Twilight War: Bird vs. Bat

CRAZY AIR BATTLE - BATS VS CROWS

billschannel

These large fruit bats, sometimes called "flying foxes" find a big fruit tree to hang out in. But some local crows decide to take charge and get all the fruit for themselves. The bats give up their tree at first, but then strike back with a Vengence. Filmed near Galle in Sri Lanka.

****************************************************************

As a child, vacationing with my family at Clearlake in Northern California, I remember seeing all the bats flying around the tops of oak trees at twilight on hot summer nights. I very specifically recall thinking sometimes as to what would happen during twilight when birds retiring for the evening might meet up with awakening nocturnal bats? At some point, I merely dismissed the concept as impossible, since the two are so different beyond the fact that both can fly.... avian and rodent, reptilian and mammal. It just "wouldn't happen," but if it ever did, they would probably just ignore each other. It was just like some weird concept that maybe seemed logical, but was easy to just dismiss.

"Flying foxes" are a type of tropical bat, the largest bats in the world; and who resemble a long-snouted fox more than the common notion of a "flying rodent." Some bats have been compared to primates, as they look somewhat monkey-like. They're a very interesting animal, fascinating to watch.

Crows, on the other hand, are found all over the world in different climates. They're fiercely territorial, as I can personally attest to, living very close to them. They aren't aggressive to humans, but drive other birds away. I saw several attack a sea gull and tear it apart some years ago. Just a few weeks ago I saw a falcon in a raven infested area. It landed on a chimney, and suddenly a raven landed nearby it and stared at it. Then another raven landed and did the same, which prompted the falcon to leave. Ravens are a type of crow.

The battle in this video stemmed from a fight for resources, which was not exactly something that I would have thought would bring them together. These species are so different. It's just a weird combination, but fascinating.

.

How Odin Became Santa Claus

How Odin Became Santa Claus: Symbolism and Pagan Origins of a Gift-Giving Saint

Author: Anja Heij

RealMagick.com


The story begins in the northern regions of Europe where the supreme god Odin, also known as Wodan among the German tribes, reigned. (He still lives among us in Wednesday, which is Wodan’s day).

Odin/Wodan was the god of wisdom, magick and occult knowledge, runes, poetry and war. His name means “the inspired one”. Like a shaman he could travel in other worlds to gather more insight while his two black ravens Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory) kept him informed about the news in the world. Odin was depicted as a tall, old man with a white beard and wearing a cloak. He rode the skies and the seas on his fast white horse Sleipnir with his 8 (the number of transformation) legs, while carrying his never missing spear Gungnir (clear and focused intent) in his hand.

He had one eye, for he had offered the other eye in exchange for gathering wisdom at the well of the head Mimir (Norse representation of the Source) and with that he became a shapeshifter, able of seeing in the outward world with his normal eye and understanding the inward worlds with his black, removed, eye.

He was very beloved among his friends and followers who felt happy and energized in his surroundings (an enlightened being?). His enemies however he could paralyze or kill with his sight (insight, the truth).

Odin trained many men and women as warriors for the final battle against the forces of destruction in the underworld at Ragnarok (the Norse judgement day). His fearless warriors often painted their bodies black and fought in the middle of the night.

The story of Odin/Wodan is the battle between good and evil which will stop when we finally realize that black and white are two sides of the same coin.

Odin is a mythical representation of goodness with his wisdom, white beard and white horse (in New Age terms we would depict him as ‘white divine light’). And he is wise enough to understand that ‘black’ is not similar to ‘dark’ in the sense of ‘evil and taboo’ for his helpers are black ravens and black (spiritual) warriors.

The evil he fights is the underworld dragon of false beliefs, untruth and selfishness (in New Age terms we would call this ‘ego’).

(So now we have a wise, good man performing magick/miracles with a white horse riding the skies, a white beard, a cloak, a spear and black advisors/informers/helpers and he is also god of poetry).



Next we go to the Roman empire where between December 17 and 24 the pagan Saturnalia were celebrated, big feasts with a lot of merrymaking, dancing, gambling, sensuality and the exchange of gifts. This festival was meant to celebrate the return of the sun on the shortest days of the year and to counteract the depression due to lack of sunlight.

(Here we find December celebrations with gifts.)



Time goes by. Christianity develops itself.

In the 4th century in Myra, Turkey, a Christian bishop named Nicholas lived with a great reputation for goodness, benevolence and performing miracles for the poor and unhappy. He miraculously supplied gold to three (number of manifestation) girls as marriage dowries so they did not have to become prostitutes and he brought three children back to life who had been chopped by a butcher. It is not difficult to understand that during the poverty of the Middle Ages (also called Dark Ages) this bishop became extremely popular as Saint Nicholas in all parts of Europe. His feastday, it was said to be his birthday, was December 5 or 6, nobody knows. There is no historical evidence however for the true existence of this saint.

(So now we see a benevolent, miracle performing bishop with a white dress and a red cloak.)



After the Reformation Saint Nicholas became forgotten in all the protestant countries of Europe except Holland.

There he became Sinterklaas; a kind and wise old man with a white beard, white dress, red cloak, a crosier and riding the skies and roofs of the houses on his white horse, accompanied by his Black Jacks.

Sinterklaas will visit you on his birthday December 5 or 6 and donate gifts. His Black Jacks have miraculously gathered information about your behavior during the last year; if it were good you will now be rewarded with presents, if it were bad you will be punished by the Black Jacks who will beat you with their rods or even worse: put you in a big bag and take you with to Spain, said to be the residence of Sinterklaas. The last thing seems to be a Christian influence: punishment by a severe father if you don’t behave morally just. On the other hand: if you do behave nice you will be rewarded with sweets and gifts accompanied by humoristic poems that give insight in your weaknesses.

(Here the mix becomes clear between Odin the good magician god and the miracles of the benevolent Sinterklaas. They both ride a white horse in the skies, wear a white beard, a cloak and a spear/cosier. They both have black helpers. They try to support goodness and dispel evil through knowledge. And remember the poetry part?

And the blend with Roman influences shows itself in a December feast with gaiety and presents.)



In the 17th century Dutchmen emigrated to Northern America and brought their tradition of Sinterklaas with. In the new English speaking world the name changed into Santa Claus.

In 1930 a designer for the Coca-Cola Company was asked to draw attractive advertisements for this drink that did not sell well in wintertime. He had to use the company colors red and white and create some cosy type. He remembered the Dutch Santa Claus with his white dress, red cloak, long white beard, kindness and benevolence. The eight-legged horse was replaced for eight flying reindeer. A punishing Black Jack was inappropriate in this concept, so he disappeared.

