John Michael Greer

John Michael Greer
Born1962 (age 61–62)
Bremerton, Washington, U.S.
Occupations
  • Writer
  • blogger

John Michael Greer (born 1962) is an American writer and druid who writes on ecological overshoot, ecological economics, appropriate technology, oil depletion, societal collapse, ecocentrism, pantheism, and the occult.

Early life and education

Greer was born in Bremerton, Washington and was raised in the Seattle area. He is an initiate in Freemasonry and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.[1]

Druidry

Greer came to Druidry by way of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in 1995 after some twenty years' involvement in Hermetic occult spirituality. He received the Mount Haemus Award in 2003 from OBOD for his lecture "Phallic Religion in the Druid Revival".[2] He served as Grand Archdruid of the Ancient Order of Druids in America (AODA), an initiatory organization teaching Celtic nature spirituality, from 2003 to 2015. He wrote The Druidry Handbook, which serves as the AODA's core textbook and curriculum.[3]

Greer also created the training program for the Druidical Order of the Golden Dawn, an order which fuses druidry with Golden Dawn ceremonial magic, which he founded in 2013.[4] He wrote The Celtic Golden Dawn: An Original & Complete Curriculum of Druidical Study, which serves as the orders's core textbook and curriculum.[5]

Politics and nonfiction

Greer describes himself as a moderate Burkean conservative, influenced by the political theorist Edmund Burke.[6] Greer has also been influenced by German polymath Oswald Spengler who wrote that civilisations have a limited, predictable, and deterministic lifespan. He has written extensively about the current decline and impending fall of America’s global empire and its client states, e.g., Israel.[7] He currently blogs at Ecosophia, where he has written about the intersection of magic and politics.[8]

He previously blogged at The Archdruid Report on peak oil, economics, history, philosophy and related topics from 2006 to 2017.[9] He believes that gradual societal collapse will ensue as fossil fuel–powered industries and societies decline through resource depletion.[10] In a 2009 blog post entitled "Hagbard's Law", he contrasted the attention global warming receives compared to peak oil.[11]

In a 2005 abstract, called How Civilizations Fall: A Theory of Catabolic Collapse, he wrote an ecological model of collapse in which production fails to meet maintenance requirements for existing capital[12] and published further thoughts on the topic on his blog.[13] Philosopher of science Jerome Ravetz summarized Greer's theory in his 2006 book chapter, titled "When Communication Fails: A Study of Failures of Global Systems."[14] Ravetz wrote:

A simple but powerful model of 'catabolic collapse', a self-reinforcing cycle of contraction converting most capital to waste, has been produced by John Michael Greer (Greer 2005). His activity in the 'contemporary nature spirituality movement' in Oregon has not prevented him from producing a model in the best economic style. His key variables are resources, capital, waste and production; crisis occurs when production fails to meet maintenance requirements for existing capital. The continuing degradation of the infrastructure, particularly in the USA, provides evidence for his approach. He claims that he can account for key features of historical collapse, and suggests parallels between successional processes in non-human ecosystems and collapse phenomena in human societies.[14]

In The King in Orange (2021), Greer analyses the contemporary American political landscape through class analysis and occult practices. Focusing on the election and opposition to Donald Trump as president of the United States, Greer predicts a continuing combination of magic and politics from the various class factions of the country. He criticised the public magical workings of liberal occultists, arguing that political magic should be kept secret to prevent opposing magicians from tampering with the working.[15]

Fiction

Greer has written many novels, including a series of eleven fantasy novels based on the worlds created by H.P. Lovecraft and his Cthulhu Mythos entitled "The Weird of Hali".[16] He has also written deindustrial science fiction and a political-military thriller Twilight's Last Gleaming.

Reception

Writing in The Futurist magazine, Rick Docksai declared that Greer's book The Ecotechnic Future is "as realistic a portrayal of the end of civilization as one is likely to find."[17] It was also positively reviewed in Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries[18] and was recommended in the industry journal Energy Policy.[19] The International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability referred to his book The Wealth of Nature as "challeng[ing] the paradigms that underlie the complex system of wealth distribution we know as economics."[20]

His book The New Encyclopedia of the Occult was selected as a reference text in 2005 by American Libraries[21] and noted by Booklist[22] and Publishers Weekly.[23]

