Thought provoking quotes "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself. --Alan Alda
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep man in everlasting ignorance. That principle is condemnation before investigation." --Edmund Spencer "I love to struggle. I think life without pain is no life. I'd rather be dead than comfortable." --Diane Venora "There are a lot of things people can do that are not normal; that are of benefit to society." --Frank Zappa
Stonehenge... by the Columbia River There's a wonderful Stonehenge replica in Washington state off U.S. 97 near the city of Maryhill. Construction was completed in 1929 to serve as a World War II Memorial for servicemen from the area. It's called the Maryhill Stonehenge. On a google image search of Maryhill Stonehenge, you can see how beautifully it sits on the plateau with Mt. Hood in the backdrop. On the website clonehenge.com, you can perhaps find "a stonehenge" near you.
Mario Mantese is the former bass player of the short lived, but very successful, UK-American 70s soul group Heatwave. You may remember the hits 'Boogie Nights', 'Always and Forever', and 'The Groove Line'. I won't paste the entire Wiki story here (link above), but he was almost fatally stabbed by a girlfriend at a party in 1978, only a couple of years after the band came into prominence. He was clinically dead, but survived and was temporarily blind, but however eventually made a full recovery. During this process, he had a deep spiritual awakening, and has since become a well known author and spiritual guru. He's presumably of Swiss Italian descent (Lombard). Actually the band itself, the original members, were ravaged with tragedies shortly after they became so successful.
This was 1976... The year before Boogie Nights was released. Johnnie Wilder's amazing vocals & Rod Temperton on the keyboards. Who could have known that, within 3 years, Mario would be stabbed by his girlfriend & temporary blind, Jesse would be fatally stabbed in Chicago, the wonderful Johnnie would be paralysed from the neck down from a car accident & Rod would be hugely successful writing Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" & "Thriller" albums
--bootsamou, YouTube user
Spinners of tall tales Doc Marquis
It's hard to give a brief statement on Doc Marquis. He's a Christian fundamentalist who claims to be an ex-Illuminati member. He is a researcher, author, and lecturer. He has some well viewed YouTube videos. This guy has been around awhile, and he is unique in that he says so many things that are so obviously untrue, out of context, out of proportion, misdirected, slanted, spun, and incomplete that it just blows you away. A well written article on Witchvox.com gives a good rundown on the bizarre history of Joseph "Doc" Marquis: Part one and part two. Bill Schnoebelen Bill Schnoebelen has also been around awhile, and is much the same as Doc Marquis, claiming to be and ex-Illuminati turned fundamentalist Christian. He gives the impression of being good natured, almost like a comedian, making him easier to listen to. He fits well into the character of a "teller of tall tales," and has some well viewed YouTube videos. On one of them, he got a group of people at a Minnesota church so riled up after one of this lectures, that one woman who was apparently a leader of the group got up on the podium and gave what amounted to a declaration of war against the evil pagan underground. That's the dark side of a Bill Schnoebelen type, even if one might find him entertaining or amusing. This prompted one YouTube polytheist to produce a funny video series entitled 'Bill Schnoebelen EXPOSED!!!' Caryl Matrisciana Caryl Matrisciana has also been around, and is more dedicated, political, earnest, and dangerous than the prior two put together. She and her husband have produced many fundamentalist documentaries under their company Jeremiah Films. They seem to all be on YouTube. There's an interesting short piece about her and Jeremiah Films on Witchvox.com. I'm not so biased as to not admit that there are things within these related subjects where I may agree with Caryl Matrisciana, and disagree with Witchvox.. for my own reasons or understanding of the truth; or that there aren't clear political ambitions within mainstream Wicca, going so far as to demand certain socio-politcal "conditions" to even associate with them.. just as fundamentalist Christians often do. However, at the core, she is a good looking and well spoken woman who is.. quite frankly, a genuinely mean person.. and a deceiver. .
