Thursday, December 27, 2018

Martinelli's Cidery of Monterey County---with Ticinese origins---turns 150 years old



I wanted to get this in before the end of the year, as 2018 marks a century and a half of Martinelli's Cider.


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'BREAK OUT THE BUBBLY: MARTINELLI’S TURNS 150!'

By Garrick Ramirez - SantaCruz.com - July 25, 2018

Beloved sparkling cider and apple juice producer S. Martinelli & Company is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and we’re bubbling over with excitement! Founded in Watsonville in 1868—the same year Ulysses S. Grant was elected President—the effervescent company is still family-owned, locally-based, and making juice the way they always have: fresh and 100% natural. We’ve got the inside scoop below, and trust us, it gets juicy!

If you were like us, you were introduced to Martinelli’s via their iconic, apple-shaped glass bottle that you begged your mom to buy on trips to the supermarket. Then at Thanksgiving, you’d act cool filling your kids' cup with their sparkling cider from a champagne-style bottle. We weren’t the only ones pretending, either. It’s believed that Dean Martin would swig Martinelli’s—not martinis—onstage, and Martinelli’s cider would double as champagne in Hollywood movies during Prohibition.

But before the Rat Pack and 18th Amendment, there were Swiss-born brothers Stephano and Luigi Martinelli, who immigrated to the U.S. during the Gold Rush years and started farming apples in present-day Watsonville. They introduced a fermented, or “hard,” cider in 1868, and by 1885, they were churning out 15,000 gallons a year (in 2017, Martinelli’s produced that much in less than 2 hours). The brothers began racking up gold medals for their cider at state fairs which explains the medals you see on the labels today. In anticipation of Prohibition, Martinelli’s bottled its first unfermented—alcohol-free—apple juice in 1917. In 1933, the brand introduced its famous apple-glass bottle with the slogan “Drink Your Apple a Day,” and the rest is history.

con't....



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'Martinelli's, long-known for non-alcoholic cider, celebrates 150 years by bringing back hard cider'

'On Martinelli’s 150th Anniversary, We Remember Stephen C. Martinelli'

'Martinelli’s to Release 1868 Hard Cider for 150th Anniversary'

'150 Years of Martinelli’s Labels'

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Wednesday, December 26, 2018

Asatru winter poem



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Surpassing the Winter

There is no King nor Queen
To rule over this land
The last remnants I have seen
Have sunk under the sand

A time of great rulership
Now forgotten in ancient lore
When honor in men went too deep
And by the sword they swore

The wooden halls were sacred
Blessed by gods, elves and wights alike
Wise man's words weren't wasted
Wisdom was the law's strike

The wolves howl and the ravens croak
The waking of a new dawn
Campfires and their black smoke
Time to store wheat and corn

Winter approaches with freezing wind
The realm of lords of hunting
Hares and deers were skinned
And back in the farm, the pig's grunting

Hard works ended at October's eve
Burning the soil, a blessing of fertility
The falling of the first leaf
The season's beginning of nature's hostility

Gathering wood to feed the flames
Snow and ice covers the door
To gods, we call upon their names
In need, they won't ignore

Surviving to watch the sun rise
One's victory every waking day
As the winter fades and dies
We may rejoice at its decay.

© Arith Härger



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Odins-Gift.com

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Tuesday, December 25, 2018

Yule and Saturnalia

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Yule and Saturnalia (with graaaaaagh, Survive the Jive and Jarnefr Waggener)

Millennial Woes

Three modern Pagans educate me on the festivals that lit up Europe every December before Christianity. This recording was a difficult one to arrange and produce, so I hope it is not completely over-shadowed by the hangouts.

graaaaaagh:
http://www.graaaaaagh.com

Survive the Jive:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ThomasRowsell/
http://fromrunestoruins.vhx.tv/

Jarnefr:
http://www.jack-donovan.com/axis/2014/06/a-time-for-wolves/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtfBLJv_024

[This video is not intended to condone violence or hate.]

[This project is my livelihood. Please see http://www.millennialwoes.com/donate. Thank you.]

ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS:
http://www.vid.me/millennialwoes
https://www.bitchute.com/channel/millennialwoes/
https://www.minds.com/millennialwoes


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Saturday, December 22, 2018

La Festa dell’ Inverno and tonight's Full Cold Moon


Winter Solstice — La Festa dell’ Inverno — December 21/22


The Festivals of Stregheria

Goddess gives birth to the new Sun God, the child of the Holy Union of ShadowFest. The Watchers, known to the Streghe as the Grigori, come to see this new child, but are suprised to see Janus there presenting his new-born child. It is here that we see Dis and Janus are the two faces of the Great God. The Grigori then proceed to the world of man, bringing the new Lord of the Sun. Lupercus, the Sun, once again begins his growth.



13 Motivational Quotes By Concept

Explore
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Optimism
Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine. -- Jack Ma

Conquer
It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. -- Edmund Hillary

Cooperate
The sooner we learn to be jointly responsible, the easier the sailing will be. -- Ella Maillart

Dare
If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living. -- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Venture
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. -- Mark Twain

Teamwork
Success depends on your whole team being a single unit. -- Pele

Determination
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. -- Ayn Rand

Aspire
If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing. -- Coco Chanel

Act
It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs. -- Vance Havner

Reflect
The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. -- Thomas Paine

Mastery
Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. -- Albert Einstein

Courage
Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear. -- George Addair


Most of these quotes can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes there can be a type of quote overkill. I think that "Reflect" is an overlooked one, as there is a lot more to that concept, and it embodies many quotes into one. It could be interpreted as having a basic objective, following a logical path, occasionally taking dares as would be logical, and gaining strength even in defeat.

Sometimes the losing side ends up creating the stronger resonating legend in the end, with the winning side being forgotten. Some Native American tribes used to revere their enemies, perhaps in order to gain their courage and strength. Now that's a difficult spiritual concept to embrace! For me there has to be at least some connection somewhere along the way; a "We" that there once was... in order to think of them as having been a symbol of something desired.



Full Cold Moon - Evening of December 22

There's something special about that final full moon of the year. Although technically winter has only begun, for most of us it's has been colder for the last seven weeks or so. However, this is the final full moon prior to three months of true winter; and for some at least four months.

Being out there tonight, I look forward to the invigorating cold air against my face. I've already had my Yule walk, but this ritual is more purely spiritual and a little more self-oriented.. for me at least. If you're out there, speak a favorite ancestor's name out loud. Say hello to them, because you are them. Maybe even say a person's name whose passed on whom you knew but did not connect with in life if there's something you want to say. Spoken words count. "Your word is your wand" -- Florence Scovel Shinn

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Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Guido von List: Part 31 - 'The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk' (book review)

 
'The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk: Esoteric and Exoteric' (List 1909; Flowers' translation 2005)

Actually this is more of a 56 page pamphlet, but a good one! I read this some years ago, but didn't review it because I wanted to support Runa Raven Press and Dr. Stephen Flowers, and in particular the very explicit warning on one of the first pages about the copyright. I have referred to it occasionally in this series. If it wasn't so stern of a warning, then I may well have reviewed it; including a few excerpts. Since it's now easily available on Amazon.com, I wanted to try to promote it in some way with something of a review. Apparently Runa Raven Press is no longer active; perhaps Dr. Flowers uses his own publisher. In any case, I still wanted to adhere to the copyright warning. However, I will go out on a limb to use one particularly important and integral word below; along with just a few words from its definition in the glossary to help promote this publication.


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From the publisher

A general outline of the religious philosophy of Guido von List originally published in the 1920s and a companion volume to The Secret of the Runes. There is an introductory essay by Stephen E. Flowers on the roots of Lists ideas and philosophy.


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Customer Review

Ron Spolar - 5.0 out of 5 stars - January 7, 2018

Excellent book on Wotan and Aryan beliefs, pre-Christain Germanic customs, religion and much more. Impressive.

This decides the Germanic tradition with what I would call linguistic-forensics. I outlined this book and found it difficult at times to untangle some of the meanings. It was written over 100 years ago; it reflects racism that had yet to germinate. I'm amazed over all the Wotan and Aryan teachings borrowed by the founders of the Christianity;ideas that we were taught in Catechism as being original to Christianity. Approaches religious thought like paganism, Wicca and Faery Tradition concerning God being within yourself, not in a church. List's thoughts on this religion may help some readers integrate their religious thoughts in a way they may have never thought possible. Lots of good pre-christian mythology which can be hard to find. Upon completing the book I felt like had read something profound. Never felt that way about a book before.



