If aliens will contact us, in which language are we going to speak with them?

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If aliens will contact us, in which language are we going to speak with them?

Since 1984 the SETI Institute has been systematically searching for extraterrestrial life. As a matter of fact, the scientific research could go back to 1924. In this year, on August 21st, the American authorities asked from the citizens to silence all radios for five minutes every hour. The goal was that astronomers could use a powerful radio receiver strapped to a dirigible floating two miles up to catch any potential radio signals coming from Mars. Unfortunately, their effort failed at that time.

Did aliens visit the Ancients?

The very surmise that aliens exist fascinates our imagination since ages. Some even suggest that ancient cultures had contact with aliens. There are proponents of the theory that life on our planet may be descendants or creations of extraterrestrial intelligence. One of their argument are that ancient artifacts like the Mesopotamian Cylinder Seal or the “Helicopter hieroglyphs”, at Abydos of Egypt seem to feature extraterrestrial entities. What is more, some people believe that ancient texts give hints about advanced technology and flying machines.

The Indian flying chariots and Ezekiel’s vision

This is, for example, the case of Vimāna, the flying palaces or chariots that are mentioned in Hindu texts, such as the Sanskrit epic Ramayana. In a verse in the epic poem Vimānas are describes like this (Book 6, Canto CXXIV):

Swift through the air, as Ráma chose,

The wondrous car from earth arose.

And decked with swans and silver wings

Bore through the clouds its freight of kings.

Similarly, as we read in this Wikipedia article, the first Chapter of the Book of Ezekiel in Old Testament narrates

a vision in which Ezekiel sees “an immense cloud” that contains fire and emits lightning and “brilliant light”. It continues: “The center of the fire looked like glowing metal, and in the fire was what looked like four living creatures”. These creatures are described as winged and humanoid, they “sped back and forth like flashes of lightning” and “fire moved back and forth among the creatures”. The passage goes on to describe four shiny objects, each appearing “like a wheel intersecting a wheel”. These objects could fly and they moved with the creatures: “When the living creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose”.

That the ancient civilizations arose due to alien intervention is an idea that has been put forward by Erich von Däniken in his renowned work Chariots of the gods: unsolved mysteries of the past. Pseudoscience?

It’s up to you to decide. Fact is that in their book Intelligent Life in the Universe, astrophysicists I. S. Shklovski and Carl Sagan support the idea that scientists should seriously consider the hypothesis that extraterrestrial contact occurred during recorded history.

The language of the aliens

Now, the renowned theoretical physicists Michio Kaku has predicted that humans will contact an alien civilisation within this century.

But how are we going to talk to them? As Dr. Kaku pointed out:

    “Let me stick my neck out. I personally feel that within this century, we will make contact with an alien civilization, by listening in on their radio communications. But talking to them will be difficult, since they could be tens of light years away. So, in the meantime, we must decipher their language to understand their level of technology. Are they Type I, II, or III??? And what are their intentions. Are they expansive and aggressive, or peaceful.”

So, the problem is real: in case we receive an articulated extraterrestrial message (and not simply a radio wave one), we should make an effort to understand what they are trying to say.

Astrolinguistics

Amazing as it may sound, there is indeed a linguistic domain that deals with the issue. It is called exolinguistics or astrolinguistics.

Certain linguists, such as Noam Chomsky believe that it is “highly unlikely” to be able to understand their language. The reason will be that language can be organized in various ways. Thus, an alien language will violate the rules of the human “universal grammar”. This will make it impossible to decipher what they are trying to tell us.

Still, if there is a Universal Grammar, shouldn’t be similarly structured across the whole…universe?

Well, it sounds reasonable to believe that aliens will not differ that much from us. Leaving apart how advanced they may be, their language should be somehow similar to human languages

As we read in Daily Mail, Dr James Carney is a Senior Research Associate in Psychology from Lancaster University. He explores the challenges we might face in speaking with aliens.

One main problem we may face is the one of frequency. Humans speak in an 85-255Hz frequency range of sound. Will an ET language be audible for us at all? However, this is a technical problem. We may surpass it the way we did with the frequencies of the whales, for example, which now our devices can capture.

The “Universal Grammar”

The greatest problem is if it will be possible at all to translate and comprehend their language.

If universal grammar is really universal, there will be a point in which translation will be feasible. Besides, grammars should be like life, this means based on the same elements.

Some other scholars though mention that there may be a huge cognitive gap between the human and the alien perception of the world. This may cause insurmountable problems in accessing the extraterrestrial language.

But let us remain optimists. Firstly, that aliens will not be aggressive, and they will not attempt to subjugate us. And, secondly, that their culture can open to us so that we get to know us better! Besides, we are all children of the same world.

Phaethon

Recitations, Rituals and Spells can Transform your mind

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Recitations, Rituals and Spells can Transform your mind

The Ancients did not really fancy the fact of keeping records of knowledge by writing it down into books. On the one hand, they believed that by keeping records of what we should learn by heart, we weaken our capacity to memorize things. On the other hand, there were things, like rituals and spells, that should not appear in a book available to everyone. As a matter of fact, writing got widespread because of bureaucracy, not because of literature!

So, in ancient India “reliance on language in its written form was seen as crippling, and not giving true control over linguistic content. Hence this (Sankrit) proverb:

“Knowledge in a book – money in another´s hand.”[i]

Sokrates also “reported” that when the god Theuth first offered the craft of writing to the king of Egypt, the king was not really impressed. As the king said:

“Most ingenious Theuth, one man has the ability to beget arts, but the ability to judge of their usefulness or harmfulness to their users belongs to another; and now you, who are the father of letters, have been led by your affection to ascribe to them a power the opposite of that which they really possess. For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory.”

(Plato, Phaedrus 275a)

Memorizing is good for our brain

The fact is that in our digital era, our mind capacity to memorize things is barely challenged. Although we develop other skills, like being faster in searching for information, our brain gets lazier in keeping memories. And this is not without consequences. As this article put it, the ugly toll of technology is impatience and forgetfulness.

What is then the antidote to that? According to neuroscientist James Hartzell, learning long texts in an ancient language such as Sanskrit can literally transform your brain.

Hindu tradition still demands the recitation of extensive texts that trained scholars in India learn to chant from a tender age. Along with memorizing the texts, they also learn to master the grammar of the ancient language. Thus, they are totally aware of what they are singing.

The “Sanskrit effect”

Dr. Hazell studied 21 professionally qualified Sanskrit pandits. In a research published by his team, he discovered that “memorising Vedic mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function, including short and long-term memory. This finding corroborates the beliefs of the Indian tradition which holds that memorising and reciting mantras enhances memory and thinking.” As he wrote in Scientific American:

“I had also noticed that the more Sanskrit I studied and translated, the better my verbal memory seemed to become. Fellow students and teachers often remarked on my ability to exactly repeat lecturers’ own sentences when asking them questions in class. Other translators of Sanskrit told me of similar cognitive shifts. So I was curious: was there actually a language-specific “Sanskrit effect” as claimed by the tradition?”

Indeed, Dr. Hazell reports a substantial change in the right hippocampus of the Hindu scholars. This region is connected with short and long memory and, in the case of bandits, it exhibited more grey matter than in average brains. Moreover, the right temporal cortex, associated with speech prosody and voice identity, was also substantially thicker.

Learn your spells, strengthen your memory!

Our western way of life does not allow us to dedicate much time to memorizing of long texts. But then, how can we reverse the tendency of our brain to forget things? Well, there is definitely a way.

Learning a foreign language is always beneficial. Not only will you be able, gradually, to have access to a foreign culture and eventually communicate with its speakers. You will also improve the condition of your brain health, since it has been often put forward, that learning a foreign language can prevent brain aging, dementia and even Alzheimer.

Learning an ancient language may sound less practical for communicating with modern folks, but it can be fascinating. Latin, Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Sanskrit or Gothic! The list is long, do your research. Besides, ancient wisdom is valuable for us and we have to preserve it. You will never regret it.

And of course, witches and mages have a good chance here to train their brain. When you practice your spells and rituals, learn them by heart. Recite them before each performance. Try to remember a list of spells that can be useful when you do not have access to your notes or to Magical Recipes! Your brain will be doubly grateful, for memorizing magic and giving it an energy boost!

Phaethon

[i] Nicholas Ostler. 2006. Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. Harper Collins e-books, chapter: The character of Sanskrit.

The Chinese wisdom predicts: Select an I-Ching hexagram and foresee your future

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The Chinese wisdom predicts: Select an I-Ching hexagram and foresee your future

The I-Ching (pronounced eee-jing) is one of the most important works of ancient Chinese literature. It belonged to the 5 Classics of the Confucian thought and it was very beloved to Chinese emperors.

The core of I-Ching was composed during the reign of Zhou dynasty. Scholars are not sure about the exact dating of the text. Probably, it appeared at the later Western Zhou period (825–800 BC). The original text bore the name Zhōu yì which meant “the Changes of Zhou”. Various Confucian philosophers added commentaries to the original text. These comments are called “Ten Wings”. In so doing, the text ceased to be solely a means of divination and it also became a philosophical treatise. Even Confucius himself said once: “Give me a few more years—if I have fifty more years to study the Book of Changes, then perhaps I, too, can avoid any great errors”. Still, we have to understand that the ancient Chinese mind did not sharply separate divination and philosophy. And of course, neither does any traditional spiritual approach.

