Invention of the Palestinians

 Where in history has the nation of the Palestinians ever been mentioned. Certainly not in ancient annals of our before Christ history and certainly not in the anno domini time period. Check the Sumerian, Egyptian,Greek Roman annals and you find no mention of them. You do find notes on the Hebrews, Israelites, Judeans and Jews. 

After the conquest of Judea by the Romans the land was named by the Romans, Phillistine after the phillistines who settled Gaza in biblical times. This was designed to erase the Jewish connection to the land. As Judea was now called Phillistine where did the experts form her boundaries and border. Why from the Bible of course. The Bible also mentions Israelites, judeans and Hebrews but no Palestinians.

Through out history no nation of Palestine has ever been mentioned. There are no famous Palestinians scientists, artists or even Palestinian contribution to society. It seems as though they popped up out of nowhere. Being truthful they kind of did.

The so called Palestine land mass was controlled by different empires through out history. There was no Palestinian government running the land ever. All the historical artifacts are Canaanite , Israelite, Greek Roman, Turkish but not Palestinian. There is Islamic art but that was supplied by Turks or other Muslims. But not Palestinians.

Who are these Palestinians? Where did they come from? After World War 1 the British had control over mandate Palestine. The Zionists were building up the land. These Jews were referred to as Palestinians or Palestinians Jews. Arabs started coming from near by areas to take advantage of the growing economic growth there. While Jewish Nationalism took root and began to grow Arab nationalism grew right along side with it.

Haj Amin Al Husseini drove the fiery rhetoric against the Jews with religiously inspired sermons that spread false information and conspiracy theories about Jews. This lead to fiery attacks against Jews in Israel and allowed for all sorts of terrorist activities. Never once was Palestine mentioned but rather the land was considered part of Syria. There were no Palestinian Arabs at the time. The only Palestinians were Jews. The area if Palestine was part of the Arab nation and it was a sin to let the Jews have a state of their own.

Through out world war 2 the Arabs revolted against the British and attacked the Jews. Their role model was the FLN in Algeria. They adopted FLN tactics used against the French to attack the British and the Jews. These terrorists attacked innocent civilians, women , chidren and their own people.

The book documents world acceptance of Palestinian nationalism and excusing their acts of terror while the Israelis in the media are getting bashed more and more often. Palestinian nationalism crystallizes in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  Leftist ideology embraced Palestinians nationalism and gave it the wording in order to sugar coT it for the world. What was hidden was a fundamentalist pill along the lines of ISIS. 

The book documents the Israeli Arab conflict from beginning to end. Almost every single terror attack by the Palestinians against Israel, Jews and the west is documented. The book will give the reader a full view of the conflict.

The Further Adventures of Utred Ragnarson

 

The adventures of Utred of Babbenburg continue. Just first after dealing a brutal defeat to the Danes and killing the infamous Ubbe. Utred makes way to his wife and son in Exincestor. That was a mistake as Odar the younger makes off with Ubbe’s banner and claims credit for the victory. Utred does not take this lying down. As a result of his being confrontational in the kings presence over the insult he is forced to do penatence . Some reward for saving king Alfred’s Wessex. After receiving this humiliation at the kings court Utred comes home to a homestead straddled in debt and a thieving worker. Utred kills the worker and refuses to pay the blood price. Utred cannot stay still. After a time him and a guy named Leofric take one of the kings boat and put a Viking mast head on it calling it the “Fire Drakker” one place they Raif is Cornwall. They deceive it Briton king and steal away with Iseult a shadow queen. Soon after arriving at home he is called to the kings Witan. At the gathering Utred is convicted of his crimes and forced to face the invincible Steappa. As the fight commences the Vikings attack again. The town is burning and the king flees into the swamp. What follows are the adventures in Utred helping the king Alfred regain his throne.

The Blood Queen

 

She stands out as the second most famous vampiric historical personage after Vad “the Impaler” Dracula. The real life Elizabeth  Bathory was a noble woman of high birth who was married to count Nadasy. The count was one of the brave nobles who defended Hungary from the brutal depravatities of the Ottoman Turks. After he died she inherited everything and she also became obsessed with holding on to her youth. To ensure her youth she resorted to killing young beautiful girls and women and then bathe in their blood. Eventually the bodies piled up and they caught on to her.

This story is speculative fiction, the authoress, Kimberly Kraft has written two other books on Elizabeth Bathory. She has the knowledge to pull it. What follows is years after she died her son searches out a servant who worked with the family for years to discern if the rumors were true or not. Benedict Deseo is a perfect source of information. Both Elizabeth and herself were infatuated with one another when she first arrived at the estate. What could have boiled up into an intense love affair is put to an abrupt stop but Benedict’s father . The affair would have been a disaster. Their love thwarted Benedict observes the day to day events from the side line. He relates the story of Elizabeth’s first transgression that would have aborted the marriage but there was too much money involved to break the engagement. Then there is the husbands cruel and degrading treatment of her. The husband beat servants mercilessly. Elizabeth might have picked that up from him. Then an older woman is hired as a servant and she teaches Elizabeth the art of besting servants. Benedict was forced into watching. It is her way of getting even for him standing her up when she first got there. She did not know his father beat him half to death for liking her.

The book was face paced and a very enjoyable read, I read it in one day and plan on getting the rest of Kimberly Craft’s books on Elizabeth Bathory.

Getting High with Magick

 

A highly recommended book for those who love cannabis and Magick. Here is a book that combines the two. The first part of the book goes into the history of cannabis and how it has been with us and promoted our development. Most of the research in this part was gleaned from the work of Chris Bennet, who has written extensively about the history of cannabis. Indeed it has. Spread by the Scythians who used it in their funeral rites its use has spread through out the centuries through Greek Roman times to the present. There is also a nice section on recipes. Just a few as it is not a cookbook. The book delves into meditation practices, ceremonial Magick rituals, breathing exercises you name it. Excellent book for beginning Magick users who may or may not have been long time cannabis users. Some of the meditating includes mindfulness  meditation , zen breathing where you focus on just your breath mantra meditation and a few others. The author has also included some ceremonial Magick rituals that have been modified and made somewhat easier to follow from old Zoroastrianism. Included are rituals to charge talimsmans connect with your answers. A nice paradigm in the building there is also some NLP concepts thrown in. If you wish to explore cannabis from a pagan perspective then this book is for you and a great starting point at that.

