Britain’s Magical Battle

 The setting is a World War II and Britain is about to be facing an invasion from Nazi Germany. Everyone is gripped in fear , rationing is about to begin and it is lights out in case a German plane is flying overhead. Simultaneously Gerald Gardner is initiated into a New Forest Coven.

Phil Heselton is a researcher who has produced many scholarly works on Gerald Gardner and Wicca. What he has produced here is a work of historical fiction based on his research. Operation Cone of Power did in fact occur. While the overall writing is rather simplistic making the book an easy read in just a day or two it did give good insight in to who the people of the New Forest Coven were. The writing could have been more developed then again Phil Heselton is non fiction scholarly writer.

As the invasion becomes more imminent Gerald Gardner’s relationship with the coven and Dafo in particular grows. Gerald visits Dafo’s house regularly to the point where they become close friends. She and the Coven teach him about magic and ritual and she will also look over his manuscripts making sure he does not leak out any magic. She also rewrites his work making it more readable .

As the war progresses members of the Coven want to do more to protect Britain .  Gerald volunteers with the civil guard and is willing to let out his weapons to fight Nazis if they arrive on British shore.

Ultimately they chose to do a ritual to stop Hitler from crossing the English Channel . Magic has been used to defend Britain from foreign invaders before.

Everyone knows the outcome of the ritual .

Botanical Magic

 This has got to be one of the best books about using essential oils in Magick. It is an easy to read book packed with  information. Almost every herb from A to Z is mentioned. The author renders over to the reader what the magical and heath purposes these herbs have. Included in the explanation about the herbs are recipes for different oil blends geared toward a magical purpose of course. Also thrown in are corresponding deities, colors, crystals and astrological times.

There are many different ways to use essential oil. The most common way is to add essential oils to a carrier oil like olive oil, jojoba oil, coconut seed oil and almond oil. There are lots of names in this book, many of which i forget. There is a terms for multiple essential oils in a bottle. Hydro soul come after the oil is leeched from the herbs. The left over water is a called hydrosol. There is infused oil where in the herb is soaked in an oil that allows it to get the essence. Conditioned oil is oil that is heated with the herbs to get the essence .

The author also tells how to discern if an essential oil is diluted or if it is pure. All I can say is that when it come to essential oil she really knows her stuff.

From Slave Girl to Queen: Hurrems Story

 

Colin Falcon at has given the reader an easy to read novel of historical fiction that  gives graphic insight Into the dark inner workings of the Ottoman Empire. The story centers around a slave girls caught in a raid and given over to the Sultan Harem. Burden as she was called rose in power until she ran the empire right from the sultan harem.  She would eventually rise to queen. She rises to power by use of deception, trickery and !murder.

There are some side stories that play into the main story. In Venice a young Moorish Abbas falls in love with a noble woman named Julia. It does  not end well for Abbas. He is !mutilated by the woman's disapproving father. He can never marry nor have children.

Years later they find themselves in Istanbul. Abbas works in the kings harem. Julia is caught in a slave raid. Abbas provides for her release and care under a friend named ludivici.  Abbas to keep Julia alive must play along with her intrigues.

In the end Hurems  machinations lead to civil war and the death of Suleiman sons. She becomes the first woman to become queen. Most of the Sultans wives were slave girls.

Stephen Kings “Otherworld”

 

Stephen King’s “Otherworld” offers a distorted version of our very own world. It has dwarves, mermaid and the living dead. There are wagon, bicycles, tricycles and gas powered lights. It conbines elements of the Wizard of Oz and HP Lovecraft. In fact there is a god down there named Gogmagog. Like Cthullhu he is a tentacled beast with wings who wishes to destroy the world. 

On the surface world in Illinois lives Charles Reade. His father is an insurance salesman. His mother died crossing over a bridge when she was hit by a car. In charlies neighborhood there lives a very strange and antisocial hermit who lives with a vicious dog named Radar. Charlie lives the life of anormal child who has an alcoholic father dealing with the loss of his wife. Charlie prays for a miracle and says he will do anything for his father to get sober. His father gets sober and Charlie has a good deed to do. 

Howard Bowditch falls off a ladder and breaks his leg. Charlie is walking by and heres the cries for help. From this point on his life will change. As he helps the isolated Mr, Bowditch, Charlie find s out that everything the man owns is outdated and old fashioned. Contained in his safe are gold pellets worth lots of money. The once threatening dog is now getting old. There is a shed in the back and every so often weird noises come out from it. Mr. Bowditch and Charlie become friends and Charlie learns an awful secret. 

He learns about it after Mr. Bowditch dies from a heart attack when his kills a giant roach in his shed. Charlie learns there is a secret entrance to another world called Empis or Lilmar. This fairy tale world with iron girders has seen the overthrow of the royal party by a discontented brother. By calling on Gogmagog he transforms his world and almost everyone in it. Charlie come here with Radar in order to make her younger. He gets captured and is forced to fight and he realizes he has a destiny in this world. 

Charlie is a custodian. Meant to keep this otherworld safe from the human being of the upperworld. 

 

Wehrwolves of World War Ii

  In an isolated German village of Shwerag there lived a simple farmer named Uwe and his wife Katya and daughter Liesl.  The allied forces have proven victorious and are combing through the countryside. One morning Uwe wakes up to find the animals on his farm are deeply disturbed. Walking out further into the woods he finds pools of blood and a gypsy man that is torn to shred. Some people talk of legendary animals and monsters, many of which have been hunted out if they ever existed at all. 