In the West, I-Ching is also known as the Book of Changes. It became fairly known when the psychologist and theoretist on symbolism and dreams, Carl Jung declared, in his famous Foreword to the Wilhelm-Baynes I Ching (Redmond 2017, p. 370):

“The I Ching insists upon self-knowledge throughout. The method by which this is to be achieved is open to every kind of misuse, and is therefore not for the frivolous-minded and immature; nor is it for intellectualists and rationalists. It is appropriate only for thoughtful and reflective people who like to think about what they do and what happens to them”

Jung added that I-Ching cannot be explained through pure logic. This was a challenge to the raw rationalism of his time.

The I-Ching divination

Through the centuries, I-Ching was a major means of divination. The logic behind the future prediction is to generate a hexagram. There are 64 hexagrams. There were many ways to do the process, the most common nowadays is with three coins. These yield the numbers 6, 7, 8, or 9, corresponding to old yin, young yang, young yin, and old yang, respectively. Old yin is yin changing into yang (– — > —–) and old yang is yang changing into yin (—— > — –). New yang and young yin remain unchanged. The changing lines provide a second hexagram as well. This, consequently, meant a more detailed prediction and advice for the future.

Two heads and one tail of the original I-Ching Divination Coins. Source: Wikipedia. Article: I-Ching divination.

Whether one believes in divination or not, many scholars consider its performance itself a meditative act.  Redmond (2017, p. 331) notices: “In contrast to simply listening to a lecture or reading—whether from print or screen—practicing divination with the I Ching is an active process, consisting of both mental and physical activity. While the mind controls most physical activity, sensation and movement in turn affect the mind. Traditionally, consulting the I-Ching is done facing north as one would if conferring with a living sage. Incense is lit as a token offering; a few moments are taken to still the mind and concentrate the inquiry. Then a hexagram is selected, ideally with yarrow, alternatively with coins, beads or other methods. The selected passage is read, and if there are changing lines perhaps additional text is taken into consideration.”

Select a hexagram

Along with the divination process, one should also consider the form of the hexagram. Each configuration of yin and yang lines is not arbitrary, and it has a strong symbolic character. Hence, it appeals to our predilections.

Selecting a hexagram shows the tendencies that your personality will follow in the future. What you can do is to ask yourself a vital question and then select a hexagram. Your selection shows the way you are more prone to follow.

1. Jin 晉: Advance (Progress, Prosperity)

The hexagram shows an increase in wealth. Yet, in order to be benefited, we also have to offer. Through mutual generosity, everyone around us will prosper. It is our duty to contribute to this blessing of material and spiritual goods. On the other hand, egoism and conceit will block the flow of prosperity.

2. Gu 蠱: Decay, Work on what has been spoiled

This hexagram is associated with lechery, sexual excess and weakness attributed to passions. Still, the hexagram shows a way to work on everything that hampers our progress and keeps our spirit enslaved. However, the hexagram calls us to be extremely cautious in our steps because the danger of failure is present.

3. Lu 旅: The Traveler (The Wanderer)

Being a traveler means that you have a free spirit and you will decide to reconsider and change your life radically. Through curiosity and an adventurous mind, you can flourish. Beware, however, not to become a wanderer without roots. Trip should be spontaneous and free but not without a destination. Otherwise, you may get lost.

4. Qian 乾: Heaven (the Creative)

This is the first hexagram in the list of I-Ching hexagrams. The harmonic configuration of yang lines suggests that you will go through future life with constancy and creativity. You are a reliable person and success will be offered to you for your efforts. Action is favored.

5. Kun 坤: Earth (The Receptive)

This hexagram consists of 6 yin lines. Being throughout a more female and darker sign, it underscores the merits of patience and passive knowledge. We should let things flow their course the way they are supposed to flow. This should not be interpreted as blind compliance and passivity. It is more about understanding what the circumstances are and read the signs of the time. After you get this knowledge, you can carefully move on.

6. Gou 姤: Meeting (Coming to Meet)

The hexagram implies that we may have to refrain from certain people, even if we find them attractive and charming. Still, we should prepare ourselves for an interesting encounter that will transform our lives. This hexagram is about relationships. What we should do is to select the proper people that will assist us in our personal progress.

7. Wei Ji 未濟: River Not Yet Crossed (Before Completion)

The hexagram presents a critical moment in our life. We are about to pass a threshold, to “cross a river”. It is a challenging period that demands our whole attention and meticulous steps. If we will get “wet” while “crossing the river”, the damage will be done. The hexagram suggests that we think twice before we proceed, and we are absolutely sure about our decisions.

8. Shi 師: Troops (The Army)

The hexagram calls us to stand up and lead our lives in a decisive way. It is time for action and time to harvest the fruits of our efforts. The reference to an´army´ does not mean that we should be aggressive. On the contrary, an army presupposes discipline and hierarchy. On an individual level, this means that we have to shine in confidence and responsibility.

References:

For the translations of the hexagrams and for historical information we consulted the following, recently published, work:

Redmond, Geoffrey. 2017. The I Ching (Book of Changes) A Critical Translation of the Ancient Text. Bloomsbury Academic.

Phaethon

 

 

 

Burn your negative thoughts with this candle spell!

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Burn your negative thoughts with this candle spell!

Candles are beautiful. They give light, warmth and often a scent. A flame in the darkness satisfies and calms our eye. Even the smallest candle can transform a room. When we have a romantic dinner, it is exactly a candle that contributes the romantic element.

But more than that, a candle can be a symbol. In her book Candle Power: Using Candlelight For Ritual, Magic & Self-Discovery (2000, Cassell Illustrated), the author Cassandra Eason movingly writes:

“The life of man is said to be like a candle – the candle itself the mortal form, the unburned was undeveloped potential and its flame the spirit – for candles are not only light but living fire. When a candle is spent or we snuff it out, the light might be gone from our external vision and the warmth from our touch, but that light is not lost: rather, it is transformed into radiant beams that fuel the positive energies of the universe and fall as love and healing on those who gaze into a candle flame in sorrow, pain or fear.”

Candles are Magic!

It comes as no surprise then that candles are also essential in the ceremonies, rituals and spells of many religions and traditions, such as Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. Yet, the roots of the ritual are pagan. For example, Ancient Greeks used candles to honor the goddess Artemis’ birth on the sixth day of every lunar month. And of course, in Wiccan practices candles have a dominant role. Those who get now started can consult this book by Lisa Chamberlain: Wicca Candle Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Wiccan Candle Magic, with Simple Candle Spells.

In a previous article of us, we have gathered all necessary information you will require for getting started with Candle Magic!

The flame will burn whatever troubles your mind

Now, for getting prepared for a spell of mind purification we need the following:

1. Choose the right candle

The color of a candle is crucial for a spell. In our article Candle Magic: Candle Colours Correspondences, we explained the properties of its candle color. White stands for purification, with blue we emphasize our wish for peace and renewal.

It is far more desirable to obtain a candle made from beeswax. Bees are important for magic and candles made from their wax is the purest you can get. You can also select plant waxes such as bayberry wax. It goes without saying that any natural product outshines any one made from petroleum products regarding its energy. Nevertheless, every candle can be used for our purposes.

Find a short, solid pillar candle, one that could be hold by the whole palm of your hand. It should not be too big and too thin because you will have to focus on its flame by looking downwards. Also avoid not naturally scented candles.

2. Find a dark room

For performing the spell, we will need a room where light gets inside. Simply said: the darkest the room is the better. The room will represent the dark side of our mental and emotional world, in which a flame will spark up.

3. Choose the right moon phase

Since our goal is to dispel our inner negativity, you should select a period when the moon is in its waning phase. This will accelerate the effects of the spell process. Witches and mages know that moon phases play a significant role, therefore take it into consideration.

4. Write down whatever troubles you

An import step in order to get rid of negative thoughts is to formulate it in a succinct and clear way. Be honest with yourself. Write down all anxieties and fears but try not to get emotional while preparing the list, don’t let these thoughts dominate your mind right now. At this point you have to recognize them.

Burning the negative thoughts

Fire is energy and so are thoughts. The day you will decide to perform the spell, be sure to be in a clear state of mind. Try to meditate and relax before you go on with it.

Sit in the middle of the room and find a position where the candle is in front of you at a height in which you can stretch slightly your arms in order to have the candle between your hands. Put the candle on the table. You can make a small wreath around it with dry twigs of herbs or small flowers.

Don’t play music and use only one candle. after concentrating through meditation for a while, light the candle. Then rub your two palms until you feel the energy. Afterwards, place your palms opposite to each other around the flame. Both palms should be in a distance that could feel the warmth of the flame. This feeling should be pleasant.

Then recite this introductory mantra:

“By the power of flame and the pure glory of fire,
let these shadows be vanished forever”

Then, start mentioning the negative thoughts one after another. In doing that, remain calm and neutral towards them. Imagine that they flow from both of your hands towards the flame where they are burnt and gone in the air. When you have mentioned all negative thoughts, spend some time regarding the flame and observe the serenity in you. finally, Leave the candle in a safe place in the dark room and exit. If possible, let the candle be burnt to the very end.

Phaethon

Why Life Passes by faster, as we Grow older?

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Why Life Passes by faster, as we Grow older?

Most of us will agree: the older we get, the faster our days seem to pass by.  When we reminisce about our childhood, we get that feeling that our experiences back then were longer, more fascinating, more intensive. Our birthday parties were endless magnificent festivities and summers gave us at the end a sense of a sweet dullness.

However, when we leave youth behind, time seems to speed up. Memories about when happened what gets opaque. Frequently, we wish we could stop the time for a while. But time and life run inexorably after a point.

It reminds us of the famous poem of Edgar Allan Poe who caught this agony in words:

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

Chunking our experiences speeds up our life tempo

Basically, it may sound self-evident that as children we perceive time differently. Everything is new, we are curious, the associations between events are still challenging. Well, that’s utterly true! But what happens afterwards? Is it the tedium of daily life?

