tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-147268812011-04-21T11:14:52.136-07:00DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.comBlogger681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1130517447355190692005-10-28T09:37:00.000-07:002005-10-28T09:37:27.366-07:00testing. Keep Moving!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-113051744735519069?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122405164735384322005-07-26T12:12:00.000-07:002005-07-26T12:12:53.610-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Atlantis</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <dl> <dd><span class="dablink"><i>For other uses, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis_%28disambiguation%29" title="Atlantis (disambiguation)">Atlantis (disambiguation)</a>.</i></span></dd> </dl> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 224px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atlantis1.jpg" class="internal" title="An artistic rendition of an imaginary Atlantis"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/32/Atlantis1.jpg" alt="An artistic rendition of an imaginary Atlantis" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Atlantis1.jpg" height="167" width="222" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atlantis1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> An artistic rendition of an imaginary Atlantis</div> </div> </div> <p><b>Atlantis</b> was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legend" title="Legend">legendary</a> ancient island, whose existence and location have never been confirmed. The first mentions we have are from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greek" title="Classical Greek">classical Greek</a> philosopher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>, who said that it was destroyed by possibly an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake" title="Earthquake">earthquake</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami" title="Tsunami">tsunami</a> about 9,000 years before his own time. Plato did mention it was somewhere outside the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules" title="Pillars of Hercules">Pillars of Hercules</a> (i.e. the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_of_Gibraltar" title="Straits of Gibraltar">Straits of Gibraltar</a>), though some think its location would have been more suitable in one of the cradles of civilization, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea" title="Mediterranean Sea">Mediterranean Sea</a>.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Accounts"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Accounts</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Plato"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Plato</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Aristotle"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Aristotle</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Other_Greek_accounts"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Other Greek accounts</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Byzantine_accounts"><span class="tocnumber">1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Byzantine accounts</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Modern_interest"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Modern interest</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Location_hypotheses"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Location hypotheses</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Eastern_hemisphere"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Eastern hemisphere</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Mediterranean"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Mediterranean</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Sardinia"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Sardinia</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Crete_and_Santorini"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Crete and Santorini</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Off_the_east_coast_of_Cyprus"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Off the east coast of Cyprus</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Malta"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Malta</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Near_Cape_Spartel"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.5</span> <span class="toctext">Near Cape Spartel</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Troy"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.6</span> <span class="toctext">Troy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Tantalis"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.7</span> <span class="toctext">Tantalis</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Andalucia"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.8</span> <span class="toctext">Andalucia</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-4"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Ponza"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.1.9</span> <span class="toctext">Ponza</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Black_Sea"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Black Sea</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Antarctica"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Antarctica</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Finland"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.4</span> <span class="toctext">Finland</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Ireland"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.5</span> <span class="toctext">Ireland</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Indonesia"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.6</span> <span class="toctext">Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#India_and_Sri_Lanka"><span class="tocnumber">3.1.7</span> <span class="toctext">India and Sri Lanka</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Western_hemisphere"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Western hemisphere</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Mid-Atlantic"><span class="tocnumber">3.2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Mid-Atlantic</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Azores_Islands"><span class="tocnumber">3.2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Azores Islands</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Bahama_Bank_and_Caribbean"><span class="tocnumber">3.2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Bahama Bank and Caribbean</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Isla_de_la_Juventud_near_Cuba"><span class="tocnumber">3.2.4</span> <span class="toctext">Isla de la Juventud near Cuba</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Other_locations"><span class="tocnumber">3.3</span> <span class="toctext">Other locations</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#In_fiction"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">In fiction</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Inspired_stories"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Inspired stories</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#The_destruction_of_Atlantis"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">The destruction of Atlantis</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#In_music"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">In music</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Further_reading"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#External_links_and_other_references"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">External links and other references</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Accounts_2"><span class="tocnumber">8.1</span> <span class="toctext">Accounts</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis#Location_theories"><span class="tocnumber">8.2</span> <span class="toctext">Location theories</span></a></li></ul> </li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Accounts" id="Accounts"></a></p> <h2>Accounts</h2> <p>According to historical accounts, the story of Atlantis was about the conflict between the ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenians" title="Athenians">Athenians</a> and the Atlanteans around 9,000 years before <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>'s existence.</p> <p>The origins of the story of Atlantis date back to Egyptian priests who transfered it to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solon" title="Solon">Solon</a>. Solon passed the tale to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dropides&action=edit" class="new" title="Dropides">Dropides</a>, who was the great-grandfather of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critias" title="Critias">Critias</a>. And Critias learned of it from his grandfather also named Critias, son of Dropides.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Plato" id="Plato"></a></p> <h3>Plato</h3> <p><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critias_%28Plato%29" title="Critias (Plato)">Critias (Plato)</a></i></p> <p>Plato's <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timaeus_%28dialogue%29" title="Timaeus (dialogue)">Timaeus</a></i> (21e - 25d) and his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critias" title="Critias">Critias</a></i> are the only written accounts of Atlantis; in these Plato gives some information on the size and location of the island of Atlantis. Atlantis might be a work of fiction, yet an extended <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable" title="Parable">parable</a> intended to illustrate Plato's philosophy of the ideal government. Plato's account purports to be based on a visit to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> by the Athenian lawgiver <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solon" title="Solon">Solon</a>, itself quite possibly a legendary event. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonchis&action=edit" class="new" title="Sonchis">Sonchis</a>, priest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes_%28Egypt%29" title="Thebes (Egypt)">Thebes</a>, is purported to have translated it into <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a> for Solon.</p> <p>According to Plato's story, over nine thousand years ago a war between those outside the <i>pillars of Heracles</i> and all who dwelt within them took place . Those on the outside were supposed to inhabit an island greater in extent than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_East" title="Ancient Near East">then known Asia</a>. This supposedly was sunk by an earthquake. The land became an impassable barrier to voyagers sailing to any part of the ocean. There was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain" title="Plain">plain</a> which is said to have been very fertile. Near the plain, and also in the centre of the island at a distance of about fifty <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_weights_and_measures#Length_4" title="Ancient weights and measures">stadia</a>, there was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain" title="Mountain">mountain</a> not very high on any side. There at the inner hill the land was enclosed all round by alternate zones of sea and land larger and smaller, encircling one another; there were two of land and three of water. The whole island and the ocean were called "<i>Atlantic</i>". The island was facing the country called the region of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gades" title="Gades">Gades</a> (Greek, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eumelus" title="Eumelus">Eumelus</a>; Atlantean, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gadeirus&action=edit" class="new" title="Gadeirus">Gadeirus</a>).</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Aristotle" id="Aristotle"></a></p> <h3>Aristotle</h3> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle" title="Aristotle">Aristotle</a> wrote of a large island in the Atlantic Ocean that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthage" title="Carthage">Carthaginians</a> knew as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antilia" title="Antilia">Antilia</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proclus" title="Proclus">Proclus</a>, the commentator of "Timaeus" mentions that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcellus" title="Marcellus">Marcellus</a>, relying on ancient historians, stated in his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aethiopiaka&action=edit" class="new" title="Aethiopiaka">Aethiopiaka</a></i> that in the Outer Ocean (which meant all oceans, not just the Atlantic) there were seven small islands dedicated to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone" title="Persephone">Persephone</a>, and three large ones; one of these, comprising 1,000 <i>stadia</i> in length, was dedicated to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon" title="Poseidon">Poseidon</a>. Proclus tells us that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crantor" title="Crantor">Crantor</a> reported that he, too, had seen the columns on which the story of Atlantis was preserved as reported by Plato: the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sais%2C_Egypt" title="Sais, Egypt">Saite</a> priest showed him its history in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyph" title="Egyptian hieroglyph">hieroglyphic</a> characters. Some other writers called it <i>Poseidonis</i> after Poseidon. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarch" title="Plutarch">Plutarch</a> mentions <i>Saturnia</i> or <i>Ogygia</i> about five days' sail to the west of what is called nowadays <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britain" title="Britain">Britain</a>. He added that westwards from that island, there were the three islands of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus" title="Cronus">Cronus</a>, to where proud and warlike men used to come from the continent beyond the islands, in order to offer sacrifice to the gods of the ocean.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Other_Greek_accounts" id="Other_Greek_accounts"></a></p> <h3>Other Greek accounts</h3> <p>An important <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece" title="Greece">Greek</a> festival of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallas_Athene" title="Pallas Athene">Pallas Athene</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panathenaea" title="Panathenaea">Panathenaea</a> was dated from the days of king <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theseus" title="Theseus">Theseus</a>. It consisted of a solemn procession to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis" title="Acropolis">Acropolis</a> in which a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peplos" title="Peplos">peplos</a> was carried to the goddess, for she had once saved the city, gaining victory over the nation of Poseidon, that is, the Atlanteans. As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Spence" title="Lewis Spence">Lewis Spence</a> comments, this cult was in existence already 125 years before Plato, which means that the story could not be invented by him. The historian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammianus_Marcellinus" title="Ammianus Marcellinus">Ammianus Marcellinus</a> wrote that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligentsia" title="Intelligentsia">intelligentsia</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria" title="Alexandria">Alexandria</a> considered the destruction of Atlantis a historical fact and described a class of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake" title="Earthquake">earthquakes</a> that suddenly, by a violent motion, opened up huge mouths and so swallowed up portions of the earth, as once in the Atlantic Ocean a large island was swallowed up. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diodorus_Siculus" title="Diodorus Siculus">Diodorus Siculus</a> recorded that the Atlanteans did not know the fruits of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceres_%28mythology%29" title="Ceres (mythology)">Ceres</a>. In fact, Old World cereals were unknown to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indians" title="American Indians">American Indians</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pausanias_%28geographer%29" title="Pausanias (geographer)">Pausanias</a> called this island "Satyrides," referring to the Atlantes and those who profess to know the measurements of the earth. He states that far west of the Ocean there lies a group of islands whose inhabitants are red-skinned and whose hair is like that of the horse. (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus" title="Christopher Columbus">Christopher Columbus</a> described the Indians similarly.) A fragmentary work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophrastus" title="Theophrastus">Theophrastus</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbos" title="Lesbos">Lesbos</a> tells about the colonies of Atlantis in the sea. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiod" title="Hesiod">Hesiod</a> wrote that the garden of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperides" title="Hesperides">Hesperides</a> was on an island in the sea where the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun" title="Sun">sun</a> sets. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder" title="Pliny the Elder">Pliny the Elder</a> recorded that this land was 12,000 km distant from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A1diz" title="Cádiz">Cádiz</a>, and Uba, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numidian" title="Numidian">Numidian</a> talks of an enormous island outside the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules" title="Pillars of Hercules">Pillars of Hercules</a>. He describes it as having a climate that is very mild; fruits and vegetables grow ripe throughout the year. There are huge mountains covered with large forests, and wide, irrigable plains with navigable rivers. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scylax_of_Caryanda" title="Scylax of Caryanda">Scylax of Caryanda</a> gives similar account.</p> <p>Marcellus claims that the survivors of the sinking Atlantis migrated to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Europe" title="Western Europe">Western Europe</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timagenes&action=edit" class="new" title="Timagenes">Timagenes</a> tells almost the same, citing the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druids" title="Druids">Druids</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaul" title="Gaul">Gaul</a> as his sources. He tries to classify the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallic" title="Gallic">Gallic</a> tribes according to their origins and tells of one of these claiming that they were colonists who came there from a remote island. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theopompus" title="Theopompus">Theopompus</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chios" title="Chios">Chios</a>, a Greek <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historian" title="Historian">historian</a> called this land beyond the ocean as "Meropis". The dialogue between King <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midas" title="Midas">Midas</a> and the wise Silenus mentions the Meropids, the first men with huge cities of gold and silver. Silenus knows that besides the well-known portions of the world there is another, unknown, of incredible immensity, where immeasurably vast blooming meadows and pastures feed herds of various, huge and mighty beasts. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius_Aelianus" title="Claudius Aelianus">Claudius Aelianus</a> cites <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theopompus" title="Theopompus">Theopompus</a>, knowing of the existence of the huge island out in the Atlantic as a continuing tradition among the Phoenicians or Carthaginians of Cádiz. Perhaps the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine" title="Byzantine">Byzantine</a> friar <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmas_Indicopleustes" title="Cosmas Indicopleustes">Cosmas Indicopleustes</a> understood Plato better than the ancient and modern "Aristotelians", says Merezhkovsky. In his <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Topographia_Christiana&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Topographia Christiana">Topographia Christiana</a></i> he included a chart of the (flat) world: it showed an inner continent, a compact mainland surrounded by sea, and this was surrounded by an outer ring-shaped continent, with the inscription, "The earth beyond the Ocean, where men lived before the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood" title="Flood">Flood</a>." The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Eden" title="Garden of Eden">Garden of Eden</a> is placed in the eastern end of this continent.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Byzantine_accounts" id="Byzantine_accounts"></a></p> <h3>Byzantine accounts</h3> <p>In the mid-6th century, the Byzantine writer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanes" title="Jordanes">Jordanes</a>, who was no navigator himself, simply repeated common <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore" title="Folklore">folklore</a> of the eastern end of the Mediterranean when he said</p> <dl> <dd><i>"This same Ocean has in its western region certain islands known to almost everyone by reason of the great number of those that journey to and from. And there are two not far from the neighborhood of the Strait of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gades" title="Gades">Gades</a>, one the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Blest_Islands&action=edit" class="new" title="Blest Islands">Blessed Isle</a> and another called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortunate_Islands" title="Fortunate Islands">Fortunate</a>. Although some reckon as islands of Ocean the twin promontories of Galicia and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lusitania" title="Lusitania">Lusitania</a>, where are still to be seen the Temple of Hercules on one and Scipio's Monument on the other, yet since they are joined to the extremity of the Galician country, they belong rather to the great land of Europe than to the islands of Ocean."</i> —Jordanes, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getica" title="Getica">Getica</a></i>, chapter 1:4.</dd> </dl> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Modern_interest" id="Modern_interest"></a></p> <h2>Modern interest</h2> <p>With rare exceptions, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon" title="Francis Bacon">Francis Bacon</a>'s book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Atlantis" title="The New Atlantis">The New Atlantis</a></i>, interest in Atlantis then languished, until, some 2,200 years after Plato, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1882" title="1882">1882</a> publication of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis:_the_Antediluvian_World" title="Atlantis: the Antediluvian World">Atlantis: the Antediluvian World</a></i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota" title="Minnesota">Minnesota</a> politician and sometime <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crank" title="Crank">crankish</a> writer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Donnelly" title="Ignatius Donnelly">Ignatius Donnelly</a>. Donnelly took Plato's account of Atlantis seriously and attempted to establish that all known ancient civilizations were descended from its high-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic" title="Neolithic">neolithic</a> culture.</p> <p>Since Donnelly's day, there have been dozens — perhaps hundreds — of locations proposed for Atlantis. Some are more-or-less serious attempts at legitimate scholarly or archaeological works; others have been made by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychic" title="Psychic">psychic</a> or other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">pseudoscientific</a> means.</p> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century" title="19th century">19th century</a>, the Atlantis myth became conflated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28lost_continent%29" title="Mu (lost continent)">Mu</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_%28continent%29" title="Lemuria (continent)">Lemuria</a>. Occultist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_Petrovna_Blavatsky" title="Helena Petrovna Blavatsky">Helena Blavatsky</a> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Secret_Doctrine" title="The Secret Doctrine">The Secret Doctrine</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888" title="1888">1888</a>) introduced the idea of the Atlanteans as cultural heroes (an aspect that is absent in Plato, who describes them mainly as a military threat to the Greeks), and described its inhabitants as the fourth "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root_Race" title="Root Race">Root Race</a>", succeeded by the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan_race" title="Aryan race">Aryan race</a>". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Steiner" title="Rudolf Steiner">Rudolf Steiner</a> based much of his writings on occult revelations of Mu or Atlantis. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Cayce" title="Edgar Cayce">Edgar Cayce</a> likewise proposed that Atlantis was an ancient, now-submerged, highly-evolved civilization. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics" title="Metaphysics">metaphysical</a> significance being that it was a land from which many of us continue to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation" title="Reincarnation">reincarnate</a>, with Cayce adding that the Atlanteans also had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal. The work <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toward_the_Light" title="Toward the Light">Toward the Light</a></i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920" title="1920">1920</a>) claims to describe Atlantis, including its exact geographical location. Through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy" title="Theosophy">Theosophy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy" title="Anthroposophy">Anthroposophy</a>, the concept of Atlantis also entered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Mysticism" title="Nazi Mysticism">Nazi Mysticism</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Himmler" title="Heinrich Himmler">Heinrich Himmler</a> was inspired by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Ossendowski" title="Ferdinand Ossendowski">Ferdinand Ossendowski</a> to the belief that a remnant of the white Atlanteans were to be found in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a>, the search for which was part of the mission of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> expedition to Tibet in 1938/9 led by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ernst_Sch%C3%A4fer&action=edit" class="new" title="Ernst Schäfer">Ernst Schäfer</a>. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julius_Evola" title="Julius Evola">Julius Evola</a> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolt_Against_the_Modern_World" title="Revolt Against the Modern World">Revolt Against the Modern World</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" title="1934">1934</a>), the Atlanteans were <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperboreans" title="Hyperboreans">Hyperboreans</a> were Nordic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman" title="Superman">supermen</a> who originated on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_pole" title="North pole">North pole</a>. Similarly, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Rosenberg" title="Alfred Rosenberg">Alfred Rosenberg</a> (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Myth_of_the_Twentieth_Century" title="The Myth of the Twentieth Century">The Myth of the Twentieth Century</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930" title="1930">1930</a>) spoke of a "nordic-atlantean" or "aryan-nordic" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_race" title="Master race">master race</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" title="Aleister Crowley">Aleister Crowley</a> has also written an esoteric history of Atlantis, although this may be intended more as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor" title="Metaphor">metaphor</a> than as fact. In the mid-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s" title="1940s">1940s</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien" title="J. R. R. Tolkien">J. R. R. Tolkien</a> reshaped his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legendarium" title="Legendarium">legendarium</a> to contain elements of an Atlantis myth (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalant%C3%AB" title="Atalantë">Atalantë</a>). <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings" title="The Lord of the Rings">The Lord of the Rings</a></i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1954" title="1954">1954</a>/5) contains only obscure references to this, and the myth was published only posthumously, in the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silmarillion" title="Silmarillion">Silmarillion</a></i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977" title="1977">1977</a>). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Roberts" title="Jane Roberts">Jane Roberts</a>' work also contains references to Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Location_hypotheses" id="Location_hypotheses"></a></p> <h2>Location hypotheses</h2> <p><br /></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Eastern_hemisphere" id="Eastern_hemisphere"></a></p> <h3>Eastern hemisphere</h3> <p>Some investigators believe that Atlantis is in the the Eastern Hemisphere, which would have the location in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa">Africa</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania">Oceania</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Mediterranean" id="Mediterranean"></a></p> <h4>Mediterranean</h4> <p>Because the first human civilizations began around the the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean" title="Mediterranean">Mediterranean</a> area and is part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_of_Humanity" title="Cradle of Humanity">Cradle of Humanity</a>, some believe that Atlantis is located here. Some factors that weigh toward this location was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_civilization" title="Minoan civilization">Minoan civilization</a>, which flourished on the island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crete" title="Crete">Crete</a>, and the river valley civilizations which had large populations. An other more recent thesis, that seems to be receiving credit from the offical scientific world, suggests that the lost island could be the island of Sardinia where the astonishing amount of traces left by the so called Nuragic civilisation has never been seriously investigated.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=10" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Sardinia" id="Sardinia"></a></p> <h5>Sardinia</h5> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002" title="2002">2002</a> the Italian journalist Sergio Frau in his book <i>Le colonne d'Ercole</i> hypothesized that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules" title="Pillars of Hercules">Pillars of Hercules</a> could be identified not with Gibraltar but with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sicily_Strait&action=edit" class="new" title="Sicily Strait">Sicily Strait</a> between Africa and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily" title="Sicily">Sicily</a>, so Atlantis was really <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sardinia" title="Sardinia">Sardinia</a>. A catastrophic event (with a big wave) eradicated from Sardinia the ancient and still enigmatic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuraghe" title="Nuraghe">Nuragic civilization</a>. The few survivors migrated to the near Italian peninsula, founding the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etruscan_civilization" title="Etruscan civilization">Etruscan civilization</a>, the base for the later <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_civilization&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Roman civilization">Roman civilization</a>. This thesis April 2005 the theories of the Italian journalist were debated in high level conference organised by UNESCO in Paris. Together with the conference, also an exposition with the major findings of the theory (ATLANTIKA') and it's evidence was also exposed in the UNESCO building to confirm that the organization's experts are taking quite seriously the hypotesis, and that this seems not to be "just another atlantis theory".</p> <p>More in deep: For centuries, studious, philosophers, scientists and literates have been trying to trace the mythical continent of Atlantis in the geography, interpreting Plato and all Mediterranean legends which have done their own fulcrum in it, and for centuries each attempt is frustrated by absence of concrete demonstrations, as well as signs, testimonies, ideas...</p> <p>Atlantis was a promised land situated beyond the Columns of Hercules. But where were those mythical columns 2000 years ago? Today, everybody put them in Gibilterra, but the analyses of the preceding texts, the new geography of Eratosthenes (the first one to destine them between Spain and Morocco), show that there was a lot of confusion to put the world limits when the Greeks doesn't make geography but the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians, who were heirs of those ancient lords of the sea of whom we lost the traces after a catastrophic event (Did Atlantis clamorously go down?).</p> <p>The Mediterranean backdrops geology, to this intention, is so clear that also Sergio Frau, a journalist and archaeologist, has remarked that there is a precise zone which can be recognized as the border of the known world before commerce pushed more to West, the only one that possessed that insidious backdrops, and above all muddy and studded of shoals, that the ancients indicated as the Columns of Hercules: the channel of Sicily.</p> <p>The Gibilterra Narrow has deep backdrops more than 300 meters and there has never been down mud over there, how could be in error the so many people who clearly described the narrow between Sicily and Tunisia?</p> <p>And if the Columns of Hercules were really wide of Sicily at the Plato's time, why would Atlantide have had to be at the Canaries or, least of all, at Sanotrini?</p> <p>But beyond those Columns, now replaced, there is an island which has an extraordinary climate (able to give more picked in a year), rich in metals and inhabited for long time by people, who built towers (the nuraghes of the Tirrenis) and which is perhaps closely related with the Etrurians, the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians. An island which could constitute a nearest natural coffer than the distant Spain which, who knows why, had to prefer the arriving of Lebanon and the Libya sailors. An island which must be secret and almost cancelled by the routs, a natural backup kind to darken in the night of the myth, an idea of a promised land whose name could be Atlantis. Sardinia is that island and several archeological inspections show that it has been suddenly a forsaken around 1780-1175.</p> <p>The nuragheses of the southern and western Sardinian coast, those at low quotas, are completely destroyed, headed, with big stones thrown on land, while those of northern Sardinia are today still standing: are earthquakes or seaquakes possible in an island considered for a long time quiet from a tectonic point of view? Geology could try to give a definitive answer by surveys opportunely situated in Campidano valley, near the nuraghes covered by an ooze, which seems a residue of an overflow or of a seaquake. If everything found further confirmations a lot of ideas must be changed: the history and the archaeology of the whole Mediterranean risk to be rewritten in a new vision of the ancient world, whose origin would be nearer than we can imagine</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=11" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Crete_and_Santorini" id="Crete_and_Santorini"></a></p> <h5>Crete and Santorini</h5> <p>Among those who believe in an historical Atlantis, a common hypothesis holds that Plato's story of the destruction of Atlantis was inspired by massive volcanic eruptions on the Mediterranean island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santorini" title="Santorini">Santorini</a> during Minoan times. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism" title="Scientific skepticism">Skeptics</a> of an Atlantic Ocean location usually promote this theory. Some consider this to be the likeliest hypothesis, though investigators (such as Frank Joseph) discount this theory as misleading. A main criticism of this hypothesis is that the ancient Greeks were well aware of volcanoes, and if there was a volcanic eruption, it would seem likely that it would be mentioned. Additionally, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenhotep_III" title="Amenhotep III">Pharaoh Amenhotep III</a> commanded an emissary to visit the cities surrounding Crete and found the towns occupied shortly after the time Santorini was speculated to have completely destroyed the area.</p> <p>Part of this hypothesis proposes, because Solon received his information from Egypt, that we assume that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian" title="Ancient Egyptian">Ancient Egyptian</a> symbol for "hundred" was mistakenly read as "thousand". If this was possible, the translation would reduce the age and size of Atlantis by a factor of ten. This alteration would make Atlantis fit Minoan Crete well in size and age. Though, a translation error is <i>unlikely</i> because there would be little confusion in the visual appearance of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_hieroglyph" title="Egyptian hieroglyph">hieroglyphic</a> symbols of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_numerals" title="Egyptian numerals">Egyptian numeric values</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=12" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Off_the_east_coast_of_Cyprus" id="Off_the_east_coast_of_Cyprus"></a></p> <h5>Off the east coast of Cyprus</h5> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sarmast" title="Robert Sarmast">Robert Sarmast</a>, an American architect, claims to have definitely found the lost city of Atlantis on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_14" title="November 14">November 14</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004" title="2004">2004</a>, saying that by using <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonar" title="Sonar">sonar</a> scans he was able to find manmade walls that matched the description of the structures described by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN" title="CNN">CNN</a> reports. The site lies 1,500m deep in the Mediterranean Sea between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a>.