RJ: I started with two interests: traditional ballads and folk tales, and meditation and magical arts. Eventually the two came together. I worked for several years (in the early 1970's) with the late W. G. Gray who was a Qabalist and his wife X. Roberta who was an astrologer and who Y. was also very knowledgeable about Celtic tradition.
I practice certain aspects of the Faery and Underworld tradition, but I also receive the inner lineage of magical arts and Priest/Priestess hood traditions that we teach in workshops. Some of this inner contact was handed down from WGG, who received it from a French Russian teacher, linking back to the circles of Papus and other mystical/magical orders from 19th century in France with a strong Russian influence. However, I have developed these traditions in my own way, and do not claim them to be anything other than work that I have tried to clarify and develop over the last 30 years.
M: Do you call what you do witchcraft or are you a pagan? What is it like to be a pagan in Europe?
RJ: My books are read by thousands of people who would describe themselves as witches and/or pagans, both in Europe and the USA, especially those in the Underworld and Faery traditions. One of the people whom I met and worked with, along with W G Gray in the 1970's, was Patricia Crowther, an influential senior practitioner of revival Witchcraft, with whom I am still in contact. I like her.
But I would not describe myself as either a witch or a pagan: I don't like labels, and prefer to work with the inner spiritual impulses without labels. Obviously I draw a lot upon ancestral traditions, which I respect, but I try to bring them alive without labeling or joining anything. So I hope that people of various religious paths can work with my material without getting into sectarianism or label conflicts.
M: Do you worship the Goddess and celebrate the pagan wheel of the year?
RJ: I sense the presence of the Goddess in all things, and I am aware of the flow of the solar year and lunar seasons. But I do not follow any rigid calendar, and I have doubts about many of the calendar patterns that are published today: they sometimes do not fit with my sense of ancestral awareness or with general research and knowledge of history and tradition.
M: How does the Goddess fit in with the Land of Faery? Do those in the Land of Faery worship her?
RJ: The Goddess is the Faery Queen: they are the same Being in different manifestations.
M: Are the Underworld and Faery Realm, Celtic based? Do you think one is more likely to meet someone from the Land of Faery in, say, Ireland or Scotland than in the USA?
RJ: No, the Underworld is not exclusively Celtic. It exists in every part of the Planet, and in all primal traditions in varying forms. Faery beings are found in all lands, and are very active and vigorous in the USA . . . not just in Ireland, Scotland or Europe.
M: Do you perform rituals? Do you feel that ritual is an important part of the Faery Tradition?
RJ: I do not do rituals in the sense of having a script, a rigid formula, robes, etc. I did that years ago with W. G. Gray and his group, also with Gareth Knight, for whom I have great respect and friendship. I think that Ceremony and Pattern Making must become natural and part of daily life, rather than special attempts in costume.
The Faery tradition does use rituals and ceremonies, and they are well known in folklore. But they are not similar to the revival pagan/Wiccan idea of ceremonies. They are not scripted, and a scripted ritual cannot be, by definition, a Faery ritual. The Faery Tradition is found in certain practices, and not in formal scripts. It is an oral tradition of songs, music, dreams, the Second Sight, tales and customs. This why I do not teach material from my books in our workshops . . . we teach the material that is not In the books.
M: Is your Faery Tradition the same one that Cora and Victor Anderson have been teaching for years? If not where did yours originate?
RJ: I have met Victor and Cora several times, and like them very much. I have that same sense of deep respect for them that I had for my old teachers in the 1970's . . . even though Victor and Cora are not my teachers! I think that there are many similarities between the two streams of tradition, but my material does not include the Hawaiian influence that is so important in Victor and Cora's. My material originates in Northern Europe, with some connections as far south as the Mediterranean and further east into Russia. Much of it is Celtic, but not all.
M: How does your work with the Faery Tradition correlate with what you have written about Magical Arts?
RJ: Some of the techniques cross over, especially as all magical arts are founded upon primal traditions such as the Faery Tradition.
M: How does the Underworld and Faery Realm compare with the Celtic Shaman path?
RJ: I have no idea. I have no constructive ideas about Celtic shamanism whatsoever, as there is no historical or cultural evidence for it. Shamanism was not connected to Celtic culture until modern people invented a connection. Indeed, shamanism is not known in Celtic culture at all, but the Faery and Underworld traditions are well represented in folk magic and local ceremonies, handed down through the ages.
Don't just take my word for this . . . do some library research. And then ask a Siberian shaman, or closer to home, a native American elder, about so called Celtic shamanism. Its a modern invention . . . I don't know who invented it, but it sounds like people jumping onto a bandwagon because of the commercial popularity of New Age "shamanism", which isn't true shamanism at all. I've talked to several American tribal elders about this, and we all share the same opinion.
M: How can accessing the Underworld and Faery Realm benefit our world?
RJ: By giving us a living relationship to the otherwise unperceived beings who share the planet with us. That is what I try to encourage in my books, and what we teach in our workshops.
M: This is the time of the year when we think of "the God." Do you have one particular god you favor, and if so why?