In fact, this is the answer, but it does not suffice. The question, in turn, is to examine in a more concrete way. how our brain accepts this “erosion of time”.

For understanding that, a research team from the University of Kansas ran a relevant study. Its results were published in the journal Self and Identity. Its methodology is described in this Research Digest post. As the authors point out: “Perceiving life as rapidly slipping away is psychologically harmful: unpleasant, demotivating, and possibly even hostile to the sense that life is meaningful.”

The research was based on a theory of the philosopher Douglas Hofstadter. He suggested that when we get older, our brain tends to package distinct but similar experiences into bigger “chunks”. For example, after an age, every single walk under the rain will be grouped together as “the under-the-rain-walks” chunk. Consequently, our brain encodes all that time spent for these walks quite as a single event that entails the same impressions. There is no more variety in our actions, so we do not remember each of them as something unique. And this is then how we regard our whole life, in short chunked memories.

Be mindful of every moment!

How can we now slow down this process? The authors propose that we try to be more mindful. The motto “enjoy the moment” is not just a banality but the way to slow down the flowing time. Not only will moments become more precious, but you will perceive your whole lifetime in a more well-rounded pace.

It goes without saying that the spiritual life of our witches and mages is one of the best remedy. Meditation, preparation of spells and ceremonies are all exceptional occasions and each time something we experience anew.

Love at First Sight: A Reincarnated Love?

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Love at First Sight: A Reincarnated Love?

It was some weeks ago that a female friend of mine had her Tarot cards interpreted by a woman. After Tarot lady made some predictions about my friend’s professional life, she turned to my friend’s relationship.

My friend had a passionate but complicated connection to a guy. Sometimes, they seem to be so different, to have a totally dissimilar view of life and values. Then again, being the one next to the other gave the impression that there was a certain connection between them which however we could not really explain.

While so many aspects of them should have make them to turn away from each other, their auras matched. And this was something that any well-meaning person could observe, even if there were no arguments in favor of keeping this relationship going on. Besides, there were plenty of problems between them.

The Tarot reader mentioned the tricky issues. She told her that her love makes her strong enough to deal with his difficult character and his quirks. After all, the explosive temperament of both of them was a bless and a curse for their affair.

Still, the Tarot lady told her that their relationship will go on, despite the difficulties. There was a reason for their being together. Their combined energy was unique and strong. And the fact that they met each other was not mere coincidence. Actually, they had met and they were in love in the past, in previous lives. What they experienced in this life is a reincarnated love!

In previous lives?

At first, my friend smirked at this comment, but then again, she found the idea beautiful. This gave her a warmth of certainty about her amorous decisions.

Why do we choose a certain person out of all our encounters to love deeply? And how do we finally get to really connect just with one or anyway very few persons in terms of love? This actually remains a mystery. Even if we are going to have many relationships in our lives or lead a polyamorous way of life, for most of us, there will always be this particular one with whom we develop a special bond.

In fact, some couples recognize their strong attraction for each other from the very beginning. It is love at first sight, given that of course this attraction is not merely sexual desire, but it goes deeper to the domains of understanding, aesthetics and values.

Reincarnated love is a still open issue

Then, what does it mean to find our soulmate? When we feel that a person is special for us this is a sign that our destiny brought us together. And these sorts of connections may come from the past, when our wandering soul met another soul that attached to us.

So, love at first sight or the feeling you fall in love to someone can be sometimes a remembrance of a previous life. Now, samsara and karmic destiny reincarnates not only our own existence but also the experiences we had in order that they evolve along with us. Our encounters with souls we loved in the past occur because we have to solve open issues or to find support and develop our psychic world. Reincarnated love is then a continuity through time.

Our soulmates are our angels on earth and we ourselves are their angels as well.

Plato and the “half bodies” longing for each other

The idea of reincarnated love is not novel. Esoteric traditions, both monotheistic and pagan ones, refer to this concept. For example, according to this post of chabad.org, in Kabbalah traditions we can trace evidence about a reincarnated love. Leaving aside the patriarchal undertones, the acceptance of this idea is evident and interesting.

Yet, the best presentation of why we are seeking for our soulmates through time was given in the renowned “Symposium”, a banquet dialogue written down by the Greek philosopher Plato. In this work, Plato presents the comedian playwright “explains” why people speak about “the other half” and the feel complete when it comes to a love affair.

As Aristophanes says, human beings in primal times were double-faced, with double bodies in which all sexes combinations were possible:

“In the first place, there were three kinds of human beings, not merely the two sexes, male and female, as at present: there was a third kind as well, which had equal shares of the other two, and whose name survives though, the thing itself has vanished. For ‘man-woman’ (hermaphrodite) was then a unity in form no less than name, composed of both sexes and sharing equally in male and female; whereas now it has come to be merely a name of reproach.

Secondly, the form of each person was round all over, with back and sides encompassing it every way; each had four arms, and legs to match these, and two faces perfectly alike on a cylindrical neck. There was one head to the two faces, which looked opposite ways; there were four ears, two privy members, and all the other parts, as may be imagined, in proportion.”

Lovers’ eternal return

The creature walked upright as now, in either direction as it pleased and whenever it started running fast, it went like our acrobats, whirling over and over with legs stuck out straight; only then they had eight limbs to support and speed them swiftly round and round.

 The number and features of these three sexes were owing to the fact that the male was originally the offspring of the sun, and the female of the earth; while that which partook of both sexes was born of the moon, for the moon also partakes of both.

They were globular in their shape as in their progress, since they took after their parents. Now, they were of surprising strength and vigor, and so lofty in their notions that they even conspired against the gods.”

(Plato: Symposium, 189d – 190b. Translation retrieved from Perseus Project)

The great power of these creatures caused the wrath of Gods who decided to split them in two parts. Since then, the half-cut bodies are longing for the other half. At the beginning, they desperately tried to unify into one again, but in vain. Seeing the grief, and in order to assure the continuation of mankind, God-Father Zeus placed their genitals in front. So through the relief of sex they get satisfaction and the illusion of being united. What was once an androgynous being, it is now a man and a woman who can reproduce for the sake of gods. Similarly, all half bodies are searching for their other half, in every possible combination.

Therefore, love sometimes appears as an inevitable attraction to another person. There may have been a time, in which our souls were so close to the person we just see in front of us right now. And when we have clear emotions, empathy and intuition we have to follow this call. We should not oppose destiny for this is what our reincarnated soul seeks for.

Phaethon

A Spell for the Goddess of Love? Ancient script from Crete may have been deciphered

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A Spell for the Goddess of Love? Ancient script from Crete may have been deciphered

Celebrating the Valentine’s day nowadays may have become a consumerist fashion to show how we venerate the magic of Love. But, one way or another, love and passion has always been the dominant force in the history of human history.

Phaistos Disc is one of the greatest archaeological and linguistic mysteries. It was probably manufactured in the 17th century BCE on the island of Crete in today’s Greece. It was a product of the once great Minoan civilization that flourished from about 2600 to 1100 BC in Crete and other Aegean islands. Historians and archaeologists call the civilization like that after the mythical king Minos.

The clay disc features an inscription which the scholars could not successfully decipher up to now. Some people refer to the script as “Minoan hieroglyphics” but in fact it is quite different than the Egyptian writing system. The symbols represented syllables of a language that has been unknown to us.

The Goddess that shines

Now, Dr. Gareth Owens, a British-Greek linguist, who has been living in Crete in the last 30 years, claims to be able to read 99% and understand 50% of the famous Phaistos disc.

According to the scholar, the one side of the disc makes reference to the impregnated deity who shines. The second side refers to a deity that sets (like a sun).

The language of the text is an Indo-European one. This means that it belongs to the great linguistic family that sometimes is called “Aryan” (although the term is scientifically infelicitous due to its racist undertones and linguists avoid it). Thus, the so-called “Minoan language” is relative with English, German, Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, Slavic and Celtic languages

Interestingly, the text seems to rhyme, forming a sort of sonnet of 18 verses with many alliterations. There are adjectives describing the goddess. Parts of this text have been found all over Crete on dedications to sanctuaries.

Which was this goddess? According to Owens her name was IQEKURJA, meaning something like ‘pregnant mother’ or simply ‘goddess’. Another name for her is IQEPHAE meaning ‘shining mother’. Is she then like a goddess of dawn?

It is hard to associate this goddess with another one right now. However, we do know that the Cretans created figurines of a female deity called Minoan Snake Goddess or Priestess. Her dominion was over nature and fertility. Her powerful stature and her might are impressing while her being naked-breasted manifests the matriarchal character of the cult.

Minoan Snake Goddess, photo by
Xosé Castro Roig (flickr)

Now, that we may be able to hear the name of the goddess, let us call her name loud once again and let us imagine a time when she was the indisputable ruler of the beautiful Mediterranean island of Crete.

Love In Your Pocket – Practical Spell

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Love In Your Pocket – Practical Spell

Love in your pocket! A practical Romanian spell to help you attract love on the go!

I have a very good friend in Romania that shared with me a very popular spell to attract love, especially after the New Year when we are all reseting our habits and Witches have put their goals together during the Winter Solstice. 

The ‘Putzi‘

In Romania, they create a conjure bag which  Witches carry with them to attract love. Both the bag and the spell (where it has taken its name) are called ‘putzi’ which translates as “pocket”.  The good aspects of this spell is that it is relatively simple, it is portable and oh my god that bags smells so nice. 

