Realm of the Annunaki

 

the Land of the Watchers

By Dr. Heather Lynn

  In the ast few years there has been rather an intense amount of interest in the middle east. Skipping past the Gaza incident we look at American involvement in Iraq. After all Mesopotamia was the land o theAfter all Mesopotamia was our first civilization. It was the land of the watchers.  The watchers werer the Annunaki or the ones who came from heaven. It was the first civilization ever and a giant leap from hunter gatherers. Hunter gatherers can build temple complexes and simple dwelling but they could not build complex cities with a modern buracracy that takes care of all society's needs. No one knows where the annunaki came from. The Sumerians left behind several documents in Cuneiform. One of them was the "Tablet of Destinies"

The real reason why Iraq is of such interest is not because of the oil. There are other factors at play. Those factors are archaeology and documents. While ISIS was ravaging Syria and Iraq they also raided the museum and destroyed many ancient Mesopotamian artifacts. They knew what they were going after. They had expensive ear pieces and chose their target of destruction carefully. Why destroy this stuff and who sent these guys. The main interest is in the artifacts and documents. When people destroy archaeology you are cutting off humanity from it's origins. Why would they want to do that? There is something they do no want us to know.

As relics are destroyed or bought out by private collectors our access to the truth is cut off. To learn the history we have to ask and be dependent on so called experts. There is something they are trying to hide what is it? Humanities origins? After all they suppressed the book of Enoch. Technology? If they were aliens wouoldn't you want it. then there are the kings lists. this is what everyone is after . The names of kings and how long they lived. Many billionaires believe they are descended from Ancient Mesopotamian families.

Society is meant to serve people but it also controls them. Rulers set up institutions t promote their ideology. they tell us what we want. As Dr. Lynn went pursuing the bread crumbs she met retired professors nd UFO nuts. She was also followed by one of these rich families and taken to their head quarters with a bag over her head. In look forward t reading more of her works.

 

A return to the Grisaverse

 

King of Scars

Leigh Bardugo

Welcome to the Grisaverse! these days we are exposed to the monsterverse, DC Universe, Marvel universe . I think you get the picture. Now if you are familiar with the Netflix series "Shadow and Bone" you will find yourself very famiiar with this extension. Taking place after Sancta Alina defets the Darkling or the Starless one, King Nicolai is running the kingdom of Ravka. The kingdom is still beset by war, Fjerda eants to attack, Shu wants to attack and in different kingdoms the Grisha are being huntered down by Druxel . Grisha are witches and Druxell are witch hunters. The story starts off with a beast about to attack a young boy. Fortunately for the boy Zoya a general in the Ravkan army is there to save him. Yet, she does not kill the beast but rather leads him away. In the country of Fjerda they are rounding up Grisha. Nina has the job of getting them to Ravka safely. As Nina explores Fjerda she become aware that certain areas are contaminated with poison. The water is undrinkable.  Nina also gets communication from the dead. The dead are urging her to investigate the source of contamination.

The beast is in fact King Nicholai . When the Darkling was defeated he infected the king with part of his shadow. So every night the king must be chained up kind of like a werewolf to keep him from harming others and to keep his curse a secret. Ravka has no heir. He has got to get married. In Fjerda Nina investigates a factory where Grisha are being held like labrats forced to endure inhumane experiments. A drug that effects Grisha has been released out into the world. Parem is the name of the drug. It increases Grisha power manifold but it also wastes them away and kills them. Nina was hooked on that once before and beat the addiction. Not many cn beat the addiction. While spying on Fjerda they hole up in a nuns convent. They stay there and teach the language of Zemeni in exchange for food and lodging. The dead are calling out to Nina.

Back in the kingdom more statecraft ensues. Deals for new wr machines . Spies watching enemy countries trying to get wind of new miliatry machines. For king Nicholai the beast within is getting harder to control. The Apparat much like the clergy in Medievil Europe wileds great power and sometimes goes against royalty. A new monk arrives on the scene with other monks following. They wish to magnify the Darkling into a saint. The idea is appalling everyone wants this moink dead except for king Nicholai. He has a plan, a plan to help rid him of the beast and make use of Yuri the monk. So they take a journey to the Fold inn order to do a ritual to rid him o this beast. In Fjerda after securing lodging , Nina and her company investigate the factory that is dumping water into Fjerda's rivers. Inside the factory they are experimenting on Grisha with a synthetic version of Parem. They are weponizing magical workers.

Once in the fold both Zoya and Nicholai face sets of challenges and recieve some training as well. They will not leave the fold the same as when they went in there. Nina an company investigate the factory and attempt to rescue the imprisoned Grisha. A fine story to abn awesome series.

Surviving Prison Using High Magick

 High Magick

By Damien Echols

Damein Echols was wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of three 8 year old boys in a Satanic ritual. For over twenty yers he languished in prison. Growing up in small town Arkansas , he had few options and parents who never saw beyond living from check to check. He had long hair an listened to heavy metal which made him an instant target. When he was accused of ritual murders he was not given a fair trial rather they wre just looking for way to lock him. In order to stay sane and ultimately get out out he relied on magick. As a youth he was drawn to magic and horror. He would go to the library and check out books.

In prison you do not have access to magical tools like athames or wands. One has to make do with the ultimate tool they have which is themselves. The author goes through the different kinds of magick. He spells out the difference between high and low magick, natural magic and ritual and non ritual magic. The focus of his work is box breathing. Box breathing has the practitioner work with breathing in to the count of four, holding the breath to the count of four, relesing he breath to the count of four and finally holding your breath again to the count of four.  This is a spiritual exercsise unto itself. It also forms the basis for several other meditations as well.  One aura strengthening exercise has the practitioner breath in energy and then exhale it out onto their aura, Another exercsie has the practitioner focus on different seasons during the different breathing cycles. there are lunar and solar meditations as well focusing on differnt solar and lunar phases in sync with breathing cycles.

the most important exercises he renders are the Lesser Pentagram banishing Ritual and the Middle pillar meditation. Both are based on ancient kabbalistic practices. Doing these alone for one year straight balances out the aura, cleans up the energy and can give one spiritual power similiar to being intitiated into the inner ring of the Golden Dawn. there are also some basic straight forward techniqes on raising enrgy and then programing it into a talisman or amulet.