The talk in the town is how to prepare for the allied soldiers when they come. To fight is futile yet there is a gnawing fear that that allies will round up all the young men. A man named Hans is putting together a militia to fight them. Uwe is not the bravest sort and Hans is like the village bully. He left his unit and is putting together a militia. 

The militia is rather special. To be initiated one has to spend the night in the cellar with Jager, a man who puts on a belt and becomes a werewolf. Uwe decides to join. At first the pack hunts down allied soldiers and then they start attacking village livestock. Finally the start devouring the people in town they don’t like. This starts to bug Uwe and soon his wife finds out. 

The end is a surprise ending but it is the only possible one. Too bad the story is very short. Would have been great had they developed it more and made it a full length novel. 

Rise of the Jewish Assassin

 

During the second temple time period when the Jewish people were under Roman domination, there arose a group of Jewish assassins who were much the for father of modern day terrorism. Their tactics were not the use of guerrilla warfare to take down enemy Roman soldiers but rather their target were the wealthy Jewish Elite Sadducees who were allied with the Roman, plus some rich Romans themselves.

The book goes into details about the first Jewish Revolt and how Pompei destroyed the first rebellion. The book also goes into some of the power struggles that beset the Roman provinces and the Herodian dynasty. There were many Jewish groups that rose during this time. The three main groups are the Sadducees, Essenes, and Pharisees.  

The Sadducees were the elite temple priesthood who were allied with Rome and helped them keep the grip on Judea.  The Essenes were troubled by the corruption of the temple practices, so they moved off towards En Gedi and the Dead Sea area. They practiced celibacy and wore all white. The Pharisees are the only sect to have survived and they morphed into Rabbinic Judaism.

Out of all this there arose the zealots. They fought against the Romans by using terror, and guerilla warfare tactics. It is not sure if the Zealots were the same as the Sicarii or if the Sicarii are an offshoot of the Zealots.

One of the main historians to record the deeds of the Sicarii is Josephus. Since he was a Greek Jew allied with the elite. Per his background he wrote rather negatively of the Sicarii. He thought of them as rogues, poor bandits. In reality some the zealots may have been bandits. The defenders at Masada were supposedly Sicarii. They chose death over surrender.

The revolt against the Romans may have been nationalistic but there was a class struggle going on as the pro-Roman Jews were wealthy while those in opposition were from the poorer classes. During the siege of Jerusalem the Sicarii took over the temple and fortified it. The siege against Jerusalem by the Romans was long lasting. Not only was it Jews against Romans but it was also Jews against jews. After the siege and the defeat at Masada some of the Sicarii fled to Alexandria in Egypt and other places in Libya.

There was anti Jewish sentiment in Alexandria. The Jews were forced to put up images of Cesar in their synagogues.  Jewish refusal fueled programs against the Jewish community. Josephus likes to blame the Sicarii for the revolt and all that befell the Jewish people. I would say it was Roman oppression and interference of Jewish life that sparked the revolt.

Isobel Gowdy's Book of Charms

 

The Black Book of Isobel Gowdy

By Ash William Mills

During the 15 hundreds toward the 16 hundreds there lived a magical person named Isobel Gowdy. She was accused of being a witch a long with hundreds of others. Being accused of witchcraft meant torture, death and sometimes other bizarre things the priests could imagine. Most of the confessions were extracted through force or torture and are hence not reliable.  For Isobel Gowdy she was captured and interrogated without torture. What she yielded over was a treasure trove of Scottish folk magic.

Her confessions tell how she became initiated into a coven by the devil himself. He wrote he name in a black book and then sucked blood from a teat on her body. When done he spit the blood on his hand sprayed it on her head. Her revelations include ding with the king and queen of faerie. She also told how she used magic to sabotage her neighbors crops, cow milk and fishing. Sometimes she redirected the wealth to herself and at others she did for spite or revenge.

If you are looking for anything Pagan you will not find it here. The spells used old gaelic or old English and they do not call on Cernunnos or Hekate but rather they call on God, Angels, Saints and even the devil. The spells are simple to enact and there is no elaborate ritual like you find with Wicca or Ceremonial Magic. The Book consists of magical workings taken from Isobel Gowdy and a collection of Scottish spells. It is an easy to read book but there are typographical errors.

Magical workers were always the same in the mind of Scottish authorities whether one is a witch or not mattered not at all to them. In the old country there were all sorts of magical workers. There were the cunning folk who fought against witchcraft. You had healers, wisewomen and midwives. Not to mention you also had wizards in the mix. They were all treated the same. Burned at the stake.

Magical workers back them did not write stuff down in grimoires. First off most of the people were illiterate and could not write. Second to have a written book period would put one in danger much less a book of spells. But witches did sometimes possess blackbooks. Black books were not grimoires. In fact they are said to be magical items in and of themselves. They could protect a person and give them blessing. If one tried to get rid of it by burning it or throwing it in a lake it would always come back to them. The only to be rid of it is to give it to someone or sell it for less then you bought it for.

The book consists of a brief history of Isobel gowdy and what her background was. No one knows what ultimately happened to her. It is assumed that she was burned at the stake or hung in the gallows. The book contained the working of Isobel Gowdy and then goes into the magical operations of other Scottish witches . Finally at the end the manual from another witch is included. It tell  how to tell someone’s fortune from palm reading and how to tell fortunes from regular playing card.