This new Santa Claus became a big hit. He became so popular that right now in Europe he is serious competition for Sinterklaas. That’s understandable: no more fear for punishing Black Jacks, and you no longer have to sweat on suitable poetry for your gifts.

And the search for human perfection of Odin?

Well, can’t we just have that as a Christmas present from Santa Claus?

[See article link for further related reading]


****************************************************************


The Origins of Santa Claus

By Patti Wigington

About.com


Early Christian Influence:

Although Santa Claus is originally based upon St. Nicholas, a 4th-century Christian bishop from Lycia (now in Turkey), the figure is also strongly influenced by early Norse religion. Saint Nicholas was known for giving gifts to the poor. In one notable story, he met a pious but impoverished man who had three daughters. He presented them with dowries to save them from a life of prostitution. In most European countries, St. Nicholas is still portrayed as a bearded bishop, wearing clerical robes. He became a patron saint of many groups, particularly children, the poor, and prostitutes.


Odin and His Mighty Horse:

Among early Germanic tribes, one of the major deities was Odin, the ruler of Asgard. A number of similarities exist between some of Odin's escapades and those of the figure who would become Santa Claus. Odin was often depicted as leading a hunting party through the skies, during which he rode his eight-legged horse, Sleipnir. In the 13th-century Poetic Edda, Sleipnir is described as being able to leap great distances, which some scholars have compared to the legends of Santa's reindeer. Odin was typically portrayed as an old man with a long, white beard -- much like St. Nicholas himself.


Treats for the Tots:

During the winter, children placed their boots near the chimney, filling them with carrots or straw as a gift for Sleipnir. When Odin flew by, he rewarded the little ones by leaving gifts in their boots. In several Germanic countries, this practice survived despite the adoption of Christianity. As a result, the gift-giving became associated with St. Nicholas -- only nowadays, we hang stockings rather than leaving boots by the chimney!


Santa Comes to the New World:

When Dutch settlers arrived in New Amsterdam, they brought with them their practice of leaving shoes out for St. Nicholas to fill with gifts. They also brought the name Sinterklaas, which later morphed into Santa Claus. Although the Dutch version of St. Nicholas was written about by author Washington Irving around 1809, it was about 15 years later that the figure of Santa as we know it today was introduced. This came in the form of a narrative poem by a man named Clement C. Moore.


The Night Before Christmas:

Moore's poem, originally titled 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' is commonly known today as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas'. Moore went as far as to elaborate on the names of Santa's reindeer, and provide a rather Americanized, secular description of the "jolly old elf."


[See article link for further related reading]

.

Northern Italy Genealogy Discussion List (Yahoo group) is closing

Regina, the founder of the "Northern Italy Genealogy Discussion List," is closing the group; apparently due to it slowing down quite a bit this year. It was particularly popular between mid-2000 through 2007. There were 1,694 members prior to her closing down. Actually it's open for members to search it until it actually is deleted.

I think Regina is from San Francisco. Anyway, it's sad to see it go. There were members from all over the world. The membership was always very tactful, which is rarely the case in forums or discussion groups now. I sent e-mails and direct messages to a few members, including the following, to try to interest them in networking in the future. The searchable membership lists are closed. It's a shame.

The following is the last post in October:


************************************************************


ItalyNW Yahoo! Group is now closed

The ItalyNW Yahoo! Group has reached the end of its useful life. It provided a welcoming forum to genealogy researchers for twelve years, but current Group activity indicates that the Group is no longer needed.

The ItalyNW Yahoo! Group is now closed to new members and to new posts. Message archives will still be available to current members for a few months.

Regards,
Regina


************************************************************


The following are several old posts regarding the Val Camonica:


************************************************************


Hallo there,
 
The "Val Camonica" or "Valle Camonica" is the biggest of the three valleys which comprise the Alpine portion of the Province of Brescia, in the Region of Lombardy. The river that follows the whole valley is the river Oglio: where the valley closes this river forms the Lake of Iseo, which the Romans in antiquity called Lake Sebino. The area around the Lake is still called the Sebino area. The Val Camonica has been part of the territory of Brescia since the 15th century, but it is now trying to became a province in its own right, with Breno as its capital city. I know the area very well (I am a native Bresciano), as I worked there for several years, before moving to Canada. It is a very beautiful corner of Lombardy, with a rich History and a very active community, proud of its identity. Hope this helps.
 
Vigilio Salvoni


************************************************************


i'm happy to read about mu edolo,in valle camonica,provincia brescia and regione lombardia also my parents came from edolo work in lorraine france , siderurgy 1952 for my father and 1953 form my mother with tree children in may and i came sept 53!!!!

I go to edolo many holidays during l long time of years
I know very well edolo and mu..... i will send to you fotos and others informations I understand your grand father during the war because when i was young talk too many italie was a "few"
wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to days many people assert his italianity memory


I "make" ma tree genealogy
bye
margherita

 
************************************************************


Hi

My great grandfather left Mu, near Edolo, Lombardia in 1900 for Australia. He never returned and our family has known very little about Mu as he could not talk to his children about Italy when they were young as he was regarded as an alien in Australia during the First World War. He had to prove he was loyal to Australia and so his children learned no Italian. I was interested to join this group to learn more about life in the mountains north of Brescia.

Regards
Jan Smith

.

Guido von List: Part 23 - "The Cult Of Saturn"

Video from YouTube channel SkyRifter

This is possibly the most thought provoking video that I have ever seen on YouTube. I say that even though I disagree with a few associations and interpretations that he made. However, I highly recommend it. It represents possibly the greatest mystery in the history of humanity. On south pole of Saturn exists a massive continuous storm in the form of vortex which retains its "eye of the storm" shape (seen here). When photographed by Voyager in the early 1980s, it eerily appears in the shape and dimensions of a human eye. Voyager also photographed Saturn's north pole, and there exists a surface feature in the shape of a perfect six-pointed hexagram. Within that hexagram shape is a close-to-perfect five-pointed vehme star (both seen here).

To the ancient Sumerians and Akkadians, symbols which clearly pertain to the features of Saturn were used and explicitly associated to Saturn. Chiefly the "Star of David," which was only adopted by Judaism about one thousand years ago. Also, often, this six-pointed star was featured along with the five-pointed pentagram (vehme); and it is a symbol geometrically associated with the hexagram (in the middle of it). In addition, there are many geometric elements to all of this which mathmatically equate to "triple six." I don't want to write it, because I associate it with marginal bad luck. Now how could the Sumerians and others in the ancient world have possibly known about these surface features of Saturn? The "Star of David," the eye, the pentagram, and all the triangle shapes which are featured together and explicitly associated with Saturn... how? Is this proof of extraterrestrial contact?