The book is short an sweet and gets right to the point. While most book on Ceremonial Magick can be daunting this books strips it down to the bare bones so the practitioner can get working on it.

Becoming a Word Witch

 

The Magical Writing Grimoire

By Lisa Marie Basil

One of the most potent tools a witch has are his or her words.  Writing and more in particuar poetry or journaling can help one take control of their narrative and life. It lets you own your lifestory. The journal can be your quiet place , your respite from a crazy world. Most witches would want to use writing in order to help with manifestation but it is also helpful in healing from trauma and it can be helpful in moving through a difficult period in our life. It can help us acheive mindfulness. Writers use slogan, mantras and affirmations all the time as do witches but magical workers use sigils as well. The tools for the word witch are simple, your pen and paper, other tools are optional.afterall not all witches have access to expensive tools and that should never be a requirement.

What exactly are sigils? They were first popularized by Austin Osman Spare.  One could write out there intention for example "It is my well to become more productive" Every repeating letter is crossed out.  The remaining letters are fashioned into a design and the design could be burned or destroyed. It could also be turned into artwork an worn to attract more energy. Writing is also used to achieve mindfulness. This mindfulness is like being aware of everything that is happening in the moment. When your thought rise up your just going to recognize a thought and let them run their course. This enriches living and makes one more effective and more productive. Writing can also be used to help the disenfrachised. Especially with the internet an onlne forums our words can have a real strong impact and we can use that impact to create a loving environment or a bitter hateful one. We can support business of the under represented by not only frequenting their shop but also by writing very positive reviews fo the business.

Dream journaling is another effective use of writing. Constantly our dreams are trying to deliver us messages. Writing them down or making poems out of them can help us get the message an understand the meaning. Hypnos is the lord o dreams. He dwells with the poppies in the underworld. He can pull us into dreams aas they are liminal, between life and death. Things that are holy to hypnos are amethyst crystal, Valerian root, mugwort an stuff like stars an the moon. One can also write down a dream intention of what they want to dream about. There are other methods of divination.

Dreams and tarot card are not the only forms of divination out there. Bibliomancy is another form.  This means consulting a book and asking a question. You open the book to the age and line an your answer is right there. Of course you may need a little creativity. You can also put the book on it's spine and let it fall open to a given page. Another method I like is to place a card randomly in a book and se what comes up.

Writing can be used to craft your own rituals, poems to the gods etc. Writing can help release us from pain and abusive situations in the past. It helps us to let go. If you are an intuitive magic worker who is free spirited then this book is for you. Word smithing is a manifestation of free spirit as is dancing. Dancing puts us into ecstacy and connection with the gods. Use this book in good health.

Reflections of an Arab Jew

 

When We Were Arabs 

By Massoud Hayoun

Lately I have been reading memoirs about Jews who fled or left Arab countries with little more than their lives. Having fled the countries they lived in for many years these Jews left behind property, real esate and money. this story is a bit different. Massoud is a Jewish man of Middle Eastern descent. He describes himself as  Jewish Arab. Being Arab and being jewish are equal parts of his identity. He mostly tells teh story of his grandfather Oscar and his grandmother Dida. Oscar was Morrocan on his father's side and Egyptian on his mother's side. His Mother was Tunisian. Massoud culls his information from his grandfathers three Costco notebook and from a biography of his grandmother. He has fond memories of his Oscar tryin to teach him Arabic on Sunday's. Of listening to the classic arabic songsters and watching the old Egyptian cinema. Then there were the stories of their youth in those countries.

Remember that their growing up in an Arab country they were occupied by Ottoman powers, British and the French. In their countries they were considered Arab whether their religion was Judaism, Christianity or Islam. One never asked what faith you were as everyone was Arab back then. They would even go to each other's celebrations. their origin stories did not hearken back to Israel of the first and second temple period rather the stories carry back to what Middle Eastern region their family hailed from. The author discusses some possible convert origins for differnt Middle eastern jewish communities. Either way they were part and parcel of the countries they lived in.

things hen began to change with the coming o European powers. First it was he French and they came in and colonized Algeria and Tunis. their claim was to make things better for he natives but in fac they tended to look down on indigenous culture and their education system sought t inculcate that. The French imediately set up school system with the intention of cementing French culture and ways in the country's youth. Soon you had youth dressing and looking like the French an looking down on the ways of their elders. These yougsters knew French history but not the history of their own country. THe Jews were taught to be French and that they were unique to everyother Jewish community. The French saw the Jews as instruments for their own colonial designs. Classic divide and conquer. It would isolate the Jews from each other and their neighbors.

In the Arab countries the more like the colonizer you were the higher class you were. Europeans did not mix with the locals but lived in their own neighbohood.  Class was stratified. The Alliance Israelite schools taught a secular identity but one that also looked down on their middle eastern background. Their stress was that the Jews were a nation seperate from the others. This would pave the way for Zionism. The French schools also indoctrinated the youth against the British when they had control over Egypt. Often times Jews were seen as being connected with the occupying powers. If this would cause a division political Zionism would expand that breach even further.

Zionism in the author's opinion was aimed at divesting Arab land from the Palestinians. This angered many Arabs and caused many of the to turn against their Jewish neighbors. The Jews did not necesarily side with Zionism. Many of the wealthy sought to distance themselves from it. Mainly the poorer jewish Arabs were drawn to it. The author deplores some of the the tactics used by zionist agent to lure Jews to Palestine. He often called it human tafficking. Middle Eastern Jews were often used for menial labor jobs despite being well educated. Jobs the white Ashkenazi Jews would not do. The Zionist were deceptive. they wanted an Ashkenazi state with Middle Eastern Jews as a labor source.

Upon arrival to Palestine/Israel these Jewish Arabs who were well educated as much so as their Ashkenazi counterparts were given tin shacks and makeshift tents while the European jews were given houses or apartment right away. Many Jewish Arabs were sprayed wit DDt. While understandable to concentration camp victims not needed for Arab jews. the Zionist education system denigrated their arab background and made them look down on themselves. There was lots of violence against Arab Jews as well.

