the Reign of Mongolian Queens

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In 1206 ad after a decades of hard fighting, Genghis Khan unified the Mongol Nation and began the job of empire building. Before they came nation the Mongols were nomadic and semi nomadic tribesmen with no unity to speak of . Oft times they fought among each other and no one took them seriously. The Turks and the Chinese looked down upon them with scorn. They were considered the scum of the Earth. Genghis Kahn, or Temujn would change all that.

Born of the Borjiin clan, he was the son of a warrior and a Turkish woman.. At an early age his father died in battle and his family was far from helpful. All of Genghis Khan’s property was taken by his family and he and his mother were virtually outcast. He took refuge with the Ongudd tribe. Tragedy marred his early life as his first wife was abducted from him and given to another man. When he finally retrieved her and she had a child, Temujin did not waste time debating who the child was. The blue sky gave him birth and so therefore there was no illegitimacy. In 1206 he called all the tribes together at Khuraltai and formed them into a nation. In conquests he was known as both a ruthless conqueror and a fair and open minded ruler. He elevated the position of women to that of equality. They would save his empire.

After conquering territory he would let one of his offspring rule the province. Some he gave to sons like Ogodei and others to his daughers like Altai Kun and other names that are hard to remember. When his daughters took a province they married the heir and he want to the Khans special army. The daughter ruled as queen. The females were often more responsible and the sons were drinking lechers.

After Genghis Khan passed on his empire would begin to unravel 10 years later. His son Ogodei would attack other sons and daughters and take away their property. THi lead to civil wars and infighting. He presided over the abduction of Otriot females of noble birth and had them humiliated in the worst possible fashion. He would pas on 10 years laters and the empire would e fractured.


Central Mongolia was not part of the empire in fact their were now three Mongolian Empires. One Empire was in china after Kublai Khan took it over an established the Yuan Dynasty, Another was Il Khanate which included Iran and present day Iraq. The third was Russia. Eventually they would too would dissolve thanks to infighting and civil wars. Leaders would try to wipe out heir apparent and claim power for themselves. They just made themselves weaker. All would have been lost had it not been for the Mongol Queen who behind the scenes saved sons, fought battle an conducted intrigues to stay alive and inn power. They would never have such a vast empire like they did before but Humadie and Dayan Khan (Last Heir) would slavage the nation and forge an understanding with the Chinese.

Great book and easy to read, Filled with facts yet will not bore you down with excessive details. Worth the read.


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Tricksters and Adversaries

Tricksters and Adversaries of the Left Hand Path by Daemon Barzai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the realm of spirituality one comes across many different types of entities. Two that you will come upon are adversaries and tricksters. Adversaries act as opposer or fighters barring your way. Tricksters use wit to fool you and sometimes teach you in very round about ways. Tricksters can also act as psychoppmps and guides.

This short book has somethings going for it and a few things that go against it. In terms of interest , well I read the book in one morning. This means two things ; one the book was interesting and the second is that it was short. So what we have here is an informative interesting book that gives information about tricksters and adversaries yet it falls short due to technical issues.

The technical issues are that the book is just too short. You pay a high price for only 100 plus pages. The second issue was that the book came in a pdf format not like that of a regular kindle book. Lastly the editing was shoddy. There were numerous grammatical and spelling errors. Not very professional.

Now for the good stuff . When informing us about these tricksters and adversaries the editor has authors write from many different domains. One author pulls from Voodoo and tells us about the amoral Eshu spirits who inhabit the lower astral plains. Including in this are instructions on how to curse. But remember the Eshu can trick you. Deities like Pan, Lilith and Lucifer are discussed and there are rituals and meditations that come along with several. You also learn about Livecraftian deities and Native American tricksters.

Over all a short informative book that the reader will find enjoyable.
I hope to see future works from this company but they have to up the professionalism if they want to keep going.

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History of the Assassins

The Ismaili Assassins: A History of Medieval Murder by James Waterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Legend has it that high inn the hills of Persia there existed lush castles with fragrant gardens and beautiful women. The fountains and water falls spouted forth milk and wine. Potential assassins were supposedly drugged with Hashish and when they awoke , it was in one of these pleasure gardens surrounded by beautiful women. This was paradise and the assassin would do anything to get back there. To die while assassinating your target wass the quickest way there. Of course all for this is lies it did not really go down that way, although there was proselytizing on the part of the old man of the mountain . To be surre the assassins enjoyed a reputation of being able to kill any one at anywhere and any time. Even the European leaders were spooked.

