More thought-provoking quotes I just wanted to add regarding the first quote, as it was mainly in regards to people who "just follow orders" regardless if it's right or wrong, or the unthinking underlings of demigod figures in authority. It wasn't in regards to "religion" in particular. What is a cult? A system of religious veneration and devotion which expouses beliefs that are dangerous, especially to the lives, rights and freedoms of those who are NOT its members. -- Mark Passio It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. -- Samuel Johnson Hospitality The virtue which induces us to feed and lodge certain persons who are not in need of food and lodging. -- Ambrose Bierce, 'The Devil's Dictionary The man of science is a poor philosopher. -- Albert Einstein Tradition is a guide and not a jailer. -- Somerset Maugham Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. -- C.S. Lewis
3 unusual towns Arden, Deleware (Satanism), Silverton, Oregon (Freemasonry), and Islamberg, New York (Islam).
The Prince symbol Did you know that the musician Prince changed his name to a "non-name" symbol to get out of massive contractual obligations and fees. Since he literally had no written name, private legally binding contracts no longer applied to him. I'm sure that it was a little more complex than that, but that's the gist of it. That's why he went from Michael Jackson type fame, to being largely ignored by the media. He made powerful men angry. Also, the Dr. Pepper "Mr. Sweet" ads--although funny--are clearly a caricature of him which goes against the usual protocol of commercial industries and advertisement.
The "Jesus tree" A fluke of nature?
Ancient Greek Temple Aligned to Full Moon An ancient Greek temple was built to face the setting full moon near the winter solstice, according to new research that sheds new light on the orientation of sacred monuments.
"I frequently tramped 8 or 10 miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beech tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines." -- Henry David Thoreau Full Wolf Moon – January Amid the cold and deep snows of midwinter, the wolf packs howled hungrily outside Indian villages. Thus, the name for January’s full Moon. Sometimes it was also referred to as the Old Moon, or the Moon After Yule. Some called it the Full Snow Moon, but most tribes applied that name to the next Moon. ['Full Moon Names and Their Meanings' - FarmersAlmanac.com] This month's full wolf moon will be on Saturday, January 23 at 8:46 PM. With coyote activity picking up where I live, they can stand in for the wolves if I'm lucky enough to hear them singing on the trails that night.
Occultic code for lotteries? I couldn't resist at least buying one $2 ticket for this week's 1.5 billion dollar multi-state "Powerball" lottery. If the winner just takes the lump sum rather than over the course of 29 years, then the amount would be at least one billion, which translates to about 500 million after taxes. Just the annual interest would be about 10 million per year after taxes. I sat down for about twenty minutes to formulate a congruent code based on my life. To play, one must choose five numbers between 1 and 69, along with one "Powerball" number between 1 and 29 to increase the odds a bit. I chose five numbers, all representing "completion," along with a powerball number "3" which represents the Pythagorian code of the universe. I chose four personal numbers of completion, along with the number "9" which is the number of "completion." Matching 5 out of 6 numbers wins, and the odds of winning were 1 in 192 million. All of my numbers had multiple meanings, and were all linked with each other as a set. Here are the results: Winning numbers.... 4 - 8 - 19 - 27 - 34 - 10 My numbers............ 3 - 9 - 18 - 28 - 34 - 41 Although I only chose one number correct, I think that I perhaps demonstrated that I increased the odds by using a form of personal numerology to form a set of linked numbers. I seem to have gotten the attention of the gatekeeper of fate with my number codex, although that naturally wouldn't happen all of the time.
Just in.... 'Salem Witch Trials Execution Site Found' A team of scholars in Salem, Massachusetts, has uncovered the scene of one of the darkest chapters in the history of New England: The site where 19 innocent people, mostly women, were executed after being accused of witchcraft in 1692. Today, the site is located behind a Walgreens in what local NPR station WGBH called "an abandoned jungle of barren woods and trash" where homeless people often camp. Since the hangings were witnessed by people all over Salem, many assumed they took place at the top of Gallows Hill, which is located just up the road. But a team of researchers found that some of those witnesses couldn't have seen the hill from where they were. Hopefully, some time soon, this area will be preserved. There is little doubt that it will since it would be a big tourist draw, but I'm think in different terms. Related.... 'Did Salem Intentionally Forget Where 'Witches' Were Killed?'