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My take on this book is a little different. I see the information as being just as much Proto-European as it is Teutonic in origin. Of course, they became one people in any sort've modern reflection. I recall somewhere in the book, List makes some mention of perhaps the presence of various spiritual concepts which are of different--maybe sub-tribal--origin. I believe that this may be due to the blending of Proto-European with Teutonic 3,000 or more years ago. I prefer the word "Teutonic" here to Germanic as to not be mixed up with modern ethnic German culture. List uses the term "Aryan" in a manner which is more attuned to an Indo-European concept. In other words, he ties many items from ancient Teutonic, European, Greek, Persian, and Indian languages, spirituality, and traditions. The book delves deep into mysticism, metaphysics, symbols, and linguistics.


Getting back to the linguistics, having spent time closely examining words from the Camunian dialect of the Lombard language (in large part a mixture of Proto-European and Roman/Latin), many Lombard/Camunian words are clearly not of Latin origin. These words are also probably not of Gaulish (the Camunni were not a Gallo-Celt tribe) or Teutonic origin. List, along with the mainstream historians of the day, did not seem to acknowledge the ancient Celtic or Proto-European component of Austria for example. It was "Teutonic," period. Having experienced a type of "mystical" experience before myself, I don't discount List's mysticism. However, some of it may well be of the Proto-European connection.



"Wihinei"

Pronounced "VEE-inn-eye," this is the Listian term for esoteric religion. The exoteric being the simpler outer spiritual layer; the esoteric being the deeper meaning of it. List believed that this deeper connection was administered to by a Skaldic priesthood, something similar to the Druidic priesthood. I won't delve any deeper regarding the origin of this word, but it essentially defines this book. In other words, buy the book. I don't think that I've crossed the line by at least making mention of it. I believe that the ancient roots of at least the Teutonic component of this spirituality originated in the Teutonic homeland, somewhere north of the Himalayas, and was brought to both ancient northern Europe and ancient Persia. This may explain some of the connections. From there, it likely was further transported to Spain, Italy, India, Assyria, etc. As far as I can see, 'The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk' is a great short work that defines the deeper essence of Asatru/Odinism.


Related Links

The Religion of the Aryo-Germanic Folk: Esoteric and Exoteric Paperback

Guido von List books (more are now available)

Dr. Stephen Flowers' books (Amazon.com page)


Dr. Stephen Flowers' books (InnerTraditions.com page)


SeekTheMystery.com (Dr. Flowers)

Woodharrow.com (Dr. Flowers)

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Saturday, December 1, 2018

'Carmina Burana' - Largely based on eclectic European pre-Christian spiritual folk traditions... and possibly of South Tyrolian origin: Part 2




Carl Orff - O Fortuna - Latin and English Lyrics

Metalius


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I think that it can be proven that 'O' Fortuna' at least, is based on The Goddess of The Old Religion. The other pieces in 'Carmina Burana', as well as the other two parts of Orff's 'Trionfi' musical trilogy, can be examined over time by any of us interested in examining the pre-Christian tie-ins to this great and famous musical art piece. I would encourage that, as I don't claim in any way that I have all of the answers here. Some of the musical pieces, in my perception, seem to correspond energetically to different times of the year. Much further examination of the poems will be the judge of that. Just the fact that the goddess Fortuna is a deity from Roman mythology is the first small clue, and the idea expands from there.

When examining the translated English lyrics (from the above video) along with the music... it gives a very different look at the intended meaning from the poetry.... as well as the music itself. This was a complaint about Fortuna, the inexorable fate that rules both gods and mortals in Roman and Greek mythology, and this anger was well demonstrated by Carl Orff's work. Most of the poems and songs appear to be the work of Goliards, clergy (mostly students) who satirized the Catholic Church. This brings up two groupings of questions:

1) How was it that they felt comfortable expressing criticism, in any form, towards an often vengeful Catholic Church?... and from within its walls? Does the possible location of origin, the South Tyrol, offer any intrinsic clue to any of this? Was the Church not as strong there? The "witch burnings" there occurred centuries later, so perhaps the Church had not gained a strong foothold there yet? Was there still a folk pagan element alive there, and expressed itself in occult poetry?... or even more explicitly a "folk-pagan occult underground?" (which may or may not have been a part of either the Christian heretical or later Satanic underground). Another possibility is that it was simply a criticism of the old folk-traditions, which--in this particular piece--was a fusion of Roman mythology with The Old Religion (aka Proto-European Witchcraft). That doesn't seem very likely; we already know that they had so often directed satire towards the Church.

