Glastonbury Zodiac - Temple of The Stars
It is not clear whether the discoverer of the Glastonbury zodiac, Mrs K. E. Maltwood, was herself a practising occultist, but certainly her arguments have been uncritically-accepted by many magicians and fringe scientists as a confirmation of their own belief that Glastonbury, so rich in history and legend, is the 'power centre' of what they call the Western Mystery Tradition. Mrs Maltwood's theories, recorded in her book Glastonbury's Temple of the Stars, are quite impressive at first sight, as are the researches of her present-day disciples, whose discoveries include a supposed Glastonbury version of the Tree of Life of the Cabalah worked into the design of the zodiac. Using an ordnance survey map, Mrs Maltwood found her zodiac - similar to but not quite identical with the zodiac of modern Astrology - outlined by roads and field tracks, by earthworks and natural banks, by rivers and pools.
But her choice of tracks and other Glastonbury: the application of mystical theory to the layout of the town and Abbey features was entirely arbitrary. She disregarded some which spoiled the outline of her zodiac as being of modern origin, but she included others, of still more modern origin, because they helped to complete the design. Besides the zodiac, Mrs Maltwood found other things recorded on her maps, among them the story of the Holy Grail. At Butleigh, near the centre of the zodiac, she saw a 'Grail table' on which were symbols of the sun, the moon, and the elements of fire and air, while at six points around Butleigh she saw the six mystic castles where the Arthurian knights experienced various tests. The 'Castle of the Giant', for example, is at the village of Compton.
The theories of Mrs Maltwood's successors have been even more remarkable. One group see the six castles as outlining a Seal of Solomon, or hexagram, indicative of the sphere Tifereth on the Tree of Life. The same group sees the lunar sphere, Yesod, and the three aspects of the moon-goddess Diana -virgin, mistress and hag - indicated by three nine-pointed figures, all centred on South Cadbury hill (which some more orthodox archaeologists believe may have been the headquarters of the real 'King Arthur').
Other Zodiacs
Other individuals and groups have discovered more zodiacs. A series of articles in the English magazine Prediction announced the discovery of a zodiac at Kingston and a privately printed pamphlet has announced the finding of a Nuthampstead zodiac. Most surprising of all, a young magician living in the London suburb of Baling has come upon a West London zodiac, its figures outlined by streets and parks. To the obvious objection that these features were laid out by the speculative builders of the later 19th century, the magician has a simple reply.
The West London zodiac has existed for thousands of years on the Astral Plane, but without any physical reflection in the world of matter: for reasons too complex to explain here, the 'Inner Plane Guardians' decided, about 1850, that the time had come for this zodiac to enjoy a physical existence, and they therefore inserted the design into the minds of the builders and architects of Victorian London.