The Mystic Art of Persian Rugs

A little-known Chief Storekeeper at the College's NROTC unit may have discovered in his travels what philosophers and scientists have been searching for through the ages--the key to the Universe. The Chief, Charles R. Ridd, is reputedly the only man in the Western Hemisphere to master the ancient art of Persian rugmaking, and he claims to have penetrated the highest mysteries of life through the practice of this art.

Ridd, who learned the secret accidentally, asserts that he is able to perfect the human mind and body in the weaving process and, more important, has predicted certain natural and other phenomena through revelations which have occurred while weaving in a state of extreme concentration.

In his first attempt at making a Persian rug in 1930, Ridd became suddenly aware of a strange feeling--a revelation that a world war was imminent. Still in extreme concentration, the Chief began to weave into the pattern of the rug the inscription: "19 WAR 41." Although the face of the work reveals little, he says the back shows the prediction quite clearly. The rug is now in Los Angeles.

The mystic also predicted the disaster which befell two Navy dirigibles, the USS Macon and the USS Akron. He says he foretold the month, year, and location of the demise of the former, but only the location of the Akron's similar fate--in each case six months before the accident. The Chief was also forewarned of the tornado which struck Worcester in 1954.

Ridd attributes his extra-sensory powers solely to concentration while at the loom. With contemplation he is able to learn "the innermost secrets of life." Concentration enables the Chief to attain "harmony with the universe, and then all things are possible." According to Ridd, the more one weaves, the more he will elevate his mentality, leading ultimately to infinite peace of mind and the fountain of all knowledge.

After his retirement from active duty next February, Ridd hopes to establish connections for teaching with some university, preferably Harvard. The university would ostensibly benefit from such an arrangement by an increase in mental alacrity of students who learned the art, and from analysis of the many predictions which would undoubtedly result. The student would be able to perfect both his mind and body, while "tuning in with the universe."

Ridd first became interested in the work while demonstrating hooked rugs in a Pasadena department store in an effort to promote sales of yarn. A customer suggested that he try to make a Persian rug. With no instruction, he assembled a loom from four sticks and a quantity of seine twine. A rug-maker showed him how to tie a Persian knot and Ridd began his project.

After months of work on the rug, the Chief discovered that both the strings of the loom and the knots of the yarn must be very loose, with seven strings to the inch. With the tension of the loom eased, everything then unfolded, and he began his excursion into mysticism. When the rug, with its prediction of World War II, was completed Ridd took it to a connoisseur. The expert refused to believe that Ridd had woven it, and from the design of the work judged it to be from the seventh century of Persian rug-making.

When the Chief realized that he had mastered the ancient Persian art, he decided to look for a relation between his relevations and ancient astrological insights. He has since digested over 1000 works on astrology, and discovered that the universal order which is "perfect, is pictured perfectly in astrology." He reasoned that the fundamental truths which he had found in concentration while weaving were also present in astrology.

Ridd says his good health and sound mind at 65 are due to "reaching the utmost power of concentration." He claims that any student can reach the same level, providing he is willing to concentrate fully and open his mind to the revelations (and peace) that will inevitably follow. The Chief emphasizes that he can only show the student the basic techniques of the art, while final achievement rests solely on the individual.

The storekeeper has no definite ideas for the future, but plans to teach the art even if unable to secure the sponsorship of a university. Whatever his success, it is probable that the quiet mystic will continue to gain insights into the universal order. At this very moment, he has drawn up a list of predictions "too frightening to reveal."