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Gentle feminine leadership

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It's popular for women to be aggressive and in your face, just to succeed in life and get what they want. For women in positions of authority, they think taking on macho characteristics helps them improve to better positions. Also being fierce and cruel is a trait adopted by female bosses. It's well known that such powerful women have been unpopular, feared, or stirred up tension. Women such as Margaret Thatcher was called the "Iron Lady". Other women who captured adoring fans with severe dancing and singing tend to be the norm. Powerful women and women in key positions give out this strong, angry, aggressive, vicious, witchlike public displays of working. The seas are not always stormy. Calm gentle seas can be just as good or better. The forgotten and unfashionable trait of being soft, calm and gentle for a woman in power can be just as affective and even more influential.

Gentler women in history
The quiet, gentle and calm women of history that have made such an impact because of their softer approach includes a variety of famous individuals that have reached out to many. These women are queen Nefertiti, Sappho, Praxilla, Florence Nightingale, Mary Shelley, Jane Austin, Marie Curry, Marilyn Monroe, Louise Brooks, Sarah Bernhardt, Veturia, Cornelia, Saint Helena,  Mother Theresa, Molly Pitcher, Grace Kelly, Frida Kahlo, Amelia Earhart, Pocahontas, Olga of Kiev and these are just a few.

Gentler women in myth and stories
The most well loved soft, kind-hearted, gentle and even maternal female figures tend to be the most powerful. They include the fairy godmothers in "Cinderella", the twelve fairies in "Sleeping Beauty", the blue fairy in "Pinocchio", Glenda the good witch and Ozma in "Wizard of Oz" adventures and Mother Holle. Such women have supernatural abilities. They are an echo of ancient myths, with stories of the Graces, Norns, Fates, who weave destiny, and the benign mother and daughter goddesses of sky, sea and earth.

Gentle natured women today
It's rare to find powerful women in key positions of authority who use gentleness and sweetness to charm their way. But really this isn't a trait that most other women have any longer because it may be considered "weak" but it isn't. With anger there is calm. Being gentle means being compassionate towards others. There are some gentle natured women in influence today that are popular, considered icons of the year and "mother" figures to the nation. The present chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, is called "mother" because she does emit a calm gentle warmth. In entertainment, Holly Willoughby is a fairy godmother type who appears on TV. Both are feminine, non-aggressive and have a wide influence.

Look at it this way, in nature itself balance and harmony is better observed than disharmony. 


Giants in the mists

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These are giant rock pillars called Manpupuner, or the Seven Strong Men, found in the Urals. In local legend these rock formations were once wandering giant men. By a twist of climatic and supernatural elements, these giants were frozen into solid rocks. Ancient spirits gather there according to certain beliefs.

It's possible that these pillars were created many millions of years ago in the Jurassic era. They are said to be the oldest mountains on earth. Time weathering and ice corrosion transformed the mountains into the huge statues today. The region is inhospitable and expert mountaineers find the rocks very difficult to climb up.

They are between 40 and 80 metres high. Ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of Russia, the Manpupuner is an amazing wild feature of the landscape. Is it perhaps worth thinking if these giant rocks were built by an ancient race?

Beside these gigantic prehistoric statues, the Urals itself is full of mystery. It's the region of snow monsters, countless UFO sightings, ghosts, huge geoglyphs, mysterious caves and megaliths. The Urals is also the recent site where a big fireball meteorite hit early this year.

The Urals is a misty, cold, shadowy mysterious part of the world with vast landscapes. Much of it is uninhabited by people. It's mainly unlivable and yet there are locations where traces of prehistoric peoples left tools, buildings, structures, mounds, artwork and ruins.

Links:
Megaliths in the Urals
Geoglyph in S Urals
Official images of Manpupuner
     

Fairytale Grimoire: Snow White & Rose Red

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This is a fairy tale about another girl called Snow White, who had a sister named Rose Red. Both sisters have an adventure together in this tale of magic. It includes a rude dwarf and a bear. The girls are linked with a pair of rose bushes outside of their mother's house, that grew white roses and red roses. Snow White, with the blonde hair was named after the white roses. Her sister Rose Red with the auburn hair was named after the red roses.

There are similarities with the elements. It could be that both sisters represent two halves and maybe two opposites.

Snow White's name indicates the season of Winter. Rose Red's name for the Summer. Both sisters are different, one is red and the other white. Not only is red and white for the cycles of the year but times of the day. Red is for the sun. White is for the moon.

Red = Roses, flowers, fire, warmth, Summer, solar.
White =  Snow, ice, water, coldness, Winter, Lunar.

One sister is a priestess of the moon (Snow White) and the other is the priestess of the sun (Rose Red).

Divine Sisters 

In mythology, twins are everywhere. Gemini can be portrayed as male and female. Myths are full of twin brothers or twin brother and sister. There are very few stories of twin sisters in ancient mythology but after some digging I found these few very beautiful gems of divine twin girls.

In Greek mythology, the mystical twin sisters are called Leucippides (White Horse Maidens) named Phoebe and Hilaeira. The name Phoebe itself means "lunar bright" and Hilaeira's name means "softly shining". Both were brides of the star crowned godlike Dioscouri, the twin brothers. All four were given immortality. Again the sisters are divided as white and red (lunar and solar).

Another story of twin girls in Greek myth concerns Irish and Arke. Iris was the goddess of the luminous rainbow, and she had golden wings.Her sister Arke is less famous, and transparent. She was the goddess of shadow and the faded second rainbow. Her wings were iridescent. She fell out of favour with the Olympian gods by allying herself to the Titans and falling out with Iris. One girl is light and the other darker.

In Egyptian mythology are twin sisters Isis and Nephthys. Isis was the queen goddess of the throne of power, a celestial goddess mainly regarded as a solar figure, and a protector of the dead, rebirth and children. A goddess of life, symbolised with the sun disk, the cow and ankh. She had a long lasting worship right up until the Roman Empire.Her sister Nephthys wasn't too different as her images show her with an ankh but also a goddess of death, funerals and the afterlife. She was feared. It was said that this goddess was able to destroy anything with a blast of fire. A goddess of night, water and dreaming.


Again appears the Bear in "Snow White and Rose Red". This particular bear is the hero, or anti hero, and is actually a man in disguise! He reveals himself to be the prince and marries Snow White, while his brother is weds Rose Red. Bears like this, and other animals with manlike traits in fairytales are possibly a reminder of the once feared warrior order, the berserkers.You can find the rest of the plot HERE.

(There is a dwarf in the story too that is nasty and ungrateful, as well as a large fish, an eagle, a fairy and mother's teleporting rose cottage! Dwarves will be covered in a future "Grimoire" post).

Links:

Tonight's Bedtime Story
Theoi

Nature's spooky special effects

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Here is a list of some really cool sights created by nature. Some are really rare, many are weird, some associated with the paranormal but explained away.