The hexagram also is a shape which geometrically is associated with a three-dimensional cube or box shape as seen here. Now the north pole of Saturn--just like the south pole--is continuously circling. Not circling merely due to the planet spinning, but due to the weather as it is a mostly gas planet. This "gas storm" is continuously revolving counter-clockwise in and around the hexagram "cube." This will be very difficult to believe, but if you watch this following video here, you will see in Mecca, Muslim pilgrims circling the "black box" counter-clockwise as it is suggested to them to circle the box seven times. We all have our own way to calculate the odds of something, and of ALL of this being merely coincidence. I say the odds are too long on coincidence here. What do you think? Here is the second part of that video.

Other symbols which tie in to hexagram geometry are the two main "hex signs," which are the flower of life ("rosette"; "sun of the Alps") and "the inverted Star of David." It should be stated that both the Star of David and the pentagram are Sumerian symbols. Also in Islam, the pentagram is used; and even the "Star of David," although they don't use that name. Also, the Norse Life Rune has a clear geometric tie-in to the hexagram. Lastly, the symbolism of the ring of Saturn and the "Saturnian rays" which were photographed by Voyager from a side angle.

Saturn symbology:
Ring of Saturn (circle)
The eye (south pole)
The hexagram (north pole)
The Vehme star (north pole)
"Star of David" (geometric hexagram association)
Inverted "Star of David"
Sun of the Alps (geometric hexagram association; European in origin)
The cube or black square (Islamic, Masonic)
The Life Rune (Norse; geometric hexagram association)

Even if you don't want to sit through the entire hour, at least take a look from about 28 to 32.30 minutes.


The Listian connection

From 'Secret of the Runes', pages 86 and 87:

The five-angled star, the Vehme star, the Truthenfuss (truth = turn, fuss = foot) is the hieroglyph of "revolving or turning generation," of "rebirth"--one of the most important articles of faith in the Aryan religion. In its exoteric interpretation this sign simply says "return"....

"The five-angled star" ...... "revolving or turning generation" ...... now combine this concept with the Muslims "revolving or turning" around the black box ...... literally the Saturnian Vehme, which in this case was via the earlier Sumerians and other civilizations. It should be pointed out that although on the surface, we're comparing Germanic to Semitic, the conceptual stem from the ancient world was probably a comparison of Alpine European and true-Mediterranean.

Also.... In its exoteric interpretation this sign simply says "return"..... were the Voyager and the Cassini-Huygens Missions to Saturn "returning?" Returning to the Vehme sign. Perhaps I'm reaching, but there is literally a clear Vehme star on the north pole of Saturn which is in the direct center of an ever "revolving or turning generation" of storm gases. I would normally say impossible, except for ALL of the other connections! Guido von List would not have known this as he was merely interpreting his archeological, scientific, mathmatical, geometrical, and mystic findings.

The ancient Alpines may have had some of this "forbidden knowledge." In Bulgaria today--even though it is almost entirely ignored by the mainstream media--there is an archeological dig which appears to be fifteen or twenty thousand year old pyramids buried underneath large hills of earth. That would make this civilization much older than the Sumerians! Now List was only thinking of the ancient Teutonic connections, as in his time there wasn't the evidential connection to the earlier Celts and Alpines. Certainly not the Celts, so he could only assume that it was Teutonic via the clear Odinic tie-ins to the ancient Heathenry of the Transalpine region.
  
On the other hand, regarding Saturn, there is a clear tie-in to the Nordic Life Rune as you can see here. Ultimately though, it is from the Sumerian connections that we see the more shocking connections to Saturn. How could they have possibly known about the surface features of Saturn? Saturn, at best, would have appeared as just a star to them. The Sumerians do have a written history which points to visitors from another world, as you may already know. That has been attributed to mere mythology. The Sumerians did, however, know the positions of all of the planets in our solar system. That cannot simply be dismissed either.

While I'm on this subject.... we're going to find out in a few days if anything will happen on that most interesting date of December 21, 2012. So many cultures have pointed to that date. I'm not especially worried about it, as there is so much evil on this planet now. I'm not even suggesting one thing, but it's a lot deeper than that. We actually may need a positive "intervention" on this planet, and one that is not from our self-serving global mis-leaders.

.

The Mystic Druids

The Mystic Druids Part 1

From YouTube channel RealmOfDestiny

**************************************************

 One question is whether or not there was a Druidic culture in Cisalpine Gaul, as there was in Gaul and the British Isles. I still don't have the answer to this. From the incongruent information which I have looked at, my guess would be that there was some, more in the area of ancient Piedmont. For the most part, the more native spiritual traditions predominated.

My theory is that Druidism--and generally the Celts themselves--came about, over a long period of time, as a result of more paternally-oriented Teutonic-Odinic people merging with more maternally-oriented native Alpine and some Alpinized-Mediterranean people and their magical traditions. The sun people and the moon people.

**************************************************

The Mystic Druids Part 2


.

The Arctic Home in the Vedas: Part 8

The Tarim mummies, in the bigger picture, were merely the last breath of the proto-Norse peoples in north-central Asia. I would place the original home of these proto-Norse peoples in about what is modern Kazakhstan; and if we were to follow Bal Gangadhar Tilak's true hypothesis in 'The Arctic Home in the Vedas', then it may have even existed along the Kara Sea in northern Eurasia. It's even conceivable that the ice cap covered part of this northern sea, and some people may have lived above above it. At the least, some people could have lived along this northern coast and would have literally lived slightly above the Arctic Circle. If this were true, then Tilak's hypothesis surrounding the Vedic hymns could be proven true scientifically.

The ice sheet (see map), even at the height of the last ice age, covered the British Isles and about half of central Europe. However, when it reaches about Russia, it directs northward and the Eurasian ice cap ends in the middle of the north coast of Asia. It's very possible that people could, as Tilak hypothesized, have lived up there. Also, the last glacial movement was about fifteen-thousand years after the height of the last ice age. It's very likely that it was comparatively even more habitable then.

