tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2425582599707601652021-12-03T02:17:39.317-08:00Wiccan World NewsA blog to capture all news pertinant to the Wiccan community.Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-89737156924670400692011-11-10T16:52:00.001-08:002011-11-10T16:55:33.062-08:00A timely rise for November's 'frosty' full moon<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/111110-FullMoonPhoto-hmed-0345p.grid-6x2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/111110-FullMoonPhoto-hmed-0345p.grid-6x2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h2 class="entry-summary" id="deck" property="dc:description" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font: normal normal bold 14px/16px Arial, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;">Also known as 'Snow Moon' and 'Beaver Moon,' it comes on heels of U.S. storms</h2><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold;">By </span><span class="fn" itemprop="name" property="v:name vcard:fn" rel="author" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Tariq Malik</span></div><div><span class="fn" itemprop="name" property="v:name vcard:fn" rel="author" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="fn" itemprop="name" property="v:name vcard:fn" rel="author" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">The bright full moon of November will rise overnight Thursday night on the heels of severe snowstorms across the United States, bringing with it some appropriately chilly lunar nicknames.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">November's full moon has many names, but perhaps the most timely are its "Snow Moon" and "Frost Moon" monikers since the moon hits its full phase as Alaska braces for a monster storm along its western coast, and just over a week after a huge storm rocked the U.S. East Coast.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">The full moon of each month is actually a brief event, with November's full moon occurring at 3:16 p.m. EST. But to the casual skywatcher, the moon still appears full on the days before and after the main event.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">"The Full Moon rises around sunset and sets around sunrise, the only night in the month when the moon is in the sky all night long," wrote Space.com contributor Geoff Gaherty, an astronomer with the skywatching software developer Starry Night Education, in a November skywatching guide. "The rest of the month, the moon spends at least some time in the daytime sky."</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Tonight, the moon will appear near the bright planet Jupiter, which is shining off to the moon's right. Both objects can be found in the constellation Aries as they make their way across the night sky tonight.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">The sky map of the full moon, Jupiter and Aries here shows how they will appear together tonight.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">November's full moon has also been known as the Beaver Moon, though the name has two interpretations.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">According to one, the Beaver Moon takes its name from the animal itself, since this is the time they are actively preparing for winter. Another tale, however, states that the lunar nickname comes from hunters as a reminder to set beaver traps before swamps freeze over for the winter.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">Other names for this month's moon include its Hindi name of Kartik Poornima and Sinhala (Buddhist) name Il Poya, according to Gaherty.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">November's full moon is not the only lunar delight this month. On Nov. 25, the moon will block part of the sun in a partial solar eclipse, which will be visible to skywatchers in southern South Africa, Antarctica, Tasmania and most of New Zealand.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">If you snap a stunning view of the November full moon and would like to share it with Space.com, send images and comments on the view to managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;">You can follow Space.com Managing Editor Tariq Malik on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow Space.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.</span></div><div class="i1" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-top: 0em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.6em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.6em; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45248588/ns/technology_and_science-space/#.TrxxzPSXuso">Original Article</a></b></span></div></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-51772846422715617752011-11-10T16:44:00.001-08:002011-11-10T16:52:39.100-08:00Exorcising Witchcraft in Ghana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://thinkafricapress.com/sites/default/files/styles/400xy/public/wumbala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://thinkafricapress.com/sites/default/files/styles/400xy/public/wumbala.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A powerful Ghanaian documentary highlights the plight of the 'witches' of Gambaga.</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; text-transform: uppercase;">BY </span><a content="James Wan" href="http://thinkafricapress.com/author/james-wan" property="dc:creator" rel="foaf:publications" style="background-color: white; color: black; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;" typeof="foaf:person">JAMES WAN</a></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Witchcraft in Ghana is a very real phenomenon. It displaces people from their homes, it breaks up families and it destroys lives. Those believed to be responsible for causing illness and misfortune are often tortured, killed or expelled from their villages.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Yaba Badoe’s powerful and heart-rending documentary<a href="http://www.witchesofgambaga.com/" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;"><i>The Witches of Gambaga</i></a>, screened in London as part of <a href="http://www.filmafrica.org.uk/" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">Film Africa 2011</a>, examines the lives of some of the accused witches who have sought refuge in perhaps Ghana’s oldest and most famous witches’ camp of Gambaga. Filmed over the course of five years and told largely by the women themselves, the documentary highlights the plight of some of the true victims of witchcraft beliefs. Salmata was attacked and run out of her village after she was blamed for her stepson getting ill; Amina was threatened and exiled when her brother died suddenly; Asara, a successful trader, was accused of being a witch after an outbreak of meningitis in her town.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The women of Gambaga, often victims of violence at the hands of their erstwhile neighbours, live under the protective custody of the village chief, the Gambarrana, a stern figure whose role sits somewhat uneasily between exploiter and philanthropist. They exist in often abject living conditions as they work for the Gambarrana to pay their dues, isolated from their families, psychologically if not physically traumatised, and miles from the lives they once knew.</span></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 25px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Fly away home</span></b></h3><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“This practice [of accusing and exiling ‘witches’] has become an indictment on the conscience of our society,” <a href="http://wwrn.org/articles/36183/" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">argued</a> Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, deputy minister for women and children’s affairs, at a conference held in Accra in September.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">“The labelling of some of our kinsmen and women as witches and wizards and banishing them into camps where they live in inhuman and deplorable conditions is a violation of their fundamental human rights,” she continued. The conference, entitled “Towards Banning 'Witches' Camps”, called for new legislation to outlaw witchcraft accusations, the abolition of witches' camps and the reintegration of current outcasts into their home communities.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As witnessed in <i>The Witches of Gambaga</i>, however, repatriation is far from a simple process. In the film, we see two accused witches returning to their home villages after decades in exile. Despite having previously been educated, prepared and convinced by local activists to allow the return of the elderly women, the town chiefs on the day are reluctant to uphold their agreement. They finally agree to allow the women to stay, but only on the conditions that the women do not go near the market, do not have any interaction with children and keep away from village celebrations and gatherings. Akwasi Osei, chief psychiatrist in Ghana’s national health service, <a href="http://allafrica.com/stories/201110140021.html" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">explained</a>: “Right now if you [repatriate accused witches] you can be sure they will be lynched when they go back home.”</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, certain activists are calling not for the abolition of sanctuaries but for more of them, improved living conditions within those sanctuaries and assistance for ‘witches’ not in returning home but in learning a trade to provide them with an income while in the camps.</span></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 25px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Believe it or not</span></b></h3><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Both of these viewpoints are, however, notably limited in scope and unambitious in vision. They address certain symptoms of the problem but not its root. Indeed, even identifying a single ‘root’ of the problem is impossible.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ideas of witchcraft permeate society and are inextricably woven into the social fabric of Ghanaian life. Beliefs in the power of sorcery and juju are <a href="http://vaw.sagepub.com/content/10/4/325.abstract" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">deeply infused</a> into the Ghanaian psyche through popular stories and myths, frequent newspaper reports of accusations and confessions, the lyrics of songs, films, plays, fear-mongering commercials and the sermons of charismatic religious leaders.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Convincing people of the spuriousness of superstitions when those superstitions form a fundamental part of the lens through which reality itself is experienced is no mean feat. Beliefs in witchcraft not only fill in the gap left by a lack of education and information but can coexist with and even underpin believers’ informed understandings of issues. During Evans-Pritchard’s seminal<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Witchcraft-Oracles-Magic-among-Azande/dp/0198740298/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320941196&sr=8-1" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">ethnographic study</a> of the Azande, a grain storage collapsed, killing two people. When Evans-Pritchard pointed out that the tragedy was caused by termites, the Azande people replied “of course, but why were those two sitting under it at that particular moment?” When things seem to fall apart for no reason, some blame straightforward ‘bad luck’, some wonder what their mysterious God is up to and some blame the invisible hand of witchcraft. And when juju spells fail to work or protect, believers do not rethink nature and reality but point to shoddy workmanship or subpar materials.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Even some victims of false accusations come to believe themselves to be guilty – in <i>The Witches of Gambaga</i>, one accused woman insisted “in the same way fire burns, I am a witch”. And some commentators campaigning on behalf of accused witches speak from a humanitarian perspective, but not one which discounts superstitions; rather, they assert the need “to mount a campaign to educate the populace not to maltreat those accused of witchcraft, <i>as they may not necessarily be so</i>” [emphasis added].</span></div><h3 style="background-color: white; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 25px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Unweaving the social fabric</span></b></h3><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As social anthropologist Marcel Mauss would put it, witchcraft beliefs form a “total social fact”, a phenomenon that underpins innumerate facets of social and psychological life, myriad practices and diverse institutions. In order to combat the effects of witchcraft beliefs therefore, a multi-faceted policy approach that simultaneously tackles the various manifestations of and broader context within which superstitious attitudes prevail is required.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As Yaba Badoe told Think Africa Press, the challenge is to affect something which is deeply entrenched in the popular consciousness – “it is about belief and the consequences of belief”. It is not enough therefore to simply improve the lot of exiled and abused women, enact legislation, and repatriate accused witches. Equally, although necessary, it is not simply a question of better education provision, a more open democracy and greater economic stability. Indeed, contrary to certain theories of modernisation, superstition does not necessarily fall away with economic development; <a href="http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/child-sacrifice-report" style="color: black; cursor: pointer;">reports</a> from Uganda in fact suggest the recent rise in child sacrifice rituals has been driven by the country’s emerging business elite.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Instead, multi-pronged policy interventions are required at all levels of society starting with the targeting and education of community leaders and local opinion leaders, a strategy that, as Yaba Badoe points out, “is an important first step that has been shown to work”. If Ghana is to protect its most vulnerable citizens from dire human rights abuses in the short- to mid-term, it must take a proactive stance not just in supporting the victims of accusations but in challenging the very cultures of scapegoating, gender inequality, misinformation and intolerance that inform witchcraft allegations.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 1.7em; margin-bottom: 1.1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://thinkafricapress.com/ghana/exorcising-witchcraft-gambaga">Original article</a></b></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-11860750424142611302011-11-05T17:07:00.000-07:002011-11-05T17:07:34.053-07:00Evolutionary Enlightenment - A New Path to Spiritual Awakening<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://o4.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d747ae85645118d26a8c01dac313b1a" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://o4.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/4d747ae85645118d26a8c01dac313b1a" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">This week, Archaeologist of the Soul and Life Re-Invention Coach, Corina Andronache features an interview with Andrew Cohen, a spiritual teacher, cultural visionary and founder of the global non-profit EnlightenNext.</span></span><br /><br /><ul class="byline NS_2ft3852c7u" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; list-style-position: inside; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; font-style: inherit; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5.5px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">By <span class="vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><a class="author fn" href="http://mortongrove.patch.com/users/corina-andronache" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Corina Andronache</a></span></span></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">I am pleased to introduce to you, Andrew Cohen,<b>“a truly remarkable spiritual teacher on the cutting edge of evolutionary thinking and action. He is playing an invaluable leadership role in the emergence of evolutionary spirituality: an integrity-based, deeply meaningful approach to life grounded in our best scientific understanding of cosmic, earth, biological, and human history. Andrew’s writings and teachings are destined to make a real difference in the world.” - <i>Michel Dowd</i></b>, author of <i>Thank God for Evolution</i></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> What is Evolutionary Enlightenment?</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> Evolutionary Enlightenment is a new spiritual path and practice that is culturally relevant for our time. It brings together the perennial mystical insight that the ultimate nature of reality is Oneness and the scientific discovery that we’re part of an evolutionary process that is going somewhere. In Evolutionary Enlightenment, we win our spiritual liberation through the experiential recognition that who we really are is not separate from the primordial energy and intelligence that created the universe. We experience that energy and intelligence as what I call the evolutionary impulse—the life-positive, perpetually creative inspiration that compels human beings to strive to give rise to new potentials. The realization that “I AM” the energy and intelligence that created the universe and not merely a psychological ego is the fundamental insight that liberates the self in the new evolutionary spirituality.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> Why do you describe Evolutionary Enlightenment as being "culturally relevant?”</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> The pervasiveness of mythical and magical thinking in the great religious traditions presents an enormous challenge for the highly educated person at the beginning of the 21st Century. Also most forms of mysticism, both East and West, throughout the ages have primarily been about transcending the world, about “being in the world but not of it.” The new Enlightenment that I speak about is based upon an evolutionary worldview. Science has taught us that the entire universe is one ongoing creative process that had a beginning in time almost 14 billion years ago. This new worldview reveals to us that our uniquely human, highly evolved capacity for consciousness and complex thinking is the very leading edge of that creative process. As Julian Huxley famously said "Man is nothing but evolution become conscious of itself." A new culturally relevant mysticism is being born based upon this profound revelation: that you and I really are the energy and intelligence that created the universe awakening to itself in human form. The moral, philosophical, and spiritual implications of that truth are deeply relevant for human beings searching for meaning and purpose in the twenty-first century.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> How is it possible that our individual choices can affect evolution and what can one do to be an asset to the evolutionary process?</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> To be an asset to the evolutionary process, we have to realize how important we really are. That means it must become apparent to us that if we want a better future for ourselves and the world around us, that future is dependent on the choices we make and the actions we take. Indeed, we have to ensure that the world is a better place because we've had the opportunity to participate in its ongoing development.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> What do you mean by “spiritual self-confidence”? How is it different from normal self-confidence or self-esteem?</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> Spiritual self-confidence comes from knowing who we really are and knowing why we are here. Normal self-confidence comes from having some special skill or being particularly intelligent or unusually attractive. Spiritual self-confidence comes from knowing who we really are beyond name and form.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> Can Evolutionary Enlightenment help us address the overwhelming challenges we face on the planet today? Global warming, gap between rich and poor, greed, hunger for power, war, etc.</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> Evolutionary Enlightenment as a spiritual path does not address these kinds of questions. It addresses the spiritual predicament of the highly educated self trapped in modern and post-modern values, which give us no deep and satisfying answers to the perennial questions of, “Who am I?” and, “Why am I here?”. But through embracing an evolutionary worldview upon which the teachings of Evolutionary Enlightenment are based, we can discover new ways of seeing the world around us. We can gain a capacity for greater objectivity as we learn to see the trials and challenges of human cultural development from the perspective of the larger creative process. This bird’s eye view so to speak can help us embrace the increasing complexity of our global process with a greater appreciation for how we got to where we are and with an awakened inspiration to face the enormous challenges in front of us.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><i>Corina:</i> What are you ultimately hoping to accomplish with your work?</span></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Andrew:</i></b> I am endeavoring to create the conditions that will help to catalyze cultural evolution. Together with others, I’m trying to accomplish nothing less than a cultural revolution, similar in size and scope and impact to the one that emerged in the 1960s. As my friend, the great American philosopher Ken Wilber always reminds me, the Renaissance was initially catalyzed by only 1000 people. I don’t know what that number would have to be today, but it may well be within our reach. That’s what I’m living for.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Corina:</i></b> I want to thank Andrew for the opportunity to learn from his wisdom through his new spiritual teaching meant to create deep paradigm shifts in the way we view ourselves in relations to the world and the evolutionary process. I am honored, along with him and others, to be a voice of truth and progress in a world troubled with issues at all levels of experiencing life. May we learn and grow together in order to create a new reality and a new world where all have equal opportunity to knowledge and true teachings!</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Below is the link to Andrew's upcoming event occurring in the Chicagoland area on November 12th, 2011.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.evolutionaryenlightenment.com/chicago.asp" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">http://www.evolutionaryenlightenment.com/chicago.asp</span></a></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><a href="http://mortongrove.patch.com/articles/evolutionary-enlightenment-a-new-path-to-spiritual-awakening"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Original Article</span></a></b></div></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-23751412626849952322011-11-05T17:02:00.000-07:002011-11-05T17:02:18.005-07:00Haul of prehistoric objects unearthed on building site<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/21320409189104-1.1133244!image/1530662168.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/1530662168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.heraldscotland.com/polopoly_fs/21320409189104-1.1133244!image/1530662168.JPG_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/1530662168.JPG" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;">MOIRA KERR</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><strong style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on a routine survey of a Scottish hillside have uncovered a treasure chest of historic artefacts dating back 6000 years.