RJ: I suppose that as a Scot (i.e., Celt) and musician I would favor the Apollo of the Underworld, god of music, prophecy, healing and son of the Great Mother. He is known by many names. Where I used to live in Bath, in England, he was called Bladud.
M: Is the God as important to the craft as the Goddess? Why?
RJ: This is difficult for me to answer, as I am not a practitioner of modern witchcraft. I think that both polarities of Being are important for us, but that at the present time it is the Goddess who returns to our dreams, visions and waking awareness.
M: What aspects of the God do you think that you've manifested in yourself and how?
RJ: Perhaps that of the poet in service to the Goddess . . . inspired by spiritual visions. I do not, however, claim to be wise, but only to have made lots of mistakes.
M: How does the Faery Tradition connect with Merlin?
RJ: In the Underworld: Merlin was originally an Underworld seer (as a boy), so there has to be a faery connection there.
M: Why, after all this time, is Merlin still such a riveting figure to us all? What is his relevance to our modern world?
RJ: There are many different ideas of Merlin, but they all embody the inspiration of magic, of the other worlds.
M: There are books on the Faery Realm, on Magick, Merlin and books on Celtic Myth and Legend. With all this material available, what is your advice to those just starting on a pagan path?
RJ: Be true to yourself . . . do not let others tell you what truth is or order you around. And, equally important, do some cautious and skeptical independent research . .try to read source books rather than popular how to books. (There go more sales of my books down the drain).
M: You are currently offering a "Working With the Goddess" workshop. Do you plan on writing more about the Goddess?
RJ: I think it unlikely. My partner Josephine and I are moving away from writing to working directly with people. Most of the material that we work with is not in any books. I do not encourage people to read my books before a workshop. The books are for people I cannot yet meet . . . a kind of half way house.
M: How has reaction and acceptance of your work changed since you published Underworld Initiation in 1984?
RJ: It has certainly opened out and reached a wider audience than I had ever intended. Underworld Initiation was not my first book (it was my 3rd) but it seems to have had some impact. In recent years I find that many people have been working with the material, and then discovering my more recent books to work with. On the downside, two self styled "writers" have stolen large chunks of my books and published them in a kind of mish mash pop journalist form. The name of the publisher? I forget, but it begins with L . . .
M: From what spiritual path do you find that the people who attend your workshops and read your books usually come from?
RJ: An enormous variety: we try to make the workshops as non sectarian as possible. We deal with experiences and living techniques, not any specific revival esoteric tradition. I did some faery workings in Ireland recently (as part of a larger event) where the group included Anthroposophists, pagans, Wiccans, Christians, a Taoist and two Carmelite nuns. They were all delightful people and no one came out with any propaganda. Most important of all, they all made strong faery contacts for future work.
M: Are you writing for or hoping to reach a certain segment of the population. Who is your target audience?
RJ: I have no idea. My specialist books such as Earthlight and Power Within the Land, or the Magical Arts books, were written to explore certain themes and ideas and techniques. The popular Celtic books were written for people who like . . . Celtic stuff.
M: Do you consider this your life's work? What is your greatest achievement to date?
RJ: No, I do not consider writing my life's work. I am, however, very pleased with the Dreampower Tarot, a visionary deck of cards that I designed, which was painted by my friend Stuart Littlejohn. This is the best, most far reaching project that I have created. Five years after its original visions and inner inspirations I am still learning about the Dreampower tarot. It is a tarot of the Underworld, and does not correspond to regular tarot.
M: Where do you see the craft going in the next few years? Do you see any big changes around the end of the millennium?
RJ: Once again, I am wary of commenting on people's beliefs, especially as I am not a Craft member. But I do sense that much of what we now argue over will be irrelevant, for we will soon be into the second or third generation of our modern revival of people genuinely working magic, meditation and spiritual arts.
M: I know you're going to be here in the states in February, what are you up to? Do you have a current project that you're promoting?
RJ: Usually I come over to promote books, which is why my visits are always associated with bookstores. The most recent book is "Celtic Bards, Celtic Druids" co written with Robin Williamson. Robin is a wonderful harpist and storyteller and poet, and we had a happy and productive time writing the book together. This is the last of my Celtic books, there will be no more Celtic books from me. I was going to write a book called Celtic Bimbo Gardeners (glamorize your plants the Celtic way, lose weight, attract lovers and look even younger). But I think its already been done . . . probably by that "L" . . . publisher whose name I can't remember. . .
R J and Josephine Stewart contact information:
January 31-February 2: Seattle area, WA: The Living World of Faery. Book signing party at Mandala Books, on February 4, from 4-6:30pm to be followed by a lecture on the "World of Faery" from 7-9pm. Contact Amanda Silvers (206) 363-7896 for registration or information.
Faery Tradition Priests and Priestesses meeting and mini workshops on February 3 & 5. Contact Paul Martin at The Stonehouse Bookstore, Redmond (206) 883-7825. For information on books, workshops, tapes, the Dreampower Tarot and other information, visit our web pages: http://www.thirdmind.com/Dreampower and http://www.magere.com/RJStewart
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