The Philosopher Within

Everyone knew who Bruce Lee was. No one would doubt that he was a martial artist of the highest level. There are things that many people do not know about Bruce. Most people on the street do not know that he founded the art of Jeet Kune Do . His movies were a vehicle for self expression and getting his point across. He was also a philosopher.

Bruce believed in formless form, being like water and adapting and fitting into every situation. It changed for based on it’s container. Adaptable as they say. One should compare the blade of grass to that of tree. If a strong wind blows then the solid tree will break but the blade of grass will bend and yield. You should. Do the same.

The key points of Bruce’s philosophy were daoism and Zen Buddhism. He believed that everything should be fluid and not fixed. The universe and the world are constantly changing and we should change with it. He never liked the fixed rigid ness of many martial arts. He felt they did nit adapt and change to meet with situation. There are lots of dead people who thought that their art could defend them against whatever. They were wrong. Bruce thought a gun was the best self defense.

Then what are the martial arts for . They could be used for self defense but they were a means of self expression. When one mastered whatever it was they were doing for self expression one could say they are a person of gung fu. Meaning they mastered whatever they were doing and perfected themselves. It could be martial art they were doing or dance or golf.

Sometimes people defended the art based on where it came from. Chinese people might like a style because it was Chinese. Someone may prefer karate because it is Japanese. This sort of cemented a certain racism. Martial arts should be learned based on useful they are not rejected because they are foreign.

Bruce used his movies to make a point. In Way of the Dragon he travels to Rome to help defend a resturaunt from some thugs. One of the workers refuses to learn karate because it is foreign. Bruce said learn it anyway. If it useful why not learn to use it.

No martial art has it all. Jiu Juitsu has ground fighting, the kwin do great kick, American boxing’s good punches. To be a good fighter one needs to be well rounded. The arts give you tools and the object is to be able to use those tools when the time is ready.

Take what is useful from any art and discard the rest. Be practical. The author had a chance to interview Brandon Lee , Bruce’s son, before he too died under strange circumstances. The author also had a letter sent to him from Bruce. You can learn a lot from Bruce Lee even if you are not a Martial Artist,

Spiritual Pharmakon of Western Spirituality

Contrary to popular belief Psychadelics have played a major role in the development of Western spirituality. Spiritualists have been using Psychadelic since the days of the Bible. Such Psychadelic pharmacon would include opium, cannabis,henbane, mandrake root, mushroom etc.  They have been used to access the divine, empower magic, cause deities to materialize you name it,

Going back to biblical times. We have Kane Bose or sweet cane being used in rituals and in healing aids. Sweet cane is Cannabis. It may well have been present in the incense they used in their rituals. Jesus used it to heal in his anointing oil. Many Christian sects especially Gnostic Christians used psychadelics in their rituals as a way to becoming closer to god. When Pagans converted to the  new faith they often brought their use of psychadelics with them. Most Christians had a taste for mandrake root as it resembled a man.

The Greeks and Romans made use of many Psychadelic plants. Most noted are the mystery traditions associated with Dionysus and Demeter. Dionysus was associated with wine and his followers were known for their drunk revelries. The Eleusinian mysteries was about going down to the netherworld in a shamanistic experience. Other deities associated with magic also had knowledge of Psychadelic plants.

Indeed Circe and Madea both associated with Hekate had knowledge of plants and how to use them. Plant knowledge most likely goes back to the first women who learned how to use them . This was feminine based spirituality. They had the access.

 Fairy women in Europe knew all about these plants and were often the village healers.

The Church when converting Pagans often used psychadelics themselves. The incense often contained psychoactive chemicals. This would make a believer out of anyone. Plus pagans brought their psychadelics with them.

Throughout Medieval times psychadelics were used in high magical rituals. Apothecaries gave magicians access to these p,us a whole lot more. The use of psychadelics only became demonized over time when it was associated with witchcraft.

This is one great book. Not only does it give the hisotry of psychadelics in western spirituality but it also teaches one different angles of the myths we know and loved. Look forward to reading more by this author.

 

African Roots of Judaism

 

This is a great book in that it gives a very thorough overview of Jewish history since the beginning and over many lands. I thought I would see more documentation of how the African continent influenced Judaism but instead I got a great over view of the beginning going through the Egyptian slavery, first and second temple periods. The survey covers some of the diasporas specially Europe and North Africa. The book finished off with discussing Jewish life in America and the lost tribes.

The only main African influence I found was at the beginning. The Hebrews or Hapiru came from Ethiopia and went to Mesopotamia and built society there. From them the Israelites evolved especially after they went back to Egypt. After being redeemed from slavery some of them went back to Ethiopia. King Solomon’s wife Sheba May have been from Ethiopia and or Yemen. Saba the kingdom encompassed both lands. Through out history humans have been going back and forth between Yemen and Thiopia . From the union of Sheba and Solomon came King Menelik. The Kebra Negast document the line of Solomon in Ethiopia.

There was a Jewish kingdom in Yemen. It was the Himyar King Dhu Nawas that converted to Judaism . He was also its last king as he died fighting against an Ethiopian invasion backed by Rome. The Persians were supposed to back Yemen but failed.

The Igbo in Nigeria claim Jewish descent. Many will tell you they Hail from Ethiopia Jews . Needless to say there were tribes that practiced Judaism . During historic progress many Jews also married people of Africa. Descent.