<small>_{<a href="http://athens-olympics-2004.newkerala.com/?action=fullnews&id=42709" class="external autonumber" title="http://athens-olympics-2004.newkerala.com/?action=fullnews&amp;id=42709">[1]</a>}</small> Several geologists were quick to dispute the claim, as the place was deep under water during the period in question.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=13" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Malta" id="Malta"></a></p> <h5>Malta</h5> <p>Dr Anton Mifsud who, with co-authors Simon Mifsud, Chris Agius Sultana and Charles Savona Ventura, published Malta <i>Echoes of Plato's Island</i> also added another recent hypothesis.Their book is the product of thoughtful and profound research about the archeological sites and ancient remains related to Atlantis. Frances Galea in his book <i>Malta Fdal Atlantis</i> also wrote about the results of his lifelong research on several ancient studies and known hypotheses on Atlantis, particularly that of Giorgio <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grongnet" title="Grongnet">Grongnet</a>, the renowned Maltese architect, who in 1854 claimed that the Maltese Islands are the remnants of Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=14" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Near_Cape_Spartel" id="Near_Cape_Spartel"></a></p> <h5>Near Cape Spartel</h5> <p>Another recent hypothesis is based on a recreation of the geography of the Mediterranean at the time of Atlantis' supposed existence. Plato states that Atlantis was located beyond the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Hercules" title="Pillars of Hercules">Pillars of Hercules</a>, the name given to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straits_of_Gibraltar" title="Straits of Gibraltar">Strait of Gibraltar</a> linking the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. 11,000 years ago the sea level in the area was some 130 metres lower, exposing a number of islands in the strait. One of these, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartel" title="Spartel">Spartel</a>, could have been Atlantis, though there are a number of inconsistencies with Plato's account.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=15" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Troy" id="Troy"></a></p> <h5>Troy</h5> <p>The geoarchaeologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eberhard_Zangger&action=edit" class="new" title="Eberhard Zangger">Eberhard Zangger</a> has proposed the hypothesis that Atlantis was in fact the city state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troy" title="Troy">Troy</a>. He both agrees and disagrees with Rainer W. Kühne: He too believes that the Trojans-Atlanteans were the sea peoples, but only a minor part of them. He proposes that all Greek speaking city states of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aegean_civilization" title="Aegean civilization">Aegean civilization</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycenae" title="Mycenae">Mycenae</a> constituted the sea peoples and that they destroyed each other's economies in a series of semi-fratricidal wars lasting several decades.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=16" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Tantalis" id="Tantalis"></a></p> <h5>Tantalis</h5> <p>British archaeologist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_James&action=edit" class="new" title="Peter James">Peter James</a> took a clue from Plato's mention of king Tantalus, and investigated the city of Tantalis (also Tantalos) in the province of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manisa" title="Manisa">Manisa</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a>. In addition to having very similar sounding anagram names, numerous inscriptions and ancient writings from the region matched the Atlantis story. Tantalis, formerly a wealthy city state, was destroyed when a powerful earthquake struck and caused a lake to flood the city.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=17" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Andalucia" id="Andalucia"></a></p> <h5>Andalucia</h5> <p>An hypothesis by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juan_Fern%C3%A1ndez_Amador_de_los_R%C3%ADos&action=edit" class="new" title="Juan Fernández Amador de los Ríos">Juan Fernández Amador de los Ríos</a> (1919), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J%C3%BCrgen_Spanuth&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Jürgen Spanuth">Jürgen Spanuth</a> (1953), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Georgeos_D%C3%ADaz-Montexano&action=edit" class="new" title="Georgeos Díaz-Montexano">Georgeos Díaz-Montexano</a> (2000) "<i>Atlantis Discovery</i>", <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_W._K%C3%BChne" title="Rainer W. Kühne">Rainer W. Kühne</a> (2003) suggests that the Atlanteans were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Peoples" title="Sea Peoples">Sea Peoples</a> who attacked the Eastern Mediterranean countries around 1200 BC. The city and state of Atlantis were located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalucia" title="Andalucia">Andalucia</a>, 50 kilometers southwest of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seville" title="Seville">Seville</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Werner_Wickboldt&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Werner Wickboldt">Werner Wickboldt</a> (2002) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_W._K%C3%BChne" title="Rainer W. Kühne">Rainer W. Kühne</a> (2003) claim that recent satellite photos show two rectangular structures, which they hypothesized to be the "temple of Poseidon" and "the temple of Cleito and Poseidon".</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=18" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Ponza" id="Ponza"></a></p> <h5>Ponza</h5> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponza" title="Ponza">Ponza</a> has many similarities to the Atlantis legend. Legend say that Ponza was the lost island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tyrhenia&action=edit" class="new" title="Tyrhenia">Tyrhenia</a> which was large and had a city at its edge. It was connected by land to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italian</a> mainland near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naples" title="Naples">Naples</a> (Napoli). A volcano exploded and the island sunk leaving only the mountain top which is now called Ponza. Near Naples is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pozzuoli" title="Pozzuoli">Pozzuoli</a> where <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Temple" title="Roman Temple">Roman Temples</a> in the harbor rose above water in the late 1960's due to volcanic processes.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=19" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Black_Sea" id="Black_Sea"></a></p> <h4>Black Sea</h4> <p>German researchers Siegfried and Christian Schoppe locate Atlantis in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a>: Before 5500 BC there was a great plain in the northwest at a former freshwater-lake. In 5510 BC, the barrier at today's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus" title="Bosporus">Bosporus</a> broke due to the rising sea level. The Pillars of Hercules are identical with the Strait of Bosporus. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oreichalcos" title="Oreichalcos">Oreichalcos</a> means the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian" title="Obsidian">obsidian</a> stone that used to be a cash-equivalent at that time and was replaced by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spondylus" title="Spondylus">spondylus</a> shell around 5500 BC. The geocatastrophic event led to the neolithic diaspora in Europe, also beginning 5500 BC.</p> <p>In 2000 AD, the Guardian reported that Robert Ballard, in a small submarine, found remains of human habitation around 300 feet underwater in the Black Sea off the north coast of Turkey. The area flooded around 5000 BC. This flood may have inspired the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Biblical</a> story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s_Ark" title="Noah's Ark">Noah's Ark</a>; but the area need not to be Atlantis.</p> <p>Another candidate bordering the Black Sea, suggested by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hasan_Umur&action=edit" class="new" title="Hasan Umur">Hasan Umur</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940s" title="1940s">1940s</a>, would be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancomah" title="Ancomah">Ancomah</a> , a legendary place near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trabzon" title="Trabzon">Trabzon</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=20" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Antarctica" id="Antarctica"></a></p> <h4>Antarctica</h4> <p>Rand & Rose Flem-Ath propose in their book, "When the Sky Fell" that Antarctica was Atlantis. A geological theory known as earth crust displacement (supported by Albert Einstein) and one of the few serious examinations of the size of Plato's lost continent form the basis of their work. The Flem-Aths' detailed study of fascinating world myths opens up the possibility that ancient peoples left their own record of the catastrophe.</p> <p>This theory is somewhat supported by science. Because the earth is known to wobble on its axis over thousands of years, the south pole could have at one time been at the equator (at least in relation to the sun). We also know that Antarctica is a series of islands covered with ice to create a single continent. When the south pole froze over (due to the wobbling), the city would have been covered with ice. The ancients may have presumed that it sunk when they could not find it.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=21" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Finland" id="Finland"></a></p> <h4>Finland</h4> <p>Finnish pseudohistorian <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ior_Bock" title="Ior Bock">Ior Bock</a> locates Atlantis to the southern part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> where he claims a small community of people lived during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Age" title="Ice Age">Ice Age</a>. This is a small part of a large <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga" title="Saga">saga</a> that he claims to have been told in his family through the ages, dating back to the development of language itself. Ior also believes that he is a descendant of an ancient Finnish god <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemminkainen" title="Lemminkainen">Lemminkainen</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=22" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Ireland" id="Ireland"></a></p> <h4>Ireland</h4> <p>In 2004, this theory was presented and tested scientifically in the book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis_from_a_Geographer%27s_Perspective:_Mapping_the_Fairy_Land&action=edit" class="new" title="Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land">Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land</a></i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Swedish</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography" title="Geography">geographer</a> Dr. Ulf Erlingsson from University of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala" title="Uppsala">Uppsala</a>. It hypothesizes that the empire Atlantis refers to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neolithic" title="Neolithic">Neolithic</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalithic_tomb" title="Megalithic tomb">Megalithic tomb</a> culture, based on their similar geographic extent. The island Atlantis is deduced to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a>. The similarities of both size and landscape are found to be statistically significant to the 2% level, while the null hypothesis (that Plato invented Atlantis as fiction) is rejected.</p> <p>The capital Atlantis is tentatively connected with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newgrange" title="Newgrange">Newgrange</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowth" title="Knowth">Knowth</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara%2C_Ireland" title="Tara, Ireland">Tara, Ireland</a>. Ireland has not sunk beneath the sea, but the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogger_Bank" title="Dogger Bank">Dogger Bank</a> shoal was an island that sank in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea" title="North Sea">North Sea</a> about 6100 B.C. While the world sea level rose gradually as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Age" title="Ice Age">Ice Age</a> ice sheets melted, there was a sudden rise at this time due to the final drainage of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz" title="Lake Agassiz">Lake Agassiz</a>. At about the same time a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami" title="Tsunami">tsunami</a> from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storegga_Slide" title="Storegga Slide">Storegga Slide</a> is believed to have devastated the island in the manner described by Plato.</p> <p>Some related hypotheses place the location of Atlantis between Britain and France on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celtic_Shelf&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Celtic Shelf">Celtic Shelf</a>. <small>_{<a href="http://www.grahamhancock.com/underworld/CrispDanAtlantis.php?p=3" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.grahamhancock.com/underworld/CrispDanAtlantis.php?p=3">[2]</a>}</small> This hypothesis was first developed seriously by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Spence" title="Lewis Spence">Lewis Spence</a> and has been recently revived by some oceanographers.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=23" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Indonesia" id="Indonesia"></a></p> <h4>Indonesia</h4> <p>Prof. Arysio Nunes dos Santos, Ph. D. in Nuclear Physics; Free-Docent, and Professor of Nuclear Physics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a>, has been researching on Atlantis for almost 30 years now, pointing out that "Atlantis was never found because we have all been looking in the wrong places". The reason for this, according to Prof. Santos, is that when Plato spoke of the <i>Ocean of Atlantis</i>, he was not speaking of the ocean that we <i>today</i> call <i>Atlantic Ocean</i>, but of the whole ocean that encircles Eurasia and Africa, formerly known as the atlantic ocean.</p> <p>Prof. Santos hence concludes that Atlantis is really located in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, which was considered to be the eastward extension of the modern Atlantic Ocean, even though it is unlikely that knowledge of such a place could reach a place as far away as Egypt. The modern Atlantic Ocean was once deemed to extend all the way to the East Indies, a conception which lasted down to the times of Christopher Columbus and other Renaissance explorers and geographers. Despite the prevalent opinion of experts of all sorts that "continents cannot possibly sink" (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isostasy" title="Isostasy">Isostasy</a> theory), Prof. Santos managed to discover a whole sunken continent in the region of Indonesia, which he identifies with the Lost Continent of Atlantis, as can be seen in the detailed map published in Santos' Atlantis site.</p> <p>Prof. Santos also identifies his Atlantis to Eden, the Judeo-Christian Paradise sunken in the Universal Flood. This event he dates at 11,600 BP [Before Present], the exact date of the catastrophic end of the last Pleistocene Ice Age, which also corresponds exactly to the date of Atlantis' demise as given by Plato and to the final sinking of Kumari Kandam, the sunken homeland of the Hindu Dravidas. Prof. Santos is presently planning an oceanographic expedition to the site in order to investigate several curious artefactual features he has already identified in the region he identifies with Atlantis-Eden.</p> <p>In February 2005, Canberra-based independent researcher Raimy Che-Ross, announced to the world that he had found a lost city in the unsunken Malaysian portion of the lost continent. A well funded expedition is now underway involving a large ground team of experts and Malaysia Centre For Remote Sensing (Macres) satellites. The Malaysian Department of Museums and Antiquities has been instructed to report their findings by August 2005. <small>_{<a href="http://202.186.86.35/special/lostcity/" class="external autonumber" title="http://202.186.86.35/special/lostcity/">[3]</a>}</small></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=24" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="India_and_Sri_Lanka" id="India_and_Sri_Lanka"></a></p> <h4>India and Sri Lanka</h4> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_India" title="South India">South India</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sri_Lanka" title="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</a> there is a reputed "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumari_Kandam" title="Kumari Kandam">Kumari Kandam</a>" (<i>kandam</i> means "continent" in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_language" title="Tamil language">Tamil</a>), believed to be submerged under the sea. This continent is surrounded by legendary stories similar to those of Atlantis. It has been called the "cradle of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dravidian" title="Dravidian">Dravidians</a>". Also, there have been some people linking the "Kumari continent" to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria" title="Lemuria">Lemuria</a>.</p> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Cambay" title="Gulf of Cambay">Gulf of Cambay</a>, there is an archaeological submarine site of a former island named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwaraka" title="Dwaraka">Dwaraka</a>, which is mainly associated with locations in Indian mythology (especially in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabharata" title="Mahabharata">Mahabharata</a>), which has also appeared in discussions about Atlantis. But its date (about 1,500 BC) is too recent to correspond to the real site of Atlantis, according to Plato's date of 9,600 BC.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=25" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Western_hemisphere" id="Western_hemisphere"></a></p> <h3>Western hemisphere</h3> <p>Some investigators believe that Atlantis is in the Western hemisphere, which would have the location in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean" title="Atlantic Ocean">Atlantic Ocean</a>, near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Americas" title="The Americas">The Americas</a>, or at some of the surrounding islands.