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Post by Indilwen on Jul 15, 2010 16:45:05 GMT 12
Avalonian Mystery
There's something about the land of Avalon which makes it slightly shimmer, as if the subtle energies and perceptions of the inner worlds or the imagination permeate the physical fabric of this place and the life that goes on here.
The veils between the worlds are thin here, opening doors of deepened perception. This seems to have existed since the beginnings of time.
Glastonbury has a rich history, yet within it there are mysteries, sagas and ethereal traditions which, though often lacking the kind of proof to satisfy the modern rational, sceptical mind, nevertheless have a reality of their own. These mystery traditions variously infer that Glastonbury was:
a remnant of the Atlantean civilisation settled by Sumerians who laid out a vast landscape zodiac here a centre of teaching and initiation in ancient times a place of the Goddess and Goddess traditions the site of a classical Cretan labyrinth on the Tor visited by Jesus as a young man (as in And did those feet in ancient time, walk upon England's mountains green?) later settled by the refugee Joseph of Arimathaea and twelve acolytes, bringing the Holy Grail and founding one of the world's earliest proto-Christian settlements the burial place of King Arthur and Guinevere and the resting place of many saints and, in recent times, a few have called Glastonbury the heart chakra of the planet. Sceptics pass these off as falsities, the money-raising claims of medieval monks or the dreams of new-age mystics, yet there is something to these traditions, and they are outlined in this section. The challenge in this century is to establish a new relationship and dialogue between proven history and myths and traditions. The scepticism of the 20th C has been excessive and excluded too much - and Glastonbury is one of those places where this has had big effects.
source: isleofavalon.co.uk/avalon-mysteries.html
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 15, 2010 16:28:15 GMT 12
By Paul White Since the declassification of the new ground-penetrating radar 2 years ago, the most staggering data has emerged of complex and labyrinthine underground systems in various parts of the world. At places like Guatemala in the South Americas, tunnels have been mapped under the Mayan pyramid complex at Tikal, which extend a full 800 kilometres to the opposite side of the country. Investigators remarked, it was possible to understand how half a million Mayan Indians escaped the decimation of their culture. In similar fashion, the SIRA radar was deployed in Egypt as early as 1978, mapping an extraordinary subterranean complex beneath the Egyptian pyramids. Arrangements made with President Sadat of Egypt, resulted in three decades of top secret excavations to penetrate the system. At a recent meeting in Australia, one of the key scientists on the Giza project, Dr. Jim Hurtak, showed film footage of work in progress called, CHAMBERS OF THE DEEP, due to be released at the end of the century. The film reveals the discovery of a vast megalithic metropolis, 15,000 years old, reaching several levels below the Giza plateau. While the rest of the Nu-Age speculates about a hidden chamber under the left paw of the Sphinx, the legendary "City Of The Gods", lays sprawled beneath. Complete with hydraulic underground waterways, the film shows massive chambers, the proportions of our largest cathedrals, with enormous statues, the size of the Valley of the Nile, carved in-situ. Researchers, risking their lives with lights and cameras, carefully negotiated rubber dinghies across subterranean rivers and kilometer-wide lakes, to penetrate sealed chambers beyond. Already, remarkable caches of records and artifacts have been found.
*Just after the Deluge, at the dawn of the present time cycle, an era the Egyptians called ZEP TEPI, "The First Times", a mysterious group of "gods" appeared, to initiate the survivors in the rudiments of civilisation. From Thoth and Osiris in Egypt, to Quetzacoatal and Viracocha in the Americas, traditions worldwide subscribe the origins of contemporary civilisation to this sophisticated group*.
Despite the misleading popularity of Von Danikan journalism, evidence from around the world, indicates these people were the hi-tech survivors of the previous civilisation. Like the nuclear survival bunkers and secret research facilities of our own civilisation, there were those who arose from the underground "cities of the Gods", after the dust settled. They were the "prediluvian patriarchs", like Enoch and Methuselah, the "giants and heroes of old", mentioned in Genesis. The enigmatic gods of ancient Summer, Egypt and India, all hail from the fabulous times before the Flood.
Since the declassification of the new ground-penetrating radar 2 years ago, the most staggering data has emerged of complex and labyrinthine underground systems in various parts of the world. At places like Guatemala in the South Americas, tunnels have been mapped under the Mayan pyramid complex at Tikal, which extend a full 800 kilometres to the opposite side of the country. Investigators remarked, it was possible to understand how half a million Mayan Indians escaped the decimation of their culture.
In similar fashion, the SIRA radar was deployed in Egypt as early as 1978, mapping an extraordinary subterranean complex beneath the Egyptian pyramids. Arrangements made with President Sadat of Egypt, resulted in three decades of top secret excavations to penetrate the system. At a recent meeting in Australia, one of the key scientists on the Giza project, Dr. Jim Hurtak, showed film footage of work in progress called, CHAMBERS OF THE DEEP, due to be released at the end of the century.
The film reveals the discovery of a vast megalithic metropolis, 15,000 years old, reaching several levels below the Giza plateau. While the rest of the Nu-Age speculates about a hidden chamber under the left paw of the Sphinx, the legendary "City Of The Gods", lays sprawled beneath. Complete with hydraulic underground waterways, the film shows massive chambers, the proportions of our largest cathedrals, with enormous statues, the size of the Valley of the Nile, carved in-situ. Researchers, risking their lives with lights and cameras, carefully negotiated rubber dinghies across subterranean rivers and kilometer-wide lakes, to penetrate sealed chambers beyond. Already, remarkable caches of records and artifacts have been found.
It is the legacy of a civilisation and a technology way beyond our own. A technology capable of creating a vast underground city, of which the sphinx and pyramids are merely the surface markers. The project scientist, Dr. Hurtak, likens it to the impact of contact with an advanced extraterrestrial culture. He described it as the discovery of the Fourth Root culture, the so-called Atlantean civilisation, destroyed by the last earth tumble. It presents unequivocal evidence that all languages, cultures and religions trace back to a single common source, which Dr. Hurtak refers to as the "Parent Civilisation".
The technology unearthed is way beyond machine technology, as we know it. As Arthur C. Clark once joked, "any technology beyond our own would seem like magic to us." According to Dr. Hurtak, this was a culture who cracked the genetic code and possessed the keys of the physical spectrum, the "Higher Light Physics" of the ancients... everything old Gilgamesh went searching for in his famous trek to the lost "City of the Gods" to search the tunnels beneath "Mt. Mashu" in the desert lands.
Hurtak refers to a "language of light" and a great priest-scientist of the previous time cycle, named ENOCH, who is associated with the building of the Great Pyramid complex. Hurtak alludes to a grand spiritual science, a science which describes a genetic stairway to the stars.
The priest-scientist ENOCH, is a prediluvian patriarch, one of the most famous and seminal characters of the previous time cycle. Father of Methuselah and great grandfather of Noah, Enoch is credited in the Bible as architect of the original Zion, the legendary "City of Yahweh", as well as inventor of the alphabet and calendar. Enoch is also history’s first astronaut, who "is taken aloft by the Lord" and shown "the secrets of earth and heaven". He returns to earth with the "weights and measures" for all humankind.
Known to the Egyptians as THOTH, the "Lord of Magic and Time" and to the Greeks as HERMES, "messenger of the gods", he is even remembered in the Celtic tradition as the enigmatic wizard Merlin, who disappears up an apple tree to mythic Avalon, seeking the secret of immortality and vowing to return.
As one who attained immortality, the secret of how we "might become as gods", Thoth/Enoch promises to return at the end of time "with the keys to the gates of the sacred land." In the controversial Dead Sea Scrolls, revealing the lost Books Of Enoch removed from the Bible by early religious leaders, Enoch describes a wondrous civilisation in the past, who misused the keys of higher knowledge and were unable to save themselves from the last cataclysm. Both literally and figuratively they lost the "keys", they lost all higher knowledge.
Yet, Enoch, along with many traditions, even the Mayan legend of Quetzacoatal, promises a return of this knowledge at "The end of time", the end of the present time cycle. Biblical Revelations promise "all will be revealed" at the end of the present world. The extraordinary discoveries in Egypt and other parts of the world, describe not just an advanced technology but, evolutionary path beyond our present state.
