I no longer do full on movie reviews, because I'm too much of a perfectionist, and I make a lot of notes, and it ends up taking way too long. In a nutshell, a group of American college students, through a Swedish exchange student, sign up to attend a rural pagan encampment in Sweden with the plan on writing a paper on their experience; their college thesis I recall. Runes were featured prominently, so I'm thinking that this may be an Asatru version of 'The Wicker Man' perhaps. Actually, the pagan tradition was "Old Norse religion," not Asatru. So I"m assuming that this would be maybe a Scandinavian equivalent to German Hexerei. So from my understanding, something of a mix of the older Proto-European tradition with elements of Asatru... "Scandinavian witchcraft"....maybe.
The protagonist Dani is a young American woman, although played by a British actress, who starts off the film in a fragile state, losing her sister and parents in a murder-suicide committed by her sister. Aside from the understandable affect this has on her, her character comes off as somewhat annoying early in the film, with a lot of abandonment and other issues. At least that was my reaction. However, as the film progresses, and she endures more hardship, her character really grows on you! She becomes likable as a vulnerable character, and with good reason for trepidation. The encampment is a farm located amid hills and some low mountains with mostly heavy brush surrounding it, in a region called Hälsingland. Living there is the old Hårga clan who work the farm, and are clearly very dedicated to their tradition. They never step our of character. As time goes on, it becomes more and more clear that they have some bizarre, barbaric, and murderous intentions. Cannibalism and necrophilia are strongly suggested as occurring, but confirmed.
This film is almost like a combination between 'The Wicker Man' (1973) and 'The Witch' (2015). The ending is much like 'The Witch' in that it doesn't completely followup with the ending. Despite the Hårga clan's dedication, they come off as cold and calculating. This film didn't do any favors for the folk pagan cause by the way. But strictly as a film in the horror film genre, it was good; starting off slowly, and becoming more and more gripping as it progressed. The sub-genre of this film is called "folk horror," horror based on real folklore. The May Day Festival was portrayed, and I don't know if that festival is present in Asatru or not. I believe it is, but under the blot name Walpurgisnacht. Despite the name, the film technically was not about Midsummer. The name "Midsommar"--pronounced "mid-so-MAR"--is apparently Midsummer in Swedish. This film was a Swedish and American collaboration, although the main character Dani was played by British actress Florence Pugh, and also several others. Not surprisingly, the clever artists at DeviantArt and other sites have created some cool artwork.
"A mythology is the comment of one particular age or civilization on the mysteries of human existence and the human mind, their model for social behavior, and their attempt to define in stories their perception of the inner realities." -- Hilda Ellis Davidson, 'Gods and Myths of Northern Europe
'The Wicker Man' was released in the UK on December 6, 1973. Some call it a horror film, some call it a drama, while others consider it a musical. The director was Robin Hardy, and he was a dedicated Christian, yet I think many pagans feel like this was at least something of an inspiration; not because of the sacrifice, but just the mysteries of it, the style, the symbolism, and the music! I'm sure he didn't intend on that. At some point he said that he wanted to make three films with this subject. In 2011, he made 'The Wicker Tree'. It wasn't a very good movie, despite the great name and promotional movie poster. He passed away in 2016, and never did make number three.
Masonic bee and beehive symbol, Venus, and our deep past
"The beehive is found in Masonry as a reminder that in diligence and labor for a common good true happiness and prosperity are found. The bee is a symbol of wisdom, for as this tiny insect collects pollen from the flowers, so men may extract wisdom from the experiences of daily life."
"The bee is sacred to the goddess Venus and, according to mystics, it is one of several forms of life which came to the Earth from the planet Venus millions of years ago. the fact that bees are ruled by queens is one reason why this insect is considered a sacred feminine symbol."