Another possibility is that they were trapped up there. Look at the map again, there's quite an uneven ice sheet. Regions far north were more habitable than regions further south, and it's possible that an ice sheet may have left a large "island of habitable land" which was enclosed by ice sheets. When the book was published a century ago, many people probably dismissed it because it was too groundbreaking for it's time. In other words, the Tarim mummies were not from northern Europe; they were home. They were the last remnants of the ones who stayed behind. Fifteen or twenty thousand years ago, the proto-Norse or proto-Germanic people may have all lived in a habitable region in northern Eurasia, enclosed by sheets of ice. The Eurasian ice sheet to the west, and the Himalayan ice sheet to the south.

If they did live way up there, then we need only to look at the Eskimos for some idea of how they could have survived. Also, there is a lot of meat and fur on a woolly mamoth, a woolly rhinoceros, or a yak; and they were roaming all over that tundra back then. I would guess that those pure proto-Norse were tall, strong, white-skinned, had very light blonde hair, pale blue eyes, straight noses, and generally the physical Scandinavian stereotype. Only much later--amid the melting ice of post-ice age Europe--when they encountered the native Alpine peoples, did more slightly tanner, ash blonde haired, basic-blue eyed people come about; and of course, combinations closer to the Alpines. Still today, we can occasionally see people who are extremely-fair "throw backs."

During the 1938–1939 German expedition to Tibet, I believe that they were looking for "The Arctic Home in the Vedas." The Tibet Autonomous Region, which is twice the size of modern Tibet, may have seemed like the most logical area to look at. That highland region was probably largely covered by the Himalayan ice sheet or at least a harsh landscape up to about ten-thousand years ago. I believe that ancient Kazakhstan, and probably north of it, is the logical location of the age old question of where is the location of the original homeland of the Aryan people. However, they weren't "Aryan" then.

The Aryans came about in ancient Persia, when some of the migrating proto-Norse encountered native or migrating true-Mediterranean (not Semitic) peoples. Among many technological advances and spiritual concepts, the Sanskrit language and text developed from these Aryans of ancient Persia. The ancient Swastika, which was originally a solar symbol and spiritual symbol of geometry and mathmatics, was brought by the true-Mediterraneans into ancient Persia. Similar symbols developed in different locations, so I think this is still an unanswered question. It's pretty easy to see how all of this has been so confusing, to so many, for so long.

To make it easier to understand, this "Aryan hypothesis" seems to have basically involved only three racial/sub-racial types. Two who were collectively to become "European" at a later incarnation, proto-Norse and true-Mediterraneans, and the native people(s) of India. This was at a time long before Mongol, Semitic, and Turkic expansion. Civilization was founded by true-Mediterraneans in Sumeria, and expanded around the general area of the ancient Middle and Near East. When some of them migrated to the high mountainous plateau of ancient Persia, they encountered some of the proto-Norse migrating from the north. They blended into a special kind of civilization. The science and technology of the true-Mediterraneans, and the language and earth-based spirituality of the proto-Norse.

.

The Arctic Home in the Vedas: Part 7

Above: '1-5 Tarim Mummies - Indo-Europeans in China'; posted by alisonpita

2-5 Tarim Mummies - Indo-Europeans in China

3-5 Tarim Mummies - Indo-Europeans in China

4-5 Tarim Mummies - Indo Europeans in China

5-5 Tarim Mummies - Indo-Europeans in China



Tarim mummies (Wikipedia)

The Tarim mummies are a series of mummies discovered in the Tarim Basin in present-day Xinjiang, China, which date from 1900 BCE to 200 CE. Some of the mummies are frequently associated with the presence of the Indo-European Tocharian languages in the Tarim Basin, although the evidence is not totally conclusive. Victor H. Mair's team made the conclusion that the mummies are basically Europoid, likely speakers of an Indo-European language.


So how would the people who were to become "the Tarim mummies" fit into this hypothesis? Well, even today--four-thousand years later--it's pretty evident that they are very Germanic-looking in appearance. Their DNA shows that they were, at that point, slightly mixed with Mongols. The bulk of the Mongols showed up in the region about three-thousand years ago. Again, the Aryan hypothesis we were looking at was long before Mongol, Semitic, or Turkic expansion.


Roman accounts (Wikipedia)

Pliny the Elder (Chap XXIV 'Taprobane') reports a curious description of the Seres (in the territories of northwestern China) made by an embassy from Taprobane (Ceylon) to Emperor Claudius, saying that they "exceeded the ordinary human height, had flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and made an uncouth sort of noise by way of talking", suggesting they may be referring to the ancient Europoid populations of the Tarim Basin:

"They also informed us that the side of their island (Taprobane) which lies opposite to India is ten thousand stadia in length, and runs in a south-easterly direction—that beyond the Emodian Mountains (Himalayas) they look towards the Serve (Seres), whose acquaintance they had also made in the pursuits of commerce; that the father of Rachias (the ambassador) had frequently visited their country, and that the Seræ always came to meet them on their arrival. These people, they said, exceeded the ordinary human height, had flaxen hair, and blue eyes, and made an uncouth sort of noise by way of talking, having no language of their own for the purpose of communicating their thoughts. The rest of their information (on the Serae) was of a similar nature to that communicated by our merchants. It was to the effect that the merchandise on sale was left by them upon the opposite bank of a river on their coast, and it was then removed by the natives, if they thought proper to deal on terms of exchange. On no grounds ought luxury with greater reason to be detested by us, than if we only transport our thoughts to these scenes, and then reflect, what are its demands, to what distant spots it sends in order to satisfy them, and for how mean and how unworthy an end!"


This occurred two-thousand years ago, so apparently at least some of them were Germanic in appearance even at that point. It should be pointed out that while the Tarim mummies are constantly referenced as being "in China," it was not yet "Chinese" three-thousand years ago. Also, just because it is a desert now doesn't mean that it was a desert at the end of the last glacial movement ten-thousand years ago.


Tocharians (Wikipedia)

The Tocharians or Tokharians were ancient speakers of Tocharian languages in the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). The Indo-European language of the Tocharians was supplanted by the Turkic languages of the Uyghur tribes about 800 AD.

The Afanasevo culture is a strong candidate for being the earliest archaeological record of speakers of the Tocharian languages.


Tocharian languages (Wikipedia)

Tocharian or Tokharian is an extinct branch of the Indo-European language family, formerly spoken in oases on the northern edge of the Tarim Basin (now part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China) by the Tocharians. Two branches of Tocharian are known from documents dating from the 3rd to 9th centuries AD:

*  Tocharian A (Agnean or East Tocharian; natively ārśi) of Qarašähär (ancient Agni, Chinese Yanqi) and Turpan (ancient Turfan and Xočo); and

*  Tocharian B (Kuchean or West Tocharian) of Kucha and Tocharian A sites.Prakrit documents from 3rd century Kroran on the southeast edge of the Tarim Basin contain loanwords and names that appear to come from another variety of Tocharian, dubbed Tocharian C. All these languages became extinct after Uyghur tribes expanded into the area.