</strong></div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The find was made during preparatory work for a new housing development in Oban and is the biggest of its kind in mainland Argyll in recent years.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">It includes a Stone Age or Neolithic axehead, dating back 5000-6000 years, three prehistoric roundhouses which are up to 3000 years old, and the remains of an 18th-century farmstead and metalwork store.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/haul-of-prehistoric-objects-unearthed-on-building-site-1.1133243">Go to Original Article</a></b></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-20631498756176657782011-11-05T16:59:00.000-07:002011-11-05T16:59:59.894-07:00Secrets of the dead in Holy Land’s Stonehenge<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.townnews.com/trivalleycentral.com/content/articles/2011/11/05/casa_grande_dispatch/national_headlines/doc4eb584e44e456080589185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://images.townnews.com/trivalleycentral.com/content/articles/2011/11/05/casa_grande_dispatch/national_headlines/doc4eb584e44e456080589185.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><h4 style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-width: initial; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 1px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 1px; padding-bottom: 2px; padding-left: 2px; padding-right: 2px; padding-top: 2px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">By MATTI FRIEDMAN<br />Associated Press</span></h4><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></div><div><div id="storytext" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">RUJM AL-HIRI, Golan Heights — A newly proposed solution to an ancient enigma is reviving debate about the nature of a mysterious prehistoric site that some call the Holy Land’s answer to Stonehenge.<br /><br />Some scholars believe the structure of concentric stone circles known as Rujm al-Hiri was an astrological temple or observatory, others a burial complex. The new theory proposed by archaeologist Rami Arav of the University of Nebraska links the structure to an ancient method of disposing of the dead.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; padding-top: 10px; text-align: left;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The site’s name means “stone heap of the wild cats” in Arabic. In Hebrew it is known as Galgal Refaim, or the “wheel of ghosts.” It was first noticed by scholars in 1968, a year after Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria, and despite its intriguing nature it has attracted few visitors. Unmarked, it lies an hour’s hike from the nearest road, near old minefields, an abandoned military bunker and a few grazing cattle.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Rujm al-Hiri’s unremarkable appearance from the ground belies its striking form when seen from the air: It consists of four circles — the outermost more than 500 feet across — made up of an estimated 42,000 tons of basalt stone, the remains of massive walls that experts believe once rose as much as high as 30 feet. It is an enormous feat of construction carried out 6000 years ago by a society about which little is known.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">It seems likely that Rujm al-Hiri served residents of excavated villages nearby that were part of the same agrarian civilization that existed in the Holy Land in the Chalcolithic period, between 4500 and 3500 B.C. This predates the arrival of the Israelites as described in the Bible by as much as three millennia.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">But nothing is known about why they went to such great lengths to construct something that was not a village or fortress, whose location was not strategic and whose practical purpose is entirely unclear.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Most scholars have identified Rujm al-Hiri as some kind of ritual center, with some believing it connected to astronomical calculations. Archaeologist Yonathan Mizrahi, one of the first to excavate there, found that to someone standing in the very center of the circles on the morning of the summer solstice in 3000 B.C., “the first gleam of sunrise would appear at the center of the northeast entryway in the outer wall.”</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Just like England’s Stonehenge — thought to date to around 3000 B.C. at the earliest — Rujm al-Hiri has also provided fodder for ideas of a less scientific sort. One posits the site is the tomb of the Biblical giant known as Og, king of the Bashan. There is indeed a tomb in the center of the site, but scholars tend to agree it was added a millennia or two after the circles were erected.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">A self-proclaimed expert in supernatural energy fields visited the site in 2007 and claimed it had high levels of energy and vibration, which he suggested was the reason the ancients chose the location. A psychic consulted afterward by the same expert declared that Rujm al-Hiri had been a healing center built with knowledge that came from “ancient Babel” and was “managed by a priestess named Nogia Nogia.”</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">The theory proposed by Arav, who has led the excavation of another ancient site nearby since the late 1980s, is based on a broader look at the local Chalcolithic civilization and on similarities he noticed with more distant cultures. Arav published his idea in the current issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, a U.S. periodical.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">“I tried to look at the whole culture of that time,” said Arav.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">The Chalcolithic people of the Holy Land buried their dead in ossuaries, small boxes used to house bones. Use of ossuaries requires that the flesh first be removed, which can be achieved by burying bodies for an initial period in temporary tombs until only the bones remain. But archaeologists have not found evidence of such preliminary graves from Chalcolithic times, Arav said, suggesting a different method for disposing of the flesh.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Arav found a clue in a trove of Chalcolithic artifacts discovered to the south, near the Dead Sea: a small copper cylinder with a square opening like a miniature gate and, crucially, figures of birds perched on the edge.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">He also noticed a similarity to round, high-walled structures used by Zoroastrians in Iran and India, known as dokhmas or towers of silence. These are buildings used for a process known as excarnation or sky burial — the removal of flesh from corpses by vultures and other birds. The winged scavengers perch on the high circular walls, swoop in when the pallbearers depart and can pick a skeleton clean in a matter of hours.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Rujm al-Hiri, Arav believes, was an excarnation facility.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">The cylindrical object found near the Dead Sea, he believes, is a ceremonial miniature of such excarnation sites. He cites evidence — including a mural showing vultures and headless human corpses — that excarnation was practiced several millennia earlier in southern Turkey, where the local Chalcolithic residents are thought to have originated.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Arav’s theory is the first such claim that excarnation was practiced in the Holy Land in that era.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Archaeologist Mike Freikman of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who has led digs at the site for the past five years, said Arav’s theory was based only on “very distant parallels” rather than on hard evidence, but that it could not be ruled out.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">“We know so little about this site that the answer could be yes or no,” he said.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">Freikman’s excavations have yielded almost no material remains of the kind that are common at most archaeological sites, he said. That is significant, however, as it confirms that the site was never lived in and was thus not a defensive position or a residential quarter but most likely a ritual center of some kind — possibly, he said, one indeed linked to a cult of the dead.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">If Arav’s theory is correct, the biblical narrative written millennia later might offer hints that sky burial remained in the memory of the local population. No longer practiced, it was instead considered an appalling fate wished on one’s worst enemies.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">In one example, from the Book of Samuel, the shepherd David tells the Philistine warrior Goliath that he would soon cut off his head. Then David says: “I will give the carcasses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.”</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2011/11/05/casa_grande_dispatch/national_headlines/doc4eb584e44e456080589185.txt">Original article</a></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><br /></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-49250974530561092902011-11-05T16:53:00.001-07:002011-11-05T16:53:55.683-07:00Scientists pin down active chemicals in Chinese herbs<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://c96267.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/Chinese_traditional_medicine_Flickr_Dancing_Lemur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://c96267.r67.cf3.rackcdn.com/Chinese_traditional_medicine_Flickr_Dancing_Lemur.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;">Yojana Sharma</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee;"><br /></span></span><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">[LONDON] Researchers are aiming to bridge the gap between Chinese and Western systems of medicine with what they say is the first database of chemical compounds found in herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The database, known as Chem-TCM, will be used to help with drug development, according to researchers from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science at King's College London, United Kingdom, and partners at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, China, who launched it this month (18 October).</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The database features more than 12,000 chemical compounds identified in more than 300 Chinese herbs, and can be searched using text searches, but also using chemical terms.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">"You can even draw a picture of a chemical structure on a computer screen and the database will search for matching molecular structures and activities," said David Barlow, an expert in computer-aided drug design and delivery systems at King's College London.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Although botanical databases on <a href="http://www.scidev.net/en/health/traditional-medicine/" style="cursor: pointer; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">traditional medicine</a> already exist, Barlow said this database is geared "towards identifying known activities of the chemicals in Chinese medicines" and predicting activities of similar compounds.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">It includes botanical and chemical information, predicted activity of the chemicals against known Western therapeutic targets and available data on toxicology of those compounds.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The active chemicals in many herbs have not yet been identified, Barlow said, so some of the compounds in the database are "scientific predictions based on chemical footprints of compounds".</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">The database aims to "provide a link between Chinese and Western medicine on a molecular level," said Barlow.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">"The Chinese are interested in marrying up Chinese practices and getting them accepted in the West. It also helps them defend their own medical practices and show that their remedies can be backed up by scientific investigation," Barlow said.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Molly Meri Robinson Nicol, a technical officer at the WHO, said: "If someone is creating a database that is largely informative, then [collecting] information in one place is a major step forward". <a href="http://www.scidev.net/en/news/who-to-set-up-global-database-of-traditional-medicines.html" style="cursor: pointer; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; text-decoration: none;">The WHO is working on launching a global database of traditional medicines</a>.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">But she said that establishing which chemical compound is active in a traditional medicine is not the same as knowing that the medicine is effective.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">"With commercially produced pharmaceutical products you know exactly what goes into a drug but in traditional medicine there are variations in chemicals within each plant or even within each leaf. Testing each compound would be a huge and very expensive undertaking — a drop in the bucket considering how many traditional medicines there are."</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Barlow said the database was developed using publicly available information on Chinese medicines, with funding from the Global Partnership fund at the UK Department for Business, Innovations and Skills as well as Innovation China-UK — a subsidiary of Queen Mary University of London. But the database will not be freely available — it will instead be commercially marketed to major pharmaceutical, biotech, agricultural and educational organisations.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.scidev.net/en/health/traditional-medicine/news/scientists-pin-down-active-chemicals-in-chinese-herbs.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee;">Original Article</span></a></b></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-19325395893769601042011-11-05T16:45:00.000-07:002011-11-05T16:45:04.201-07:00Carnac, France: Where tradition and beauty are set in stone<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-11/65804113-01145226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-11/65804113-01145226.jpg" /></a></div><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 18px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Carnac, in the very south of France, isn't as well known as Stonehenge. But its megaliths are just as mysterious</span></h2><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="toolSet" style="background-color: black; display: inline-block; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; text-align: left; width: 335px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><div class="byline" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Susan Spano, Special to the Los Angeles Times</span><div class="date" style="font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">November 6, 2011</span></div></div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></div></span></span><div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><div class="storyDateline" style="display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Reporting from Carnac, France— </div>St. Cornelius, known as Cornély in <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/france-PLGEO000002.topic" id="PLGEO000002" style="text-decoration: none;" title="France">France</a>, opens his arms in blessing from a niche above the old stone church in Carnac. Legend has it that he was persecuted by Rome for his opposition to animal sacrifice and chased by soldiers all the way to the Brittany coast. Trapped, he turned around and changed them into 3,000 rough-hewn stones that still stand in military rows on a chain of fields just north of here.<br /><br />There are other hypotheses about the Carnac boulders, carbon dated to 4000 to 2000 BC. They mark one of Caesar's camps during the Gallic Wars from 58 to 50 BC. Or they were snake worship sites for ancient Celts whose territory included parts of England and Ireland as well as Brittany. Or maybe they were goblin lairs and fairy treasures. But St. Cornelius works for me.<br /><br />It's the same story with other prehistoric monuments in Western Europe. No one knows for sure who built them or why, although sites have been found, from Scandinavia to<a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/spain-PLGEO00000056.topic" id="PLGEO00000056" style="text-decoration: none;" title="Spain">Spain</a>, that have various configurations: upright stones, known as menhirs or megaliths, standing alone or in groups, as at Stonehenge, England; dolmens, Neolithic tombs made of massive boulders, laid on top of one another; and tumuli, or artificial mounds, where ancient man buried the departed under heaps of rubble.<br /><br />My first encounter with these mysteries was at Avebury on the Wiltshire moors in England, a medieval village surrounded by concentric circles of standing stones. When Christianity arrived, villagers desecrated the megaliths, believing them evil. But on a recent trip to Brittany — whose coast must have fit together with that of England like a puzzle piece before a lowering sea created the English Channel — I discovered that the Carnac megaliths fared better. Although sometimes mined for building material or marked with Christian crosses, they have otherwise escaped the wrath of superstitious zealots in one of the earliest instances of French laissez faire.<br /><br />It takes about four hours to drive from Paris to Carnac, which occupies a segment of the ragged Brittany coast near Quiberon Island and the mouth of the Morbihan Bay. Once one of the poorest, most isolated corners of France, it is now one of the most chic, not because of the megaliths but because of the beaches colonized almost equally by French and English vacationers.<br /><br />Carnac's old port, La Trinité-sur-Mer, is as full of sails and topsiders as Hyannis, Mass., reached along a waterfront road lined by handsome summer houses, thalassotherapy spas, nature preserves, salt marshes and sandy <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/intl/atlantic-ocean-PLGEOREG000027.topic" id="PLGEOREG000027" style="text-decoration: none;" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>shores. A tourist train takes sightseers along the Carnac Riviera and through the town center with its Museum of Prehistory, market square and 17th century church dedicated to St. Cornelius.<br /><br />The first thing I saw when I drove into town was the whitewashed chapel of St. Michel atop a 30-foot tumulus that covered a tomb that contained prehistoric axes and ornaments. At its foot is the Hôtel Tumulus, built as a residence in 1900 by St. Michel excavator Zacharie Le Rouzic. It's still run by family members and thus an ideal place for amateur archaeologists. I checked into a simple, sunny room under a gable, swam in the pool and dined on fresh fish in the veranda restaurant.</span></div></div><div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div id="story-body-text" style="line-height: 1.43; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-carnac-20111106,0,7199479.story"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #f3f3f3; font-family: inherit;">Continue Reading on the LA Times</span></a></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-77210373163817323432011-11-04T12:26:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:26:57.282-07:00Making time for loved ones lost<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/archive/x1846686967/g12c0000000000000001f3336f07d3f97e432be2e494445f74e79e6ef58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/archive/x1846686967/g12c0000000000000001f3336f07d3f97e432be2e494445f74e79e6ef58.jpg" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Mourning Tea and Dumb Supper bring peace and closeness<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="author vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="fn" style="background-color: black;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">By Sarah Thomas/sthomas@wickedlocal.com</span></b></span></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><a class="url org fn" href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Wicked Local North of Boston</span></a></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Salem —</span></span></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Zombies and vampires. They’re probably some of the easiest and most popular Halloween costumes in the world. A few makeup effects and perhaps a set of false teeth or rent garments are all you need to transform yourself into one, because both characters are, literally, dead bodies. For a typical Halloween reveler, seeing or being a zombie or vampire is probably about as close as it gets to really thinking about the dead.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">But that’s not the case at two very different Haunted Happenings events in Salem. The Mourning Tea and the Dumb Supper, both of which are hosted by members of the Salem Witch community, give visitors a chance to be with loved ones lost again – whether by experiencing a feeling of supernatural connection or just to spend time with their memories, in the company of other people who grieve.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“I originally planned the Dumb Supper with my best friend, Shawn Poirier,” said Christian Day, a warlock and the owner of the Salem witch accessory shops Hex and Omen. “We had started running the Salem Witches Ball a few years earlier, and we noticed that a lot of the Haunted Happenings events were things like corn mazes and pet shows. We didn’t feel like there were a lot of spiritual events, and a lot of people come to Salem on Halloween because this is an important spiritual holiday for them.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Poirier attended the first few Dumb Suppers and was instrumental in planning the Mourning Tea, but he was not able to attend the first one. He died of a heart attack in 2007.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"> Fond memories</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Halloween – or Samhain, in the pagan and Wiccan traditions – is a holiday traditionally associated with the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead being thin. Hence the associations with Halloween and the occult that led to Ouija boards, food sacrifices to spirits (the origins of giving out candy), and those vampires and zombies already mentioned. But for many people, the associations to the departed are much clearer and more resonant.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“Our father, Achilles Granata, died on Nov. 15, 2010, almost exactly a year ago,” said Janet Mitchell, who attended the Mourning Tea with her younger sister Jennifer Granata. “He loved Halloween. Every year he would plant a field of pumpkins, and come October he’d harvest them and give them to neighborhood children for free.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“He used to come to Salem for VFW events,” said Granata. “He was a member of the Army Air Corps in World War II and the Air Force in Korea. He really liked Salem. Coming here today just seemed to be a good way to honor him.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">At the Mourning Tea, attendees made pages for a Book of the Dead, adding pictures of lost relatives, stickers, drawings, and words. Afterwards, many chose to stand up and tell the other attendees stories of those they mourned.