By and large most of the working can be done today. Some of them call for ingredients you cannot lawfully obtain. Either forget the spell or tweek it. Most of the working deal with weather control, there are some curses to be sure and some are even death curses. There are working for shapeshifting and night flights. All in all a great historical reference and good book for simple workings.

 

 

On Becoming a Teacher

 Robert Jackson is a motivational speaker, mentor, and educator. His first ambition was to be a football player, but things did not pan out. So, he went into teaching. His life story is rough. He faced bullying, mugging, molestation, and physical abuse. As a student the school system was against him and anyone else who was African American.  Most of the teachers where Caucasian as were the students. His school years were full of torment as Caucasian students would bully him and then he would get blamed. 

Robert Jackson wants to teach educator a new way to reach out to Latinx and African American students. First off, many students are dealing with issues at home which could mean physical and sexual abuse, friends getting shot and drug usage in the home. Educators need to understand their student’s background. There are 6 guideline an educational professional must use to reach out to students. 

The first concept is love; the students must know that you care. The second concept is trust. The students must trust the educator and the educator must give the student benefit of doubt. The third concept is fairness. Students must be treated in the same manner and their can be no favoritism. The next concept is support.  Teachers must encourage their students and honor the students’ choices and to be able to listen without judging. The next concept is accountability.  Educators must accept responsibility for there actions and attitudes and expect the students to do the same. Both students and educators must admit when they have made mistakes. Finally, there is safety. Students must feel safe, and teachers should not manipulate and intimidate their students. Physical space should always be respected. 

Educators must over come biases against their students. At times teachers will judge a student based on race, clothing, and background. There are ways to overcome these implicit biases and for a teacher to bridge the gap with their students. A teacher must understand the student’s background. The student’s home life travels with them. Often, they are in pain, and they will mask their pain by misbehaving and joking. They cover it up. Students can be very smart but being too much of a schoolboy can cause humiliation amongst their peers so they will cover it up. Educators need to have one to one discussion with the students to find out what is going on and students need someone who will listen to them. As teachers we need to resist the urge to stereotype our students based on biased media and perceptions we were taught growing up. 

The classroom set up is super important in making students feel safe. Setting up a daily routine provide structure for the students which lets them know what to expect and helps them feel safe. Color schemes are super important to motivate students. Teachers must also put in a positive message and be mindful of how negative images may be perceived.  

In terms of fighting bias and racism teachers must lead by example. If we hear racist comments, we have to speak out and correct it.  Bias is present in education as in other fields. Our students have different backgrounds then we do. Our biases might impact how we educate them.  

Being an educator can tough. It offers up a lesson In humility and one must be open in order to be a caring teacher. Education is tough but rewarding. 

Missipian Star Cult

 In the area of the American South East there thrived up to 1000 AD the Missipian Culture of Native Americans.  They were called mound builders due to the burial mounds they left behind. The Native Americans, if you should ask them would say that they were built by the people who came before us. Who were these people that came before the Native Americans. When the mounds were excavated, or should I say destroyed, they turned up many interesting artifacts and many skeletons. Some of the symbols they found were the  eye in the hand symbol, raptor birds and monuments that would seem to represent Cygnus or Orions belt. These excavations stirred up lots of controversy. 

The biggest controversy dealt with the large skeletons. It was believed that a race of giants used to rule America, that is until a Native American tribe eventually wiped them out. These giant skeletons , of course would change the way history was being recorded.  Pseudo Archaeologists claim that the Smithsonian Institute was concealing them or covering it up. While there were several large skeletons even more than usual for a population there was no race of giants found. 

The severed hand with the eye in the middle once thought to be a universal symbol in fact represented the stars of Orion or Cygnus and the eye was the vortex the soul travelled through to reach their ancestors. Beneath the eye and hand was a spider that trapped unworthy souls and sent them to the underworld. In other mythos a large raptor bird stood in the path and blocked souls from traveling through the milky way. 

The beliefs were maintained by tribal leaders or elites who had absolute sway over the population. They were larger then the rest of the population and it was believed that they could determine where one went after they died. Eventually in many instances these giant elites were overthrown. 

Examining monuments one wonders whether they point to Cygnus or Orion. The author favors Cygnus and he gives his reasoning. Figuring out who the mound builders were we take what we know of Asians traveling across the Bering Straight during the Ice Age. We are talking prehistoric times here. The author speculates that these people were a mix of different populations. 

The first and most obvious is homo sapiens, the second Neanderthals , the third Denisovan and finally and unknown group called X. The giant height, two rows of teeth, high eyebrow bridge could all be throwbacks from the earlier interbreeding. Another groups of people called the Salutreans may have crossed over the Atlantic when it was frozen over. 

Going across the sea one sees many common beliefs, parallels and even art work the same on both sides of the Atlantic. One sees mounds, an obsession with the three stars (Cygnus or Orion), similar artwork and religious beliefs. Moreover the genetics were the same as well. 

God Magick Southern Style

 

Hoodoo is a working man’s magic. There are no spells but rather workings. It gets the job done. Hoodoo is amalgamated from religious practices of slaves brought over from Africa, European magic practices and native American practices. This form of magic developed in the south eastern united states. Some say it is the magical arm of voodoo. This from of magic used the Book of Psalms as magical verses with which to alter or influence reality. Anyone can do it no matter what gods they worship because it is all divinity. 