Fire Rainbows - These are called circumhorizontal arcs, and look like flaming rainbow colours in the sky. Ice crystals make these pretty displays.

Moonbows - Also called "black rainbow" is a night time occurring rainbow due to the reflections of a bright moon and air moisture.

Sun Dogs - Two orbs of light in the daytime sky on either side of the sun. Scientifically called Parhelian.

Light Pillars - These can be caused by a sun low on the horizon or with artificial light upon a shining surface. Sometimes people say this is paranormal.

Lenticular Clouds - Some people mistake them for UFO's or claim that "cloaked UFO's" are hiding behind clouds in saucer shaped clouds. These are really high altitude layered clouds in the troposphere.

Fairy Rings - A ring of mushrooms either formed because of underground spore pattern.

Sailing Stones - A strange behaviour of heavy rocks moving across a desert, like those in Death Valley national park. No humans interfered with the rocks but research suggests that they appear to move because of melting icy water but it still remains a mystery.

Raining animals -An uncommon weather feature of falling frogs and fish during a heavy rainfall. Theories suggest that animals have been sucked into the air by a waterspout but usually these weird rainfalls have the same species. 

Brocken Spectre - An optical illusion of a giant shadow projection of an observer on a mountain top, created by sunlight and fog. It's a natural ghost phenomena called "Glory"

Blood Rain - A rain of blood red liquid has been noted since ancient times and seen as a warning. Studies found using samples of blood rain showed dust, meteorite particles and iron oxide.   

Halloween's tricks

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That time of year again, which I really love. Autumn, and Halloween, fire festivals, bonfire nights, mischief nights and remembering the war dead. This year I made a few Halloween decourations and attended one cute disco last week with everyone dressed up. I know it's all fun and dress up, with pumpkins and the ghosts.

Spiders, bats, witches, black cats, skeletons, gouls, goblins, ghosts, monsters, werewolves, the night and moonlight all remind us of Halloween. We all know Halloween is a much ancient tradition called Samhain (pronounced sow-wain). The ancients believed that this was a time that souls of the dead, as well as other creatures of the dark, would harass people because sunlight is shorter and nights get longer. To combat the evil spirits and monsters, people kept them away by tricking the entities, using fiery lanterns, bonfires, images of monsters and gouls outside houses. People even dressed up as ghosts and ghastly creatures to blend in with the horrible supernatural things and avoid notice. That passed down through the ages, to what is now Halloween. Trick or Treating is a blend of Samhain and the old English "mischief night" when children went out playing practical jokes on people.          

Celtic and Germanic myths and folklore blends tales together like weaving woodlands. The stuff we all recognise to do with Halloween has a place in legend too. The witches flying on broomsticks made to look like sinister hags are a combination of dark fairies, banshees, wise women and healers. The typical witch is often female, and a demonised woman. Historically there was a religious war and a mass hysteria, when ignorant people condemned others of witchcraft. Witchcraft was always a crime (until recently). Thousands (it's argued that it was about 9 million) of people were executed, tortured and imprisoned for witchcraft, even if there was no proof and all that mattered was hearsay and gossip.

Not everyone accused of witchcraft were "witches". Not all of them understood magic, the occult, the old ways or followers of the old pagan gods. Many of the accused were Christians, and some of them belonged to the clergy! Often these people were victims of harassment, gossip, spite or for being different. Some lived as hermits. Some practised science. Some were involved in disputes and were wanted out the way. But of all of them were treated horribly by the State. Also not all of the accused were women. The notion "Burning Times" is a modern name to describe this witch hunting period of human history, but described by the inventor of Wicca. Not all countries burned witches.

History is bloody and the witch trials were scarier than the myth of cackling witches flying on broomsticks. They didn't celebrate Halloween much during the Middle Ages. The entities crossed into our dimension and drove everyone insane.

Source:

"Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology" by Rossell Hope Robbins

These are noble birds

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Ravens and crows.

I've always considered them my most favourite birds. Of all the birds, these are the most mysterious and misunderstood. I've observed them and befriended them too. Take it from me, ravens are beautiful.

A local park with a big fish pond is home to a lot of different animals and birds including ducks, swans, even pigeons go there to feed from crumbs. Now at certain times of the year, seagulls go there and behave like nasty bullies towards all the other birds. If crumbs are thrown to a duckling or a sparrow, seagulls would be straight in on there and push aside the others to steal that other bird's snack. Seagulls are quite vicious but yeah some people like them. When the gulls were at the park, I almost walked away until a flock of ravens appeared. I watched in surprise as all of the seagulls scarpered to a different area. Ravens and crows had a presence and made harmony again.

Some people may also witness that?

Crows and ravens are associated with bad things in superstitious myth and literature. Crows and ravens have high intelligence and they are able to count up to 5. The oldest known living crow was 59 years old but their life span varies between 25 and 30 years. Crows and ravens are often seen as birds of death, such as the Morrigan of Celtic mythology and the Valkyries of Germanic mythology. Odin Himself has two messenger ravens that fly across the world and report information back to the All Father. Due to their colour black, these birds are linked to the unknown, from death, magic and the creation of life. In some cultures, ravens are believed to be a creation bird. They are guardians of the earth's secrets and these birds are a connection to spirits. In Hinguism, crows are regarded as our spiritual ancestors.

 More on the phenomenal crows and ravens:

Cultural depictions of ravens
Raven in mythology
Odin's ravens Huginn and Muninn
Crow in Hindu scriptures
Crow spirit animal

Art by Nene Thomas

Fairy Tale Grimoire: Cinderella

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Cinderella is a popular fairy story about a young woman who's life is improved by magic. Everyone familiar with this story will sympathise with an unhappy Cinderella, who was treated badly by her step mother and step sisters. They made her do all the housework without any rewards, and she didn't have any decent clothes to wear apart from rags. She didn't have her own room either. She had to sleep in the kitchen beside a fire in the hearth. When invitations arrived to attend the birthday party of a prince at the palace, everyone was excited to go. The step family didn't want Cinderella to go to the ball with them. They told her to remain at home doing endless chores. After they were dressed up and gone to the royal birthday bash, Cinderella broke down in tears, when the arrival of a supernatural visitor came, the "fairy godmother". She gave Cinderella hope just for the night, instructing her to collect mice, newts, a large pumpkin and a rat. With a wave of her magic wand, the fairy godmother turned the pumpkin into a coach, the mice into white horses, the newts into footmen and the rat was turned into a coach driver. Finally Cinderella was transformed from a raggedly dressed scullery maid, into a beautiful stunner wearing an exotic gown and glass slippers.

"Be warned, Cinderella," announced the fairy godmother. "When the clock strikes midnight, your magic will fade. Your gown will return to rags. The coach will turn back into a pumpkin. The mice, rat and newts will return. So go now and enjoy yourself."