Fitness guru posts her normal--not skinny--in-shape body... and it goes viral Molly Galbraith This is my body. This not a before picture. This is not an after picture....
Ignored since the 1800s.... "Black Knight Satellite" suddenly goes mainstream! The "Black Knight Satellite" is an unusually shaped and very artificial looking object which has long been orbiting the earth. Below is Pepsi's recent expensive Black Knight short film (10 min) promo, in which they supposedly literally "claim" that this object is alien. In addition, they even make mention of Nikola Tesla's connection to the object. Tesla has long been largely ignored by the mainstream, likely due to his "free energy" technologies and theories.
Set in Kentucky Appalachia, the plot is apparently about a clan of mountain people whose longtime home has been targeted (perhaps via "eminent domain") by corporate interests for the exploitation of its resources (clear cutting, fracking, etc.). It seems slightly over the top, but it looks interesting. I've always been fascinated with mountain life. Technically I live in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and of course the Camunians were/are very Alpine with a millennia-long culture based on mountain life and spirituality.
In 2008 the producers of a mainstream horror movie, entitled 'Shelter' starring Julianne Moore, came to Pittsburgh advertising for numerous extras to play the defamative "West Virginia mountain people" with that "inbred look"...as if large cities don't have more than their share of derelicts and nutters. I don't think that's really what's being projected here, and it seems more in the realm of fantasy. Actually, there are certain peoples around the world who, though DNA analysis, have proven to be extremely "related"... but if anyone named them, they would probably cry bloody murder.
Anyway, I can relate with the concept of rural or mountain people. I naturally would at least try to see them as the protagonists here. 'WGN America is channel 307 on DirecTV. WGN America also carries the popular series 'Salem', inspired by the Salem witch trials. I didn't get WGN until very recently, so I have no idea what it's about. .
Visione codice spartito nella notazione originale del Canto Ambrosiano, il Canto della Chiesa di Milano ( Italia) LUX FULGEBIT, Ingressa ambrosiana, Natale; Schola Gregoriana Mediolanensis, Giovanni Vianini, www.cantoambrosiano.com .
A Full Cold Moon on Christmas Night Last night, while I stood in the wonderful cold darkness, I noticed how the almost full cold moon emitted what I at least perceived to be "bluish light" upon the ground, fences, and houses. Several months ago in the same spot, this light appeared "gold-like." I guess we could at least say that the moon itself can literally appear blue, white, orange, silver, red, etc. at various points of the year, and like magic, often roughly corresponding to the actual seasonal weather.
The word "solstice" is derived from the Latin "sol" (sun) and "sistere" (to stand still).. the "Winter Solstice." This is really more of the moon's time of the year. The moon, mon, ma, the mother, the head of the homestead, the center of the family, the hearth, the fireplace on a cold winter night.
The "offense" of saying ~Merry Christmas~ I don't understand as to how or why anyone could be "offended" by someone saying "Merry Christmas" to them. It would be the Atheist equivalent of, for example" a zealous Christian being offended by a "Pagan" Christmas tree. For me personally, I never liked the idea of a bunch of Ted Turner-like high financiers, who fund groups like the Freedom from Religion Foundation, making sudden demands upon everyone. I'll freely say "Merry Christmas" even though I am not Christan. To worry about such semantics when there are real issued on the table isn't very practical. My "Christmas" is largely Pagan. Actually, there are some Christians, Atheists, Agnostics, or even Satanists, who all appear to have defacto "Pagan values."
I'm not going to place the whole article here, since the origin of the Christmas tree and the mistletoe have been covered.
Wreaths
Since classical antiquity, the wreath has been used as a symbol of power and strength. In Rome and Greece, kings and emperors often wore laurel wreathes as crowns – a practice they themselves borrowed from the Etruscans, who predated them. The Greeks and the Romans connected the laurel wreath to their sun god, Apollo, and considered the crown to embody his values.
Harvest wreathes – the predecessors to our modern decorations – were used in rituals for good harvests, and predate even written history. Ancient European animists often used evergreen in their wreathes to symbolize strength and fortitude, as an evergreen will live through even the harshest of winters. As for the connection to Christianity, since wreathes symbolized tenacity and everlasting life, they were often used in funerals of important people, specifically in the burials of saints and martyrs.
Pagans "stole" Christmas from Christians??
