• Arts & Entertainment
• Issue 1

London Bridge, central London. What one can do is sit on the riverside and admire the City’s sky-scrapers – and try not to think too intently about those six billion pounds bonuses shared by bankers last year.

Are those glass-made building cathedrals erected to a moneymaking cult? Are we losing our religion and spirituality in the modern rat race?

Possibly. Yet moments away from London's financial center one can also find a bit of magic. The Cross Bone Graveyard is a place where  people gather  every month to pray for societies 'cast-outs', guided by a London shaman – perhaps the only one. 

"Cross Bone is a prostitutes’ unconsecrated graveyard dating back to medieval times," says John Constable a.k.a. John Crow, poet, singer, but most of all shaman, someone regarded as having access to the world of good and spirits. Each month John celebrates his rituals at the Graveyard on Redcross Way. "I have worked for more than ten years with the spirits of Southwark," he tells me. John is one of those several thousand British people who follow the Pagan religion –specifically Shamanism.

For those who are not religion experts, according to the Pagan federation, "shamanism is an ecstatic religion with an essential belief in the reality of the spirit world. Shamanic practices are an underlying aspect of all expressions of Pagan religion and its practice is characterized by seeking vision in solitude and is deeply rooted in the mysteries of nature."

Over the past ten years, Crow has transformed Cross Bone into a sanctuary where he performs his rituals, a cross between religious mysteries and a folk-rock show. A Shaman acts as an intermediary between the world of spirits and the everyday lives of men and women. He or she may also guide others to experience the spirit world for themselves and deepen their spiritual lives. "If you think I am crazy," says Crow, "treat me gently and please do not lock me up, but if you have to, then lock me up in Cross Bone Graveyard where I’ll be in good company." 

The Shaman from Southwark tells me that the crow, his principal ‘spirit-guide’, came unto him when he was 17. He has worked with spirits ever since. He has just returned from a trip to the Amazon in South-America where he studied the esoteric practices handed down within tribes and families. "You can do magic anywhere," he reckons, "even in the centre of London, as you can see."

Part of the area where the Cross Bone Graveyard lies on belongs to the London Underground, which was dug up due to the works on the Jubilee line in the nineties. "On November 23, 1996," recalls Crow, "I wrote the first of many poems and plays inspired by the spirit of Winchester Goose, a prostitute who used to work in the area and who has been buried at Cross Bone. Only after writing the first poem did I discover that Cross Bone was a real historical place."
"When we first came here, there were 20 guys guarding the entrance ready to beat us up if we tried to get into the graveyard. Today, after ten years, I have been given the key of the gate," says the smiling Soutwark shaman.

A Museum Of London plaque declares the graveyard a ‘historical interest area’, although the museum spokesperson has underlined that "the last time the museum dealt with the graveyard was in 1999." The local council is not sure what to do with the area. Until then, Crow hopes to save Cross Bone from further developments and transform it into a memorial park.

The spirits are a powerful force.