The actual bag is usually a red bag made of either velvet, silk or flannel depending on the material the witch could find, but my friend says that red silk works best to her experience. The bag should be relatively small for the Witch to carry around her either in his/her pocket or in his/her underwear (I am not sure how comfortable is this for many but anyway!). A putzi is ideally being made on a Friday night or during a Full Moon night.  

Your putzi should contain 9 ingredients which according to her are the following but feel free to adjust as required:

The Love in Your Pocket Spell: 

After all 8 ingredients have been placed in the bag it should be perfumed with either Rose Water/Oil or Neroli-Orange Blossom oil/hydrosol which acts as the 9th ingredient

Then the bag is being closed and the Witch seals it with a kiss while inhaling the perfume. This is the smell of Love!

I hope you enjoyed the spell as much as I did as it is relatively different from what we have seen before. 

The “cube test” reveals your inner thoughts and fears!

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The “cube test” reveals your inner thoughts and fears!

Get a pencil and a paper and let your phantasy free! The following “psychological” cube test can be revealing about yourself, your experiences, your love life but also about your relationships with friends and relatives.

Beware: In order not to forget your answers, it is better to depict what you have in your mind by drawing everything on a paper. Try to concentrate on your feelings about what you draw, not on how nice this looks. For example, you may want to paint the cube in a certain color because this makes you feel nicer and quieter. Thus, the test will be successful if you put down the first answer/description that crossed your mind. Don’t let logic intervene and don’t peek at the answers before you’re done!

Let’s get started!

You are in a desert and you are moving on. Suddenly, you see a cube.

The cube

How big is the cube?

Which color does it have?

How do you feel about this object?

What far are you from it?

How big is it in comparison to the whole scenery?

The ladder

There is a ladder. Does it lean against the cube? Which color does it have? What is it made of? What impression do you get from it?

The horse

The horse enters the scenery. What is its distance from the cube? Which color does it have? What impression does it arouse to you? Is it tied, or does it move freely? Does it have a saddle or not?

The storm

A storm begins. What is its distance with regard to the cube? Is it strong or not? Is it brief or does it last for a longer time?

Flowers

What about flowers? Are there any around? How many are there? One or more? How many exactly? Where are they exactly? What is their color? How do you feel about this flowers or these flowers?

The Interpretation

The Cube:

The cube represents you. The impression you get from this item is how you regard your own self. For example, you may have imagined that it is made out of yellow stones. Yellow may cause you a feeling of warmth and the stone radiates power. This is then reflected of how you understand yourself.

The distance between you and the cube reveals the level of your self-knowledge. If it is too far away, it is dire need to work on your self-knowledge and self-esteem.

If it is transparent, this suggests that you permit to people to approach you and read your thoughts.

The proportion between the cube and the desert discloses how you see yourself within the world. The bigger it is, the stronger your ego (in a positive and a negative way). Consequently, a smaller cube implies that you understand your existence as a small part of the world. This may mean humility or fear. This depends on how you feel towards the cube. Therefore, it is crucial to be honest with the initial impressions you experienced while taking the test.

The ladder:

The ladder represents your friends. If the ladder leans against the cube, then you are the one who supports your friends. If the ladder backs the cube, then your friends often bolster you. The distance and the color of the ladder divulges if you are close to your friends or not and how you feel about them.

The horse:

The horse represents your love partner. If it is close to the cube, you believe that your partner is close to you in life. If it tied or it has saddle, you want to have the control in an amorous relationship. Generally, the horse represents the way you understand your partner and your love life.

The storm:

Now, the storm stands for the obstacles you encounter in your life. If it close to the cube, then you are currently facing difficulties. If it is brief these are just minor problems that you can deal with. On the contrary, if it is enduring and heavy, the problems you have trouble you deeply.

The flower(s):

Finally, the flowers represent our offsprings and generally the family. If they are close to the cube, you are in good terms with children and relatives. As in the previous cases, they way you imagine the flowers and the feelings you get from them is revealing about how you feel about them.

Check our other revealing tests as well:

Old Tibet Test

Test of The Northern Witches – Pick A Familiar

Magic Color Test

Test: Are your chakras out of balance?

Is your soul tired? How can you overcome it?

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Is your soul tired? How can you overcome it?

Does it happen to you to wake up after 8 hours of sleep and still feel exhausted? Is your sleep turbulent and your mind is full of concerns? Do you have the constant feeling that you lack energy?

If you experience all these, it is highly probable that your soul is tired.

Having a tired soul leads to a life that is not aligned with your personal goals and the orientation you wanted to follow. Not only are you caught by fatigue. You also have the feeling that your way of life is pointless, your efforts in vain and you are moving towards the wrong direction.

Consequently, your energy is wasted against fighting this condition. Its flow becomes gradually weaker. It is like a flame flickering in an empty room.

In order for you to check the levels of your energy, rub the palms of your hands for 30 seconds. Then remove them away from each other slowly. If your energy levels are high and your soul in balance, you will have to detect a vibration and warmth between your palms.

On the contrary, if you trace no energy, this is an indication that something is going wrong. You have run out of energy and your soul is tired.

10 things that exhaust your soul:

There are many factors that could lead to such a condition. The most important of them are the following ones:

  1. You are on the Wrong Path, in contrast to your real self
  2. You say ‘yes’ although you would like to say no
  3. What you do does not fulfill your own goals
  4. You participate in trivial quarrels or tattle.
  5.  Toxic people, partners or friends are all around you.
  6.  Negative thoughts constantly take grip on you.
  7. You are stuck in the past
  8. There is confusion in your thoughts and decisions
  9. You consume much food, alcohol or drugs
  10. You do not care about yourself and you do not love what you are

All the above can make a soul tired. In turn, this may cause more severe problems, such as depression and loss of mental capacities such as intuition and empathy. It could also lead a person to addictions or grave psychological problems.

Therefore, if your soul is tired, it is urgent that you undertake some changes. The first step is to trace the root of this situation. When you are sure about the causes, you should be ready to confront yourself with them.

Save Our Souls

If it is dire need for you to change this, you should take some measures that can include meditation, positive magic, interesting activities and the like. This is what we suggest:

  1. Practice daily Meditation. Check for example our Meditation technique.
  2. Read books about spiritual life. This will inspire you to search for your true nature.
  3. Listen to good, spiritual Music.
  4. Learn to use Crystals
  5. Protect and Attract Positive Energy through Magic!
  6. Practice grounding.
  7. Set a concrete, positive and inspiring goal and work towards it.
  8. Try to avoid toxic people.
  9. Do some outdoor sport, such as jogging or swimming. Through that, try to connect with the nature.
  10. Love yourself. Even if you believe you are not perfect, you are already someone special and you deserve something better. And besides, ourselves is the only thing we really possess, and we can only work on our own self-improvement.

Of course, if the symptoms of a tired soul are really intense, consult a medical doctor or a psychologist. However, try to get out from this state of mind and heal your soul. Once you decide to get started, the positive results can appear really fast.

Do not forget, that, no matter what, your soul is strong and it can go through all these difficulties!

Phaethon

Nakedness & Nudity, Nature & Art

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Nakedness & Nudity, Nature & Art

You may have already read the news: The Manchester Art Gallery decided one week ago to remove John William Waterhouse’s work Hylas and the Nymphs from its gallery. The painting, not a masterpiece but a beautiful and fairly recognizable work, belongs to the so-called Pre-Raphaelite School which is associated with Romanticism.

Hylas was the most handsome mythical companion and servant of the Greek hero Hercules. Because of his magnificent beauty, Hylas was abducted by the Nymphs (female deities of nature, indirectly connected with sexuality and joy). The mythological legend has inspired Western art and Waterhouse’s painting represent a paramount example.

But why should the Gallery remove one of its most celebrated works of art? According to the Gallery, the decision for this removal aimed at prompting a public discussion concerning the depiction of the naked female body.

Indeed, the reaction to this decision was global. Some found the idea provocative while others think it has been an excess of the political correctness movement. In any case, issues such as the sexual objectification of women, the role of art institutions such as galleries and museums, political correctness and censorship and the authority over evaluating what are the boundaries of sexism emerged.

In an opinion-article published in The Guardian, the writer and curator Gilane Tawadros points out:

“At a time when Britain is painfully reconfiguring its identity in relation to Europe and the rest of the world, and campaigns such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo are exposing once again the fault lines of racism and sexism, we need cultural institutions to be self-reflexive, and critical about the mirrors they hold up. Now, more than ever, museums should be questioning themselves and their audiences.”

Other reactions were more vehement against the removal and warn that this first initiative could cause further attempts of banning works of art that may be considered “sexist” or “incorrect”. This may even include the ancient Greco-Roman art that celebrated the beauty of the naked body or even modern erotic non-pornographic art and photography.

The gallery itself issued a press release and a corresponding facebook post. In this you can see the large variety of the responses:

Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece back on public display after its temporary removalWell, there's no denying it's been an…

Posted by Manchester Art Gallery on Saturday, February 3, 2018

Femme Fatale

According to some analyses of the work, Waterhouse does not intend to focus to Hylas but to celebrate the female eroticism:

“The central character of this story, Hylas, is not the main focus of Waterhouse’s painting. Instead, the viewer is drawn to the central Nymph. Not only does Hylas have his back to the viewer but Waterhouse has created this painting so that we almost feel like we are seeing the vision from Hylas’ perspective.

The inspiration for this type of perspective come from Waterhouse’s obsession with portraying a femme fatale.”

So, the erotic element is there. And it has been part of the Western Art since Ancient Greece. Could this be considered sexism?

