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Articles
The articles reproduced here, are on a wide range of subjects I have come across and found interesting.
Gargoyle--Mythology and History
A grotesque carved human or animal face or figure projecting from the gutter, especially of Gothic buildings, used as a spout to carry
water clear of a wall. The word Gargoyle is derived from an old French word gargouille, meaning throat.
[read more »]
Owls
(Cailleach, Oidhche, Comachag)
The word "cailleach" in the Scottish-Gaelic means old woman!, "coileach-oidhche" is the word for owl, believe it or not it means
"night-cockerel"! These birds were most often associated with the Crone aspect of the Goddess. [read more »]
Kissing under the Mistletoe
Mistletoe was a plant of peace in antiquity. If enemies met by chance beneath it in a forest, they laid down their arms and maintained
a truce until the next day. This is thought to be the origin of the ancient custom of hanging a ball of mistletoe from the ceiling and
exchanging kisses under it as a sign of friendship and goodwill. [read more »]
Silbury Hill - 4500 Year Old Megalithic Mystery
Silbury Hill, in Wiltshire, lies about one mile south of the Avebury Henge and occupies a low-lying site and except at certain points
in the landscape, notably from the West Kennet Long Barrow, is barely visible. [read more »]
The Ancient Sciences Of Chemistry and Alchemy.
Chemistry is the study of the elements and the compounds they form, their physical and chemical properties, and the specific conditions
under which they react to other elements and compounds. [read more »]
Origins and Place Names - Accrington
Is probably well known for three things:- 1. Its Football team Accrington Stanley, one of the founding teams of the English Football
League. 2. Its bricks, Nori's from the Accrington Iron Brickworks Factory. Called nori's because of the word iron on the chimney. The
letter I is at the bottom and the letter N at the top. 3. The Accrington Pals, part of the Lancashire Regiment of the
First World War. [read more »]
Days Of The Week--Mythology and History
The history of the days of the week is closely involved with the advancement of mankind throughout the centuries. Our present day seven
day week is thought to have been developed by the Babylonians some 3000 years ago. [read more »]
Beware the Ides of March!
Said of a warning or impending misfortune and made popular in William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. A soothsayer tells Caesar who
is already on his way to the Senate (and his death), "Beware the ides of March." Caesar replies, "He is a dreamer, let us
leave him. Pass." The Roman ruler, Julius Caesar, was assassinated on the Ides of March - March 15, 44 B.C.E. [read more »]
Old Mother Shipton
For some the name Old Mother Shipton means nothing and Britain’s most famous prophetess is a well-kept secret. Yet for others she is as
well known as Nostrodamus and whose prophecies foretold many of the things we take for granted in the 21st century. [read more »]
Dryads, Nymphs and Other Faery Folk.
Tales of Nymphs in Greek mythology and religion abound, there were revered as the spirits of specific natural features - and often
were identified with the part of nature in which they dwelled, The Oreads, were mountain nymphs. [read more »]
Sumerian Mythology
The Sumerians thought that a great domed roof contained the sky, the
stars, the moon, and the sun which lighted the cities beneath it; they
also believed that below the earth swirled the dim netherworld, a fearsome
abode of demons and the kingdom of the dead. [read more »]
Chingle Hall
For many the name Chingle Hall, Goosnargh, Near Preston, will be an unfamiliar one, yet it is reputedly the most haunted house in Britain.
It is believed that a total of 16 spirits haunt Chingle Hall. [read more »]
Bolling Hall, Bradford
When one thinks of Bradford, instantly a large city of sprawling run down terraced houses springs to mind. However, hidden away, close to
the centre of the city is Bolling Hall, a beautiful 15th century stone house, that does not fit into the general idea of the city.
[read more »]
Oakwell Hall
OAKWELL hall is an Elizabethan Manor House dating back to 1538, but decorated in 17c style with period furniture.
The builder of the house was John Batt, a recarved stone with the date 1583 probably indicates date of construction.
[read more »]
The Legends of the Unicorn
A unicorn or alicon was very valuable during medieval times. The horn was believed to be able to cure many illnesses and neutralize poison.
Unicorn horns were sold in druggist shops, in powdered form, and whole horns were kept in the vaults of royalty.
[read more »]
Whalley Abbey, Lancashire
The Abbey of St Mary the Virgin, also known as Locus Benedictus de Whalley. was founded by Henry de Lacy, third Earl of Lincoln on the 4th
April 1296. The last Abbot, John Paslew was involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace.