Works

Spirituality and the occult

  • Circles of Power: An Introduction to Hermetic Magic. Llewellyn. 1997. ISBN 978-1-56718-313-9.
  • Inside a Magical Lodge: Group Ritual in the Western Tradition. Llewellyn. 1998. ISBN 978-1-56718-314-6.
  • Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings. Llewellyn. 2001. ISBN 978-0-7387-0050-2.
  • The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. Llewellyn. 2003. ISBN 978-1-56718-336-8.
  • Encyclopedia of Natural Magic. Llewellyn. 2005. ISBN 978-0-7387-0674-0.
  • A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism. ADF Publishing. 2005. ISBN 978-0-9765681-0-0.
  • The Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth. Weiser. 2006. ISBN 978-1-57863-354-8.
  • The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies: The Ultimate A–Z of Ancient Mysteries, Lost Civilizations and Forgotten Wisdom. HarperElement. 2006. ISBN 978-0-00-722068-7.
  • Atlantis: Ancient Legacy, Hidden Prophecy. Llewellyn. 2007. ISBN 978-0-7387-0978-9.
  • Paths of Wisdom: Cabala in the Golden Dawn Tradition. Thoth Publications. 2007. ISBN 978-1-913660-07-9.
  • The Druid Magic Handbook: Ritual Magic Rooted in the Living Earth. Weiser. 2008. ISBN 978-1-57863-397-5.
  • The Art and Practice of Geomancy: Divination, Magic, and Earth Wisdom of the Renaissance. Weiser. 2009. ISBN 978-1-57863-431-6.
  • Secrets of the Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Guide to Secret Societies, Hidden Symbols & Mysticism. Llewellyn. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7387-2169-9.
  • The UFO Phenomenon: Fact, Fantasy and Disinformation. Llewellyn. 2009. ISBN 978-0-7387-1319-9.
  • Apocalypse Not: Everything You Know about 2012, Nostradamus and the Rapture Is Wrong. Start Publishing. 2011. ISBN 978-1-936740-00-0.
  • The Druid Revival Reader. Lorian Association. 2011. ISBN 978-0-9837422-0-3.
  • Apocalypse: A History of the End of Time. Quercus. 2012. ISBN 978-1-78087-040-3.
  • The Blood of the Earth: An Essay on Magic and Peak Oil. Bibliotheque Rouge. 2012. ISBN 978-0-9567203-8-2.
  • Mystery Teachings From the Living Earth: An Introduction to Spiritual Ecology. Weiser. 2012. ISBN 978-1-57863-489-7.
  • The Celtic Golden Dawn: An Original & Complete Curriculum of Druidical Study. Llewellyn. 2013. ISBN 978-0-7387-3155-1.
  • The Gnostic Celtic Church: A Manual and Book of Liturgy. Lorian Association. 2013. ISBN 978-1-939790-05-7.
  • The Secret of the Temple: Earth Energies, Sacred Geometry, and the Lost Keys of Freemasonry. Llewellyn. 2016. ISBN 978-0-7387-4860-3.
  • The Coelbren Alphabet: The Forgotten Oracle of the Welsh Bards. Llewellyn. 2017. ISBN 978-0-7387-5088-0.
  • The Occult Book: A Chronological Journey from Alchemy to Wicca. Sterling. 2017. ISBN 978-1-4549-2577-4.
  • The Conspiracy Book: A Chronological Journey through Secret Societies and Hidden Histories. Sterling. 2019. ISBN 978-1-4549-3004-4.
  • A Magical Education: Talks on Magic and Occultism. Aeon Books. 2019. ISBN 978-1-912807-02-4.
  • Beyond the Narratives: Essays on Occultism and the Future. Aeon Books. 2020. ISBN 978-1-912807-59-8.
  • The Mysteries of Merlin: Ceremonial Magic for the Druid Path. Llewellyn. 2020. ISBN 978-0-7387-5949-4.
  • The UFO Chronicles: How Science Fiction, Shamanic Experiences, and Secret Air Force Projects Created the UFO Myth. Aeon Books. 2020. ISBN 978-1-912807-89-5.
  • The King in Orange: The Magical and Occult Roots of Political Power. Inner Traditions. 2021. ISBN 978-1-64411-258-8.
  • The Sacred Geometry Oracle: Book and Card Deck. Aeon Books. 2021. ISBN 978-1-912807-19-2.

Economics and politics

  • The Long Descent: A User's Guide to the End of the Industrial Age. New Society Publishers. 2008. ISBN 978-0-86571-609-4.
  • The Ecotechnic Future: Envisioning a Post-Peak World. New Society Publishers. 2009. ISBN 978-0-86571-639-1.
  • The Wealth of Nature: Economics As If Survival Mattered. New Society Publishers. 2011. ISBN 978-0-86571-673-5.
  • Green Wizardry: Conservation, Solar Power, Organic Gardening, and Other Hands-on Skills from the Appropriate Tech Toolkit. New Society Publishers. 2013. ISBN 978-0-86571-747-3.
  • Not the Future we Ordered: Peak Oil, Psychology and the Myth of Progress. Karnac Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1-78049-088-5.
  • Decline and Fall: the End of Empire and the Future of Democracy in the 21st Century. New Society Publishers. 2014. ISBN 978-0-86571-764-0.
  • After Progress: Reason and Religion at the End of the Industrial Age Paperback. New Society Publishers. 2015. ISBN 978-0-86571-791-6.
  • Collapse Now and Avoid the Rush: the Best of the Archdruid Report. Founders House Publishing. 2015. ISBN 978-0-692-38945-4.
  • Dark Age America: Climate Change, Cultural Collapse, and the Hard Future Ahead. New Society Publishers. 2016. ISBN 978-0-86571-833-3.
  • The Retro Future: Looking to the Past to Remake the Future. New Society Publishers. 2017. ISBN 978-0-86571-866-1.