Nakedness and Nudity

This would be a very difficult and long discussion. Yet, a first criterion that we should postulate is the differentiation between nakedness and nudity. The nowadays well -established distinction was drawn by Kenneth Clark in The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form (1956)

“The English language, with its elaborate generosity, distinguishes between the naked and the nude. To be naked is to be deprived of our clothes, and the word implies some of the embarrassment most of us feel in that condition. The word “nude,” on the other hand, carries, in educated usage, no uncomfortable overtone. The vague image it projects into the mind is not of a huddled and defenseless body, but of a balanced, prosperous, and confident body: the body re-formed.”

The problem of our time is that nudity is either explicitly or implicitly pornographic. This is the case even if it is presented as art. While we should consider eroticism as a sound manifestation of human sexuality, sexual objectification and oversexualization is a psychological obsession of our modern times. This is a point that has been put forward by Julius Evola in his work Eros and the Mysteries of Love: The Metaphysics of Sex in which he referred to modern oversexualization as a psychological phenomenon.

In this case, the erotic nudity turns to become pornographic nakedness. Women, and men to some extent, do not represent eroticism and beauty but merely carnal lust. And this is a sign for the lack of spirituality.

Nudity and Nature

But is this a reason to ban all artworks that display naked/nude bodies? In fact, we should ban nothing, we just have to learn to appreciate what is worthy. And nudity and eroticism has been a part of art and religious practices since the dawn of history. Bear in mind the prehistoric matriarchal Mother Goddess. She is depicted as a “chubby” woman, a symbolic allusion to Earth’s fertility.

Similarly, remember the Minoan (Cretan) Snake Goddess with her breast exposed. These presentations were followed by the nude statues of classical Greek-Roman world that in turn inspired the whole Western art. And although monotheistic religions disfavor nudity, Christianity embraced icons and depiction of divinity under the influence of the ancient world.

Finally, our witches and mages are in direct contact to the powers of the physical world. For them nudity may relate to the erotic element that we can find everywhere in nature. Still, it is not about vulgarity and oversexualization. We can celebrate and enjoy the beauty of nudity without guilt but with the proper respect. And this is how we should deal with artworks that include nudity.

Phaethon

An ancient Song to Summon the Moon!

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An ancient Song to Summon the Moon!

The Greek Pagan Metal band Kawir is well known in the underground scene of this music genre. Its name derives from the enigmatic ancient cthonic deities Cabeiri. The gods were worshipped in mystic initiations for which we have no detailed information. The origin of their cult should have come to the Greek world from the Phrygians who lived in Anatolia. They were worshipped in islands of the northern Aegean Sea. In the island of Samothrace in Greece one can visit the remnants of the sanctuary of the deities. Many people claim that the island has a unique energy.

Along with its sharp riffs and the melding of folk and metal elements in their music, Kawir are also characterized for their love for the Ancient Greek language. In earlier albums of them they sung exclusively, whereas some of their songs are hymns played in acoustic, traditional instruments.

The Orphic hymn to Selene (Moon)

One of these songs is the Orphic Hymn to the goddess Selene, namely the Moon. The text could be also considered as a spell one could address to the Blood Moon that is going to appear in the skies tomorrow.

The translation of the hymn is retrieved from this site:

TO THE MOON [SELENE], The Fumigation from Aromatics.

Hear, Goddess queen, diffusing silver light, bull-horn’d and wand’ring thro’ the gloom of Night.

With stars surrounded, and with circuit wide Night’s torch extending, thro’ the heav’ns you ride:

Female and Male with borrow’d rays you shine, and now full-orb’d, now tending to decline.

Mother of ages, fruit-producing Moon [Mene], whose amber orb makes Night’s reflected noon:

Lover of horses, splendid, queen of Night, all-seeing pow’r bedeck’d with starry light.

Lover of vigilance, the foe of strife, in peace rejoicing, and a prudent life:

Fair lamp of Night, its ornament and friend, who giv’st to Nature’s works their destin’d end.

Queen of the stars, all-wife Diana hail! Deck’d with a graceful robe and shining veil;

Come, blessed Goddess, prudent, starry, bright, come moony-lamp with chaste and splendid light,

Shine on these sacred rites with prosp’rous rays, and pleas’d accept thy suppliant’s mystic praise.

 

 And here comes the Ancient Greek text for those familiar with Classics :
Εἰς Σελήνην, θυμίαμα ἀρώματα

Κλῦθι, θεὰ βασίλεια, φαεσφόρε, δῖα Σελήνη, ταυρόκερως Μήνη, νυκτιδρόμε, ἠεροφοῖτι, ἐννυχίη, δαιδ οῦχε, κόρη, εὐάστερε, Μήνη, αὐξομένη καὶ λειπομένη, θῆλύς τε καὶ ἄρσην, αὐγήτειρα, φίλιππε, χρόνου μῆτερ, φερέκαρπε, ἠλεκτρίς, βαρύθυμε, καταυγάστειρα, λοχείη, πανδερκής, φιλάγρυπνε, καλοῖς ἄστροισι βρύουσα, ἡσυχίῃ χαίρουσα καὶ εὐφρόνῃ ὀλβιομοίρῳ, λαμπετίη, χαριδῶτι, τελεσφόρε, νυκτὸς ἄγαλμα, ἀστράρχη, τανύπεπλ’, ἑλικοδρόμε, πάνσοφε κούρη, ἐλθέ, μάκαιρ’, εὔφρων, εὐάστερε, φέγγεϊ τρισσῷ λαμπομένη, σῴζουσα νέους ἱκέτας σέο κούρη.

Drawing down the Moon

The veneration of the ancient Greeks for the Moon Goddess is additionally manifested by this fact: The Drawing down the Moon ritual of the Wiccan traditions seems to have been inspired by practices of ancient Greek witches. This is indicated at the foreword of Margot Adler’s work. The ancient witchcraft ritual is presented in the book Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds: A Sourcebook by Daniel Ogden (2002, Oxford University Press). From the latter book (p. 238) comes the drawing of an Ancient Greek vase depicting the witches’ ritual.

 

Phaethon

 

On Hate & Love

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On Hate & Love

The Roman poet Catullus who lived in the 1st century BCE wrote one of the most famous short love poems. In Latin it goes like this:

    “Odi et amo. quare id faciam fortasse requiris.

    nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.'”

And one of its translations is as follows:

“I hate and love. Why I do so, perhaps you ask./

I know not, but I feel it, and I am in torment.”

The poem was dedicated to Catullus’ lover Clodia Pulchra who was known with the literary pseudonym Lesbia (since she was also married…). The elegiac couplet begins with the antithesis odi et amo. In its brevity, it is considered as one of the most powerful fashions to express the contradiction of love emotions.

Hate & Love: the powers that inspired the Muses

The intertwinement of Hate and Love, of Pain and Love, is universally narrated and sung. We remind you the witty title of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost or the delicate verses of Samuel Daniel (retrieved from this site):

LOVE is a sickness full of woes,

All remedies refusing;

A plant that with most cutting grows,

Most barren with best using.

Why so?

More we enjoy it, more it dies;

If not enjoy’d, it sighing cries–

Heigh ho!

Love is a torment of the mind,

A tempest everlasting;

And Jove hath made it of a kind

Not well, nor full of fasting.

Why so?

More we enjoy it, more it dies;

If not enjoy’d, it sighing cries–

Heigh ho!

This has been beautifully rendered in music by Sonne Hagal, a German experimental and neofolk group:

The dark age of Love

And just listen to this incredible song below and take its amazing lyrics into consideration:

The language of love is the language of liars

The flames of all love become funeral pyres

Smoke gets in your eyes and grown men cry

I see young men led to an early

Grave and old men pray to die

The earth is full of ghosts now

Ghosts that sweat and ghosts that cry

Instead of peace just stop and cease

A final end, a sweet release.

Is it then Love destined (or cursed) to be bound with these strong emotions? Well, yes and no. While paternal love or friendships are of course freer of these passions, a romantic connection is plagued by jealousy and tensions.

Is Love evil?

The “celebrity philosopher” Slavoj Žižek has given a good explanation for that. Love is evil, in the sense that within the chaotic and undifferentiated universe we pick up one person and in this we assign the importance of the whole creation. Therefore, when our love is denied our failure to be loved in a similar fashion will turn love into hate. And this happens because we fail to become in turn the center of the universe of the beloved person.

It goes without saying that in all cases we cannot attain what we desire, we will also develop resentments. If we cannot have the beauty we are yearning for, we prefer it to be vanished or to humiliate it. But this is in fact a sick, purely egoistic condition. And it differs from this love-hate amalgam that may be inspiring, because it is an annihilating force.

These are emotions we should totally refrain from. Nevertheless, without the passions of Love we wouldn’t have the songs, the poetry the literature we acquired through the centuries. An interesting example is the novel of the Japanese author Yukio Mishima “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” that depicts excellently the obsessive and destructive force of Love and Beauty.

Unfulfilled love definitely “sucks” but getting malevolent is what  is actually evil. This should not happen.

The destructive power of Beauty

It would be rather fallacious for us to seek for a life in which we do not experience Hate and Love. The easiest way is to retreat and to block emotions to develop so that we will not get hurt or risk to live beyond the mundane life. Still, when feelings of hatred arise when we are involved in a love story, our goal should be that we overcome this negativity and grow stronger than that. This will help us in turn to strengthen the way we offer and receive love.

Grow stronger than hate

What should you do in order to control negative feelings towards a person you are attracted to?