The working are in different areas and there is a chapter for each area of working. The first section of the working deals with gratitude and being thankful. These are petitions of gratitude when something goes right. The next session deals with working affecting love and friendship. These are love spells and friendship spells. The next session deal with health. This goes for curing illness to stopping bad dreams that you are having every night. The fourth section has working that deal with troublesome and evil spirits. The fifth section has working to protect us from our enemies and stop malicious gossip. The sixth section deal with working that affect the justice system. These working ask for lenient sentences and keeping the law away. The seventh section deals with dreams, influencing other people or gaining prophecy. The next section ask for forgiveness. And lastly the final section deals with finance. 

The working contained in this book are easy to do and not so complicated like Wiccan or Ceremonial Magic rituals. These are simple and to the point. Getting some of the ingredients might be a challenge unless you order on line or have a botanica near you. 

Here is a sample working taking from the book. It has the purpose of Winning Prizes or drawings. It can be performed any day of the week It employs the use of Bayberry incence. For this working you will need Buckeye root and Beth Root. The oil to be used will be Gambling or Bingo oil. Other materials you will need are a small red bag, dollar charm and seven strand of your hair. What you do is you burn the incense while making your mojo bag. Annoint each item with oil while saying the verses from psalm 113. Once the bag is completed then keep it with you while gambling. Let no one know about it. 

The Book of Psalms supposedly written by King David are not the words of God to man but rather man composing words to God. These words ask for wisdom, help guidance , love and money. It’s influence is not limited to only Christians and Jews but rather anyone can do the magic as divinity cannot be put in a box like the major religious denominations would have us do. Many of the grimoires such as the Heptameron use verses from the book of psalms. In addition to the use of psalms there are also practices the use of candles, oils, herbs and incense. 

Before doing any working one should take a cleansing bath or shower depending on what is available. These baths can be made or purchased but must use a high quality of ingredients. One should also prepare themselves mentally by doing meditation, listening to music or just sitting quietly. 

Many of the working will call for the practitioner to anoint themselves with magical oil. The places of anointing are forehead, wrists, back of knees and bottoms of feet . While anointing oneself they should be saying a prayer or declaring intention. 

Aztec Gods of War

 Tozi is a magical person, daughter of a witch , and she has a great destiny before her. Trapped in the fattening pen of the Aztecs things start getting rather urgent. Persecuted by others for her magical ability and the increasing appetite of the Hummingbird God make it imperative for her to escape.

While in this fattening pen Tozi befriend a young baby Coyotl and a Mayan slave girl named Malinal.

On the outside things are getting worse. Europeans are arriving under the leadership of Hernan Cortes and they are armed to the teeth. Montezuma the great speaker hallucinates mushrooms and the a hummingbird god tells him to sacrifice 50 thousand women to help him to defeat Cortes. The blood sacrifices ar endless. It takes a heavy toll on the other tribes that are not under Aztec rule.

It is during this run of sacrifices that Tozi and her friend make their escape. Tozi links up with an Aztec spy who wants to bring down Montezuma. Together they hatch a plan. Meanwhile Malinal goes back to her home town where in we find she was royalty but through acts of betrayal found herself a slave. Coyotl gets lost in the mix.

While looking for sacrifices an Aztec chieftain is caught by Shikotenko a Tlascan warrior. The two fight and the Aztec nephew is left for dead . But he lives and through Tozi he lives but this is part of the plan.

All the while the Mayan are slaughtered by European munition. This is a work,of historical fiction . The author does a good job of exposing the flaws of both European and Native populations. Both were human and both had serious flaws . The coming of Europeans to America was not a good thing.

Mrs. Lucifer

 

Venus the second planet from the sun. It rises in our morning skies and descend In our evening sky. The ancients thought it was two different stars and the Canaanites viewed it as two different gods. The Greeks called the goddess Venus. But the morning star is recognized as Lucifer. So the Goddess was transformed from her original form into a devil. This happened to many deities. The Goetia is filled with them. The demons used to be pagan deities.

The Devil has several names among them Lucifer and Satan. Lucifer is the light bringer and Satan is the opposer. Two names are not the same being necessarily. Lucifer is a light bringer the enlightener, he is the one who educates mankind and brings them knowledge. He is the snake in the Garden of Eden who tells Adam and Eve to eat the tree of knowledge. Now they are like God knowing good and evil. They are growing up. God wanted us infantile and Lucifer wanted us to grow up.

Luciferian figure appear in all religions. Enki was the one who saved mankind and taught them the sciences. Prometheus gave mankind fire and taught them to use energy. He paid the price for it in tararus. Yet even after the snake or Lucifer was demonized his veneration continued.

Starting with biblical times when Jesus was about it should be known that he was not the only candidate for messiah. Apparently John the Baptist was a contender and was in direct competition to Jesus. The new testament washes over this and makes it like they were allies. Both John and Simon the Magus may have followed the feminine teaching and sacred sex rites that were practiced at the time. Of course we know who won out and the persecution would soon commence.

This gives rise to Gnosticism where In the belief is that an evil deity created this world to trap souls in a material prison. The good god of the universe sent various emissaries to redeem humanity. Amy say it was Jesus there are others who would say Lucifer was sent.

The Cathars were one such group that believed in the gnostic truth. They were persecuted and killed much like a holocaust. Things would then morph into witch hunts. Once again the feminine divine is being persecuted and so is the one who bring us knowledge. Various luciferian lived in Europe and America.