I found this memor enlightening. The colonialism divorce the Arab  Jews from their Arab identity both on the European front and the Zionist front. It shows you that no one in this conflict is entirely clean. Yet i cannot agree with him calling Israel occupied Palestine, nor do i think that a two state solution is still viable. While he focused on the wrongs of Zionism I feel that he left out the injustices suffered by Jews in Arab land over the years. It was second class citizenship. Prior to those golden years life could be harsh for Jews in Arab lands. Many Jews were displaced from Arab countries an left behind land, money and property and I wonder if they will get it back. I doubt it. The Palestinians have responded to Israeli peace overtures with rockets and suicide bombers. 

Yet on the other hand Jewish Arabs who find the terms Mizrachi and Sephardic misleading and degrading have not had a good time in Israel. Mizrachi means east but east of where. Morroco is not east of Poland and the term Sephardic denotes Jews who were exiled from Spain. two terms that do not apply the Jewish Arabs. Jewish Arabs are subject to harrasment due to their skin color. The Yemenite Jews ad their babies stolen fro them. Israel was not so good to them either.

The Mesopotamian Origins of Hebrew Myth

 

The Ark Before Noah

By Irving Finkel

We are all familiar with the story of Noah’s Ark. The world sins so God decides to punish the world with a huge flood that covers the world. Noah is the only righteous person and so God spares Noah and his family by instructing them to build an ark and take a bunch of animals to save them as well.  There are some contradictions to the story for example in one instance god tells Noah to take a pair of animals on the ark. In another he is told to take 7 pairs of clean animals and a pair of unclean animals. Kind of strange if it all came from God. In fact, I did not but rather was based on an older tale, a Mesopotamian tale or myth.

In the Sumerian version of things Noah is called Utnapishtim and he was sort of like a king albeit a righteous one. The people on the planet are far too noisy so the gods decide wipe them out with a flood. Utnapishtim survives. This tale is included in the epic of Gilgamesh. In other Babylonian version and Assyrian versions, the hero is called Atrahasis. There are different versions of the story going around as is with all stories and they can change with each telling.

How did this tale with changed names enter itself into the Old Testament. Assuming that there was a huge flood or at least a flood that impacted that region it was well known to the Sumerians. Abraham the first Hebrew or Jew was from Mesopotamia. A big debate as to whether he was Aramean or Sumerian. He might have learned the flood story from his Sumerian upbringing.

Another theory is that when the Judeans were brought into exile, they were totally shell shocked by being conquered then bought to a more advanced culture. They were assimilated into the Babylonian culture. The Ancient Mesopotamians invented cuneiform writing and it was a special honor to be inducted into a scribal school. Many Judean were inducted. It was from there that they learned the flood myth. Since their mythology might have been lacking some elements, they borrowed and made it their own. There are other elements like the Assyrian king Sargon who was born of a priestess and then cast into the river in a small basket. Sound familiar? Remember Moses going on to Mount Sinai and getting the ten commandments well Hammurabi went up to a Mountain and received the law from the sun god Shamash.

There is a question as to what the water vessel used looked like. Looking at Mesopotamian society and how it is placed on the river it can be expected that they had to get around somewhat by boat and they had to experience periodic flooding. There are two types of craft. One is a round craft made of reed and bitumen and it is water proof. Some versions of the story have it as a craft with one level and another has it as a craft with multiple levels. The other version is a boat like structure that Noah used.

There has been some speculation as to where the ark landed. In the Bible we have been trained to think that the Ark landed on Mount Ararat. In fact the original legend says they landed in the mountain of Urartu. Uartu was a kingdom to the North of Mesopotamia. But there are other legends that place the mountain elsewhere. Assyrian legend which held sway briefly believed that the mountain was Mount Nizar which is in Assyrian territory and part of the Zagros Mountains. Islamic tradition and Nestorian tradition placed it on Mount judi Dar. It held sway for the longest but now everyone settle on Ararat.

 

The Witch of Blacksprings

HEX

By Thomas Olde Heuvelt

 The only evil out there is not witches, vampires or other monsters. The worst kind of evil is generated from humans themselves. In the town of Black Spring there exists a witch and a curse. Or rather the ghost of a witch. A ghost that can become flesh and blood. The town curse is that once you decide to become a resident of that town that is it you are stuck there forever. Leaving the town for any period of time can lead to suicidal thoughts. These thoughts are fatal.

Katherine was a lone woman who lived out in the woods when Black Spring was a Dutch town. She had two children and one died. Then the dead child came back to life. Towns people freak out so they make her kills the child that was revived and she gets burned at the stake. For years she haunts the settlement. Eventually it becomes depopulated and another British town rises up in it’s place.  The British soldiers see her ghost and they get the bright idea to sew her lips and eyes shut. Eventually the British settlement fades and Black Spring pops up. Still haunted by the witch.

Leap into the modern day and the town of Black Spring is still dealing with the neighborhood witch. Hex is the in town organization tasked with handling the witch problem. Surveilance cameras are set up all over town. If she appears in the middle of no where local towns people make an effort to hide her so outsiders do no see. Under no circumstances are people to bother or try to interact with the witch. There is an app that is meant to track the appearances of the witch.

Messing with the witch is bad news . She causes death, destruction and all around mayhem. Back in 1961 the military wanted to cut the stitches of her eyes. That did not end well. Several people died. There are people in town who do not follow the rules laid down by Hex. You have Griselda who makes food sacrifices to the ghost. Several of the twon boys get it into their head that they want to mess with the witch.

A couple times they throw stones at her, injure her with sharp weapons and turn a dog onto her. This sets into motion a series of events that will lead to a fiery end. Get ready for chaos. The book is somewhat chilling but suffused with a certain bent of humor that makes what would be very scare to read a down right entertaining read. 

The real monsters are the towns people who tortured and killed the young Katherine. The ghost only comes back after it has been wronged. The ghost was also wronged by British colonists who sewed her mouth shut. But in reality Katherine is more humorous than dangerous. Mostly she shows up unexpectedly and people have to find a way to hide her. She is a comical nuisance.