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=26" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Mid-Atlantic" id="Mid-Atlantic"></a></p> <h4>Mid-Atlantic</h4> <p>When Plato spoke of the <i>Ocean of Atlantis</i>, he may have been speaking of the ocean that we call <i>Atlantic Ocean</i>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean" title="Ocean">ocean</a>'s name, derived from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology" title="Greek mythology">Greek mythology</a>, means the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea" title="Sea">Sea</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlas_%28mythology%29" title="Atlas (mythology)">Atlas</a>". Plato remarked that, in describing the origins of Atlantis, this area was allotted to Poseidon. Poseidon's first-born son was Atlas, who inheritted the kingdom, and passed it onto his firstborn for many generations.</p> <p>There is a prevalent opinion in scientific circles that "continents cannot possibly sink", delineated by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isostasy" title="Isostasy">Isostasy</a> theory. Geological studies of the mid-Atlantic fail to demonstrate that a large continent of Atlantis existed there. However, Atlantic Ocean <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology" title="Geology">geology</a> does not exclude the possibility of a sunken <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island" title="Island">island</a>. If an island existed, it would have been much smaller than the island continent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a> never claimed that a whole continent disappeared. He referenced a sunken island in front of another continent.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=27" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Azores_Islands" id="Azores_Islands"></a></p> <h4>Azores Islands</h4> <p>One of the suggested places is that Atlantis is around the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azores_Islands" title="Azores Islands">Azores Islands</a> which are a group of islands belonging to Portugal located about 900 miles (1500 km) west of the Portuguese coast. Some people believe the islands could be the mountain tops of Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=28" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Bahama_Bank_and_Caribbean" id="Bahama_Bank_and_Caribbean"></a></p> <h4>Bahama Bank and Caribbean</h4> <p>Not all geologists deny the possibility of a sunken island in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_America" title="Central America">Central America</a>. After the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Berlitz" title="Charles Berlitz">Charles Berlitz</a> book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Mystery_of_Atlantis&action=edit" class="new" title="The Mystery of Atlantis">The Mystery of Atlantis</a></i>, a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canadian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungarian</a> geologist-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topography" title="Topography">topographer's</a> book was published, entitled <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis:_The_Seven_Seals&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Atlantis: The Seven Seals">Atlantis: The Seven Seals</a></i>. The author, Z.A. Simon, called the attention to these controversies. He included some supporting conclusions of Dr. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=J._Manson_Valentine&action=edit" class="new" title="J. Manson Valentine">J. Manson Valentine</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=M._Dmitri_Ribikoff&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="M. Dmitri Ribikoff">M. Dmitri Ribikoff</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=E._Umland&action=edit" class="new" title="E. Umland">E. Umland</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C._Umland&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="C. Umland">C. Umland</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_B._Stacy-Judd&action=edit" class="new" title="Robert B. Stacy-Judd">Robert B. Stacy-Judd</a>, Dr. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Zink&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="David Zink">David Zink</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_P._Cohane&action=edit" class="new" title="John P. Cohane">John P. Cohane</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Peter_Tompkins&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Peter Tompkins">Peter Tompkins</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pino_Turolla&action=edit" class="new" title="Pino Turolla">Pino Turolla</a>, Captain Alexander, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Francis_Hitching&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Francis Hitching">Francis Hitching</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bailey" title="James Bailey">James Bailey</a>, Dr. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=C.J._Cazeau&action=edit" class="new" title="C.J. Cazeau">C.J. Cazeau</a>, Dr. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=S.D._Scott&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="S.D. Scott">S.D. Scott</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brad_Steiger&action=edit" class="new" title="Brad Steiger">Brad Steiger</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_R._Fix&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="William R. Fix">William R. Fix</a>.</p> <p>The June <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981" title="1981">1981</a> edition of <i>Marine Geology</i> shows some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiocarbon" title="Radiocarbon">radiocarbon</a> dates on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove" title="Mangrove">mangrove</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat" title="Peat">peat</a>, based on the estimate of Broecker and Kulp, listing dates between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=5590_BC&action=edit" class="new" title="5590 BC">5590</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=3680_BC&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="3680 BC">3680 BC</a>, with connection of the gradual sinking of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida" title="Florida">Florida</a>–<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimini" title="Bimini">Bimini</a> region. Most recently the rate of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level" title="Sea level">sea level</a>'s rise has slowed to 4.5 in (114 mm) per century. Prior to that time it was one foot per century. Near <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andros_Island&action=edit" class="new" title="Andros Island">Andros Island</a>, underwater explorer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques-Yves_Cousteau" title="Jacques-Yves Cousteau">Jacques-Yves Cousteau</a> found a huge submerged cave 165 ft (50 m) beneath the surface. There are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalactites" title="Stalactites">stalactites</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalagmites" title="Stalagmites">stalagmites</a> in it, that can be formed in the open air only. Marine sediments on the walls of the grotto enabled scientists to estimate its submersion around or after <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%2C000_BC" title="10,000 BC">10,000 BC</a>. The submarine topography of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahamas" title="Bahamas">Bahamian</a> region shown in the huge <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russian</a> <i>Atlas Mira</i> by detailed <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Isobath&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Isobath">isobaths</a>, catches the attention of a topographer. The sea floor on the northern side of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiti" title="Haiti">Haiti</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerto_Rico" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a> indicates a definite system of submerged valleys of ancient rivers, combined with sunken mountain ranges. The "Tongue of the Ocean" at Andros Island is undoubtedly an underwater ravine caused by terrible tectonic forces, surrounded by almost vertical walls, as a "memento" of the catastrophe. The main problem with this theory is that Atlantis was supposed to have submerged rapidly, following an earthquake.</p> <p>Z.A. Simon offers an "accurate" map of Plato's rectangular island with its given dimensions as 2,000 by 3,000 <i>stadia</i>, overlaying its outline on the suspected ancient irregular shoreline of that traditional island in the Bahamas region. (An Attic stadium corresponds to 177.6 m)</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=29" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Isla_de_la_Juventud_near_Cuba" id="Isla_de_la_Juventud_near_Cuba"></a></p> <h4>Isla de la Juventud near Cuba</h4> <p>Recent underwater discoveries off the west coast of Cuba have led some to speculate on an Atlantean connection. However, even before these discoveries were announced, author Andrew Collins had explored the Cuba connection in a book titled "Gateway to Atlantis." Collins supports his hypothesis with a great deal of indirect but compelling historical and geographical evidence. He finally suggests present-day <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_de_la_Juventud" title="Isla de la Juventud">Isle of Youth</a> and the shallow sea bottom that surrounds it as a possible location for Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=30" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Other_locations" id="Other_locations"></a></p> <h3>Other locations</h3> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=31" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="In_fiction" id="In_fiction"></a></p> <h2>In fiction</h2> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacinto_Verdaguer" title="Jacinto Verdaguer">Jacinto Verdaguer</a> wrote a long poem in Catalan, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=L%27_Atl%C3%A1ntida&action=edit" class="new" title="L' Atlántida">L' Atlántida</a></i>, on the subject linking it with the discovery of the Americas by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus" title="Christopher Columbus">Christopher Columbus</a>.</p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nemo_Aronax_Atlantis.jpg" class="internal" title="Professor Aronnax and captain Nemo visit the remains of Atlantis in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Nemo_Aronax_Atlantis.jpg/180px-Nemo_Aronax_Atlantis.jpg" alt="Professor Aronnax and captain Nemo visit the remains of Atlantis in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Nemo_Aronax_Atlantis.jpg" height="254" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Nemo_Aronax_Atlantis.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Professor Aronnax and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Nemo" title="Captain Nemo">captain Nemo</a> visit the remains of Atlantis in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea" title="Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea">20,000 Leagues Under The Sea</a></i></div> </div> </div> <p>Atlantis has also been the subject of such films as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1961" title="1961">1961</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis%2C_the_Lost_Continent&action=edit" class="new" title="Atlantis, the Lost Continent">Atlantis, the Lost Continent</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Walt_Disney_Company" title="The Walt Disney Company">Disney</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001" title="2001">2001</a> animated feature <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantis:_The_Lost_Empire" title="Atlantis: The Lost Empire">Atlantis: The Lost Empire</a></i>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gainax" title="Gainax">Gainax</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime" title="Anime">Anime</a> series <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadia:_The_Secret_of_Blue_Water" title="Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water">Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water</a></i>, the French film <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis_%28documentary%29&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Atlantis (documentary)">Atlantis</a></i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Besson" title="Luc Besson">Luc Besson</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991" title="1991">1991</a>) - in fact an underwater wildlife documentary, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1" title="Stargate SG-1">Stargate SG-1</a></i> TV show spin-off <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Atlantis" title="Stargate Atlantis">Stargate Atlantis</a></i>, the book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis_Found&action=edit" class="new" title="Atlantis Found">Atlantis Found</a></i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Cussler" title="Clive Cussler">Clive Cussler</a>, the book Decipher by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stel_Pavlou" title="Stel Pavlou">Stel Pavlou</a> and many others. A complete listing of the appearances of Atlantis in modern media would be too extensive to include here. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_Verne" title="Jules Verne">Jules Verne</a>'s classic <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty_Thousand_Leagues_Under_the_Sea" title="Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea">20,000 Leagues Under The Sea</a></i> also included a visit to sunken Atlantis aboard Captain Nemo's submarine <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus_%28Verne%29" title="Nautilus (Verne)">Nautilus</a></i>. One film set in times before Classical Greece arose shows shipwrecked Greek sailors in the Atlantic being rescued by a modern-looking <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submarine" title="Submarine">submarine</a> which was based on Atlantis. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard" title="Robert E. Howard">Robert E. Howard</a>'s stories about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kull_the_Conqueror" title="Kull the Conqueror">Kull the Conqueror</a> are set in pre historic Atlantis.</p> <div class="notice metadata" id="spoiler"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spoiler_warning" title="Wikipedia:Spoiler warning">Spoiler warning</a>: <i>Plot and/or ending details follow.</i></b></div> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_universe" title="DC universe">DC universe</a>, both <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaman" title="Aquaman">Aquaman</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lori_Lemaris" title="Lori Lemaris">Lori Lemaris</a> - among others - were said to have come from a sunken Atlantis. In Lori Lemaris's case, her people survived by becoming <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid" title="Mermaid">mermaids</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merman" title="Merman">mermen</a>.</p> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Universe" title="Marvel Universe">Marvel Universe</a>, the people live in a similar manner, as blue-skinned water breathers with Prince <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namor_the_Sub-Mariner" title="Namor the Sub-Mariner">Namor the Sub-Mariner</a> as their ruler.</p> <p>The question obviously rises: Who is the rightful ruler of undersea Atlantis - Arthur the Aquaman or Namor the Sub-Mariner? In a cross-over title produced jointly by Marvel and DC, the two superheroes battled for the title of undisputed King under the Sea. Aquaman won, by dropping an Orca on Namor.</p> <p><br /></p> <p>In the book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Celestial_Matters&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Celestial Matters">Celestial Matters</a></i>, the Hellenistic civilization calls Amerindians "Atlanteans".</p> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game" title="Role-playing game">role-playing game</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rifts" title="Rifts">Rifts</a></i>, Atlantis is a continent in the Atlantic west of the Caribbean that rises back out of the sea in the far future. Besides the human-like, but physically and mentally superior Atlanteans, <i>Rifts'</i> Atlantis is peopled by alien colonists called the Splugorth, who enslave humans for sale on interdimensional markets.</p> <p>Atlantis was also the subject of the PC-based Adventure game, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fate_of_Atlantis" title="Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis">Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis</a></i>, published by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LucasArts" title="LucasArts">LucasArts</a>. In the game, Indiana races the Nazis to find Atlantis and to stop them from discovering the secrets of orichalcum.</p> <p>In the videogame <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_Raider" title="Tomb Raider">Tomb Raider</a></i>, adventurer and treasure hunter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Croft" title="Lara Croft">Lara Croft</a>'s quest ultimately leads her to the buried ruins of Atlantis. Her employer turns out to be an Atlantean herself, having been imprisoned for the past 10,000 years in suspended animation and now seeking to reclaim the powers of her people for her own benefit.</p> <p>In the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pendragon_Cycle" title="Pendragon Cycle">Pendragon Cycle</a></i> series of books, the survivors of Atlantis ("fairies") journey to Britain where, among other places, they settle in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyonesse" title="Lyonesse">Lyonesse</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon" title="Avalon">Avalon</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_le_Fay" title="Morgan le Fay">Morgan le Fay</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_of_the_Lake" title="Lady of the Lake">Lady of the Lake</a>, and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_King" title="Fisher King">Fisher King</a> are all Atlanteans, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_%28wizard%29" title="Merlin (wizard)">Merlin</a> is the son of an Atlantean princess and a Celtic Druid.</p> <p>The computer game <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Mythology" title="Age of Mythology">Age of Mythology</a> follows the adventure of a (fictional) Atlantian hero named Arkantos. The game begins with Arkantos having to defend the city and ends with him having to rescue its people from enemy forces before the island sinks.</p> <p>In <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Atlantis" title="Stargate Atlantis">Stargate Atlantis</a></i>, taken place at the end of season 7 of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_SG-1" title="Stargate SG-1">Stargate SG-1</a></i> (The Lost City), the SGC finds out that the city known as Atlantis was a city of technology and science, which left the planet for another galaxy, the Pegasus Galaxy. Under the command of Doctor Elizabeth Weir, she and her expedition team set out to explore and find this city and if there are any Ancients remaining, learning that there are none. They venture off to find a new energy source within the Pegasus Galaxy for the trip back to Earth, only to encounter an alien race which defeated the powerful Ancients, known as The Wraith.