Cinderella understood. She was helped into the coach by the driver, and the white horses pulled the pumpkin coach away towards the palace ball. Everything turns glitzy and glamorous now. The ball is filled with dancers in finery. When Cinderella entered the place hall, eyes turned to look in amazement at her for she was the most beautiful one there. Even the step family didn't recognise Cinderella. The handsome prince was in awe of her and he danced with her all night. The clock struck midnight, and Cinderella had just remembered the fairy godmother's warning. Afraid of transforming back to her old self, she had to quickly leave the palace in a hurry. She ran fast and one of her glass slippers fell off and landed on the palace step outside. As she ran, her usual clothes appeared and the coach was gone. Instead was a pumpkin, newts, mice and a rat. Cinderella ran home and got her breath back. When the others returned home, Cinderella kept quiet about her magical night dancing with the prince.

The prince tried chasing after Cinderella but she had gone. Then he came upon the glass slipper that he'd seen her leave behind. He wanted to search for her. Using the glass slipper and it's unique proportions would help him find exactly where his dancer was. The prince made it official to search every house in the land, wanting every young woman to try on the slipper. No one fitted the shoe. He came upon the dwelling of Cinderella and wanted the tow step sisters to try on the glass slipper. Neither did their big feet fit into the delicate small shoe. The prince was tired and he almost gave up hope, when he turned his attention to the maid dressed in rags. He ordered her to try the slipper on, doubtfully thinking it would make a difference. Cinderella sat on a stool and placed her small foot into the glass slipper, when the discovery was made. Cinderella's foot fitted perfectly. The prince looked at her again and recognised who she was. He announced his love for her and proposed marriage to her there and then. Cinderella became the bride of the prince and they lived happily ever after.  

Cinderella is an enchanting story of a maidservant who was magically transformed into a princess. One of the most popular girl stories and perhaps the most famous. It's a very old story going back centuries, to the time of ancient Greece. The writer and philosopher Herodotus (484 to 425 BCE) compiled "historical" information about a rosy cheeked girl named Rhodopis, who'd lived as the real original Cinderella. 

The fairy story we know is a combination of folklore, magic and ancient legends. The ideas within the story that seem to go unnoticed suggest that Cinderella was not a mortal woman. Her step family, the adoptive unrelations, who were more beastly and selfish, punished Cinderella for being special all along. Her immortality shone through during the night of the prince's birthday party. Cinderella is ruled by time, and has a fairy godmother (her own mother?) guiding her on a life's path. She appears ordinary in the day but for one night she is something more. Now the fairy godmother is also interesting because, like the fairies of other folktales and stories, they have the nature of the goddess about them.

Most people haven't established that the glass slipper is the only object that didn't transform! It remained "magical" because it wasn't a fake or an illusion but the identity code of Cinderella's actual true glorious nature. The pumpkin is a symbol of autumn, witchcraft, Halloween and harvest. Pumpkins are traditionally used as lanterns and guardians of the home, to keep evil entities away. As Cinderella, in her truest form, is driven towards the palace, the coach (a pumpkin in disguise) protects her.

Rats and mice are linked to dark, dirty, dusty things. Newts have always been a creature of healing and white magic, according to old superstitions. Rats, mice, newts and pumpkins are altogether not a very nice vision, so these were given a disguise, to shield the vision of a young goddess hidden in the coach as she's taken towards her future.

Links:

Pretty artwork on here is "Cinderella" by Lia Selina   
Cinderella info   

The Power of Nott

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As we approach winter, the nights will get longer. Days will become darker. For this time is when the sun is barely visible as it's so low on the horizon. Further north, the sun isn't even visible and the grim season is fast moving, as the starry cloaked goddess of night gallops on her winged black steed.

Her name is Nott. She's a personification of night time. She is a mysterious and ancient goddess in Germanic mythology, whose name "Nott" (or Nat) means "night". This nocturnal goddess has a variety of nick names according to the Poetic Edda. The dwarves call her "the goddess of dreams." Elves call her "the goddess who brings joy in sleep". The giants call her "un-light" and the gods call her "goddess of darkness". She is the absence of light, and makes the stars appear visible to us every night. She is total darkness, night itself, and some describe her as a shadow goddess. She rides upon a black chariot pulled by her winged black horse, Hrimfaxi (meaning the "frost mane"). It's worth mentioning that a similar horse named Shadowfax appears in the Tales of Middle Earth by Tolkien.

Nott is a much earlier goddess. She predates the Viking age and reference to her can be traced as far back as the Iron Age. This type of goddess is from a time when humans were primitive. She's the granddaughter of a giant sky god, Bergelmir, who built Asgard. According to myth, she married three times. She is the mother of Dag (a god of day), Jord (the earth goddess) and Aud and she's the grandmother of Thor. She may have had other children. Nott travels the world to bring night, and her horse scatters dew and frost.

This goddess is a keeper of magic, secrets and wisdom. She can be a goddess of the inner night (subconscious) as well as the external night hours. She is a goddess of darkness and the cosmos. She is also the goddess of the obsidion mirror, the poles, the womb, ghosts, magic, alchemy. She's a goddess of the supernatural, the dead as well as the living, birth and death, and anything else that is without light but contains unseen forms.

Ancient Indo-European tribes branched out after the end of the last Ice Age and these stories of gods came from an earlier source. It's likely that certain gods and goddesses in different myths can have the same origin. In Greek mythology, the goddess of night appears as Nyx, the helper of heroes and demigods, who invokes sleep. Just like Nott, Nyx is the mother of the god of day. She has her own starlit temples.

Nott is a cosmic goddess who rules over shadows, stars the nebula. Dark goddess of all things hidden, like caves, deep sleep, vision quests, dreaming, creativity, inner knowledge, insight, divination, outer space and the unknown. Some people are afraid of the great dark goddesses. Maybe She reveals some truth that is presently invisible and undiscovered.  

Some information on the goddess:

Norse mythology Nott
Nott Goddess of Night
Northern Sky 

Linseed oil, a magic ingredient

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Linseed oil comes from seeds of the toxic Flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). Linseed oil, or Flax seed oil, has much special traditional uses in medicine, fabric, wood polish and plaster. The grounded seeds are used as a food ingredient and protects and heals, often rich in Omega 3 fatty acid, and it's treated for the heart. Flax is also a highly potent form of natural oil used as a guardian against witchcraft and sickness. However, flax is a poison and like most poisonous plants, they contain the ability to heal, protect and even to alter destiny.  If not used properly it can turn very toxic. Spun flax resembles blond hair and the plant grows pretty looking flowers from vivid blue to scarlet colours.