-- Manly P. Hall, 'The Secret Teachings of all Ages'
Venus, Earth, Mars, and our lost history
Sometime in the distant past, the occult evidence shows that at least the Earth, Mars, and Venus were in different positions than they are today. Saturn, currently a dwarf star, was our second star.. an "outer sun." It emitted its dimmer rays upon us, which had a slight purple hue to it, from the opposite side from the Sun from these three planets. The Earth never experienced complete darkness then. I don't know the exact time period or the exact sequence of events, but some tens of millions of years ago, an astonishing shakeup of our solar system took place. One or more incoming planets literally collided in some cases. The asteroid belt was formed from one such collision. All of this was a complete game changer. Prior to that, Venus, Earth, and Mars were all habitable, and humans existed on all three worlds. Mars was able to thrive due to the dimmer rays of Saturn. The shakeup moved Venus much closer to the Sun, ending life there. At another point, there was a massive war on Mars, fought with nuclear and energy weapons, destroying the atmosphere and ending life there. Some of the Martian humans there somehow made it to the Earth.
At some point, several incredible civilizations arose, but a major world war and Earth changes drove us back to the stone age. After those catastrophes, humans devolved, even mixing their DNA with lower hominids. Huge brutish human-like beings with double rows of teeth, who had been subdued by the earlier civilizations, were then free to roam and cause much havoc around the world. Somehow they eventually were killed off, although some were still around some centuries ago. There were other strange types of human-like beings, some very small and slight, others very short and pudgy, some with horns, etc. Every human today has at least some DNA from those lower hominids. Hollywood, with it's deep Kabbalistic and Masonic roots, has portrayed the old multi-planet human civilizations in many films; the most noteworthy being the 'Star Wars' series. It wasn't in a galaxy far, far away... it was here. The hobbit fantasy animations and films, starting in the '70s, portrayed an element of the Earth that existed in between these disasters. It's highly likely that there were visitors from elsewhere, whom interacted with humans in their heyday and even long after that.
I would encourage people to look into Manly P. Hall or the Sumerian creation myth for more clues. Basically, everything that Manly P. Hall wrote and said is true. Just because some astounding knowledge dealing with our history, reincarnation, astrology, sacred geometry, etc. was horded, doesn't make the wealthy elites in these occult circles inherently elite.They merely inherited or joined that situation. Nobody can seem to explain why when seemingly more-or-less ordinary people became massively wealthy, they almost immediately start "acting elite" and stating "elite things" that are in total congruence with the established "global elites." They live in a world and with a mindset that's so different from the average person that they couldn't bring themselves to believe it if they tried. They're into some dark things that I can't mention. What I can't figure out is why or how they believe that they're going to dodge Karma? The idea that many of them have is that by purposely releasing well-disguised clues and getting people to voluntarily sign on with them, that this is a way to avoid the consequences to their soul.
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Enya - Orinoco Flow (Official 4K Music Video) enyatv
"Her Voice has the capacity to move your soul from the deep inside..." -- Noël Occitan
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Scandinavians not indigenous to Scandinavia?
According to Norwegian Norse mythology and folk tradition author Maria Kvilhaug, Scandinavians cannot be indigenous to Scandinavia because they're not an oppressed people, and that ONLY oppressed people in the world can be indigenous to a land. Here she makes a living off of Norse myth and spiritual tradition, apparently is of Norse background, and yet she still engages in this type of "racial self-masochism."
When I was a very young boy, if I acted up, my mom would in a sense.. threaten me with "the wooden spoon!" She never used it, but she sounded like she might use it, so I listened and did what she told me. The same with my father. His theoretical weapon of choice was "the leather belt!" He never used it, but she sounded like he might use it, so I listened and did what he told me to do.
However, beyond that, I've never really listened to anything that anyone has ever told me! I did what they told me because they had the authority. I rather.. take it under advisement. I always knew that most people were trying to con me. I certainly don't listen to government officials, policemen, teachers or anyone else who takes money. I did what they told me if I had to, because they had the authority, and could punish. I can remember teachers of various ideologies who threatened students who weren't in agreement with their opinions.
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My mom's very longtime vintage vase
Family friends of my mother's back in Hurley gave her this vase, and she had it for probably a good sixty years! It's a very distinct old Czech style, often orange, with that certain shape of rim, with a black snake wrapped around it like a serpent of wisdom. It was very similar to the one on the left here, except my mother's was a little taller and thinner with a longer snake... more similar to this one.
Here are a few examples of other colors and designs. It was there in her dining room buffet display for so many years, but I never really looked closely at the snake. The one on the left is $125. Someone else inherited her vase, so eventually I'm going to purchase one, or maybe a couple of them. One for the display case, and one to put on a table top. To me, it could symbolize her wisdom. This vase could have it's roots in mythology and folklore.