Many people are unaware that most Jews are dark complectjoj and not the pale skin of the Ashkenazi. Many from the Middle East hold true to their African features. Some from the Far East look Indian. The Sephardic Jews at one time had intellectual leadership over the Ashkenazi Jews .

Judaism is like a prism. It is a design comprised of many colors and shapes with plenty to explore.

Marie Laveaux the Voodoo Queen of New Orleans

 

Her aura is surrounded in mystery. Legends circulate about her well after he demise. She herself left now written record but the stories about her are numerous. While many of the real facts are hidden the stories told about her conform not to reality but to our own imagination, desires and fears. It takes a lot of research to get the real picture. In fact there may not have been just one but three in fact. Legend and fact are mixed. Who was this famous Voodoo priestess everyone is gabbing about?

Her name is Marie Laveaux the famous voodoo queen. As mentioned earlier fact and legend are mixed and it is hard to tell the difference between the two.  The authoress of this book set to work on doing just that to give us the real picture of Marie Laveaux.  Legends have it that she is descended from a line of Voodoo queens or was indoctrinated in secret from a family member  In fact her Father was Henry Laveaux a mixed race freeman. Her great grandmother all thee way to her mother were born in slavery. Only her mother was man united. Legend further states that she owned a hair salon which had a back room which she did her working. This cannot be verified.  What can be verified is that she cared for prisoners and consoled those about to be put to death. She also used herbs to heal others. Her first husband was named Pari and it is believed that he was a freed mulatto. They had two children together and then he exits the scene. Her second husband was Christophe Glaca or something like that. .  While not legally married they were together and had 4 children together. He was a white French man with aristocratic blood. Back in those times Caucasian and African could not legally be married. Laveau reigned as voodoo queen until her early eighties and when she passed rumor and fact begin to blend yet again.

Most prevalent is that her daughter also with the first name of Marie took over giving the impression that she reigned longer than she really did. This seems most likely.  Voodoo ceremonies were held out in the woods away from society. Sometimes they were held discreetly in some building. It was attended equally by both white people and those of African descent. She was highly influential. Unconfirmed legend also has it that she was a procures . Arranging for rich white men to hook up with mullatoes or women of pure African descent. Sometime this lead to Placage where In the man maintained another house for his mistress and many times they shared children.

The authoress goes deep into the New Orleans culture and history with this book to give the reader a good backdrop to the story of Marie Laveaux. Finding the Voodoo queen was a challenge.  She left behind no writings, so court records, church records and funeral records to find the real Marie Laveaux

The Pauline Origins of Christianity

The Christianity that many people practice today is not the Christianity that Jesus authored but rather it is Paul’s revelations that gave birth to the Christianity practiced today.

Paul’s Christianity veers sharply away from it’s parent religion Judaism. In fact is was meant to supersede and replace it.

Jesus and his original follower were Orthodox Jews who firmly believed in the Torah and ways of Judaism. After Jesus was crucified the movement beacame a Jewish Christians sort of religion. They believed that Jesus was the messiah born from a human mother and father. Jesus himself was most likely a rabbi. After the death of Jesus his brother James took the helm.

Paul came about like a decade after the death of Jesus. Paul was originally Saul who was from the tribe of Benjamin. Himself a practicing Jew, originally he had been a persecutor of the Jewish Christians .  It was coming back from/Damascus That he had his revelation. He met Jesus in the spirit as opposed toJesus in the flesh.

Paul’s revelation was from Jesus’s spiritual body.Paul brought a revelation that salvation could come through accepting Jesus. Jesus was not just a messiah but he was also so new Adam. He was the first of spiritual being that God created . He would bring heaven on earth and everyone would have spiritual bodies. The leadership In Jerusalem adhered more strongly to Jewish traditions and were opposed to Paul. There was a break between the two. In fact it was open hostility.

Most of it has been glossed over in favor of Paul’s version with the Christianity of Jesus being lost in a literary battle. Most of the New Testament in Pauline rather then but traces slip out like in the Q source and in Didache and Jerome.

If trying to figure out who Jesus was challenging enough try figuring out Paul. Only seven original letters of his exist. Other writing that are attribute to him are written in a different style, vocabulary and used of setting.

Djinn Among us

 

Bijou means Jewel in French . Bijou is also a very beautiful girl who tends to get pidgin hold as exotic looking or rare. She is also super smart and her academics are years above grade level. Having never met her mother as she died giving birth to her ,  Bijou was raised by her grandmother who she calls “Gigi” Gigi writes for living, using a pseudonym and for some strange reason they tend to move around a lot. Bijou has also been homeschooled most of her life. This is her first year trying out regular school.

Bijou is also plagued by a certain ability which threatens to overwhelm her. Her coping mechanism is to shuffle a deck of cards. As an empath she can read the emotions and feel them off of other people. Most people are typicals who can be read real easily by the non typicals are not so easy. Needless to say such a unique person tends to stand out. Upon her first day of school she befriends Sebastian and his twin sister Amina.

Bijou uniqueness comes out during swimming practice . She is a damn good swimmer. Too good. Everyone takes notice. Grandmother who was never so hot about her going to school in the first place wants her off the swim team. Like Superman she has got to stay hidden.

Sebastian and Amina are rather hot blooded and by that it is meant that when they touch Bijous skin it leaves burned hand marks. All her life she has had dreams of a hooded figure and I. This new town she actually meets this guy and it is not pleasant.

The town is plagued by a mystery. Every 17 years a whole bunch of girls end up going missing. This has a lot to do with Bijou. The djinn are everywhere and an organization called Solomon knights want power over them and the Djinn want something as well.

What follows is a face paced exciting story that will not let you go. The story is filled with faery lore from Europe and numerous faery types make an appearance. I hope she writes more of these kind of books.

