 1968 establishments in the United Kingdom Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Hippie movement Underground culture

Location

''Gandalf's Garden'' magazine

See also

References

External links