The Proto-Indo-European Urheimat hypotheses ties closely into the "Arctic Home in the Vedas" theory, but the time frames don't quite line up, and I don't think it goes back far enough. It's too convenient. I think that Bal Gangadhar Tilak proved that this goes back further in time, and further north. The Kurgan hypothesis (see map) is the one which seems to tie in a lot of loose ends, especially in the area of the Indo-European languages, but I would still agree more with Tilak.

.

'Last of the Scottish Wildcats' DVD trailer

From the Scottish Wildcat Association:

Pound for pound the Scottish wildcat is one of the most impressive predators in the world; intelligent, fearless, resourceful, patient, agile and powerful they are genuine superpredators and until as recently as the 1950s were believed to be man killers.

Surviving human persecution for five hundred more years than the British wolf and over a thousand more years than the British lynx or bear, they inspired and terrified the same Highland clans that defied the Roman and English empires. Today the wildcat continues to receive the respect of Highland farmers and gamekeepers, many of them happy to recount the tale of the wildcat mother killing herself to kill a golden eagle attacking her kittens, or stories from childhood of wildcats evading teams of watching keepers to snatch lambs from their father's fields.

Although wildcats look similar to domestic cats, these are no feral or farm cats run wild; they're Britain's only remaining large wild predator and have walked this land for millions of years before mankind arrived or domestic cats appeared. Every inch a cat in every sense of the word the Scottish wildcat epitomises the independent, mysterious and wild spirit of the Highlands like no other creature.

"They'll fight to the death for their freedom; they epitomise what it takes to be truly free I think." Mike Tomkies


'Last of the Scottish Wildcats' DVD at CoffeeFilms.com


.

Volcanic eruption in Chile

This is some remarkable raw footage of a volcanic eruption in Chile on May 24, 2010. At first it shows the smoking-smoldering during the light of day; and then at 33 seconds it shows the part which I found facinating--the actual eruption--at twilight. Chile, as part of the "cone of South America," is not at all tropical, and has a climate similar to the northern hemisphere. Try to imagine the ominous feeling if this happened where you live and you were witnessing it live. This may be one where you click the full screen and turn off the light to view.

From YouTube channel migfoxbat

.

Guido von List: Part 22

Vehmic Court: Part 3

I didn't put the name and description of the above video because the creator of it obviously thought that the Vehmic Courts were, hands down, a good thing. With the German countryside broken up into maybe 300 different states, the Vatican gave the courts borderless authority to administer justice in their name. "The Vehm mostly judged in cases of witchcraft, sorcery, rape, theft, robbery, manslaughter, and murder" --The History of Medieval Europe, Lynn Thorndike, 1917.  So, for example, the crime of "being an Odinist" seemed to have been considered worse than murder, and the person was hanged for having the wrong religion. Also from the book: "The only penalty of these criminal courts was death. If three or more members of the Vehm caught a criminal redhanded in the act, they killed him on the spot without further trial." So if they caught someone "in the act" practicing a different religion, those people would be killed on the spot.

"This impressive method of intimidating the criminal classes, which reminds us of lynchings and vigilance committees, but whose self-help and summary procedure were to a large extent a survival of primitive German custom, was favorably received by the society of the time as the Vehm was better than any other court at controlling crime, no matter who did the crime." --Lynn Thorndike

"The pentads: The holy Fem (five), the five known elements (fire, water, air, earth, ether or aether), the five recognized senses, the pentagram, the five brother, the five maidens, the five men, the five nights, the five sons, the five winters, etc." --Guido von List, page 31 of the 2005 translation of 'The History of the Aryo-Germanic Folk, 1909 or 1910

From pages 33 and 34 of the book:

"Five (5, V) fem, fim, fimf, funf, fünf. Fem means that which is homogeneous, therefore even today it indicates the guild or corporation in the Dutch word veem. It had its origin in the five correlated fingers of the hand, in the correlated five senses that form man and it signified the elven cross or the witches' foot (Drudenfuss) also signified by the pentagram (femsteor). The homogeneity also belongs to the Feme, that part of the Armanenschaft devoted to the cultivation of the law. It was the Femanen who, after the forceable Christianization under Karl, King of the Franks--or the Saxon-slayer (Slactenaere)--came more into the forefront in the defense of everything that was indigenous (homologous) in opposition to that which was foreign; asserting indigenous law against Roman (in)justice in the high secret tribunal (Acht). The symbolic holy-sign of the homologies was this very five-pointed star and it remains so in the secret script even today, just like all other things grouped by fives (fem), from which the numerical value was derived. Just as One was born frm itself, Two from One, Three and Four also from One, five--which grows out of 1 + 4--is the second odd number. From the One (Ginnungagap) grows the Four (Muspellsheim, Adhumbla, Ymir and Niflheim) which then form the Five--the homogeneous One. When we consider the Feme as a court of law we find numerous examples, e.g. the so-called Fünfe ("fives") at Nuremberg, in the Council of Five in Venice, and in our contemporary Five-Judge Colleges which have come down to us as a compilation of single courts of law. The frequent occurrence of the number five in symbolism, as well as mysticism, makes this highly meaningful."

One more time, from 'History of the Aryo-Germanic Folk':

In the administration of justice, too, the old Aryan tripartition is naturally found again as (1) arising or law (Rita), (2) the existing, ruling (justice), and (3) the passing away to renewed arising (the court). Because law and justice culminate in the decisive pronouncement of the court (and consequently, as the third level, this provided the final result) the holy sign of the court was the ruoth-cross, rod-cross, or rowel- (wheel) cross which was therefore also known as the Vehme cross, consisting of a fyrfos whose hooks were bent in the circular shape of a wheel rim. As the Vehme cross it appears engraved on the blade of the great Vehme-sword as an equilateral cross enclosed by a circle. At the cross point the letter "V" appears and furthermore in the quadrants between the arms and letters "S.S.G.G." were engraved. These letters probably displaced the formerly used runes [Fehu symbol] and [Sol and Gebo symbols] (doubled), which signified: "Vehme" and the old passwords: "Strick (string), "Stein" (stone), "Gras" (grass), "Grein" (branch?), i.e., "wyd" ("white") = law; "brick" = secret; "rage" = thunder = doing = ar = right-doing; greyen = to uphold; that is: "Through law and secrecy (heimliche Acht) right-doing is upheld." In abbreviated form this is: tue gege (two s's and two g's).