Enter the Trance World

 <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53324.Supernatural" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390171021l/53324._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53324.Supernatural">Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18520.Graham_Hancock">Graham Hancock</a><br/>

My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3496379926">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />

There are caves in France that are really hard to access so hard that it is like why even bother? Going in through difficult passages you end up in like a room that has hybrid animal / human painting along with picture of hunting. Several picture show a hybrid man being hung up by arrows as though they are piercing through him. The caves are a mystery. No one has a reason to go down there. These painting are 50 thousand years old. They seem to have popped up all of the sudden. Modern man has been on earth for 200 thousand years. Why the sudden spate of developments what does this mean?<br /><br />Author Graham Hancock takes the reader on a journey through several different worlds. All of them are very similar. His main contention is that 50 thousand years ago man started consuming Psychadelic plants that caused him to hallucinate. Such drugs under discussion are Ibogain, ayahuasca and psilocybin just to name a few. These substances enable mankind to enter into a trance or altered state of consciousness . This altered state of consciousness caused man to see different kinds of spirit beings. Among them are these Theranhropic figure who are part man and part animal. There were also short being with big heads and large eyes. These being taught mankind .<br /><br />Shamans in South America are usually initiated after a certain illness. The shaman will venture to the spirit world and be ripped apart or eaten by the spirits. After which the shaman is reborn. His purpose is to get healing knowledge for the people . He sees being as well as therianthropic beings. Shamans Wouk consume Psychadelic substances which felt like pins going through you.<br /><br />The reader is also taken on a journey into faery lore of Europe and the modern ufo abductions. There are many parralels between the two including abductions, mating between humans and these beings. At times the human parent is brought in to take care of the child. The author believes that the faery abductions and the UFO abductions are one and the same. If you like faery lore , UFO abductions and spiritual growth through Psychadelics then you will enjoy this book. The author himself experiments with Psychadelic.<br /><br />The main ingredient in ayahuasca is dmt. Ayahuasca has other chemicals like harmaline. Dmt is also produced in the body naturally. Roughly two percent of the population can enter an altered state of consciousness at will. There are other ways of entering an altered state of consuousnes like through rhythmic music, dancing to exhaustion and fasting. As was mentioned earlier the author himself is experimented with these substances.<br />Ibogain let’s the user contact the dead that was what it was used in Africa for. Ayahuasca allowed them user to access almost another dimension and contact spiritual beings to gain knowledge and bring it back, strait dmt put the author in a a technological classroom so he could learn new things.<br /><br />The author also covers the relationship between our DNA and these altered states of consciousness. The information could be in our DNA. What is the purpose of these trips. Some say it is connected to the after life.

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How to Raise a Dragon

Dragon's Blood by Jane Yolen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On the almost desert all desert planet of Austraria 4 in perhaps a time in the distant future when mankind has colonized other planets in the galaxy, there exists dragons. They were almost extinct when humans arrived but then they began breeding them. The purpose was for fighting in fighting pits. Not all dragon are domesticated , to be sure there are plenty of feral dragons. Our hero Jekkin lost his father to a feral dragon while trying to tame it. This planet is seemingly medieval despite being well into the future. People can sell themselves into bond servitude for money to pay off debt and survive. Only thing is you have to buy your way out if you ever want to be free. Some of the dragon slaying weapons are futuristic and require a power source.

Jekkin as mentioned earlier lost hi father to a feral dragon. His mother in order to make ends meet sold herself and her son into bond servitude. She dies while he is young. He is a one servant to Sarrukhan a master dragon breeder and owner of fighting dragons. Jekkin has only one shot at freedom and That is to steal an uncounted egg before it hatches in hopes of raising a dragon in secret strong enough to fight. Which he does. All through out the year in secret he raises, feeds , trains and protects the dragon until it is big enough for the pit.

A perfect book for young adults. It explores the relationship of a young orphan bonding to a pet that both needs his protection and he needs it. A bond developed . There is also some romance with what appears is a bond nurse. She nurses Jekkin back to health on several occasions.


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The Secret is Out: The Straight Dope on Secret Societies

Secret Societies: Inside the Freemasons, the Yakuza, Skull and Bones, and the World's Most Notorious Secret Organizations: Inside the Freemasons, the Yakuza, Skull and Bones, and the World's Most Notorious Secret Organizations by John Lawrence Reynolds
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If this was a book about secret socities then we would not know they exist. Everyone knows about the Mason, Illuminati, Knights Templar and Skull and Bones . They are not secret if everyone knows about you, rather they are societies with secrets.

What is the point of secrecy? Many a times groups of people will go underground due to persecution and discrimination . Hiding so to speak. Sure it keeps you safe but in the end it can backfire. People will speculate behind what is going on behind close doors.

One prime example is a religion that is very prominent today. They went underground due to persecution. THey were accused of having orgies in the woods, eating babies and drinking blood. What group was this. Christians said this about witches but it was the Romans who said this about Christians. This is a result of secrets and the tidbits that do get out and then things get twisted by limited knowledge and half truths.

This is what did the Templars in . Starting off as a holy mission to protect CHristians in the Holyland. THe knights had a strict code to live by. They did not always adhere to this perfectly. After all they were humans with flaws. They had a banking system and acquire great wealth. Becoming a knight Templar could be prerofitable. In the end they had secrets and Sony enough a French king was in debt and with a corrupt pope in Cahoots they destroyed the Templars with claims of Blasphemy and idol worship. The society was destroyed . Some say that the Templars or survivors morphed into the Masons. THey have their own history. Read the book and find out.
The book covers a whole gamut of these societies. There is the usual Illuminati, Masons and your Templars etc. Among them are the Triads, Tongs and Yakuza and let us not forget the Mafia. Many of these criminal organizations started out with good intentions, like protecting people from oppressive outside forces only later they turn themselves into vehicle of suppression and crime.

These days peopple are overly paranoid about secret societies and they control over their lives. In reality they do not have that much influence over our lives. People network all the time. We call that friendship or alliances happens in all/ organizations. How secret are these secret so0cieties. May of us know their rituals and secret handshakes . The secret is out.