Jaydon who is Griselda’s son of somewhat rebellious. He and a group of his friend are angry that they are stuck in this town for life thanks to a witch. The anger caused him to torture the ghost of the witch in a frightening way. Tyler tries to stop them. Jaydon still manages to sic Tyler’s dog on the ghost. Tylers dog dies. He gets punished as well. You would think because he tried to save her that  he would be saved. But good and bad pay alike.

Entrepreneurial Jeet Kune Do

The Bruce Lee Code

By Thomas Lee

 

Among the greatest of entrepreneurs certain name have a way of standing out. Steve Jobs, Bill Gate, Elon Musk and several others. One of the best known who had an entrepreneurial spirit was Bruce Lee. Now Bruce was an icon a hero that everyone looked up to. Know for his martial arts prowess and chiseled physique but little do people know that he was an entrepreneur. Bruce had big plans . He wanted to combine the east and the west and show everyone the good parts about Chinese culture. His way to do that involved show casing his Kung Fu skills. His original plan was to open up a string of kung fu schools. When Bruce found that he would reach more people with the cinema that is the route he took.  His role as Cato in the Green Hornet propelled him to fame and his character was the main item of the show. People liked Cato. After that role was finished Bruce did not have any roles. Being flexible and brave he went to Hong kong started his own production company and made several movies. Later he had a stronger bargaining . One could say that if he had plans on opening schools and then later he opened his own production company that he was pretty entrepreneurial.

When compared to someone like Steve Jobs he was an innovator. Bruce took what was there and made it simpler.  Easier to use. If anyone remembers using computer or technologies before Apple it was clunky and difficult. Now Apple products are one of the easiest to use and other tech companies have copied this approach. Bruce Lee also made things simpler. He hated forms and patterns and useless movement that cluttered up the martial arts. He wanted to make it more efficient and useful for  combat. Using Wing Chun as a basis he studied more fighting styles and he took what was useful and discarded the rest. He formulated his own martial art called JeeT Kune Do.

Not only did Bruce study martial arts and exercise routines but he was learning about eastern and western philosophy. He also studied camera angles and script writing.  A good entrepreneur is always curious and learning new things because when you start your own business you must do everything yourself.  If Bruce wanted to realize his vision of introducing kung fu and his philosophy to world he would have to do more than just act. Bruce had to write his own scripts, choreograph fight scenes and learn the basic of production.

Hollywood back in Bruce’s time was very racist. Chinese or Asian actors had limited roles.  Often times when certain characters were Asian in a movie they would often cast a white person to that role. Bruce himself was paid the price of a stuntman for his role as Cato in the Green Hornet. He had fewer spoken lines then his Caucasian counter parts. Bruce knew this racism was wrong but he had and enlightened outlook on it. It was wrong but he understood their reluctance and said that if an American came to Hong Kong he might experience the same thing. This impacted Bruce in a lot of ways. First off he taught Kung Fu to all nationalities something that the Chinese masters frowned upon at first. The second is that he reflected that sense of discrimination in his films. The Chinese Connection showed how Chinese and dogs were not allowed in a park. In Enter the Dragon you have an African American being pushed around by cops. Finally Bruce was like water. He was flexible. He knew America was a closed market so he went to Honk kong.

No nuggets here just the gist. Gonna have to read the book and pull out the nuggets yourself.

When Fire Says Be Like Water. Shannon Lee Renders the Teaching o Bruce Lee

 Be Water My Friend.

Be like water was one of Bruce Lee’s most famous teachings. However, Bruce Lee himself was in many ways like fire. He was burning with intensity and desire. To be himself he had to make his mark an he pursued it relentlessly. As a youth he was hot tempered and often found himself getting into scraps. To be the best he sometimes sought to always out do his opponent. It would cause his Wing Chun sifu to kick him out for a week so he could cool off and improve his ways.

Bruce took a boat and went out into the Honk Kong Sea. It was there that he punched and grasped a the water. From that point on he made a stunning realization. No matter how he grabbed at the water or punched at it , the water remained the same. Water was formless and adaptable. Being formless it could assume any form. Being adaptable if the river was on it’s way to the sea and an obstacle was placed in it’s path it would either go aound, move it away or go over it. Water is free to do that.

Shannon lost her father at a very young age. It impacted her greatly. Her brother Brandon died in the 90’s making a film called the crow. The grief was overwhelming and from her father’s words, martial arts training and therapy she was able to work though it. The book elucidates Bruce’s way, applying the concept of jeet Kune Do to everyday life.

What might be more amazing is that Bruce Lee was not only a martial artist and an actor but more importantly he was a philosopher who learned from everything. What is surprising is that he read several self help books and made use of such tools as affirmations, suggestions and making symbols of his growth periods.

Affirmations can be simple as I am a generous person. Of course Bruce had his own and he wrote them down in places to help remind himself of them. He believed in cultivating the mind and he subconscious. He made a symbol of a grave stone. It symbolized the death of rigid thinking and becoming a free thinker. He did not believe in being bound by a tradition or listening blindly to a master of sorts. He believed you should do your own research. He believed in learning from everything in order to be the best martial artist.

 

After a fight in Long Beach at 1964 Karate tournament Bruce Lee defeated a challenger. He should have been elated. Yet he was distraught. He found that he was out of breath and did like a million things wrong. He worked on them. He incorporated breath work, cross training, weights. In his martial arts adding to his Wing Chun he incorporated boxing moves, fencing moves and different forms of footwork.

While not a praticing Buddhist or taosist he learned from those philosophies as well. Bruce lee had an ultimate dream and like all successful people he realized it by never giving up. He approached it with enthusiasm and being like water when he experienced a set back he just kept on going and he went around the obstacle.

Too much to share in this book for a petty review. Buy the book you will be glad you did.

Haunted Glimpse into Delhi

The Haunting of Delhi City

By: Jhatin Basin

Delhi city is a city filled with many ghost and many broken dreams. Many of the residents live in slums, not even houses but rather bed roles and tents. Most of the people are beggars who make their livin by either begging or selling little cheap souvenirs. Authorities are indifferent to the plight of the street people. Delhi city also has the filthy rich who are sometimes more affected then the poor people.

