Omphalos under Fire !

On April 24th the IRA exploded a bomb in Bishopsgate, near the NatWest Tower.This is the tallest in the City of London. It is built on the site onceoccupied by Gresham College, the original home of the Royal Society. Thissite may be considered as an Omphalos of London.
Dating back to ancient Greece, the original word 'omphalos' meant 'navel'and was particularly applied to the Oracle at Delphi. This was the physicaland psychic centre of Greek mythology. Since then it has come to mean thethe psychogeographical centre of any culture, myth structure or system ofsocial dominance. It's political relevance will become more apparent whenthe Yugoslav war spills over into Kosovo, where the Serbian Omphalos islocated in a predominantly Albanian area.
In modern Britain however, we are embedded in a web of interleaved culturesand competing value-systems. There is no clear omphalos, although in recentyears the subject has gained more interest. Notably the battles around Stonehengemakes more sense when seen as a matter of control of the omphalos there.This was preceded by the suppression of the Windsor Free Festival in 1974.Windsor is another omphalic site.
But these omphalic sites are not simply of interest to hippies. The armyhas maintained a massive presence in the Stonehenge area for years, androyalty has controlled Windsor for centuries. They are of great importanceto the ruling elite.
Several places, such as the London Stone, Charing Cross, Westminster Abbeyor Old Compton Street have been put forward as sites for the omphalos ofLondon. Each has its merits. When we put forward the National Westminster/GreshamCollege site as an omphalos, we are suggesting it has a particular symbolicimportance.
Sir Thomas Gresham was a leading member of the Mercer's guild. He foundedthe Royal Exchange, which then relocated the central money market of northernEurope to London. When he died, he left provision in his will for moneyaccruing from the Royal Exchange to fund Gresham College, which would beset up in his former London house.
The College was to be administered jointly by the Mercer's guild and theCorporation of the City of London. Although no longer at its original site,the College still functions offering a range of lectures free to the public.
The City of London has responded to the bombing with the proposal by theirchief planner, Peter Rees, that the Nat West Tower be replaced by "theworld's tallest building". At the moment structural damage to toweris being assessed (it will take about 3 months). If repair costs are toohigh, the building will be demolished. In this event, Canary Wharf couldbe dwarfed by another monstrosity, recentring spectacular development backinto the City itself.

Omphalos Battle No. 2

Meanwhile the struggle at Twyford Down continues. Twyford Down/St. Catherine'sHill has also been put forward as an Omphalos. (See our pamphlet The GreatConjunction, available from Unpopular Books for £2 +30p p&p). OnNovember 27th, the date of the Great Conjunction, Twyford Down demonstratorsattempted to block Marble Arch with banners marked with two runes. Thesewere the Odal rune, meaning "land, property" and the Tir runemeaning "the vault of the heavens above the cosmic pillar" (TheSecret Lore of Runes and other Ancient Alphabets by Nigel Pennick).The Cosmic Pillar is traditionally placed at the omphalos.
In our last issue we featured an account of government attacks on protestersat Twyford Down, entitled Victory to the Dongas. We have since discoveredthat they only constituted one group of the protesters and are noted fortheir fanatical royalist views.
We would wish to make it clear that while we oppose state violence againstall the protesters, we see the political ideology of the Dongas as verynegative. They are receiving support from a PaganLink National Facilitator.
The Royal family claims descent from both Wotan (through the Saxon monarchy)and Freya (through the William the Conqueror) There is evidence that themonarchy has survived precisely by blending Paganism with Christianity (particularfound in the works of Margaret Murray). Many Pagans have been drawn to paganismas part of a rejection of the ignoble squalor of modern power structures.We would draw their attention to the fact that many ruling class groupshave a foot in both camps.

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