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The American Witch

American Witches: A Broomstick Tour Through Four Centuries by Susan Fair
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

American witches were both the same and different from their counterparts is Europe. Like in Europe witches were blamed for catastrophes especially after a feud with a neighbor. Usually the witch craze swallowed up old women who where considered cantankerous and had no one to protect them. Witches also rode people and their their neighbors animals to their gatherings. Absent from the American witch is the rides out to the sabbath and the solstice celebration.

Quakers were prone to be accused of witchcraft, after all they were dissident Christians . It was not safe for old women to travel from Europe to the new world. If the sea turned stormy everyone looked for a scapegoat. An old woman with no one to look after her became the perfect target. Often times the woman would be thrown over board or hung.

The Salem Witch trials were the epicenter of witch hunting history. Lead by the famous witch finder General Cotton Mathers. Cotton was the son of Increase Mathers. Both were hot on the tail for witches. The first episode involved a washer woman staring at her mistress daughter and exchanging harsh words. Later the daughter started having fits. The washer woman would be punished. Another incident involved a preacher who was accused. On the flimsiest of testimony he has hung. Then there is Tituba and the girls.

The usual method for punishing witches. Was hanging . History would judge harshly those who put innocent women to death. Many would have heavy guilty trips over the stuff. The last chapter ends with a note about the Blair Witcu trials and how a fictitious witch changed life in the small town.

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Lost Civilization of America’

America Before: The Key to Earth's Lost Civilization by Graham Hancock
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

He has said it before, there was an advanced civilization before the official history of man was recorded. Piecing together the evidence Graham Hancock proves to us that human civilization is older than what we have recorded. The first pieces of evidence to be examined are ruin that have been left behind some going back possibly hundreds of thousand of years. Looking at ruins of structures in Ohio, Louisiana, and Missispi Valley it shows they were built with astrological precision. They are times to coincide with the summer and winter equinox. There is a structure resembling a snake in Ohio that stops short of where an ice age glacier this large snake shows advanced engineering technique.
There are also burial mounds and Stonehenge like buildings.

The next pieces of evidence involves genetics. There are different genetic signatures for North America natives have different DNA then the natives of South America. The northern natives had more Denisovan DNA and some what closer to European DNA. In the south there is a mixture of Australia melenese DNA. Like how did Australians end up in South America. There is speculation that part of the population crossed on the Bering straight but also that a group, possibly Denisovan got stuck there and evolved into a more complex society. This society was so advanced Thst they were able to map the stars and the planet. They were also very maritime an they sailed the entire world. It is believed that this society taught or spread its culture all over the world to anyone who would listen.

The next area to be covered is in the journey of the afterlife. Egyptian, Native American and even far Easter. Have the same journey of the soul. Boiled down to basics the soul travel through Orion’s Belt to the Milky Way. How did all,these ideas so similar end up in completely different societies. There is no way that these societies had any contact with each other. Unless the idea was diffused from a single source.

All the signs are there but where did this society go to? Where and when did they disappear ? Every so often the Earth intersect with the Orontid meteors. Around 12,800 years ago they crossed this meteor belt and North America was subject to heavy comet bombardment that tore up the ground, caused the forest to burn and covered the continent with snow. This got rid of Thst society. Any trace would have been washed away by floods or burned a way. Plus when Americans got here they destroyed a lot of indigenous archaeology. Before this catastrophe this society spread their culture and tried to set up colonies world wide. Now all we see are reflection of their knowledge.

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The Witch Hunts of Connecticut

Connecticut Witch Trials: The First Panic in the New World by Cynthia Wolfe Boynton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Little known about and over shadowed by the Salem Witch trials, were the witch trials of Connecticut. In way they were more severe. Of the 34 accused 11 were executed. Cotton Mathers,the witch finder General had a part to play. Like other books that document what is called the burning times the people who were most likely to be accused were old women that no one got along with. Or maybe these old women had property that people coveted. They also had no one to stand up for them. During those times women were not considered equal to me . They were seen as weak, sinful and easily tempted.

During the burning times a simple accusation was enough to get someone arrested, tortured, tried and then sentenced to death for witchcraft. If accused the witch finders would torture the prisoner until they confessed and they usually were coerced into giving names, alas more victims. The prisoners were stripped naked and examined for a witches teat. The witches familiar could be a toad , or a cat or any such animal. It did the witches bidding.

Like the story of Jonah and the whale, if an old lady was traveling on a ship and the seas became rough they could find themselves being accused of witchcraft. Once the accusation was muttered vigilante action took over. The ships captain did nothing to protect the old women. They merely went back to their cabin.

Groups like the Quakers were marginalized. While still being Christian their belief and practice was different from the standard practice and so hence it was easy for a woman of that faith to be accused of witchcraft.

A governor of the state, who was also an alchemist is the person who put a stop to all this. He demanded more proof and scoffed at superstition. Descendants of the witches have sought pardon and the clearing of the name of their relatives.

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Simple and Magical Herbs

Herb Magic: An Introduction to Magical Herbalism and Spells by Patti Wigington
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This little. Simple book on herbal magic is perfect in my opinion. The format is definitely aimed at the magical newbie. The working are simple and easy to do. As are the preparation which is how I like my magic short and sweet with nothing to complicated. This is a good place to start before going on to Sean Cunningham or other herbal experts. Another aspect about this book that I loved was that there were no incantations to any god, goddess or deity. This book is non denominational. Pagans and monotheists can access the magic.

THe layout of the book is simple as well. The first part of the book covers basic principles in magic. The second part give an inventory of different herbs, up to 40 of them. The survey is rather complete. The entries inform the reader about the magic uses of the herb, some healing info and its planetary ruler and element sign. The third part is spellwork and magic involving the herbs.

The spells and working in the third part cover protection, love,healing , money and divination. There is a chapter devoted to each. Like I said the working and preparation are simple.