Superstitions about flax seeds include wearing a flax seed in your shoe to prevent poverty; carrying a seed in your purse is supposed to attract money; putting a flax seed under your pillow helps give pleasant dreams. Also children that run through a flax field would grow to become attractive and popular. Blue flowers of the flax are worn to protect against harmful psychic attacks. In mythology, Flax is a herb potent to maternal goddesses, especially Frigga and Holda, associated with spinning.   

Despite it's magical properties, linseed oil is dangerous. King Tutankhamun's remains were slowly burned after mummification. A TV documentary called "Tutankhamun: Mystery of the Burnt Mummy" explored this subject and found that the linen had to have been drenched in linseed oil to cause spontaneous combustion. An experiment was done to show this. It demonstrated how cloth soaked in linseed oil cooked itself at a certain room temperature alone without any fire. It reveals the power of linseed oil.

Info on Flax / Linseed:

Seedguide - Linseed oil
LadyHawke's herbs ("F" look up Flax)
Northern Shamanism - Frigga's herbs

Snowflake dinner

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Winter banquet should be both hot and cold. Most people traditionally celebrate Yule with turkey, or goose. I believe it should be a snowflake themed meal.

Get a snowflake plate, and snowflake dinner rolls to go with the food. Use cooked vegetables and fish that came from a frozen freezer compartment. Sprinkle the meal lightly with icing or a little coconut. Add salt, pepper and horse radish.

Special December and Yule roast would be fish (salmon, plaice, haddock, tuna, kingfisher) with lemon, white pepper and ginger. If not, then a roasted swan, duck and goose, with frozen vegetables cooked in honey and peppercorns. However, some prefer a roasted pork with apples, berries, sweets and ginger. Other side vegetables can be boiled seaweed, sweetened spouts, mustard covered peas and beans, red cabbage, red onions and potatoes. Now potatoes can be roasted, mashed or even chipped. The dishes are ideally white, with red, gold and dashes of emerald green textures.

If there's no snowflake patterned plates, get hold of snowflake napkins. Puddings are easier to make appear like snow covered pictures, such as the Yule log, the Yule cake, arctic roll, gateaux, frosted fruits, snowballs, meringue, sugar paper cupcakes and white chocolate and some spirits added with touches of holly decourations and icing.

As for confectionery, biscuits, cupcakes and sweets, peppermint, icing, gingerbread men and candy canes are burning chilly flavours to use. Biscuits and sugar can be dyed, trimmed and cut into shapes of snowflakes, snowmen, snowballs, robins, wintry stars and holly berries.

Special links:

Gode cookery
Hex Magazine Norwegian Yule dinner
Yule cookery

 
 

The God Thunor

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The most well known god of the Germanic pantheon was Thunor. He is famously called Thor and He has other names. To the Anglo-Saxon peoples, He is Thunor.

Everyone knows who Thor is. He is made popular in modern culture through Marvel's comic books, and recently Chris Hemsworth played Thor in films based on these adventures. This is the superhero version of Thor, and His powerful Mjollnir weapon that he wields in myth and legend.

He's a god of thunder, and His name means "thunder". In early Indo European languages, thunder also meant the same as "conqueror". In mythology, He rides a chariot across the sky, pulled by two powerful goats. The oak trees and acorns are sacred to Him. He battles with monsters and in particular the world serpent Jormungand.  

A god of power. Thor's prime weapon is the thunder hammer, called Mjollnir. When He strikes it down, there is lightening bolts and ferocious thunder issued from the impact. Hammer is an early traditional symbol of power and might, as it was once used as a weapon and a tool. Mjollnir means "to smash". Early Old Norse language indicates the name is identical with "stone". The original PIE root "Hzekmo" and the Sanskrit means both "stone weapon" and "thunderbolt". Thunder, stone weapon and conqueror tell a past when early tribes migrated over territories with their stone tools and stone weapons, like thunder, and conquering. A dominant people led by thundering conqueror warlords with heavy stones. Stone is also associated with the prehistoric structures of megaliths. Could these earlier people bringing the legendary name Thunor have been magalith builders too?

A god of fire. Before we understand His association with lightning, He is very much a sky god. A radioactive metal "Thorium" is named after Him. This element is used to power search lights, rockets, aircraft engines and nuclear reactors.

Other gods very similar to Thunor include Teshub or Tarhun (whose name means "conqueror") of the Hittites, who carries a great axe, strikes thunderbolts and battles with monsters, including a sea serpent. Indra of the Vedic religion, a god of thunder with golden hair, carries a bow and whose name means "smasher". In Greek mythology, Zeus is the supreme god, thunder god with a lightning bolt weapon, rides a chariot across the sky and linked with goats. The Romans had Jupiter. Teranis is the Celtic god of thunder, carries a thunder bolt in one hand and a wheel in the other, and further back in older languages the name is linked with Thor! Perkunus is a Lithuanian god of thunder, weapons and oak trees. Then there is the Slavic god of thunder named Perun, who carries a hammer and axe, rides a sky chariot pulled by a fierce male goat and whose sacred tree is the oak.     

So these thunder gods listed above, show that old languages contain names and meanings and myths, brought across by a migrating people from East to West.

In mythology, as quoting Snorri Sturluson's "Prose Edda", Thor owns two goats that pull the flying chariot. These goats named Tanngnjostr ("teeth grinder") and Tanngrisnir ("teeth barer") are eaten by Thor every day and returned to life because of the Mjollnir's potent lightning power. Once, Thor shared his goats among a family of peasants, but a boy named Thjalfi, breaks a bone to suck marrow. When the goats are regenerated by Thor later, one of the goats is found lame because of its broken bone. Thor made the children Thjalfi and his sister Roskva become His loyal servants. The etymology of the two servants of Thor is linked with elves, and with the two goats, traditions in some parts of north Europe celebrate a Yule Goat, a nature spirit. These stories could be because of animal sacrifices. There is also the historical fact that goats were always favoured by humans for farming and to make clothes from. Goats were domesticated by people as far back as the end of the last Ice Age. Goats represent agility, movement and the ability to climb hills.

The myth of the god Thunor/Thor, who has an ancient preViking origin that altered orally through the ages of time. Thunor came from a Neolithic era, bringing goats, thunder, weapons and stone with Him as he traveled across the continents with migrating tribes. He brought with Him the secret of thunder (power, conquering and weaponry), megalith building (stone), farming and production. The stories concerning his belt giving Him ultra physical strength and His gloves made from iron, worn by Him when using the Mjolnir. This is like a characteristic of metals, such as the Iron Age.   

Thor links

Book: "Thor: Myth to Marvel" by Martin Arnold
Book: "Thor: God of Thunder" by Graeme Davis
Thor info on Wikipedia 

Picture "Thor and his goat" by Alexander SalleS

Fairytale Grimoire: The Snow Queen

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This fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson is a mysterious one. It's broken into pieces, and was Anderson's largest story of his collected works. To explain how the story goes, and how it can be interpreted, let's begin by an outline of the adventure.