The list goes on to the likes of Leonardo Davinci who was an inventor that had to hide his inventions for fear of the inquisition. He played the biggest joke on the Catholic Church with the Shroud of Turin. Other Luciferians would include occultist like Aleister Crowley and John Dee. Each of these has exciting stories in their own right which will be fun to read up on.

Luciferian and enlightening ideas were spread throughout Europe via the Templars and the Masons. The Templars brought back Gnostic ideas from the Middle East, and though they were falsely accused of devil worship. Yet some of what they were accused of were rituals of Middle Eastern Gnostics many of whom revered John the Baptist. That meant spitting on the cross have and renouncing Christ.

It is the Luciferian principle that keeps us advancing and learning. The Churchianity we know of wants us to stay infantile.

Do You Believe in Monsters

Almost daily people are seeing strange phenomena that cannot be explained.  The anomalies can be described as monsters. Canines that stand upright. Bigfoot chasing people down, invisible monsters and portals. We are talking cryptozoology here. Animals that are not officially recognized by science. Some of these creatures appear and then disappear. Where did they go to and where did they come from?  There are millions of undiscovered species on this planet and scientist are finding new species every day. Some say that the creatures are part physical and part spiritual which gives them the ability to stay hidden from us. Other theories state that there are portals to other dimension and these creatures some how travel though them to our world.

The dogmen are basically humanoid like canines. They show up on people and tend to send psychic messages. While not many have been hurt there have been times when they have delivered a threatening presence.  There are times when the dogmen have chased people in their cars. Others who witness them feel that if situation were different the dogmen would be hunting them down. Many cases have been reported in Wisconsin . There was one instance when a young girl watches a man transform into a dog man. Could be a skin walker or shapeshifter. These are the most frequent sightings.      

The second most frequent are bigfoots. There are seen all over the place. They have been known to hunt deer and throw rocks at people. There have been reports of them appearing suddenly and then disappearing suddenly. Some even speculate that bigfoot might be able to affect the environment around him. Like making one feel fear and controlling the weather. Bigfoot is found almost all over the place.

People have been pursued by invisible beings. All they hear is leaves crunching behind them but never see anything. One person was abducted by invisible dwarves who wanted to kill him but in the end they let him go.          

The author discusses 33 different cases. In many, but not all the areas where these cryptids are found there are often sighting of UFO’s and flashing lights in the sky.       Some of these areas are known to be spooky with green mists rolling around making people sick and messing with the electronics. Thing is no one ever manages to get solid proof and credible people are often ignored or ridiculed.                                                                                                                       

 

 

The Highest Torah

 

I am not sure if I walked out of this reading encounter with any profound wisdom under my belt but it was an entertaining read. The author out of high school goes to Jerusalem in order to do a million man march on the capital to legalize marijuana. It never happens. The author is on a quest to find the Torah of marijuana. All through the book he points to arguments that justify or at least mildly approve of marijuana usage. Of course there are arguments against it as well which he promptly rebuffs.

While in Israel he falls under the influence of Reb Shlomo Carlebach’s group. Many of them consume marijuana. Some of them even come up wit torah quotes while hi. The author did have issues in high school with laziness and inability to focus . That could have been ADHD. He bounced around from yeshiva to yeshiva. He got booted off his first program for smoking marijuana.

Through out the book he discusses issues that are impacting the Jewish community. Such issues as Zionism vs Anti Zionism, Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people and the divide between the mitnagdim and the chassidim. Plus there is some history thrown in as well.

The author has also studied Terrence McKenna and other ethneogenic gurus and he has a broad spiritual mind. Perhaps for an encore he should write Torah Quotes While Ingesting THC. I also knew some of the people he knew, like Dovid Hertzberg.

A New Jaunt into Old Territory

 

Africa maybe the birthplace of humanity but Sumeria was the birthplace of civilization. This book explore the possible origins of Sumerian society and the possible Genesis of mankind. As of late there has been much speculation as to who the Annunaki were and where they come from. Dr. Heather Lynn explores the different behind the issue.

The Sumerians kind of popped up from like the Middle of nowhere and planted themselves in what is today Southern Iraq. It was all of the sudden because at that point humanity consisted of hunter gatherers and then all of the sudden we have an advanced society.

Sumerian language was totally different from the surrounding languages and not too many other languages are quite like it. They had the first form of writing. They also built massive building and ziggurats that to this day cannot be replicated.

Where did they come from ? What are the origins of humanity? Erich Von Danniken, Zecharia Sitchin and others will tell you that the Annunaki come from another planet called Nabiru and that Ancient Aliens helped build our advanced societies of old. Other theorists suggest panspermia. Panspermia state that potentially life bearing molecules or atoms arrived to earth attached to a meteorite or Asteroid. There is also directed panspermia where in alien intelligence attached molecule or atoms to a meteor or asteroid to begin life. You also have creationist theory and the theory that life spontaneously arose.

Dr. Heather Lynn’s hypothesis is that the Annunaki came from somewhere further north fleeing an event that probably impacted the entire planet. They were far more advanced then the surrounding semites. They viewed the semitic tribes as inferior and enslaved them into a workforce that could build these monuments. Annunaki were not to marry the black headed natives. Some of the Annunaki like Enki were favorable to humanity or the natives and shared what they had and blended with them. Enlil looked at them like chattel and could have cared less for them. It was said that after the flood they left but Enki left behind 7 sages who would teach the natives things so they could build a society. The people with the most power in old Sumeria were the scribes that they had the connection to the gods.