Before signing off I would like to share some notes i took from my reading. A simple working for protection would be to plant three protective herbs in pots at your houses front door. On these pots you can draw protective symbols like pentacle, hamsah or runes. Dill and rosemary are good food additive to protect you from magic attack. I love oils and this protection oil is great. Take some catnip, comfrey, hyssop and vetivert and mix it with a carrier oil and stir is clock wise. A nice simple incantation that goes with is included. Herb of protection keep danger away watch over my home night and day.

This is just a small taste as to what this book offers. Enjoyable and informative.

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Turikish Romance In Vichy France

Last Train to Istanbul by Ayşe Kulin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Set in World War War II half of the story taking place in Turkey and the other Half in Southern France. The Nazis have taken over Europe and are about to step down into lower France. The Vichy French are helping the Nazis round up Jews. For Seva and her husband Rafo this is rather problematic. Rafonis a Turkish Jewish man who married a Muslim And Turkish woman. Both left Turkey and their families behind for France as their marriage was taboo. But France is becoming more and more dangerous.

In Turkey both the Allies and the Nazis are pressuring Turkey to enter the war and take action. Sabiha who is Sevanas sister is married to a diplomat. Long hour and pressure have taken. A toll on their marriage. Sabiha has no one to talk to accept Tarik who gets sent to France and a therapist.

In France Tarik meets Muhlis who introduces him to Fateed. Together they formulate a plan to to rescue the Turkish Jews as things get more and more precarious. Finally they get on train to Istanbul but will they make it there.

While not a true story there was considerable research that went into it. Mainly it is culled from the interviews of Turkish diplomats who helped save Jews. More should be written on this subject.

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The Good Folk of the British Aiisles

Magical Folk: British and Irish Fairies - 500 AD to the Present by Simon Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Great Britain comprising of England, Ireland and Scotland is a geographical area that is known for it’s faery population. The book covers lots of ground. All the faery denizens of each area on the British isles are covered based on their geographic location.

The first chapter talks about Faery queens those gorgeous dames that can seduce a man based on what they find appealing. Sometimes they give gifts to. Humans that they find worthy. Pucks can be troublesome and helpful depending on their mood. Dobs help people around the house. Does can never be seen by humans lest they stop helping around the house and curse people.

In Ireland they are called the Sidhe. The sidhe were the mystical people a who lived in Ireland until the Milesians came and conquered the land. Now they live in Faery Wrath’s or undergound. It is not good to disturb a Faery rathe or a dwelling where they live. Some believe that they have a vast underground kingdom under the ground .

In Scotland since the land is more harsh the faeries themselves tend to be a bit harsher. There are lots of areas in Scotland that are named after faeries. The faeries are divided into the seelie court and the unseelie court. The seelie court is good to humans while the unseelie court is rather harsh towards humans. Some thought that some of the dead went on to become faeries.

In Cormwalll the faeries can be rather unfriendly and dangerous to humans. The knockers are faeries who inhabit mines and warn miners of danger and sometimes lead them to healthy vein. The faeries have different names not based on species but rather based on where they live and what their function.

All areas of the British aisles are covered. When the inhabitants of the isles came to America they pretty much left their faery folk. Behind as they were attached to the land. In North America there’re were other faery species about. One is the Puckwudgie. A small two foot man with a beard who makes people feel unfcomfortable by staring at them.
Some of the Irish brough faery lore over and they morphed sometimes.

Faeries by and large are not friendly to humans. Often times they are triscksters and sometime they bring punishment and death to those who upset them Treat them with respect

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Norse Mythology with a Twist

The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


MAgnus Chase has been living on his own on the street for the last two years. Protected by Blitzen and Haerthstone he manages to get by. Most of the world thinks he is dead. After all his apartment was besieged by feral attackers, his mother killed and his apartment burned down. On the dawn of his 16th birthday he finds that he is marked for death. Someone wants to kill him. His relatives are looking for him but everyone has an angle.

Magnus’s family has an interest in things Viking and Norse. Magnus has a destiny that is tied to the sword of summer. This sword is meant to free Fenris the wolf from his bounds. This will signal Ragnarok the final amalgamation of the world. He has nine days to stop this all from happening.

In the process of his quest he manages to get killed by Surt king of the fire giants and since he dies in combat he goes to Valhalla. Once there he faces opposition and the task of escaping Valhalla so he can prevent Ragnarok. Helped by his two friends and Sam who is a Valkyrie and a daughter to Loki Magnus goes on a quest . Their adventures take them to Freya, Thor, the Midguard serpent and Loki. There are more books to this series so you can well imagine if they completed their quest or not.

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Unholy Alliance

Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like it or not astrophysicists and the military are in an unholy alliance. Astrophysicists are generally peace loving people who want to make scientific studies for the sake of knowledge of for liking he sake of helping humanity. Military people want the discoveries to achieve dominance in the arena of battle. No two mentality could be further apart.

Who get the funding? Why of course military spending trumps all. Science experiments get little funding. So if astrophysicists want to carry their project forward it has to be militarily viable. Certain items that get discovered by scientist end up being used by the military. Hence we see the two fields intertwined.

Take for example the telescope. It was used for stargazing at first then later on it was used during the Revolutionary War to spy out enemy troops. The telescope theme grows even further as we use satellite to monitor cosmic phenomena. The military and government now use satellite to monitor people kind of like big brother. The satellite can also be armed with missile or lasers.

The book is long and at times dry but filled with facts. It is a good document examines the history of the military science relationship. Great insight from two great scientific minds.