First the story begins with a demonic entity, who created a huge weird mirror. It showed the negatives of everything, and reflected only darkness instead of beauty and real life. The entity was eager to show the mirror to other sinister beings, and many entities carried it around the world. They lifted the mirror high up into the sky as far as they could go, until the mirror was destroyed by the atmosphere. It shattered into tiny millions of pieces and spread everywhere, settling into people's eyes. Whoever caught tiny pieces of mirror turned heartless and cruel.

Second part of the story shifts to a boy, named Kai, and a girl, named Gerda. These are neighbours and good friends. They often played together. One day a tiny bit of mirror landed in the boy's eye and he became unfriendly and unloving. He saw a vision of a woman made of snow in his window and she called out to him. She appeared to him again, passing on a sleigh driven by polar bears. She wore a white fur coat and a silvery white crown made of ice. She gave him candies, then kissed him to keep him warm. She was the snow queen, who children were warned about by adults. The snow queen took Kai into her sleigh and disappeared.

The boy was noticed missing and Gerda was extremely upset. People assumed he must have drowned in a local river but Gerda wanted to find him. She got into a small wooden boat and went up river. She threw her shoes into the river and asked the waters if Kai drowned there. The water responded to her, and told her that Kai didn't drown. She later reached the edge of the river, and came to an old woman's cottage, whose garden was lush with flowers. This woman was a witch and almost kept Gerda as a servant until one day the girl was doing some gardening for the old woman. She muttered to herself, asking if Kai was buried somewhere. The flowers responded and said that Kai was not dead for his body wasn't in the soil. She quickly fled the cottage to search for her friend.

She met a raven and asked if it knew where Kai was. The raven replied that there was a boy who looked just like him in the royal palace. So Gerda set off to the palace. She found the boy, but it wasn't Kai. It was a prince who looked very much like Kai. She told the prince and princess about her sad story. They gave her fresh clothes, boots, a fur coat and a horse and directed her towards the north, where the road continued and where Kai must be.

She was riding along through a quiet forested area now. Then a band of robbers appeared and caught her. They took her horse. A robber girl befriended her and listened to Gerda's story. She gave Gerda a caribou that had been kept among the robbers. She directed her on towards the north.

Gerda eventually reached the dwellings of the Finnish woman who fed her and told her that Kai must be with the snow queen. Then on her travels, on the back of the caribou, she met a Lapp woman, who directed Gerda how to reach the snow queen's palace at the North Pole.

Inside the palace of the snow queen, Kai was found fixated over a puzzle. The snow queen told him to form the word "eternity" using the ice pieces and if he succeeded, he would be free. But he didn't recognise Gerda as he'd forgotten her. She was so upset that she cried. Her tears fell into his eyes, causing the mirror to fall out and leave Kai. He then understood who Gerda was and he was overjoyed to see her again. The words in the puzzle formed "eternity" and the snow queen let them go. They both returned home.

The story is an epic, as it starts with mischievous entities. The two main characters, Kai and Gerda, are children to begin with but by the time the story finished, they're adults. Entities such as this appear in folklore and and legends everywhere. Even modern paranormal investigations gather interesting reports about entities that create havoc with people.

The Snow Queen is likely based on a character from pagan and folklore traditions in Europe, especially related to winter. She is similar to the ice giantess Skadi of Germanic myth, who resides in snowy mountains. She may be also the friendly snow maiden of eastern folklore named Snegurochka who journeys with her grandfather, "Father Frost" (Santa Claus) every winter. Another midwinter goddess, Mother Holly, is benign, loving and appears as a very nurturing maternal figure. The Snow Queen of the fairytale is not so loving but neither is she a sinister evil queen. She's just an enigma and by her very nature, she behaves like a snow storm.

First of all the magic mirror, made by supernatural forces, create chaos and distortion, insanity and misery. Their only purpose is to have caused a breakdown in friendships on earth among humans, turning  friends away from one another. The boy turned his back on his true friend and sought the snow queen's embrace in her chilly castle at the north pole. Mirrors are used in scrying and occult magic. Some say that mirrors are magical. Pieces of shattered magic mirror in someone's eye causing heartlessness and no love, is a lot of symbolic things to find meanings for. The fact some of our loved ones change personality and become cold is like that too.

The caribou, or reindeer, that carries Gerda to the north pole hints of a spiritual quest each person faces in life. Loss, searching and unlocking the puzzle mystery. The puzzle was solved by the pure magic of love and memory, which doesn't belong in ice. The cycles are at play in the story, and human emotions too. This story could also be about love and how some change their personalities. There are different layers. The snow queen is simply the threat of winter and how people fear their lives during the coldest season.

One could see many things in the fairy tale but the basic stuff is about the yearly cycle, focusing on Midwinter, snow, ice, winter and the arrival of the snow queen. Snow and ice is a message of stillness, from frigidity, to immortality, from unmovement and no change, to eternal ice. Ice, as an element is a destructive and beautiful form. Ice crystal caves look lovely and snow flakes are pretty but just as much as they can kill too.

Nature, ice and winter, isn't evil. It just IS. IS the ice rune: Is rune, Is = stillness.

Links and info on the Snow Queen:

Snow Queen at SurLaLune
Snegaruchka "snow maiden"- Russianpedia     
(The latest Disney animation loosely based on "The Snow Queen") Disney's Frozen official site 

Image on here is "The Snow Queen" by artist Lilok

The Mysterious White Stag

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Such an animal is considered rare. The white stag is a creature of legend, regarded as semi divine on par with the mythical unicorn. People, such as King Arthur and the White Witch has tried, and failed to hunt the white stags. No one sees them. They're linked with enlightenment, the gods, moon and nature spirits. First of all, Indo-Europeans worshipped them and were associated with other realms.

In some cultures, the myths of white stags are given horns. Some of them are fiery and its horns are aflame and never go out. Some of these stags wear sun signs.    

The actual white stags have been sighted and photographed in recent years in England. They are a type of ordinary red deer with extreme albinism (this is called "Leucism" where the entire body including hair is devoid of pigment but the eyes remain in colour).

White stags are associated with the winter months, royalty and magic. In Hungarian legend, in the story of Hunor and Magor, a white stag led the two sons of Nimrod to the fertile landscape that bore the settlers into two groups, Magyars and the Huns. The white stag is used as an emblem in Hungary. In Finland, the white stag legend is a sinister entity that belongs to goddess Tuonetar, who rules the underworld, and leads hunters down to this place of the dead when riding the white stag.     

The Celts and Germanic tribes viewed stag as noble animals, and white stags were often said to be part of the fairy realm, and messengers of the gods. It's believed that if you see one, it means good luck. Hunting one successfully may grant wishes.These are old superstitions though and in our 21st century world of smart gadgets and social networking, most people are too shut off now to appreciate these beautiful animals in our wilderness.  