Delhi city was built by both the British and the Indian authorities by dispossessing villagers and relocating them or forcing them to become begar. In one particular story a young woman enter the cosmetic industry and becomes uber rich. One day she finds that all her dreams are becoming true as soon as she makes the wish. After a bit this ability becomes frightening. After she moves into her childhood home in a very ritzy neighborhood. When they leave the ghost of an old childhood friend reveals herself and tells her that she granted all wishes because she wanted her as a childhood friend.  I will not spoil the ending.

Beggars are not all that innocent and good hearted. In one story there is an uncle beggar who looks after all the street urchins. One by one though they are led somewhere to their death. After three or four of these beggars dies it is revealed that the uncle is behind it. After all it was the beggar that murdered his family.

Stories of love and betrayal are common staple in India much like they are in Arabia. A daughter falls in love with a man that her father disapproves of. So inn order to avoid shame he has the daughter and the lover murdered. His guilt consumes him as he goes through lfe making life  like puppets of his daughter. He also goes on a killing spree to make young people about to get married rather miserable by kiling the groom.

Certain areas are always sacred and sometimes by the mentally ill. There is a spot by the metro wheere people leave candies and snacks for  a man and his children. Someone makes the mistake of smoking by the tree and the gentleman gets haunted for the evening. The story behind the children is that they were murdered by their mentally ill mother.

Overall haunting tales with sometimes surprise an ironic endings. Enjoy your glimpse into India.

Maoshan School of Taoist Magic

 

 Practical Chinese Magic

By Jason Read

I have long been interested in far eastern spirituality and martial arts and I have been interested in magic.  My main beef with any magical system is that it is too complicated. I mean like if I want to do a money spell, it would be like never mind easier to spruce up my suit , dust off my resume and go job hunting. I found Chinese magic to be complicated. What is so difficult are the longevity of ritual and the hand mudra’s all that stuff is hard to understand.

The school of magic this gentleman works with is the Taosist Maoshan school. Often times magic was separate from the official religion of Taoism.  Not every Taoist subscribes to magic. Certain magics could be taught in the temple. Most magic though was kind of informal folk magic practiced by the common people as opposed to high ritual in the temple.  There are 4-5 other schools of Taoist magic. It must be noted that Maoshan magic preceded the oncoming of Taoism. Taoism and Taoist magic have absorbed element from Buddhism that came from India. As the Chinese migrated to different lands, they took their magic with them. The magic took on the local flavor of where the people migrated to.

Taosism and Taosist magic operate on the principle of Chi or bodily energy. Our bodies produce energy that travels through meridians on our body. Energy can be directed and stored. There are objects meant for storing chi so that it can be used later. Another aspect of Chinese magic is fu talismans. Artists who make these are called Fulus. The amulet or talisman can be used for repelling evil or attracting wealth or love.

Much like western magic there is reverence for the ancestors and gods. Ancestors can be biological, or they can be ancestors of the magical school, otherwise known as lineage. As in Western Magic offering to the gods and ancestors are given. The Chinese have gold money which is burned and given to the gods. There is also red money that is burned to the ancestors. This gives the ancestor money to spend in the afterlife which is pretty like western tradition. Also, like western magic tradition there is spirit flight.

Similar to the witches sabbat Taoist do some meditation that transports them to a mountain for a party or spiritual experience. Wudang Mountain is the most famous as it has a Taoist monastery. The Taoist do not ingest any chemicals or anoint themselves with flying ointment.

In Taoism there are also methods of divination. Most notable is the I-ching. The querent throws the bague or tangrams to get a reading. The different bagua means different things.  If you are checking out different magical systems, then give this book a read. Honestly though I do like the idea of burning fake money to a deity or ancestor. Fu talisman are something to investigate.

History of a Popular Occult Movement

 From the years 1981 to 1991 musician Genesis Breyer P-Orridge founded the Temple of Psychick Yourh. It was meant to last only 10 years. The Temple’s purpose was so help,people wake up and shake off the shackles society has put us in. Their main vehicle for reaching this enlightenment was the use of Magick, Art, Meditstion and music. With Magick they took a Chaos Magick approach which was to demystify and make those oh so secret magical techniques available to all.

The organizTion was inspired by the artistic magical techniques of Austin Osman Spare. The most notable and widely practiced technique was that of the sigil. The sigil is made by first writing out your statement of Magical intent then going through and crossing out all the repeating letters. Those letter are then arranged into a design. Finally the design is charged then destroyed.

Their headquarters in Britain used to have it’s members make sigil on the 23 rd hour of the 23. Day of the month. The sigil were usually magic aimed at self improvement . There was another technique called the cut up technique where in everything is collages from all things going on during the moment. The technique was developed by William Burroughs on Brian Gysin.

The Temple also was involved in social change. Using magic and protests they managed to close down the Dolphinarium in Britain. The place was known for its inhuman treatment of dolphins. They also use music, and videos to promote change.

But things did not go well for the author. Often times magical orders were accused of ritual abuse of young children and satanism . This was also happening during the Satanic Panic.This lead to Scotland Yard raiding his home and confiscating his belonging. The author lived in exile in Kathmandu helping a Tibetan refugees. Afterward he would return to America.

After the folding of the Temple there were legal issues as to using the name and the trademark cross. Incredible adventure.

Alien Origins of the Watchers

 

The Rise and Fall of the Nephilim: The Untold Story of Fallen Angels

By Scott Alan Roberts

The book of Enoch which elucidates the story of to hundred angels descending to earth in order to mate with human women and teach mankind. The angels mate with mankind and create a hybrid beings called Nephilim or fallen ones. These hybrids were the demigods and heroes of old. They were giants. The book is controversial, it was left out of the official canon and is considered Apocrypha. Not official scripture.

Scant reference is made to the Watchers in Genesis. One could wonder why that would be? It is part of the Ethiopian bible. Reason this book is explosive. Angels and demons are spiritual being and as such cannot mate with humans as they are physical. So who were these watchers? Angels are not flesh and blood and they cannot mate. They must be human like and if they came from the sky then chances are they are extraterrestrials. They came from another planet with superior skills and they attempted to teach these skills to mankind. The bible does not speak highly of these watchers they consider them to have been corrupting human kind.

All across the planet there are stories of teachers or people coming from the sky. They are depicted in a positive way. The bible makes them look bad. When human women mated with them they produced giants who could either be heroic or oppressive. The bible speaks about a council of gods. If there is a council there must be many and there is more than one god.