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Hidden History of the Human Race

Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race by Michael A. Cremo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Humans may have been on this planet a lot longer then we may have realized. We tend to think that Homo Sapeins have been here at the most 30 thousand years. In reality human existence may stretch back several millions of years. How advanced those societies were is another question. It is. Supposed under this thesis that humans or Homo Sapien Sapiens may have existed alongside aide other humanoid like homo erectus, Neanderthal and cro magnoln

Archaeologist have found evidence of some semi advance human stuff going back. Millions of years to the Pleistocene era. Such items would include human bones, skiulls and handiwork’s . However when scientists bring this up they are often ridiculed by their academic colleagues . Often at the cost of their careers,

The last part of the book discusses cryptozoology . Mentioning other humanoid creatures that might still be out there but hidden. There are areas in Washington state and Canada that have not been thoroughly explored creatures like a big foot might be out there. Supposedly there have been numerous sighting.

The only on this book is the brevity of the audible. I believe this book has many pages and books of this length usually take several more hours to read through on audible. Hope we are not getting the abridged version here. That would Medan the readers are getting cheated.

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Travels to the Underworld

Underworld: Shamanism, Myth, Magick – Vol I by Chris Allaun
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

By Chris Allaun

The underworld the mere mention of it strikes an unpleasant chord in your mind. Death is a subject many of us are not only uncomfortable with but it a concept that we are downright afraid of. fear of the unknown? What happens after we die?

Different cultures have different myths and concepts of life in the here after. Our Judeo Christian thinking gives us the paradigm of heaven and hell. If you are good you go up to the sky to heaven if you are bad you get sent down below to Hell or the underworld. When we say underworld a very unpleasant picture comes to mind.

The underworld is not all doom and gloom. If one explores the mythology of many culture one might find that the underworld has some very beautiful spots. The underworld is also where there is spiritual knowledge. The seeker or shamans in the past have traveled to the Underworld for many purposes. Many times it is done so as to bring back knowledge and healing to the community. Of course with practice you too can travel into the underworld.

Chris Allaun not only includes some great techniques for your journey to the underworld. He also examines the cultural myths of the life after death. Sumerians, Norse, Celtic, Egyptian as well as Native American , mythic stuff was covered here.

Among the techniques discussed are finding your totem animal and your underworld guide. The book is very complete and thorough and perfectly sized. Good job Chris Allaun.

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Jim Morrison the Poet

No One Here Gets Out Alive by Danny Sugerman
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Tour De Force sled ride down a snow covered slope but watch out for the building down below and dont let your older brother trap you. This book is like a bible to me and I have read it at least six times. It also really got me into the Doors even more so then the music. Definitely like the full paper back version over the audible version.

Do you think Jim Morrison is really dead? When his death was reported Elektra executive Bill Simonds only saw a sealed casket and a death certificate. No body was seen and no autopsy was performed. Of course what reason would Jim have to fake his own death?

Jim lived a fast furious life often fueled by alcohol. This book documents many of the exploits to getting drunk at a party and then relieving himself in a crystal chalice or how he seduced a girl in a Hollywood apartment and pulled off her rings. Seems he loved two women rather deeply yet was a philanderer. Jim had a Wiccan wedding with Patricia and he died in Paris with Pamela.

Two legal issues were hanging over Jim’s head. One was what happened in Miami when he challenged the crowd and caused a riot. After they left they charged him with lewd behavior with prison fines and monetary fines. On board a plane he was rowdy with the stewardesses. That got him into trouble.

Jim had a roller coaster ride of a lifetime. He was flamboyant, creative, recklace and wild. The Lizard King always thought himself a poet rather than a rockstar and some times he despised that image. I am sure I will read this one again at least one more time during my life.

I am the Lizard King and I can do anything.

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Sweet Blasphemy

The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Elifa Shafak, British and Turkish writer, made waves when her first novel made mention of the Armenian Genocide. This novel is much different very reconciliatory . The novel is all about love. Love is everything. The 40 rules were composed by the wandering Sufi Dervish, Shams of Tabriz. He was also the one who converted Muslim scholar Rumi to Sufism . The novel also deal with cross cultural relations. Ella Rubinstein the protagonists is a Middle Aged Jewish woman who is unsatisfied with her marriage to her husband dentist. Her friend and confidant is a Scottish gentleman who converted to Sufism.

Feeling the need for a change, Ella decides to take on job of reading republished novels for a publishing company before the books are published . The book she is reading is called “Sweet Blasphemy” The book is a noveliztion of how Rumi and Shams of Tabriz met. Ella is trapped in a loveless marriage . She never though love was important for a marriage but rather other things like stability and responsibility. The marriage seems to work but she is not satisfied. Her husband has numerous affairs. While getting absorbed in the reading she decides to send the author and email. This soon sets off a chain reaction of correspondences.

The story “Sweet Blasphemy “ starts with Shams of Tabriz receiving a dream that he is to find a companion and teach him the 40 rules of love. The dream guides him to Damascus where he stays at a Dervish lodge in Damascus waiting for word of the companion. Within time a letter arrives and Shams of Tabriz goes to Konya to meet Rumi.

The arrival os Shams caused quite an uproar. Dervishes are looked down upon by fundamentalist Muslims as heretics. Shams causes Rumi to change how he interacts with people and who he interacts with. He will cause Rumi. To gain and lose friends. Different parts of. this novel are told. Through different sets of eyes. Some parts are told through the eyes of Shams or Rumi but also Sulaymaniyah the drunk and desert rose the prostitute.

In the end everyone gets set on a different course. The ending will leave you saddened yet hopeful. I myself want to explore Sufism more closely

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An Ancient Evil Arises

The Ceremonies by T.E.D. Klein
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Back in the prehistoric times around where the New Jersey forests are today there crashed a meteor with something ominous inside. For aeons it lingered there waiting. Until one day a young boy wonders in there. There is waits perched and waiting. Something happens to boy that day. That was back in around the 1800’s.