Careful scientific examination of the world’s key pyramid sites, reveal them to be sophisticated harmonic structures, not only mirroring positions of the planets and stellar systems but, designed to mimic the chakras and harmonic cavities of the human body. Even each stone within the Great Pyramid is harmonically tuned to a specific frequency or musical tone. The sarcophagus in the centre of the Great Pyramid is tuned to the frequency of the human heart beat.
Astonishing experiments, conducted by Dr. Hurtak and colleagues at the Great Pyramid and other sites in the South Americas, demonstrate the pyramids to be voice-activated "geophysical computers." Intoning specific ancient sounds, the scientific team produced visible standing waves of light, above and within the pyramids and were even able to penetrate, hitherto, inaccessible chambers. Subsequent discoveries indicate the ancient priest-scientists employed some sort of harmonic sound technology within the temple structures.
The lost Enochian knowledge reveals the mother tongue as a "language of Light". Known to the ancients as HIBURU, it is the primal seed language, introduced at the beginning of this time cycle. Modern research confirms, the most ancient form Hebrew to be a natural language, the alphabetic forms emerging from the phosphene flare patterns of the brain. The same shapes, in fact, born of a spinning vortex. It is a true language of light, coursing through our very nervous system.
Encoding the natural waveform geometries of the physical world, Hiburu is a harmonic language, mimicking the waveform properties of light. The "keys" Enoch speaks of, turn out to be sound keys, keys to be vibratory matrix of reality itself, the mythic "Power of the World". The Enochian knowledge describes sonic equations, encoded within the ancient mantras and god names, capable of directly affect the nervous system and producing profound effect of healing and higher consciousness states.
As the ancient texts declare, "If you would speak with the gods you must first learn the language of the gods."
DNA, the ancient cabalistic "Tree Of Life" portrayed in the Biblical Torah, is now coming to be viewed as a live vibrating structure, rather than a fixed tape recording. Many modern scientists, regard DNA as a shimmering, waveform configuration, able to be modified by light, radiation, magnetic fields or sonic pulses. The legacy of Thoth/Enoch suggests this "language of Light", the harmonic science of the ancients, could actually affect DNA.
The evidence in Egypt, indicates this was the grand 6,000 year genetic experiment attempted by the Egyptians, the quest for immortality and the stars, a quest described by the great ones of old, a quest initiated by Gilgamesh so very long ago. The Egyptians were not fixated on the afterlife, as thought by early Christian translators but, focussed on creating a higher type of human. Along with many ancient cultures, they believed DNA came from the stars and was destined to return.
The knowledge of Thoth/Enoch implies humans are meant to evolve beyond our present terrestrial form, as the Bible tells us, "we may become greater than angels". The Egyptians record stories of the "Star Walkers", occasional individuals who, like Enoch, travelled "beyond the Great Eye of Orion" and returned, to walk like gods amongst men. Despite the bleaching of semi-divine beings from modern consciousness, could it be possible, as the ancient texts insist, we are destined to "become as gods"? are the Mayan "Lords of Light" and the Egyptian/Tibetan "Shining Ones" really a higher form of human?
According to many earth legends, such beings are supposed to return regularly, at the beginning and end of each time cycle, the 13,000 year half-point of our solar system’s 26,000 year zodiacal orbit around galaxy centre. Because of conditions on our galactic orbit, these 13,000 year intervals or "worlds", seem to be separated by cataclysmic upheaval.
According to the "calendar in stone" of the Great Pyramid, which describes the so-called "Phoenix Cycle" of our galactic orbit, the present time period ends (converted to our present calendar) in the year 2012 AD. The Greek word PHOENIX, derived from the Egyptian word, PA-HANOK, actually means, "The House of Enoch".
The Enochian knowledge suggests, these regular cataclysmic changes act as an evolutionary agent provocateur, to quicken the resident life forms to the next evolutionary phase, prior to exodus from the womb planet. Human evolution may proceed more rapidly than previously thought. The evidence now appearing, records civilisations before us, who mastered the physical continuum and progressed beyond this world. There were also those who failed. We, too, have equal opportunity to make it or break it.
The discoveries emerging from Egypt, describe the existence of a world wide pyramid temple system in prehistory, mounted like antennae on the key energy meridians, which were employed by ancient priest-scientists as a musical system to stabilize the tectonic plates of the planet... cataclysmic geology at it’s finest. From the mother tongue word JEDAIAH, meaning "the way of the Word" or "the power of the Word", the ancient JEDAI priests used the language of Light to tune the planet like a giant harmonic bell. Much is being rediscovered in the last days of this time cycle. In the words of Dr. Jay Franz, of the Omega Foundation, "even if we don’t dare to name it, there is a universal feeling of something impending on the world stage."
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 17:20:28 GMT 12
The Path to Oneness by Owen Waters
Since the dawn of the mists of time, your immortal soul has had one great urge, and that is to reunite with the spiritual source from which you came. Along the way, you have realized that this means reaching out in spiritual service to humankind. Along the way, you have sensed that this giving of spiritual service is the very action which leads you along the pathway back to that from which you came.
By becoming your brother’s keeper in a spiritual way, you become more at one with all people and the source from which we all came. Through service to others, you also serve your own spiritual development. By loving and healing them through the use of spiritual energy, you help the spiritually blind to see the light within, you help the spiritually deaf to hear the whisperings of their souls, and you help the spiritually numb to revitalize their connection with God.
By sending them your love, by sending them your light, by helping them with this precious, spiritual energy of love and light, you heal their hearts, you heal their spirits, you heal their long-suffering souls, and you help them back onto the one great path back to Source, which we all yearn to tread.
That path is the road to reconnection to the Spirit within. That path is the one which brings you into conscious contact with the light within. That path is the reason you are here, the reason you chose to be born into a world where people feel disconnected from that very Source.
The details of how that path unfolds are unique for every individual. We all tread this path in our own way to reach the common goal of reconnection with the flame of the Spirit which shines within our hearts. It is this flame which silently beckons us on. It is this flame which lights the darkness in a world of great suffering. It is this flame which connects our souls to the one Source of all things.
When you go into the silence of meditation, even for a few moments, remember to end your session by helping the world. Dedicate your love and your light to world peace and freedom, then send this out from your heart into a world that desperately needs energy in a spiritual form.
Life energy is everywhere. Spiritually-conditioned life energy is in short supply because few people take the time to condition it with their intentions and send it out to heal the world. Once you condition the energy of life with love and light and send it out to the world, it reverberates within the global mind atmosphere of humanity, healing and uplifting many people. Its higher frequency imbues it with enormous power relative to the regular, everyday thoughts of humankind. The power of spiritual energy is such that it affects, not one, but hundreds of people at the same time.
Every time you send out love and light in dedication to world peace and freedom for all, you help hundreds of people to see life and its possibilities from a higher perspective.
When you intentionally heal the world in this way, you help many people who are not yet consciously aware of how to raise themselves up spiritually. These are people who are relying upon the enlightened vision of people like you, so that they may be helped in taking the next step into higher consciousness. So that they may be comforted and healed. So that they may gain their own conscious inner reconnection to the one Spirit from which they once came, so long ago, in the mists of time.
*If you enjoyed today's article, forward it to a friend! They will appreciate your thoughtfulness.
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 17:19:12 GMT 12
PROMISE YOURSELF
To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.
To make all your friends feel that there is something worthwhile in them.
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.
To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements
of the future.
To wear a cheerful expression at all times and give a smile to every living
creature you meet.
To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud
Work but in great deeds.
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.
~ Christian D. Larson
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 17:03:32 GMT 12
MESSAGE FROM MOTHER EARTH!
Enough is enough, children! I am putting my foot down right now, and things are going to change. You just couldn’t be satisfied with what I gave you, could you. You had to keep digging and chopping and hacking and poisoning me. You do not even see me as a living, breathing, life-giving entity with my own needs, feelings and consciousness. I have been raped and robbed by my own children, and I’m critically wounded.
Be warned. The more you trample on me, the more I will fight for my survival. Your greed and ignorance has run roughshod over me for long enough. All that matters to me now is that I find a way to heal myself. How else can I hold on to that principle part of my nature which you call ‘a mother’s love’?
With your greed and your denials, you have drilled a hole into me, so deep that you don’t know how to stop the bleeding. You are so immature and incompetent that everything you do makes matters worse. You set me on fire and drown me in poisonous chemicals. And there you are in your ineptitude, pointing fingers at each other as you run around like chickens with your heads cut off.
