Dusty Miller & Terry Pratchett

[Aeltel]

Hello

First post on the forum so please forgive me if this subject has been covered, but I have recently discovered a very interesting chap called Dusty Miller who is a brown witch based in Kent who produces wands and talismans with the aid of dryads. Dusty and Sir Terry were friends and he states that Terry’s Tiffany Aching books are some of the most accurate explanations of traditional witch craft out there (more so than most occult literature).

Do any members know anything more about this relationship? Quite interesting to find that Terry was interested in active Magick and not just in the folklore elements (Dusty says he was a client in his book).

The Dusties (its a hereditary name, and is now in the 14th generation) are really fascinating - worth looking up if, like me, you’re finding the material world a little dull and need some new avenues of imagination

Thanks

Tel

 

[Tonyblack]

It's not ringing any bells with me, but I wouldn't be surprised. Terry knew a vast amount of people. People were his thing.

Welcome to the site

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Hi Aeltel, I take this the person you are referring to. And welcome to the forum.

Preview
WyrdWood
The Story of Dusty Miller
by Michael Kelly


Softcover
Flexible, high-gloss laminated cover
£34.24

Hardcover, Dust Jacket
Linen cover with full-colour dust jacket and flaps
£39.24

Hardcover, ImageWrap
Cover design is printed on the hard cover
£41.24

VAT will be added at checkout.

About the Book
Dusty Miller 13th is an English Shaman and Folk Magician. He is descended from the aboriginal inhabitants of Britain, the Elfin tribes who dwelt in the primeval forest before the Celtic invasions. He carries the traditions and wisdom of his Elfin ancestors through into the modern day.



In this book, written with the consent and active co-operation of Dusty and his family, Dusty's relationship with the Ancient Tree Spirits known as Dryads is explained, along with the manner in which he gathers LiveWood from the Dryads – wood which still contains a living, sentient spirit – and crafts it into magical tools, such as wands, staves, cudgels and pendants. These LiveWood artifacts are items possessed of powerful and ancient Magick, with an emphasis upon healing, protection and becoming successful in life.



Dusty's story is a fascinating one, which also includes many ancestral tales of Britain before the Celts and insights into Leylines and megalithic stones and the ways in which they can harness and intensify Magick.



But most of all, Dusty is revealed to be a very humble and unassuming man, with an honest desire to help folk around him with his unique skills and wisdom.

Or you could contact Jacqueline Simpson who Terry used to consult for info on folklore and ask if she has any knowledge of him and Terry.

 

[Aeltel]

Thanks for the welcome - I’ve been visiting the site for a while but taken sometime to find something to say .

Yes, that is the book I’m reading at the moment. The Terry friendship is mentioned a fair way into the text and I was glad it wasn’t used as a selling point. I’ll continue to find out more and report back if i do - thanks for the tip off about Jacqueline.

I’m just getting onto a section about ley lines now - I feel a bit like Adam from Good Omens discovering this book!

 

[RathDarkblade]

Pardon my incredulousness - dryads??? As in tree nymph (i.e. a spirit which is part of the tree?) I thought they were myths. They're part of Greek mythology, aren't they? Drys signifies "oak" in Greek, so dryads specifically are the nymphs of oak trees.

And welcome to the site.

 

[Aeltel]

yep dryads! in this case the higher consciousnesses of the trees.

Dusty is a shaman whose family have, over generations, built up relationships with certain ancient tree spirits.

I wonder if the dryads in the Light Fantastic (or was it colour of magic?) had anything to do with Terry’s friendship here?

Was Terry particularly into the New Age movement back in the 70s...? A lot of the things that Dusty says are similar to concepts found in Steve Hillage’s music - I wasn’t around back then and am following links and leads as it feels like there’s more in this folklore than just ‘boffo’ - actually some ‘true myth’ if you know what I mean?

Were these sort of ideas at all mainstream in the New Age community back then, does anyone know?

 

[Tonyblack]

Dryads, hamadryads, fairies and other such creatures have long been a part of British mythology. Shakespeare was writing about them, Royal Navy ships were named after them (after all, Hearts of Oak were very much part of wooden sailing ships). I don't know that these creatures were a particular part of New Age thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised. Britain, unlike many European countries, has long had a mythology that escaped the christian persecutions in places like Spain and Portugal.

As stated earlier, Terry was interested in everything. He would get into conversations with fans that would make it, in parts, into his books. Jacqueline Simpson was waiting in a queue to get a book signed when Terry asked the queue if anyone knew any magpie rhymes from folklore. As a folklorist, Jacqueline was able to quote more than anyone else and that made it into Carpe Jugulum.

 

[RathDarkblade]

The Dryads were part of The Colour of Magic. They capture Rincewind and show him Twoflower in the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth. At the critical moment, Rincewind escapes death (and Death), only to be flung through magic into the Temple of the Soul-Eater, the Sender of Eiggghhhunnnnngggghhhh ..... don't say it!

Dryads, as part of Greek mythology, are older than dirt. (Pun intended). Since Britain was "discovered" by the Greeks in 300 BC or so, dryads made their way into Briton mythology too. Milton mentions them in "Paradise Lost", as do Coleridge, Thackaray, Keats and Sylvia Plath in their works. The New Age thinkers certainly didn't invent them.

And yes - if I recall Terry's introduction to "The Folklore of Discworld", Jacqueline Simpson could recite "about nineteen" magpie rhymes after a moment's thought. Most remarkable.

 

[Mixa]

Dusty and Sir Terry were friends and he states that Terry’s Tiffany Aching books are some of the most accurate explanations of traditional witch craft out there (more so than most occult literature).

Wow, very interesting! Thanks for sharing this @Aeltel!! And welcome to the forums

Mx