Findhorn Community
Early New Age center in northern Scotland. The New Age
movement began with the linking (networking) of a number of
theosophicalmetaphysical centers across the United Kingdom
in the 1960s. All of these communities were in sympathy with
the theosophical ancient wisdom tradition but were also involved
in channeling, either channeling spiritual energy to the
world or channeling messages from various spiritual entities, or
both. Eileen and Peter Caddy and a friend, Dorothy McLean,
had settled at a small trailer court near the village of Findhorn
outside Inverness, Scotland, during a period of financial lack.
Through 1963 and 1964 they survived in part by gardening.
During this period Eileen Caddy regularly channeled messages
from what were believed to be nature spirits, or devas, and
Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology 5th Ed. Findhorn Community
561
when their advice was followed the garden blossomed abundantly.
In 1965 Peter Caddy attended a meeting of other spiritual
group leaders organized by George Trevelyan, later the
founder of the Wrekin Trust. The visit with Trevelyan became
a catalyst for the formal organization of the Findhorn Community,
which was to become an object of pilgrimage. Its fame was
generated by the extraordinary results of the garden, which was
producing growth out of season and spectacularly large vegetables,
in spite of the harsh climate. The garden became the visible
focus of the paranormal and miraculous claims that grew up
around the small but growing community. Caddys channeled
messages were published in a small volume, God Spoke to Me,
and McLean, who had begun to channel, also published her
messages.
The Findhorn Trust was created in 1971 and the Findhorn
Foundation incorporated in 1972. In the 1970s an American
student of the Alice Bailey literature, David Spangler, joined
the community and developed its education program.
Spanglers 1976 book, Revelation the Birth of a New Age, became
the early manifesto of both Findhorn and the New Age movement.
Drawing on channeled messages received by himself and
others at Findhorn, he declared that a New Age was beginning.
It was already evident in the vast scientific advances and technological
improvements that so separated twentieth-century
humanity from previous generations. According to Spangler,
in the last half of the twentieth century, in part owing to astrological
realignments, new cosmic spiritual energies were available
that could bring humanity into contact with the masters of
the Great White Brotherhood and initiate a new era of light
and love, the New Age.
Spangler returned to the United States, as did McLean, and
initiated the movement in North America. As the movement
became known through the 1970s, Findhorn was seen as a
major source of inspiration and a popular site to visit. The community
grew to include around 250 resident members. In 1975
the nearby Clung Hotel was purchased to accommodate conferences
and other activities. Peter Caddy moved to the United
States in 1982, and although Eileen Caddy remained at Findhorn,
leadership was increasingly passed to the community as
a whole. Members have developed a diversified program of educational
activities for the burgeoning New Age community
and the general public. Peter Caddy died February 18, 1994.
Address The Park, Forres, Moray IV36 0TZ Scotland.
Sources
Caddy, Eileen. The Dawn of Change. Forres, Scotland Findhorn
Publications, 1979.
Findhorn Community. Faces of Findhorn. Forres, Scotland
Findhorn Publications, 1980.
Hawken, Pauul. The Magic of Findhorn. New York Harper &
Row, 1975.
