I
thought it was going to be easy to write an introduction to Trevor’s
interview. I thought I would say a bunch of nice things and then light off
some fireworks and bring in the big band as I threw off the curtain to his
interview. But it’s not been easy. How do you say just a few nice words
about such an amazing person? Gushing about Trevor seemed cheap and insipid
and not saying anything would lessen the interview. What I will say is that
Trevor gives with his whole heart and he cares more than anyone I’ve
ever met. One of my fondest memories of my trip to Europe was picking apples
in his backyard. Trevor would come out and supervise our work and then go
back in as Mab and I did our best to drop apples on each other’s heads.
It felt good and right to helping out such a wonderful friend. So, I present
to you…. Trevor Jones!
First and foremost, tell us about your path and what does it mean to be a Druid?
Firstly, you know me rather well after a couple of years on Witchgrove and many a good chat session – so you know that Druids call me Witch and witches call me Druid. I still very much walk both paths. Druidry is more of a philosophy (to ME) than a religion. When I came to the Craft I was not looking for a religion, and some of the deity ‘worship’ sits uncomfortably with me when I see so much suffering, so in fact the inquiring side of Druidry suits me well. I am now attached to OBOD – the largest British Order of druids, and I am working my way through the grades (Bard, Ovate & Druid).
Bard is about opening up to spirit, and ultimately about expressing yourself through artistic endeavor.
Ovate is about healing and the inner journey – and can be quite stressful for many.
Druid is about service & giving BACK to the community.
Many in my Grove are saying that I am really Druid already – due to my experiences & abilities - but I MUST for my own path take the slow route and go through the processes with commitment & respect.
As to Wicca and witchcraft, I am a natural hedge witch who works the forest energies, with a rudimentary understanding of healing through herbs. I have tended my own land and orchards for many years and I have been naturally in touch with the seasons all that time without effectively realizing that the things I was doing WERE pagan or Craft!
Why Superfrog?
Superfrog arose from another terrific online group (who moved OFF yahoo shortly after I joined the Grove). I still belong to them – we were only 30 or so people at the start, but some highly fertile imaginations, and we made a fantasy world for ourselves which we progressed daily through group emails wherein I tried to usurp control of the domain, and kept kissing all the girls – so the girls ganged up and turned me into a frog. In order to ‘escape’ I either had to rely on a kindly Princess, or I had to re-invent myself as SUPERFROG to overcome the bonds the other protagonists had set for me.
But the name has stuck symbolically because as you are aware I am a walker between the worlds……
You have often said you’re a guardian of the gates.. What does that mean?
My other given magical name is Pwyll Pen Annwn, king of the fey, the only character mentioned in all four branches of the Mabinogion.
As a walker between those worlds, he is also a guardian of those gateways – and part of my magical function seems to be a facilitation for the other folk to come through from time to time. Also I am asked increasingly to protect them from the depredations of meddling folk in this world.
I have a number of portals on my own land where they can come & go as they please – and they may visit me at any time – usually my work for them is not onerous – and they can be very generous to those around me if the mood takes them – but equally they can be buggers to play with!
Living in a town like Glastonbury must be quite the trip... and yet make you want to rip your hair out. Tell us what it’s like for you to work there and live nearby?
My stock response is that I live 4 miles outside the town because I could NOT take a full dose of the energies involved! I drive in every day and when I reach the town bypass I don an invisible cloak and become Magical Trevor – the Glastonbury persona. When I hit the roundabout on the way out – I throw that cloak over my shoulder and revert to humankind…..
I give 100% when I am in town, and I often feel drained – but that is part of the ethos of the shop – it is WHY we are taken seriously.
Many of us in the pagan community would give body parts to own our own witchy shop. I’d like to know about the evolution of Witchcraft Ltd. How did you get started and how has it evolved?
It all started when I fell for a witch who worked in the shop. She told me that the shop was for sale, and my IT career had effectively ended – I was working my way through an Open University degree and not knowing where any real money was going to come from – and I persuaded my ex-partner that a small investment would be a good idea…
Both the witch AND my ex-partner have since left me AND the business – but I am pleased to say that by standing my ground in what is supposedly a woman’s world, I have not only made something unique in Glastonbury, but I have been fortunate enough through the shop to meet my present partner Liz – who now instead of being a good customer has become my best friend and my partner in life as well as in business…
Your store was the only store in Glastonbury I felt was a “real” witchy shop. All the others seemed like they were there to make a pound or two and push New Age thought to the tourists. How do you do it?
You saw Glastonbury – it has HUNDREDS of eso-tourists – many of whom are really only there because it is on the tour circuit. There are several shops that cater to them, and also several crystal shops for new-agers. The original proprietors of Witchcraft were practicing (or learning) witches, and they decided to be different – they featured local pagan art, and made many items themselves. They did not have a clue commercially, and they were not fortunate to have the budget I had when I bought them out. However – I kept to their ethos to remain different form the crowd.
There have been times when I have stocked the shop with plastic from China – but it just does NOT feel right – so the shop itself remains to this day a showcase for hand-made pagan art – albeit that I now have friends internationally I can call on.
You’ve been on this planet than most of us on this list. Tell us about your travels. What and who have you seen?