  1. Be the lover of yourself. Nobody is going to appreciate us if we do not respect ourselves. Being loved is a great confirmation for our ego. Yet, it is erroneous to expect that any other person will be able to love is more than we love our own selves. Self-esteem makes us more adorable and protects us from developing feelings of intense hate, which is a sign of weakness.
  2. Accept your negative emotions. It is human to feel intense emotions concerning a person that sexually and emotionally appeals to us. Fighting against these feelings will just deteriorate your psychological condition. The key here is to channel the intensity of your negativity to positive thoughts. Since hate and love are woven together, negative energy can turn to positive one.
  3. Accept a person the way it is. People will never change if we force them. We will only make them react against us. If you want things to change, you have to be patient and work with love, not violence.
  4. Find an inspiring person to love. Otherwise, learn to leave. If a person is not willing to share beautiful moments with you it is futile to spend your energy and your emotions. Just step away and move on.
  5. Become a seducer! Everybody likes a charming person. Take care of your body and your soul. Self-improvement will lead to greater positivity in love affairs.
  6. Shine in magic! Here you can find several articles with great advises about how you can cloak yourself into positive Magic so that you master the art of Love and disperse any negativity around that blocks it.

For Love and Magic check the following links:

 

Phaethon

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Money Blue Moon Spell

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Easy Money Blue Moon Spell

You must be wondering. What is the Blue Moon? Why is a Blue Moon Spell so powerful? Blue Moon is called the second Full Moon that happens in the same month or during the same Zodiac Sign (more accurately). The average span between full moons is 29.5 days, if a full moon occurs at the end of January, it’s possible for the next full moon to skip February entirely and fall in the beginning of March). These tend to happen every 19 years. The last time this happened was in 1999 which happens again in 2018, and not again until 2027.

  • The Blue Moon holds double the potency of the other Full Moon’s in the year, so if you are looking for long term results, cast spells, or make wishes during a Blue Moon.

“The Blue Moon is when there is 2 Full Moons in any single month – where there is a Full Moon at the start and the end of the month. The Full Moon on 31st July is such a Moon. The average span between 2 Full Moon is about 29.5 days (this is only on average, sometimes it’s more, sometimes it is less. It depends of the Moon’s position in relation to the earth and their respective orbits.) This terms is said to have derived from a misunderstanding in the ‘Maine Farmer’s Almanac’ – where it stated “the blue moon is the third moon in a season that has four full moons.” The reason why the third moon is chosen to be identified is very long, and very complex, and it has to do with the Christian Ecclesiastical Calendar….”

Blue Moon Spell

As we have explained in our article on Spells during the Lunar Circle, during Full Moon, all magic can be strongly manifested. Hence, it’s very important to use the Power of the Full Moon to manifest your desires. However, a Blue Moon, is twice as powerful than a regular Full Moon. This amplifies its magic.

There are many Blue Moon spells in old dusty grimoires. Most of them promise special powers or meetings with rare creatures. We have decided to give you one spell, which actually is both powerful, handy and easy to do.

An Easy Money Blue Moon Spell

A Blue Moon Spell which can be done by anyone. We have actually given you the spell before but now, during the Blue Moon, we make the appropriate alterations. 

You Will Need:

  • 1 Dried Bay Laurel Leaf
  • a Pen (preferably with Dragon’s Blood Ink)
  • A statue of Artemis – Diana or any other Lunar Entity you trust
  • Matches (always take Fire Safety Measures under consideration. ALWAYS).

The Spell as we vividly explained in WitchTV, is pretty simple. On the Night of the Blue Moon, at Midnight, put on your altar (or table or whatever you think is safe to use) the statue of Artemis or the other entity’s you’ve chosen.

Here we use Dragon’s Blood. Why? Because Dragon’s Blood maximizes the effect of the spell.

dragons blood ink
Get Dragon’s Blood Ink Kit here

Now, think of the money you want. Hold within your palm the Leaf and start visualizing possible ways. Try to think of more than 5 ways, this amount of money is coming. Focus on it. Think of the amount. Moreover, think of how it makes you feel.

Now it’s time to write on the Leaf, the amount of money you want. For example $10.000. Hold the leaf within your palms again. Breathe normally.

Now burn the leaf while you also focus on the amount of money you’ve asked. Furthermore, as the smoke rises, ask out loud, from the lunar forces to help you. The spell is done!

Trust the Lunar Forces.

Running could help us fight depression, anxiety and negative emotions off

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Running could help us fight depression, anxiety and negative emotions off

It goes without saying that running and similar activities can essentially improve our body condition. But moreover, it can considerably contribute to the overall well-being. That means that its positive aspects could benefit our psychological and mental condition and even our very soul. After all, a Witch is more powerful when Energy flows in a healthy way! 

The way running could assist our health is quite straightforward. Even 30 minutes per day, five times per week, could help prevent obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, some cancers, and a host of other unpleasant conditions. This does not mean of course that you can ditch a visit to the doctor in case you observe health problems but, at least, running will ameliorate your life and act proactively against diseases and other unpleasant health issues. And this is backed up by science!

So, there are two points to consider:

Firstly, it is not necessary to strive for championship! You will not be asked to become a marathon runner at once and you are not supposed to start running 3 hours per day. Definitely, you should find an energetic pace while running (after all it should be something more active than just a nonchalant stroll). But your running habits should not be strenuous and exhausting. Besides, if you have extremely high expectations, you may become more halfhearted to get started with the exercise. Remember that the important thing is to make the leap from zero to motion. Waiting for the ‟right time” in order to make ‟great progress” at once is just a procrastination excuse.

Secondly, we underscore the fact that getting yourself into moving is not merely about being in shape. It is about both our body and soul. As afore-mentioned, jogging will be beneficial for our health in numerous ways and this is something we can also predict. Yet, we neglect the benefits for our mental and emotional health, despite the fact that these domains are the most important for the balance of our body-soul system.

Running can make us happier

If you often feel sluggish or even blue, getting out and starting jogging will boost your energy. This, in turn, can enhance our mood. It is actually a reasonable effect. Running activates our reward and pleasure receptors.  And as we read in this article “when we run, our brains pump out endocannabinoids, cannabis-like molecules that keep runners happy—and hooked.”.

It can remove negativity

Fighting depression is undoubtedly a hard, traumatic task. Running can not replace medical assistance, if this is indispensable. Still, it may prevent negative thought to get a grip on us. It has been scientifically argued that running can be ‟rewarding and antidepressive”. Being in motion help us of course, since running regulates our blood pressure, improves insulin sensitivity and boosts our metabolism. What is more, making the decision to go out and run means that we cease every other activity. While going to run, negative thought will be present but cannot dominate us. Motion blocks them and gives us a break from the vicious circle of sinking into gloomy thoughts. Therefore, when you feel that negativity is about to possess your mind, just abandon everything and get out. We can assure you that it will be helpful.

It can connect us with nature

Training in gym is great and it is recommendable. But real running, out on the streets or in a park or ideally through the woods is a real cure for the soul. Yes, we are not all living close to nature. Nevertheless, everything outdoors is our environment, urban or natural. Just go out and discover it! Ideally, this will bring you close to the place you are spending your life. Even within a city, running around will reveal you corners and tiny secrets you didn’t know. Although you should concentrate on running, try to observe yourself going through a place. If it is a warm day, find a spot where you can meditate before running or just where you can go another time and read a book. Running should remain an outdoors activity. This is essential for our brain in order that it switches off away from the turmoil of the daily overflow of information and impressions that we receive. In a gym you will not stop looking at your smartphone, checking other people and listening probably to bad music. For this reason, just go out and connect with your environment. Your mind will be thankful for that.

And since we are speaking about running, here comes a song about escaping through running:

Phaethon

Marie Laveau Water – Recipe and Uses

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Marie Laveau Water – Recipe and Uses

I bet you all have heard about Marie Laveau Water. This mystical water with magic in every drop. But who was this mystical person and why is this Water so magical? Let’s see more about it.

Marie Laveau’s Legacy

Marie Catherine Laveau, also known as the Voodoo Queen, was born on September 10th, 1783. She practiced Voodoo, rootwork and almost all magical Arts with perfectionism – a typical Virgo. Therefore, she became extremely popular in New Orleans. Along with her daugther established a spiritual path, based on Voodoo. According to some accounts, twelve thousand people attended her legendary feast for the Summer Solstice. 

Her power is so great that she – unofficially – was named a Saint. People from all around the world come and visit her haunted grave in St. Louis Cemetery, in order to feel her magic and ask favors from such a powerful spirits. Many visitors claim to witness remarkable phenomena during their visit. Moreover, others insist they’ve seen her wearing her favorite turban. Myths about Laveau are endless. So is the number of spells and recipes attributed to her. On of them, is Marie Laveau Water. 

Marie Laveau Water

Recipe: In order to make the Famous Marie Laveau Water you need to gather the following ingredients and mix them together in a Full Moon Night. 

Uses: The Magical Water of Marie Laveau is reputed to have amazing abilities as it brings out the magic in us. Furthermore it is famous for: 

  • Attracting all kinds of Blessings.
  • Banishing negativity.
  • Cleansing and protecting your Aura.
  • Help you achieve a greater Spiritual Awareness. 
  • Makes you More Magical in General. 

In few words, Marie Laveau Water is used for many love, money, blessing and cleansing spells. Oh and something more. It smells AMAZING! Hence, why don’t you try it?

Is the truth out there? New “earth analog” planets have been discovered

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Is the truth out there? New “earth analog” planets have been discovered

The universe is, let’s say, enormous. It is actually bigger than any regular mind could ever conceive. We suppose that only certain mathematicians or physicians may have an inkling about its actual dimension.