Now from the 'The History of Medieval Europe':

It was the duty of the first member of the Vehm who met him to hang him to the nearest tree, leaving by his side a knife marked with the cryptic symbols, "S.S.G.G.," to show that the Vehm had done its work.

The Vehm, or Fehm, were murdering Heathens for four or five hundred years for the crime of practicing the wrong religion--while operating as Vatican-proxies--and operating under the very symbolism which was developed by the Heathen Skalds in their secret meetings many centuries earlier. Even the secret initiation rites of the Vehm are drowning in Heathen symbolism: "They were then initiated into the secret signs by which members recognized each other, and were presented with a rope and with a knife on which were engraved the mystic letters S.S.G.G., supposed to mean Stein, Strick, Gras, grün (stone, rope, grass, green)." 

It's the same irony as American patriots being persecuted by our justice system---which legally operates today as a branch of International Maritime-Admiralty Law or International Corporate Banking Law---all the while pretending that their sole loyalty is to the United States and the Constitution. It would be my guess that the members of the Vehm, or its leadership, were not aware of the irony of the symbol of the court.

.

Guido von List: Part 21

Vehmic Court: Part 2


Vehmic court (Wikipedia)

The Vehmic courts, Vehmgericht, holy vehme, or simply Vehm, also spelt Feme, Vehmegericht, Fehmgericht, are names given to a "proto-vigilante" tribunal system of Westphalia active during the later Middle Ages, based on a fraternal organisation of lay judges called “free judges” (German: Freischöffen or French: francs-juges). The original seat of the courts was in Dortmund. The proceedings were sometimes secret, leading to the alternative titles of “secret courts” (German: heimliches Gericht), “silent courts” (German: Stillgericht), or “forbidden courts” (German: verbotene Gerichte). The courts took jurisdiction over all crimes during the Late Middle Ages, and those condemned by the tribunal were done away with by secret means. After the execution of the death sentence, the corpse was hung on a tree to advertise the fact and deter others.

The peak of activity of these courts was during the 14th to 15th centuries, with lesser activity attested for the 13th and 16th centuries, and scattered evidence establishing their continued existence during the 17th and 18th centuries. They were finally abolished by order of Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, in 1811.

The Vehmic courts were the regional courts of Westphalia which, in turn, were based on the county courts of Franconia. They received their jurisdiction from the Holy Roman Emperor, from whom they also received the capacity to pronounce capital punishment (German: Blutgericht) which they exercised in his name. Everywhere else the power of life and death, originally reserved to the Emperor alone, had been usurped by the territorial nobles; only in Westphalia, called “the Red Earth” because here the imperial Blutbann was still valid, were capital sentences passed and executed by the Fehmic courts in the Emperor's name alone.

Etymology

The term's origin is uncertain, but seems to enter Middle High German from Middle Low German. The word vëme first appears in the Middle High German literature of the 13th century as a noun with the meaning of "punishment". A document dated to 1251 has the reference illud occultum judicium, quod vulgariter vehma seu vridinch appellari consuevit. ("It is hidden justice, that by common fashion is habitually referred to as vehma or vridinch.")

The general meaning of "punishment" is unrelated to the special courts of Westphalia which were thus originally just named "courts of punishment". But as the word entered the Southern German dialects via Saxony and Westphalia, the word's meaning in Early Modern German became attached to the activities of these courts specifically.

Jacob Grimm thought that the word is identical in origin to a homophonous word for the raising of pigs on forest pastures (Hutewald), just as the more familiar German Zucht can mean both breeding and discipline. Grimm considers the spelling with h unetymological in spite of its early occurrence in some 13th century documents, and hypothesizes a "lost root" "fëmen", connecting with Old Norse fimr and conjecturing a Gothic "fiman, fam, fêmun?".

During 18th to 19th century Romanticism, there were various misguided attempts to explain the obscure term, or to elevate it to the status of a remnant of pagan antiquity, scoffed at by Grimm's entry in his Deutsches Wörterbuch. A particularly fanciful etymology, suggested by James Skene in 1824, derives the word from Baumgericht (Lit. 'Tree law'), supposedly the remnant of a pagan "forest law" of the Wild hunt and pagan secret societies.

Origin

The Westphalian Vehmic courts developed from the High Medieval “free courts” (German: Freigerichte), which had jurisdiction within a “free county” (German: Freigrafschaft). As a result of the 14th century imperial reform of the Holy Roman Empire (Golden Bull of 1356), the Landgraviates lost much of their power, and the Freigerichte disappeared, with the exception of Westphalia, where they retained their authority and transformed into the Vehmic court.

The seat of the Vehmic court (German: Freistuhl) was at first Dortmund, in a square between two linden trees, one of which was known as the Femelinde. With the growing influence of Cologne during the 15th century, the seat was moved to Arnsberg in 1437.

Membership and procedure

The sessions were often held in secret, whence the names of “secret court” (German: heimliches Gericht), “silent court” (German: Stillgericht), etc. Attendance of these sessions was forbidden to the uninitiated, on pain of death, which led to the designation “forbidden courts” (German: verbotene Gerichte). A chairman (German: Stuhlherr) presided over the court, and lay judges (German: Freischöffen) passed judgment. The court also constituted a Holy Order.

Any free man "of pure bred German stock" and of good character could become a judge. The new candidate was given secret information and identification symbols. The “knowing one” (German: Wissende) had to keep his knowledge secret, even from his closest family (“vor Weib und Kind, vor Sand und Wind”). Lay judges had to give formal warnings to known troublemakers, issue warrants, and take part in executions.

The organization of the Fehme was elaborate. The centre of each jurisdiction was referred to as a “free seat” (German: Freistuhl), and its head or chairman (German: Stuhlherr) was often a secular or spiritual prince, sometimes a civic community, the archbishop of Cologne being supreme over all (German: Oberststuhlherren). The actual president of the court was the “free count” (German: Freigraf, chosen for life by the Stuhlherr from among the Freischöffen, who formed the great body of the initiated. Of these the lowest rank were the Fronboten or Freifronen, charged with the maintenance of order in the courts and the duty of carrying out the commands of the Freigraf. The immense development of the Fehme is explained by the privileges of the Freischöffen; for they were subject to no jurisdiction but those of the Westphalian courts: whether as accused or accuser they had access to the secret sessions, and they shared in the discussions of the general chapter as to the policy of the society. At their initiation these swore to support the Fehme with all their powers, to guard its secrets, and to bring before its tribunal anything within its competence that they might discover. They were then initiated into the secret signs by which members recognized each other, and were presented with a rope and with a knife on which were engraved the mystic letters S.S.G.G., supposed to mean Stein, Strick, Gras, grün (stone, rope, grass, green).