You blow up my mountains to get to the minerals within, unaware that those mountains are the sacred symbols of abundance on Earth – and you wonder why your economies, and I myself, are falling apart at the seams.
Your greed even attacked my precious companion who illuminates the night and keeps my tides flowing as they should. You bombed the MOON for heaven’s sake!!
You want to play God, so you experiment on me – smashing atoms in your underground ‘hadron-collider’ – at a time when the ground itself is already so unstable. You are trying to ‘recreate’ ME even if it means destroying me. But I will push your denials to the surface, wait and see.
Don’t you feel me quaking? Don’t you see me desperately throwing off the pain I am forced to endure through the pressure valves you call volcanoes? Don’t you hear me screaming or see me writhing as you arrogantly have your way with me, every day and every night?
You chop down my forests which, you foolish children, are your own lungs manifest – and you wonder why you’re having such a hard time breathing.
You fight with each other like spoiled brats always finding some ridiculous justification for your putrid stinking wars. And you say, so pathetically, “I just want some peace of mind.”
You choke me with your putrid stinking garbage, unaware that your own consumption is now consuming you.
Oh, the damage you have done to my oceans and waterways which are, if only you could see it, your own emotions in physical form – and you wonder why the world has become such a feelingless heartless place! Start to FEEL again. Open your heart to the love of life.
What you do to my precious animals is MINDLESS CRUELTY. They are trying to leave Earth as fast as they can. My heart breaks for them – the victims of your greatly misplaced superiority complex. In a balanced world, as I intend it to be again, nothing is superior. Everything that lives has a right to be. On this planet, dear children, EVERYTHING is alive.
And, of course, what you do to each other is a crying shame.
You wait for the next shoe to drop and pretend you’re not afraid, unaware that you have always been under the feelingless foot of materialism. I love the material aspects of myself, but there is so much more to me than you have ever given me credit for. That is where your own salvation lies. Go within. FEEL who you are. Your true nature mirrors my nature in every way.
Stop your racism. Stop racing. Stop competing, you silly children. You are not the human ‘race’, you are humanity. You are all part of the ONE. You are all part of ME. But you are not all the same. You are diverse entities, and you can never be happy until you embrace your differences instead of judging each other for them. It is time to free your Wills from your ancient self destructive imprinting.
You cry out for change, yet you seem unwilling to make those changes yourself. Are you waiting for me to make them for you? You are only helpless because you believe you are. What are you waiting for? The time is now.
You have dealt your mother a massive blow, but I will find a way to heal myself, no matter what I have to do. The question is:
will you?
(‘felt’ by Christine DeLorey)
© Copyright DELOREY 2010 – all rights reserved
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 17:01:58 GMT 12
Return of the Goddess
There is a force meandering about the world today, which in a host of different cultures, is best described as the belief structure which strongly suggests a scenario of what can only be described as the Return of the Goddess.
For twenty two thousand years -- give or take a millennia or so -- The Great Goddess was in charge. Life on the planet was under her bailiwick, and all the archeological evidence of those distant ages suggest it was her rule which predominated. The evidence suggests that during her reign, there existed a vision of life expressed as a living unity; the perception of a universe. Life was an organic, living, and sacred whole, wherein humanity, the Earth, and all life on Earth were all woven into a single cosmic web.
Roughly four thousand years ago, The Great Goddess became associated with “Nature”, a chaotic force to be mastered. The male God took to the role of conquering or ordering this chaotic Nature into a structured law and order. The spiritual and physical worlds were separated, and by implication, mind was separated from matter, soul from body, thinking from feeling, intellect from intuition, and reason from instinct. The Goddess, to all extents and purposes, went underground, dropped out of sight, and retreated behind a dark veil. The feminine principle, which had manifested in mythology as “the goddess” -- the values placed on spontaneity, feeling, instinct and intuition -- were thus lost as a valid expression of the sanctity and unity of life. They were not forgotten, perhaps, but they were indeed demeaned, discarded by many, and pushed out of the mainstream.
The result of this dualism, were things like pollution (which originally meant the profaning of what was sacred), environmental devastation, competition instead of cooperation, specialization instead of wholeness, and a whole host of separations from what was once unity. It was a bad scene. But it was male scene, and consequently half the population was relatively pleased. Or they thought they were, at least.
Imagine their surprise then, when the fundamental science of physics -- the pride of a male dominated, exclusive God-oriented paradigm -- discovered observers being included in the act of observation, realizations that the whole of life could not be split into specializations, and that all participants were dynamically alive and inter-connected. The essential truth of The Great Goddess was found in the quantum world, and resurrected to the macroworld.
The Goddess had taken a powder, but now was returning.
Perhaps there is a reason that for the last several thousand years the Goddess energy has been absent from the world. Perhaps there had been a temporary and planned diversion, an absence designed to provide a space for the male energy to harness, and in the process achieve some fascinating and inspiring technologies. Perhaps, it was a millennial excursion designed to accomplish a purpose, and then recombine into an even better whole: the comparative bliss of the Goddess society, supplemented with “modern conveniences”.
In any case, the strong suggestion now is that it’s time for the Sacred Marriage between the Goddess and the God; when nature, humanity, and all the rest, can be regenerated into a sacred One. There’s even the very distinct possibility that the wedding date’s been set -- see for example, A Once and Future Myth, or better yet, Heir Apparent.
What might the return of the Goddess imply? How about, for starters...
Sacred Sex!
Now that I have your attention, let's talk about spirituality.
But lest you be disappointed, we’ll also talk about sexuality.
This combination is easy enough to do, because, simply put:
The best path toward spirituality is through sexuality.
Think about it.
When was the last time you had a peak experience?
One that totally involved your emotional and physical being?
An experience when you were completely and wholly in the Now -- not thinking about tomorrow’s agenda, or where you left your socks, or why it rains in Indianapolis (or anything else, for that matter).
When was the last time you felt overwhelmingly connected, unified with another, or with the universe at large?
In other words, when was the last time you had a peak, spiritual experience in the arms of a loved one?
Alternatively,
When was the last time you had a peak experience -- an overpowering ecstasy that literally blew you away,
That did not involve sexuality?
Given the probabilities of encountering a peak experience,
Either though sexuality (or all of those other methods),
Which seems more profitable to pursue as a spiritual path?
Which is more likely to get you there in a style to which you’d like to become accustomed?
There was a time, a long time ago,
When sexuality was an act of worship,
When love making and rejoicing were the rituals of a goddess,
When uniting in love, was a sacred offering of the most profound nature.
But then, jealousy reared its ugly head, and dualism was created --
Separating, dividing, specializing, and splitting a universal unity.
It was then the practitioners of sacred love and pleasure,
Became known as the Whores of Babylon;
And when Lilith, the mother of humanity,
Was cast in the role of a monstrous, sex-crazed mother of demons.
But that lie, that ultimate deception, fell short of its goal.
The truth which would make us all free,
Survived, flourished, and became widely known.
For the issue is not about male or female dominance,
It's not about pro-choice or pro-life,
It's not about family values or political agendas.
The issue is about exploring one’s sexuality -- discovering all of the joys, glories and delightsthat reside in one’s sexual, spiritual experiences.
The issue is about becoming an ascending spiritual being though acts of love, pleasure and joyous sexuality.
The issue is the Return of the Goddess.
SOURCE:..halexandria.org/dward383.htm
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 16:28:17 GMT 12
Desiderata
Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 16:25:26 GMT 12
COMPASSION: QUOTES OF THE DAY ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~
"The thought that you think sends out a vibration that attracts a similar frequency to it; so you think it some more, which attracts more to it; and this further thought helps you think it some more. In other words, when you have an expectation, you've got a dominant thought going on, and Law of Attraction is going to deliver that to you again, and again and again. And you say "The reason that I believe this, is because it is true." And we say, the reason that you believe it, is because you've practiced the thought. All that a belief is, is a thought that you keep practicing. ~ Abraham-Hicks
"If you want OTHERS to be happy, practice compassion. If YOU want to be happy, practice compassion." ~ The Dalai Lama (1935 - )
"A human being is part of a whole, called by us the Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty." ~ Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of both the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these." ~ George Washington Carver
"Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution." ~ Kahlil Gibran
"Experience is a hard teacher, because she gives the test first and the lesson afterwards." ~ Unknown
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 16:25:06 GMT 12
The Testing of Compassion When things don't go your way, how do you react?