</p> <p>In the fourth season of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh%21" title="Yu-Gi-Oh!">Yu-Gi-Oh!</a></i>, the legend of Atlantis plays a major part in the plot. Granted, the version used isn't very accurate when compared to the real legend, but Atlantis is still used. In this season, called "The Doma Saga" by fans, an evil organization led by the previous King of Atlantis surfaces and tries to wipe out life on earth in order to create a new race of humans less evil and corrupt than the humans of today.</p> <p>Atlanteans are one threat that Aegis must deal with in the RPG <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conspiracy_X&action=edit" class="new" title="Conspiracy X">Conspiracy X</a>.</p> <p>The setting of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vision_of_Escaflowne" title="The Vision of Escaflowne">The Vision of Escaflowne</a> was created by the Atlanteans.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=32" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Inspired_stories" id="Inspired_stories"></a></p> <h3>Inspired stories</h3> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tolkien" title="Tolkien">Tolkien</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akallabeth" title="Akallabeth">Akallabeth</a>, the island of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BAmenor" title="Númenor">Númenor</a> is sunk because of the evil deeds of their inhabitants. The Quenya name of Númenor was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalant%C3%AB" title="Atalantë">Atalantë</a>.</p> <p>A youth in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> claims to be the personification and reincarnation of Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=33" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_destruction_of_Atlantis" id="The_destruction_of_Atlantis"></a></p> <h3>The destruction of Atlantis</h3> <p>In the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a></i> story <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_D%C3%A6mons" title="The Dæmons">The Dæmons</a></i>, the Dæmon Azal claims to have destroyed Atlantis. However in the story <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Underwater_Menace" title="The Underwater Menace">The Underwater Menace</a></i> the city is shown as existing on the seabed near the Azores and is destroyed. Yet another version is given in <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Time_Monster" title="The Time Monster">The Time Monster</a></i> which locates the city off Crete and also shows it destroyed.</p> <p>According to Master Fung in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiaolin_Showdown" title="Xiaolin Showdown">Xiaolin Showdown</a> episode "Enter the dragon", the last time Dojo turned into a 2-headed monster and went on a Shen-gon-wu induced rampage was "the last time anyone saw Atlantis"</p> <p>The fallen <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel" title="Angel">Angel</a> Islington in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwhere" title="Neverwhere">Neverwhere</a> was originally guardian angel of Atlantis, but destroyed it, claiming they deserved it.</p> <p>In the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairly_Odd_Parents" title="Fairly Odd Parents">Fairly Odd Parents</a></i> episode "This is Your Wish", <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmo_%28fairy%29" title="Cosmo (fairy)">Cosmo</a>, during his training, came up with the idea of how to make Altantis cleaner - by sinking it.</p> <p>In <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons" title="The Simpsons">The Simpsons</a></i> episode "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_from_the_Public_Domain" title="Tales from the Public Domain">Tales from the Public Domain</a>", <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus" title="Dionysus">Dionysus</a> (played by Barney Gumble) destroys Atlantis after drunkenly trying to throw a lighting bolt at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odysseus" title="Odysseus">Odysseus</a> (played by Homer).</p> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh%21" title="Yu-Gi-Oh!">Yu-Gi-Oh!</a> a great battle of the King of Atlantis, Dartz, vs. the three legendary dragons caused the destruction that sank Atlantis.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=34" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="In_music" id="In_music"></a></p> <h2>In music</h2> <p>Atlantis has inspired an instrumental by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shadows_%28band%29" title="The Shadows (band)">The Shadows</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_Metal&action=edit" class="new" title="Chaos Metal">Chaos Metal</a> Band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SchwarzReich&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="SchwarzReich">SchwarzReich</a>'s <a href="http://schwarzreich.cjb.net/" class="external autonumber" title="http://SchwarzReich.cjb.net">[4]</a> lead <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocalist" title="Vocalist">vocalist</a> who go's by the psydonem Atlantis, a song by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donovan" title="Donovan">Donovan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concept_album" title="Concept album">concept albums</a> by jazz artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Ra" title="Sun Ra">Sun Ra</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Dutch</a> band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Earth_and_Fire&action=edit" class="new" title="Earth and Fire">Earth and Fire</a>, British band Prefab Sprout, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England">English</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_metal" title="Battle metal">battle metal</a> band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal-Sagoth" title="Bal-Sagoth">Bal-Sagoth</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">German</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_metal" title="Death metal">death metal</a> band <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocity" title="Atrocity">Atrocity</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=35" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2>See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_island" title="Phantom island">Phantom island</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_city" title="Lost city">Lost city</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemuria_%28continent%29" title="Lemuria (continent)">Lemuria (continent)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mu_%28lost_continent%29" title="Mu (lost continent)">Mu (lost continent)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thule_%28myth%29" title="Thule (myth)">Thule (myth)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil_%28mythical_island%29" title="Brazil (mythical island)">Brazil (mythical island)</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Australis" title="Terra Australis">Terra Australis</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%BAmenor" title="Númenor">Númenor</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kull_the_Conqueror" title="Kull the Conqueror">Kull the Conqueror</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=36" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Further_reading" id="Further_reading"></a></p> <h2>Further reading</h2> <ul> <li>Joseph, Frank, "<i>The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization</i>". Bear & Company, 2002. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=1879181851" class="internal">ISBN 187918185-1</a></li><li>Zangger, Eberhard, "''<i>The Flood from Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis legend</i>". Sidgwick & Jackson, 1992, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=0688113508" class="internal">ISBN 0688113508</a>.</li><li>Mifsud, Anton, Simon Mifsud, Chris Agius Sultana, and Charles Savona Ventura, "<i>Echoes of Plato's Island</i>". (2nd edition) Malta, 2001. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=9993215015" class="internal">ISBN 99932-15-01-5</a></li><li>Ashe, Geoffrey, "<i>Atlantis : lost lands, ancient wisdom / Geoffrey Ashe</i>". New York, N.Y., Thames and Hudson; 1992. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=0500810397" class="internal">ISBN 0500810397</a></li><li>Zeilinga de Boer, Jelle, et. al., "<i>Volcanoes in human history : the far-reaching effects of major eruptions</i>". <i>The Bronze Age eruption of Thera : destroyer of Atlantis and Minoan Crete?</i>. Princeton, N.J., Princeton University Press; 2002.</li><li>Ley, Willy, <i>"Another look at Atlantis, and fifteen other essays</i>". Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday; 1969. LCCN 69011988</li><li>Galanopoulos, Angelos Geōrgiou, and Edward Bacon, "<i>Atlantis; the truth behind the legend</i>". Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill; 1969. LCCN 71080738 //r892</li><li>Donnelly, Ignatius, "<i>Atlantis : the antediluvian world</i>". New York, Harper, 1882. LCCN 06001749</li><li>Erlingsson, Ulf, "<i><a href="http://lindorm.com/books.html" class="external text" title="http://lindorm.com/books.html">Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land</a></i>". Lindorm Publishing, 2004. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=0975594605" class="internal">ISBN 0975594605</a></li><li>Flem-Ath, Rand &amp; Wilson, Colin, "<i>The Atlantis Blueprint</i>". 2000.</li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=37" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="External_links_and_other_references" id="External_links_and_other_references"></a></p> <h2>External links and other references</h2> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=38" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Accounts_2" id="Accounts_2"></a></p> <h3>Accounts</h3> <ul> <li>"<i><a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html" class="external text" title="http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/timaeus.html">Timaeus</a></i>" translated by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Jowett" title="Benjamin Jowett">Benjamin Jowett</a>; <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180&layout=&amp;loc=Tim.+1a" class="external text" title="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0180&layout=&amp;loc=Tim. 1a">alternative version</a> with commentary.</li><li>"<i><a href="http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html" class="external text" title="http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critias.html">Critias</a></i>" translated by Benjamin Jowett; <a href="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180&layout=&amp;loc=Criti.+106a" class="external text" title="http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0180&layout=&amp;loc=Criti. 106a">alternative version</a> with commentary.</li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a> Presents: "<i><a href="http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4032" class="external text" title="http://digital.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=4032">Atlantis: the Antediluvian World</a></i>" by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignatius_Donnelly" title="Ignatius Donnelly">Ignatius Donnelly</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atlantis&action=edit&amp;section=39" title="Atlantis">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Location_theories" id="Location_theories"></a></p> <h3>Location theories</h3> <p><b>Directories</b></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Directory_Project" title="Open Directory Project">Open Directory Project</a>: <a href="http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social_Sciences/Archaeology/Alternative/Lost_Civilizations/Atlantis/" class="external text" title="http://www.dmoz.org/Science/Social Sciences/Archaeology/Alternative/Lost Civilizations/Atlantis/">Atlantis</a></li> </ul> <p><b>Information</b></p> <ul> <li>"<i><a href="http://discoveryatlantis.sytes.net/" class="external text" title="http://DiscoveryAtlantis.sytes.net/">Atlantis</a> in front <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>, between <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morocco" title="Morocco">Morocco</a>; Atlantis = <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartessos" title="Tartessos">Tartessos</a>, Atlanteans and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_People" title="Sea People">Sea Peoples</a></i>". <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Beyond_Science&action=edit" class="new" title="Beyond Science">Beyond Science</a></i>. Apr 2000.</li><li>"<i><a href="http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/kuhne/" class="external text" title="http://antiquity.ac.uk/ProjGall/kuhne/">Atlantis</a> = Tartessos, Atlanteans and Sea Peoples</i>". <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antiquity_%28journal%29&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Antiquity (journal)">Antiquity</a></i> (quarterly journal of archaeology)</li><li>Prof. Arysio N. Santos' "<i><a href="http://www.atlan.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.atlan.org">Atlantis</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a></i>"</li><li>Jim Allen's <a href="http://www.geocities.com/webatlantis/" class="external text" title="http://www.geocities.com/webatlantis/">Atlantis: The Andes Solution</a> -- Historic Atlantis in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a>.</li><li>Riven, [<a href="http://www.mts.net/%7Eperasa" class="external free" title="http://www.mts.net/~perasa">http://www.mts.net/~perasa</a> Tribes of Atlantis Dragon Claw Orb ship appears also on Stonehenge Pillar and Atlantean Machine Discovered. The most Factual and Conclusive research on Atlantis.</li><li><a href="http://www.atlantia.de/atlantis_english/atlantis.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.atlantia.de/atlantis english/atlantis.htm">ATLANTIS - The Cradle of Mankind</a></li><li><a href="http://www.blacksea-atlantis.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.blacksea-atlantis.com">Atlantis</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea" title="Black Sea">Black Sea</a></li><li><a href="http://otaku.onlinehome.de/gematria.html" class="external text" title="http://otaku.onlinehome.de/gematria.html">Atlantis</a> in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torah" title="Torah">Torah</a></li><li><a href="http://www.blavatsky.net/science/atlantis/atlantis.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.blavatsky.net/science/atlantis/atlantis.htm">Atlantis</a> (Blavatsky.net)</li><li><a href="http://www.lost-civilizations.net/atlantis.html" class="external text" title="http://www.lost-civilizations.net/atlantis.html">Atlantis</a> (www.lost-civilizations.net)</li><li><a href="http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa090301b.htm" class="external text" title="http://paranormal.about.com/library/weekly/aa090301b.htm">Antarctic Atlantis</a> (About.com)</li><li><a href="http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.flem%2Dath.com/del1.htm" class="external text" title="http://paranormal.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.flem-ath.com/del1.htm">Feasibility of the Antarctic Atlantis hypothesis</a> -- detailed explanation.</li><li>"<i><a href="http://discoveryatlantis.sytes.net/" class="external text" title="http://DiscoveryAtlantis.sytes.net">Atlantis Discovery</a></i>". AtlantisDiscovery.com. Madrid, Spain.</li><li>Dr. <a href="http://erlingsson.com/UE.html" class="external text" title="http://erlingsson.com/UE.html">Ulf Erlingsson</a> site (University of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uppsala" title="Uppsala">Uppsala</a>)</li> </ul> <p><b>Forums</b></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Hancock" title="Graham Hancock">Graham Hancock</a> Forum -- Posts:<a href="http://www.grahamhancock.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=148002&amp;t=148002" class="external text" title="http://www.grahamhancock.com/phorum/read.php?f=1&i=148002&amp;t=148002">Satellite images 'show Atlantis' in Spain</a> Oct 31, 2003.</li><li><a href="http://atlantisinireland.com/" class="external text" title="http://atlantisinireland.com">Atlantis in Ireland</a> -- website and debate forum</li> </ul> <p><b>Non-english sites</b></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.thorwalds-internetseiten.de/atlanlinks.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.thorwalds-internetseiten.de/atlanlinks.htm">150 links</a>+ to Atlantis pages (German/English)</li><li>Bock, Ior, "<i><a href="http://www.bocksaga.de/" class="external text" title="http://www.bocksaga.de/">Bock Saga</a></i>". (German/English)</li><li><a href="http://www.mysteria3000.de/archiv/lc/atlantis_2.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.mysteria3000.de/archiv/lc/atlantis 2.htm">Classification of Atlantis hypotheses</a> (German only)</li><li><a href="http://www.mysteria3000.de/archiv/lc/atlantis.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.mysteria3000.de/archiv/lc/atlantis.htm">Atlantis</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andalusia" title="Andalusia">Andalusia</a>, Antlanteans and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_People" title="Sea People">Sea Peoples</a> (German language)</li><li><a href="http://atlantis.sitio.net/" class="external text" title="http://Atlantis.sitio.net/">Atlantis</a> in front of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>, between Andalusia and Morocco. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_proof" title="Scientific proof">Scientific proofs</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology" title="Archaeology">archaeological</a> discoveries. (Spanish/English)</li> </ul> <p><b>News</b></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_News" title="BBC News">BBC News</a>, "<i><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3766863.stm" class="external text" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3766863.stm">Satellite images 'show Atlantis' in Spain</a></i>". June 6, 2004.</li><li>BBC News, "<i><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4011545.stm" class="external text" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4011545.stm">Have scientists really found the lost city of Atlantis?</a></i>". November 15, 2004.</li><li>BBC News, "<i><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1554000/1554594.stm" class="external text" title="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid 1554000/1554594.stm">Atlantis 'obviously near Gibraltar'</a></i>", 20 September, 2001.</li><li>Radford, Tim, "<i><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0%2C3858%2C4063474-103681%2C00.html" class="external text" title="http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4063474-103681,00.html">Evidence found of Noah's ark flood victims</a> : Ship probes land below Black Sea submerged 7,000 years ago and linked to biblical disaster</i>". <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian" title="The Guardian">Guardian</a>, September 14, 2000.</li> </ul> <p><b>Skeptics</b></p> <ul> <li>Christopher, Kevin, "<i><a href="http://www.csicop.org/sb/2001-09/atlantis.html" class="external text" title="http://www.csicop.org/sb/2001-09/atlantis.html">Atlantis: No way, No how, No where</a></i>" -- <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_the_Scientific_Investigation_of_Claims_of_the_Paranormal" title="Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal">Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal</a></li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112240516473538432?