Festa di Lupercus (February 2) The Festival of Lupercus marks the puberty of our Lord, Lupercus. The Grigori have set “twelve labours” before the young Wolf God that he must master to prove his worth as the new Sun God. Lupercus proves his worth by completing the tasks. Lupercus is invoked at this time of year to scatter the wolves of the dark winter night. Assisting us in releasing the atavistic power within us all. Through him, we are free of the constraints of our bodies, and of the winter season. Clearly "Lupercus" stems from the root word "Lupus"... or wolf. The Stregherian legend may come from ancient Etruscan mythology, or possibly may be tied to pre-Etruscan pagan culture...or perhaps both. This festival is the equivalent of Imbolc. While I am on the subject, my position on Stregheria is that it is impossible to pacify everyone as to forming one tradition. Raven Grimassi has made this crystal clear, yet some people are still too dense to grasp the simple idea. His family tradition from the Naples area, could even be a bit different from a nearby part of Campania. What is so hard to understand about that!??
Groundhog Day (February 2) The celebration, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom ("Grundsaudaag ") in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog. It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc (the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 1 and also involves weather prognostication) and to St. Swithun's Day in July 15. The annual "Punxsutawney Phil" Groundhog Day celebration, depicted in from the memorable 1993 Bill Murray movie 'Groundhog Day', is an actual event. Not to be left out, the holiday also has a Christian connection with "Candlemas"... also on February 2.
"Three blackbirds" In my family's old arms, one symbol which is very present is of "three blackbirds." That's curious enough in of itself, except that I experience a lot of synchronicity tied to this symbol. I frequently see three blackbirds, and it's difficult to express how this complex synchronicity occurs. However, for example, just looking this concept up online in search of a possible meaning.. I noticed very non-ambiguous symbols from "my own personal unrelated last twenty-four hours" merely in the search. A person cannot truly prove synchronicity to anyone, except to themselves. I can go many weeks without anything.. then suddenly a deep pattern unfolds.
Valentine's Day is of Christian origin; although the "heart of Freya" is frequently used to symbolize it. St. Valentine's Day began as a liturgical celebration one or more early Christian saints named Valentinus.
Another symbol is the Roman god Cupid. In classical mythology, Cupid (Latin Cupido, meaning "desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus, and is known in Latin also as Amor ("Love"). His Greek counterpart is Eros. Legend Saint Valentine supposedly wore a purple amethyst ring, customarily worn on the hands of Christian bishops with an image of Cupid engraved in it, a recognizable symbol associated with love that was legal under the Roman Empire; Roman soldiers would recognize the ring and ask him to perform marriage for them. Probably because of the association with Saint Valentine, amethyst has become the birthstone of February, and it's thought to attract love. Folk tradition
Another proverb says "Valentin – prvi spomladin" ("Valentine — the first spring saint"), as in some places (especially White Carniola), Saint Valentine marks the beginning of spring. Valentine's Day has only recently been celebrated as the day of love. The day of love was traditionally March 12, the Saint Gregory's day, or February 22, Saint Vincent's Day. The patron of love was Saint Anthony, whose day has been celebrated on June 13.
Lupercalia (February 13 to 15) Lupercalia was a very ancient, possibly pre-Roman pastoral festival, observed on February 13 through 15 to avert evil spirits and purify the city, releasing health and fertility. Lupercalia subsumed Februa, an earlier-origin spring cleansing ritual held on the same date, which gives the month of February (Februarius) its name.
It's interesting to note that Lupercalia and the Festival of Lupercus both likely originated with the Etruscans, and both share the same root word ("Lupus").
I would guess that this is either in Ticino or the Lombard-speaking parts of Graubünden, near the Italian border (Lombardy). Horses living as they did in ancient times.
Nine years ago a bunch of horses began roaming freely along the mountainous Swiss-Italian border. Swiss and Italians - not always on the friendliest of terms - started an association to support this population of wild horses. (Raffaella Rossello, swissinfo.ch) .
Someone could argue that the Norse gods are never actually "seen." Well, perhaps it's possible that that may not be entirely true..? Even the most crude "photo shop" wasn't available until 1982. Look closely... doesn't this apparition appear to be the perfect archetype of the beautiful Freya? Just a Heathen hunch. We don't know that it isn't Freya...
The Norse/Germanic Goddess Freya "is a goddess associated with love, sexuality, beauty, fertility, gold, seiðr (magic), war, and death. Often in ancient Germanic pagan systems, "death" really meant "death and to a new arising." According to the below account, could Freya have favored the British in this particular battle.. and showed up for inspiration?
