Alferian Gwydion MacLir
Writer and Master Wandmaker, Alferian lives and works from his home, Bardwood Lodge in the quaint hamlet of Linden Hills, on the edge of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Alferian is the Druid name of James W. Maertens, Ph.D. He grew up in Minnesota, attended college there, and graduated in 1993 with a doctorate in English. Dr. Maertens is a Freemason as well as a Druid and pursues wisdom in both traditions. He taught English and humanities before devoting himself full-time to writing and wandmaking.
Honors and Memberships:
Druid Companion of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids
Master Mason, and current Marshal at Lake Harriet Lodge No. 277 A.F.&A.M. of Minnesota
Grand Sublime Perfect and Elect Master, 14° A.A.S.R.
Knight Rose Croix, 18° A.A.S.R.
Sublime Master of the Royal Secret 32° A.A.S.R.
Companion R.A.M.
Noble of the A.A.O.N.M.S.
Member of the Scottish Rite Research Society.
Founding Companion of the Imaginary Royal College of Enchanters.
Achievements
Alferian has studied magic, philosophy, history, elf lore, alchemy, and literature as an independent scholar since 1993. His experience with elves and dryads and with past lives goes back to his childhood.
Dr. Maertens had published many articles for scholarly journals and under his nom de plume, the book Wandlore: The Art of Crafting the Ultimate Magical Tool. This original new book presents the techniques of wandmaking developed by Alferian over a decade of practice as a wandmaker with hundreds of clients worldwide. The book approaches magic as an art of the imagination, and from a Druidic point of view. The crafting of magic wands for ceremonial and ritual use works in concord with nature and its animating spirits. Wandlore is a book that offers practical lessons in Druid magic as well as in wood carving and the use of stones and crystals to create a living whole entity. An extensive section of the book examines the magical properties and folklore of many types of tree used in wandmaking.
Among his other honors, Dr. Maertens received the 2007 Mt. Haemus Award from the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids for his paper "Entering Faerie: Elves, Ancestors and Imagination."
The doctor's dissertation, Promethean Desires: Masculinity and the Technician-Hero in Nineteenth-Century Literature. remains one of the seminal studies of the psychology of the new masculinity of the Industrial Revolution -- a new kind of heroic ideal based on engineering and scientific power rather than brute force.
Book Signings and Talks
Other Articles Written by Dr. Maertens:
• Krishna's Flute: The Pied Piper and Divine Ecstasy.
• Prometheus Ex Machina: The Archetypal Technician and the Masculine Fire of Logos.
• The Dragon and the Man-Machine: Mythic Dreams in Jurassic Park and Frankenstein.
• Thoughts on the Druid's Prayer.
• Wizardry in the Alferic Tradition: An Essay on the Fundamental Theory of Elvish Magic.
©2006 The Bardic Institute
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