The procedure of the fehmic courts was practically that of the ancient German courts generally. The Freistuhl was the place of session, and was usually a hillock, or some other well-known and accessible spot. The Freigraf and the Schöffen (judges) occupied the bench, before which a table, with a sword and rope upon it, was placed. The court was held by day and, unless the session was declared secret, all freemen, whether initiated or not, were admitted. The accusation was in the old German form; but only a Freischöffe could act as accuser. If the offence came under the competence of the court, meaning it was punishable by death, a summons to the accused was issued under the seal of the Freigraf. This was not usually served on him personally, but was nailed to his door, or to some convenient place where he was certain to pass. Six weeks and three days' grace were allowed, according to the old Saxon law, and the summons was thrice repeated. If the accused appeared, the accuser stated the case, and the investigation proceeded by the examination of witnesses as in an ordinary court of law. The judgment was put into execution on the spot if that was possible.

The secret court, from whose procedure the whole institution has acquired its evil reputation, was closed to all but the initiated, although these were so numerous as to secure quasi-publicity; any one not a member on being discovered was instantly put to death, and the members present were bound under the same penalty not to disclose what took place. Crimes of a serious nature, and especially those that were deemed unfit for ordinary judicial investigation, such as heresy and witchcraft, fell within its jurisdiction, as also did appeals by persons condemned in the open courts, and likewise the cases before those tribunals in which the accused had not appeared. The accused, if a member, could clear himself by his own oath, unless he had revealed the secrets of the Fehme. If he were one of the uninitiated it was necessary for him to bring forward witnesses to his innocence from among the initiated, whose number varied according to the number on the side of the accuser, but twenty-one in favour of innocence necessarily secured an acquittal. The only punishment which the secret court could inflict was death. If the accused appeared, the sentence was carried into execution at once; if he did not appear, it was quickly made known to the whole body, and the Freischöffe who was the first to meet the condemned was bound to put him to death. This was usually done by hanging, the nearest tree serving for gallows. A knife with the mystic letters was left beside the corpse to show that the deed was not a murder.

It has been claimed that, in some cases, the condemned would be set free, given several hours' head start and then hunted down and put to death. So fearsome was the reputation of the Fehme and its reach that many thus released committed suicide rather than prolonging the inevitable. This practice could have been a holdover from the ancient Germanic legal concept of outlawry (Acht).

Legend and romance have combined to exaggerate the sinister reputation of the Fehmic courts; but modern historical research has largely discounted this, proving that they never employed torture, that their sittings were only sometimes secret, and that their meeting-places were always well known.

They were, in fact, a survival of an ancient and venerable German institution; and if, during a certain period, they exercised something like a reign of terror over a great part of Germany, the cause of this lay in the sickness of the times, which called for some powerful organization to combat the growing feudal anarchy. Such an organization the Westphalian free courts, with their discipline of terror and elaborate system of secret service, were well calculated to supply.

The spread of the Fehmic courts

The system, though ancient, began to become of importance only after the division of the duchy of Saxony on the fall of Henry the Lion, when the archbishop of Cologne, duke of Westphalia from 1180 onwards, placed himself as representative of the emperor at the head of the Fehme. The organization now rapidly spread. Every free man, born in lawful wedlock, and neither excommunicate nor outlaw, was eligible for membership.

Princes and nobles were initiated; and in 1429 even the emperor Sigismund himself became “a true and proper Freischöffe of the Holy Roman Empire.” There is a manuscript in the Town Hall of the Westphalian town of Soest, which consists of an original Vehmic Court Regulation document, along with illustrations.

By the middle of the 14th century these Freischöffen (Latin scabini), sworn associates of the Fehme, were scattered in thousands throughout the length and breadth of Germany, known to each other by secret signs and pass-words, and all of them pledged to serve the summons of the secret courts and to execute their judgment.

Decline and dissolution of the Courts

That an organization of this character should have outlived its usefulness and ushered in intolerable abuses, such as corruption was inevitable; from the mid-fifteenth century protests were raised against the enormities of the court.

With the growing power of the territorial sovereigns and the gradual improvement of the ordinary process of justice, the functions of the Fehmic courts were superseded. By the action of the Emperor Maximilian and of other German princes they were, in the 16th century, once more restricted to Westphalia, and here, too, they were brought under the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts, and finally confined to mere police duties. With these functions, however, but with the old forms long since robbed of their impressiveness, they survived into the 19th century. They were finally abolished by order of Jérôme Bonaparte, king of Westphalia, in 1811. The last Freigraf died in 1835.

Modern use of the term

Following the abandonment of the Vehmic courts, the term acquired a connotation of mob rule and lynching. In Modern German, the spelling of Feme is most common. Other variant forms are: Fehme, Feime, Veme. The verb verfemen is in current use and means "to ostracise", i.e. by public opinion rather than formal legal proceeding. A noun derived from this is Verfemter "outlaw, ostracised person".

Within the politically heated turmoil of the early Weimar Republic, the media frequently used the term Fememord to refer to right-wing political homicides, e.g. the murder of Jewish politicians such as Kurt Eisner (1919), Matthias Erzberger (1921), or Walther Rathenau (1922) by right-wing groups such as Organisation Consul. In 1926, the 27th Reichstag commission officially differed the contemporarily common Fememorde from political assassination in such that assassination was by definition exerted upon open political opponents, whereas a Fememord was a form of lethal vengeance committed upon former or current members of an organization that they had become a traitor of. This definition is also found in the common pseudo-archaic, alliterating right-wing phrase, "Verräter verfallen der Feme!" ("Traitors shall be ostracized!", i. e. killed), as it was often quoted throughout the 1920s in mass media reports regarding violent acts of vengeance among the German Right.

The Vehmic courts in fiction

Vehmic courts play a key role in the novel Anne of Geierstein or, The Maiden of the Mist by Sir Walter Scott in which Archibald von Hagenbach, the Duke of Burgundy's governor at Brisach (Switzerland), is condemned and executed by the Vehmgericht. Scott drew his inspiration from Goethe's play Goetz von Berlichingen which he had translated, incorrectly.