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“My husband, James, was killed by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan,” said Christine Ayube, the widow of James Ayube II. James was honored for his sacrifice by the city of Salem earlier this year with the christening of the James Ayube Memorial Bridge.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Christine Ayube shared fond memories of her life with James.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“He was the biggest nerd you’ll ever meet,” Ayube said. “After we were married, we walked back down the aisle to the Imperial March from ‘Star Wars.’”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Another attendee, Marlene Longo, said she had also come to the event last year. A Connecticut hairdresser, Benti brought a crystal that had been given to her by the son of a beloved client, Maryann Benti.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“When Maryann began to get sick, I would go to her house and do her hair,” Longo said. “The event gives me a chance to feel a nice remembrance of her. The people here don’t feel so alone.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"> Changing lives</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The Mourning Tea is organized by another Salem witch and friend of Shawn Poirier, Leanne Marrama, along with her colleague Heather MacDonald.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“Shawn and I began talking about doing something like this in 2006,” Marrama said. “After his death, the event began to mean so much more to me. It’s a chance to feel close to my friend again.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The Dumb Supper is, like the Mourning Tea, a ceremony built around remembering and respecting the dead. But it is more formal and rooted in many different religious and spiritual traditions.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“The idea for a dinner for the dead originates in ancient Egypt,” said Lori Bruno, a medium at Hex. “When the Egyptians would inter the bodies of their loved ones, they would always eat a ceremonial meal. We have found remnants of these meals at archaeological digs.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Adding to the Egyptian tradition with other rituals from such diverse backgrounds as the Isle of Man in Great Britain and the American Ozarks, Dumb Suppers began to be celebrated in the 1920s, said Christian Day.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“The idea is to do everything backwards, to try and bring the dead closer,” Day said. “We start at dessert and work our way backwards. We have music playing from across the spiritual spectrum, but aside from that, the meal is eaten in complete silence to pay our respects.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Day said that the act of eating, which nourishes life, gave attendees a chance to contemplate the cycle of life and death.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“What I get out of the Dumb Supper, still, is the knowledge that this isn’t the end,” Day said. “I might be skeptical and jaded, but it makes me feel that there is magic that can change lives.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Some of the visitors, like Tammy St. John and her daughters Paige and Madelyne, said they felt that magic literally.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“I felt the touch of my grandfather’s hand,” said Paige St. John, who keeps a picture of her grandfather in a locket around her neck. “I love him so much and I never thought I’d feel him again. I feel like he’s watching over us.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">For others, the ceremonies were an opportunity to process the losses in their lives.</span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeJ" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“Shortly after my dad died last year, I lost my job, and I don’t think I ever really took the time to grieve,” said Dallas Murphy, who traveled from South Carolina and attended both the Mourning Tea and the Dumb Supper with his wife, Kim. “Today was very emotional. Now that it’s done, I feel so much peace.”</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x329157981/Making-time-for-loved-ones-lost#ixzz1clZlBZ1U" style="text-decoration: none;">Making time for loved ones lost - Medford, Massachusetts - Medford Transcript</a> <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x329157981/Making-time-for-loved-ones-lost#ixzz1clZlBZ1U" style="text-decoration: none;">http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x329157981/Making-time-for-loved-ones-lost#ixzz1clZlBZ1U</a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: left;"></span></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-15661032430434073042011-11-04T12:23:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:23:33.357-07:00Sacred pagan traditions face persecution<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width/hash/88/95/8895de93bcc2f39ec552c318d5a16be8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width/hash/88/95/8895de93bcc2f39ec552c318d5a16be8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><h2 class="name" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a about="/user-marymomentum" class="username ocmap ocm-name" href="http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-rockford/mary-diamond" property="foaf:name" rel="author" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;" title="View Mary Diamond's profile.">Mary Diamond</a></h2><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">, </span><span property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel v:title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Rockford Spirituality Examiner</span><br /><span property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel v:title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span><br /><span property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel v:title" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br /><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em;">In the candy-strewn aftermath of this year's Halloween festivities, well-wishing legislators and manipulative Christian agendas alike are attempting to marginalize the ancient traditions at the root of Halloween and All Saint’s Day.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em;">Ironically, even after the violent conquest of the Christian faith over most of Europe and the superimposing of Christianized holidays over the sacred days of the old religion, some modern churches are attempting to re-imagine Halloween yet again. <a href="http://www.lifechurchag.com/home.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">Life Church</a> in Roscoe, IL holds an annual “<a href="http://www.lifechurchag.com/events/HarvestFest.aspx" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">Harvest Festival</a>” each year on Halloween night and advertises “100% free candy, rides, food, games and music” to would-be celebrants. The event is like a bizarro-conservative <a href="http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Pleasure_Island_(Pinocchio)" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">Pleasure Island</a>, complete with carnival rides, food, games, wheelbarrows full of candy and a full-sized outdoor stage with live musical acts.</div><div style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 1em;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Through the press of the ruddy-cheeked carnival-goers, the sound of contemporary Christian music punctuates random speakers who urge the attendees to start their spiritual journey with the church... but despite it’s publicized name, there is little to no mention of the Harvest. There are no mentions of the shifting of the light or the bounty of the Earth’s last month of food production. No one speaks of the cycle of death and rebirth that embodies both our spiritual and agricultural processes. The intent is not to celebrate the harvest, but to reap the phone numbers and addresses of hundreds of locals in order to add them to mailing lists for the church to recruit from.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Religious and spiritual festivals of different faiths often share the same general time of year(Christmas/Yule or Easter/Ostara for example), and are recognized through a variety of different practices by believers. In Rockford’s metro area, Halloween is still celebrated with publicly posted treat-or-treating times on October 31st -but elsewhere, some communities have already <a href="http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/halloween/mc-trickortreat-1013-20111012,0,7527441.story" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">moved this ancient tradition</a> to another day. The secular convenience of these changes apparently overshadows the spiritual meaning these days hold for pagan and Wiccan practitioners who live in these areas.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">While Connecticut Democrat Tim Larson wants to make life easier for working parents and bring young trick-or-treaters out during daylight hours for their own safety, <a href="http://www.housedems.ct.gov/Larson/2011/pr011_2011-10-24.html" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">his proposal</a> to move the holiday to the last Saturday of October (starting in 2012) blatantly demeans the already unstable recognition that the growing neopagan population struggles for.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">Samhain</a>, as the Wiccan tradition calls the night before November 1st, is a time for neopagans to celebrate the turning of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">wheel of the year</a>. It is one of eight sacred festivals that recognize agricultural milestones throughout the 365 day solar cycle, as well as the spiritual and physical shift from the influence of light (longer days) to that of darkness (longer nights). This association with agriculture is reflective of paganism’s origin and influence among the common country folk of Western Europe who passed these traditions down by word of mouth and from one generation to the next .</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;">As the hours of daylight wane and the Earth’s plant and animal life lose vitality, neopagans recognize the ancestors who have passed away and pay respect to the spirits of the dead. They believe that the veil between the world of the living and the realms of the dead is thinnest at this time of year -and it is this belief in the potentiality of contact between the two that fuels some of Halloween’s most recognizable symbolism. Despite threats to life and safety, these rituals and traditions have survived persecution to be included in the practice of modern believers. It would be a tragedy to see them modified now, simply for <a href="http://moneyland.time.com/2011/09/29/now-thats-creepy-americans-will-blow-7-billion-on-halloween/" rel="nofollow" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">commercial</a> and recreational considerations. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em;"></div><h3 about="/user-marymomentum" datatype="" property="foaf:name" style="color: #404041; float: none; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">By <a href="http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-rockford/mary-diamond">Mary Diamond</a></h3><strong class="author-title" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel v:title" style="color: #404041; display: block; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 10px;" typeof="skos:Concept">Rockford Spirituality Examiner</strong><div style="color: #404041; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em;">Mary Diamond has lived in the Rockford metro area for nearly 30 years. Her mother and grandmother were both born and raised there, working and...</div><div style="color: #404041; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 1em;"><b><a href="http://www.examiner.com/spirituality-in-rockford/halloween-is-not-just-about-costumes-and-candy">Original Article</a></b></div><br /><br />Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-60273026209445721912011-11-04T12:12:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:12:30.850-07:00Turning the wheel of the world: Wiccans celebrate Samhain Read more: Turning the wheel of the world: Wiccans celebrate Samhain<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/archive/x898695671/g12c0000000000000005c544c75d970e9db7be5654dcd7f65a881453bb7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/archive/x898695671/g12c0000000000000005c544c75d970e9db7be5654dcd7f65a881453bb7.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="author vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="fn" style="background-color: black;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">By Sarah Thomas/sthomas@wickedlocal.com</span></b></span></div><div class="source-org vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><a class="url org fn" href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford" style="text-decoration: none;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Wicked Local North of Boston</span></a></div><div class="tease_timestamp published" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" title="2011-11-03T15:30:59Z"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Posted Nov 03, 2011 @ 03:30 PM</span></div><div class="tease_timestamp published" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" title="2011-11-03T15:30:59Z"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="tease_timestamp published" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;" title="2011-11-03T15:30:59Z"><div class="float_l m5r dateline" style="float: left; line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Salem —</span></div><div class="entry-content" style="line-height: 16px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto;"></div></div><span style="background-color: black; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span><br /><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></span></span><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">If you’ve seen the seminal classic (filmed in Salem, naturally) Halloween film “Hocus Pocus,” you probably learned two things: watch where you light black candles, and Halloween was kind of an important day to witches. That’s as true today as it was in ancient times, when the animist religions that are today considered part of the pagan and Wiccan traditions were celebrated by peoples all over the world.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">While many in downtown Salem were partying hard in their Ghostbuster and Adventure Time outfits, a different kind of celebration was taking place on Gallows Hill, site of the execution of the 19 men and women accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692. That was the location of the 20th annual Magick Circle, a celebration of the ancient holiday of Samhain, or Wiccan New Year.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“Samhain is one of the two ‘hinges of the year,’ the other being Beltane in the spring,” said High Priest Fionn, one of the organizers of the Magick Circle. The Circle was hosted by members of the Temple of Nine Wells-ATC, a Wiccan organization whose membership reaches from Salem to California. “The celebration we have here focuses on the remembrance of our own ancestors, and also the men and women who died in the Salem Witch Trials.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Over 200 people attended the Magick Circle, which began with a procession to the park from City Center and ended with a candlelit walk back into the revelry. Gypsy Ravish, a High Priestess in the Temple and owner of the shop Nu Aeon on Pickering Wharf, said that in previous years there had been as many as 800 attendees.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“This year, we are making a film of our Magick Circle for the first time,” said Ravish, who was one of the two main celebrants of the ceremony with her husband, Richard, also known as Lord Azaradel. “We haven’t decided how we will release and distribute the film yet, but we decided to make a record for those who aren’t able to attend.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">In the Wiccan and pagan religious calendar, Samhain (pronounced Sawan) is one of eight holidays. The timing of holidays is tied to the natural cycles of seasons, and Samhain takes place when crops are harvested and the dark, cold half of the year begins.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“On Samhain, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead is thin,” said Fionn, “hence the association of Halloween with ghosts and spooky things.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">That association is because Samhain, being the New Year, depends on celebrants to “turn the wheel of the world,” ushering the old year into the world of the dead and helping the new year begin.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“To create our ritual, we used traditional sources like ancient texts, and parts of it were written by priests in our temple like Lady Zara and Lord Azaradel,” Fionn said. “The intent is to cast spells for self improvement as well as the betterment of the world as a whole.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">The Magick Circle takes place outdoors – Wiccans do not construct indoor spaces for sacred festivals – and centers on an altar filled with objects of ritual significance.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“The consecrated tools on the altar include cups, wands, medallions called patans, and candles,” Fionn said. “You might recognize those symbols from being the suits in a Tarot deck. In Wicca, they symbolize the elements of earth, air, water and fire.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">The ceremony included singing and dance, as well as a long spiral through a portal decorated with leaves and pumpkins. As the attendees spiraled through the portal, it symbolized passing from one year to the next. Celebrants called on the spirits of deceased loved ones, and those executed in 1692, to protect the world, and buried a ritual meal of bread, honey, milk and wine to ensure a fertile growing season.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Many of the celebrants said that one of the reasons the Salem ceremony was so meaningful to them was the remembrance that, for many Wiccans, being open in their faith is still looked at askance in their communities.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“The walk to the site is important because it reminds us that here and now, we can walk openly as witches,” said Linda Morrisey.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“Every holiday is pagan, in the sense that holidays we now know as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, all were set up to correspond with pagan holidays that already existed,” said Jacqueline Bollietero of Salem, who attended the ceremony with Tiana DaSilva. “A lot of people don’t understand that.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Elaine Theodore brought her 5-year-old daughter, Ruby, to the ceremony.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“This is a great opportunity to remind her of the origins of Halloween. It’s not all candy and costumes,” Theodore said. “It’s also a spiritual day.”</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Kameron Miranda was attending Haunted Happenings for the first time. She lives in Concord, N.H.</span></div><div class="BodytypeRR" style="padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">“I thought it was great to enjoy the spiritual energy,” Miranda said. “I will definitely come back next year, though I think I’ll wear more layers.”</span></div><span style="background-color: black; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x898695797/Turning-the-wheel-of-the-world-Wiccans-celebrate-Samhain#ixzz1clWOSAWg" style="text-decoration: none;">Turning the wheel of the world: Wiccans celebrate Samhain - Medford, Massachusetts - Medford Transcript</a> <a href="http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x898695797/Turning-the-wheel-of-the-world-Wiccans-celebrate-Samhain#ixzz1clWOSAWg" style="text-decoration: none;">http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/features/x898695797/Turning-the-wheel-of-the-world-Wiccans-celebrate-Samhain#ixzz1clWOSAWg</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><br /><br /></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-34642004549372995202011-11-04T12:09:00.000-07:002011-11-04T12:09:35.438-07:00The Real Witches Of NYC<iframe allowtransparency="true" border="0" frameborder="0" height="448" id="tivid-player" scrolling="no" src="http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-wiccan-witches-nyc-video,0,1452586,iframe.tivideo?size=605x435" style="background-color: white; color: #292727; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;" width="605"></iframe><br />Read Article by following the link below ;)<br /><br /><a href="http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-wiccan-witches-nyc,0,6795141.story">http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-wiccan-witches-nyc,0,6795141.story</a>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-68078326352941050502011-10-29T15:13:00.000-07:002011-10-29T15:13:18.984-07:00Facts and trivia about black cats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NRxJvs1GP8/TQ38dihs4wI/AAAAAAAAAV4/uUZEqRujeLo/s1600/black-cat-moon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1NRxJvs1GP8/TQ38dihs4wI/AAAAAAAAAV4/uUZEqRujeLo/s400/black-cat-moon.jpg" width="281" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">By <span class="author vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a class="fn" href="http://connect.oregonlive.com/user/msbalas/index.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Monique Balas, Special to The Oregonian </a></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The black fur gene is recessive, so a cat must carry two copies of it to be black. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />Scientists have found genetic mutations among several different kinds of cats that caused them to be black, meaning they are favored in nature. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />Scientists also discovered that the mutations affect a gene related to one that's resistant to HIV in humans, leading some to theorize that black cats may be resistant to disease. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />In Europe, poor, lonely women often fed alley cats. When witch hysteria hit, many of these homeless women were accused of witchcraft, and their feline companions (especially black ones) were deemed guilty by association. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />The Egyptian goddess Bast was thought to take the form of a black cat, so many ancient Egyptians owned black cats as a way to court her favor. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />According to British lore, a black cat's presence in a house will bring a young woman many suitors. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />The British also believe that a black cat will bring its owner good luck, but coming across one accidentally brings bad luck. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />Some people believe that plucking a single white hair on an otherwise ebony cat -- without getting scratched -- will make them lucky in love. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />On Britain's Yorkshire coast, fishermen's wives believed owning a black cat would keep their husbands safe at sea. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Black cat trivia </b><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />1. Which English monarch was so devoted to his black cat that he insisted it be guarded 24 hours a day? <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />2. A black cat's tail is thought to cure what ailment? <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />3. In Scotland, a black cat's appearance on your porch is thought to bring what? <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />Answers: <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />1. King Charles I; the day after the cat died, he was arrested for treason. <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />2. Sty <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />3. Prosperity <br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" /><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" />--Monique Balas </span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-size: 13px; line-height: normal;"><b><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2011/10/facts_and_trivia_about_black_c.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Original Article</span></a></b></span></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-11042816977393621222011-10-29T15:08:00.001-07:002011-10-29T15:09:10.417-07:00Witchcraft in Williams Township, a history of the good and evil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/events_impact/photo/10189721-large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/events_impact/photo/10189721-large.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">By <span class="author vcard" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><a class="fn" href="http://connect.lehighvalleylive.com/user/tibentley/index.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Tiffany Bentley</a></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"></span></span></span><br /><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Witches didn't ride on broomsticks with pointed hats by the light of the moon in the tradition of Pennsylvania Dutch witchcraft, according to Ned Heindel,<a href="http://topics.lehighvalleylive.com/tag/williams%20township/index.html" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Williams Township</a> historian.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">While he says the Pennsylvania Dutch witches did not stand around a kettle stirring up evil potions, they did, however, use secret words, phrases and herbal concoctions to cure the sick or curse the healthy.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Heindel will share the history of the practice of witchcraft, specifically in Williams Township, 2 p.m. Sunday at the <a href="http://sigalmuseum.org/" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Sigal Museum</a> at <a href="http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/maps/results/?zoomLevel=9&address=342+Northampton+St.&city=Easton&stateProvince=PA&postalCode=&country=US&x=51&y=10" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">342 Northampton St.</a> in Easton. The talk is open to the public and the cost is included in the $7 museum admission for non-members.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Heindel's book, "Hexenkopf, History, Healing and Hexerei," is fondly named for a stone rock formation in Williams Township where rumor says witches used to gather to perform their hexes. Heindel draws from this book and his research for his presentation.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">He addresses the two forms of witchcraft. The first, white magic or "Braucherei," is the healing side of the craft. This tradition uses tonics, personalized prescriptions and manipulations to expel sickness and evil, according to Heindel. The second, black magic or "Hexerei," is the evil side where followers would attempt to make their enemies suffer or impress others with their talents and power, he says.</span></div><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 35px; margin-right: 35px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"The healer side would've regarded themselves as doing the work of God,"</b> he says. <b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"The other side, they believed, was the work of the devil."</b></span></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">He says the significance of focusing on Williams Township in the study of witchcraft lies in renowned practitioners of the Braucherei side who lived in the area. During his presentation, Heindel wears a hat and cloak reminiscent of what Upper Bucks County resident healer Emanuel Wilhelm wore in his time. A long line of Wilhelms practiced in Williams Township. </span></div><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 35px; margin-right: 35px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Two long-lived dynasties -- the Wilhelms and the Saylors -- in the 1730s and 1740s, practiced this kind of healing," </b>he says.</span></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">He says this may have involved using words and letters or mixtures and botanicals. Much of this would also entail attempts at preventing witches from attacking or attempts at escaping curses.</span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Of course, the evil side was what most were afraid of. </span></div><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 35px; margin-right: 35px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">"<b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Hexor is the evil side, making someone sick," </b>Heindel says. <b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"There are plenty of ways to do that."</b></span></div></blockquote><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The white side, however, even proved off-putting at the time, becoming competition for medical doctors in the area. Heindel says some of the herbal treatments used then have valid medicinal purposes, even today.</span></div><div class="entry_widget_large entry_widget_left" id="asset-10189960" style="float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 20px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 380px !important;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><span class="adv-photo-large" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; display: block; height: 310px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 5px; max-width: 380px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><img alt="homeopathic kit.jpg" class="adv-photo" height="238" original="http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/events_impact/photo/10189960-large.jpg" src="http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/events_impact/photo/10189960-large.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-width: initial; display: block; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 380px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: bottom;" width="380" /><span class="photo-data" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(213, 213, 213); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(213, 213, 213); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(213, 213, 213); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; display: block; font-size: 10px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block; float: right; line-height: 1.35em; margin-bottom: 0.75em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: right; width: 220px;">Express-Times Photo | MATT SMITH</span><span class="caption" style="clear: both; display: block; line-height: 1.25em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left;">A homeopathic kit containing vials with herbal material used for healing are among items that will be talked about during the presentation Sunday.</span></span><span class="photo-bottom-left" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url(http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/design/baseline/img/corners.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: -28px -7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: block; float: left; height: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -7px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 7px;"></span><span class="photo-bottom-right" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: url(http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/design/baseline/img/corners.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: -35px -7px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; display: block; float: right; height: 7px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -7px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; width: 7px;"></span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">In fact, he says modern day physicians may even be returning to some of the influences of these early homeopathic practitioners. He says appointments with healers of the time were never less than 45 minutes and usually ran for more than an hour. Time was taken to fully understand the person and ailment. Bonds were commonly formed between the subject and practitioner, lending a more mental aspect to the healing.</span></div><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 35px; margin-right: 35px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"It was more common for those practitioners to touch their patients,"</b> he says of the herbal healers. <b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"We all know there's a psychosomatic effect in healing."</b></span></blockquote><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"></div><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">As a chemistry professor at Lehigh University, who specializes in pharmaceutical science, he says there are practices such as using<b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </b>poke root<b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </b>to treat arthritis or mayapple root to attack cancer cells that are still effective treatments.</span></div><blockquote style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 35px; margin-right: 35px; margin-top: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"Most of the stuff is hocus pocus,"</b> Heindel says. <b style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">"But some of it works."</b></span></div></blockquote><div align="left" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><div style="line-height: 1.55em; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 3px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">For more information on Heindel's Sigal Museum talk, call 610-253-1222 or visit <a href="http://sigalmuseum.org/" style="cursor: pointer; font-weight: bold; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">sigalmuseum.org</a>.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b><a href="http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/events/index.ssf/2011/10/witchcraft_in_williams_townshi.html">Original Article</a></b></span></div></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-45545499626432035312011-10-29T15:05:00.000-07:002011-10-29T15:05:08.024-07:00Were Salem’s Men Witches’ Victims of Politics?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://uploads.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Giles-Corey-500x395.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://uploads.neatorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Giles-Corey-500x395.png" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">By <span class="redtext" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Gale Courey Toensing</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px;"><span class="redtext" style="background-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 10px;"></span><br /><div class="post-content" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 10px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">The epidemic of witchcraft hysteria which broke out in <a href="http://www.salemweb.com/guide/tosee.php" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Salem, Massachusetts</a> at the end of the 17<sup style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup>century was as virulent as the scourge of smallpox that had decimated the Indigenous Peoples of “New England” several decades earlier. Although reams have been written about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, the veil of time has further obscured what was never a very clear story to start off with. But a professor of history at Cornell University has uncovered an intriguing connection between the Salem Witch Trials and the Wabanaki Indians, which adds a political twist to the intersection of genocide, race and colonialism that underlies the events in that small isolated settler, and forms the backdrop of the <a href="http://nccs.net/articles/ril71.html" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">American experiment</a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.arts.cornell.edu/history/faculty-department-norton.php" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dr. Mary Beth Norton</a>, Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History at Cornell University and author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Snare-Salem-Witchcraft-Crisis/dp/037540709X" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the Devil’s Snare: The Salem Witchcraft Crisis of 1692</a>, shines a new light on the bizarre outbreak of Puritan paranoia that culminated in people hanged, burned or crushed to death by stones. During her research Norton discovered the curious circumstance that – statistically – the Salem witchcraft crisis was more dangerous for men accused of witchcraft than it was for women.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">Although records from the period are incomplete, around 145 people are known to have been formally charged with being witches in 1692, Norton said in an <a href="http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wamc/news.newsmain/article/0/7288/1865765/Academic.Minute/Dr..Mary.Beth.Norton..Cornell.University.-.Witch.Hunts.and.Men" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Academic Minute on NPR</a> October 27. About one-quarter or 36 of them were men. “Nineteen people were hanged and a 20th was executed by being crushed to death by heavy stones. Of those 20, six were men. Thus a higher proportion of accused men than women were executed in 1692,” Norton said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">“Traditionally, the male relatives of reputed female witches could be accused, because it was believed that witches conveyed their diabolic knowledge to associates and family members. Still, one remarkable fact about 1692 is that about half the men charged with witchcraft had no such association with female witches. Instead, some were prominent figures a minister, a militia officer, a wealthy ship captain, a merchant among them. What tied these men together was that all had some association with the Wabanaki Indians who, in conjunction with the French, were then attacking New England settlements. These often inexplicable witch-hunts, then, had a wartime context,” Norton said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">The stage was set for continuing hostilities between the English Puritans and the Indigenous Peoples following the King Philip’s War of 1675-1678 between the English settler colonists and the Wampanoag Indians whose lands were increasingly encroached upon. In the years leading up to the 1692 witch hysteria, King William’s War (1689-1698) – also known as the first French and Indian War — was under way. The Wabanaki Indians, many of whom had been <a href="http://www.leasttern.com/Wabanaki/Lessons/Timelines/TeachingTimeline.html" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">converted</a> to Christianity by French Jesuits, were allied with the French.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">“What I argue in the book is that there are what I call the usual suspects, who are the kind of older quarrelsome women who are commonly accused of being witches, and then there are unusual suspects, and basically other scholars who have looked at the Salem witchcraft had no explanation for why these guys were accused. Either they didn’t talk about them at all or they said they were symbolic figures, but they didn’t say what they were symbols of,” Norton said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">The English at the time felt under dual assault from the visible world of the French and Indians and from the invisible world of the witches, Norton said. “And when a young girl from Maine confessed to being a witch and confessed to having been recruited by the devil outside her home in Maine in 1688 just when the French and Indian War began, that’s when they make the connection between the war in the visible world and the war in the invisible world,” Norton said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">Neither members of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Cape Cod nor the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine knew of any tribal connection with the Salem Witch Trials.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">“I don’t remember any of our history mentioning that. I’m 89 years old and if I can’t remember or don’t know anything about it, I don’t think anybody else would. It was so long ago and a lot of that stuff is lost anyway,” Mashpee Traditional Chief Vernon Lopez said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">James Neptune, director of the <a href="http://www.penobscotnation.org/museum/Index.htm" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Penobscot Indian Nation Museum</a>, said no stories have been handed down about the Salem Witch Trials. “What I’ve heard are, well, just the things I’ve read and what people have told me – that originally a lot of the stuff began up here in Maine and that’s just about as far as I can go. I have nothing concrete to base it on, just what people said – that it’s not so much to do with witchcraft but with the first instances of people being healed,” Neptune said. “No stories have come down. I wish they had.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">Norton said she found no evidence in her research into the events of 1692 that involved healing, but since the English believed that Indians were devil worshippers “occult healing” or healing that couldn’t be explained would be attributed to devil worship.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">But all the English men who were executed were accused of having Wabanaki connections, she said. “They were accused of things like trading with the Indians. One guy was of French birth from the Isle of Jersey and he was French-speaking so he was thought of being in league with the Indians who were, of course, in league with the French. Another guy was a militia captain whose men were soundly defeated more than once by the Indians and he could be seen as in league with the Indians because his men died under his command and he betrayed them to the Indians. Most importantly of all was the minister <a href="http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SAL_BBUR.HTM" rel="nofollow" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">George Burroughs</a>, who managed to escape from two Indian attacks in the town in Maine where he was living,” Norton said.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">Burroughs’ execution caused much discomfort in Salem. Several of his accusers identified him as the ringleader of the witches. One accuser claimed he had bewitched soldiers during a failed military campaign against the Wabanaki in 1688-89. Norton argues in her book that the large number of accusations against Burroughs and his connection to the war is essential to understanding the Salem trials. She says the judges’ enthusiasm in prosecuting the accused “witches” was largely due to their desire to shift the “blame for their own inadequate defense of the frontier.” Many of the judges, Norton points out, played lead roles in a war effort that had been notably unsuccessful.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;">“The book is really about how New England was losing the war, desperately, and it’s about how New Englanders were badly mismanaging the war and how the Wabanaki were winning, and the English basically came up with this witchcraft explanation of why they were losing the war. This is a war that the Wabanaki won and that’s not widely known. I certainly didn’t realize it till I started doing this research myself,” Norton said. “I think it’s the unknown story of the Salem Witches Trials.”</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.4em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 7px; margin-top: 7px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #999999;"><b><a href="http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2011/10/were-salem%E2%80%99s-men-witches%E2%80%99-victims-of-politics/">Original Article</a></b></span></div></div><div class="sharebar" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(http://ictmn.cachefly.net/wp-content/themes/ict/images/bg_reply.jpg); background-origin: initial; background-repeat: repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: black; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 30px; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 12px; min-height: 30px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="lft" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-83676292546251683532011-10-29T15:01:00.000-07:002011-10-29T15:01:29.398-07:00Eight Historic Sites in Danvers Connected to Salem Witch Trials<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://o4.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d72e9b3d35902be181908be86a031a06" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://o4.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/600x450/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d72e9b3d35902be181908be86a031a06" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Local sites offer a fascinating glimpse into a dark period of local history.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"></span><br /><ul class="byline NS_2ft3852c7u" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 0.857em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.667em; list-style-position: inside; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; list-style-image: none; list-style-type: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 5.5px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: middle; white-space: nowrap;">By <span class="vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><a class="author fn" href="http://danvers.patch.com/users/bill-laforme" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Bill Laforme</a></span></li></ul><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As usual, tourists from around the country are flocking to Salem this October to celebrate Halloween and get a first-hand look at some of the city's historic sites – especially those connected to the infamous witch trials of 1692.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Did you know, however, that the events of that dark chapter of history first began in Danvers?</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sorry Salem. The initial accusations spread from a group of local girls in Salem Village (present-day Danvers) against other residents of that parish and most of the examinations during which the victims were publicly condemned as witches took place in the church meetinghouse, which once stood off Hobart Street.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today, a historical sign in front of the <a href="http://danvers.patch.com/listings/first-church-of-danvers" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">First Church of Danvers</a>, which is located at the corner of Hobart and Centre streets, marks the old parish as the site of the witch hysteria.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Various historic sites across town, which was the district of Salem Village until 1752, stand in memory of key figures in those tragic events, both a handful of local victims who were executed as witches and their accusers.