Last year, child actor turned faded actor turned semi-famous Christian activist, Kirk Cameron's film 'Saving Christmas' made the claim that the the many Christmas traditions of Pagan origin were actually 100% Christian all along! Even Christian supremacists, like Caryl Matrisciana, understand the Pagan origins of Christmas. Many books, such as 'Pagan Christmas', fully explore this subject. It was clear Papal policy, just as with their Roman predecessors, to co-opt and drown out Pagan holidays and spiritual traditions.
Someone should really inform the ever-so-earnest Mr. Cameron that Christian co-opting of pagan religious symbols can be found in the Bible itself. In Acts 17:22-24, the Apostle Paul is recorded as addressing an audience in Athens as follows:
"Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, “Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, :"To an unknown god." What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.' " -- Mark Kessinger Kirk Cameron: Don’t drink the pagan ‘Kool-Aid’ about Christmas, historians ‘don’t know this stuff’ People have been becoming more informed about the pagan origin of Christmas and other holidays for years. It is interesting that he would choose to come out with a movie mocking intelligence and real information for the sake of what he really WANTS to believe whether it is true or not. Shame on him.
-- Frank
Krampus - The "devil" of this Christmas season Krampus
In Austro-Bavarian Alpine folklore, Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Regions in Austria feature similar figures and, more widely, Krampus is one of a number of Companions of Saint Nicholas in regions of Europe. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated a pre-Christian origin for the figure (see Germanic paganism).
In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf (English: Krampus run), young men dressed as Krampus participate; such events occur annually in most Alpine towns. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten. The recent movie 'Krampus' brought back to life this semi-evil entity of pre-Christian Alpine-German folklore. In Pagan traditions, the concepts of good and evil weren't two sides at war with each other. Often they were thought of as two related expressions, two sides of the same coin. The good and bad in all of us was accepted.
What many Christians don't seem to comprehend, is that when you attempt to completely stamp something out... what you often get is just more of it. "Sex" is a good example of that. When suppressed, it then becomes empowered. It's just like with words; they only have the power given to them. Intrinsically, they have zero power. .
WASHINGTON - Christmas comes with a special treat this year – a full moon! No, it is not a supermoon, a blood moon or a lunar eclipse. It is simply just a full moon, the same phenomenon that brightens our night sky at least once a month. But what makes this moon so special is not what the moon is doing, but the day on which it is doing it.
It is accurate to say that the moon rotates the Earth generally “once a month.” However, the truth is that the moon completes a full rotation of the Earth once every 29.5 days. Because of this, getting a full moon to land on any specific day is generally a rare occurrence over the course of one human lifetime. Let’s use July 4 as an example. The last full moon on Independence Day was in 1974, so anyone under the age of 41 has not seen a full moon on this date. If they want to see one then they have some waiting to do, since the next one isn’t slated until 2031. The fact that the day is a holiday does not make the event any more significant. Mother Nature will not grant me another full moon on my birthday until the year 2034.
The last full moon on Christmas Day was in 1977 and the next one will not occur until 2034, so it is still a sight worth seeing. You will have to be up a little early to see it in all its glory. The moon will reach its full peak at 6:11 a.m.
Even then, there is no guarantee you will be able to see it. The pattern this week is a very unsettled one, with the forecast featuring more clouds as opposed to clear skies for the bulk of the next seven days.
However, a little Christmas magic may just give us enough time for a glimpse of this rare event. Weather models show the potential for a weak area of high pressure to traverse the region late Christmas Eve through the first part of Christmas Day.
In the weather world, high pressure systems mean sinking air, which is bad for cloud formation. This may just be enough for the clouds to break up enough in some locations to allow the Christmas moon to shine through. It probably will not happen everywhere, but the odds are some in our area will at least be able to get a glimpse of it.
As this will also be the first full moon after the winter solstice, which occurred Monday at 11:49 p.m., it is what is known as the “cold moon.” This is because it typically signals the arrival of winter cold in North America, but that will certainly not be the case for us. Temperatures on Christmas Eve day are expected to rise to record levels in the mid-70s, with some model suggestions that Christmas Day may be near 70 degrees as well.
One thing is for sure. Regardless of how many clouds there are around our area, one man who will appreciate the full moon is Santa Claus. As he and his reindeer typically fly above the cloud deck, they will have ample moonlight and clear visibility as they deliver Christmas presents to the world. This also means Rudolph's red nose may get to enjoy a well-deserved year off, since his next break will not come for 19 more years! .