For the record, I was born a baby boomer in the early fifties. I was in London when the Maharshi came over to instruct the Beatles. MY early working years saw a number of exotic and mundane jobs, until Margaret Thatcher seized power in 1979. I realized she would shake the country – and indeed the WORLD – and I decided that bumming around under her ‘dictatorship’ would not be an option – so I took a government training course in computers, which eventually – through a series of lucky moves, kept me earning top dollar for almost 20 years.
That IT career took me to the US, to Africa, to Spain, and then several years as a consultant in Holland, Belgium and later back in the UK. I was well-healed enough to be able to afford good cars and exotic holidays – but I wasted a lot of money on old cars and bad property deals – so I reached middle age without having paid off the mortgage, etc…
When the IT market finally crashed after Y2K and 9/11, I was – like thousands – out of work. The shop was the one solid opportunity that appealed enough for me to go with.
I am lucky in that I have moved in exotic circles – I met Nixon, worked with David Bowie and several other pop stars. My uncle was stage manager at Drury Lane theatre – so I got to meet all the stars, and my dad had access to Box tickets at the Albert Hall – so I got to see all the bands FREE. Add to that my Aunt was – in the sixties – THE fat lady who sang RULE BRITANNIA at the last night of the Proms – and you could say I have been blessed.
In esoteric circles, due entirely to where and what I am in Glastonbury - I have met and worked now with most of the British luminaries – John & Caitlin Matthews, Nigel Shaw & Caroline Hillyer, Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone and others. Professor Ronald Hutton is a close personal friend and also my Grove leader, and through him and through Liz – who used to live in Sussex – we are also friendly with Philip Carr-Gomm. But I must also add that they are all very fine human beings, and have the same simple aspirations as the rest of us…
I have also worked with many who I will NOT name as they may wish to remain private – many who have helped me to learn and to have confidence in myself.
If you could describe yourself in 5 words or less, what would they be?
Not easy – Strong, forthright, inquisitive, steadfast & giving.
For those who have never been to the top of The Tor to watch the sunset or just be there, explain what it is like.
As you know – we managed a hand fasting up there with some crazy American visitors. Firstly – even to CLIMB the Tor requires a certain level of fitness – I was VERY puffed the day Pixie & Dirk came! The Tor is 585 feet above the surrounding alluvial plains – which are all within a few feet of sea level. The sea is some 11 miles away – but the Atlantic seems to some up to the Tor – in weather terms. It is ALWAYS colder & windier up the Tor than in town.
The Lay-lines are clearly discernible from the top – in places even the vegetation can be seen to change along the Michael line. The coast and Wales (40 miles) can also be seen on a clear day. The old tower – the remains of Christian activity, is open to the elements, and the Tor itself is remarkably UNSTABLE – a few years ago a gaping HOLE appeared at the top – which required TONS of concrete to make safe…
Once on top, an energy surrounds you – we had to work weather magic with Pixie & Dirk to keep the rain off till we finished (fortunately one or two of us in the Grove are used to that!), but we could all feel the special nature of the Tor itself.
You’ve been able to meet many of us on Witchgrove in person. Has it been rewarding?
Read the above – you can get a feel for the rewards. I have had many public and private conversations with a good few now – and every one is valuable to me as I seek knowledge. I value the friendship and love that I have found here more than you will ever know.
You have told me (and I know from meeting you in Real Life) that you are a healer. What do you consider your responsibilities to be? What about now that you’re dealing with cancer? Has having cancer changed the way you heal others?
As a healer I try to direct the energies where they will be of positive help. I now operate a healing box which I put people in until I am told by spirit that my assistance is no longer required. As to hands on – or close-up personal healing – I find increasingly that I am called to heal the healers or the fully connected – those who have sometimes forgotten that they need to receive as well as give. And that was also my biggest problem – accepting that there were literally HUNDREDS of people worldwide who felt they wanted to help ME, and sent energy. I found it hard to accept that I needed or deserved that energy and that love. It was a lesson in humility. The cancer – thankfully now fully on the run, actually STOPPED me healing - I HAD to accept that I needed to heal myself, and I had to accept the energy from others to help that process. I am now well on the road to full recovery – and I will take up the warm hands again, but I may well approach it differently, and I will certainly remember that the healer also needs to BE healed…
You are currently co-habitating with Liz Williams. She must be quite honored to be with you. :)
She may be – you’d have to ask her about that – she is a Grover after all (Mevennen)! All I will say is that living with her has completely turned my life around – and long may it continue!
I love your house. Can I rent a room?
Please do –we will never pay the mortgage otherwise! Seriously – again we are lucky to have 5 acres and open countryside around us, and a 200-year-old stone house to look after.
Is there any place in this world you haven’t been and would like to go?
Several places – we discussed them with a friend earlier this evening. New Zealand, India, most of Asia, South America (I speak good Spanish so I would survive well there!) – and certain parts of the States – the West Coast for example.
Tell us one thing about yourself we wouldn’t know by looking at you.
One thing is you would not know I have been ill – apart from the beard loss (they BURNT it off with the radiotherapy!) – except for the 60 pound weight loss – although I would NOT recommend it a s a diet plan!.....
You have been chosen to do an Internet radio show. How did it evolve and when does it go live? What’s the name of the show?
Good plug line
The show goes live midnight 6th/7th December – it is called THE WITCHING HOUR, and you can tune in on the internet on
Anyone wanting to catch us earlier than that can tune in this Friday or next at 21:00 GMT to listen to the weekly NOW THAT’S WEIRD program – we will be on as guests to plug the new show!
Thanks
Froggie, Pwyll, Trevor