The Doidge angel photograph was found on some film Danny Sullivan purchased at a British junk shop. Accompanying the film were several letters from the 1950s that related stories of angel sightings dating back to World War I. The letters had belonged to William Doidge who had written an American soldier named Doug whose friend had seen an angel appear above a Gloucestershire lake prior to twenty soldiers dying there in a bridge collapse. Doidge searched Woodchester Mansion for the angel and in 1952, he captured this amazing angel photograph.
More Behind the Doidge Angel Photo
This stunning angel photograph was found on some film Danny Sullivan bought at a British junk shop. Accompanying the film were several letters from the 1950s that related stories of angel sightings dating back to World War I. The letters had belonged to William Doidge who had written an American soldier named Doug whose friend had seen an angel appear above a Gloucestershire lake prior to twenty soldiers dying there in a bridge collapse. Doidge wrote in the letters concerning how British soldiers in 1914 were led into battle at Mons, France by angels.
Doidge was put into contact with Doug after being smitten with the World War I story. This led him to contact Doug after he had heard about his friend's story of the angel sighting at Gloucestershire's Woodchester Mansion. Doidge searched Woodchester Mansion for the angel and in 1952, he apparently was fortunate to capture the amazing angel photograph. Over the years, rumours have abounded that Danny has had a movie deal in the works regarding the angel sighting stories. .
There are many writings about the decline of the family unit, but that's not exactly what I mean by "clan," and I wish to go in a little bit of a different direction. To even discuss "the family unit"--due to contrived politics, conflicting values, disinformation, etc.--can be problematic in of itself. One of the UN's stated goals from the start is the elimination of the family unit, just as the Communists had declared before them. Then we can document the Fabianist bankers having regular meetings with the Communist International for a long period of time, and other such strange and dangerous bedfellows... suffice to say that "the family" doesn't have many true proponents on the true-literal far right or far left. Bella Dodd was one important person who told her account of this type of manipulation of our country, and many others by these people. Their job is as it's always been.. to take the normal working and business class for everything their worth. They're the predators, and we're the prey. However, there is a different type of social phenomenon that has taken place over the decades. One more subtle, and is perhaps more of an unintended consequence. There was a time where common people lived in close proximity to the graves of their ancestors, some of which they never knew. There was a well defined "homestead," most often the house of the passively dominant family of a clan. I think "clan" can sometimes also mean a larger collective of people who are very similar. People that one would grow up with. I saw a program this past year about the Amish, and at one point there was a brief shot from outside an Amish homestead in the early evening. The windows of the house stood out in the darkness, and the kindred inside could be heard singing Christian themed songs together. I find it telling that Americans are now so interested in the Amish world, even though it would seem that they are socially cut off from the larger society. Could it be human instinct that people may feel that the Amish "have" something that is missing in their own lives? That sense of true community. Even in certain traditional Italian-American communities, even in places that one may not thing of.. like Kansas City or St. Louis.. there is a close-knot sense of community where even people who are not related are still considered "family."
The movie 'Indian Summer' (1993) was about a summer camp in the northern woods which was closing, and the longtime camp director (played by Alan Arkin) decided to invite a few of the former attendees from the camp's "golden age" who were now in their early 30s (Diane Lane, Bill Paxton, Vincent Spano, etc.).. up to spend a week or two. Of course this would be unlikely to really happen, but it's was a fun creative license anyway. When people begin their adult lives, everything changes, and it's not the same as when they were kids and they shared experiences together in a different way. I saw part of a movie this past week--which I had watched numerous times before--entitled 'Dazed N' Confused' (1993) about people from eighth grade to early twenties in 1976 Austin, Texas... although it could have well been in many places. Near the end of the movie, a group of friends were on a football field at night, drinking beer and talking about the meaning of life in a lively candid way that adults would rarely do. It was the last day of school, and they stayed out all night, and then it showed the sun rising on a calm clear morning. More to the point, eventually people within a town or district move on, and the sense of community and kindred spirits break up. Of course, this may not happen in every instance.. but more frequently than not. The movie 'Beautiful Girls' (1996) reflected this. Former students, now about 30, from a town in rural Massachusetts come home for a high school reunion. Some had moved far away mostly for economic reasons, to big cities; while others still lived in the area. Realistically, some people wish to cling to their roots, while others can't wait to do away with it.. if for no other reason than a change in scenery; or maybe they grew up in a bad place. Still, those bonds from childhood are broken. In larger urban areas, this type of change is due mostly to mass movements of people, but the results are pretty much the same. As far as the family unit, this also frequently becomes more and more detached over time. For example, children may not really even know their grandparents. However, the internet may have aided this dilemma a bit.