This fact is considered to be common knowledge nowadays. But let that sink in for a while…

So, the question that troubles us is whether extraterrestrial life exists. In fact, the very term “extraterrestrial” is fairly ironic if you ponder over it. In the enormity of the universe, what is extraterrestrial is the rule not the exception. Still, we have no other choice but to speak from our (tiny) point of view.

Five planets possibly similar to Earth

As The Independent reports, at least five exoplanets orbiting the distant star K2-138 have been discovered. The distance of the star is nearly 620 light years from Earth.

There is evidence that these planets could fulfill some criteria for potentially being habitable.

As the NASA article informs us, this discovery was possible through crowdsourcing – “the practice of obtaining services and/or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people, especially from the public, online community.”

The so-called citizen scientists were “mobilized” due to a software malfunction. This meant that the large data collected by Kepler telescope should be combed through. People learn to read the signs that suggest the existence of an exoplanet. For a data to be qualified as worthy of further research, needs a minimum of 90% consensus of the involved researchers.

The numbers about the involvement of the public are astounding: In 48 hours over 2 million systems were classified, and 10.000 people participated.

Thus, this “democratic” method accelerates the investigation concerning the discovery of exoplanets that would be potential candidates for hosting alien life.

In search of habitable planets

In turn, in order to define a planet as possible host of life, there are some conditions that should be met. It is then expected that an “earth analog” would have water, it should orbit at the right distance from the hosting star in order that gravity and atmosphere is formed and there must be several natural resources.

Even in our Milky Way there may be 100 billion Earth-like planets. Thus, the chances for a number of them to be able to be habitable is rather high.

The quest for habitable planets fascinates our imagination. And this is reasonable, since the discovery of life on another planet will have tremendous consequences on our religious, philosophical and moral values. And it will have interesting implications for those looking for meditative connection with the universe and the vastness of all worlds.

Phaethon

Memento Mori: What a bad trip on marijuana taught me about the fear of death

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Memento Mori: What a bad trip on marijuana taught me about the fear of death

There is a hot discussion that has been going on since a longer time concerning the legalization as well as the pros and cons of consumption of marijuana. On the one hand, there are those believing that legalization may lead to more control and transparency in marijuana’s trade while its usage may alleviate the pain and other symptoms associated with an array of illnesses, including cancer and multiple sclerosis. On the other hand, those against the legalization of the substance point out that marijuana is not as harmful as it is sometimes presented. In fact, they insist, if it becomes legal it will facilitate its spread to younger ages. This may further lead to further complications

The purpose of this article is not to take sides in a rather complicated issue. However, it is a fact that, among other problems that it may cause, cannabis can trigger the emergence of psychotic events. As put in this article:

“Regular use of marijuana can hasten the onset of psychotic illnesses. In fact, high-dose THC – one of the most widely studied molecules in the marijuana plant – has been found to cause acute/transient psychosis.

Inspiration?

In the language of drug consumers, this is called a bad or horror trip. And it is a true story. Weed can lead to delusions, hallucinations, disorientation and loss of time perception, disorganized thinking and speaking or even suicidal tendencies.

We know of course that psychedelic experiences with drugs such as opium, marijuana, LSD or MDMA have been inspirational. The pop and rock culture was all inspired while poets and authors such as Baudelaire, Huxley or Kerouac experimented with drugs as well. Even the German conservative writer Ernst Jünger dedicated a large book to his experiments with alcohol and drugs called “Approaches: Drugs and Ecstatic Intoxication” (originally written in German: Annäherungen: Rausch und Drogen). His comparison between witchcraft and drugs is interesting even if we may disagree:

“In those days [Middle Ages], witchcraft was treated as a capital offense. Apparitions were more worthy of faith than reality. For Faust, the “realm of the spirits”, although largely reduced to the “spiritual world”, is “never barred”, but he is only concerned with the success of thespell. He is no longer tormented by religious or moral scruples.

Similarly, in our time, the spiritual man who is a friend of the Muses asks what drugs have to offer him. By virtue of his nature, he cannot be interested in the dynamic accentuation of his vital forces, or happiness, or the absence of pain. For him, it is not even a matter of enhancing or refining the visionary faculty; like Faust in his study, what he is looking for is something that “supervenes””

Psychedelic music

The list of songs that have been associated with psychedelic drugs is long. Even it was never admitted, “Purple Haze” of Jimi Hendrix may have referred to this sort of experience.

Remember our recent article about Dead Can Dance and listen to their beautiful sond called “Opium”

We guess the “oh me” by Meat Puppets sung hier by Kurt Cobain was not irrelevant:

I can’t see the end of me

My whole expanse I cannot see

I formulate infinity and store it deep inside of me

Psychedelic rock to trance are well known in music industry, so you see how thw hole thing goes.

A bad trip on marijuana

But the negative effects cannot be neglected. And they seem to be able to give rise to dramatic and traumatic experiences with longstanding consequences.

In Internet, there are many personal reports about bad trips. Still, once a bad trip occurs, one should be able not just to narrate their story but to interpret it and use it in order to become wiser and stronger.

Therefore, I asked a friend to speak about his own experience. His testimony is valuable because neither idealizes nor refutes what he experienced.

Confronting death

“It was some years ago when I was invited with my girlfriend to spend some days by some friends in another city. The day before a party would take place the guys there decided to bake a “space cake”. I was left alone in my room for some time while in the huge apartment there was only one more guy. Since I was hungry, the smell of the freshly baked cake captured me. So, I dropped by the kitchen to pick up a piece of space cake.

Bad decision! Actually, I am not a smoker and I am not into drugs anyway. I actually have only a minimal experience with some substances, but I still prefer moderate booze to any other recreational activity of that kind. That means that my body was not at all prepared for what it was about to come.

At the beginning, I was expecting to get a bit high, like after having smoked a couple of joints or having drunk some beers. Besides, getting high in the expectation of a great party would only be relaxing. After eating the cake, I went back to my computer work, when I gradually started feeling a bit dizzy. The first 15 minutes I could still feel fine, just a bit stoned. I even texted my girlfriend, telling her “hey, I think I am stoned, lol!”.

But my situation was drastically deteriorated: after circa 30 min. I noticed I was unable to focus on the screen of my smartphone or on anything else. I wrote to my girlfriend, writing to her that I am not feeling ok. “Please come back soon” I typed with great difficulty.

The next minutes got just worse. I was feeling increased heartbeats while I was sweating. I lay down on the bed and I tried to relax. But then it was the moment when the idea of death crossed my mind. And it was there to stay.

The hours of agony

The thought of death and its dread was realistic: I knew I was on a bad trip, even if it was the first time I was experiencing something like that. But when the idea of dying appeared, there was no way to think logically any more. My heart beats were literally killing or, at least, I had a very intense feeling that the end of life is approaching.

Seriously, this is not funny. There was a point that my mind sank into darkness. “Is this how the end looks like?” I thought. Despite my situation, I tried to make sense from this, but the negativity got a grip on me. I would never realize my dreams, I would never see the beloved faces of my family and friends back home and even my girlfriend would arrive too late.

Suicidal thoughts

There was a periodization in these thoughts, like tide, coming and retreating, appearing and disappearing. At a moment, I knew I had to react, I told myself it is just the effect of the weed and it will fade away again. I stood up on my legs. Then I looked on the window. “What if I just jump right now out of it? If I could not resist the urge to die?”

This thought scared me “to death”. I pulled myself together and I moved to the next room when another guy was also stoned. “Look, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I think I am dying. I do believe it”. He told me to calm down since nobody ever dies by weed (although later I came across reports that showed thatthis is not the case. There have allegedly occurred weed-induced incidents of suicide and murder). I decided to sit there next to him. At least he would call an ambulance if I would collapse and he could stop me if I would approach the window and decide to jump.

After an hour I was more aware of my situation. I watched a film or something like that with the guy. Actually, I could barely move. While I was sitting on an armchair,  I felt all parts in which I had injured in the past aching. This was an interesting feeling, since it showed me which parts of my body are still sore. Then, I felt like I am getting older. I knew this was a hallucination, but it was a vivid one. It was like I could foresee my future. I was getting older, I could not move my limbs. And along with that, I experienced a bitter taste of solitude. How it would be to be dying alone.

Vanity and Depression

When my girlfriend arrived, we spent the evening together. The worst phase was behind but sadness was overall my body. I was distressed, and I regarded everything as being caught deep in vanity. There was no love, no communication, no aspirations to be realized.

Even during this state of mind, I tried to draw an interpretation of what has happened to me and to navigate mz mind through the trip. Given that I consider myself to be a religious and spiritual person, I was shocked to have been confronted with a nihilistic side of mine that whispered in my ear that death is the very end of my existence. Afterwards, I could say that this was a dissolution of my ego. Nevertheless, it was terrifying and bitter.

Memento Mori

If I would go back to the marrow of the whole event, I would say that life is about fulfilment. Death is an inevitability and there is nothing that could change this. But what we can achieve is to lead a life which may end without remorse, without bitterness and regrets.

I would not say that I am traumatized from this experience. Yet, I do not want to go through it again and I will avoid marijuana fron now on. But it was a lesson about life and its importance and also about death and its importance. Death defines life. And this is something we should always have in mind. Memento Mori: Remember that you are going to die!”

Philosophy is the study of death

The narration above and every single one we can trace in Internet is revealing of the following points:

  1. Drugs, like marijuana, do not enhance your abilities. They reveal good or bad aspects of our psychosynthesis, but they are definitely not recommended for any practice of self-improvement. It is much better to work on self-fulfillment through mediation and positive magic.
  2. If you are down, drugs are definitely not going to assist you. They will either narcotize your consciousness or deteriorate your psychic disposition. It is far more useful to practice good magic and disperse negative energy cast upon you than to try to “drown” it under a sea of substances. Neglecting the causes of a misfortune will not lose a problem, it will just hide it for some time.
  3. The Greek Philosopher Plato described Philosophy as “the study of Death”. Bearing that in mind will remind us of how vain our obsessions and fears and efforts may be. Nothing will last forever. Therefore, we should invest our time and energy on good goals and benevolent acts.