The author makes reference to other cultures coming into contact with these giant shining beings. It would have been nice if he would have gone more into depth about these shining ones and the cultures they mingled with. Since the author is a bible scholar he did give good over view of the judeo Christian viewpoint and examining their culture.

Going through the book one learns more about Moses, now mind you some of this is well known in Jewish scripture. They cannot identify where in Egyptian history did the figure Moses occur. Careful reading of Egyptian history may shed light on some things.  The Pharoah he grew up under was thutmosis. Hatshepsut was the queen. Thutmosis the third was her step child. Egyptian history makes note of Seknut. He was like her adopted son meant to take the throne. Moses always wanted to be a ruler. Seknut disappears from the record and is never heard of again. Very similar to the story of moses .

The Garden of Eden story has some different details as well. In Genesis it says that Eve was tricked by the serpent to eat of the tree of knowledge, after god has said “No” A more careful reading of symbolology we learn that the serpent had arms and legs and could talk. Sort of like a lizard person. Looking through the symbolism we find that he is a magician who seduced eve and that was how Cain was born. Cain was hybrid and Nephilim . Supposedly the flood cleaned them out. Wiped out all the hybrids. Yet they survived. Mention of them echoes throughout the Old testament and New. Why the flood happened no one knows. The Bible says sin like Adam knowing Eve kind of sin.

In the end it is aliens. While the author does subscribe to Alien intervention he does criticize Zecharia Sitchin and Erich Von Daniken. Good book.

Where are the Djinn ?

Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line

By Deepak Anappara 

The story opens up with the introduction of a spirit named Mento, who even after he is dead still looks after the poor slum boys who worked underneath him building railway lines in India. Mento does not play that big a role in the story.

The story does not showcase the djinn as much as it showcases what life is like loving in a poor Bhasti or slum. The houses are one room which houses four to five people. People go outside to use the facility. There is dirt everywhere and people do not have enough to really make ends meat.

The story showcases another facet of life in India, that of the missing children. About 180 children go missing in India daily often times never to be hear of again. What happens to them no one really knows. Are they used in an organ racket, labor exploitation or something even worse.

In the bhasti near the Boot Bazaar children are starting to go missing. First is Bahador then Omvir and soon the list goes on. People begin to worry w out the missing children. They try to get the police to take action but their efforts are in effective . Due to the futility of the search Jaya and his friend Pari become detectives and try to find their missing friends.

The Bhasti is filled with characters like drunken Lalu, quarter Faisal. Lalu is the drunken father of Bahador. He beats the child and the child runs away. A similar story is behind all the missing children. Trouble at home. Some people think the kids ran away. A smog like haze lingers over the Bhasti. As the children run away they are greeted by strange people who appear to come out of the smog.

The case of the missing children vexes the community so greatly that there are riots against Muslims as there is a fear that it is Muslims who are kidnapping Hindu children. Eventually innocent Muslims get arrested . They do find a culprit which leads to showing how the rich get treated better than the others. Unfortunately no djinn are involved. The worst monsters are always human beings.

Flight of the Divine Feminine

 

Women Who Fly

By Serenity Young

 

Flying about throughout the world in the skies overlooking the ground, someone in the air can see everything from the Americas all the way to the far east. This book does precisely that albeit from a valid feminist perspective. With the coming of religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, early Pagan religions, Taoism and Buddhism have all reduced the once prominent role of women to the sidelines. Ousted from power they were subjugated, dominated and used as accessories for men. A travel through the mythologies one finds that certain women were able to escape the prison of patriarchy.

Women like the European swan maiden are shapeshifter par excellent and take the form of whatever they want. These women chose to be swans. Most of the stories go that a man abducts a swan maiden and forces her to marry him. In some tales she finds her swan suit and manages to escape leaving behind her children and husband. Sometimes it is a willing marriage but the man must honor certain conditions like never hit the wife, yell at her etc. in these tales the man usually breaks the prohibition. These tales represent the feminine being subjugated by male power.

In the Western World during modern times, we have Emelia Earhart, Wonder Woman and Hannah Reiche. Their stories are indicative of the patriarchy attitude for women. During the war years when there was a shortage of pilots women were allowed flying jobs for the time being. They were not allowed to fly when menstruating. If there were problems during a flight, if the pilot was a man it was blamed on mechanical failures. If the pilot was a woman it was blamed on her incompetence. Once the war was done the women were dismissed an never allowed to fly again. That is until the 1970’s and a limited but growing basis.

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the world, in fact the first person. Her plane went down and she was never found. She did not live a conventional life. She was seldom with her husband and did not have children.  Hannah Reach was a German who loved Germany during World War 2 . She was a fighter pilot and learned how to use gliders when the Germans were not allowed to have an air force. She later became part of the Luftwaft. Wonder Woman flew an invisible jet.

Other Flying women in Europe were more fairy like and magical. The Valkyries of the Norse arrived after a battle to escort dead warriors to the realm of Valhalla. Sometimes they are mates to loyal warriors. Women used to be powerful warriors and leaders. Now they are reduced to being rewards for brave male warriors. The women who stood outside the fold are often most degraded by the patriarchy. Women who were independent, mate freely with who they want or who have ability beyond man were shunned and persecuted. One group of the women was the Witches. Know one really know if there were even any of these do called witches. They were said to fly to sabbat by putting on an ointment and riding a broom to the sabbath where in they would cavort with the devil . Later it was learned that they would make an ointment and fall asleep inn their beds and astral travel. Further on it was realized that they were hallucinating. The gist behind this was to target old, widowed and disagreeable women.

There are further myths of flying women that run throughout the far east and India. If women can ever equal men it is not because they are mortal women but they have to be supernatural. Many time  they do not meet with good . The Patriachy hates strong women.   

 Priestess of The Morrigan: Prayers, Rituals & Devotional Work to the Great Queen 

By Stephanie Woodfield

Authoress Stephanie Woodfield is a priestess to the Goddess Morrigan. This book serves to recount her experiences as a priestess of the Morrigan. In this book she discusses the identity of the Morrigan and other goddesses that are associated with her. She also discusses some of the challenges involved with being a priestess and running rituals for pagan. Included at the end of the book are rituals and working for the Morrigan.

