Dracula in Turkey

 

Continuing where the first book left off, the young Vlad Dracula is in the Ottoman Empire with his good friend Gruya. They are both well hidden in his father’s supplies. Of course events transpire and Vlad Dracul the father of Vlad the III and ruler of Wallachia find out about the stowaways. And so the adventures begin.

Young Vlad and his friend Gruya wander in Edirne at a caravanserai and experience life under the Ottomans. Vlad frees a young pretty blond girl from being sold off as a slave. The poor girl never makes it to freedom she is caught by the slavers and decapitated. A lesson learned in Turkish brutality. Slave that try to escape face mutilation and death. Once a slave you must have your freedom purchased or you will never be free.
Intrigues were commonplace among the ruling class and politics are a shifty game. Vlad the II is caught in an intrigue by a sly Zaganos pasha. He frames Vlad the II and sets him up to be imprisoned, tortured and killed. Young Vlad can only think of one thing and that is to become a hostage in the Ottoman court and prove his father’s loyalty. Meanwhile back in Wallachia, Hungary is backing a pretender to the Wallachian throne but intrigues get the ruler locked in a dungeon.
Young Vlad’s attempt to become a hostage go sideways and he ends up in a prison. The rest of the story details his life as a slave and a prisoner. There are attempts to escape to freedom but we all know the story, Dracula remained a hostage.
This is a work of historical fiction. These adventures per se did not happen but they are a possibility. It reveals Dracula’s love for his country along with his bravery and daring. Better yet this gives a picture of what life was really like living in the Ottoman Empire. The empire and the Sultan could be very cruel and at the same time the Sultan could show himself to be very generous and kind. The Turks were master manipulators. Great book for young adults.

The Dark History of Christianity

 

The beginning days of Christianity read out a lot like the emergence of ISIS out in the Middle East. Both were born of a fanaticism that excluded all else and did not rely on reason. The notion  behind the way these things were carried out is born of arrogance and ignorance. Christianity has a bloodier history than Islam does. Yet history repeats itself.

At the outset in the Roman empire where Christianity first took hold around 300 AD, one could envision scenes of mad religious lunatics destroying ancient artifacts. This is exactly what happened. Fanaitical Christians tore through places like Syria, Egypt, Greece, Anatolia and Italy. Black robed monks would storm through a city with hammers and other objects of destruction and destroy ancient statues and temples.

Christians were not thought of too much by any major players in the Roman Empire. For the first few hundred years there is scant mention of them in any writing. Most educated people thought them to be rather stupid. All the great philosophers were empriricists demanded proof and the use of scientific method. Christians took things on blind faith. The Christian polemics like to go on about how badly the Roman Empire persecuted Christians. In fact they were not more persecuted than anyone else who refused to give offering unto Cesar. The roman were open minded about gods and would admit any of them to the Roman religion provided that they still followed the Roman religion and made offering to Cesar. The Christians did not but the Roman Pagans sought to persuade the Christians to do the right thing and often the Christians refused. Only after several attempts were they finally punished. Christians were hungry for martyrdom. So hungry in fact that many who were not persecuted enough chose to die by suicide.

 

Once the Christians gained the upper hand they engaged in a massive campaign of censorship. Classic texts written by well known philosophers were thrown to the flames and destroyed. Some works were saved which did not conflict with Christianity. Even then it was edited.  Anything erotic or theological that went against the Christian line was censored. Soon the whole lifestyle of the empire was thrust aside for a more Christian Empire. Philosophers were driven out of the empire.

 

The more things stay the same the more they stay the same. The Christians engaged in mindless destruction the worlds pagan past. This meant the destruction of temples, statues books and wisdom. So much wisdom has been lost and never to be retrieved again. Humanity does the same thing repeatedly.

 

Craft of the traditional Witch

 I guess Vikki Bramshaw is a Wiccan / Traditional Witch. The book she has written by the way is an excellent resource for beginners. The book covers all the basics and give a short and sweet history that is both easy to read and offers critical analysis. From what I read she leans and combine British Traditional Witchcraft and Wicca which I like.

The authoress covers the tools needed for the craft and how to consecrate them for ritual use. The format for ritual is given so the reader can now write their own ritual. Astrology and herbology are covered with some good medical information on the herbs. Color and symbolism are covered very nicely as well. The god as she explains might be same all across the world but just given names that are different.

The authoress has a very practical attitude when it comes to magic. With regards to cursing she does not say don’t do it rather she states that maybe one aught to make sure of their motivations when doing a curse. Like should it really be done? Even with protection working that return it to sender one should consider if the person really meant harm or just did it on accident. When working with deities the authoress states that one must do the research. A percentage of the information comes from her own Coven Grimoire called “The Coven Book of Ways.

I really liked the invocations and evocations in the book. In her definition evocation is calling a deity to the edge of your circle while invocation let’s the deity within you. Invocation should only be done by an experienced magic practitioner . Here are some examples 

Our Mother is the earth that brings forth birth. She feeds us and gives us water and takes us back when our time comes. The circle she is, with the spear that joins the universe, the never-ending cycle. The meditation exercises are to die for an are awesome . Give this one a read.

Enter the World of the Romani

 Take a trip inside the world of the Romani people. It is a world filled with colorful clothes, festivities and magic. The story starts off with Sloan Gaspar an eighth grade Romani female student, going to a tarot reading at a Romani owned occult shop. It is there that Sloan gets a reading that will lead to eventual changes in her life. Sloan is an “A” student who wins a debate against a star student over the legalization of marijuana.

At home her mother is an actuary and her step father is deathly ill. Her real father Tony is a loser who is with a loser girl friend. Sloan does not like either of them. Tony is a constant source of problem . Things take a dramatic turn when the step father presses legal issue for child visitation rights and her stepfather needs to go to the hospital.

During the trials at the hospital Sloan receives an injury and is put into a coma. It is at this time that her powers begin to awaken.

Spiritual War Against the Shadows

 Shadow people are a relatively frequent in coming up. People report seeing shadow people on the wall or walking around their dreams. Often times when people see the shadows it is often accompanied with sleep paralysis. These guys are fearful.

While no one knows exactly what these shadow people are they do not have good intentions. The author Heidi Hollis believes they are alien beings that are out to take control of our planet. I remember back when I was 15 or so and I had just started listening to Ozzy Osbourne when I recieved like two or three of these dreams where in there was a black figure in my room standing over me and I was unable to move. I experienced sleep paralysis and maybe I saw one of those shadow people.

Heidi Hollis has a theory about these shadowy creatures and it mashes up belief in the paranormal, Christianity ,aliens and new age rituals. The shadows are an alien entity that have chosen to reside in the center of the earth. They have control over some of the grey Aliens and reptilians who act against us. They have also co opted and seduced various members of the government.

The shadows wish to enslave us. Heidi gets most of her information from aliens who channel through her friend. The alien tells her how he wants to save the planet and help earth fight against the shadows.

The author claims that saying a prayer to Jesus drives these shadows away. Not sure what to make of this one but how can aliens be driven away by mentioning Jesus. Also past lives feed into this . Very entertaining though.