Flash forward to modern times, Jeremy Freer is a college professor ,who wants to spend the summer with the Bretheren in the town of Gilead. Gilead is an isolated town in the middle of the New Jersey forest. The Bretheren are a religious group that are much like the Amish. Jeremy rents a room from the Porath family. Things are a little weird at first when he he lives with this family. He being a modern 20th century’s man from New York and the family being part of a religious group that tries to make due with as few modern conveniences as possible. The community has a biblical outlook which many would call quaint.

The other part of the story involves Carol. She is a New York girls who lives a very sheltered life. At one point she wanted to be a nun but she rejects that idea and ends up working in the library . While working at the library she meets a certain Mr. Rosebottom. Rosie as he likes to be called changes her life around by not only paying her but also introducing her to some of the better things in life. It is not a romantic relationship.

She also meets Jeremy as the library. The spark is instant and they hit it off. He meets her at the library and she attends one of his classes. Unfortunately he has arrangements up in Gilead. There are always visitations.

Once Jeremy is there weird things begin happening. Crop failures, infertile chickens and stillborn babies. Sar Porath, owner of the house has a mother that seems to know certain things and she does not have a good feeling about Jeremy and CRol. Jeremy’s twentieth century moral class with the old biblical world view.

Little do they know that Rosie is behind it all. Some ancient evil is about to be awakened.

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The Quest for Biddy Early

In Search of Biddy Early by Eddie Lenihan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Biddy Early was a legend back in her town of Ireland. Born to tenant farmer parents ,Biddy was raised poor and lived in poverty. She born in the middle of the 19th century passing away in 1874.
It was rather a challenge as records were not well kept back then. So the author travelled around the Irish villages where she used to live in hoping to find scraps of legend or perhaps someone old enough who remembers.

Biddy Early would be considered a folk healer or a cunning woman. In her small village if people were sick and needed medical attention they would turn to a folk healer like Biddy Early. Medical doctor’s were expensive and often were not present in small villages. Sometimes people would ask the priest for a blessing. Rumor has it that Biddy Early got her healing abilities from the fairies or the good folk. As the legend goes one of her son or one of her four husbands was a gifted fiddle player. In return for playing a tune Biddy was given the bottle.With that bottle she could see the past present and future. This bottle gave her healing abilities. Now a condition for this bottle was that she should never accept pay for her services. She could accept gifts. She had plenty of whiskey and usually people would come over to her house for a drink.

Often times Biddy Early knee somone was coming even before they arrived on her doorstep. She would know the persons name, details of their journey and what was ailing them. Biddy was known to prepare elixirs and bless bottle of water with explicit instructions on how and when it must be taken. The cure was on,h designed for the recipients and the instructions had to be followed to the tee. At times Biddy could tell the seeker that he would befall certain things on the way over. Were they warning or did they decree it.

Rumor has it that the fairies used to berate her for giving too many healing. Some even say she was a dearie herself. The priests and the superstitious would call her a witch. If she could Biddy would heal people for a small gift. She also healed animals. Animals were valuable back then. A horse spelled the difference between living in a warm home or losing your home. Biddy was called in to heal animals and to get them out of ditches.

The priests and the clergy often used speak out against her. Many a priest had to eat their words as they had to seek her help to heal or rescue the animal. Usually the price would be to leave her alone. Priests back then were very authoritarian and could be mean.

While the details surrounding her death are more clear. Word has it that her mystic bottle is at the bottom of a lake in Kilbarron. People have gone down there to find it but there are so many bottles, none have worked so far. Perhaps the bottle was only meant for her.

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A Concise Guide to Santa Muerte

Santa Muerte Devotion 101: Answers and Explanations for Curious Readers and New Devotees by Arnold Bustillo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This a very basic book for someone looking into becoming a follower of the Santa Muerte, the most holy death. She is primarily a Mexican saint born and bred in Mexico. You can see her altars all over the place. More and more peop,e are leaving petitions and offering for the Santa Muerte.

Becoming a follower or devotee to Santa Muerte is one of the easiest things you can do. She will accepts anyone as death comes for us all in the end anyways. The strengths of your magic will depend on the effort you put into developing your relationship with Santa Muerte. That is a strength of this book which other books fail to mention. That your magical power is a direct result of the strengths of your relationship to deity.

While this book is pretty basic you will find some good nuggets of information. Anyone can pray to Santa Muerte there is no formula. Nor will Santa Muerte come after you if you renege on a promise. She is more forgiving than that. Building an altar for the Santa Muerte is not real complicated either. Anything can be an altar as long as the depiction of death is somewhere on it. A couple things that can go on it are a scythe,globe, owl, hourglass and scales. Now remember that altars can be incognito and they can also be portable. If worse comes to worse you can visualize an astral altar.

One things that is useful is the co,or charts. Here it goes. You work with the color based upon your intent. White stands for purity and it is used for purifying and cleansing. Black is used to send and break curses. Red is used for matters of love and lust. Pink is for beauty and self love. Gold is used for financial matters like attracting business or money. Silver/copper is used for gambling luck. Green is for legal matters. Blue is for wisdom and creativity. Purple is for psychic abilities and intuition. Yellow is for health and healing. Brown pertains to Necromany and working with the dead.

There is a list of herbs as well.agrimony is used to break lies and slander. Alphalpha brings prosperity. It is good for gamblers. Allspice is used to attract surprise cash and treasure. Anise increases psychic abilities. Basil dispels negativity and curses invites success. Bay life stimulates psychic power and sends back curse. Bergamot attracts money. Black mustard seed causes confusion and discomfort to the target. Bladderwrack protects while traveling over water. Bineset opens for new opportunities. Calamus root gives control or power over another person. Caraway seeds promote fidelity. Catnip triggers attraction. Cayenne pepper adds fire to a petition. Chamomile attracts gamblers luck and brings in money.cinamon brings prosperity and abundance. Clove attracts friends and prevents gossip. Coral is a spiritual protector and purifier. Coriander keeps a lover faithful. Dragons blood wards off evil and brings good luck.

The book tells you how to perform a spell and how to dispose of magical trash. Great beginners book.

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