 

By learning to write the scribes learned math, oratory and administration. They copied various works including instruction of herbs and building. The second class of scribes were formed into mystery schools. That used meditative techniques to reach extra terrestrial intelligence. The Sumerian knowledge of astronomy is unbelievable. No way they should have known this. This line of thinking is much in line with Graham Hancock’s view that before Sumeria there was an advanced civilization that spread it’s culture and technology prior to some disaster. Her view also subscribes to the view that shaman with the use of herbs or meditative techniques to contact other worldly intelligence.

The book encourages critical thinking that the author does not claim to have the right theory. Rather she suggests that her theory is one of many and that all need top be explored.

Marie Laveau Voudou.

Denise Alvarado is a premier author on Hoodoo and Voudou. Having grown up in the tradition and a native or New Orleans she one of the few author’s uniquely qualified to write this tome on Marie Laveaux .

The book is written in three parts, and is well researched . The first part is a biography of the Voudou Queen. Many Experts in the field learned some new stuff. What jumped out at me was not so much details as was her commitment to social justice. She use her powers for the oppressed and forgotten. Her great grandmother was from Senegal. Marie ran a beauty parlor and was privy to  all the secrets of the towns rich and famous . She was also a practicing Catholic .

Marie Laveau has risen to the status of a loa. To work with her you have  to build up a rapport. You cannot just walk up to her and ask for help. Part two explains how to set up a spiritual practice of working with Marie Laveau. The offerings, prayers, devotions, and thing’s she likes. Some of the best offerings are coming contributions to social justice.

The last part deals with spell craft . The object of spells is love money and revenge. There are instructions on candle magic , gri bags and other spell techniques. Over all great book especially for beginner to intermediate practioners.

Now before I go I must make mention of where I bough the book. On Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills is a unique shop called Ghoulish Delights. If you are a horror fan then this is your spot. Antique items that are designed to scare. Coffins, dolls, straw figures and bats are all available here along with some vintage mirrors. The ship has books and some craft supplies. Great shop. Be sure to give it a look.

 

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European Tales of Witchcraft

 

This work by scholar Claude Lecouteux examines old fairy tales and myths. First the author tells the tale to the reader and the gives over an analysis of its content and origins. Many of these tales started off as Ancient Greek or Roman myths. Others started out in Norse mythology bu were morphed over time and different elements were added or removed . Character names changed as did events.

The fist section deals with people being turned Into animals as a curse from an evil witch. The second part deal with humans in animal form who are wronged and then seek redress. The dolphin nights captures this well.  A sailor hurts a dolphins then is ferried na way to help the dolphins heal.The third section deals with devil stuff and dark spells. The Love Spell deals with Charlemaign and his dead wife. Due to magic he cannot part from her. He embalms her and sleeps with her. It takes a bishop to break spell. The tales fall under different heading and it is worth a look if you are studying European literature.

I am not sure if the audible render a full version of the book . Parts of it seems short along with some of the explanations. But Claude Lecouteux is a scholar worth reading.

Magical Battle of Orisha

 In the alternate universe in the mythological kingdom of Orisha, which is based on real life Nigeria. The kingdom is ruled by a despot named king Saran. For the past 11 years he has waged a war against magic much like our common witch hunts of yesteryear. The Maji and their clans have been decimated. All that is left is diviner’s and they aren’t treated as human but rather as “maggots “ . Magic is all but eliminated but the paranoid king insists on enslaving the maggots.

The story opens up with Zelli training to use a staff which is to fight and yield for self defense. The royal guards come by and demand exorbitant taxes and generally they abuse the women because they are maggots. Zelli is not one to take this lying down and she has a feisty spirit. 

Eleven years ago king Saran massacred all of the magic and it was brutal. All Zelli could do is watch as her mother was hung like a common criminal and her father was beaten up. The persecution continues with maggots being pressed into service and the royal guard extorting money . To pay off the taxes Zelli and her brother go to the capital city to sell some fish. This is where the excitement begins.

Amari the Princess happens upon a scroll that can restore magic to the diviner’s. Her father finds this out and kills her best friend just because she had magic. She takes the scroll and flees the castle. In the city they hook up Zelli, Tzain and Amari.

Together they flee across the countryside bearing witness that Saran is despotic. They come to diviner’s strongholds, old temples and the challenge is to do a ritual that restores magic to the diviner’s and turn them into magi. Lots of plot twists, romance intrigue and seduction.

Analyzing Psychic Vampire

 You run into a very charismatic stranger, someone who draws you in. They are lively and vivacious. Yet after the interaction you feel drained and just empty. You have just had an interaction with a psychic vampire. The approach of this book as it explains the phenomena is not metaphysical or new agey but rather very psychological and in depth.