The book gives an excellent history of this secretive group. Going all the way to the beginning of Islam when there was a dispute about succeeding Mohammed after his death all the way through to the Turkish invasions and the mongol hordes. You got both the past and the context. This will help you understand who the assassins were and why and how they were forced to change.

Starting with the death of Mohammed there was a controversy about who should succeed him. Should they choose his cousin and son in law Ali or should they choose Abu Bakr. In the end Abu Bakr was chosen. Ali would become a caliph after Abu Bakr passed on and two more would take his place and die. Ali himself died violently. As Islam itself spread they conquered Syria,Babylon and Persia. Their goal was not to convert people but rather let them be infidels and live off the tax or jizzya money. Many people did convert. Many converts were not happy with the way they were treated especially in Persia. This would help give rise to the Abbassid dynasty, a rival to the Sunni Ommayad Dynasty. Indeed many smaller non arabic groups would adopt Islam, or variations there of as a way to bolster ethnic identity. With in Persia there would rise many independent statelets trig to run their own show,

As Islam spread and the conflict between Sunni and Shiite got worse. Islam would take over North Africa, and Egypt along with the Holy Land and al thew way to the border with China. Ismael, son of Ali would die in the battle of Karballa. THe arabs would also resort to employing Turkish warrior slaves to fight their battles for them. Among these groups were the Seljuks and the Mamelukes. Shia Islam would break off into more sercts likes the twelve's and the nizari. THe assassins were connected with the Nizari.

The Seljuks would eventually adopt Islam, Sunni Style and begin oppressing the Persians. Hassan Ibn Sabbah would proselytize and gather people form minority groups and eventually assume control after Alamut. Other fortresses were soon to follow. THe Sunni establishment strove to wipe out the assassins as did the Turks. The Assassins would kill one or more leaders and throw everything into chaos. They even managed to kill Nizam al Malk.

Turkish power was not falling and the Mongols entered the scene. They would fight with the Khwarazim Turks and the assassins were allies with the mongols at first. Later when the Khrarazin were destroyed and the Mongoils made their way to Baghdad, under Helegu Khan , would later betray the assassins and force them to leave their castles, in Persia. After that they remained in Syria as vassals to the Turkish warlord there. Eventually when they lost their forts they fled to places like Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.

One of the least known groups that is shrouded with mystery . This book does a good job of guiding you throuhg it and demystifying everything. This book is well researched and very absorbing .

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A Book of Myths

A Book of Myths by Jeanie Lang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A classic containing classics, reissued by the Gutenberg project. Originally this work was compiled and retold by Jeanie Lang. In this retelling there are quotes by Shakespeare, Fiona Macleod and others. But this is a retelling. I found the reading to be informative and different from other retellings that i have heard. The range goes from many well known Greek Myths, Norse mythology , Chivalry and some Irish mythology.

THe Greek mythology covers Daedalus and Icarus, several stories on Pan, a couple on Dionysus and maybe a few on Hercules. It was nice to reread them. It is also nice to read the original story. Now a days they are into changing up the stories so much that you might not recognize it from the original.

From the Norse mythos I learned that Freya stole the necklace Brisingaman from Odin's Statue and then Odin asked the dwarves to make a statue to talk so it would reveal the thief. Freya granted some unmentioned favors in order to get them to destroy it. Freya is portrayed as the wife of Odin. I have never learned it that way. I learned that Freya was a daughter of the Vanir. SHe claimed half the slain warriors, but she was not from Asgard. Also I learned that she slept  with the dwarves. Who knows! In the tale of Beowulf which is faithfully retold. We learn of so many plot details that we realize that with cinematic portrayals are just wrong. We also learn about the death of Baldur and Loki is always the trickster eternal.

THE survey on chivalry tells us the story of Roland, the nephew of Chralemagne. Charlgmagne disowned his sister after she married a poor knight. Upon the knights death the family is in dire poverty. Roland gets caught stealing from the kings larder and once his identity is revealed he is admitted to court and given position under Charlegmagne.  He fight loyally against the Saracen who are invading France, but thanks to treachery in the court he is ultimately slain. Not after he puts up a valiant fight.

THe Celtic myths tell about the children of Lir and how a wicked stepmother turns them into swans for about 900 years. they are released from the spell only with the ringing of a Christian Bell. THe other tale tells of how Deirdere a magical woman was reserved for Conchobar the king. instead oiof marrying him she runs off with someone else.  THe end is tragic.