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.571em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.364em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rebecca Nurse Homestead</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Those who attended local schools likely remember stories about people, such as Rebecca Nurse, the 71-year-old victim of the hysteria whose pious reputation drew support from several dozen of her neighbors at the time. She was convicted of witchcraft in April 1692 and hanged that July. Her homestead is a familiar landmark on Pine Street.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Today, the <a href="http://danvers.patch.com/listings/rebecca-nurse-homestead" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rebecca Nurse Homestead</a> is open to the public for a fee. The 27-acre property features the original homestead, open fields and the Nurse family cemetery. The property is owned by the Danvers Alarm List Company, which may be best known for its Revolutionary War reenactments held each year during the strawberry festival at the homestead.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Locals have long known Rebecca Nurse's body is buried somewhere on the property, having been secretly laid to rest by family members after her execution. There is no specific gravestone for her in the cemetery, but there is an obelisk memorial that was added in 1885 containing a poetic epitaph composed by John Greenleaf Whittier.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Candice Clemenzi, a homestead employee whose grandfather, Robert Osgood, helped found the alarm company, told Danvers Patch that several basic fieldstones in the cemetery are likely the earliest family grave markers; one of them could possibly be Nurse's grave.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">"We don't know exactly who's underneath there," she said.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another prominent occupant of the Nurse family cemetery and a witch hysteria victim was laid to rest there in 1992. According to Clemenzi, the remains of George Jacobs were discovered on the empty lot next to Sunnyside Bowladrome on Water Street several decades ago.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">His body had been found in the 1800s, only to be moved to the spot where it was discovered a century later. Jacobs' body is actually the only one of a hysteria victim ever recovered.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Jacobs is considered a Salem resident by historians, but Clemenzi notes that he lived closer to the Danversport area, which would have placed him very close to Salem Village.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.571em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.364em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Samuel Holten House</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Less than a mile from the Rebecca Nurse Homestead is another familiar Danvers landmark that has its own connection to the witch trials: the <a href="http://danvers.patch.com/listings/judge-samuel-holten-house" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Samuel Holten House</a>.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The home is named for the Revolutionary War-era physician and judge who signed the Articles of Confederation and served in the Continental Congress. But decades before Judge Holten made his mark in history, the property was home to a more notorious historical figure: Sarah Holten, who in 1692 testified against Rebecca Nurse in the witch trials, sealing the woman's fate at the gallows.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The property is now owned by the General Israel Putnam Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The public can tour the house by appointment. Visit <a href="http://www.generalisraelputnamchapter.org/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">www.generalisraelputnamchapter.org</a>for more details.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.571em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.364em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Putnam House</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Another famed local landmark, the <a href="http://danvers.patch.com/listings/the-putnam-house" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Putnam House</a>, is known to many as the home of the Revolutionary War hero, Gen. Israel Putnam – and of course, Putnam Pantry.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Years before General Putnam was born, his ancestor Ann Putnam lived there and helped initiate the hysteria with a handful of other local girls by falsely claiming they were being attacked by supernatural forces. Tours of the Putnam House can be arranged with the Danvers Historical Society, with more information available at <a href="http://www.danvershistory.org/" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">www.danvershistory.org</a>.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.571em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.364em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Salem Village Parsonage</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An important, but obscure surviving relic of the era, is the Salem Village Parsonage. The site is all but invisible to motorists driving down Centre Street, with the only remotely visible indicator being a blue historical sign mostly covered over by surrounding tree branches.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The archaeological site is located at the rear of 67 Centre St. and features a short path leading to the foundations of several small structures.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At this site, the West Indian servant Tituba is said to have shared stories of the supernatural with the niece and daughter of Rev. Samuel Parris, as well as other local girls. Parris was the Puritan minister of Salem Village in 1692 and thus lived in the parsonage.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One of Parris' predecessors, Rev. George Burroughs, also lived in the parsonage in the early 1680s and was eventually strung up during the hysteria as well. After the hysteria, Parris remained in the town for a few years before moving to another part of Massachusetts. Like Ann Putnam Jr., he was also eventually forced to apologize for his actions in the hysteria.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are also a couple of private homes in Danvers that played a role in the hysteria. For example, the Ingersoll House at 199 Hobart St. was the home of Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll, who examined some of the accused in his home before they went to trial. Also, the Sarah Osburn House at 273 Maple St. is home to one of the first victims executed in the hysteria.</div><h2 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1.571em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.364em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Salem Village Witchcraft Victims' Memorial</h2><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Not all of the town's sites pertaining to the witchcraft hysteria date back three centuries. In 1992, the town observed the 300th anniversary of the trials by erecting the <a href="http://danvers.patch.com/listings/witchcraft-victims-memorial" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-size: 14px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Salem Village Witchcraft Victims Memorial</a> at 176 Hobart St.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The memorial bears the names and towns of the victims – 25 in total, including Salem Village resident Sarah Good's infant daughter, who died in jail in July 1692. Along with Good and her daughter, Burroughs, Nurse and Osburn comprise the five Salem Village residents who were executed in the witchcraft hysteria.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As a Danvers native, my own exposure to the Salem Witch Trials began the same way it did for many other area residents – during grade school field trips and class units on local history. I remember hearing about Tituba and her tales of witches and the supernatural as a fourth-grader and recall class field trips to the Salem Witch Dungeon. I also spent many years of my life living on Pine Street, within easy walking distance of the Rebecca Nurse house.<br /><br />In my adult years, I became fascinated with history, locally and in certain areas of the world, but I never really found myself reading about the witch trials again. That's possibly because it's just depressing and disappointing to think about the ignorance and religious extremism that existed in these parts not that long ago.<br /><br />Still, my recent look at the historical sites of Danvers has reminded me that our town has indeed played a crucial role in the story of America and in the development of some of the legal rights and freedoms we enjoy to this day. During my research, I also learned some fascinating new things about our town's history. It is my pleasure to share this information with other residents who may have been equally unaware of the role their town has played in our national history.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><a href="http://danvers.patch.com/articles/eight-historic-sites-in-danvers-connected-to-salem-witch-trials">Original Article</a></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 1em; font-style: inherit; line-height: 1.429em; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-71596051837067903002011-10-29T14:56:00.000-07:002011-10-29T14:56:43.995-07:00Ancient Middle Eastern stone structures revealed by Google Earth<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles//Assets/Richmedia/Image/SaxoPress/AD20111030681459-Safawi%20Wheel%206%20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles//Assets/Richmedia/Image/SaxoPress/AD20111030681459-Safawi%20Wheel%206%20.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">In the 1920s, Royal Air Force pilots flying airmail routes from Cairo to Baghdad noticed something bizarre in the lava fields of Syria, eastern Jordan and Saudi Arabia.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dotting the bleak, barren desert landscape, hundreds of kilometres from anywhere, were thousands upon thousands of elaborate stone wheels, measuring up to 70 metres wide and visible only from the sky.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Flt Lt Percy Maitland documented the presence of the mysterious structures in a 1927 article for the archaeological journal Antiquity.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">They remained largely a secret until the 1970s when Dr David Kennedy, now a professor of classics and ancient history at the University of Western Australia, saw them in great numbers while studying old survey photographs from Jordan.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Beginning in the mid-1990s, Dr Kennedy led an aerial photography project aimed at documenting Jordanian archaeological sites.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"These structures are largely unknown," he said. "Frequently, you can't see any of these structures from the ground. Or you can just see a jumble of boulders that don't make any sense. But you go up a small distance and they are extraordinary."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">In acoming article for the Journal of Archaeological Science, Dr Kennedy reveals one of the most comprehensive studies on these stone structures, which stretch across the Middle East from Syria to Yemen and could number more than 1 million.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">The structures, classified into sub-categories including wheels, rings, pendants and cairns, differ slightly across the region but most share striking similarities.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Wheels are "large circular or sub-circular enclosures, usually with thick walls, often with one or more internal partitions of equal thickness that resemble the spokes of a wheel"; while rings are small versions that can be internally divided or not.</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Most numerous are the pendants, consisting of a head and a tail. In Jeddah, one uninterrupted tail spans 5km. Most of the structures are no more than 50cm high.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"They really dominate the landscape, suggesting a lot of effort was put into constructing these over a huge area," Dr Kennedy said.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Known by the Bedouin as "the works of the old men", they are at least 2,000 years old but could have been built up to 9,000 years ago, says Dr Kennedy.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Compared to the Peruvian desert's Nazca drawings - which date as far back as the year 400, number in the hundreds and have a maximum breadth of about 270 metres - the Middle East patterns are more numerous, bigger and much older.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"These volcanic lava fields are the last place you'd expect to find these kinds of structures," Dr Kennedy said. "The landscape is not hospitable. It looks bleak and barren. They're so unusual."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"></div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">At least 3,000 structures have been found in Jordan and Dr Kennedy's recent research has documented nearly 2,000 in Saudi Arabia.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">A specialist in Roman archaeology, he uses aerial photography gathered during annual trips to Jordan since 1997.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">But for the Saudi study he used high-resolution images from Google Earth.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"What David is doing is pioneering work," said Dr Tobias Richter, an assistant professor in the department for cross-cultural and regional studies at the University of Copenhagen and an archaeologist also working in Jordan.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"With Google Earth, we've reached a position where you can do research from your desk in the UK or Australia, or wherever you can access it. It's a huge advance for us, but it's a tool that has to work together with going out into the field and looking on the ground."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dr Kennedy scanned 1,241 square km of land near Jeddah - a strip 17km wide by 73km long - using Google Earth. He recorded six categories of site on the basalt lava fields.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">But studying the thousands of sites raised more questions than it answered. In the Jeddah sample no kites, which number in the hundreds in Jordan, were found.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">And still no one knows what they were for. The kites' function is largely guesswork. They might have been large traps for corralling oryx or gazelle.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">It could be decades before the sites are all excavated and studied properly.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dr Gary Rollefson, a professor in the department of anthropology at Whitman College in Washington state who also works on prehistoric sites in Jordan, has found hundreds of basalt structures.</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Most are tombs and ritual buildings at two sites east of Azraq in Jordan, but there are also shapes similar to the ones studied by Dr Kennedy.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"There are three wheels at Wisad [Pools, one of the Jordan sites], which are really bizarre," Dr Rollefson said. "I don't know what those things are but the burials are made at the same time the wheels are.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"Really, we're just guessing. We don't know what they are but they are elaborate."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">No one has yet undertaken a similarly detailed study of other GCC countries, although Dr Kennedy said he had not seen any structures in the UAE or Oman.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Comprehensive satellite or aerial images of the Gulf are not common, since most Middle East countries will not provide them for archaeological research and limit use of airspace. The ones that do exist are mostly of too low a resolution to make them useful for study.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Dr Kennedy plans to continue studying the Saudi satellite imagery for at least two or three more years to catalogue the structures and try to make sense of them.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">For now just a handful of researchers are working in this remote area, but they expect others to join them as findings emerge.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"It is a very far removed area that is hard to get to," Dr Rollefson said. "We staked a spot in a region that no one wanted to go to. We're discovering a new world that nobody bothered to look at before."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">And thanks to Google Earth, studying the desert of the Middle East will only become easier.</div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"With the advent of technology using satellite imagery and aerial photography, there has been a renewed interest in the role these marginal regions have played," Dr Richter said.</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">"There's a lot of key moments of human history that have happened in Arabia, and that's why it's such a fascinating place to work."</div><div style="background-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><b><a href="http://www.thenational.ae/featured-content/latest/ancient-middle-eastern-stone-structures-revealed-by-google-earth">Original Article</a></b></div></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-16770107896027704152011-10-29T14:45:00.000-07:002011-10-29T14:45:52.705-07:00Handfast ceremony at Heysham<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/webimage/wed_2_1_3908093!image/851512094.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/851512094.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/webimage/wed_2_1_3908093!image/851512094.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/851512094.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">AN unusual pagan handfasting ceremony took place at St Patrick’s Chapel in Heysham on Saturday.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Angela Jeffreys from Canada and Marc Geuzinge from Holland had their ceremony near the rock cut graves on Heysham Barrows, while guests and interested locals looked on.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">Former Visitor photographer Steve Pendrill, who now runs his own freelance wedding photography business in Lancaster, took the photographs. The handfasting ceremony was conducted by a pagan high priestess from Canada.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;">The ancient tradition of handfasting is practised quietly worldwide. A handfast wedding ceremony binds the two forever – heart, mind, body and spirit – for as long as love remains. The only thing that can undo a handfast is a lack of love.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #999999;"><b><a href="http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/lifestyle/weddings/handfast_ceremony_at_heysham_1_3908094">Original Article</a></b></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-81698996719073690352011-10-29T14:34:00.000-07:002011-10-29T14:34:55.938-07:00Villisca murder house still mystifies, divides<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2c2c; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 13px;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D2&Date=20111029&Category=LIFE&ArtNo=310290009&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Villisca-murder-house-still-mystifies-divides" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://cmsimg.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=D2&Date=20111029&Category=LIFE&ArtNo=310290009&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Villisca-murder-house-still-mystifies-divides" width="320" /></span></a></div><h2 style="color: #999999; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 23px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">The site of unspeakable horror in 1912 still fascinates visitors.</span></h2><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">A case could be made on this Halloween that a house in Villisca has the most horrifying and strange history of any in America.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Most know it as the site of the grisly ax murders of the J.B. Moore family and two visitors in 1912. But what has followed in the 100 years since has been nearly as strange.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">It’s now run like a bed and breakfast — without the bed or the breakfast. Visitors come from all over the U.S. to stay overnight in the house, bringing balls and children’s toys for the “ghost children” to play with, cameras to take pictures of “orbs” and sleeping bags to lie on the floor because they aren’t allowed to sleep in the beds where eight people were murdered.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Earlier this week, guests were heard running from the house screaming in fright at 11 p.m. They jumped in their car and never returned.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Guests pay $400 a night to scare themselves silly.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">What lodging in Iowa carries that price and is filled nearly every night, weekday or weekend, nine months of the year?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Martha Linn, 74, is the somewhat reluctant owner and innkeeper, a recent retiree of the county auditor’s office. Her husband, Darwin, died in July. She never wanted him to buy the place but insists she must keep it open to pay her bills, although the contents and building of the downtown Olson-Linn Museum that he started will be sold next summer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“The house makes money, but I can’t afford to keep both of them going,” she said, standing outside the house. “Darwin never wanted this to be a ghost house. It’s just what happened.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">That’s not saying she hasn’t come to believe something odd has happened here in the 100 years since the murders. Her husband did, too, and this Halloween is very tough for her.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">They were married 54 years, farmers before all this happened. She doesn’t regret buying the house now. They have traveled overseas and entertained people from all over the world because of it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">But walking through the small frame house, she often shakes her head. Guests have put lamps under one of the children’s beds. A toy xylophone was left on the bed (for the ghost children to play, of course). Chairs were pulled into a nearby attic space where the killer was thought to have hidden with his ax in hand.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“People just go in there and sit,” she said. “I don’t know why.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Here’s how it all unfolded, endlessly resurrected in legal documents, books, documentaries, newspapers and a fictionalized film.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Several years of investigations and trials followed the murders of J.B. Moore, his wife and four children, and two children visiting that night. They were axed to death, one by one, in their beds. Holes were left in the ceiling from the ax upswing. Clothing was draped over mirrors.