Do you fret and stew, stomping about, thoroughly frustrated?
When you have a partner, or a spouse, or a child who acts this way, what is YOUR reaction to that?
It's hard to have compassion for the suffering of others when we find ourselves irritated with their behavior. When you feel your frustration rising, remind yourself to take a slow, deep breath before speaking, and let this action remind you to re-attune your self to the more relaxed feelings of love.
Are you able to show your compassion for others even though you may feel a bit irritated with their behavior?
~~~ An Indian medicine person explained how the Senecas adapted themselves to their surrounds:
"We adapt ourselves through faith. The faith we have developed in our fellowman is responsible for the depth of peace and contentment we enjoy during routines of daily living. We govern this through our thoughts. We live out our patterns of thought. The patterns we establish serve as personal principles. Society also has principles that affect us. At times there are conflicts that affect our thoughts. The standards we set to govern the conflicts rely upon the depth of our personal principles. Some of us do not recognize our personal principles and permit the principles of society to set our patterns of daily living. This habit does not foster complete peace or contentment. Something is lacking and results in a sense of restlessness. We need to belong to ourselves, not drift along in the maelstrom of society and wonder why problems are always rearing their confused heads.
"Life to the early Seneca had great significance. It was the manifestation of the LIFE FORCE of the Great Mystery or the Great Spirit. It was expressed by one's health, in spirit, mind and body. All American Natives believed that the Spiritual Essence was perfect; a state of perfection, totally balanced in Nature on every dimension of existence. The purpose of life was to develop one's natural potentials and share these gifts with others. The imperfection of earthly experiences were the lessons of self-development. "
~ Excerpted from "Entering Into the Silence: The Seneca Way " ~~~
When I find myself focusing on the problems of others, I know I can get a better perspective if I take time out for meditation. There, I can thoroughly relax myself and let the cares of the day melt away. There, in the silence of my meditation I can feel my own Source Energy and allow myself to become re-attuned to the soft, sweet feeling of relaxation.
I always come away from my meditations with renewed strength and energy to meet the challenges of the day with more compassion.
How do YOU handle the day to day frustrations that arise?
Do you find you are being called to stretch your Compassion?
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:33:42 GMT 12
Faeries and You
The realm of faeries and elves is divided into four groups: The Earth Spirits- elves, gnomes, and trolls; The Water Spirits- nymphs, undines and water sprites; The Air Spirits- sylphs; and The Fire Spirits- salamanders. It is important that your garden be an environment that welcomes all living beings, especially faeries and elves. These pages are designed to help you connect with the fey......enjoy!
Faery are often very shy or mistrustful of humans. Some dislike humans all together and are best avoided. Faery have many reason to distrust humans.
A few reasons: 1. We are destructive. So much land and water has been destroyed, polluted or hurt in some way by humans. We cut down whole forests, dump our garbage were ever we like (so many times I've been out horseback riding on wooded trails and find abandoned vechiles and appliances, tires and other trash) Money is usually the main factor guiding men when it comes to ripping apart our land to put in a new shopping mall or housing development. Look at all the pollution done to the seas, rivers, lakes etc. We can't claim ignorance for all that's been done.
2. There are unfortunately way to many people out there that are cruel to animals. I volunteer with a shelter and see such cruelty. Animals are beaten, starved, set on fire, killed for fun, tormented, experimented on and forced into horrible sport for our amusment exp. horse tripping, dog and cock fighting.
3. How can faery be expected to trust us at face value when we as humans can't get along. Wars, abuse, killing, pettiness, all the manipulation, lies. Why this list alone could take pages.
These are just a few reasons fae may be distrustful of us.
I know some of what I said may have seemed harsh but it's reality. Mother Earth and her creatures are suffering and much of it's at our hands.
While all that maybe true it's still possible to srtike up a relationship with the fae. They are shy, perhaps deservedly untrusting and have thier own set of standards. This being so it takes a willingness, true intent, patience and perhaps a little luck to get thier attention.
Some things to help in contacting them. It's easiest to see them or have contact with them in tween places. In a doorway, Hall, gate, crossroads, etc. Anyplace that's in between or not truly one place or another. Good times to try are dusk before the sun is truly up, noon, twilight and midnight. The veil between our world and their's is easier to peirce, so to speak. Full moon and New moon are powerful times. Your solstices, equinox's are another good time. You can purchase an almanac for this information, or look at the Witche's Calendar here on the sidebar.
Have an offering of some sort is also helpful. The faery like to be thanked, not in words but gifts.
Have an area devoted to the wee folk. An area in your yard or garden. If it's not possible to have an outside location devote a space in your home. It need not be large. Having natural plants and even one of those small water fountains is helpful. Leave small stones, herbs etc in this area. Announce to the faery this is thier space.
If you have images or statues, dolls or anything fae related leave them near this spot or scattered in your home. They will be attracted to them.
Faery love music so play it often especially when working with them.!
Thank You Shel.....
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:31:44 GMT 12
Magickal Traditions This is the 2nd most popular page in the Faerie FAQ. I am assuming that some of you who come here are "shopping" for a tradition, and that's okay. That is one of the things the Faerie FAQ is for. While I am trying to make this part of the FAQ as comprehensive as possible, this page is not yet complete. Understandably, I cannot guarantee the behavior of any of these groups, and so if you contact them or work with them, you do so at your own risk. Use your common sense as well as your intuition in choosing any Magickal path. The Third Road This is the tradition of Francesca De Grandis who studied with Victor Anderson for seven years to for the right to call herself a shaman. According to her books (see the books page...) this path comes out of her experiences and is designed as a Faerie Shamanism/Wicca for everyone, not just the die-hards who can get through seven years of intense shamanic training. Of all the practical Faerie Magick paths available today, this is my recommended pick for anyone. More than this, I'm under the impression that she gives readings, classes and lectures. Did you say you neeeded a good excuse to visit San Francisco? I think this might just be it. Take a look at her website Francesca de Grandis' 3rd Road for more info about the classes and workshops. You can also check out her Wiccan Grimoire which is pretty niffy, too. Gothik Faerie This path, which I consider myself to be part of, finds a reality in this air through the coalescement of the creative energies of Sade Wolfkitten and Terry Sindar Visit Thee Gothik Faerie Grove online for more details. "We are a small scattered band of artistic social misfits; drawing on goth, pagan, punk, hippie, otherkin, and Rennie scenes, and not fitting perfectly well into any of them." Sade states in the FAQ about Thee Gothik Faerie Grove. Not only talented in the visual and literary arts, but in the musical and performing arts as well. See the Books and Music page for info on their band, Dragonfly Reel. The Covenant of Rhiannon Bob Bitting sent me a very nice e-mail about this FAQ, and I was flattered to know that this page is linked up on the COR links page. COR comes out of New Jersey, and some of their wisdom is descended from Sybil Leek's Horsa Coven tradition. COR follows a Welsh tradition, and the mythology of the Mabinogion appears to be very important in their ways. A recent visit to the website reveals that Rev. Bob is retiring as head of this order, but COR is still active. "If I were to find words to describe our tradition, I suppose it would be neo-faerie. We are primarily and heavily influenced by the Faerie Shamanism of Victor and Cora Anderson, and respect them as our Elders, even though we have no true lineage to them. Our version of Faerie has a strong Cuban/African influence-more so in out inner court rituals- our outer court is based on more traditional Welsh Witchcraft. We also add elements of the "horsa" or "New Forest" tradition to both our inner or outer courts. Training in our brand of Faerie normally takes about seven years, although some students are more adept than others and get through it earlier... we all learn for the rest of our lives- Due to the ecstatic nature of Faerie, it is not everyones "cup of tea"...there is a "darker aspect to our rites than is found in other forms of Witchcraft. Some of the more distinctive charecteristics of our version of the Faerie trad include, but are not limited to: Ecstatic rather than fertility based. The practice of possesion by the Gods. extensive use of secret ritual and names. Working a particularily "wild" flavor of energy." We are currently exploring some of the Traditions of the Early Prytyn of Brittan and adding that lore to our rites." (Rev. Robert S. Bitting Hp Covenant of Rhiannon Community: the Witches of Cape May) Y Tylwyth Teg, The Association of Cymmry Wicca and Rhuddlwm Gawr Y Tylwyth Teg is a Welsh Tradition of Witchcraft which, as you might guess from the name, identifies closely with the "realms of Fairy", according to their web pages. They claim an initiatory lineage traceable to Prince Llewellyn of Wales. On the FAQ at their website, it states that Y Tylwyth Teg' tradition began over 700 years ago, in the late 1200's when a Prince Llewellyn ap Gwyfed commissioned the translation of certain documents written in Ogham runes. As for modern history