Fiction

The Weird of Hali series

Anthologies edited

  • After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World. Founders House. 2012.
  • After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis. Founders House. 2014.
  • After Oil 3: The Years of Rebirth. Founders House. 2015.
  • After Oil 4: The Future's Distant Shores. Founders House. 2016.
  • Merigan Tales: Stories for the World of Star's Reach. Founders House. 2016.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "John Michael Greer". aeonbooks.co.uk. 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  2. ^ "3rd Mount Haemus Lecture". www.druidry.org. 28 December 2019. Retrieved 2024-02-23.
  3. ^ "History & Heritage of the AODA". www.aoda.org. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  4. ^ "Druidical Order of the Golden Dawn". www.druidical-gd.org. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  5. ^ "The Celtic Golden Dawn". www.llewellyn.com. Retrieved 2020-10-16.
  6. ^ "A Few Notes on Burkean Conservatism". archdruidmirror.blogspot.com. 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  7. ^ "In the Twilight of Empires". resilience.org. 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  8. ^ "The Kek Wars, Part One: Aristocracy and its discontents". ecosophia.net. 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Founders House Exclusive: ADR Bundle". www.foundershousepublishing.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  10. ^ "COLLAPSE NOW AND AVOID THE RUSH". resilience.org. June 6, 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Hagbard's Law". archdruidmirror.blogspot.com. 2009. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  12. ^ Greer, John Michael. "How Civilizations Fall: A Theory of Catabolic Collapse" (PDF). Ecoshock. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  13. ^ "On Catabolic Collapse". The Archdruid Report. 2006. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  14. ^ a b Ravetz, Jerome (2006). "Chapter 1: When Communication Fails: A Study of Failures of Global Systems". In Pereira, Angela (ed.). Interfaces Between Science and Society. Greenleaf Publishing. ISBN 978-1-874719-97-7.
  15. ^ Clifton, Chas S. (2021). "John Michael Greer, The King in Orange: The Magical and Occult Roots of Political Power (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2021). 202 pp. $16.99 (paper)". The Pomegranate. 23 (1–2): 244–248. doi:10.1558/pome.22319.
  16. ^ "The Weird of Hali: Kingsport". www.foundershousepublishing.com. Retrieved 2019-03-23.
  17. ^ Docksai, Rick. "Is industrial civilization doomed?" Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine The Futurist Mar.-Apr. 2010: 58+. Academic OneFile. Web. 8 Dec. 2013.
  18. ^ Conant, F. P., Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. Aug 2010, Vol. 47 Issue 12, p2370
  19. ^ Friedrichs, Jörg (August 2010). "Global energy crunch: How different parts of the world would react to a peak oil scenario". Energy Policy. 38 (8): 4562–4569. Bibcode:2010EnPol..38.4562F. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2010.04.011.
  20. ^ Avery, William Alexander; Francis, Charles (22 May 2013). "The wealth of nature: economics as if survival mattered". International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 12 (1): 89–91. doi:10.1080/14735903.2013.796766. S2CID 153857265.
  21. ^ Dean, Katharine. "Reference That Rocks!!" American Libraries. May2005, Vol. 36 Issue 5, p37-40.
  22. ^ "The New Encyclopedia of the Occult. (review)". Booklist. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  23. ^ "The New Encyclopedia of the Occult.(Book Review)". Publishers Weekly. 250 (35): 1. Sep 2003. Retrieved 8 December 2013.

Further reading

  • Docksai, Rick (January–February 2014). "Transforming Life on Earth, One Garden at a Time". The Futurist. 48 (1). World Future Society: 52.
  • Jackson, Molly (December 22, 2015). "Who Are Those People at Stonehenge Celebrating the Winter Solstice?". The Christian Science Monitor.
  • Wenisch, Michael (Spring 2009). Backhaus, Gary (ed.). "Peak Oil, Energy Limits, and Resulting Alterations in the Built Space of the United States". Environment, Space, Place. 1 (1). Zeta Books: 73–100. doi:10.7761/ESP.1.1.73. ISBN 978-9731997254.