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">No one was ever convicted. A Kansas City detective tried to pin the crime on a successful local businessman, F.F. Jones. Jones later sued for slander. Then a peculiar traveling preacher, Rev. George Kelly, turned himself in and made a confession, but later recanted and was acquitted.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Speculation on who did it split the town for generations — and still does, to some degree.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Newspapers, including The Des Moines Register, kept the story alive, running lengthy series and feature-length articles on the murders in the 1930s and 1940s and up to 1981.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Villisca residents, including Darwin Linn, despised the attention. When he ran in the Drake Relays in high school, other runners saw his town name on his track shirt and made fun of the town’s horrible past.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Then a 1987 town celebration included a memorial service for the Moore family, and that revived the gruesome tale. Linn couldn’t ignore the central historical event of his town. He had opened the Olson-Linn Museum in downtown Villisca in 1989 because he was fascinated by history, so when the “murder house” on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Second Street went up for sale, he bought it in 1994.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Linn began an extensive restoration to return the home to its 1912 condition. He found original doors, windows and trim in an old shed behind the house. He tore off a porch that had been added, took out a bathroom and removed siding to find the original underneath. He won restoration awards for his work and proudly led visitors to the museum through the house as part of their visit.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Then came a twist. Martha Linn is fuzzy on the dates, but more than a decade ago a Des Moines disc jockey talked the Linns into letting him and his crew stay the night in the home.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“When we came here in the morning they were pacing the floor,” Linn said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Apparently, the disc jockey heard children playing in the home during the night.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Word spread. Filmmakers began researching the home for a script, using a book on the murder history as a guide. “Haunting Villisca,” a fictionalized account of the murders, was released in 2006 and is still shown at independent film festivals, including the Wild Rose Film Festival in Des Moines in November.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">A fresh round of publicity led producers of TV and radio shows and paranormal investigators to ask to spend nights in the home. Three years ago, Linn said, the home was opened to the public for overnight visits.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“There’s a procession of cars always going out to the cemetery to see the graves,” said Susie Enarson, who was the Villisca mayor in 1987 when the murders were made part of the town celebration, a decision she now regrets.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Recent exploitation of the events has “cast a pall” over the lives of good people tragically murdered, she said. Older folks in town warned her back then not to bring it up again, but she couldn’t imagine that people would one day want to take sleeping bags into an old house without a bathroom or showers and spend the night.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“That house was a home for many families since the murders,” she said. “And now, all the sudden, it has ghosts?”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">There are other detractors. Ed Epperly of Decorah, a retired professor, has been studying the murders since the 1950s, has six file cabinets full of information, and has finished a draft of a book he hopes to release next year.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“To have people looking for spirits trivializes it, reduces it to a teenage fascination,” he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Over the years, he has felt a need to correct the record, insisting that Jones was unfairly accused. Some residents in town say it ruined the Jones family.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“The slaughter of his character was almost as bad as the murders,” he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">And the promotion of the home as a ghost house only adds fuel to his fire. He says the history has been distorted to add more sensation, such as information that some victims were dragged through the home.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“It needs a more historical analysis, not paranormal for publicity sake,” he said.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Linn defends the home’s twist of fate. On the house’s official website are accounts of Darwin’s recounting closet doors that open and close on demand, people who have heard voices, and the bright orbs floating in the air that even Martha Linn claims to have seen on digital cameras right after they were taken.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“When paranormals go to Gettysburg, does it upset them?” Linn asked. “That was always Darwin’s thing: History first, paranormal second. We used no taxpayer money, no grants. It all came out of our pockets.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">People in town were afraid weirdos would come to town, the “gothics and people with tattoos,” she said. In fact, some of the nicest people she met, and the only lodgers so far she served breakfast, was a group of “Wiccan witches from Des Moines.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“They come down and don’t bother anybody,” Linn said. “People seem to forget, this is private property.”</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Visitors remain curious because it’s a mystery, and for some people an other-worldly mystery. In the dim light of the Ax Murder House, it was enough to be proud of what her husband accomplished.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">“He loved history. Even when he was so sick and was on oxygen, he came down here to the house,” she said, standing beneath the framed photographs of the Moore family, whose murders changed a town forever.</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><b><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20111029/LIFE/310290009/-1/gallery_array/Villisca-murder-house-still-mystifies-divides" style="background-color: black;">Original Article</a></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-73649081783836341012011-10-29T14:29:00.001-07:002011-10-29T14:30:53.492-07:00Listen Up, 'Sabrina' -- Real-Life Wiccans Speak<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br /><div class="firstGraph"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/thenextgreatgeneration/witchessalemhalloween.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/thenextgreatgeneration/witchessalemhalloween.jpg" width="248" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><strong>By <a href="http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/author/rachelpennellatore/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Rachel Pennellatore</a></strong></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Pop culture has been shaping Millennials' perceptions of witches since birth. Our bedtime stories were tales of old women with candy houses and magical pasta pots. We practically wore out the VCR watching the Wicked Witch chase Dorothy through Oz and a variety of <a href="http://www.thenextgreatgeneration.com/2011/01/the-world-according-to-disney-princesses/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Disney princesses</a> be rescued from jealous crones over and over again. We saw late-night reruns of the nose-wiggling Samantha on <em>Bewitched</em> and crushed on Harvey Kinkle from <em>Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. </em>In school, we studied 1692 Salem and toiled and troubled through papers on Macbeth.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">But even with witchcraft's permeation into mainstream culture, we've never really been taught the truth about it: who witches are, their beliefs, and what their lifestyle actually entails.</span></div><div class="articlePluckHidden"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Witches -- or <a href="http://www.wicca.org/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Wiccans</a>, to be exact -- are a subdivision of what is usually referred to as<a href="http://www.allaboutspirituality.org/paganism.htm" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">paganism</a>, a blanket term for a multitude of earth-based spiritual belief systems, said practicing Wiccan Therese Pendragon. But in the logic problem from you-know-where, not all pagans are Wiccan, not all Wiccans are pagan, and there are any number of variations in practice. It's easiest to think of the categorizations in the same way that <a href="http://www.christianity.com/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Christianity</a> is an umbrella term encompassing Methodist, Lutheran, and so on, she said.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">A Salem native, Pendragon was raised Catholic but had a lot of paranormal experiences beginning at a very young age. They seemed normal to her, she said, because children are naturally <a href="http://www.searchingforghosts.com/children-and-ghosts.html" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">more open to spirits</a>, as they have not yet been conditioned by society to lose their connection to the spiritual world. As she grew older, Pendragon also discovered she had the abilities to read people’s thoughts by looking into their eyes and see their auras.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“It’s like opening a window,” she said of her abilities. “We live in a chemical sea of energy around us….A sensitive person can be overwhelmed if they don’t have a screen to filter out all that cosmic debris.”</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">For years, Pendragon practiced in secret because of the misinformation and prejudice surrounding the craft. But when world-famous witch <a href="http://www.lauriecabot.com/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Laurie Cabot</a> brought witchcraft “out of the broomcloset,” so to speak, she became a member of the first coven, The Black Doves of Isis, and <a href="http://onewitchsway.com/2011/02/av-sunday-laurie-cabot-national-geographic/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">appeared with Cabot in <em>National Geographic</em> in 1979</a>. It was the first time American witches were recognized internationally.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Today, witchcraft is alive and well, and a new generation of witches is emerging. Danielle Young, 24, was raised Jewish but has considered herself a Wiccan for 10 years now. She's a priestess at the <a href="http://www.correllian.com/templelist.htm" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Temple of Tituba</a> and offers tarot and rune readings at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/WorldofWitches" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">World of Witches Museum</a>, both located in Salem’s Pickering Wharf area.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Everything from rocks and herbs to dance and cooking is inherently magical, Young said, and the power is taking the bits and pieces and mixing them together in the right combination to create what you desire. “It’s about intent: picking a goal for yourself that you believe can come to pass and letting the universe know about it," she said.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"The simplest form of magic that just about everyone performs is making a wish on a birthday candle or a wish on a star. Even prayer is a form of magic," Young said. “We use it not only to communicate directly with a divinity, but we pray for someone’s healing, or we pray to win the lottery -- for many things. It’s just another form of magic.”</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Young is also a member of the <a href="http://www.theyoungwitches.com/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Young Witches of Salem</a>, which <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheYoungWitches" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">documents</a> the lives and experiences of 17-24-year-old witches as they balance jobs, school, and everyday life with learning the craft from the coven’s Elders, including Pendragon. The project's goal is to bring <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/TheYoungWitches" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">knowledge and awareness</a> of Wiccan culture to the community through a series of online reality shows and interviews and a Sunday evening <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/witchschool" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">blogtalkradio</a> program.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“This isn’t your grandmother’s witchcraft,” said Young.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><em>Check out more of TNGG Boston's <a href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/thenextgreatgeneration/2011/10/time_to_stop_procrastinating_w.html" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Halloween-themed content</a>.</em></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><em>Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/turtlemom_nancy/" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">turtlemom4bacon</a> (Flickr)</em></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><em><strong>About Rachel</strong> -- I'm a tiny gal with big ideas who's always on the move. One day I'm going to use my vast amount of otherwise useless trivia knowledge to beat Ken Jennings' Jeopardy score. Likes: hula hooping, all things involving the 80's, delicious martinis, sunshine, proper grammar, baby animals. Dislikes: math, being cold, spiders, most vegetables, things in places I can't reach.</em></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><em><br /></em></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><em><b><a href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/blogs/thenextgreatgeneration/2011/10/listen_up_sabrina_--_real-life.html">Original Article</a></b></em></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-68149075615736375512011-10-29T14:28:00.000-07:002011-10-29T14:28:53.096-07:00Not in Salem anymore<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px;"></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dallasvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/10.28.11-Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://www.dallasvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/10.28.11-Cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #297eb9; font-family: arial; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Reflections on Samhain and life as a gay witch</h4><div><br /></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 12px;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Dakota Shain Byrd</strong><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" /><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Contributing Writer</strong></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">The leaves rattle in the trees as an ever-more- chilling wind makes its presence known. An explosion of sullen reds, crisp spark yellows, ember oranges and dry browns mark this time of year, while paper ghosts and inflatable goblins take up residence in yards and windows.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">At least, that’s what many people think of when they hear the words “autumn” and “Halloween.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Here in Texas the trees might not be — or get — as colorful as they do in Vermont or Maine. But we still celebrate this season and Halloween by decorating and carving pumpkins, finding a corn maze to navigate or testing our courage at a nearby haunted house.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">And with Halloween just days away, children are screaming about what cartoon character they want to dress up as for trick-or-treating, while parents allow the children to drag them from one aisle at the store to another, looking at costumes. Teens who feel they are too old to trick-or-treat are planning parties where they might use a Ouija Board to attempt a conversation with the dead.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Also at this time of year, you may notice more people wearing pendants with pentacles and pentagrams, the stars upright and often simple in design. You may walk right on by, giving them only a fleeting glance without really thinking about what those icons might mean to them.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">But what if the jewelry is a symbol of who that person really is, a statement of their beliefs?</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">What if by wearing a pentagram or pentacle, they were coming out, and wearing that symbol was as freeing to them as being at a gay Pride event is for the newly out gay person? What if proudly wearing that pentacle pendant is their way of coming out of the “broom closet,” so to speak, as witches, practitioners of Wicca.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Let’s clear something up before we go any further: real witches — true Wiccans — do not use magick (spelled with a k to differentiate between reality and fantastical magic found in books) for evil.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">We do not worship the devil; and although we have a horned god, he is not Satan, he is the god of the hunt, said to have antlers like a stag.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">We don’t curse people, kill babies or drink blood. Heck, most of us are soccer moms and dads, college students or grandparents taking their grandkids to get ice cream.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Yes, we are normal, everyday people. And yes, men are called witches, too; the word warlock means “truth-twister,” and nobody wants to be that, now do they?</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">The only way we differ from others is in our spiritual beliefs. And we practice actual tolerance and acceptance of all people and beliefs — with the exception of religious practices that are actually harmful to ourselves or others.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">We practice magick, cast spells, make tonics and grow herbs. We do not use magick for evil. We believe in karma, and we follow the Law of Three: “Remember that what you cast returns the magic times three. Lest it harm none, so mote it be.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">What that means is that whatever you put out there in life, you get back times three. If you put out negativity, you will get three times the negativity coming back at you.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Many people come out as witches, as practitioners of Wicca and believers in the goddess in October. And so in keeping with that tradition, so am I.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">It’s a tad bit ironic that I’m coming out as a witch this month, since the LGBT community celebrates National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11, and since October is also National Gay History Month. Still, many outside the pagan community don’t realize the allure of coming out as a Wiccan in October.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">In Celtic culture, Halloween — or Samhain, as we witches and pagans call it — was New Year’s Day, marking the end of a year past and the beginning of the year yet to come.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">To the Celts, Samhain was the day when the veil between life and death was at its thinnest. This wasn’t a bad thing, though.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">In fact, it was a day to remember those who had died earlier in the year and before, and to be close to them once again.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">In some traditions of Wicca (think faiths or denominations when you read traditions) and lore, the dead family members would reveal the location of buried treasure or a secret bit of knowledge that would help the living.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Often, Samhain is a celebration of continued life, and since many witches believe in reincarnation, we know that our dearly beloved who are dead will be reincarnated in the future.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Samhain is also the third and final harvest celebration of the eight Wiccan holidays. It’s the largest major feast of the Turning of The Wheel. Contrary to popular belief, on this night witches don’t take anything from their gardens. They might decorate their altars with small pumpkins, hay, Indian corn or other tokens related to the season. Children might put candy on their own altars as a gift of to the god and goddess.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">The cauldron is another item of great importance often used in some Wiccan traditions. The ceremony of Samhain may involve inviting the Crone (a wise grandmother-type figure; think a sharp-tongued, wise matriarch) to grant wisdom to the witch or witches who invoked her.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Grandparents or a high priestess or priest may retell the legend of the goddess Cerridwen or tell a mourning story for the dying god, which is similar to how a Good Friday service in the Christian religion focuses the death of Christ.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">People may also make totems and raise totem energy by making and wearing ceremonial masks to depict personal or group magick and powers. There could be drum circles to praise the god and goddess and thank them for another year, to celebrate life and summon good energies to help with the coming year.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Those who have a gift of divination might try scrying or reflective meditation to see all that they were supposed to learn within the past year and find how to take that knowledge forward with<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />them into the next year.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Those looking for love might also try using a small mirror to catch the face of somebody they might have a relationship with, or bob for apples with another person with the hope that two people catch the same apple in their mouths. If this<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />happens, the people might try to pursue a relationship with each other, and even bury the apple, in the tradition of the Celts.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">To the Celts, apples were sacred and they highly valued apple magick. They believed that when a witch caught an apple in his or her mouth, part of their soul trickled into the apple. The witch could then eat the apple to attain prosperity, or bury it whole on their property in hopes that it would bring continued bounty over the next few months of winter.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">So as you can see, we witches aren’t so bad. Sure, we do things a little differently, but we’re not chopping up people or drinking blood.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">We chop up plants for rituals, spells and tonics, and drink water and soda when we’re thirsty — just like everybody else.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">We’re as normal as you are.