Similar to the vase above is the world egg., which is present in many different mythologies throughout the ancient Indo-European world. I'm sure there is a slew of YouTube videos on this, but everything can't be a video here.
The world egg, cosmic egg or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the cosmogonies of many cultures that is present in Proto-Indo-European culture and other cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort, and the universe or some primordial being comes into existence by "hatching" from the egg, sometimes lain on the primordial waters of the Earth.
Eggs symbolize the unification of two complementary principles (represented by the egg white and the yolk) from which life or existence, in its most fundamental philosophical sense, emerges.
"Forget your lust for the rich man's gold, all that you need is in your soul" Wise words. -- John
"I sang this song to my son constantly when he was a baby through his toddler years. He is now 36 & this is, & always will be "our song". Whenever it comes on we dance to it while I sing it to him & we both cry. Thank you so much for this & all the memories that go with it. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖" -- brenda okuda
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I saw Lynard Skynard a couple of times many years ago, and they felt ancient then. There's still touring, and will be in the area here in Mountain View in August. Amazing.
A letter has finally been delivered to its destination – more than a century after it was written.
Sent in February 1916, the correspondence arrived at its intended address in Hamlet Road, south London, much to the bewilderment of the current occupants.
“We noticed that the year on it was ’16. So we thought it was 2016,” Finlay Glen told CNN Thursday. “Then we noticed that the stamp was a King rather than a Queen, so we felt that it couldn’t have been 2016.”
Glen told CNN that the letter arrived at the property a couple of years ago, but he has only recently taken it to the local historical society, so they can research it further.
The envelope has a 1 pence stamp bearing the head of King George V. The letter was sent in the middle of World War I – more than a decade before Queen Elizabeth II was born.
I find the idea, and reality, fascinating that a city can stand at the edge of a wilderness. Obviously Las Vegas is a very good example of that, looking like an island of lights at night, amid the beautiful blackness of the surrounding desert and mountains. There are other aerial views of Vegas at night, showing all the lights, "the strip," but I'm speaking about the wonderful abyss. The abyss is a mystery; "what is out there?" In my former home, from the mountain slope, we could see downtown San Francisco and downtown Oakland in the far distance. All those lights, all that activity, and we were the ones in the darkness.
I once wrote a piece once on this blog about "the mystery of the mountain." When we see an unspoiled mountain, day or night, there's a mystery to it. "What animals, people, or activity is up there?" I remember when I used to look out my bedroom window at night, and into the pitch blackness of what I came to call "the canyon. The canyon itself was out of sight, but up the street was a little wooded area that led to a view of the canyon, so I was looking out towards the direction of the canyon... which at the end of the relatively steep street had a deep drop off. I will always remember the coyote howls.
I miss that a lot. Here in Sonoma, there exists a similar dynamic of that type of landscape. However, it's mostly farmland. I do see dear a lot. I hear coyotes once in awhile. There are some mountains nearby, which aren't as accessible. It's more like farmland and wineries; still dark and beautiful at night surrounding the city. I still miss home, and the life we had there. The old phrase "There's no place like home" is very true. I can think of two people who moved to NYC to be with someone, and when it didn't work out, they were so glad to be back, and one of them actually used that phrase with emphasis.
Of course, Sonoma is only 65 miles away, but it's a long 65 miles, as there are one lane roads in which you cannot simply put-put along as you must know, then even the freeway is stressful. Getting back to the original idea, I just personally find a great spiritual meaning to the wild oasis so close to the city, whether it's the bright lights of Las Vegas or San Francisco, or the dim lights of Sonoma. One evening about seven o'clock, I tried to take Highway 12 north towards Santa Rosa for a couple of stores that I looked up, and to my surprise there was 20 miles of darkness! There were some wineries, but they were all dark outside of a few dim lights in just a few places. Speaking of surprise, I see out my window here, snow on a nearby mountain. At first I thought it was a cloud.
"Be a reflection of what you'd like to see in others. If you want love, give love. If you want honesty, give honesty. If you want respect, give respect. You get in return, what you give."