The psychic vampire is an archetype much like the warrior, scholar or ruler. It is something that any individual can tap into. Most of us if we have been victimized by the vampire had our first experience as small kids. Most of the time psychic vampires are unaware that they are vampires. We come into this world seeking love but when love is not found the individual finds a way to compensate usually by exploiting others. Once someone is vampirized they usually become psychic vampires themselves or they are in need of repair.
The author discusses several different paradigms of psychic vampirism. Going through the male vampire and female victim, male vampire and male victim and female vampire and male victim and female vampire. All of these instances are pulled from literature and movies. There are some personal stories as well along with deep analysis.
The male vampire and female victim plays out in Dracula and Silence of the Lambs. Both Hanibal and Vlad are at the top of the game. Very charismatic and charming. They know how to manipulate people. Dracula victimizes Mina Harker and Hanibal Lecter victimizes Clarice a young police detective. The mediocre vampires are Renfield and many prison guards. They victimize the less fortunate. They tend to be prison guards who feed off of inmates. Perhaps the most dangerous vampire is the noble vampire. They come about ready to protect or advise but their ultimate goal is exploitation.
The female vampire comes off as a helpless damsel in distress. Looking for a strong man who will protect her and provide for her. She controls her victim by giving or denying approval and by giving the silent treatment. Example of this are the Glass Menagerie where in the mother exerts supreme control over her son by using guilt and vulnerability. Another example of female vampire is Medusa. She fixes men with a hard look and uses anger and wrath to get her way. Of course there is the story of Gypsy Rose and her Controlling mother who tries to live through her daughters vicariously.
The male-to-male paradigm involves an older vampire siring or teaching a younger man or vampire so they have a partner in crime. The younger vampire ends up turning against the older vampire and supplants him or her. You see this a lot in corporations. The author uses Dorian Grey and an example.
Vampires prey on the lonely an vulnerable. It is often the lonely who project their image of a perfect lover onto another. Vampires are shapeshifter. They can appear as anything. The only way to defeat this vampire is finding self love, accepting truth and coming into contact with your internal perfect lover.

The Anusim and the Sabbateans

 In the year 1665 to1666 there arose a figure in the Jewish world who had an impact that was felt across much of the known world. He claimed to be the Messiah, the anointed one who would rescue the Jewish people from exile . In 1666 he announced that he would subjugate the Ottoman Sultan. The opposite occurred. Shabbtai Tzvi converted to Islam.

This about killed the movement it some people still held on.  Who were most of these Jews who followed him and why did they follow him? Many of the people who followed him were conversos or anusim. These Jews were forced to adopt Catholicism or were born into it. They know what it was like to be forced into another religion .

Within the Jewish world there were major changes brewing. One of them was a heightened interest in Kaballah . Lurianic Kaballah opened the idea of messianism and put more of an emphasis on the mystical. It created a cadre of new elites within the Jewish world.

There was also less emphasis on the mitzvah and studying the law or Halacha.  These changes in the Jewish world plus the many persecutions they experienced opened the way for someone like Shabbtai Tzvi to rise up.

of Arulf the Wolfblood

 

Arnulf’s oldest brother has perished in a viking raid. He died battle on board a ship against several other Vikings after he assaulted a chieftains wife. News of the brother’s death devastates his local village where his dad Stridborsen is the chieftain. Arnulf has one older brother named Rolf left and he is more of a farmer. Arnulf is the youngest son and a troublemaker. OF course, he is not ready to go a viking and do raids. He feels cheated out of destiny to top things off he intended to be is stolen by his older remaining brother. Toke is the chieftain’s son who is taken captive and will be killed for the death of Helge.  After a tryst with his intended Freydis he gets into a fight with his brother. After he kills his brother he escapes with Toke and they go on board his shape and they do a raid. After the  raid a treacherous Viking named Leif throws him overboard. Later on he adventures with the Jomsvikings. After they lose a battle against Hakon the earl of Norway, he finds his way back to Toke’s village and then finally to his village. 

A good book if you enjoy Viking fiction. The reader gets introduced to elements of the Viking lifestyle. One also get’s familiar with Fenris and his role in outlaw spirituality and his worship was not accepted with the other Norse Gods. The Ulfrednar are wolf skin warriors who cannot feel pain and are guarded by sorcery so they cannot get hurt. Then there are the Seidworkers who whip up storms to confound opponents. Nice little book. 

Vampyre Energy Magick

 

Using the motif and legends of the vampyre author Don Webb constructs a framework for increasing energy and self improvement by combining in esoteric methods of yoga and yantra energy work.

The book is divided Into 4 parts or book. The first book gives the basics of a vampyre to the reader. This part gives over definitions of vampyre and energy work. The second book renders rituals dedicated to increasing ones vampyre nature. Among the magicians celebrated in this section are Beverly Randolph Pashcal, Aleister Crowley, Anton LaVey, Edred Flowers, Michale and Lilith Aquino to name a few. The third book has actual exercises and meditation that you can use. A favorite is the demon exorcism where in a demon from your own energy advises you on bad decisions after which it dissolved back into your energy. Book 4 goes over Transylvanian lore and some basics from the temple of Set.

Vampyre Magick is definitely left handed path Magick aimed at making you achieve godhood and maximize your potential. The vampyre is the master seducer, warrior and magician . The object is to increase ones power and influence in the material world. This means getting better jobs, mates etc. I highly recommend this book.

He Plight of the Assyrians

 The Assyrians of the Middle East have had more than their fair share of being oppressed. Throughout history they have been second class citizens in their own land. Events culminate with the 1915 Seyfo in which they were massacred and driven out of their villages in Ottoman Turkey and forced to flee to Nirthern Iran and Nirthern Iraq. The oppression did not end their.

To this day it continues. The Assyrians are trying to set up an autonomous zone on the Nineveh plain and it has traditionally been inhabited mostly by Assyrians. The plans were to give them an autonomous zone. Yet there are forces in the way that are preventing this. One would think that with US troops stationed there things would go easier for the Assyrians. In fact it has been the opposite.

