Perelandra

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Perelandra

Title of a 1943 science fiction story by British Christian writer C. S. Lewis, denoting Venus, planet of perfection. The book deals with the play between the forces of good and evil, and the need to resolve this conflict with harmonious balance.

The name Perelandra has also been given to a garden established by Machaelle Small Wright and Clarence Wright covering some twenty-two acres near Jeffersonton, Virginia. The garden is the showpiece of the Wrights' Center for Nature Research, which seeks to harmonize the forces of nature in a joint creative process between the Wrights, nature spirits (or fairies ) and devas (divine intelligences). Perelandra has been compared to the experimental Findhorn Community, Scot-land, U.K., which has also claimed gardening success due to cooperation between human beings and nature spirits. In fact, books on Findhorn stimulated the Wrights to experiment with Perelandra.

Machaelle Wright believes that devas are the architects of growth in nature: if they are contacted through meditation, they will facilitate harmonious growth, communicating instructions for seed choice and planting, arrangement of intervening space, and other data. Wright distinguishes between devas and nature spirits. The latter are "more dense in vibration" and closer to the earth, whereas the devas guide the overall development of plant forms.

Perelandra is laid out in eighteen concentric circles, the innermost circle being a herb ring with a large quartz crystal in the center. The garden does not use chemical or organic repellents of any description, but produces unusually attractive flowers and vegetables without pest problems.

In the summer of 1986, writer P. M. H. Atwater visited Perelandra. At that time, this area of Virginia had been officially declared a drought disaster, but the vegetables and roses of Perelandra flourished without added moisture. Various neighbors who did not share the Wrights' belief in nature spirits nevertheless commented that the garden always looked great and produced good food. One remarked, "It's not normal."

Wright has refreshingly original concepts of a harmonious balance between insects, weather, climate, and soil in nature. She is quoted as saying:

"What I am finding that works best is a garden which constantly changes, that is free to breathe and grow on its own without set rules. An organic garden will selectively repel some life but an energy garden repels nothing and includes everything. It took me a long time to learn that … once animals and insects realize they don't have to fight for their lives, that they are free to live and grow, their aggression subsides and they regulate themselves! I had a rabbit living in the herb ring for several years. It never did any damage. I've had turtles, skunks, and all manner of animals living in the garden without difficulty. My few Japanese beetles, for instance, stick to the same flower and leave the others alone now that they are no longer threatened with extinction." Wright leaves ten percent of all produce for animal or insect consumption, and certain sections of land are also left unmowed for their benefit."

Perelandra is open for day-long tours and occasionally sponsors workshops. For information on activities and visiting, write Perelandra, Box 136, Jeffersonton, VA 22724.

(See also crystal healing )