regarding YTT, the website has said that sometime in the 1960's, an American man named Bill Wheeler was initiated into a family tradition coven in North Wales, called "Dynion Mwyn". Given the name "Rhuddlwm Gawr" (it really isn't as unpronounceable as it looksÉ) he was told by the Elders of his Tradition to return to the US and to begin teaching "The Fairy Faith", otherwise known as Y Tylwyth Teg. I've been unable to get copies of the books written by Rhuddlwm about Y Tylwyth Teg ("The Quest: The Search for the Grail of Immortality" , "The Way: The Discovery of the Grail of Immortality", and "The Greater Mysteries of Welsh Witchcraft". "The Thirteen Treasures" course is also listed at Amazon.com, but it is out of print as well.) After mounting several completely fruitless searches, for the books, I thought I'd try to contact the Tradition itself for more information, and was able to speak with Rhuddlwm, himself. Rhuddlwm was extremely pleasant, and he explained the while the books were out of print, he said he expected them to be re-released by NewLeaf sometime this spring (1998) [note: no sign of these books yet 7/98]. He asked me why I was interested in the Tradition, and we talked for a while, and that was that. He did recommend a book "The Chalice and the Blade" not the work by by Riane Eisler, mind you -- but a romance novel set in ancient Wales whose main characters were coincidentally named Rhuddlwn and Ceredwen. I'm not much of romance reader, and I'm embarrassed to say, I couldn't get through it. Update 1/03 I was terribly disappointed to find this site www.geocities.com/ferigold/yttfiles/index.html about YTT, although I wasn't really all that surprised. Feri Crossroads This site, which has been a focus for a lot of angry feri buzzzing, or so it seems, presents an overview of a kind of feri practice. The author, who has remained anonymous, states that the site is not being presented as the teachings of Victor Anderson (see below) and the site is not designed to teach anyone the way of Feri. It is a really unique kind of content about Feri on the net. After leaving a message in this website's now offline guestbook, I got the ONLY threatening e-mail about this site that has ever been posted to me, warning me not to link to or popularize this site. (After a lengthy discussion with the individual who threatened me with wild magickal consequences, me thinks we got him calmed down. ) From a new page on this site, I have learned that apparently this kind of politic is not uncommon in the Feri community. To be fair, I've put the crossroads link right here in the same paragraph with the FaeryGold refutation. Don't send me any more hate mail about this link -- I'll send that immature energy right back atcha. The Society of Celtic Shamans This is the tradition of Tira Brandon-Evans, the Founder and Moderator of the Society. She says she is a Celtic Shaman and has walked in the Shining Country since she was about five years of age. She is ordained as a Priestess in the Fellowship of Isis and the Founder of the Iseum of Breo-Saight, a Fellowship of Isis Chartered temple dedicated to the Irish Goddess Brighid in Her aspect of Fiery Arrow of Wisdom and Inspiration, according to the FAQ page on the website. DJ Conway, the author of many books on Celtic tradition is also associated with this tradition as part of their Council of Elders. This is clearly a shamanic based system. Participation is a tiered affair, and there are fees at different levels of membership. Irish Faery-Faith Tradition This is the tradition of Kisma Stepanich, Faery Ollamh. According to the website, this tradition is associated with the Fellowship of Isis. For a fee, you can take courses by mail and be trained in this tradition. Copied from this website: "All bhairds of the Irish American Faery-Faith, who are members of the Faery-Faith Network, Kisma K. Stepanich founded in 1990 and made public in 1995, are also members of the Fellowship of Isis, Clonegal Castle, Enniscorthy, Ireland. Students receive training through the Faery-Faith Lyceum~Bhairdic College (a world-wide postal course), and are part of the FOI Magi Degree Program." For more info, you can visit the Faery-Faith Network Website. For even more info about KS and this trad look at this on the FaeryGold site. The Feri Faith of Victor and Cora Anderson I discovered this fascinating man in the pages of "People of the Earth". His interview is compelling -- and disturbing. I read it over and over -- I couldn't get his words out of my mind. Gwydion Penderwen, Francesca De Grandis and Starhawk among others, have studied with him. If you are going to study Faerie, you owe it to yourself to know about Victor Anderson and the Feri Tradition. Most modern Faerie trads borrow from his teachings. Here is a site with fangs, Feri Gold, which has what it says are "real" Victor Anderson links. You will also want to read Cora's book, "Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition." Unfortunately for us seekers, Victor himself passed into the Summerland in September of 2001. Hopefully he is still watching over us, Radical Faeries Outspoken, mostly male, Gay and Pagan. Now here's my question: did they call fags "fairies" -- because it was a known fact that fairies are homosexual or because it was a known fact that fairies are girlish and "pouffy"? To confuse the issue even more, there's a lot of modern Faerie Lore that suggests that the Fey do enjoy polyamorous and bisexual affairs. But was this always a part of Faerie Lore, or has it come to the fore precisely because of the Radical Faerie movement? For more information on this path, check out the DMOZ Radical Faery Links page Otherkin This is the path for seekers who believe they are Fey, or at least, have a non-human soul. If you read the page I wrote on why I created this site and the Faerie FAQ, then you'll know that I do take the Otherkin movement seriously. How seriously do others take this movement? I cannot say. I have met some very interesting people in the online Otherkin community, and there are many sites and lists of interest. In general, the Otherkin path is non-structured. You figure out where you fit in, if you fit in, and what this means to you. Many of the Otherkin resonate to the Elvish legends, even such as those described in Tolkien's epic "Lord of the Rings", now becoming again ragingly popular as the feature films hit the big screen. The Eponian branch of the McFarland Dianics ( Formerly listed in this FAQ as "The Hazel Nut") Another faerie tradition out of Georgia -- and distinctly different from the YTT folks. They practice the "Faerie Faith", which they emphasize is "in no way connected to the gay men's group, the Radical Faeries, or to the Faerie Tradition in which Starhawk is involved." The Tradition referred to here says it originated with a woman named Epona, who started and priestessed a coven called The Garden Club in Atlanta in 1987, teaching the Faerie Faith that she had learned from a Mr.Mark Roberts. According to their old web page a woman named Margaret Lumeley Brown introduced Mark Roberts to the Faerie Faith in Great Britain at some point in the early 1960's, and subsequently she initiated him into its Mysteries. He returned to the US to start a path referred to as "Hyperborea". Epona met Mark Roberts in Atlanta, Georgia in 1979, and it is implied that Mark taught Epona the Faerie Faith, although it is stated that by the time the Garden Club was formed in 1987, they had long split over differences of opinion about the vision of Hyperborea. In addition to studying the Faerie Faith, they study Huna, Jungian psychology, Native American Spirituality, and Women's Mysteries. It is stated that the training process is very intensive and protracted, during which the students must read a great deal and "experience each of the 13 lunar rituals." After this, they may take a First Degree (which they say is like a Second Degree in most traditionsÉ) at which point the Initiate begins to study something referred to as "the 5 solar trees", and after a few more years if they demonstrate proper character and development, they can take a "Fifth Solar", which is like a "Third Degree" in their tradition. For more information go to: Linda Kerr's Faery Faith Page "We refer to our tradition as the Faerie Faith, as that is the name that was given to us by Mark Roberts. However, upon further research, we have found that we are actually related to the McFarland Dianics of Morgan McFarland in Texas. So, in fact, we are "The Eponian branch of the McFarland Dianics." So if that isn't confusing enough, feel free to ask me any questions. Unfortunately, there are no operating covens of our tradition other than the one that I am currently in. Because of the intensity of the training, only about one in 10 people will make it to Final Passage / Fifth Solar. The training takes anywhere from 4 to 10 years. While we are working on turning out new High Priests/esses, we encourage all people who are interested in the Faerie Faith to read the books on the Faerie Faith Reading List as posted by Linda Kerr.(Cliff Landis) This list of Faerie Paths is not exhaustive. There are many, many other faerie trads. If you practice a Faery/Faerie/Feri-based tradition, and you would like to let people know about your tradition, or if your group is actively seeking members, or if you are a teacher of a Faery/Faerie/Feri-based tradition, or Faery/Faerie/Feri-based or Celtic Shamanism., please e-mail me with details. I would sincerely like to be able to post more authentic, verifiable contacts for the many visitors to this page who are eager to learn these ways. One last thought...in my tradition (yes, I am initiated into a tradition that you would probably recognise by name...) we don't charge money for teaching, we don't accept money for teaching about the Craft or magick. Now supplies, tools, photocopies, those are perfectly legitimate expenses, and everyone chips in for the feasts. Now most of you probably know that I am a professional intuitive, and I don't have any problem charging a reasonable fee for my service as an intuitive, Tarot reader or astrologer, but every time I see these fees for teaching posted on different websites, I cringe. Don't think I don't know that in many indigenous traditions, those who would be shamans have to gift their would be teachers with something significant. That it's seen as a ritual exchange, I know that. Maybe the fees are appropriate, maybe not, I don't know. You have to make this judgement on your own. Thank you Shel for this share...
