Background
He was born in Sussex, England in 1953. His parents were atheists, but Philip, from early childhood, always felt that there are spiritual, otherworldly dimensions to life. Early spiritual questing saw him explore Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Norse Paganism, ritual magic and the Kabalah. In 1974 he discovered Druidry through reading Robert Graves' The White Goddess. In the same year, he read Mircea Eliade's Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy. Eliade's book contained descriptions of the visionary experiences of shamans that mirrored events in Philip's own life. Further studies convinced him that Druidry was the earliest recorded form of native European shamanism.
Read more about this topic: Philip Shallcrass
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