Thanks to wearethemutants.com for this reminder of the “good old days” of 1963, when this ad appeared in Fate magazine promising “Controlled Reincarnation” by practicing Druidism. Talk about lost wisdom! Apparently, 56 years ago you could access the knowledge enabling you to choose your next incarnation, “how that body shall look, and how great shall be its mind,” something none of the more modern systems can promise. And it was (allegedly) free! I love the illustration of what appears to be Adam and Eve and the Golden Child superimposed over a sunrise (or set), and the hook, “Find Excitement, Prosperity, and Spiritual Vigor in This Life and the Next.” (Vigor is an underused word in my humble opinion.) Obviously this was an advertisement aimed at a much less sophisticated buying public, an indication that we have made progress, but alerting our modern selves to the early New Age movement from the 1960’s, and the birth of interest in past lives and esoteric wisdom from ancient traditions.
Interesting, a google search revealed that there is still an active Druid school in Wheatridge, Colorado, where this ad’s post office box was located, with an up-to-date website, ritualcravt.com. Coincidence, or a Druidism hot-spot?
https://wearethemutants.com/2019/03/05/i-shall-teach-thee-terrible-things-the-ads-and-articles-of-fate-magazine-1963/
(Don’t let the title scare you, this site has lots more interesting ads from Fate magazine, still in publication and based in Hendersonville, a mere 30 minutes from my fortress of solitude in Western North Carolina.)