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266846799312912005-07-24T21:47:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:47:26.803-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Black Elk</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <p><b>Black Elk (Hehaka Sapa)</b> (c. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December" title="December">December</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1863" title="1863">1863</a> – <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_17" title="August 17">August 17</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_19" title="August 19">August 19</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950" title="1950">1950</a> (sources differ)) was a famous <i>Wichasha Wakan</i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Man" title="Medicine Man">Medicine Man</a> or Holy Man) of the Oglala <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakota" title="Lakota">Lakota</a> (Sioux). He participated at about the age of twelve in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Little_Big_Horn" title="Battle of Little Big Horn">Battle of Little Big Horn</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1876" title="1876">1876</a>, and was wounded in the massacre that occurred at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee" title="Wounded Knee">Wounded Knee</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1890" title="1890">1890</a>.</p> <p>Black Elk married his first wife <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katie_War_Bonnett&action=edit" class="new" title="Katie War Bonnett">Katie War Bonnett</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1892" title="1892">1892</a>. She became a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism" title="Catholicism">Catholic</a>, and all three of their children were baptized as Catholic. After her death in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1903" title="1903">1903</a> he too became baptized, taking the name Nicholas Black Elk, and continued to serve as a spiritual leader among his people, seeing no contradiction in embracing what he found valid in both his tribal traditions concerning <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakan_Tanka" title="Wakan Tanka">Wakan Tanka</a></b>, and those of Christianity. He remarried in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1905" title="1905">1905</a> to Anna Brings White who was a widow, with two daughters, and who bore him three more children, and remained his wife until she died in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1941" title="1941">1941</a>.</p> <p>Towards the end of his life he revealed the story of his life, and a number of sacred Sioux rituals to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Neihardt" title="John Neihardt">John Neihardt</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_Epes_Brown&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Joseph Epes Brown">Joseph Epes Brown</a> for publication, and his accounts have won wide interest and acclaim.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Elk&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Black Elk">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Books" id="Books"></a></p> <h3>Books</h3> <ul> <li><i><b>Black Elk Speaks</b>: being the life story of a holy man of the Oglala Sioux</i> (1932) ( as told to John Neihardt.)</li><li><i><b>The Sacred Pipe</b>: Black Elk's Account of the Seven Rites of the Oglala Sioux</i> (1953) (as told to Joseph Epes Brown)</li><li><b>The Sixth Grandfather:</b> <i>Black Elk's Teachings Given to John G. Neihardt</i> (1984)</li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226684679931291?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266728005198792005-07-24T21:44:00.001-07:002005-07-24T21:45:28.010-07:00<span style="font-weight: bold;">For Warriors and for Peace.</span><br /><br /><p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I've been asked numerous times by soldiers and family members for magical charms to aid and protect our soldiers and news corps in the Middle East and elsewhere. I've put together a collection of Galdrastafir -- Viking era "magical staves". Most of these talismans are very ancient and effective.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">According to tradition, the Aegishjalmur "helm of awe" should be worn over the forehead, perhaps scratched or drawn on the inside of one's helmet. Its purpose is protection and "irresistibility" in battle (as in the Borg's, "Resistance is futile."). One could also draw it on one's forehead with salvia or blood. It could be used as a tattoo. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The Vegvisir "runic compass" will help prevent one from getting lost--that's one I'd want tattooed, like Icelandic singer Björk. Or one might scratch or draw it on the inside of one's helmet. This one can also be drawn on one's forehead with saliva or blood.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Gapaldur and Ginfaxi were traditionally used in "glima", viking wrestling, but are also valid for combat of any nature. The charms historically were carried in one's shoes or drawn on one's feet. Do not use as a tattoo. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Odin's Illusionary Rune was used to make the bearer invisible or shape shift, such as the Viking berzerkers who took on the form, strength, and courage of bears in battle. Do not use as a tattoo. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Hraethigaldur and Ottastafur "terror staves" would be carried over one's breast, so consider putting them in a pocket or perhaps scratched onto dog tags. Do not use as a tattoo. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Svefnthorn "sleep thorn" will aid one in sleeping under the most adverse conditions. Lay it under the pillow or bed. It will also put someone else to sleep. Do not use as a tattoo. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Powerful binding and breaking locks and fetters are two sides of the same coin. I'd want the Lásabrjótur "lock breaker" tattooed right along side the Vegvisir.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Above all, a warrior needs good luck. The best luck of all is an end to war. No matter what our politics, we all want all our troops to come home healthy. Please join me in praying for peace, the safety of civilians, and to bring our men and women home as soon as possible. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">One does not have to be a pagan to use these talismans. Some of the greatest Icelandic rune wizards were Christian clergy and bishops. Use of rune magic does <u>not</u> involve devil worship or the invoking of Satan or demons!</span></p> <center><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/warrior_talismans.gif" alt="Warrior Talismans" align="bottom" border="0" height="700" width="600" /></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This entire collection is on one GIF file. Right-click to download. Print the graphic to carry, perhaps folded up and tucked into one's helmet or pocket. Print on Tyvek paper if you can find it; it won't tear or wear out. Tyvek is hard to find as letter sized paper, but you might find it as USPS Priority Mail or First Class envelopes. If you can't print, use a magic marker (preferably red, to symbolize blood) to draw the symbols instead. You could also create amulets by drawing or carving on wood or other material. There are merchants on the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/links3.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Commercial links page</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> who sell silver or pewter rune amulet pendants, including several shown above. I've even found a source for black T-shirts with the Aegishjalmur design!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Some of these charms would all make great tattoos. I would <u>not</u> tattoo the terror staves, the sleep thorn, or the powerful binding charm. See my <a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoos.html">Runic Tattoos page</a>. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;color:#990000;">Please note that the charms must be consecrated and charged to their purposes. Without consecration they are just interesting designs. One may create one's own consecration ritual. It can be as simple as meditation or prayer, or as complex as one desires. Focus intently on each charm's intended outcome. (Page back to read a sample ritual.) I am a Reiki Master and use Reiki energy to charge charms. Blooding the charms is not required, but it does boost the power. Prick a finger with a sterilized needle or lancet (or use menstrual or seminal fluid), placing a drop on each charm. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you have need of a charm for a specific purpose not shown above, let me know and I will see if I have one that suits. Email me at </span><a href="maito:sunnyway@aol.com"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">sunnyway@aol.com</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you entered the website on this page, I invite you to stay and explore the rest of it. Click here to start at the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/index.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">home page</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, or use the navigation arrows or selector below. </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226672800519879?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266676772944652005-07-24T21:44:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:44:36.780-07:00<p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/title3-4.gif" alt="Rune Charms" align="bottom" border="0" height="30" width="500" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="6" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3" valign="top" width="90%"> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Fertility.gif" alt="Fertility and Birth charms" align="bottom" border="0" height="120" width="393" /></span></center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top" width="30%"> <p align="right"><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:-1;">For fertility</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="30%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:-1;">For an easy pregnancy and birthing</span></p> </td> <td valign="top" width="30%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:-1;">For blessings of the goddess</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> I now know of nineteen happy mothers who credit their successful conceptions and births of their most recent children to these potent fertility and pregnancy charms. These three charms have been posted online in various places since 1996. These venerable talismans have been in use since at least the 13th century, possibly longer. They are as effective in the new millennium as they have been in the past. If any of the charms on this page prove successful for you, </span><a href="mailto:sunnyway@aol.com"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">please let me know</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">! (Updated 6/13/02.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/title3-4-1.gif" alt="Rune Magic" align="bottom" border="0" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"Today, many people take written language for granted and use runes as an alphabet without really understanding the magical importance of doing so. When you write a word in runes, it empowers that word..."</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Click here to read </span><a href="http://www.tarahill.com/runes/"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"The Runic Journey"</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, an excellent summary of rune magic by Jennifer Smith</span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Types of Rune Spells</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Inscriptions</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Rune Scripts</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Bindrunes</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Materials and Methods</span></li> </ul> <h2><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/title3-4-2.gif" alt="How to Make and Use the Charms" align="bottom" border="0" height="31" width="501" /></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Here's how to use the rune charms on this webpage. The easiest method is to print this page and cut out the charm or charms you want to use. The charms will last as long as the piece of paper. (Do not laminate the piece of paper. You could, however, make several copies and consecrate all at the same time.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you can only print in black and white, trace each symbol in red ink or red marker while concentrating on the symbol's purpose. If you print in color, tracing the symbols with your finger will do. (Traditionally one would stain the charms with one's own blood. See more about this below.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you want to make more sturdy talismen, carve and paint the symbols onto pieces of wood, Fimo or ceramic clay, or other materials. Hobby shops sell thin wooden blanks in various shapes that are ideal for this use. Carving stone is next to impossible without a Dremmel highspeed drill, so painting should suffice on that medium.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">One traditional application of the Fertility charm is to carve it on a piece of cheese and then eat it. Other methods include drawing a charm on one's body with saliva or blood, (or vaginal fluid or semen in the sex related charms), or henna for a temporary tattoo which lasts about 4-6 weeks, or even a permanent tattoo.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Be extremely careful about permanent tattoos. Runes are very powerful and can be dangerous. The only rune charm I would trust for a permanent tattoo would be the Aegishjalmur, the bindrune for protection and irresistibility in combat or the Vegvisir, a runic compass. See the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoos.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Runic Tattoo page</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> on this website for more about tattoos. </span></p> <h2><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/title3-4-3.gif" alt="Consecration" align="bottom" border="0" height="31" width="501" /></span></h2> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Pray or do a personal ritual to consecrate each individual charm to charge it with its purpose. If the charm symbol is not charged, it is merely an interesting design, not a talisman. I have described a consecration below, but you may create your own ritual.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Call upon the power of God/dess, the Universal Life Force, or whatever is appropriate for your beliefs. Invite also your lineal ancestors, especially those who worked magick in their own lives, your power animal allies, local land spirits or any other wights you may wish to have present. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I'm a Reiki Master, so I use Reiki to charge charms. Reiki is channeled Universal Life Force; i.e. Qi, Ki, God-power. Certain techno-mages use devices called "</span><a href="http://www.magitech.com/%7Erunes/index.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">orgone generators</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">" to do much the same thing.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Visualize and verbalize the purpose of the charm. Giving image, sound, and words to your desired outcome puts the magic forth into the realm of reality and loosens the power of creation. Never use "no" or "not" in the verbalization. (Capriciously the gods and our subconcious minds do not hear the words "no" or "not" and will implement the opposite!) Verbalize the intent in positive words. Say it aloud! Sent it forth!</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Put several drops of blood from pricking your finger with a sterilized needle or lancet and mix it with red ochre, acrylic paint, or red India ink. Draw over the symbol with the blood as you verbalize the charm's intent. (For the squeamish, leave out the blood and just symbolically "blood" the runes with henna, ochre, paint, ink or a marking pen.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The consecration ritual may include burning a paper copy of the charm. However, keep another copy to carry with you.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">You may use the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/galdr.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Galdr sounds</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> of runes contained within the runescript or bindrune. Look closely and you will recognize some shapes. When you have galdored the last rune, galdr the ALU (Ansuz-Laguz-Uruz) formula "Ahhhhlllluuu!" (meaning "It is sealed, so mote it be") over the rune set.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">It is not necessary for you to intuit all the runes that are used in each of the charms. Hidden runes are part of the mystery. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">These symbols also make excellent focus points for meditation. The meditation will then set you on your path toward your desired goal.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Carry the charm with you in a pocket or in your wallet. Lay it under your pillow or on your night table when you sleep.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> <hr /> </span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Protect.gif" alt="Protection charms." align="bottom" height="306" width="413" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/GoodLuck.gif" alt="Good Luck charms" align="bottom" height="274" width="386" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Joy.gif" alt="Joy" align="bottom" height="127" width="242" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Love.gif" alt="Love Charms" align="bottom" height="318" width="386" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/JobRunes.gif" alt="Job & Business charms" align="bottom" height="262" width="377" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/HappyMarriage.gif" alt="Marriage charms" align="bottom" height="132" width="264" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Stability.gif" alt="Stability charm" align="bottom" height="148" width="220" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Lawsuit.gif" alt="Lawsuit charms" align="bottom" height="155" width="344" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> <img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/QuitSmoke.gif" alt="Quit Smoking charm" align="bottom" height="141" width="310" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Sleep.gif" alt="Sleep Charm" align="bottom" height="163" width="135" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0"> <tbody><tr> <td> <p align="right"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/test.gif" alt="Help with Exams charm" align="bottom" height="145" width="126" /></span></p> </td> <td> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/mental_excellence.gif" alt="Mental Excellence charm" align="top" border="0" height="145" width="126" /></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/courage.gif" alt="Courage charm" align="middle" height="150" width="100" /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">Courage</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/computer.gif" alt="Protect computer charm" align="middle" height="85" width="46" /></span></p> <p><span style="color:#000000;">Protect Computer</span></p></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226667677294465?