Wisdom of the Arctic Wolf

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Happy New Year to everyone and may 2014 be a really glittering time. For all those who've had a terrible winter holiday, because of the storms and losses, blessings to you all. The earth goddess, Mother Earth, or Erda (some refer to Her as "Gaia"), loves you and all the animals and even the nurturing life giving plants and waters. It's too big a subject to get into because the earth is not like a human being. We are small, mortal creatures who dwell on this floating garden. Respect Mother Earth.

Now listen. There is something you have to be aware of. Through meditation and spiritual channeling, I've encountered a large white wolf, who looks like the arctic wolf as it's fur is the same colour as snow. Some shamans believe every animal teachers us something but it's tapping into this animal wisdom, which is hard. Some of you might've seen loads of reference to a particular animal all the time. This is a message.

The Arctic wolf, who's suited for harsh icy living, dwells in the frigid regions of the far north. Scientifically named Canis lupus arctos, this wolf is a subspecies of the grey wolf and roams in packs across vast distances. Some arctic wolves hunt alone. They are described as being the largest of the wolves today.

Arctic wolf wisdom teaches us to be determined, have great will power and prepared to face tough challanges. Arctic wolf teaches also how to accept the severe conditions forced on us, how to cope in terrible winters, to move on when out homes have been ruined. Arctic wolves show us that nature has to remind humans to toughen up despite losses and to recognise the will to survive. Appreciating life is a key to finding true happiness. See the winter as a home that comes around again and again, and not as an enemy. Prepare for any disasters, be ready, keep going. We are not alive just to reach old age but we're here to enjoy food, build shelter, keep young and pass on stories. If our lives are shattered, move. Don't live in unstable places but if you do, expect what comes. Don't be surprised.

Link on the amazing Arctic Wolf:


White Wolf Sanctuary
          

The Power of Frigga

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The goddess Frigga is the wife of Odin. She's the queen of Asgard and shares a throne with her husband, to look out all over the universe. She is the mother of the god Balder. She is of the Aesir and Asynjur. Her great property is Fensarlir, the Marsh Hall, where the spirits of the dead court and love one another. She's a goddess of prophesy and will reveal nothing. She's a goddess of the sky, atmosphere and spins clouds. A constellation of stars was named after Her, called "Frigga's distaff" to mean Frigga's spinning wheel. It's the same constellation that is also named Orion's Belt.

Her favourite garments are long white robes worn with a golden belt dangling with keys. On her head she wore a golden crown with beautiful birds plumes. Always been considered a goddess of love, marriage, childbirth, weaving, wisdom and femininity.

She's been confused with Freya linguistically. Many scholars find that Frigga and Freya correspond as each are in tune with the planet Venus and Friday. Freya is of the Vanir gods and came into the Northern myths later, so that She and Frigga are associated as part of the Germanic pantheon. The Vanir and Aesir are different types of gods. It's possible these are from different tribes of people in ancient times that interconnected with stories of their gods.The Vanir are gods of fertility and the land. Aesir are the gods who lived in Asgard.  

Frigga, also named Frigg, Frige, Frig, Frija and Fricka is overlooked as a powerful goddess. Many just regard Her as a domestic goddess married to Odin. There are some incredible powers that She has and it's interesting also to dig deeper and deeper into the mystery of this high ranking goddess.

She has the power of the Norns.

She is not able to alter fate but creates it.

She is able to see the future but cannot show what it is.

She is not just a sky mother, but a creator of many things.

Frigga's spinning wheel itself is symbolic of women, creativity, spider webs, wisdom and magic. But there is another primal wisdom of the spinning wheel, long before such technology was invented. The goddess Frigga spins fate and the planetary orbits. She creates the motions of life, circles in the sky that everything travels on, and like a wheel, turns round.

Her name is traced back to the Sanskrit language "Pny" (wife).Other goddesses who share a similar wording of the name Frigga, are Brigid, Brigantia, Parvati, Eurynome, Hathor, Aphrodite, Venus.

The name "Frigga" can be heard when listening carefully to the sound of earth's magnetic field. This can be heard from a satellite. There can be other sounds distinguished.

The goddess Frigga is associated with the colour green. Green is the colour of the heart chakra and associated with weaving. It's a combination of golds and sky blue.

Links:

Frigga: Norse goddess of beauty
A World of Myths
Earthsong by NASA

Fairytale Grimoire: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

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Snow White is my favourite Disney princess. The animation film has always been something magical for me and as a small kid I really loved it. The story itself is enchanting as well as dark. It has something about it that is more than fairytale. Behind the fairytale is esoteric wisdom and mythology.

The fairytale that we know of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was first published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. What I will do is give a brief synopsis of the story so that you can understand what I'm about to talk about later.

Story outline:
A queen is sewing as she's sat by a window, looking at a wintry scene. She pricks her finger with the sewing needle and three drops of blood fall upon the embroidery. She makes a wish and asks for a daughter who could be so beautiful, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood and hair black as ebony. She later gives birth to a daughter with those very features the queen wished for. She calls her daughter Snow White. Soon the queen died. The kind remarried and the new queen was vain. She had a magic mirror that showed her that she was the fairest in all the land. Years passed and Snow White grew up into a beautiful young woman. The queen asked the mirror who was the fairest, but it didn't show her reflection this time. Instead, it revealed an image of Snow White. She became so angry that she ordered Snow White killed in the forest. She told her huntsman to do this and return Snow White's heart in a box. In the forest, the huntsman was so overcome by Snow White's beauty that he let her go, and he killed a stag and put its heart in a box. The queen was deceived into thinking Snow White was dead. 

Snow White escaped death by running through the forest as far away from the palace as she could. Eventually she came upon a small house. Inside she found a residence with small seven beds and it was so untidy that she cleaned it up and made dinner, before going to bed. Seven dwarfs had been working and they arrived home to discover how neat their home was, and cooked food was made for them. They found Snow White asleep over the beds. Here they woke her up, and she told them her story of how her step mother wanted to kill her. The dwarfs took pity and let her stay with them.

Meanwhile the queen discovered the huntsman lied to her. She wanted to kill Snow White herself. She poisoned a few apples and put them in a basket. She donned a cloak as a disguise and set off to locate Snow White. She came to the small house, and knocked on the door. Snow White answered and saw a woman selling apples. She agreed to try one of the apples, and soon as she bit into it, she fell down dead.

The dwarfs returned home and found Snow White dead. They buried her in a glass coffin and left her on a hill, guarding them one by one. A prince rode by on a horse and took an interest. Her saw Snow White was beautiful and lifted the coffin lid. He bent down and kissed her. Snow White coughed out a piece of the apple and she woke up. Here the prince and Snow White fell in love and went away to get married. The End.