-- Author unknown
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I still prefer "Be the change you want to see in the world."
The lynx family is one of the most beautiful representatives of the cat tribe. Lynxes are incredibly dexterous predators and natural-born hunters. These wild cats can catch an expertly agile squirrel or a fast hare, as well as take down larger prey. For example, a young deer or mountain goat, whose weight can reach up to 100 kilograms. Lynxes belong to the class of predatory mammals and represent the only genus consisting of four varieties.
This Bobcat has been stalking FoxyQ Retreat for two days. The Owner even tried to shoo it off, but it kept returning. Unfortunately, it took a little fox by surprise. We are not sure how the little fox ended up but you can hear it put up quite a fight. Listeners are warned that the content of this video can be very alarming. It is the way of the wild. Before anyone wishes to comment about the dog's dish being out there- stop. It has been removed. Besides, FoxyQ Retreat is a certified wildlife refuge - supplying food, water, and a place to raise young for 3 or more animals. The foxes have had these. perks for the last 20 years.
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"It's crazy how fast that bobcat struck. Wow! Foxes are notoriously fast, but that bobcat was like LIGHTNING. That's amazing." -- Cody King
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La Vieille Ferme
This is a brand of French rosé wine which I tired today. It's available at all of the main sources locally. It is produced by Château de Beaucastel Winery, located in the Rhône wine region of the South of France, and owned by Famille Perrin.
Since 1967, La Vieille Ferme has been producing authentic and delicious wines vintage after vintage, and has been acknowledged as one of the very best value wines in the world. The vines selected are grown high on the slopes, which gives this wine unique freshness and elegance. Pale pink in color, with soft undertones. Fresh and very aromatic nose, this wine has a delicate bouquet with notes of red fruit, flowers, and citrus fruit. Nice balance between sweetness and acidity in the mouth. The finish shows fresh fruit, and great length.
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Rhône wine region
The first cultivated vines in the region were probably planted around 600 BC.
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South of France
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'Las Penas del Infierno' -- Artist unknown (18th century)
A Spanish or Portuguese painter I would think. It's curious that the person didn't put their name to it.
I have long had a love-hate
relationship with chess; mostly hate! It just sucks you in, and rarely
delivers. Even Bobby Fischer, arguably the greatest chess player of all
time, said that he hated chess! It's fun when you're winning, but
terrible when losing. Unlike the chess-like strategy of American
football, where each team lines up it's eleven players and runs a play,
and it just is what it is; the consequences of chess relative to the
game is much greater on multiple levels.
For one thing, on a
psychological level, pieces ("players") are taken away! Therefore, as
irrational as it may sound, most people dislike their opponent! For
example, losing your queen early in the game is the equivalent to--using our
football metaphor--of having your star QB blow out his knee early in the game! Sometimes if
I make a bad move and expose my queen or rook, and it's just sitting
there, a sitting duck as clear as day..... my opponent will not move
right away. They will just stall, and very likely is just gloating at
your expense! Perhaps they're either enjoying your agony, or their superiority! Losing your pieces makes chess somewhat unique in this way.
You
just are not going to respect your opponent! They're stealing from you!
Of course, the opposite is true, which comes right back to the essence
of the game itself. The chess-like battle of wits in the game of
football can be harsh. One team can be driving down the field, and
BOOM.... pick-six! A fourteen point swing! Still, a team can gather
itself, weather the storm, and get back into it. Soon perhaps, the
opposing team will make a mistake of its own to capitalize on. In other
words, there's plenty of time. However in chess, you do psychologically
and emotionally invest yourself in a game. Even if you're playing online
and are completely anonymous, it still can be humiliating! In chess,
you're constantly being metaphorically "punished," and that punishment
is all in the mind. You very likely will NOT even remember this game! If
someone asked me how many games of chess which I've played in my whole life
that I actually remember, I think I could count them on one hand!
From my beginning of playing chess, I have always tried to liken this game with some
type of sport, but never really "the art of war," which it's designed to reflect. None of those comparisons made
much sense to me, except for football from a strictly offense coordinator point of
view. That metaphor works because all throughout the game, you
constantly have to metaphorically diagram plays in your mind. When they
work, you feel like a wizard! Often, when a great move is just sitting
there, you're practically salivating! I would say most often, your
opponent does not see your highly anticipated move or moves. Then they often
unintentionally make a series of stupid, piddling moves that just keep
stalling you from making that one or two brilliant moves to take over
the game! You feel like reaching into cyberspace and backhanding them!