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266601412313312005-07-24T21:43:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:43:21.423-07:00<p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">There is historical precedence for using runes as tattoos. If you are of northern European heritage, there may be a tattooed Nordman or Viking in your genetic past.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">I often am asked what runes or runic charms to use as tattoos. My first advice is to try out <u>whatever</u> symbol you choose as a temporary tattoo first! There are several reasons for this.</span></p> <ul> <li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aesthetics - Make sure you like the design before you commit your skin to a permanent adornment (or disfiguration).</span></li><li><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Safety - Runic are powerful. If invoked or created incorrectly, or for the wrong reason, they can be dangerous. The mere creation of a runic charm may invoke the charm, even if this was not intended.</span></li> </ul> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Henna works well for a temporary tattoo. It is used in the middle-eastern countries to draw designs to adorn women's fingers and hands, as well as for hair dye. Powdered henna can be obtained at beauty supply stores, sometimes even in the nail-polish section of your local drugstore, or can be </span><a href="http://froogle.google.com/froogle?q=henna++paste&btnB=Froogle+Search&amp;price1=&price2=&amp;price=between&cat=630"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">ordered online</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. It comes in several shades, from red to black. A design drawn on the skin in henna will last about two to four weeks depending on how long the paste is left on the body.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/theAegishjalmur.gif" alt="The Aeghishjalmer" align="bottom" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/aegishjalmur3.gif" alt="Aegishjarlmur" align="bottom" border="0" height="153" width="157" /></span></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you want a magical charm, the only ones I really recommend are the "Aegishjalmur" ("helm of awe"), or the "Vegvisir" (runic compass), which is a variant of the Aegishjalmur. These are very ancient charms and totally benign to the bearer. Algiz (Elhaz) is the primary rune in use in both, although there is a structural formula at work also. The Aegishjalmur's purpose is 'protection and irresistibility in battle'. I encourage you to read more about this charm on Brad Lucas' web page: </span><a href="http://www.users.bigpond.com/bradlucas/runes/helms.htm"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Aegishjalmur</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, which explains what this charm is and how it is constructed. There are numerous variations of this charm. Here are pictures of tattoos using this symbol:</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" width="50%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoo.JPG" alt="Aegishjalmur tattoo" align="middle" height="181" width="197" /></span></p> </td> <td width="50%"> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattoo2.jpg" alt="Aegishjalmur tattoo" align="bottom" border="0" height="182" width="197" /></span></center> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> I've recently discovered a source for black tee-shirts bearing the Aegishjalmur. Check out the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/links3.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Commercial Links</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> page of this website. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The following is Islandic singer Bjôrk's Vegvisir compass tattoo. Vegvisir means "direction sign" or "see the way". This charm helps prevent one from getting lost. It is a "brun rune" or sea charm. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" width="50%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/vegvisir.jpg" alt="Vegvisir tattoo" align="middle" border="0" height="199" width="202" /></span></p> </td> <td width="50%"> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/vegvisir.gif" alt="Vegvisir" align="bottom" border="0" height="150" width="150" /></span></center> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Here is another suggestion, a runic circle with a simple Aegishjalmur. </span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/runecircle.gif" alt="Runic Circle" align="middle" height="193" width="205" /></span></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/other.gif" alt="Other Runic Charms" align="bottom" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">There are some other aesthetically pleasing and relatively benign runic charms found on the </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/charms.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">charms</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> page of this website. (Heed the warning above and use at your own risk.)</span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/fylfot.gif" alt="Fylfot" align="bottom" height="54" width="74" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Fylfot</span></p></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"Fylfot" for Good Luck is a variation of the</span><a href="http://www.manwoman.net/swastika/index.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> swastika</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, which was a good luck charm in many cultures, all over the world, long before the Nazis perverted it into a symbol of fascism. In the form above, it's called a "fire twirl". Sometimes these are shown with three legs (a triskel) or even more than four legs, such as a "sun wheel" or "sun disk". None of the swastika variants shown on this page are Nazi swastikas. It's time to reclaim the swastika as a benevelent symbol. </span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/sundisk.gif" alt="Sun Disk" align="bottom" border="0" height="126" width="121" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Sun Disk</span></p></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Another variant is a "Thorshamar" (Thor's Hammer) symbol. On the left is an historic galdrastafur for that symbol in the swastika style. On the right is a line drawing of a Thor's Hammer pendant found in the Romersdal archeological site. Either would make an interesting tattoo. To see variations of the Thor's Hammer as pendants, visit the </span><a href="http://www.ragweedforge.com/"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Ragnar's Ragweed Forge</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> online store. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" valign="bottom" width="50%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/thorshamar.gif" alt="Thorshamar" align="middle" border="0" height="126" width="129" /></span></p> </td> <td align="center" valign="bottom" width="50%"> <p><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Romersdal_thors_hammer.gif" alt="Romersdal Thors Hammer" align="bottom" height="170" width="137" /></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top" width="50%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Thorshamar</span></p> </td> <td align="center" valign="top" width="50%"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Thor's Hammer Pendant</span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> If you are determined to have a rune charm for a tattoo, visit my </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/charms.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Rune Charms</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> and </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/warrior.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Rune Charms for Warriors and for Peace</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> pages. If you don't find what you are looking for, email me at </span><a href="mailto:sunnyway@aol.com"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">sunnyway@aol.com</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span> <span style="font-family:Verdana;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/thevalnott.gif" alt="The Valnott" align="bottom" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Those of the Àsatru religion who have dedicated their lives to Odin favor the Valnott. The Valnott or "</span><a href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/bos/bos649.htm"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">death knot</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">", the triple triangle shown below, is one of Odin's symbols. Odin's followers have a tendancy to die violently, so wear this symbol at your own risk! I do not recommend this symbol as a tattoo and include it here primarily as a warning.</span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/valknot.gif" alt="Valnott" align="bottom" height="133" width="150" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Valnott </span></p></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/namesorwords.gif" alt="Names or Words" align="bottom" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">If you want to write a word in runes, these two web pages contain nifty JavaScripts that will transliterate the name or word into the runes of the Elder Futhark at </span><a href="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/write_in_runes.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Write in Runes</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">, or in Anglo-Saxon runes at </span><a href="http://www.valtonia.plus.com/valtonia/runes/runes.html"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Runic Converter</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;">. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The runic script shown below contains several "bindrunes". Bindrunes are monogram-like designs made up of several runes that share lines. One's initials or family name made into a pleasing bindrune would make a nice tattoo. See </span><a href="http://www.runemaker.com/runeshome.htm"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Oswald the Runemaker's</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> website for sample bindrune monograms. Sometimes he'll even custom make one at no charge. Also check out Oswald s new </span><a href="http://www.rune-tattoos.co.uk./"><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Rune Tattoo website</span></a><span style="font-family:Verdana;"> .</span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/ek_erilar.gif" alt="Ek Erular" align="middle" height="48" width="133" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">"Ek ErilaR" (I am a rune wizard)</span></p></center> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/knotworktattoos.gif" alt="Knotwork as Tattoos" align="bottom" height="31" width="501" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Celtic knotwork designs make terrific tattoos. You'll find many tattoo artists already have fine-line knotwork flash (prepared designs). Celtic designs tend to be symmetrical, while the Norse designs are frequently asymmetrical. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">The stylized animal and "griping beast" type of knotwork are typically Norse rather than Celtic, although you'll often find them in Celtic collections. Look for books containing knotwork pictures or drawings. You are also welcome to use any of the red designs found on the pages of this website. They are all ancient designs and copyright-free for personal use.</span></p> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattooknot1.gif" align="bottom" height="175" width="175" /> <img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/tattooknot2.gif" align="bottom" height="175" width="175" /></span> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Here is an example adding a rune symbol to a knotwork design.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/knot05.gif" alt="Knotwork" align="bottom" height="50" width="300" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Simple Knotwork</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/celt1.gif" alt="Griping Beast" align="bottom" height="83" width="300" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Gripping Beast Knotwork</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/celtbar.gif" alt="Griping beast" align="bottom" height="64" width="565" /></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;">Gripping Beast Knotwork</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="10" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td width="50%"> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/serpent3.gif" alt="Serpent" align="bottom" height="113" width="128" /></span></center> </td> <td width="50%"> <center><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/logga.gif" alt="Beast" align="bottom" height="122" width="136" /></span></center> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" width="100%"> <center><img src="http://www.sunnyway.com/runes/Ardre_serpent.gif" alt="Ardre Serpent" align="bottom" border="0" height="143" width="125" /></center> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> Serpent and beast designs from runestones</span></p></center><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226660141231331?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266429758542352005-07-24T21:39:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:40:29.763-07:00<p class="style3 style4 style5 style6 style7"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Asatru</span><br /></p> <p class="style3 style4 style5 style6 style7"><br />Followers of Ancient European Religion Welcome Supreme Court Ruling<br /></p> <p class="style6 style7 style8 style2"> Nevada City, Calif., May 31, 2005 - Followers of an ancient European faith with Norse roots today hailed the Supreme Court's unanimous decision protecting the religious rights of prisoners. (Cutter v. Wilkinson, No. 03-9877) </p> <p class="style6 style7 style8 style2"> The ruling, which upholds the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, recognizes the rights of prisoners to religious materials and services regardless of their faith. "For years, Asatru prisoners have struggled for the right to practice our religion," said Stephen McNallen, director of the Asatru Folk Assembly, a national religious organization dedicated to the pre-Christian faith of Europe. "This decision will make it much harder for prison administrators to deny them this right." </p> <p class="style6 style7 style8 style2"> Asatru—a native pre-Christian European religion originally practiced by the Anglo-Saxons, the Norse, and the Germanic tribes—has been a legally recognized religion in the United States since 1972. The Supreme Court Justices made it clear that little-known religions, or those with very different beliefs from the mainstream, deserve the same protection as those with many millions of followers. </p> <p class="style6 style7 style8 style2"> McNallen believes that Asatru has a definite place in correctional institutions. "The native spiritual path of the European peoples carries incredible rehabilitative, transformative, and healing power for those who approach it with openness and reverence," he said. "How can it be in the interest of the state to deny us our spiritual birthright in such a win-win situation?" </p> <p class="style6 style7 style8 style2"> About the Asatru Folk Assembly: The Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) was established in 1994 to practice, promote, and further evolve the indigenous European faith. The AFA's Director, Stephen A. McNallen, was a pioneer in the revival of the Asatru religion, helping to bring it to the United States in the late 1960s. For more information, visit www.runestone.org.</p> <div align="center"> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:130%;">Asatru…The Way of Our Ancestors…<br /> Calling Us Home</span></p> </div> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Asatru is an expression of the native, pre-Christian spirituality of Europe. More specifically, it is the Way by which the Germanic peoples have traditionally related to the Divine and to the world around them. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">From Iceland to Russia, from the frozen north of Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, the Germanic peoples wandered and settled over a span of thousands of years. Today, their descendants are spread around the world. We may refer to ourselves as Americans or English, Germans or Canadians, but behind these labels lurks an older, more essential identity. Our forefathers were Angles and Saxons, Lombards and Heruli, Goths and Vikings - and, as sons and daughters of these peoples, we are united by ties of blood and culture undimmed by the centuries.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">Asatru is our native Way. Just as there is Native American religion and native African religion, so there is native European religion. Asatru is one of its expressions. It gave our ancestors comfort in millennia past, and it can give us strength and inspiration today.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">The word "Asatru" comes to us from Old Norse, the tongue of ancient Scandinavia, where it means "those loyal to the Gods." Since the ancient Scandinavian version of our Way is the best documented, it has given us much of Asatru's terminology and imagery. The soul of Asatru, however, is not confined to the Scandinavian model, but encapsulates the belief of all the Germanic peoples. Indeed, Asatru reflects the deeper religiosity common to virtually all the nations of Europe.</span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">As a part of the great European Folkway, Asatru has a number of characteristic beliefs. Some of these are:</span></p> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><br /> <span style="color:#666666;"><b><i>The world is good. Prosperity is good. Life is good, and we should live it with joy and enthusiasm.<br /> <br /> We are free to shape our lives to the extent allowed by our skill, courage, and might. There is no predestination, no fatalism, no limitations imposed by the will of any external deity.</i></b></span></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We do not need salvation. All we need is the freedom to face our destiny with courage and honor.</span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We are connected to all our ancestors. They are a part of us. We in turn will be a part of our descendants. </span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We are also linked to all our living kin - to our families and to every man and woman rooted in the tribes of Europe. They are our "greater family."</span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We are connected to Nature and subject to its laws. The Holy Powers often express themselves in Nature's beauty and might. </span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We believe that morality does not depend on commandments, but rather arises from the dignity and honor of the noble-minded man and woman.