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:28:57 GMT 12
A Fairy Spell
In a woodland clearing, spread a clean green cloth. On it place small cakes and flowers, especially primroses, in a circle. Imagine the magic around you and say:
O Fairy Queen, Upon your white steed, Within me plant A magic seed. From you may spring Many new beginnings. Great Queen, Accept these offerings.
Leave the items and walk around the altar three times, then slowly walk the path back to your home. Listen for the sound of laughter and bells and know you are blessed. Beltane is the time when fairies return from their winter rest, carefree and full of mischief and delight. On the night before Beltane, in times past, folks would place rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection. If you do not wish the fairies to visit, do the same! This is also a perfect time for night or predawn rituals to draw down power to promote fertility in body and mind. At Beltane, the Pleiades star cluster rises just before sunrise on the morning horizon. The Pleiades is known as the seven sisters, and resembles a tiny dipper-shaped pattern of six moderately bright stars in the constellation of Taurus, near the shoulder. Watch for it low in the east-northeast sky, just a few minutes before sunrise.
By: Nancy Bennett )0( & Granny Moon's Morning Feast
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:17:14 GMT 12
Moon Mythology "This is the light of the mind, cold and planetary." -Sylvia Plath The Moon and the Yew Tree The urge to explain and understand the world of natural phenomena cannot properly be seen as particularly scientific, but must be seen, rather, as generally human. It is well known that long before Copernicus described his radical and revolutionary picture of a helio-centric universe that human beings, from around the world, were giving form to the origins, motions and motives of the vastly complex and depthless sky above them. Through mythic narratives of super-human heroes and anthropomorphic goddesses and gods, pre-scientific societies placed order among the cosmos. The Moon has always held a place of particular fascination in our earthbound lives, provoking the imagination to escape its limits and, as we look outwards, moving us towards an understanding of our inner selves, in all our human complexity. Monuments and shrines have been built to her; calendars follow her motion; ancient Gods and Goddesses mimic the Moon's gentle and unending pull on the forces of life. Myths, as Carl Jung has described, bring us back in touch with ourselves and, to that effect, can never be replaced by science. In this sense, it would be detrimental to completely dissolve these mythic narratives into an archaic and unsophisticated past. Is it not possible, on one hand, to deny the factual accuracy of these stories while, on the other, appreciating their import in our socio-political world, to see them as "facts of the mind," which, when projected, take on a worthwhile reality unto themselves; to understand them, not as the antitheses of science but, instead, its antecedents; to understand, not only their dangers, but also their power to free the human imagination, enabling us to envision new worlds, overcome old boundaries, and eventually move us all forward to a better understanding of ourselves and the universe around us.
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:14:45 GMT 12
The Pagan Origins Of Christian Mythology.
by Brice C. Smith
The Judeo-Christian religions were founded in a region of the world where savior religions existed for thousands of years. Much of the symbolism and many of the stories in the Bible may be traced to earlier myths of the Persians, Egyptians, and other people from the near east. Under Constantine when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity the festivals and stories were further infused with the traditions of the earlier Roman pagan religion. Constantine himself worshipped both Jesus and the sun god Sol Invitus, the Romanized version of Mithra, until he died. It is, therefore, crucial to the proper understanding of the Bible to understand the influence that these ancient religions had on the early Jews and Christians when they were forming what was to become the Jeudo-Christian tradition.
Mithra Among the religions that played large roles in influencing the types of religious beliefs of the ancient near east, Zoroastrianism was probably the must important. Zarathushtra is the Iranian word for Zoroaster who founded this religion in ancient Persia approximately 2000 BCE. In ancient Iranian mythology, Ahura Mazda was the lord of light and wisdom, originally an equal to Mithra the god of light and justice, was elevated to the supreme being by the prophet Zoroaster. The extent to which the writers of the Old and New Testaments were acquainted with the Persians is evident in the numerous references to the Medes and the Persians in the Bible. Mithraism, an off-shoot of Zoroastrianism, holds many striking parallels in symbolism and mythology to the latter Jewish and early Christian writings.
One very interesting addition to the Jewish mythology thought to have been taken from Mithraism is Satan himself. Up to the time of the exile, the source of both good and evil to the Israelites was God. After the exile from Egypt, the doctrine of Mithraism became widely know to the Israelites. Their writings then begin the claim that God is the one God of the universe and that he is a God of righteousness. They introduce the character of Satan to explain all of the evil in the world. It is probable that the earliest writings about Satan were actually modeled on the arch deity Angra Mainyu of Zoroastrianism. The elaborate angelology and demonology of the later Judaism, the idea of a divine judgment and a final resurrection, and a future life which may be definitely described all seem to have come at least partially from the mythology of Zoroastrianism. An interesting side note to be mentioned here is that it is commonly believed that the Magi who are described visiting Jesus at his birth were Zoroastrian priests.
The influence of Mithraism on Christian mythology is even more pronounced. Mithra, a character already ancient by the birth of Jesus, appears to be one of the models for the later mysticizing of Jesus and his ministry. It is apparent that as each of the gospels was written more and more mystery and magic was accredited to Jesus. It is these additions to the story, added many years after his death, that borrow heavily from the earlier religions already well established in the near east. The story and role of Mithra is very similar to that of Jesus. The Zoroastrian religion centered on the struggle of Order against Chaos, Light against Dark. In this battle the Sun-god was a powerful ally for the side of light. Mithra was the son of the Sun- god sent to Earth to aid in this battle against evil and to be the savior of the world.
The Mithraic festival in celebration of Mithra's birth was held on December 25, the recognized date of Jesus' birth. Long before Christmas was celebrated, December 25th in the Roman world was the Natalis Solis Invicti, the birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. This feast, which took place just after the winter solstice, was in honor of the Sun God Sol Invitus who was nothing more than the Roman adaptation of Mithra. Mithra was said to have been born in a cave or grotto where shepherds attended him and gave him gifts. This brings to mind much of the story of Jesus' birth in a stable. Mithra, like Jesus, is believed to have descended from heaven to earth, shared a last supper with twelve of this followers, and redeemed mankind from sin be shedding blood and rising from the dead. Mithraism postulates an apocalypse, a day of judgment, a resurrection of the flesh, and of a second coming of Mithra himself when he will finally defeat the principle of evil. The Mithraists even baptize their followers as Christians do, though they use bull's blood instead of water.
The similarities do not stop there. The symbol of Mithra was the setting and rising sun, which invoke images of Christ's death and resurrection. Both religions also included a sacrament of bread and wine derived from the last supper of their respective saviors. The influence of Mithraism on Christianity is even more pronounced in the symbolism and style of the later Gospels as well as in the language and dress of the early Christian leaders. The style of many Mithraic verses seem quite familiar to modern Christians. A typical verse used in a Mithraic service is "Be of good cheer, sacred band of Initiates, your God has risen from the dead. His pains and sufferings shall be your salvation." It is clear that many of the phrases used by Paul seem to draw heavily upon the terminology and style of the Mithraic religion. Another example of this borrowing of Mithraic symbolism is when Paul says "They drink from that spiritual rock and that rock is Christ" (I Cor. 10:4). Mithra was sometimes termed the god out of the rock and Mithraic services were often held in caves. In fact the Vatican hill in Rome that is sacred to Peter, the Christian rock, was already scared to Mithra. Many Mithraic artifacts have been found there. This should not be surprising when it is realized that Mithraism was introduced to the Roman empire around 70 BCE, over 350 years before Christianity was adopted as the official state religion, and that Tarsus, the home of Paul, was one of the chief centers of Mithra worship in the ancient world.
