'Behold, it is by the cracks in the wall that light comes through, whereby men become aware of the light and therein perceive the wall and how it stands.' The Lost Road - J.R.R. Tolkien

Welcome to Lightcracks
Online Home to Xavier de la Huerga
News Update: April 2012

My song Deep Skies Mermaid was released online on 9th March as part of No Red Seas, a compilation album raising funds and awareness for Sea Shepherd Marine Conservation Society who are actively campaigning to stop dolphin and whale mass slaughter. As of the 1st of April (22 days after release) the compilation has raised $1,800 and received nearly 10,000 online listens, with Deep Skies Mermaid accounting for about 500 of those. Please, help with a donation to this worthy cause if you can, or by just following the link, listening to the music, 'liking' it in Facebook and passing the word around!

Tues 3rd April 2012: Venus-Pleiades Conjunction Ceremony. I will be participating at a Druid ceremony at Avebury and constructing an Alchemical Pentacle on the ground using the Egyptian Rope of 13-knots. I will be imbuing the structure with High Symbolic Density - in situ - by means of ancient metrology, astro-geomantic orientation and a few other allegorical elements. Please, get in touch if you'd like to attend. Starts: 7:30PM.

My first Applied Astro-Geomancy and Permaculture Workshop was facilitated on 10th March at the Wilderness Centre in Mitcheldean (Forest of Dean). A total success and an inspiring time for all involved. In the end, the workshop turned into an astro-geomantic ritual, which resulted in the creation of a Pentalpha Star on the grounds of the Centre, precisely aligned to the sunrise on 6th June 2012: the time for the Venus Transit in the UK. Once the azimuth was established, we were all nicely surprised to find out that the sunrise point coincided precisely with the top of a promontory known as May Hill, where pagan folk have traditionally gathered on Beltane Day for hundreds of years. Get in touch via email if you'd like to attend future workshops and go to the Workshops page for further details.

My essay 'Tolkien's Circular journey in Time. From Atlantis to 2012 and Back to the Future' based on Tolkien's unfinished time-travel story The Notion Club Papers is getting ready for publication. The Tolkien Society has invited me to give a presentation about it at The Return of the Ring Conference, which will take place in August 2012 at Loughborough University. It looks like it is going to be a very interesting event geared for both Tolkien scholars and fans. Details of my talk will be forthcoming.

Both writing and research for the Game of the Goose book continue at a grinding pace. I've recently found a haven to work on it in a peaceful corner of the countryside near Swindon, thanks to my Druid friend Chris, whose work, art and magic can be glimpsed at www.acorneducation.com

My re-interpretation of the ancient Game of the Goose board is now past its draft stage. You can have a look at the final stages of the pencil work here. What originally was intended as its accompanying booklet has gradually become such a serious piece of work, that it now seems it'll actually be the board game that will accompany the tome! Initiatic in purpose and embedded with timeless symbology, the Game of the Goose is connected with the pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago in Northern Spain.

On the more earthy side of things, I continue working in projects related to land restoration, astro-geomantic landscaping, permaculture gardening and low-impact building. My latest design has been at Jasmine and Simon Dale's plot in the Lammas Eco-Village, where back in July I 'laid' a Golden Egg (based on the Golden Ratio/Phi) with its axis aligned to various geo-astronomical markers.

And right now, I'm helping to build yet another beautiful straw-bale house in an organic farm. The last one before I embark in my own project.

My latest Low Impact Building Workshop for the Freeconomy community in Bristol turned out into an opportunity to link up with Mark Boyle, founder of Freeconomy and author of The Moneyless Man. We've been getting together to cross-pollinate about High Positive Environmental Impact strategies. Mark is in his second year of living without money.

Finally, I found a way to produce somehow affordably a small run of my Vitruvian Woman design printed onto T-shirts and mugs. Check up the shop for details. The image has been receiving quite a lot of attention after being featured at the Goddess Conference in Glastonbury. In its latest version it integrates a pentacle within the composition to further emphasize its Venusian/Pythagorean essence. You can read more about her genesis, conceptual background and hermetic significance here

Lovewaves Rippling and Joyful Revelations
Xavier de la Huerga

The Vitruvian Woman is a Child of Imagination and Magic. A Retroactive Spell cast to shape the future