Post #3. The Eagle and the Serpent: Rome’s Occult Conquest of London.

 

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The Roman conquest of Britain in 43 CE was not merely a military campaign; it was a magical one. When the legions of Emperor Claudius marched on the settlement of Londinium, they came not just to conquer land, but to seize control of a powerful occult apparatus. The Romans, themselves master magicians and engineers, recognised the immense power of the Druidic temple they had discovered. Their goal was not to destroy it, but to assimilate it, to place their own imperial stamp upon its ancient foundations.

The massacre of Druids at Anglesey by the Romans in 60 AD, 

illustration from 'Hutchinson's Story of the British Nation'

The Eradication of the Old Priesthood

The first step in this occult takeover was the systematic annihilation of the Druids. The Roman historian Tacitus describes the final assault on the Druid stronghold of Anglesey, a brutal campaign that saw sacred groves cut down and priests slaughtered. This was not just a military mop-up operation; it was a magical cleansing, a violent exorcism designed to sever the connection between the land and its ancient spiritual masters.

By eliminating the Druids, the Romans created a power vacuum. They decapitated the spiritual leadership of the Britons, leaving the great magical engine of London without its operators. This was a deliberate strategy. The Romans intended to become the new high priests, the new masters of the temple.

Syncretism: The Magic of Merger

Having seized control, the Romans employed a powerful magical technique known as syncretism. Instead of imposing their own gods wholesale, they cleverly blended them with the local deities. The Celtic god of the sun, Sulis, was merged with the Roman goddess Minerva, creating the hybrid deity Sulis Minerva. This was a way of co-opting the existing spiritual energy, of redirecting the worship of the native population towards the new imperial power.

The sacred mounds, once the domain of Celtic gods, were rededicated to Roman deities.

• Ludgate Hill, the seat of spiritual authority, became the site of a grand Roman temple dedicated to Diana, the goddess of the moon and the hunt. This was a direct appropriation of the hill's ancient lunar and spiritual significance.

• Cornhill, the centre of commerce, was likely associated with Mercury, the Roman god of trade and communication.

• Tower Hill, the place of martial power, was fortified and integrated into the Roman defensive network.

Building on Sacred Foundations

The Romans did not just rename the sacred sites; they built upon them, adding their own layer of magical technology to the existing infrastructure. They constructed their forum and basilica, the centres of Roman civic and commercial life, in the heart of the ancient power triangle. They paved roads that followed the paths of the old ley lines, reinforcing and regularising the flow of energy.

The most significant Roman addition was the Temple of Mithras. This underground sanctuary, dedicated to a Persian god of light and redemption, was a powerful centre of initiatory magic. Its discovery in the 20th century provided a stunning confirmation of London's role as a major centre of Roman occultism. The Mithraic mysteries, with their seven grades of initiation and their focus on astrological symbolism, added a new layer of sophisticated, esoteric practice to the city's magical life.

The Roman Legacy: Order and Empire

The Romans brought a new kind of magic to London: the magic of order, of empire, of the written law. They transformed the raw, chaotic power of the Celtic temple into a disciplined, efficient engine of imperial control. They were the first to truly weaponise the city's magical potential, using it to project power not just across Britain, but across the entire Roman world.

But in building their own temple upon the old, they also became subject to its ancient power. The serpent of the Thames was not tamed; it was merely harnessed. The dark, sacrificial energy of the land was not cleansed; it was simply redirected. The Romans may have believed they were the masters of London, but in reality, they were just the first in a long line of tenants, each adding their own chapter to the story of the great black magic temple.

In our next post, we will explore the hidden world of the Roman mystery cults in London, from the rites of Mithras to the worship of Isis, and reveal the secret magical life that thrived beneath the surface of the Roman city.

The Empire of Magic is built on the bones of the old gods. Follow the Secret City series.

Roman Conquest as Occult Takeover (Sources)

Primary Sources:

•Tacitus, Agricola and Annals - Roman conquest accounts

•Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars - Imperial occult practices

•Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Mystery cult references

Secondary Sources:

•Merrifield, Ralph. London: City of the Romans. Seaby, 1983.

•Perring, Dominic. Roman London. Seaby, 1991.

•Potter, Timothy. Roman Britain. British Museum Press, 1983.

Archaeological Sources:

•Bateman, Nick. Gladiators at the Guildhall. Museum of London Archaeology, 2000.

•Blair, Ian. Roman London and the Walbrook Stream Crossing. Museum of London Archaeology, 2014.

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