The liturgy of the Eucharist that John describes requires the converted to be born again. In John 3:3 Jesus states that "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." This concept of rebirth is again not unique to Christianity. It was in fact integral to the Mithraic religion for 2000 years before Jesus was born. In the Mithraic liturgy, it is stated that it is necessary "so that [the speaker] may gaze upon the immortal beginning with the immortal spirit that I may be born again in thought." Along with the concept of rebirth, the description of the Mithraic communion is nearly indistinguishable form the Christian accounts. The prayer said at a Mithraic communion is "He who will not eat of my body, nor drink of my blood so that he may be one with me and I with him, shall not be saved." This prayer may be compared to the Christian communion story in Luke 21:19 when Jesus breaks the bread and says "This is my body to be given up for you. This cup is the new covenant in my blood which will be shed for you." It is clear just how much influence the symbolism and terminology of Mithraism had on the earliest Christian writers. The other stylist influence that Mithraism had on Christianity is in the dress and trappings used during religious services.
The Mithraic Holy Father wore a red cap, garment, and ring and carried a shepherd's staff. The early Christian leaders adopted the Mithraic title of priest as well as their style of dress. Like the Mithraic priests, the Christian's became Father' despite Jesus' specific proscription of the acceptance of such a title. In Matthew 23:9 Jesus states that you should "call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven." The Mithraic priest wore robes which featured the sword (cross) of Mithra which are identical to the robes worn by Catholic priests to this day. The Mithraic bishops wore a mithra, or miter, as their badge of office which was also adopted by early Christian bishops. During a mass, Mithraists commemorated the ascension of the sun-god by eating a mizd, a sun shaped bun with the sword (cross) of Mithra. The mass and the communion wafer were likewise adapted to Christianity. The Roman Catholic mass wafer has maintained this sun shape for over a thousand years. No one would claim that the Judeo-Christian religious tradition is taken entirely from one source. As I will show, many similar adaptations were taken from Egypt, Rome, and other ancient civilizations, but it is clear that the Persian cult of Mithra was one of the most influential sources of mythology and symbolism to the ancient Israelites who wrote the Bible.
Egypt Another important source that the early Christians drew from was the great civilization to the west, Egypt. Many of the pieces to the stories surrounding Jesus which differ from Mithraism may be found in the mythology of the Egyptians. Due to the vast differences in writing systems, the Egyptian religion did not have as strong an influence on the style of early Christian writings, but the influence of the characters and the magic associated with each is even more pronounced than it is for Mithraism.
The four most import figures in Egyptian mythology needed to understanding the Christian stories are Set, Isis, Osiris, and Horus. In earliest times, Set was the patron deity of Lower (Northern) Egypt, and represented the fierce storms of the desert whom the Lower Egyptians sought to appease. However, when Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and ushered in the First Dynasty, Set became known as the evil enemy of Horus (Upper Egypt's dynastic god). In Egyptian religion Set, of Seth, came to stand for the forces of chaos and destruction, of energy misplaced. He was the opposer of light and the champion of darkness. Set was the principle of all which burns and consumes. In later periods, Set was identified with the Greek genie Typhon who had a serpents body. The snake is a symbol long associated with Set which undoubtedly influenced the use of the snake as the evil influence in the story of Adam and Eve. In the dynastic periods, when Osiris, Horus, and Isis were worshipped, followers of Set were persecuted and his priesthood was finally destroyed in the XXV dynasty. When the Hebrews emigrated from Egypt during the XIX dynasty, it is clear that they took with them the character of Set which was later used along with Angra Mainyu as the model for Satan. Even the word Satan was probably derived from the Egyptian hieroglyphic Set-hen, one of Set's formal titles.
The next major Egyptian character who had a large influence on the early Christians is Isis. Perhaps the most important goddess of all Egyptian mythology, Isis assumed, during the course of Egyptian history, the attributes and functions of virtually every other important goddess in the land. Her most important functions, however, were those of motherhood, marital devotion, healing the sick, and the working of magical spells and charms. She was the sister and wife of Osiris, sister of Set, and the mother of Horus the Child (Harpocrates). Isis was responsible for protecting Horus from Set during his infancy; for helping Osiris to return to life; and for assisting her husband to rule in the land of the Dead. Isis figures strongly in the rites and symbolism associated with Mary. She was considered to be the mother of the king who is thought to be a God made man to rule over his earthy kingdom. The cult of Isis was widespread in Egypt and spread from there to Phoenicia, Syria and Palestine; to Asia Minor; to Cyprus, Rhodes, Crete, Samos and other islands in the Aegean; to many parts of mainland Greece - Corinth, Argos and Thessaly amongst them; to Malta and Sicily; and, finally, to Rome. In the first century BC, Isis was perhaps the most popular goddess in Rome, from which her cult spread to the furthest limits of the Roman Empire, including Britain: her only rival was Mithras. An interesting side note to this is that the 'Black Virgins', so highly reverenced in certain French cathedrals have been shown to be in fact basalt figures of Isis. Many of the parallels between Isis and Mary also figure in the parallel between Horus, her son, and Jesus. Obviously the most important similarity is that Isis was said to be a virgin when she gave birth to Horus. This is, of course, to be compared to the biblical story of the immaculate conception. As well as similarities between their stories and their functions, there are several similarities in the types of symbols and language surrounding Isis and Mary. Isis is constantly referred to as the honored one or as the holy one. She is referred to with language like "Immaculate is our Lady Isis" which is nearly identical to the language used about Mary. Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, openly embraced Isis and simply anthropomorphized her into Mary.
Osiris was the god of the dead, and the god of the resurrection into eternal life; ruler, protector, and judge of the deceased. Osiris was the brother of Set and Isis, who was also his wife by whom he fathered Horus. Osiris ruled the world of men in the beginning, after Ra had abandoned the world to rule the skies, but he was murdered by his brother Set. Through the magic of Isis, he was made to live again. By Dynasty XVIII, Osiris was probably the most widely worshipped god in Egypt. Reliefs of Roman emperors, conquerors of Egypt, dressed in the traditional garb of the Pharaohs, making offerings to him in the temples exist to this day. His death was avenged by his son Horus, who defeated Set, castrated him, and cast him out into the Sahara. Horus then became the divine prototype of the Pharaoh. As Heru-Ur, "Horus the Elder", he was the patron deity of Upper (Southern) Egypt. Initially he was viewed as the twin brother of Set (the patron of Lower Egypt), but he became the conqueror of Set around 3100 BCE when Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and formed the unified kingdom of Egypt.
There are many striking similarities between the stories surrounding Osiris and Horus and those surrounding Jesus. I will first describe the similarities between their stories and then I will talk about the similar themes and imagery used in the stories. Horus was born to the virgin Isis as Jesus was to Mary. Horus was born in Annu, the place of bread, where a star announced his birth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the house of bread, with an eastern star leading the Magi to his birthplace. Horus was baptized with water by Anup the Baptizer at the age of thirty just as Jesus was baptized at thirty by John the Baptist. Horus had twelve followers known as Har-Khutti and Jesus had his twelve followers known as disciples. Horus was carried off by Set to the summit of Mount Hetep where they did battle. Jesus was carried off by Satan to the Mount where Jesus was tested by Satan. After Horus' death he was wrapped in a mummy bandage that was woven without seam just like the vesture of Christ is without a seam. And finally there was That-Aan who bore witness to the word of Ra and to the testimony of Horus just as John bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus. The stories of Osiris also shows many similarities to Jesus. Osiris was considered to be the bringer of enlightenment. He forced no man to carry out his will. He induced them to practice what he preached by means of gentle persuasion. His lessons were often imparted to his listeners through hymns or songs. Much of this may be seen in the later writings about the ministry of Jesus.