Who is the Morrigan? Is the Morrigan a title or is it the Goddesses name. In some Irish folktales she is identified as Morrigan. She is also identified with three other Goddesses. They are Anu, Baive and Macha. Anu is a mother goddess. Macha is a horse goddess and Baive can be a furious goddess of war. Each of these three goddesses conflated with Morrigan have their own separate histories along with different parentages, children and husbands.

The Morrigan is identified as a goddess of war. She does not crave war and relish it like her reputation suggests but rather she recognizes the need for war and battle at times. She does weep for the fallen and realizes the cost. She is concerned with making and keeping the peace. This gets into the question, what is the nature of the Morrigan.

Many in the Pagan community did not take to the Morrigan until quite a bit of time elapsed. Many felt that she was a violent goddess who promoted anger and fighting. Now her worship is more widespread and it is realized that she is not all about violence. Morrigan is a tough goddess who expect certain things from her devotees. She expect them to work on themselves and throw away the parts of themselves that are no longer useful. When the Morrigan gives advice it better be heeded or she might ignore you. If you say your are going to do something then you better do it or a string of bad luck will follow.

Other areas of controversy include how the Morrigan is portrayed. One time she was portrayed in the nude. This caused quite a bit of controversy. Was portraying her naked making her like an erotic goddess? She is a goddess of war but not a goddess of love. The Celts used to go out to battle naked dressed in blue dye called Woad. So showing her naked is a display of power and sovereignty. In the mythos she is not a lusty goddess who goes after men. In fact she is married to the Dagda and has a son with him named Mecha.

Sometimes there are battle in the community. Often times it is a power struggle or an ideological difference. Sometimes it involves back stabbing and the priestess would have to expel someone from the group. Or else it could be solved by peaceful overtures and compromise.  There are other challenges as well. Balancing your life is a real challenge. Being a pagan priest or priestess is difficult. Unlike regular clergy who gets paid from their house of worship , Pagans have to hold down outside jobs for income. They also have to have time for the congregants and for their relationship with deity. This book covers a lot. Dive in and learn.

 

 

The brief Life of Count Dracula

 

This was a short easy read on the life of Vlad the Impaler.  “In Search of Dracula” however remains the best of Vlad the Impaler. The book covers the usual ground including Vlad’s birth, his three reigns in Wallachia and a few up and downs of his political career.  There were a few new facts learned as well. Such facts include the monasteries, forts and building he helped build. It also shows that Vlad the Impaler has living descendants and was and still connected to other European royalty.

The books biggest weakness as far as I am concerned was the grammar and spelling. The book was littered with poor grammar and spelling mistakes. Hard to take a work seriously if the translator cannot get the spelling and grammar correct.

What jumps out is that his first reign was short. His second reign was the longest. The third second longest. Throughout his rule Vlad was constantly challenged both without and within his realm. From outside his realm threats were emanating from Turkey. The Ottomans wanted puppet ruler in places like Wallachia who would pay tribute and provide troops for the janissaries. The Ottoman’s wanted to conquer Europe. Within his realm there were the Saxon merchants who were settled there by the Romans and the Boyars. Boyars were the elite rich people. Both groups were at odds with the Voivode or the ruler of Wallachia.

Vlad had tactics to deal with these groups.  There were often military raids for backing pretenders to the throne. Many Boyars were taken to build a castle and then killed. The Saxon merchants unhappy with Vlad spread stories about him though Europe. It was Boyars who killed his father and oldest brother.

There were three rulers known for fighting the Ottomans. First was Jonas Hunyadi from Hungary , Vlad Dracula and Stephan the Great from Moldovia. So vital was Wallachia and these other areas that the Pope sent money to Wallachia to fight the Ottomans but Hunyadi ended up keeping the funds and only arriving at the last minutes.

Vlad’s second reign was undone thanks the Boyars. They sent a fake letter to the ruler of Hungary saying that Vlad was conspiring with Ottoman forces to capture the ruler. This lead to Vlad being imprisoned in Hungary for 12 years. He married Hungarian royalty during this time and he fought on Hungary’s side during his imprisonment.  Vlad was ultimately killed in battle against the Ottomans. It is believed that he was beheaded and that his head was displayed outside the walls of Istanbul. Other beliefs say that his body was retried from the Ottomans an buried in Snagov.

 

The Witches of Arkansas

Witch of Tin Mountain

By Paulette Kennedy

 Going back through generations this story has two settings. Basically  Tim Mountain is a small town in Arkansas. The earlier era focuses on Deirdre and the second era is in 1931.

In 1881 Deirdre learns about her matrilineal family history. She is descended from a witch called Annilese she was seduced by a preacher named Nathaniel Walker. Nathaniel comes to town preaching and offer ring all sorts of cures through faith healing. Annilese is a witch and a midwife. She had a grimoire filled with Magic and remedies. She gave it to her son before she was burned alive 

around 50 years later another preacher returns offering the same thing. He tries to seduce Deirdre just like what was done to her mother Annilese. Her father had a clear memory of what transpired. To ditch this preacher, Deirdre is sent to Charleston where she attend a finishing school for women . Eventually she is called back. Seduced and impregnated by the preacher.

The preacher is not really a preacher but rather an incubus who seduced witches so he can give birth to a campion. Once the campion is born he can take over its body.

In 1931 Gracelyn is living in the small town. A midwife and a witch she is shunned by all until they need her services. Another so called preacher arrives and he wants Gracelyn’s body. He tries to turn the town against her. But she had one trick to banish the demon back to Hell.

A Dedication to Dionysus

 

The Orgia Khrinicles

 

By Sir John Philip Auletta

 

This book is a dedication to the God Dionysus.  The first part of the book is dedicated to quotes both by the author and others inspired by the god Dionysus. The second part of the book is poetry inspired by the deity. Last part is prayers dedicated to the god. 

 

This is a book for someone who wants to dedicate themselves to this god. What you find useful will be up to you. There is no prescribed intimidation or elaborate rituals here. Nothing but a heartfelt connection to the god.