Each dumb little move drags it along, until your possibility is gone. This
occurs all the time in chess! It's highly frustrating!
Chess is psychological torture! You
rarely are in awe of your opponent's prowess. You dislike them! If
anyone typically smiles after losing and feels like shaking their
opponents hand, well.... I salute you. I can't! They're thieves!
Metaphorically "stealing" your property, or "injuring your players." The
better you get at chess, the worse it gets, because the online chess
sites--properly--now don't set up novices to be outmatched once they
have established a rating. It used to be that excellent chess players
would very often hang out in the "beginners corner" of these sites. Game
after game, you would be matched against opponents whom you have zero
chance at even being competitive against. Also, these sites have improved
themselves by allowing players to click the piece and then clicking
their intended destination to make a move. Before, it was very common to
lose game by having the piece dragged by your mouse and "dropped";
simply not making it all the way to it's intended spot! I used to lose
many games that way, so I commend these sites for those changes.
I
can say that the one enriching part of chess for me is--again, using
the football metaphor--the development of my playing style and strategy
over time without reading a book. I started out so clueless, then I have
completely changed my playing style probably a half dozen significant times over the
years. It is fun to look back at that. It's much like an offensive
coordinator in football. In chess, the best defense is a good offense.
There have been times that my opponent was attacking very effectively
from the get-go, and I mounted a successful counter attack that turned
things around. Only by countering with pressure did I get the pressure
off of myself... so to speak. There's a psychological thrill by being able to, once in awhile, block a big attack early, then just
"take" one of his pieces. A metaphorical "punch in the face" to a bully,
of course from the perspective of the individual.... at least for those who view chess the way I do.
What we can take from chess is the harsh
reality of life. Life is gangland! For the vast majority, there's always
someone who wants your job, your girlfriend, etc. One time I knew of a
young couple, eighteen or nineteen, from like a younger brother of a
friend sort've thing. To my disgust, some older guy in a much higher
income bracket, was trying to mess with the young woman. He had gone
through a messy divorce, lost a lot of money and assets, and was
probably bitter.... and was probably selfish from the start anyway. He
was probably twice her age. As I said, life is gangland! Like chess, the guy probably enjoyed the idea that she had a boyfriend already; that he was "stealing" within the rules of life...just like capturing pieces within the rules of chess. Quite often,
it's entirely legal to mess with people's social circle, their
livelihood, etc. Chess is, just in a very objective way, a perfect
metaphor for life! A game of decisions. "Moves" can't be taken back! The
psychological and emotional investment. That's chess!!
Surprisingly,
there's very little on the internet about people who are at least
temporarily disgusted with chess... aka "I hate chess!" The better you
get, the more you realize that there's always someone better. Unlike
life where two things may be of equal value, but you may just prefer the
style of aesthetic of one over the other, chess is raw. Metaphorically,
it's life condensed down to it's most base elements! You could start a
game, and play kind've dopey, and your opponent with a much lessor
rating proceeds to take you apart... often with bold moves. Of course,
the opposite is true. You could start a game against an opponent with a
much higher rating, who is just playing willy-nilly, and you make some
bold moves and just take it to them and win. Chess is also like life in
that things are taken away from you harshly.
I still say that
chess doesn't really deliver, or rarely does. You start a game, your
opponent just drags his feet with each move, you get bored from waiting,
then sometimes even loose interest, and BOOM, you just lost your queen
because your opponent practically lulled you to sleep. They dulled your
wits. Still you are eager for the challenge of the next game, ignoring
that the game that you just played was not a pleasant experience. An
excellent chess player plays some hapless opponent. He takes them apart
bone by bone! Then he immediately rushes onto the next game, completely ignoring the
desired "joy" of the game that he just played! He's just right onto the
next one. I make a point to type in the little chatbox "thx" ahead of
time, because I know that I won't want to type it after the game. Then I
lose another heartbreaker.... and I just click enter in the chatbox to
try to show some degree of sportsmanship. At least 95% of the time, they don't
respond. They're already off to the next game; chasing that fix that
rarely comes for either expert or novice. Is chess a great game? I think
it's a great idea, with great symmetry. If you put my foot to the fire, I
say NO. They say that chess is great for the mind, but I think it's bad for the
mind too.
