Ross Nichols | |
|---|---|
 Nichols, gives Peace to the Quarters at the Spring Equinox ceremony of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids on London's Parliament Hill 1967 | |
| Chosen Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids | |
| In office 1964–death | |
| Succeeded by | Philip Carr-Gomm |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1902-06-28)28 June 1902 |
| Died | 30 April 1975(1975-04-30) (aged 72)[1] |
| Occupation | Poet, Author, Historian, Artist |
Philip Peter Ross Nichols (28 June 1902 – 30 April 1975) was a Cambridge academic and published poet, artist and historian, who founded theOrder of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1964.[2] He wrote prolifically on the subjects ofDruidism andCeltic mythology. He was also known by his druid name,Nuinn.
He revived the interest inCeltic neopaganism andDruidry in the 20th century. Nichols was a Member and Chairman of theDruid Order which traces its lineage to a meeting at the Apple Tree Tavern inCovent Garden, London, in 1717, although ProfessorRonald Hutton has demonstrated that it only dates back to 1906, the 1717 story being a modification of the founding of modernFreemasonry. His main work,The Book of Druidry, was published posthumously in 1990.[3]
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Philip Peter Ross Nichols was born inNorwich, England,[4] and educated atBloxham School. While a graduate history student at Cambridge University, Nichols became influenced by the work ofJames George Frazer,Sigmund Freud,Carl Jung,T. S. Eliot,Robert Graves andJessie Weston among others.[5] He worked in journalism, teaching and social work through the Great Depression, and became a committed socialist and pacifist, favoring for the rest of his life the new economic theories ofC. H. Douglas, whose concept ofSocial Credit advocated a total reform of the monetary system to make it more equitable. Ross was also a vegetarian andnaturist, joining Britain's firstnaturist community, Spielplatz,[6] near St. Albans in Hertfordshire, in the 1930s.
In 1939, Nichols became principal of a private college in London, while staying at Spielplatz during time off. It is assumed that on one of these trips he met and befriendedGerald Gardner.[7]
Between 1941 and 1947, four of his poetry books were published, including an essay in The Cosmic Shape (1946) focusing on the power of myth and the value of seasonal celebration. Two were published by Fortune Press - 'Prose Chants and Proems' (1942) and 'Sassenach Stray (1942).
Ross was hired as assistant editor ofThe Occult Observer in 1949, by Michael Houghton of theAtlantis Bookshop. The short-lived publication marked the first time Nichols wrote about Druidism, and introduced the short story "Book of Shadows" (byMir Bashir) that inspired Gardner toadopt the term for Wicca.
Nichols was asked to edit Gardner's seminal work,Witchcraft Today (1954). While Gardner worked to introduceWicca to the modern world, Nichols worked to change the practice of modern Druidry. He introduced a concern for Celtic mythology and Bardcraft, and the celebration of the fulleight seasonal ceremonies in addition to arranging the teachings into three grades, in accordance with classical accounts of the three divisions of the Druids.
Nichols also edited and published the 1969 translation ofThe History and Practice of Magic byJean-Baptiste Pitois (aka Paul Christian).
His studentPhilip Carr-Gomm was asked to lead the Order in 1988.
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