 

Along the way you will learn a bit about the god and about the author. Dionysus is a honed god.He is the god of many things. He is the god of intoxication, theater, frenzied ecstasy and the vine to name his various attributes . Getting intoxicated on booze or anything else in his name is one way to honor him.

 

Dionysus was the son of Zeus  and a human princess named Semele. She may have been worshipped as a goddess at one point. Hera, zeus’s wife was always jealous of Zeus’s lovers and so she set out to have him destroyed and the Titans were in on it. To keep him alive Dionysus was raised on Mount Nysa and cared for by maenads or rather female devoted to the god. Eventually the titans found him and killed him. Zeus in his anger fried them all with electric bolts. From the ashes of the titans and Dionysus humanity was formed. Hence we are part titan and part Dionysus. From Dionysus remaining heart he was reconstituted. His worshippers went into the forest to worship him. Their activities were orgiastic and fueled by wine. His maenads were his female followers while the satyrs were his priests or male followers.

 

John Philip Auletta can claim descent from the Ptolemies. They were dedicated to Dionysus and may have descended from the god. Auletta Comes from a Greek cognate pertaining to Dionysus. He was also a Gang member serving life sentences for a murder spree by his gang. The incarceration has forced him to go inside himself. In the prison he misses being able to go out into the wood an Commune with his god Along with certain refreshments. He is a strong believer in the goddess. He is also part of a few pagan organizations .

 

What follows now is a sample of his quotes. These bits of wisdom are given over along with the inspiration .

 

48. The Way Of The Satyr is a wild and simple Path that celebrates the chaotic joys and beauties of Nature and of being half animal/half human. It’s about the wonderful experiences of Dionysus in all His forms. Praising the Mask itself... (Inspired By: Komos) **Komos—Satyr of festive banquets and the cup-bearer of Dionysus. However, there is no single right way to celebrate this path, all have value and all can inspire some new ways of experience.

 

Now comes an example of some poetry.

 

“Liber Dionysus” (Idolotry) It feels like my lifeline is seduced into a trance, while worshipping your figure polished in the highlights of your stance. As I make a grandstand, there is this pressure throbbing in my head, As if I'm juggling with my thoughts where the frenzy seems to dance. (So I bow before you) An artistical work of liberal stone art you are, sure that the framework of your wild side was much harder to carve, but on any given Anthesteria, your idol beauty bringeth smiles that twinkle like stars. The same delicate beauty that brings madness to an ever so beating heart. (I light the candles) This is not a love story of Beauty and the Beast, it's more like a suitable attraction with features of you and me. Envisioning a chaotic future with us as one beautiful piece, the symbol of enraptured love connected by a force that refuses to ease. (I burn the incense) The very sight of you is enticing in many ways, an astonishing exhibit that glosses under any shade. A shrine of its own no one can duplicate nor imitate, The art of your creation has relations to night and day... (I sip the wine) Bios Dionusou ** This poem was inspired by how jealous my ex-girl was over the bond I had with my Dionysus idol. She became so mad one day, she told all of her friends that I was a stupid idol worshipper. The mistake she made was even trying to compare herself to Dionysus.

 

Finally an example of prayer.  

 

Dionusou Anax, I drink of You today, grateful that You will place the mighty Thyrus in my hands, gracing me in fawn skin. I crave to dwell in Your presence-wild and untamed. I want to know Your pleasures in every way They can be known. Destroy and rebuild me in Your image so that I come to please You better. Crown me in Your Ivy and choke me with Your vine in ways that I know both pleasure and pain, for You are the uniter of opposites. I seek the very truth of who You are, because I know that You embody the very truth of who I am..... Io Euoi !!!

 

Remember that when you don the mask of the god the god dons a mask of you.

 

 

Invoking Lilith the Dark Goddess

 

This little book is dedicated to the dark goddess Lilith. The most valuable parts of the book are the prayers themselves. While this book has merit it also has it’s areas of weakness.

If one wants to start dedicating themselves to Lilith this book has some valuable prayers, incantations etc. the weakness in the book is some of the facts which impact the prayers . The first fact the author got wrong is the difference between theurgic  and thaumaturgic magic. Theurgic is not just praying to the gods in hope that you will get something while thaumaturgic magic is asking for the same thing but using your own resources.

Theurgic magic is magic thst has us summon higher powers but it is for spiritual enlightenment or to commune with the gods. Thaumaturgic magic is love and money spells .

Next the author conflated Lilith with other deities like Ishtar, Alilat, Al Uzza etc. the ancients Babylonians never say 

Ilith or Ishtar as one. Alilat and Uzza are from the Arabian peninsula and have nothing to Do with Lilith.

The author is right when he addresses prayer. Praying to deities does not get us anything . We have to work for it. Prayer helps us focus our mind and energies on what we want and the gods do help out a little bit.

Lilith has a long history going all the way back into Sumeria which precedes the biblical Israel. Lilith started off as Lamashtu, a demon who killed babies in their crib and seduced men in their dreams. Later she morphed into Lilitu.  In the Bible Ilith was the first woman but she would not submit to Adam.

The author does get it right on left hand path philosophy. Dark deities want us to have our independence and they taught us about the stars, science and technology .

The main weakness of this book is the leaving out of history and incorrect facts. In case the reader is interested Inshall include so,e of the prayers and rituals.

Steps of prayer to Lilith

1. Go before the altar, Light the candle that is in front of the image of Lilith. 2. Bow your head. 3. Take a couple of minutes to contemplate what you are going to say. Imagine Lilith’s magnificent presence in front of you. 4. Say what comes from your heart. 5. At the end of your prayer say, "Nema." 6, Snuff out the candle.

Getting rid of negativity 

Before the ritual, write down all of the negative things you want to expel from your life. It could be a stressful job, a bad relationship, a bad habit, a negative thinking pattern, etc.. Invoke Lilith and Take 1 black candle and write all of these things onto the surface of the candle along with Lilith’s sigil.  Anoint the candle with Oleum of your choice or none at all. Within the ritual circle, charge the candie with all the anger, sadness, jealousy, etc... you feel regarding these situations, people, or things. Light the candle and imagine yourself being filled with a white light through the energies of Lilith so that none of these things can affect you. Burn the piece of paper. Close the rite and thank mother Lilith, but let the candle continue to burn down to nothing.