The Kurds under the KRG and KDP are trying to leach the Assyrians away from their land and make it part of their Kurdistan. To weaken the Assyrian political position the Kurds are supporting different parties that go with their agenda. They are also using religion to divide the Assyrian nation. Some Assyrians call themselves Chaldeans, Syrian Othodox, etc.

The Kurds are also using terror tactics to take the land. They are using terror tactics to force the Assyrians away. These include false arrests by Kurdish police. Breaking into houses and killing and raping people.  These terror tactics are forcing Assyrians out of their ancestral lands.

The Kurds may have helped ISIS come to power. Once ISIS came to power the Kurdish peshmerga hardly ever defended the Assyrians. Yet the Kurds are an Israeli and American ally. The Kurds pretend that they are being nice to Assyrians but they are not. The Assyrians once again are being sold out. Their only solution is their own land or an autonomous zone under their control with their own defense force.

Magic Dungeons

 

Lupa and Taylor’s approach to magick is new and refreshing. What follows is a book that combines magic with sadomasochistic practices. Some would think that sex and magick do not go together, in fact they very much do. Sex magick has been practiced for a long time. Sadomasochism is thought to be cathartic and healing for people who have suffered abuse. This book has some of those techniques.

Magick works by raising energy and then directing it towards a certain goal. Magick is defined as changing reality according to one’s will. Sex brings up lots of energy. The build up to the climax makes energy and the climax offers the perfect release of that energy toward that goal. The bodily fluids could be used to charge sigil or other magical implements. In a BDSM situation it is the top who is directing the subs energy toward a specific goal.

The book gives a good introducing into the terminology of BDSM. The terms are very exhaustive, even for someone who practices this stuff. The authors render their own personal experiences into the book. Wiccan practices like perfect love and perfect trust come into play as the authors talk about safety and the need to trust the partner you are playing with.

The techniques they use employ Taoist breathing and definitely charging sigils. Yet there is also exploring past traumas and using the cathartic experiences to dissolve blockages and transform the negative into positive. There are psychic vampire techniques where in energy is exchanged.. Role playing is used to over come previous trauma.

 

There is even a tarot spread to this book. I love their new and novel approach to magic.

 

Iranian Origins of Camelot

 Everyone is familiar with King Arthur and the Knights if the Round Table. Intrigued as we are when we look for the inspiration for these tales we really do not find an adequate source. Searching the Norse and Celtic mythos we fail to find any meaningful parallels. Looking back in History and further to the East, we find that the Romans conscripted several tribes to fight for them and settled them in different parts of Europe. The tribes were all inter related. Scythian, Sarmatians, Iazagese ,Ossetians and Alans.

Not much remains of these tribes. The Ossetians who live in Georgia are descended from the Alans. With them came the Nart Sagas. The Nart Sagas focus around  Batraz, who avenges his father to claim kingship. He is aided by a sword and there is a grail like object that he is questing for. Once Batraz dies he commands a warrior underneath him to cast the sword into the lake. This is very similar to the King Arthur mythology. There is the pulling of sword from a stone and retuning it to the source. 

The parallels are with near eastern mythology from northern Iran. The Scythians were horseback warrior who hailed from the Iranians steps south of Siberia. They are the ones who spread burial mounds through out Europe . They were called the Lizard People due to the scales on their armor. After they settled in motifs started showing scaly warriors. The Sarmatians flew a dragon banner when doing into battle. Hence we can see the source of Pendragon or son of the dragon. The burial mound would have stones with swords driven into them with only the rightful heir being able to pull them out.

These parallels are not found in Celtic or any neighboring mythology. Arthur was modeled off of  Batraz.Batraz lost his father as did Arthur and he had to claim the sword and avenge his father in Order to get his kingdom. Lancelet as well is a reflection of Batraz as well. The lady of the lake correspond to Lady of the Lake. Seems that many motifs come from Ancient Persia.

The Jews of Tunisia

 

The Arab Spring or the Jasmine Spring saw massive change throughout the Arab world. Old and corrupt , secular Arab regimes were replaced with Islamic fundamentalist leadership. With the change of government came the ethnic cleansing of anyone who was not Muslim. Assyrian Christians and Yezidi were massacred in Iraq and the the rest of the Middle East. But this is not the first time this has happened.

The book focuses on the Jewish community of Tunisia yet touches upon other tragedies that occurred in the Middle East. As many of these Middle Eastern governments go if you are not part of the club then you do not belong.

Going back to at least Turkish times , Jews and Christians were treated as second status people with fewer rights then Muslims. They were of Dhimmi status and had to pay special taxes and wear garb that identified them as Dhimi

Despite all this the Jews managed to prosper. Things would get worse around World War 11 when the Nazi allied Vichy French help then round up Jews. With Israel’s creation things became worse , Jews were treated as the Zionist enemy. They were subject to pogroms, land confiscation and imprisonments. Many left for Israel.

Those that remained faced persecution during the Jasmine Revolution. Riots, arrest and torture awaited them. In truth the Jews were never really welcomed in Arab Tunisian society, then again the Berbers have been marginalized.

Once the Jews arrived in Israel things were not much better. They were treated like second class citizen. While Tunisia tried to wipe way its Jewish and Berber past. Seems the Jewish state wanted to erase the Middle Eastern past as well.