In William Makepeace Thackeray's novel 'Vanity Fair' "Was Rebecca guilty or not?" the Vehmgerich of tho servants' hal had pronounced against her.

A character in the Dorothy L. Sayers novel Murder Must Advertise appears at a fancy-dress party as a member of the Vehmgericht, which allows him to wear a hooded costume to disguise his identity.

In Fritz Lang's M, the locals criminals of an unnamed city (probably Berlin) capture a child murderer and hold a vigilante court.

In The Illuminatus! Trilogy, the Vehmic courts are mentioned as being connected to Nazi Werewolves as well as the Illuminati.

In A Study in Scarlet, a novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, the retribution of the Mormons is compared to that of the Vehmgericht.

The Vehmgericht also appear as antagonists in The Strong Arm, an 1899 novel set in the Holy Roman Empire by British-Canadian author Robert Barr.

Geoff Taylor's 1966 novel, Court Of Honor, features the Fehme being revived by a German officer and Martin Bormann (a featured character in other semi-historical novels with post-war 'Nazi underground' themes) in the dying days of the Third Reich.

The Freischoeffen also provided the subject for Berlioz's unfinished opera Les francs-juges, the overture to which provided the signature tune for 'Face to Face', the well-known early series of British television interviews, conducted by the Rt Hon John Freeman MBE.

.

Guido von List: Part 20

Vehmic Court: Part 1

First I should state that Runa-Raven Press has gone out of business, so I believe that I am no longer binded to the copyright of their translation of 'History of the Aryo-Germanic Folk'. They had one or two other List books translated into English, but I didn't get a chance to purchase them. I don't think the word really got out that they were translating some of his works other than 'Secret of the Runes', and works by other author-researcher-historians like him. I'm disappointed because a publishing company is power, media, or at least a voice. There are other publishing companies with a similar foundation I believe, so we'll have to be on the look out.

No, the above image was not put there in regards to the publishing company going under. I wanted to look at one of history's great ironies: "The Vehmic Court." As stated many times in earlier sections, at the time of the rise of Christianity and the systematic and violent destruction of anything non-Christian, secret meetings ("heimliche Acht") took place among the Heathen Skalds across the German countryside in order to decide what to do. It was decided first that they must form an underground Wotanic rite, and they formulated a complex esoteric system to be attached to every aspect of society.

This system was largely based on the German-Wotanic spiritual concept of the cycle of life: "1) Birth, 2) Life, and 3) Death and to a new arising"; therefore it's symbolism was three-fold: 1) Exoteric for the unknowing, 2) Esoteric for the initiated, and 3) Deeper Esoteric. Remember, they had to do this unless they were to disappear forever without a trace. This was a form of cultural-spiritual genocide they were facing. They were forced to be "Occultic," which simply means "hidden."

Although it would be a powerful symbol to imagine the Wotanic Skalds all meeting at one place, at one time, in some candle lit cellar at midnight; but it didn't happen that way. I would guess that they probably had all-day meetings deep in the forests and on high mountain locations, where they could stand and speak their minds, and that this took place over years. Imagine the great locations, dates, names, and speeches which we will probably never know a bit about. However, we can honor and redeem them by occasionally imagining them--for the final times as leaders of their culture--standing and speaking their ancient wisdom upon the great thrones of mountains, trees, suns, and skies. In that way, they will never die.

From pages 86 and 87 of 'The Secret of the Runes':

The five-angled star, the Vehme-star, the Truthenfuss (truh = turn, fuss = foot) is the hieroglyph of "revolving or turning generation," of "rebirth"--one of the most important articles of faith in the Aryan religion. In its exoteric interpretation this sign simply says: "return," and was therefore a favorite sign used at hostels and inns, in order to convey the meaning: "whoever is a guest here should come again."

And from pages 89 and 90:

In the administration of justice, too, the old Aryan tripartition is naturally found again as (1) arising or law (Rita), (2) the existing, ruling (justice), and (3) the passing away to renewed arising (the court). Because law and justice culminate in the decisive pronouncement of the court (and consequently, as the third level, this provided the final result) the holy sign of the court was the ruoth-cross, rod-cross, or rowel- (wheel) cross which was therefore also known as the Vehme cross, consisting of a fyrfos whose hooks were bent in the circular shape of a wheel rim. As the Vehme cross it appears engraved on the blade of the great Vehme-sword as an equilateral cross enclosed by a circle. At the cross point the letter "V" appears and furthermore in the quadrants between the arms and letters "S.S.G.G." were engraved. These letters probably displaced the formerly used runes [Fehu symbol] and [Sol and Gebo symbols] (doubled), which signified: "Vehme" and the old passwords: "Strick (string), "Stein" (stone), "Gras" (grass), "Grein" (branch?), i.e., "wyd" ("white") = law; "brick" = secret; "rage" = thunder = doing = ar = right-doing; greyen = to uphold; that is: "Through law and secrecy (heimliche Acht) right-doing is upheld." In abbreviated form this is: tue gege (two s's and two g's).

In the heimliche Acht or kala all this signifies "present in the hidden," which exoterically refers to the watchfulness of the Vehme, esoterically to the omniscience of God as the highest judge. For this reason the "ruoth-cross" was the symbol of the court, and it is for this reason that the crucifix on the bench of the modern judge should be seen--not as a symbol of religion--but rather as a substitute for the "ruoth-cross." Wherever the words "Rothenkreuz" (red-cross), "Rothenburg" (red-castle), or even "roth" (red), "Rad" (wheel), "Ratt" (rat), etc., occur in place names, there is where there was at one time "marked steads of the Vehme," as, for example, near Hochroderd in the Viennese Woods. All "red crosses" that stand in lonely forests were at one time Irminsuls or Roland-columns, i.e., "mark-columns," which designate such "marked steads,"* and all "red courts" were at one time the property of the Wise of the Vehme.

*E.g., The Red Court in the eighth parish in Vienna (at one time the town of Josephstadt).

It goes on in more finite details, but I will cut it off at this point as far as 'The Secret of the Runes' on this subject. I'm just focusing on one aspect of this occult Wotanic codex, but it's quite something to ponder that all of these things were deliberated and eventually decided upon by the Heathen Skalds in one final important and long-enduring action over a period of time. Remember, these wise men were not accustomed to "hiding." Their culture was THE culture of the German people prior to that. They didn't want to just forget the holy Wotanic spots--often the former locations of Irminsuls--and they marked them in one form or another with probably the full intent that their ancestors would someday redeem them. This all sounds like a script out of some fantasy move.. only it's real!

.