Wicked queen

Now before I explain the different magical elements, remember that the story I've given is the modern version. In the original tale, "Snow White" is a bit different. The mother of Snow White was actually the wicked queen who became step mother in later versions. Remember that the first queen made magic. She gazes at a window and pricks her finger to cast a wish. The very wish was to have a daughter with the features of mystical combined a trio of colours. The earliest version doesn't have a huntsman. Instead the queen takes a seven year old Snow White into the forest to pick flowers and then leaves her to perish alone. When the huntsman is introduced later, he is ordered to return Snow White's liver and intestines for the queen to consume. She also attempts to kill Snow White three times when Snow White is living with the dwarfs. The first time, she poisons a comb and digs it hard into Snow White's scalp, making her fall unconscious. Then she uses ribbons and binds it tightly around Snow White's waist that it makes her pass out. Then the famous poisoned apple that kills her, or so one would've assumed. Also the queen is tortured to death at the end in the original version.

Colours red, black and white

Snow White was given black hair, white as snow skin and red blood lips. These are the prime colours of magic and time. Red for the sun and daylight. White for the moon. Black is for the earth and also night. Red is for the fire. White is for ice. Black is for soil and wood. Some believe that the three colours represent the triple goddess, or the three phases of a woman's life. The colours are also potent as these are used in a deck of cards, including tarot. Historically in Germany, where the Grimm Brothers are from, the colours red, white and black are from the combined Prussian and the Hanseatic flags.

Magic mirror on the wall

One can think of magic mirrors and scrying mirrors but the earlier version didn't have a mirror as such. Instead it was water that the queen gazed into. Some believe that the voice of the mirror was actually the king who assured his wife she was the fairest in all the land but admitted his daughter was far more beautiful. The mirror, like the window, reflects and is the cause for the queen's jealousy and downfall.

Dwarfs

In the earlier version, there aren't any dwarfs but seven robbers. They were a threatening band of men who frightened Snow White, and she was forced to choose between staying with them as a slave, or if not they would give her up to the queen or kill her themselves. Now dwarfs later was used to represent the less frightening, more charming aspect of the fairytale so that Snow White is not under threat or bullied. Dwarfs exist in Norse and Germanic myths. They dwell in mountains or live underground. They mine metals and minerals, and they build excellent tools. Dwarfs might have lived and were, some say, the primitive hominids called Neanderthals that people came across during migrations during and after the previous Ice Age.

My view on the fairytale

It's just my opinion that Snow White could not have been a mortal. She survived death and never died at all. She was asleep and had been so beautiful that she was put in a coffin made of glass. The prince (a warrior, hero and demigod), wanted to disturb her coffin by giving her a kiss. Is she based upon the sleeping Valkyrie stories? Fairytales today don't make much sense but are full of sweetie pie magic. They used to be horror stories made up to frighten children a long time ago.

Explore Snow White:

SurLaLune Fairy Tales: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Analysis
Snow White on Disney Wikia

Enchanting flowers: Snowdrops

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It's January the snowdrops have started to appear on the grass. Tiny little white icy looking flowers on straight bright green stems. Also called Galanthus, ancient Greek word meaning "milk flower". Seeing snowdrops reminds us that winter and the harsh bitter season is going away soon. Snowdrops are tough little flowers that thrive in winter.

Snowdrops is believed to be snowflakes turned into flowers. Snowdrops was considered a medicinal plant used to help relieve pain and stress. Snowdrops are used in medicines to treat Alzheimer's disease. Yet many people see them as unlucky and picking snowdrops would attract negativity. Snowdrops have a folklorish ring around death and illnesses. Taking snowdrops from a grave would upset spirits.

Snowdrops are associated with the arrival of Spring, that others call Imbolc, and the flower is sacred to the goddess Brigid. Other symbolism of the snowdrop flower is innocence and light.

"The Snowdrop, pearly white of hue,
Each morning sheds a fragrant dew,
Which little goblins come and get,
And use to bait their beetle-net."
(Poem is "The Snowdrop" by John Russel Hayes).

Snowdrops web
Galanthus, wikipedia
The magic of the snowdrop

Sacred magical numbers

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Ancient people viewed numbers very differently than we do today. Modern understanding of numbers is taught to us since primary school age, to learn to count and visualise the figures in shape and form. Numbers are looked upon as a separate alphabet for mathematics. We see them like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0. Its embedded into our subconsciousness. So when we think of numbers, we are reminded of maths, figures, clocks, measurements, prices, phone numbers and dates. Well the true mystical numbers as they should have been viewed, as ancient people understood them, was not like that. Numbers were just not catagorised as such. They were seen as forms and images, philosophies, magic, shamanic quests, medicine and folklore. They helped ancient humans to grow from hunter-gatherers to farmers and city builders.Let's start with revealing each individual number and their glory:

ONE (1) is something, anything, plant, animal, person, star, shape in its entire form. It means a complete thing. It also means a perfected outcome from birth. Each atom is an individual number one. ONE (number 1) is associated with the soul, body, heart, rocks, a blade of grass, a single flower.

TWO (2) can mean twins and Gemini but it isn't to do with a pair or a couple of lovers. Two is about a double exposure and a reflection. Mirrors show a second you. Water can also reflect you. Anything that reflects reveals a second world with another you. Two is about the mirror image. It can even be a shadow of you. The fact is we humans have got two eyes.

THREE (3) is a dimensional shape, with three points and three sides. Now what is it but a triangle. This means that there is a base, a centre and a top. Three places, and three spaces. Past, present and future. Beginning, middle and end. Small, medium and short. It's about sizes, dimensions and distances. You are the centre, in the middle, okay and what's ahead what is behind is a system of three.

FOUR (4) is looked upon as a kind of square shape with four sides, and four points, like a box or a room. This is how modern people see it  Four is about the great external plane around us, such as the four corners, the four points of the compass, North, South, East and West. It's the four seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn. It's where we live, what time we're in and what it feels like. Predicting the weather in that mode of thinking in this way uses the three, two and one positions.

FIVE (5) increases ones awareness now of the surroundings. Five is a unit number, and identified with five points and the physical self. Five is about the human senses, smell, hearing, taste, sight and touch. Stars, and especially starfish have five points. Many ancients believed in five elements, earth, air, fire, water and ether or fifth element can be considered the quintessence.

SIX (6) is more to understand what the psychic self is. The sixth sense, regards to intuition, telepathy, ESP and psychic powers. The shape itself is a mystical square, a honeycomb, snowflake, legs of an insect, and polygon. It's recognition of an extra, higher self, extension of the senses and movements.

SEVEN (7) as ancient people regarded the days of the week and seven rainbow colours and chakras. It's a vast awareness of knowing within the astral and body. The amount of time, days or years counted as seven as a rounded period of time. There are seven petals of a lotus flower.