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Oh, and we also don’t consider being LGTBQ as sinful. To us, everybody just is who they are. Gay people, in most Wiccan traditions, are seen as having both masculine and feminine traits — being balanced and in touch with the god and goddess.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">If you’re interested in learning more about Wicca, you can always check out books from the library or buy them. If you see a book with the “Llewellyn” name and the icon of a crescent moon at the bottom of itss spine, it’s almost a guarantee to be a good and informative book on what real magick and witchcraft are like.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />You can also find lots of information online, and you can do an online search for a CUUPs group near you.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">To all who read this, be you a fellow witch, a Christian or somebody in between religions and trying to find your way: I wish you a bountiful fall. And in closing: “Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again,” which means that when we encounter each other, may you be doing good, may you be doing good when we part ways, and when we run into each other again later on in life, may you be doing well still!</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Blessed Be!</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">……………………</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #297eb9; font-family: arial; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">DEFINITIONS</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Wicca:</strong> noun: (sometimes initial capital letter) witchcraft, especially benevolent, nature-oriented practices derived from pre-Christian religions.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Word Origin & History: An Old English masc. noun meaning “male witch, wizard, soothsayer, sorcerer, magician.” Use of the word in modern contexts traces to English folklorist Gerald Gardner (1884-1964), who is said to have joined circa 1939 an occult group in New Forest, Hampshire, England, for which he claimed an unbroken tradition to medieval times. Gardner seems to have first used it in print in 1954, in his book “Witchcraft Today” (e.g.: “Witches were the Wica or wise people, with herbal knowledge and a working occult teaching usually used for good ….”). In published and unpublished material, he apparently only ever used the word as a mass noun referring to adherents of the practice and not as the name of the practice itself. Some of his followers continue to use it in this sense.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">In the late 1960s the term came into use as the title of a modern pagan movement associated with witchcraft. The first printed reference in this usage seems to be 1969, in “The Truth About Witchcraft” by freelance author Hans Holzer.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Alex Sanders was a highly visible representative of neo-pagan Witchcraft in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this time he appears to have popularized use of the term in this sense. Later books c.1989 teaching modernized witchcraft using the same term account for its rise and popularity, especially in U.S.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• pagan:</strong> noun: 1. one of a people or community observing a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks. 2. a person who is not a Christian, Jew or Muslim. 3. an irreligious or hedonistic person.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Adjective: 4. pertaining to the worship or worshipers of any religion that is neither Christian, Jewish nor Muslim. 5. of, pertaining to or characteristic of pagans. 6. irreligious or hedonistic.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Word Origin & History: late 14c., from L.L. paganus “pagan,” in classical Latin. “villager, rustic, civilian,” from pagus “rural district,” originally “district limited by markers,” thus related to pangere “to fix, fasten,” from PIE base *pag- “to fix.” Religious sense is often said to derive from conservative rural adherence to the old gods after the Christianization of Roman towns and cities; but the word in this sense predates that period in church history, and it is more likely derived from the use of paganus in Roman military jargon for “civilian, incompetent soldier,” which Christians (Tertullian, c.202; Augustine) picked up with the military imagery of the early church (e.g. milites “soldier of Christ,” etc.). Applied to modern pantheists and nature worshippers from 1908.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• pentagram:</strong> noun: a five-pointed, star-shaped figure made by extending the sides of a regular pentagon until they meet, used as an occult symbol by the Pythagoreans and later philosophers, by magicians, etc. Also called pentacle, pentangle, pentalpha.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Word Origin & History: pentagram: “five-pointed star,” 1833, from Gk. pentagrammon, properly neut. of adj. pentagrammos “having five lines,” from pente “five” + gramma “what is written.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• pentacle</strong>: noun: 1. The same figure as a pentagram, except in magical usage, where is has been extended to other symbols of power, including a six-point star. 2. a similar figure, as a hexagram.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Word Origin & History: 1594, from M.L. pentaculum, a hybrid coined from Gk. pente “five” + L. -culum, dim. suffix. But the exact origin is obscure. It. had pentacolo “anything with five points,” and Fr. pentacle (16c.) was the name of something used in necromancy, perhaps a five-branched candlestick. Fr. pentacol “amulet worn around the neck” (14c.), however, is from pend- “to hang” + a “to” + col “neck.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">— SOURCE: Dictionary.com</em></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">……………………</div><h4 style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #297eb9; font-family: arial; font-size: 1.6em; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR</h4><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">The Wheel of the Year is a neopagan term for the annual cycle of the Earth’s seasons. It consists of eight festivals, spaced at approximately even intervals throughout the year. These festivals are referred to as Sabbats.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />While the term Sabbat originated from Abrahamic faiths such as Judaism and Christianity and is of Hebrew origin, the festivals themselves have historical origins in Celtic and Germanic pre-Christian feasts, and the Wheel of the Year, as has developed in modern Paganism and Wicca, is really a combination of the two cultures’ solstice and equinox celebrations.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />When melded together, the two European Festival Cycles merge to form eight festivals in modern renderings. Together, these festivals are understood by some neopagans to be the Bronze Age religious festivals of Europe. As with all cultures’ use of festivals and traditions, these festivals have been utilized by European cultures in both the pre- and post-Christian eras as traditional times for the community to celebrate the planting and harvest seasons.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The Wheel of the Year has been important to many people both ancient and modern, from various religious as well as cultural and secular viewpoints.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />In many forms of Paganism, natural processes are seen as following a continuous cycle. The passing of time is also seen as cyclical, and is represented by a circle or wheel. The progression of birth, life, decline and death, as experienced in human lives, is echoed in the progression of the seasons.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />This cycle is seen as an echo of life, death and rebirth of the God and the fertility of the Goddess. While most of these names derive from historical Celtic and Germanic festivals, the non-traditional names Litha and Mabon, which have become popular in North American Wicca, were introduced by Aidan Kelly in the 1970s. The word “sabbat” itself comes from the witches’ sabbath or sabbat attested to in Early Modern witch trials.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">FESTIVALS</strong><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" /><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"></em></strong></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Samhain</em></strong><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Samhain is considered by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four “greater Sabbats.” It is generally observed on Oct. 31 in the Northern Hemisphere, starting at sundown. Samhain is considered by some as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals the spirits of the departed are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which is celebrated as a festival of light and fertility.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The Wiccan Samhain doesn’t attempt to reconstruct a historical Celtic festival. In actuality it was also widely believed that on Oct. 31, the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">Midwinter</strong></em>, or Yule:<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />In most traditions, Yule is celebrated as the rebirth of the Great God, who is viewed as the newborn solstice sun. The method of gathering for this sabbat varies by group or individual practitioner. Some have private ceremonies at home while others hold coven celebrations.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Christmas, celebrated on Dec. 25, continues a pre-Christian festival, and was adopted by the church to commemorate the birth of Jesus, although the information that is given from sacred texts points to spring, and astrological information points to late April/early May as the time of Christ’s birth.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Imbolc</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Imbolc (or Candlemas) is one of four “fire festivals” of the Wheel of the Year. Among Dianic Wiccans, Imbolc is the traditional time for initiations. Imbolc is strongly associated with the goddess Brighid.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Among Reclaiming-style witches, Imbolc is considered a traditional time for rededication and pledges for the coming year.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Vernal Equinox</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The vernal equinox, often called Ostara, is celebrated in the Northern Hemisphere around March 21 and in the Southern Hemisphere around Sept. 23, depending upon the specific timing of the equinox. Among the Wiccan sabbats, it is preceded by Imbolc and followed by Beltane.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The name Ostara may be related to the word for “east.” It has been connected to the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre by Jacob Grimm in his Deutsche Mythologie.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />In terms of Wiccan ditheism, this festival is characterized by the rejoining of the Mother Goddess and her lover-consort-son, who spent the winter months in death. Other variations include the young god regaining strength in his youth after being born at Yule, and the goddess returning to her maiden aspect.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Beltane</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Beltane is one of the four “fire festivals” or “greater sabbats.” Although the holiday may use features of the Gaelic Bealtaine, such as the bonfire, it bears more relation to the Germanic May Day festival, both in its significance (focusing on fertility) and its rituals (such as maypole dancing). Some Wiccans celebrate ‘High Beltaine’ by enacting a ritual union of the May Lord and Lady.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Midsummer</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Midsummer is one of the four solar holidays, and is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Wiccan sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lammas or Lughnasadh.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Some traditions call the festival “Litha”, a name occurring in Bede’s Reckoning of Time (De Temporum Ratione, 7th century), which preserves a list of the (then-obsolete) Anglo-Saxon names for the twelve months. Ærra Liða (“first” or “preceding” Liða) roughly corresponds to June in our calendar, and Æfterra Liða (“following” Liða) to July. Bede writes that “Litha means ‘gentle’ or ‘navigable’, because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Lammas</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Lammas or Lughnasadh is the first of the three pagan autumn harvest festivals, the other two being the autumn equinox (or Mabon) and Samhain. Wiccans mark the holiday by baking a figure of the god in bread, and then symbolically sacrificing and eating it. However, Lamas/ Lughnasadh celebrations vary, as not all pagans are Wiccans.<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Wiccan celebrations are not based on Celtic culture, despite common use of a Celtic name Lughnasadh. This name seems to have been a late adoption among Wiccans, since in early versions of Wiccan literature the festival is merely referred to as “August Eve.”<br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The name Lammas (contraction of Loaf-mass) implies it is an agrarian-based festival and feast of thanksgiving for grain and bread, which symbolizes the first fruits of the harvest. Pagan / Eclectic Neopagan rituals may incorporate elements from either festival.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">• Autumnal Equinox</strong></em><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />The holiday of Autumn Equinox, Harvest Home, Mabon, the Feast of the Ingathering, Meán Fómhair or Alban Elfed (in Neo-Druidic traditions), is a pagan ritual of thanksgiving for the fruits of the earth and a recognition of the need to share them to secure the blessings of the goddess and the god during the winter months. The name Mabon was coined by Aidan Kelly around 1970 as a reference to Mabon ap Modron, a character from Welsh mythology. In the Northern Hemisphere, this equinox occurs anywhere from Sept. 21 to Sept. 24. In the Southern Hemisphere, the autumn equinox occurs anywhere from March 20 to March 23. Among the sabbats, it is the second of the three pagan harvest festivals, preceded by Lammas / Lughnasadh and followed by Samhain.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">DATES</strong><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />Dates for the festivals vary widely. There are many forms of Wicca and Paganism, all of which may have somewhat different traditions associated with the festivals. Therefore there is no definitive or universal tradition observed by all the groups. Most Pagans are somewhat flexible about dates, tending to celebrate at the nearest weekend for convenience.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">HEMISPHERES</strong><br style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;" />As the Wheel originates in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere many Pagans advance these dates six months so as to coincide with the natural seasons as they occur in their local climates, which oppose and complement those of the Northern Hemisphere. For instance, a Wiccan from southern Australia may celebrate Beltane on Nov. 1, when a Canadian Wiccan is celebrating Samhain. The appropriate set of festivals for an Equatorial Wiccan is problematic.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><b><a href="http://www.dallasvoice.com/salem-anymore-1093092.html">Original Article</a></b></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 12px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 1em; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: normal;">— SOURCE: Wikipedia</em></div></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-87456411085850744932011-10-29T08:07:00.001-07:002011-10-29T08:07:56.231-07:00A guide to Samhain, the Wiccan autumn celebration<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/f2/cf2fbdc0-01c6-11e1-ac7d-001cc4c002e0/4eab4c00859b1.preview-300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/f2/cf2fbdc0-01c6-11e1-ac7d-001cc4c002e0/4eab4c00859b1.preview-300.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><span class="author vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #547c9d; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="fn" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://napavalleyregister.com/search/?l=50&sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&byline=REBECCA%20YERGER" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #547c9d; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">REBECCA YERGER</a></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><span class="author vcard" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #547c9d; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"></span><br /><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the Wiccan world, October is an auspicious time, rooted in antiquity. It’s the month that Wiccans celebrate Samhain (pronounced sow-en), an ancient tribal Celtic holiday, traditions from which gave rise to the present-day Halloween, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Summer’s End and fall festivals can be traced back at least to 4,000 B.C, ” said Lorien Carrillo, a Wiccan reverend and owner of Sacred Mists Shoppe in Napa. “The Celtic farmers and their fellow tribal Celtics in general lived their lives in accordance with the cycles of the seasons. It was a simple way of life with just two halves to a year. In the spring it was time to release your animals into the pasturesand in the fall you would call them back in.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">According to Carrillo, the Celtics also believed autumn was a season of convergence between life and death — the end of the warm and nurturing growing season and the beginning of the cold, dark and challenging winter filled with malevolent spirits. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“At this time of year, the Celtic spiritual leaders performed divinations to foretell the survival of the villages through the coming winter as well as to look ahead to next year’s harvests,” Carrillo said. “To ward off those malevolent spirits, the Celts held fire festivals that included dancing around a bonfire in costumes imitating those spirits.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Celts believed the costumes were protective camouflage that would confuse the feared entities and increase their odds of survival.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Summer’s End celebrations eventually became the target of mainstream religions that viewed pagan beliefs as negative and wicked, Carillo noted. Some religions banned sacred pagan rituals and foods, such as pork. The leadership of Christianity, however, attempted to lure pagans to their religion by incorporating their holidays and rituals into Christianity.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “In the year 834 Pope Gregory III renamed All Hallow’s Day to All Saints’ Day and moved it from May to November 1,” Carillo said. The hope was this holiday reorganization would entice Celtics away from Samhain and encourage their conversion to Christianity. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">An indicator of the success of that campaign came in the 1800s. Whether Protestant, Catholic or pagan, the Irish who immigrated to the U.S. during the 1840s potato famine brought their Celtic Samhain sabbat with them. “It was quickly accepted by Americans, especially the customs and traditions,” Carrillo said. “However, in the U.S. the holiday quickly lost its connection to — and was separated — from its origins.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Carrillo also noted by this time the holiday was generally referred to as Halloween. Traced to circa 1556 England, Halloween (Hallowe’en) was, and is, a contraction of All Hallow’s Evening. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Americans whole-heartedly adopted the Celtic Halloween traditions of costumes, games of foretelling, frightful legends and storytelling, carved gourds, bonfires and trick or treating.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“According to John Santino, a very popular folklorist, trick-or-treat is associated with the European rhyming and mumming custom,” Carrillo said. “Small groups would go house to house and perform skits in exchange for money in Ireland or candies and baked goods in Germany and Britain. However, if the mummers arrived too soon, they would be sent away.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Carillo said that for the Celts, giving treats also meant leaving a special offering for the ancestors. Another trick-or-treat forerunner was “souling” on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2. In 19th and early 20th century England children would sing or recite a special verse to receive a “soul cake,” a shortbread cookie or pastry made with currents and spices.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">On the evening of All Souls’ Day, preparations would be made to guide and welcome the dearly departed to their former earthly homes by placing lit candles in the windows. Their favorite foods and beverages plus soul cakes were also set out to welcome and nourish the ancestors.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“At this time of the year and at Beltane (May Day), there is a thinning of the veil between the worlds - life and afterlife,” Carillo said. “This thinning allows those in the afterlife to sense us more easily and we them. They can experience what we are saying, doing and feeling. And their messages for us are clearer and more easily received by us. </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“For Wiccans this is a very powerful time of year,” Carillo said. “Summer’s End, Samhain, is the New Year. It is a time to connect with deceased loved ones and their wisdom as they do continue on behind the veil.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s tradition to set up altars with pumpkins, apples and squash, along with a skull, which is a symbol of physical passage, she said. Candles and black and orange decorations are included. “For me, black represents the end of a year and conclusion of a cycle,” she said. “Orange represents the present harvest and promises of positive things to come in the new year.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Samhain altar also is personalized with framed photos and favorite foods of ancestors. “I connect with my (late) grandfather at Samhain,” Carillo said. “I experience such warm and amazing memories. During this time a place is also set for our (deceased) loved ones at our tables.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“During Samhain we actually make something our ancestors loved. For instance, my grandfather loved mac and cheese. So I’ll make that as an offering.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Food plays an important role in Summer’s End celebrations, she said. Apple dumplings and pumpkin soup are traditional foods along with candy apples and stews cooked in pumpkins. Foods historically associated with Samhain include pumpkin pie, cornbread, Irish colcannon, sacred pig and sacred apples.