Thanks you Gutenberg for rereleasing this work andd making it available for free. Read this work you cannot go wrong

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The Horned God of the Witches

The Witches' God by Janet Farrar
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The witches God has assumed many guises throughout history. Man's first perception of deity was that of Goddess. After all they saw women give birth but were unaware of the male role in the whole thing. As time marches forward and man becomes more aware of the male role in procreation the male God begins to enter their picture. Like Tammyz or Osiris, the god becomes a vegetative God who guaranteed the crops would grow. He was also the God who fertilized the Mother Earth with suns penetrating rays. As men become hunters the God becomes lord of the hunt. Guaranteeing capture of animals for food. He appears as horned and antlered. As society becomes more warlike with the inclusion of patriarchal invaders the image of a defending warrior looms larger. Mars the Roman god of war is a prime example. He was first an agricultural God and then morphed into a God of war. During the Christian Era the horned God would become a blue print for the devil or the good gods antithesis.

The next two sections give the reader a history of twelve different gods plus rituals to go along with and connect to those deities. The third section is painfully long glossary that lists every God from
Every culture that you can think of. The appendices at the books end tell you how to open and close both Wiccan and Egyptian rituals,

The book is filled with all sorts of good information on the various gods, so it is readily apparent that they have done a good amount of reading. The book is told from a Wiccan perspective which states that the Goddess was around first and was driven out by patriarchal invaders. Modern scholarship has since debunked this point of view. Society has always been patriarchal with the male God supreme. Some of their facts about the middle east were wrong. I may not know much but if they made one mistake who knows what they got wrong on the things I do not know about. Gotta be careful about Wiccan or Neo Pagan scholarship.

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Does Might Make Right?

Might is Right by Ragnar Redbeard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I remember growing up and hearing the statement that might does not make right. Of course, with regards to bullies and dictator I always agreed. Yet, when someone wrongs you , then you have to right to take restorative action which could include violence. Might does not make right but some right needs the might.

What follows from the pen of this author is a diatribe of extreme social Darwinism. Many right wing Republicans would agree with these sentiments. This pamphlet was written 1896 and like I said this was a rant. None the less this book has had a strong influence on many people including Anton LaVey.

Reading this diatribe I found there were things that resonated and things that did not. The author focuses on the greatness of Northern Europeans to the exclusion of all others. Asians, Africans, Jews and Indians it seems are frowned upon. The author wastes no time in bagging on Jews, Judaism and Christianity. The author would like to go back to a time when Vikings fought with swords and what was yours you had to defend with the edge of your sword. We were not going there back in 1896 and we ain't going there now.

The author believes strongly that Christian ideology has put a mental straight jacket on the minds of the Northern European. It has weakened their warrior spirit and has given them a slavish mentality. In his mind they need to get back to that. He would advocate martial arts training to strengthen the youth. After all only the strongest survive and for the sake of evolution that should be so. Conflict is seen as something good. True that many groups of people perished because they were not strong enough to beat a rival nation. To the author this is fine, if you are not strong enough to hold your own then you simply should not be about. Nature is not kind and she has a brutal selection process. This author would also be against support programs for the needy and less well off. After all if they cannot cut and make for themselves then they don't deserve it. Ragnar's view of women may be off as well. He believes they look for warrior type men. He also believes they like to be mastered by their men. A woman's job is to give birth to healthy children.

I do not subscribe to the authors views on women, different racial groups or on his views of charity. I do believe that our current Judeo Christian ideology does put limits on our success and causes us to be held back. On charity, let us say that those who paid into the system should receive benefits when they are down as should people who will eventually get back on their feet. I do not support the fact that welfare collectors are living better then someone who works and pays taxes. The author would also support corporate greed. Not me.

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Baphomet on Ethneogens

The Book of Baphomet by Julian Vayne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Baphomete, exactly who is Baphomet? Is he another version or icon of the devil or is he a representative of the old horned God from yesteryear. Perhaps auld horney and the devil are one and the same. Most of us are familiar with Baphomet from either his picture on the Satanic Bible cover or perhaps the cover of Eliphas Levis book " Transcendental Magic" the figure is quite androgynous. The head represent a bulls head and the musculature is that of a weight lifter. Yet Baphyhas a nice set of female breasts and down below his waste there is a very erect phallus. The authors would equate Baphomet with being the supreme creator or life force.

The books comes from the pen of some Chaos Magicians. I like Chaos magick myself. Yet this work comes off like a spur of the moment acid trip. The authors write that they have used ethneogens to reach a trance state and connect with Baphomet energy. Oft times the authors went into caves to do their trance work.

While most of this work was stream of consciousness it did have some strong points as well as some week points. There was a bit of history thrown in , some useful invocations and a little work plan at the end. I wish there was more of it.

The book comes off like someone penned this during an acid trip. Great so we get your conceptualization of the universe. Now give me something to work with. Give me some rituals, spells , working etc. where is the beef?

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