Gandalf's Garden
Encyclopedia
Gandalf's Garden was a mystical community which flourished at the end of the 1960s as part of the London hippie
/underground movement, running a shop and a magazine of the same name. It emphasised the mystical interests of the period, and advocated meditation in preference to drugs. Muz Murray was prominent and editor of the magazine (and is now a world-travelling Mantra Master).
, 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. GG was directly opposite the World's End pub.
The shop promoted a peaceful "vibe" and large cushions were provided on the floor for customers to "hang out" and drink honey-flavoured tea. 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, gurus, monks, researchers, etc., from every spiritual tradition and practice and gained worldwide recognition.
, following the lead of the International Times
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. Sample articles are "The Glastonbury Mystique: Jesus and the Druids" and "The Third Ear Band". 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
and Spike Milligan
.
The inside cover of the first issue set the tone with "You are now entering Gandalf's Garden—fear not" and an introduction by Murray which included:
It never achieved the wide circulation (or notoriety) of the older publications, but struck a distinct note of gentleness—or some might say escapism—in contrast to the increasing stridency and politicisation of the Underground movement, an extreme example being the Angry Brigade bombers.
Gandalf's Garden had ceased to function in London by 1972. 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 Gradenscene 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.
The magazine and work of Muz Murray has been introduced by Dominic Moneghan ('Merry' the Hobbit in Lord of the Rings) on the American DVD "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" documenting the influence of Tolkien
around the world.
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
/underground movement, running a shop and a magazine of the same name. It emphasised the mystical interests of the period, and advocated meditation in preference to drugs. Muz Murray was prominent and editor of the magazine (and is now a world-travelling Mantra Master).
Location
The shop was based in World's EndWorld's End
-In the arts:*World's End , a novel by Upton Sinclair*World's End , a novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle*World's End , a novel by Mark Chadbourn*World's End , a major event of the Wildstorm Universe...
, at what was then the unfashionable end of Chelsea and a fair walk from Sloane Square
Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
tube station, passing the Chelsea Drug Store (where the record shop scene from A Clockwork Orange
A Clockwork Orange (film)
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film adaptation of Anthony Burgess's 1962 novel of the same name. It was written, directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick...
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. GG was directly opposite the World's End pub.
The shop promoted a peaceful "vibe" and large cushions were provided on the floor for customers to "hang out" and drink honey-flavoured tea. 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, gurus, monks, researchers, etc., from every spiritual tradition and practice and gained worldwide recognition.
Magazine 'Gandalf's Garden'
The magazine emerged in 1968 and ran to 6 issues. It was part of the then-current Underground pressUnderground press
The underground press were the independently published and distributed underground papers associated with the counterculture of the late 1960s and early 1970s in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and other western nations....
, following the lead of the International Times
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
and, particularly, OZ
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
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. Sample articles are "The Glastonbury Mystique: Jesus and the Druids" and "The Third Ear Band". 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
Christopher Logue
Christopher Logue, CBE is an English poet associated with the British Poetry Revival. He has also written for the theatre and cinema as well as acting in a number of films. His two screenplays are Savage Messiah and The End of Arthur's Marriage...
, Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell
Adrian Mitchell FRSL was an English poet, novelist and playwright. A former journalist, he became a noted figure on the British anti-authoritarian Left. For almost half a century he was the foremost poet of the country's anti-Bomb movement...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and Spike Milligan
Spike Milligan
Terence Alan Patrick Seán "Spike" Milligan Hon. KBE was a comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright, soldier and actor. His early life was spent in India, where he was born, but the majority of his working life was spent in the United Kingdom. He became an Irish citizen in 1962 after the...
.
The inside cover of the first issue set the tone with "You are now entering Gandalf's Garden—fear not" and an introduction by Murray which included:
It never achieved the wide circulation (or notoriety) of the older publications, but struck a distinct note of gentleness—or some might say escapism—in contrast to the increasing stridency and politicisation of the Underground movement, an extreme example being the Angry Brigade bombers.
Gandalf's Garden had ceased to function in London by 1972. 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 Gradenscene 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.
The magazine and work of Muz Murray has been introduced by Dominic Moneghan ('Merry' the Hobbit in Lord of the Rings) on the American DVD "Ringers: Lord of the Fans" documenting the influence of Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
around the world.