I think that everyone occasionally
thinks of a person from their past who they have some type of regret
attached to them. It doesn't necessarily have to fit the category of
"someone whom you've wronged" either. Things happen in life, and we don't always
handle it well. We may have been intentionally or unintentionally rude,
dismissive, or lacking the will to help someone. Or... maybe it could
be something more overt that you did. Now, these things have obviously
been directed to you by people at times too. However, this isn't about
them; this is about who you are! It could also just be someone whom you
wish you could have acknowledged in some way and at some point; to tell
them that they were important or valued, or maybe someone who you wished
that you would have thanked.
I remember many years ago as a
little boy, my mom used to take me to this hotdog stand at the
Serramonte Shopping Center in Daly City. It was across the mall from
the old Longs Drugs, in a little supermarket that was once there. The stand was
part of the supermarket, but right along the edge of the mall. A women
who was probably at least 85 years old worked there. She must have been
someone's grandmother, great-grandmother, and was still working. She had
an apron and little visor on. Maybe she was just making some extra
money, but it seems more likely that it may have been necessary. The hot
dogs were great, in quality, the soft buns, and the condiments. Especially the double dog, with the wide buns, with mustard and relish! I wish I
could have thanked her in some way; acknowledged her somehow. I still
very much remember her, so maybe that's something.
One time Ken, an old
friend of my late father, was doing some work around my mother's house.
He was very intelligent and yet had some eccentricities about him, which
some people were fond of. He had some past demons that he had overcome, but
his children from an early marriage of his were intentionally not in contact with him anymore; never forgiving him for not being available for them, or something to
that extent. He regretted it, but rarely spoke of it. As the saying
goes: "No matter how much you've changed, you still must answer for what
you've done." Once while doing some work at the house, he was extremely negligent
regarding something, and I was very angry. I wasn't speaking to him for a
good while, and for a damn good reason. If he came around, I would
avoid him. Some time later, I thought I'd just call him. Well, I found
out that Ken had died.
Another time Jim, a guy who was more of a
friend of a friend, used some very colorful language around someone whom he
should not have. It wasn't directed there, but he still said it. Aside
from some rough moments, he was a good guy. However, this was pretty
cringeworthy. I let him know about it, and he listened, and took it. I
wasn't not talking to him after that, but I hadn't seen him for awhile.
Without going into detail, Jim was killed in a manner which was mostly of his
own doing. It wasn't really a suicide or overdose, but I'll just pass on
the details. In this case, I have no practical reason to feel any guilt
at all. However, I do have some, due to the last time I spoke to him.
Maybe I should have just let it slide...
In the case of Ken, it
wasn't that I owed him an apology, but I didn't actually write
him off. It still went down as though I had. Then we can all think of family
things, such as thinking back that maybe I should have called my
grandmother more often, or made a point to go back to the Northwoods to
visit her more often. She came out to California as much as she could over the years.
There are other situations where I was younger, and I maybe wasn't
available for some people that I should have been. I'm not saying that
I'm agonizing with guilt, but there are things that could be said,
should be said, but we may not have had the chance to say them. I think this is a
little different than all of the quotes which say something like "don't
regret anything, learn from it."
I'm speaking of things that are
more like loose strings. Something doesn't feel quite right about them.
There was either never closure or you may simply wish you could send a
message to them. When we reincarnate, part of our soul remains at source
at all times. I think we can send a message, and I think they will
receive it. Why not speak aloud to them? There's nothing like phrasing
something in your own words. At the right time, just say it! There's no
pressure now, no hurry. Maybe it can be added as a type of ongoing
ritual; a "rite of closure," or at least closure for that time period. I
actually have not done this, so I can't say how I may have felt afterwards or if it
felt like a resolved spiritual loose end was healed. I may have tried to one time,
but it wasn't the right time.