EIGHT (8) is the understanding of life, creation and what helps us breath. The eighth atomic number is for Oxygen. Spiders have eight legs, octopus have eight arms and mammals, including humans, have eight cervical nerves. Eight legged Sleipnir the horse belonged to the All-Father god Odin.

NINE (9) This is regarded the purest number and highest state of being. Cats have nine lives. There are nine planets in the solar system. Nine worlds of the cosmic Tree of Life, Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Midgard, Jotunheim, Svartalfheim, Nidavellir, Muspellheim and Niflheim. These worlds correspond to the nine worlds of the solar system. Beside the esoteric and occult interest in nine times and the number figure, the nines are significant to life, birth and death. As the nine worlds occupy the solar system, the tree of life, then nine different phases of life and rebirth happen. Besides that, there are nine muses (girls) at the sacred garden of Hesperides and pregnancy in women lasts nine months.The secret of ghosts, reincarnation, afterlife, crops up in a ninth symmetry. Using the number 9 may help to either learn this secret or be confused by it. 

The early ancients viewed numbers as shapes, senses, feeling and wisdom, and not as glyphs or figures 1, 2, 3, ect. To know true mathematics, you need to understand it as a shape and colour, smell, ratio, temperature, image and even animal, person, flower, star system, planet, god/goddess, location, memory and even a dream. It's my view that numbers are really nature spirits communicating to us.

Links on this subject:
Sacred mathematics
Numerology arts

Lunar maidens

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At night the moon was a crescent and pretty bright. Regarded as the waxing moon phase, associated with maidens and magic. The other phases of the moon, gibbous, full moon, waning moon and new moon, are said to symbolise the three phases of a woman's life, maiden/mother/crone, or be an aspect of the triple goddess.

Animals of the moon's mythology go back centuries. It's said that there are rabbits and hares on the moon. Although such beliefs are recorded throughout the Far East and different other parts of Asia, some have found references to these mythical lunar animals among ancient Europeans and Aztecs. In Chinese mythology, a rabbit that lives on the moon creates herbs for the gods to make them immortal. The Chinese lunar rover is called Jade Rabbit.

 In Europe, there are three rabbits often chasing one another in a circle, linked with the lunar cycle and fertility, again associated with the moon and triple goddess and triskelion. These three rabbits dancing are a lunar symbol and appears on coats of arms and can be found across Europe and Asia.

There is a "moon gazing hare" and it's lunar and fertility and rebirth magical meaning. The hare and three rabbits base heavily in late winter and spring, and the moon becomes the image of an ovum and egg. Maiden goddesses, Artemis, Diana, Kore, Elaine, Parvati, Ostara, and Freya are associated with the spring and flowers. As the first flowers of the year bloom and light grows each day, we can witness the early change of seasons shifting from winter to spring.

There are many lunar deities, gods and goddesses of the moon. There are many lunar divinities in Greek mythology as there are a tapestry of different deities and spirits. There is Selene (Luna), the moon mother, Artemis the maiden of the moon, sister of Apollo, and granddaughter of Phoebe. This is where is becomes confusing because Selene's original name was Mene (that means both "moon" and "man"). Ancient Phrygian's worshiped a male lunar god called Men. The name and lunar god is somewhat similar to Mani of the northern Germanic tribes and Meness of the Latvian myths. There is the female moon  goddess Mano of the Sami myths and moon goddess Anumati of the Hindus. So there was a divine lunar twin brother and sister in European and Asian myths as well as celestial twins, god and goddess sun/moon brother/sister AND triplets!

In Germanic myth, there is Mani and masculine god of the moon. Yet there is evidence Mani has two sisters. One is the bright solar goddess Sunna (or Sol). Their sister is the lunar goddess Sinthgunt of the waxing phase, a moon maiden goddess. Sinthgunt "the night walking one", who has the ability to heal and blend herbs and tend the horses.

I could delve deeper into the moon magical mysteries but I've run out of time. This was merely to highlight some of the myths and names of gods and goddesses, less known and well known. The crescent waxing moon and maiden aspect of the triple goddess have messages and lost answers.  What's left are the fragments, traditions and folklore.


(The picture is by visionary artist Gilbert Williams).

Lady She-Wolf Moon

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Hello and welcome to February 2014. As we approach the full moon, there is something to keep in mind also: It's Valentine's Day during the full moon. Some of you may already know the true pagan origins of Valentine's Day and it's supernatural links with Lupercalia (an ancient festival in honour of the wolves, mainly of goddess Lupa, mother she-wolf who reared boys that were later to become the founding fathers of Rome). Lupa is another name for a female wolf. Depicted as a giant wolf, this matriarch she-wolf nurses human infants as she stands proud, represented in bronze, the Capitolina Lupa statue. Some myths claim that Lupa is really a beautiful Etruscan goddess of fertility, named Acca Larentia, wife of Faunus. In ancient times before Rome, the nickname given to prostitutes was "she-wolf" and this goddess prostituted herself to gain vast fortunes, so the name Lupa and She-Wolf was stuck with prostitute, lover, sweetheart and mother.

The full moon of Lupa festival can be regarded as another time of the wolf lady: Vanadis. This is another alternative name for Freya and scattered references show that She had many different other names. In Vanadis the goddess was able to transform into a wolf. Her special animal companions are cats and a boar, and it is said in early Scandinavian myths that the cats pull Her golden blazing chariot across the sky. Her special flower is a rose and Her symbols are the pentagram and heart. The favourite symbol of Valentine's Day is a love heart, which is a type of triquetra.

The Turkik, Ainu, Mongolian and Chechen people believe that they are descended from wolves. All those people view the She-Wolf as a mother figure. Modern people use wolf talismans to protect against damage, diseases and evil spirits. Wolf symbols have been used as good luck charms. Ancient people such as warriors respected wolves as fellow hunters. Although many feared them, wolves came to be respected and used by farmers as protectors of their livestock from pests and thieves. Early humans developed a relationship with wolves, and domestication of the Grey Wolf began many thousands of years ago when we were hunter-gatherers.

IMHO myths were born from historical tales and oral traditions passed down. Some myths talk in riddles and use code, such as "monsters" to describe the fear that ancestors had when they really encountered dangerous mega fauna. Extinct animals, i.e. mammoths, may have been the source of where the monsters and beasts started. Classical and medieval period myths of dragons, ogres, cyclops, unicorns ect stem from a lost age of primitive hereditary memories. The myth of werewolves and the wolf ancestors have a link to that past too.There is a supernatural and mystery to it though and WE DON'T KNOW EVERYTHING. I know that there is more to it than this. The moon has a fundamental pull on the earth, blood and psyche and influences the earth. Full moon's alter brain patterns and can change sleeping. It's assumed magic doesn't exist but it does. 

She Wolf Night

Picture:
"Protector" by Anne Stokes
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