About two weeks ago I brought a few boxes of items to the Salvation Army to donate. This process of letting go of things may or may not be difficult for people. Usually it's just "stuff".. and nothing to cry over. One of the items I brought there was a Christmas themed stuffed polar bear mama which my mother had brought out during the holidays. It was stored in plastic bags, so it is still like new. She no longer cares about it, and I decided to donate it along with other "stuff." As I drove away, and for the next three or so miles, I realized that I wasn't ready to give it up. I drove back, and reclaimed it. I felt a childhood connection to it, as like a representation of my mother and holiday memories.
I think because so many things from our early memories of family and community are taken away, we may occasionally want to cling to items from our past. I think many people think about.. something like the idea of taking a walk on perhaps a cold dark early evening on Christmas Eve, and as they walk back to the homestead they see the window, the Christmas tree, the lights, and the warmth inside. Their family, their mother, their father, and they don't want to think that it's gone in the sense that their parents can continue on as powerful maternal or paternal figures long after the nuclear unit is detached. Perhaps I'm rambling on a bit, but if you can imagine times when you may have put a lot of stock in a new person who later betrays you... then you think of certain people who were in your corner all along.. who maybe you had gotten away from for too long. That spiritual sense of clan and community is a fragile thing. .
I wanted to make note of a movie that I saw a month ago entitled 'Maleficent', starring Angelina Jolie, based on an animated Disney character.. and probably from pre-Christian pagan traditions of fairies and fauns. I'm not going to really review it, since it's not fresh in my mind, but I thought it deserved mention as it loosely ties into the old religion.. about fairies and spirits of the land. The film is also based on 'Sleeping Beauty.' 'Malificent' apparently is a combination of "malevolent" and "beneficent," which seems to suggest a dual-personality much like the Roman God Janus and many other deities. The concept being that entities in the spirit realm are often much like people, with both positive and negative or other contradictory elements to them. In this instance, this fairy was in physical form.
As in the movie 'Beowulf', Angelina Jolie portrayed a powerful and alluring female fantasy character. Another theme shown in the film was the idea that the spirits can be driven to negativity if provoked by humans with negative energy; while they can also be harmonious if presented with positive energy by people occupying their land... since they are "the spirit of the land." One common misconception is that "dark imagery" means negative energy. Dark imagery can merely be the symbolism of "the night" and it's creatures.. like an owl. It can stand for harmony and spiritual reflection.. and of course, natural animal predators of the night. However, if someone wished to use the night for negative energy, they could do that as well. Once, while sitting along some nearby trails at night having a beer with friends, I observed a large black shadow moving across the dark sky above me. It was unnaturally large, so it got my attention. Obviously it was an owl.. with it's large wings on display. I'm sure many people over the centuries have witnessed such a sight and allowed their imaginations to get the best of them. ************************************************** 'Dark Shadows' This is a little bit off-topic, but one of the movies that I watched this past week was 'House of Dark Shadows' (1970), a film based on the TV series 'Dark Shadows', except a lot more violent. Although an American film, it seemed to follow in the tradition of the "Hammer films" from the UK. I just mention it because it was filmed on an old estate and around it's grounds, which seemed both contemporary as well as mysterious.. especially at night. It's very dark at night were I live, and it takes on a whole different personality. Another one I saw was 'Brotherhood of Blood' (2005), a B-horror film about vampires. It wasn't very good, but often horror films don't necessarily need to be "good." I watched it because Sid Haig was in it, and he's been in horror films since the early 60s. He's a real character, with one of those classic "bad guy " faces. Sid Haig is not going to play a protagonist! Ken Foree was also in it, and he goes back to the 70s in that genre of films... most often of the "B" variety... "B-legends." **************************************************