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The revered apple contains a sacred Wiccan symbol, Carillo said. “Cut an apple in half horizontally, crosswise through its circumference, to reveal a pentagram, which is a positive magical symbol representing earth, air, fire, water and spirit of being.” </div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During Samhain, a key part of this New Year season is the release of existing negative patterns through ritual, Carillo added. “It is very personal. In the Sacred Mists tradition, once the negative pattern or habit is selected, whether it be smoking or whatever, each person begins the process by writing a note to the Crone (an aspect of Wiccan goddess) about that negative, and their desire to change it can be quite cathartic. Then the note is burned in a symbolic bonfire — a cauldron, fire pit, etc. By burning it, the underworld takes that stuff away and it is gone. But that creates a void or vacuum which must be filled, preferably with the desired positive pattern.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">To achieve that desired outcome the Wiccans first connect with the spirit world. “It is not scary or evil,” Carrillo said. “Then using positive affirmations and really working with and on it, the goal of change for the new year is more likely to be accomplished, permanently.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; line-height: 18px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “Every beginning has an ending,” Carrillo concluded. “And every ending has a new beginning.”</div><span style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br />Read more: <a href="http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/columnists/rebecca-yerger/a-guide-to-samhain-the-wiccan-autumn-celebration/article_b569dc40-01c6-11e1-96be-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1cBRo2Rz0" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://napavalleyregister.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/columnists/rebecca-yerger/a-guide-to-samhain-the-wiccan-autumn-celebration/article_b569dc40-01c6-11e1-96be-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1cBRo2Rz0</a></span>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-5349737351557774032011-10-20T17:01:00.000-07:002011-10-20T17:01:25.560-07:00Russia wants to colonize the moon<a href="http://img.tgdaily.net/sites/default/files/stock/article_images/space/moon1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Russia wants to colonize the moon" border="0" height="336" src="http://img.tgdaily.net/sites/default/files/stock/article_images/space/moon1.jpg" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; font-style: inherit; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px; padding-top: 5px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="333" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><span class="meta-date" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by </span><span class="meta-author" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Trent Nouveau</span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><span class="meta-author" style="background-color: black; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"></span><br /><div class="story-content clear-block " style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The moon may be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_is_a_harsh_mistress" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.25s; -webkit-transition-property: color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">harsh mistress</a>, but Russian scientists say they want to establish a colony below the lunar surface.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"> According to Russian space official Sergei Krikalyov, recently discovered volcanic tunnels could provide natural shelter for the first colonists.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Indeed, scientists believe the moon's volcanic past created a vast underground network of lava tubes - some of which may be accessible by a meters-deep hole recently discovered by Japan's Kaguya spacecraft.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"This new discovery that the moon may be a rather porous body could significantly alter our approach to founding lunar bases," Krikalyov explained in a statement quoted by<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/18/russia-moon-idUSL5E7LI4GB20111018" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.25s; -webkit-transition-property: color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Reuters</em></a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"If it turns out that the moon has a number of caves that can provide some protection from radiation and meteorshowers, it could be an even more interesting destination than previously thought." </span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">To illustrate his point, Krikalyov presented a slideshow showing bunker-like inflatable tents on the lunar surface.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"There wouldn't be any need to dig the lunar soil and build walls and ceilings... It would be enough to use an inflatable module with a hard outer shell to seal the caves." </span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Boris Kryuchkov, deputy science head at Russia's Star City cosmonaut training center, estimated the first such lunar colonies could be built by 2030. In the meantime, however, Moscow is focusing on rebooting its lunar program by prepping the Luna-Glob probe for a 2014 launch. The probe is slated to explore the Moon's polar regions, with a specific emphasis on analyzing lunar permafrost.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"Possibly, comets brought water onto the Moon and also the Earth. There are two significant differences between the Earth and Moon: the Earth has a stronger gravitational field and a thick atmosphere. Owing to this the Earth could hold out, water and rivers, lakes and oceans appeared, and later, all this led to the origin of life," Igor Mitrofanov, a fellow at the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, told the <a href="http://english.ruvr.ru/2011/10/18/58931510.html" style="-webkit-transition-delay: initial; -webkit-transition-duration: 0.25s; -webkit-transition-property: color; -webkit-transition-timing-function: ease; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Voice of Russia</em></a>.</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">"The Moon has no atmosphere and has a weak gravitational field. Water on its surface can be only under the conditions of extreme cold. When question arises about manned expeditions and setting up of lunar stations, water resources should guarantee the station with oxygen and water for day to day use and can be used to produce hydrogen, an excellent fuel for rockets. At present, we are engaged in hydrology surveillance for the exploration of the Moon in the future."</span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><b><a href="http://www.tgdaily.com/space-features/59166-russia-wants-to-colonize-the-moon"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Original Article</span></a></b></div><div><br /></div></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-28663921566999326242011-10-20T16:57:00.001-07:002011-10-20T16:57:58.882-07:00Orionids Meteor Shower Peak Time October 22 but Bad News for Gazers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://z6mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/orionids-meteor-shower-2011-300x185.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://z6mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/orionids-meteor-shower-2011-300x185.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">by <a href="http://z6mag.com/author/allan-soldner" rel="author" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Posts by Allan Soldner">Allan Soldner</a> </span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"></span></span></span><br /><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">One of the most well known meteors will make an appearance this weekend. The Orionid meteor shower will peak right before sunrise on Saturday, October 22, 2011. Orionid meteor shower is known as the “cosmic litter” from Halley’s Comet that was last seen in 1986 and is seen every 76 years.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">You will be able to start catching glimpse of the<a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orionids" rel="wikipedia" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Orionids">Orionid meteor shower</a> on October 17, 2011 when it will drop around five meteors per hour close to Orion. Orion will be highest in the sky toward the south. The peak of the meteor show from Orionid will happen on the morning of October 22, 2011 when you will be able to see approximately 25 to 30 meteors drop per hour. From that point it will slowly wind back down to only five per hour around October 26, 2011. Lasting through mid-November you’ll see a few here and there.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><img alt="Halley's Comet" class="alignright size-full wp-image-2119" height="146" src="http://z6mag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/halleys-comet.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Halley's Comet" width="210" /><a class="zem_slink" href="http://www.latimes.com/" rel="homepage" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Los Angeles Times">Los Angeles Times</a> reported about how Orionid meteor shower exists and why it’s named such:</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“The Orionids occur each October as the Earth passes through a trail of dust left by Halley’s comet. When one of those dust particles — about the size of a grain of sand — enters Earth’s atmosphere, it excites the air molecules through which it passes, causing them to give off light.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The annual shower has been dubbed the Orionids because the meteors appear to be emanating from the <a class="zem_slink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_%28constellation%29" rel="wikipedia" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Orion (constellation)">constellation Orion</a>.”</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">There is some bad news with this meteor shower much like the Perseids in August where a full moon blocked the view for the shower watchers. This time around with the Orionid shower, a large crescent moon will be in the view where the meteors are peaking.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">The best to catch a meteor shower is away from city lights and head out to a rural area where it’s dark.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Don Yeomans, manager of NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office explained the matter:</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">“The moon has just decided to wash out the meteor storms this year. They are a subtle phenomena and you really need a dark sky. A bright moon nearby really ruins the show.”</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;">Yeomans mentioned, “If you happen to be awake at 5 a.m. on Friday or Saturday, and especially if you live away from the city lights, it can’t hurt to look skyward. It’s not going to knock your socks off this year, but if you are out in the desert or up in the mountains, it is certainly worth a look.”</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #eeeeee; font-family: inherit;"><b><a href="http://z6mag.com/science/orionids-meteor-shower-peak-time-october-22-but-bad-news-for-gazers-162110.html">Original Article</a></b></span></div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-47545791563249621382011-10-20T16:51:00.000-07:002011-10-20T16:51:08.960-07:00Spirit of the 1920s lives on in Edinburgh seance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/201011en1000magic_1_1921302!image/3166864187.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/3166864187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/201011en1000magic_1_1921302!image/3166864187.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_595/3166864187.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;">By LAURA CUMMINGS </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"></span></span><br /><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">THERE is something eerie about the image showing an Edinburgh boarding school where around a dozen children lost their lives.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">While it may be difficult for residents to imagine another building standing in place of the Usher Hall, the Lothian Road School was in fact part of the Capital for more than three decades.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Built in 1881, on the corner of Cambridge Street and Grindlay Street, the building was demolished shortly before the Usher Hall was erected in 1914. Prior to its closure and subsequent demolition, around 12 of the boarding school’s pupils died. Although most of the deaths were thought to be linked to natural causes such as tuberculosis, a few remain unexplained and some stories even suggest that a few of the children may have died in an “unexpected accident”.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With very little information available, however, it is unlikely the real cause of death will ever be known.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But Edinburgh magician and hypnotist Scott Smith, who is hosting a séance at the Usher Hall later this month as part of a Hallowe’en event, is hoping he can contact one of the deceased pupils by using a ouija board.</div><div class="left" id="1.1921306" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/201011en1024scari1_1_1921306!image/466209741.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/466209741.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="215" /></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The 22-year-old, who lives in Haymarket, said he will attempt to contact the pupil to whom the audience is most drawn – after being shown a photograph of all 12 who died – in an attempt to find out his or her story and how they died.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“I have spoken to a lot of people who work at the Usher Hall and many said they had felt a presence of someone on stage – a little girl,” he said.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Most of the things that happen on the evening will be outwith my control, so it’s going to be playing on the audience’s desire to believe, and seeing whether that will lead something to happen on the night.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Scott, who studied hypnosis in Milan at the age of 15 and has been working as a full-time magician since graduating from Queen Margaret University last summer, will recreate the spiritualism of the 1920s – when séances were common – during the show.</div><div class="left" id="1.1921308" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: left; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img src="http://www.scotsman.com/webimage/201011en1024wooo_1_1921308!image/20392786.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_215/20392786.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="215" /></div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Séances were familiar sights, particularly among the upper classes, at homes across the Capital during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Gathered around a table in the drawing room of their homes, bereaved families or a group of friends desperate to make contact with the spirits of the deceased would join hands with a medium, chant loudly and wait with baited breath in the darkness for that all-important moment.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The slightest noise, movement or even smell was often enough to convince them that the spirit of their loved one had joined them in the room.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Séances became increasingly popular and reached their peak in the middle of the 1920s, with the Victorians believing that they could make contact with spirits by holding these ritualistic ceremonies.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“At this point in time, spiritualism was seen as almost a religious experience. People believed it wholeheartedly,” said Scott.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“People had such a desire to believe that they could make contact with the dead. Back then séances were a lot more fantastical; the medium would supposedly be possessed by the spirit of the person and perhaps the table would start to shake or move around the air.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The séances would often end by candles blowing out or the medium collapsing in some way – they always had a very dramatic finish.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In modern times, it is difficult to comprehend how so many members of society accepted the actions of the medium, never doubting that what they were seeing or hearing during a séance was anything other than the spirt they were trying to contact. Even the most intelligent of people believed in spiritualism.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Following the death of his wife, Louisa, in 1906 and his son, Kingsley, just before the end of the First World War, Edinburgh-born author Arthur Conan Doyle found solace in spiritualism and its attempts to find proof of existence beyond the grave.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Indeed, after the war, there were many people willing to part with their hard-earned cash in order to speak to a lost loved one again.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">One woman to capitalise on this was the late Helen Duncan – “Hellish Nell” – who became the last woman jailed for witchcraft in Britain in 1944. She made a living by conducting séances throughout Britain, during which the spirits of the dead were alleged to have appeared, talking to and even touching their relatives.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Duncan was a huge success, charging the equivalent of £25 for a seat and was soon able to afford a nice house in Craigmillar.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">As with other mediums in the 1930s, she apparently communicated with the dead after being bound in a chair, bathed in a red light and with a flow of “ectoplasm”, an ethereal white substance, emanating from her.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">However, sitters who grasped the ectoplasm discovered it felt curiously like muslin cloth. Duncan, however, continued to be popular despite the number of times her fraud was revealed.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Scott, a drama and performance graduate, commented: “It almost seems laughable the techniques that were used back then – it could sometimes be as simple as the medium using their foot to lift the table.</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“But when you’re in a dark room and you want to make contact with a loved one, your willingness to believe, will make you believe.”</div><div style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-size: 1.091em; font: normal normal normal 100%/1.25 Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 15px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">* Fright Night with Faust, at which Scott will host the séance, will take place at the Usher Hall on October 29, from 7.30pm. Tickets cost £12 and are available on 0131-228 1155.</div>Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-242558259970760165.post-17306920083842786562011-10-20T16:41:00.000-07:002011-10-20T16:41:29.263-07:00Bewitching moments for author<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.authorsden.com/workscover/43671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" src="http://www.authorsden.com/workscover/43671.jpg" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">By JOE PHALON</span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; line-height: 20px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.northjersey.com/pequannock" style="text-decoration: none;">Pequannock</a> Township author D.L. Cocchio has completed her second book, "Magic by Moonlight."</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">The book is about three friends who use a magic amulet to travel back in time, where they witness the Salem Witch Trials and solve a mystery that could change the course of history.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Best friends Emily and Megan, along with their friend Ben, were learning about the Witch Trials in the present day when they decide to become witness to the horrific events of 1692 Massachusetts.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">With the aid of the amulet Emily and Megan bought at a Medieval fair and used to journey back to 15th century England in Cocchio's previous novel, "Be Careful What You Wish For," the trio learns more than the expected from a slave named Tituba. But that may come in handy if they are accused of being witches themselves.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Cocchio says her book is directed at children ages 8 and up. She wanted to introduce children in that age group to subjects such as the Salem Witch Hunts.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">"I wanted to give children a sneak peek at the topic of the Salem Witch Trials," she says, "which they wouldn't normally be exposed to until later in their academic life."</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Cocchio, who might be remembered as Debbie Lauber by her <a href="http://www.northjersey.com/pequannock" style="text-decoration: none;">Pequannock</a> Township High School (PTHS) classmates, started writing as soon as she could pick up a pen.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">"As a kid, writing was an outlet," she says. "I was always writing something."</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">And reading, too. She estimates she read the entire mystery section of the local library over two summers. "I loved Nancy Drew-type books she says. By high school, her favorite book was "Lord of the Flies."</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Most of her writing includes mystery and magic, along with teen paranormal activities. She plans to write at least two or three more books revolving around her characters of Emily and Megan.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">But before she resumes the series, she plans to complete a book aimed at teens and young adults titled "Psychic Circle–Souls Entwined" involving teenagers with paranormal abilities such as being psychic.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">Cocchio often serves as a coach for other writers, and is a member of several writing groups where she gets support, ideas, and critical input. She says that if you are interested in being an author, "You should keep on writing, rewriting, and rewriting some more. That's what perfects your work. Let your friends read your work and offer comments."</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">As most authors would tell you, finding a publisher can be a daunting task. Even J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel was rejected numerous times. "The most important thing is to never give up," Cocchio says.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;">"Magic by Moonlight" and "Be Careful What You Wish For," both published by Magic Moon Press, are available at Amazon.com. They are also available on her own website, www.dlcocchio.webs.com <http: www.dlcocchio.webs.com="">, and at local retailers–Off the Beaten Path and Peaceful Path, both in <a href="http://www.northjersey.com/butler" style="text-decoration: none;">Butler</a>.</http:></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><http: www.dlcocchio.webs.com=""><br /></http:></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cccccc; font-family: inherit;"><http: www.dlcocchio.webs.com=""><b><a href="http://www.northjersey.com/arts_entertainment/books/132216003_Magical_moments_for_author.html">Original Article</a></b></http:></span><br />Jasmeine Moonsonghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00131117256797897359noreply@blogger.com0