I will at least make a notation
that I would like to add this as a ritual, and it could be a very
powerful ritual. Maybe make a list of a half dozen names at a time. It's
not asking for forgiveness, although it possibly might be. Most of all,
you're conveying that you remember, and that it matters to you. It's a
part of you. It doesn't absolutely have to be someone who passed
away, although it seems logical that it would most often be. I can
think of an older man long ago that I really didn't come through for once, and I can't
change it now. I don't think that I can just look up his number in
Florida and call him to tell him that I'm sorry that I didn't come
through for him. I could express it in a letter, and it's possible that
he might share it with some people in which I wouldn't want him to share
it with. That's the chance I would have to take. Each situation is
different.
As my memory is jogged from writing this, I can think
of more people. One person I would like to apologize to in person. Just one. Also, there's a such thing as a "stupid confession," where someone happens to find themselves in a
good mood one day, and just feels like owning up to something, and they should've
thought twice about it! This should be more of thoughtful exercise.
Just make a list, maybe in Word, and see what it looks like. Again, for
those who have wronged us in some way, great or small, this isn't about
them. This is about who you are. I don't feel anything for things which were done during times of struggle. That's feels very different to me. This would seem to me to be a daytime ritual; not practiced in the night.
Lastly, some rituals are truly great during the night, but in this case you may need the
light-energy to shine it's light into those dark crevices of regret,
sorrow, and the willing message of acknowledgement you're sending to that person,
that soul. You may need the Sun's rays to help with that. The night is for energy
and spirits which you are already at peace and harmony with, and which
you're interacting with, perhaps under the Moonlight. You could bring an
offering. Maybe just something simple; a little bit of cream, an orange
peel, something to help with the energetic closure. I would also
suggest, if you have a list, of doing them in "threes".... 3, 6, or 9. I
think "three" would be good, as there's no hurry to this. This would
probably be one rite to conduct alone.
This is deep! This woman knows her stuff! There's nothing I can add; she said it ALL. There could be the idea that she created this content as part of her ministry, but I give credit where credit is due. I look at it from a non-Christian, non-Masonic, non-Kabbalistic, folk pagan point of view.
The Battle of Insubria in 203 BC was the culmination of a major war, carried out by the Carthaginian commander Mago, brother of Hannibal Barca, at the end of the Second Punic war between Rome and Carthage in what is now northwestern Italy. Mago had landed at Genoa, Liguria, two years before, in an effort to keep the Romans busy to the North and thus hamper indirectly their plans to invade Carthage's hinterland in Africa (modern Tunisia). He was quite successful in reigniting the unrest among various peoples (Ligurians, Gauls, Etruscans) against the Roman dominance.
Hannibal famously crossing the Alps with elephants
Rome was forced to concentrate large forces against him which finally
resulted in a battle fought in the land of the Insubres (Lombardy). Mago
suffered defeat and had to retreat. The strategy to divert the enemy's
forces failed as the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio laid waste
to Africa and wiped out the Carthaginian armies that were sent to
destroy the invader. To counter Scipio, the Carthaginian government
recalled Mago from Italy (along with his brother Hannibal, who had been
in Bruttium until then). However, the remnants of the Carthaginian
forces in Cisalpine Gaul continued to harass the Romans for several
years after the end of the war.
The Carthaginians invading Rome from the north--which occurred numerous times during the seventeen years of the Second Punic War--seems so improbable. They would have had to to have transported many elephants and tens of thousands of troops over the Strait of Gibraltar, moved north through mountainous Iberia, over a part of the eastern slopes of the Pyrenees, along the coast of southern Gaul, then in a northern direction along the edge of the Alps, then through whatever Alpine passes they could, and finally down into the Po Valley. Apparently they traveled as far east as almost to Lake Garda before turning back west, as the eastern side was Roman territory. All the while maintaining and providing food and water for the elephants, as well as food and water for the troops. Apparently they were well received by the disgruntled Gauls, Ligurians, Insubres, Etruscans, and others. It was almost like a who's who of Rome's enemies in one place. The Carthaginians used the same strategy as the Conquistadors later used in conquering the Aztecs and Incas, in inspiring their enemies' old enemies into action as allies.