Phaethon

Dead Can Dance: an inward musical trip

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Dead Can Dance: an inward musical trip

Music is essential, and we know that. It is the most powerful fashion of non-verbal art to express the ineffable. That is why music is so closely interwoven with religious practices and mysticism.

Still, not all music is similarly capable of inspiring deep and sincere spirituality. The music industry is on the one hand mostly about ‟entertainment” and brutally commercialized. On the other hand, certain examples of ‟spiritual” and ‟new age” music sometimes sound too superficial.

Dead can Dance is a legendary band of both paramount musicianship and spiritual depth. The band was formed in 1981 in Melbourne by Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry. In 1982 the two musicians relocated to London where they signed for the alternative post and gothic rock label 4AD that had released albums of bands such as Bauhaus and Cocteau Twins. The two musicians will collaborate with several others, but they will remain the core of Dead Can Dance. Along with their compositions, their voices characteristically shaped their musical landscape.

The debut album: Dead Can Dance (1984)

The group’s debut album, named similarly Dead Can Dance, was released in February 1984. At this very beginning band’s musical style could be described as post-punk, gothic rock, dark wave, ethereal wave. Along with the guitars and other rock instruments Lisa Gerrard added the yangqin, a Chinese version of a hammered dulcimer with roots going back to Persia. As we read in label’s site:

“The band’s debut album featured a ritual mask from Papua New Guinea, to mirror the reasoning behind the band’s name, which was written on the cover in the Greek characters ΔΞΛΔ CΛΝ ΔΛΝCΞ. Perry: “The mask, once a living part of the tree, is now supposedly dead. Nevertheless, it has, through the artistry of its maker, been imbued with a life force of its own.””

From the album, I personally adore the fifth track called Ocean. It is dark with Gerrard howling all along like singing a prayer or casting a spell.

Spleen and the Ideal (1985)

Their second album called Spleen and the Ideal, a title deriving from 19th c. symbolist ideals. The album abandoned the e-guitars and made a leap towards its unique style. But the evolution was not only musical but also spiritual, as the lyrics of the wonderful “Enigma of the Absolute” reveal:

“Saloman hung down her head

Laid bare her heart for the world to see.

She craved for intimacy.

Through darkened doors her aspect veiled with indecision, gazed out sea.

She craved lucidity.”

“We’ve had our rock’n’roll experiences,” said Gerrard in 1987, “but it’s not something we’re talking to at the moment. We’re talking to other things, to rhythms we don’t understand, or that we want to learn about in order to communicate with them.”

Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun (1987)

The third studio album of Dead Can Dance had the powerful title Within the Realm of a Dying Sun. The album acquired a symbolic status among the Gothic community although actually the band aimed at something wider than that and wanted to break beyond the post-rock and gothic stereotype. The music in this album has ceremonial and religious undertones and it is the beginning of their spiritual journey.

Lisa Gerrard said about this album: “In the past year, we’ve come to terms with many losses of friendships and very personal things in our lives, and I think our music is reflected in that. The best example is ‘Dawn of the Iconoclast’. It was like a cleaning-out process, of this bitterness and darkness in our lives, and our displeasure with humanity. It’s a series of images, and breaking those images that control people, to call on the monster and send it on, to remove it. The implication of intensity and anxiety that builds to a climax which is dispersed by the bass drum, and the overspill of reverb… it’s a celebration.”

But for me as an author of this article, my beloved song is Xavier, a hymn to woman and a dialogue with the concept of the Ancestral Sin, as the lyrics reveal:

“Deep in the heart where the mysteries emerge

Eve bears the stigma of original sin.

Freedom’s so hard, when we are all bound by laws

Etched in the scheme of natures own hand, unseen by all those who fail

In their pursuit of fate.”

The Serpent’s Egg (1988)

The Serpent’s Egg is the fourth studio album of Dead Can Dance. It was released in 1988 and it departs from the melancholic style of the previous album while it manifests the classical and baroque influences on the two musicians. Lisa Gerrard and Brendan Perry were in a romantic relationship at that time. As a consequence, one may trace their connection in their music.

This is indeed a work of mediation and music artistry. It also revealed the ability of the band to compose soundtracks. As a matter of fact, the band wrote the music for Agustin Villarongas’ film “El Nino De La Luna” in which Lisa Gerrard also participated as an actor.

The ethnic elements in this album are dominant and their roots go back to the Mediterranean, the Balkans and Africa:

 

Aion (1990)

The next album was released in 1990 and it was called Aion, a term taken by the Platonic Philosophy referring to ‘life’ or ‘lifespan’. Perry and Gerrard were no more a couple. Still, the album bears hints to their connection. The album cover was more personal, despite the separation; a small section of the triptych The Garden Of Earthly Delights by 16th century Dutch painter Hieronymus Bosch. It was taken from the earth section, flanked by representations of Eden and hell, showing the ‘flower’ of a plant in the shape of a transparent bubble. The naked couple inside, said Perry, “reminded me of myself and Lisa transported back to the past in a kind of alchemical, alembic time machine.”

This is an album closer to European tradition and the spirit of renaissance. Thus, one can clearly decipher a whole philosophy of life both in music, in lyrics and in the whole message of the artists.

But there is also some feeling of vanity for mortal life:

“Give me 69 years,

Another season in this hell.

Its all sex and death as far as I can tell.

Like prometheus we are bound,

Chained to this rock of a brave new world,

Our godforsaken lot.

And I feel thats all we’ve ever needed to know,

til worlds end and the seas run cold.”

A Passage in Time (1991)

The Passage in Time compilation album appeared in 1991. There were two new songs therein, one of which is Spirit. The song refers to the artistic and romantic journey of Gerard and Perry:

“I thought I’d found a reason to live

Just like before when I was a child

Only to find dreams made of sand

Would just fall apart and slip through my hands

 

But the spirit of life keeps us strong

And the spirit of life is the will to carry on”

Into the Labyrinth (1993)

The sixth album of the band was released in 1993. The concept of the Labyrinth was inspired by the Minoan civilization that flourished on Crete and other Aegean islands from about 2600 to 1100 BC and the mythic King Minos and of the Minotaur in the labyrinth that held it. The album was a commercial success as well as a novel amalgam of occidental and oriental music elements.

 

Toward the within (1994)

Their first live album entitled Toward the within appeared in 1994. It was recorded in November 1993 at the Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica, California. Interestingly, it contained mostly songs that were not released before, such ae the wonderful “Don’t fade away” and “Rakim”.

 

Spiritchaser (1996)

The seventh album of Dead Can Dance appeared in 1996. In the meanwhile, Lisa Gerrard has released her solo album named The Mirror Pool after the African belief that making music brings you, “into contact with spirits from another place,” as she stated. “They say that this place is like a mirror of the world we live in…”.

The African Spirit was then influential on this Dead Can Dance album. Animism and Cult of Nature was reverberating through their music. Also in terms of composition, percussions played a major role whereas electronic instruments were not dominant.

 “We were looking for something that excited us, looking for the spirit, hunting it down, cornering it… we had the sense of searching for something which had meaning, something where you hear the spirits talking” Perry said.

 

After 1998 Gerrard and Perry separated their ways and new songs were released only in compilations. One of these songs is The Lotus Eaters. However, the band reunited in 2005 and started tours presenting concerts worldwide.

Anastasis (2012)

It was after 18 years that the duo composed a new album which one could say it is even their best one. Like a force gathered all these years, Anastasis is a musical masterpiece like nothing one could hear nowadays. Anastasis is a Greek word meaning “resurrection” and the allusion is fairly straightforward: the ability of the band was resurrected, and the message is basically the one of hope and endurance.

This was a very short summary of the history of this amazing band. Take some time to listen to their albums from the beginning to the end. You will definitely discover so many subtle spiritual nuances.

Phaethon

Sources:

Anywhere Out Of The World: The Unique Vision of Dead Can Dance by Martin Aston

(http://4ad.com/forewords/dcd/)

laut.de-Biographie, Dead Can Dance (http://www.laut.de/Dead-Can-Dance)

http://www.deadcandance.com/main/

http://www.dead-can-dance.com/index.php

 

Dolores O’Riordan, Dies at age of 46

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Dolores O’Riordan, Dies at age of 46

Blue Monday, just got real. Dolores O’Riordan, died few hours ago at the age of 46.Police say they are treating death of singer at London hotel as ‘unexplained’, as no cause of death has yet been revealed.

Dolores was an inspiring Irish musician and singer-songwriter born in Limerick, Ireland. She successfully led the legendary rock band ‘The Cranberries’ for more than 12 years.  They took a break and reunited in 2009. Due to the information the singer was in London for a recording session on a promising new album.

She recently tweeted via her official ‘Cranberries’ account “Hi All, Dolores here. Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band. Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo”

Dolores O’Riordan inspired many Wiccans due to her love for animals. They performed on the ‘Wiccan’ inspired TV series, ‘the Charmed’ ones, playing song from a majestic album ‘bury the hatchet’.

We cannot believe the news, being huge fans of Dolores here. We can only listen to her amazing voice. 

Her family members are reportedly devastated to hear the breaking news. They requested privacy.

Blessed be Dolores. May the Light be with You! We will not forget you. 

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