Wheel of Fortune symbolism (Rota Fortunae)

2) What exactly was their motivation behind using clear ancient folk-pagan mythology? Was the exoteric meaning implied to be a simple secular reference to the Roman goddess Fortuna; with the real esoteric meaning being a reference to Diana/Hecate? The best question of all.... was this really a cleverly crafted esoteric invocation to the goddess Diana?.... with that "anger" actually being more of a powerful reverence towards her? Since the authors of 'O Fortuna' and other poems from 'Carmina Burana' are apparently unknown (perhaps by design), and there were scores of other poems (Orff only used a small handful), I can only guess. There's much work to do, digging through all of these works. The authors were from numerous locations in western Europe; were these "Goliards" some type of occult underground network? They did all end up together when they were found in deep storage apparently. The South Tyrol connection may not be of any particular importance, as all three possible locations of origin were in the same general south German cultural region, and it was retrieved apparently hidden away in a monastery in Bavaria.

I wanted to sift through all of this piece by piece, but I can see that I've gotten ahead of myself here. Therefore, lets just look at all of this as one big puzzle. In other words, I can't begin to do this justice at this time. It's at least very possible that this could be some sort've underground expression from the old folk traditions. If that was the case, then this could very well be considered a part of neopagan folk history.... and I suppose Car Orff's 'Carmina Burana' as well.... which certainly was not intended to be Christian. It seems almost too convenient that Carl Orff just puts some very old obscure poems to music and it's so perfect! Either he was part of some occult connection, or he's a genius who just happened upon these poems and had a eureka moment! I'll go with the latter at this time.



The Wheel of Fortune from Carmina Burana


The upside cross could mean something, or it may not. Knowing a little bit about how these occult societies work, I wouldn't doubt it. It's at least possible that a Saturnian cult had infiltrated the lower rungs of the Church. Certainly the Catholic Church uses Saturnian symbolism. Also, some of these secret societies have long used symbols of mythology and pagan traditions. Also, the above "wheel of fortune" looks a bit like an eight-pointed wheel of the year from the old Proto-European tradition.

 

'O' Fortuna' lyrics

O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning;
hateful life
first oppresses
and then soothes
as fancy takes it;
poverty
and power
it melts them like ice.
Fate - monstrous
and empty,
you whirling wheel,
you are malevolent,
well-being is vain
and always fades to nothing,
shadowed
and veiled
you plague me too;
now through the game
I bring my bare back
to your villainy.
Fate is against me
in health
and virtue,
driven on
and weighted down,
always enslaved.
So at this hour
without delay
pluck the vibrating strings;
since Fate
strikes down the strong man,
everyone weep with me!



 A clear conflation of the Roman Fortuna with the Proto-European Almother (aka Diana, Hecate, Mona, etc.):
O Fortune,
like the moon
you are changeable,
ever waxing
and waning


The first and last movements of the piece are called 'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi' ('Fortune, Empress of the World') and start with the very well known 'O Fortuna.'The first and last movements of the piece are called 'Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi' ('Fortune, Empress of the World') and start with the very well known 'O Fortuna. The "Empress of the World" sounds very much like the many titles given to Hecate in particular. I would have dismissed that idea except for the additional reference to the Moon Goddess.... so lets face it, it's the Moon Goddess of ancient legend.... the Proto-European Almother! However, was the poem really a criticism of the Christian God?.... or of the Pagan Goddess?.... or, was it really just an esoteric invocation of the Pagan Goddess? Love and anger can work very well together symbiotically! The greatest deflation is often when we're let down by someone or something that we love and are devoted to. Also, the Latin text could easily have hidden some clues that were lost in the translation.


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