Artwork of Hannibal, although this battle was led by his brother Mago
On a side note, the elephants were of a now extinct species called the "North African forest elephant," which was much smaller than the tropical African elephant we know of today. They actually gave the elephants large quantities of alcohol to spur them on and to rage in battle! This battle took place near Mediolanum (Milan today), in the land of the Gaulish tribe the Insubes, whch had not yet been conquered by the Romans. Most historians place the number of Carthaginian troops at 21,000, but some believe that the total forces of the Carthaginians and their allies to have been as high as 30,000, with 7 elephants. Mago's brother Hannibal had brought many more over the years in different battles. On the Roman side, there were four legions plus their allies, which was approximately 35,000 troops, and I presume an additional advantage in some heavy state of the art weapons. The Punic War was a lot more than some simple skirmish someplace. It was Rome vs. Carthage, two superpowers! This was the United States vs. the Soviet Union sixty years ago!
The battle in Insubria
In 203 BC, the time came for decisive action. The proconsul M. Cornelius Cethegus and the praetor P. Quintilius Varus led an army of four legions against Mago in a regular battle in the Insubrian land (not far from modern Milan). The description by Livy in his "History of Rome" (Ab urbe condita) shows that each of the opponents deployed their forces in two battle lines. Of the Roman army, two legions were in the front, the other two and the cavalry were left behind. Mago also took care for a possible reverse, keeping in the rear the Gallic levy and the few elephants he had. Some modern estimates put his overall strength at more than 30,000.
The course of the battle showed that the first Carthaginian line performed better and the Gauls were less reliable. From the onset, the Romans made futile attempts to break the enemy's resistance and were pressed hard themselves. Then Varus moved the cavalry (3,000 or 4,000 horsemen), hoping to repulse and confuse the Carthaginian lines. However, Mago was not surprised and moved forward the elephants just in time.
The horses were stricken by fear and as a result the Roman cavalry was
dispersed, chased by Mago's light Numidian cavalry. The elephants turned
on the Roman infantry, which suffered heavy losses. The battle only
took a bad turn for Mago when Cornelius brought into action the legions
of the second line. The elephants were showered upon by darts, with most
of them falling, the rest were forced to turn back against their own
ranks. Mago ordered the Gauls to stop the Roman counter-attack, but they
were routed.
According to Livy, all ended with a general retreating of the Carthaginians, who lost up to 5,000 men. Yet, as Livy himself states, the Romans owed their success to the wounding of the Carthaginian commander, who had to be carried away almost fainting from the field because his thigh was pierced. The victory was neither bloodless, nor complete. The first Roman line lost 2,300 men, and the second also took casualties, among them three military tribunes. The cavalry was not spared either, and many noble Equites were trampled to death by the elephants. During the night Mago withdrew his forces to the Ligurian coast, conceding the battlefield to the Romans.
Carthage was the most powerful rival in Rome's history, which is why the Romans eventually made certain to absolutely flatten Carthage. This wasn't their usual policy. This war lasted so long that it took up a major part of the lives of it's generals. Mago started out in the lower ranks, and distinguished himself during Carthage's defeat of the Romans in the Battle of the Trebia fifteen years earlier, and had become a general by the Battle of Insubria. To put that into perspective, someone forty years old was really considered rather up in years at that time. Also, the Battle of Trepia was the first major battle of the Punic Wars, and it pitted 40,000 Romans vs. 40,000 Carthaginians along the Trebia River, in either Liguria or Emilia.
To lose that major battle, and then to overcome Carthage, displayed the indomitable fighting spirit of the Romans. Carthage could very well have won the war and changed history, in the same manner as if the Soviets had defeated the Americans sixty years ago! Carthage was a Phoenician civilization, so Carthage to Phoenicia at this time would have been the same as what America was to Great Britain two hundred years ago. The Punic Wars were also like World War II, in that the battles were fought in all sorts of different locations and environments.
'Temple of Venus and Rome' (artist unknown)
For Mago the setback was severe, considering what gains a victory would have brought.
The Romans were left in command of the Po Valley and all hopes for a repetition of the events from the beginning of the war faded.
It is certain that for five years after the end of the Second Punic war the Romans had to fight the remnants of the Carthaginian forces in Northern Italy.
Mago's defeat in 203 BC had marked one of the last attempts to preserve the independence of this region from the Roman advance.