The moon "Titan".. like Antartica I left the following comment some months ago on the Asatru Update posting entitled 'Asatru and Space Travel'. I'm not certain if it's entirely accurate upon second thought, since I don't know if liquid methane is dangerous or not. It is a curious thought, imagining oneself actually walking upon this moon wearing only warm clothes and a simple breathing apparatus, looking back on the earth. In other words, without a special space suit, because it does have an atmosphere... feeling much like one would walking on a really cold night. Apparently Titan, one of the moons of Saturn, can be colonized. It has mountains, lakes, and what seems to be hazy-like daylight. I heard one scientist say that if a person walked outside of a space station on Titan, all they would need is to dress warm and have a breathing apparatus such as a diver uses. Outside of the breathing issue, it wouldn't be different than walking outside in Antarctica on a calm day. The environment would be gentle for a person, albeit cold. If we could ever break free from the political handcuffs and leg irons, we could be doing this right now. Titan isn't literally a living world, but it's a rocky/watery world that's just waiting to be seeded with life. Remarkable. ************************************************** Native bull species reintroduced back into central Europe 'The Aurochs is about to return to the mountains of Central Europe' For hundreds of thousands of years the Aurochs was a part of European
nature. Since the death of the last aurochs in 1627 in the Jaktorow game
preserve in Poland, it seemed that Europe has lost this key species
forever. The history is about to change, though. European Wildlife
organization in cooperation with the Dutch Taurus Foundation is
preparing a project aiming to return the Aurochs to the mountains of
Central Europe.
Terence McKenna was a well-known American spiritual guru who had a lot of knowledge on a wide range of subjects. He's an interesting person to look up on YouTube. You can type his name with any letter, and a list of subject suggestions for each one will show up. Manly P. Hall is another name to look up from the Freemasonic milieu, but I think that McKenna thought outside of the box more. It's amazing that so many people can be brought back to life on YouTube so to speak, whether you agree with them or not.
Sun and Moon in the same skyview With so much of the old religion based upon the Sun and Moon, it's interesting to ponder the two of them positioned close by one another in the sky.. an yellow/orange circle and a white/blue circle. Apparently it happens, but I've never observed it that I can remember.
Sunny-hazy winter days of January For several weeks now, in the northernmost Santa Cruz mountain chain, it's been very calm, dry, and hazy. In the late afternoon, the sun shines against the higher elevation of the mountains. This creates a beautiful effect with the golden brown mountain peaks against a turquoise sky, often with the moon in view, and with the lower elevations shaded in dark. There's nothing like the colors, lights, and shadows of the late afternoon/early evening on mountains, around groves of trees, by the water. That.. blue haze. It's so strange, after very heavy rains in November and December... it feels almost like spring.
What literally is "outer space" Have you ever thought about what "the space" of outer space really is? In short, it's basically space devoid of any matter. A hard vacuum. Comparatively, I think it's pretty easy to lack appreciation of our gentle atmosphere.
Lesson from "The Pina Colada song" A couple of months ago I was working in the yard here with the radio was on... playing what is now referred to as "the new oldies" (late 60s, 70s, and 80s). A song from 1979 entitled 'Escape' by Rupert Holmes came on.. more often called "The Pina Colada Song." Although I had heard the song many times over the years, I really never paid any attention to the lyrics. Myself, I find more reference to lines from movies.. more than musical lyrics which are often difficult to even comprehend. So for the first time I actually listened to the lyrics from 'Escape'. In short, it's about the possibility and positive concept of someone learning to appreciate something that they already have, as opposed to the somewhat negative concept of "the grass is always greener on the other side."
The Roman God Janus
Roman God Janus The month of January (Ianuarius in Latin) is named after Janus, the Roman God of beginnings and transitions. The name has its beginnings in Roman mythology, coming from the Latin word for door (ianua) since January is the door to the year. Whenever I make any type of new years resolution, especially when I think of it as like a dramatic night and day type of "change," it never works for me. Life changes are something that must ultimately start from within. .
Doc Marquis