Of course, the most important similarity between the stories of Osiris and Jesus is their death and resurrection. Osiris was killed by his brother Set, his body stripped, torn to pieces, and finally scattered about. In this way, the death of Osiris bears similarity to the death of Jesus when his body is stripped and his clothes were divvied up among the soldiers. Osiris was then resurrected with the aid of his wife/sister Isis and his son Horus and in doing so became the lord of death and the keeper of the afterlife. This is mirrored in the story of Jesus' resurrection and subsequent mastery over death. Each year Osiris was the subject of the Abydos passion play, a ritual that stretched from the Old Kingdom up until around 400 CE. The Abydos passion play depicts the slaying of Osiris and his followers by Set. The figure of Osiris is then torn to pieces by Set, after which his remains are gathered up by his wife, Isis, and son, Horus, who then restore him to life. This ritual is mirrored by modern day Christians during Easter when the death and resurrection of Jesus is reenacted in modern passion plays. Some of these stories about Horus are accredited to Osiris and vise versa, but what is clear is that much of the mystical aspects that were added to the later stories of Jesus' ministry drew heavily from the earlier Egyptian texts with which the writers were undoubtedly familiar.
Even more startling than the plot similarities are the symbolic similarities between the Egyptian and Christian stories. Horus was associated both with the lion and with the lamb as was Jesus. Horus was identified with the Tat or cross as well as with the shepherd's crook and the rod. This association was first made through Isis, his mother. In an ancient Egyptian text Isis states that "I am the staff of his power in his youth, and he is the rod of my old age." This association was strengthened by the pharaohs, who were called Kings of the Kingdom and The Great Shepherds of Their Flock. In the tradition of Horus, who was called "The Good Shepherd", the pharaohs carried the staff and rod as the symbols of their heavenly power . Jesus' association with the cross goes without saying but he was also portrayed as the Good Shepherd, and in Rev. 12:5 and 19:15 he is said to "rule with a rod of iron." There are also Old Testament associations between God and the shepherd's crook and the rod. In the Book of Psalms the famous line "Yea, though I walk through the valley of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy Rod and thy Staff, they comfort me" ( Psalms 23:4 ) points to the influence of the Egyptian traditions.
Horus was known as Iu-em-Hetep, he who comes in peace, Horus the avenger, and Horus the afflicted one. Latter Jesus would be called the bringer of peace, he who brings the sword, and the afflicted one. Horus was the sower and Set was the destroyer in the Harvest field. Horus was identified with the plant, the shoot, and the natzar. Jesus was the sower of good seed and Satan the sower of tares. Jesus was also associated with the "true vine".
The influence of astrology on the stories of Horus and then later on the story of Jesus goes far beyond the star that signaled both their births. Horus was known as the Morning Star or as he who gives the Morning Star to his followers just as Jesus was. Horus also spoke of the paradise of the pole star Am-Khemen just as Christians have the Holy City lighted by one luminary that is neither the Sun nor the Moon, which makes it most likely the pole star. Along with the symbolic comparisons, some of the sayings attributed to both deities also show the influence of the Egyptians on the early Christian chroniclers and to those who later translated the Bible. Horus says "It is I who traverse the heavens; I go around the Sekhet-Arru (the Elysian Fields); Eternity has been assigned to me without end. Lo! I am heir of endless time and my attribute is eternity". Striking a remarkably similar cord, Jesus later says "I am come down from Heaven. For this is the will of the Father that everyone who beholdeth the Son and believeth in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
Another similarity in speech is when Horus says that "I open the Tuat that I may drive away the darkness." Jesus is later quoted as saying "I am come a light unto the world."
One final example is when Horus says that "I am equipped with thy words O Ra (the father of heaven) and repeat them to those who are deprived of breath. These were the words of the father in heaven." Jesus speaks with much the same feeling when he says "The Father which sent me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say and what I should speak. Whatsoever I speak, therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak. The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."
Finally the most important similarity between the Egyptian religion and Christianity is the concept of a holy trinity. The tradition of the trinity goes back to the Amon theology of the Rameside period. The one god has three appearances or forms which are combined and treated as a singular being. In the later periods, the Egyptian trinity was taken to be Atum the Father, Horus the Son, and Ra the Holy Spirit. This is of course paralleled in the Christian trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is clear that not only the Persian cult of Mithra, but also the ancient pagan religions of Egypt strongly influenced the formation of the Judeo- Christian religion which grew up trapped between these two giants.
Conclusions With all of these comparisons and similarities, I have not intended to imply that the Bible is merely plagiarized from these earlier sources. Nor have I intended to prove the that the Bible is a work of fiction. What I have intended to show, and what is apparently clear, is that when the founders of the Christian faith set out to document the life and message of their founder, Jesus, they drew from the best sources of religious doctrine available.
Just as any other writer, the writers of the Bible were influenced by their own cultural biases and view points as well as by the religious figures they met. And as time went on and Christianity was adopted and spread throughout the Roman Empire and the rest of the world, it is not surprising that it was infused with the religious doctrine, symbolism, and mysticism of the cultures it encountered.
To show that these were not just isolated examples from two religions, here is a list of over thirty saviors who were said to have descended from heaven, taken the form of men, and furnished evidence of their divine origin by various miracles and marvelous works. Each laid the foundation for salvation, all were worshipped as Gods or sons of Gods, many were said to have been born to virgins, and many were also said to have been crucified. The list includes such figures as Chrishna of Hindostan, Budha Sakia of India, Salivahana of Bermuda, Zulis and Orus of Egypt, Odin of the Scandinavians, Crite of Chaldea, Baal and Taut of Phoenecia, Indra of Tibet, Bali of Afganistan, Jao of Nepal, Wittoba of the Bilingonese, Thammuz of Syria, Atys of Phrygia, Xamolxis of Thrace, Adad of Assyria, Deva Tat and Sammonocadam of Siam, Alcides of Thebes, Mikado of the Sintoos, Beddru of Japan, Hesus or Eros and Bremrillah of the Druids, Thor of the Gauls, Cadmus and Adonis of Greece, Hil and Feta of the Mandaites, Gentaut and Quexalcote of Mexico, Universal Monarch of the Sibyls, Ischy of the island of Formosa, Divine teacher of Plato, the Holy One of Xaca, Fohi and Tien of China, Ixion and Quirinus of Rome, Prometheus of Caucasus, Mohamud or Mahomet of Arabia. So, truly, the study of the Christian faith must be a study of world faiths. For if we ignore or dismiss the beliefs of others, even those of ancient civilizations, then we are missing an essential part of our own faith.
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Post by Indilwen on Jul 14, 2010 15:12:21 GMT 12
Differences Between Mythology and Legends
In common parlance the stories of the Greek and Roman deities and heroes are indiscriminately referred to as myths and legends. If we wish to be more careful, however, we can differentiate between the two types of story, and between them and folk tales and fairy tales, although a story may shift between these different categories, or may contain elements from each of them.
Briefly, we can say that a myth gives a religious explanation for something: how the world or a particular custom began. There is usually no attempt to fix the myth into a coherent chronology related to the present day, though myths or a cycle of myths may have their own internal chronology. The story is timeless in that the events are symbolic rather than just the way it happened.
In calling a story a myth we are expressing no opinion about whether it is true or not. In the days, when, at least publicly, Christianity was assumed to be true and other religions false by those writing about religion (say, the 19th and early 20th centuries), the specialists' use of the word myth was closer to the popular use to mean an untrue religious story, and it was only used for other people's religion. As anthropologists and students of religion came to take a more impartial view of the world, it was recognised that certain Christian stories shared many of the features of myth, and could be called myths if the idea that a myth was necessarily false was shed.
A legend, on the other hand, is a story which is told as if it were a historical event, rather than as an explanation for something or a symbolic narrative. The legend may or may not be an elaborated version of a historical event. Thus, examples of legends are the stories about Robin Hood, which are set in a definite period, the reign of Richard I of England (1189-99), or about King Arthur, which were perhaps originally based on the exploits of a Romano-Celtic prince who attempted to resist the expansion of the Anglo-Saxons in what was to become England. The stories about Robin Hood and King Arthur have been elaborated and expanded on down the years.
While myths and legends may be transmitted orally or in writing, folk tales tend to be transmitted orally, and although they are transmitted from generation to generation and so their origin or author is unknown, they are more definitely felt to be stories, i.e., fiction. Many European folk tales were written down in the 19th century, and some at least were transformed into fairy tales, which tend to be more consciously literary productions with a definite author, such as Hans Christian Andersen. Typically, folk and fairy tales involve magic and magical creatures and people such as witches, dragons and dwarves rather than religion. Examples are Cinderella and Jack and the Beanstalk.
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