[read more »]
Dragons: Myths and Mythology
The Greek word drakõn [1], 'serpent', is related to the word drakos, meaning 'eye', and in classical legend the idea of watching is retained in
the story of the dragon who guards the golden apples in the Garden Of The Hesperides, and in the story of Cadmus [2]. In medieval romance
captive maidens were often guarded by a dragon.
[read more »]
Chinese Dragons
The Chinese dragon like the Indian Naga's, are often associated with water and rain and lakes and rivers. Chinese Dragons are divine
mythical creatures that brings with it ultimate abundance, prosperity and good fortune.
[read more »]
Dragons: Garden Of The Hesperides
The Eleventh Labour Of Hercules. The Golden Apples and the Garden Of The Hesperides. The quest for the Golden Apples was the eleventh labour of Hercules set by Eurystheus. The golden apples belonged to Zeus, king of the
gods and had been given by Hera as a wedding gift.
[read more »]
Archaic Egypt
The pre-dynastic period of ancient Egyptian history is the least known and the most complicated era. Pre-dynastic Egypt is made up
of village communities, scattered along the banks of the Nile in the Nile valley and the Delta area, each of these communities would
have had its own Chieftain. [read more »]
Women In Ancient Egypt
The Greek historian and traveller, Heredotus states: “No woman holds priestly office either in the service of the goddess or god,
only men are priests in both cases.”
This is not strictly accurate, in fact women, do seem to have been able to hold priestly offices, from the Old Kingdom
onwards. [read more »]
Heka - Magic or 'Magickal/Meaningful Speech'
Many European and Western Magick Traditions owe many of their origins from Arab Magicians, whose roots were based in the valley of
the Nile, the 'Cradle of Magic' that is Egypt. [read more »]
The Book of the Dead
“Here begin the spells of going out into the day, the praises and recitations for going to and fro in the realm of the dead which
are beneficial in the beautiful West, and which are to be spoken on the day of burial and of going in after going out.”
[read more »]
The Benu Bird
The Benu Bird is linked to that of the phoenix. Both are birds of the sun, both are self created, rather than being born from other
creatures, both undergo death and become symbols of regeneration. The Egyptian sunbird is identified with Re, the Sun God. The word
Benu in Egyptian means both purple heron and palm tree. [read more »]
The Duality of Egypt,
This concept of duality, life and death, chaos and harmony, coloured much of the ancient Egyptian way of
thinking and can be seen in the history of Egypt. If you think of the history as a series of peaks and troughs,
with the peaks representing life and the troughs as death. [read more »]
Tom Lethbridge - Master Dowser
He was trained as an archaeologist and historian, and spent most of his adult life as the Keeper of Anglo-Saxon Antiquities at Cambridge
University Museum. In 1957, he left Cambridge, and together with his wife Mina, moved to Hole House, an old Tudor mansion on the south
coast of Devon, where he intended to spend his retirement reading and digging for pottery. [read more »]
Wiccan Basics - Meditation
Meditation is one of the basic tenets of Wicca, in order to be effective in magickal work, you will need to learn to enter a state of
deep relaxation, a place of calm and balance to align yourself with the natural forces around you. [read more »]
Wiccan Basics - What is Magick?
Magick, as opposed to magic the art of illusion and sleight of hand, is the Art Of Causation. Magick is a natural human ability,
we are all born with this innate ability to make and perform Magick, all it takes is the desire to learn, and practice.
[read more »]
One Time, One Earth, One People - Foundation for the Law of Time
Its mission is to further the World Thirteen Moon/28 Day Calendar Change Peace Plan in every way possible and to foster a common and
universal understanding of the Law of Time: T(E) = Art, Energy factored by Time equals Art - among all peoples
of the Earth.. [read more »]
Aleister Crowley - The Book Of Law - Cairo - 1928
Nuit - the Star Goddess - represents infinite space. Hadit - the Earth God - represents the atom. Ra-Hoor-Khuit - the War God -
represents the unity of all things. [read more »]
The Northern Traditions
The Northern Traditions, being an essay on the beliefs and magic of Vinland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark,
Sweden and Finland. [read more »]
Illusion of Time
Time changes everything, we feel the influence of time, yet what is the 'NOW'. When does the future become the present and the
present become the past? [read more »]
Dream Interpretation by Starfire
We all dream, although not everyone can remember them easily. For those of us that do, we are often left wondering what a dream
meant, particularly if it was a vivid one, or unusual for us. [read more »]
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