</span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We do not fear the Holy Powers, or consider ourselves their slaves. On the contrary, we share community and fellowship with the Divine. The Holy Powers encourage us to grow and advance to higher levels.</span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We honor the Holy Powers under the names given them by our Germanic/Norse ancestors.</span></i></b></span></p> <p><span style="color:#666666;"><b><i><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;">We practice Asatru by honoring the turning of the seasons…the ancestors…the Divine…and ourselves - in everyday life.</span></i></b></span></p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p> <span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"><br /> <b>Asatru is about roots.</b></span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> It's about connections.</span></b></p> <b><span style="font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:85%;"> It's about coming home.</span></b><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226642975854235?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122266309241589782005-07-24T21:38:00.000-07:002005-07-24T21:38:29.253-07:00<h1><center>The Runes</center><br /><center><img src="http://asatru.org/dragon.gif" height="76" width="364" /></center><br /></h1> <hr /> <center><blockquote><b>I know that I hung on Yggdrasil<br />For nine nights long<br />Wounded by spear<br />Consecrated to Oðin<br />Myself a sacrifice to myself<br />Upon that tree<br />The wisest know not the roots<br />of ancient times whence it sprang.<br /><br />None brought me bread<br />None gave me mead<br />Down to the depths I searched<br />I took up the Runes<br />Raised them with song<br />And from that tree I fell.<br /><br />Runes you shall know, and readable staves,<br />Very powerful staves,Very great staves<br />Graven by the mighty one who speaks<br />Carved by the highest hosts<br /><br />Oðin among the Aesir,<br />Dvalin (sleeper) among dwarfs,<br />Dáin (dead) among alfs,<br />Alvitter (all-knowing) among etins,<br />I myself carved some for mankind<br /><br /><span style="font-size:+1;"><b>The following are not recomendations, Alfather commands you to know the following if you are Ásatrúar.</b></span><br /><br /></b><pre><b><span style="font-size:+1;"><b><em>Know how to carve, know how to read, <br /> know how to stain, know how to understand,<br />know how to ask, know how to offer,<br /> know how to evoke, know how to sacrifice.</em></b></span> </b></pre> <b><br /></b></blockquote></center> <hr /> <blockquote> <b><br /><b>The Runes go back when time began, we of Ásatrú have set a date from when the first Futhark was discovered 2253 years ago. This is known as the Runic Era which places us to date in the year 2253 R.E..<br /><br />Ásatrúar have always lived in close harmony with the environment, the seasonal and stellar cycles, their Gods and Goddesses, and their ancestors. These forces come together in the mysterious symbols known as Runes. The word Rune means a secret or a whisper. Runes are magical tools for both divination and spell casting.<br /></b></b></blockquote> <b><b><br /></b></b> <b><b>(Note that the first word below the Rune is the key used to remember its meaning)<br /></b><br /></b> <blockquote> <h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/fehu.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Fehu (Cattle)</b></h2> <b><b> Wealth; Money, mobile property, finacial prosperity<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/uruz.gif" align="bottom" height="74" width="47" /> Uruz (Aurochs)</b></h2> <b><b> Strength; Physical strength and vitality.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/thurisaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Thurisaz (Thurs)</b></h2> <b><b>Violence; Conflicts and complexities of an aggressive nature.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/ansuz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Ansuz (Aesir)</b></h2> <b><b>Inspiration; The multiverse in magical and religious acts, gaining knowledge.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/raido.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Raido (Riding)</b></h2> <b><b>Journey; Travel, both in physical terms and those of life-style direction.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/kenaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Kenaz (Tourch)</b></h2> <b><b>Guidance; Creativity, and the strengthening of abilities in all realms.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/gebo.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Gebo (Gift)</b></h2> <b><b>Generosity; All matters relating to exchanges, including contracts and sacrifice.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/wunjo.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Wunjo (Joy)</b></h2> <b><b>Satisfaction; Happiness, general success and recognition of worth.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/hagalaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Hagalaz (Hail)</b></h2> <b><b>Disruption; Disruption by natural events and uncontrolled forces.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/nauthiz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Nauthiz (Need)</b></h2> <b><b>Trouble; Needs as opposed to wants, must be overcome hard work.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/isa.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Isa (Ice)</b></h2> <b><b>Blockage; A standstill which may be good or bad.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/jera.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Jera (Year)</b></h2> <b><b>Harvest; Hopes and expectations the results of earlier efforts are realized.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/eihwaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Eihwaz (Yew)</b></h2> <b><b>Enduring; Resilient strength to deflect difficulty or problems.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/perthro.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Perthro (Lot-cup)</b></h2> <b><b>Concealed; Something unknown, or not yet revealed; a mystery in the same sense that an unborn child is a mystery.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/algiz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Algiz (Elk)</b></h2> <b><b>Protection; Shelter oneself, luck through striving, a successful outcome to a quest.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/sowulo.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Sowulo (Sun)</b></h2> <b><b>Victory; Success or other favourable circumstances.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/teiwaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Teiwaz (Tyr)</b></h2> <b><b>Justice; Success in competition in legal matters, honour, leadership and authority.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/berkana.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Berkana (Birch)</b></h2> <b><b>Renewal; Healing, recovery, physical or spiritual regeneration, a new growth from old roots, motherhood.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/ehwaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Ehwaz (Horse)</b></h2> <b><b>Loyalty; Status as it relates between you and others.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/mannaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Mannaz (Man)</b></h2> <b><b>Intellect; Power of human intelligence, rationality, memory, and tradition.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/laguz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Laguz (Water)</b></h2> <b><b>Passage; Initiation into life as when a heathen child is sprinkled with water and given a name; the primal waters of Niflheimer.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/inguz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Inguz (Ing)</b></h2> <b><b>Gestation; Potential energy that must undergo a period of time in order to gain strength.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/dagaz.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Dagaz (Day)</b></h2> <b><b>Awakening; Daylight clarity a time to embark on a new enterprise.<br /></b> </b><h2><b><img src="http://asatru.org/othila.gif" height="74" width="47" /> Othila (Property)</b></h2> <b><b>Folkland; Inheritances, Your home, physical and spiritual heritage.<br /></b></b></blockquote> <b><br /> </b><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112226630924158978?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122151596848130402005-07-23T13:46:00.000-07:002005-07-23T13:47:32.246-07:00<b><i><span style="font-size:+2;">Druids: Who Are They</span></i></b> <p><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/bar_med.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="18" width="331" /></p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="550"> <tbody><tr> <td width="545"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> Who Are The Druids </dt><dd>Druids were the height of the Celtic, European, and perhaps even philosophical world around them. Druids in history were responsible for teaching some of the greatest minds of their times. Plato himself was taught by a Druid mentor named Abaris. Socrates and Aristotle regularly invited Druid people of learning to their university. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Druids were the voice of reason and enlightenment in a land that did not know a written language and was by many standards barbaric. Life was hard and the consequences of ones actions often received hard judgment and punishment. Thus the Druids were the voice of law and sometimes were the final authority between life and death. They were the reason why most of the Celtic world was very nearly able to stand up to the Roman Empire when Caesar invaded the land. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>What tore them apart was time, there wasn't enough time for the Druids to join the forces of all the Celtic tribes together. This was possibly the greatest project of the ancient world. But through politics, negotiations and hard work, they had started to unite the peoples of the Isle. Their failure isn't due to their lack of skill or knowledge, but merely running out of time due to the invasions of their land. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Druids were the Guardians of the vaults of knowledge of the Past, Present, and Future. They and their descendants, the Filidh, kept the Ancients alive in their songs and poems. As part of their process to unite the tribes, they began to introduce 'Major Deities' amongst the Celts, Esus, Taranis, and Teutates. Of the 400 deities that the Celts worshiped there were about 30 that everyone seemed to pay attention to no matter what. The interesting thing is that they did not have them originally. Each tribe had a certain deity that would protect them, and only them. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Druids had the awesome responsibility of being everything to the Celtic peoples and they failed the Celts in the end. They failed because the independence of the tribes would not allow them to cooperate fully. The Romans and then the Christians were able to insert themselves between first one set of tribes and then another. In the end, there were no tribes left. The Germanic and the Saxon tribes overran every one of the bastions of Celtic society. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In the end of times; the last Druids and the Witches may have worked together to preserve what little remained of Celtic culture. In some written texts, Morgana is referred to as "Morgana le Fay- Queen of Witches". If this is an accurate label, there is just the possibility that the Druids did just that. If the story of the last days of Merlin are even partially true, he taught the first of a new breed of Witches in the 5th century C.E. This is potentially the biggest reason, the Druids and Witches have been so closely associated for centuries. </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="545"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><hr align="left"> </dt></dl></td></tr></tbody> </table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215159684813040?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122151316022981602005-07-23T13:41:00.001-07:002005-07-23T13:42:14.603-07:00<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="6" height="23" width="588"> <tbody><tr><td><dl><dt><b>The Magikal Festivals</b> </dt><dd><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/festival.gif" align="right" />The days for rest, the High Holy Days or Sabbats are seasonal celebrations. Each one of these Sabbats were and often still is a celebration of the feminine spirit. Worshiping or honoring what can be called the triple Goddess. The word Sabbat is French and is derived from the Hebrew Shabbath which means "to rest". </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The triple Goddess represents the cycle of life from birth and innocence to wisdom and death. Each of these feminine aspects of the Great Spirits and can be associated with a particular season of the year. <ul><li>The young Goddess or the Virgin Maiden, representing innocence and purity is worshiped in the spring and summer. </li><li>The Mother Goddess, representing nurturing through love, happiness and health is recognized during the fall. </li><li>The Old Goddess or the Old Crone, representing the wisdom of life and the far reaching view of the journey beyond life is honored through the winter. </li></ul> </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Little has changed from these early pagan views. Some magikal cults today include the balance of the masculine spirit, breaking the seasons into quarters instead of thirds. Perhaps this is a more accurate view of life, and recognizing that all have a part to play within the scheme of life. Which is why many now view the masculine "Great Spirit" as a plural version "Great Spirits" as a means to recognize both the masculine and feminine divinity. Those cultures who view the High Holy Days in this manner, associate the year in this manner: <ul><li>The spring is still recognized as the Maiden's time. </li><li>The summer is the working time of the God. </li><li>The fall for the Mother and the winter for the Crone remain the same. </li></ul> </dd><dd> </dd><dd>I'd like to be able to say these postings are "The" original Celtic holidays, as practiced during the days of the Druid priests and Celtic Shamans. But with the passing of time and the loss or destruction of many important documents, we can't be absolutely positive. The High Holy Days listed here have been compiled from numerous Celtic texts, legends, lore, documents, historical events, and the research of many professional writers and practioners. These are also the holidays of my heritage. But that doesn't mean these aren't the only dates and all traditions must follow this Sabbat calendar for their practices. </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><a name="dates"></a><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <b>The Festival Dates & Times</b> </dt><dd>On that note, how are dates assigned to pagan Sabbats. October 31st is often seen as the day of Samhain. Many confuse this with All Hallow's Eve, the evening before All Hallows Day, which is a Christian holiday, rather than a pagan Sabbat. Samhain is actually on November 1st, but because rituals start at sunset, festivals begin the night before on October 31st. These kinds of perceptions help to confuse the dates of pagan Sabbats. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The early Celts were very balanced in the way they scheduled their lives. One of the places this is seen most clear are in the High Holy days. Each festival fell in between a solstice or equinox, with an equal number of days before and after the Sabbat. February 6 for Imbolg, May 6th for Bealtaine and August 6th for Lughnasadh are good examples. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>As life evolves we take on new ways of looking at things. Calendars were no exception. The advent of the solar calendar brought additional influence to pagans and their practices. And lunar dates changed, or evolved. To some degree this does throw off the balance intended for the cycle of the lunar year. This is also one reason varying traditions hold their festivals on different days. Wicca for instance recognizes May 1st as the date for Bealtaine. While many Celtic traditions honor May 6th as the date for this Sabbat. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>So why do Sabbat rituals begin the night before the holiday? Early calendars were based on lunar cycles, not solar cycles. A day did not begin at midnight or with the sunrise, but rather with the night and moon rise. To the ancient pagans, night fall was the beginning of the new day. Many other religions continue the practice of evening festivities to this day as well. Judaism comes to mind. So this isn't just a pagan thing. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>More modern traditions also incorporate other advances in science and astronomy into their calendars. For instance, practicing their rituals at the exact time of an equinox based on the calendar set by the Naval Observatory. All these influences have their affect on the date and time practioners set for their High Holy day celebrations. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>This practice doesn't make any of these dates wrong. As with most things in pagan faiths, there is no one set way of practicing; not how to practice, nor when. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Now you also need to take into consideration which hemisphere you're practicing in. When it's harvest season in the northern hemisphere, it's planting season in the southern hemisphere. The Festival days are meant to be a way for us to join our energy with the seasonal cycle and Earth. If you're harvesting when you should be planting, you're working against the cycle not with it. So check out the <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/southhem.htm">Sabbats for the Southern Hemisphere</a>. </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <hr /><br /> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" height="153" width="393"> <tbody><tr> <td height="142" valign="top" width="52%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="0" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/samhain.htm">Samhain</a> </dt><dd>October 31 - November 1 </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/yule.htm">Yule</a> </dt><dd>December 21-31 </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/imbolg.htm">Imbolg</a> </dt><dd>February 1st or 2nd </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/ostara.htm">Ostara</a> </dt><dd>Spring Equinox </dd></dl> </td> <td valign="top" width="48%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/bealtain.htm">Bealtaine</a> </dt><dd>May 6th </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/midsumr.htm">Midsummer</a> </dt><dd>Summer Solstice </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/lugh.htm">Lughnasadh</a> </dt><dd>August 1st </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" align="bottom" /> <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/mabon.htm">Mabon</a> </dt><dd>Fall Equinox </dd></dl></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody> </table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215131602298160?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122151285101834492005-07-23T13:41:00.000-07:002005-07-23T13:41:30.316-07:00<b><i><span style="font-size:+2;">Celtic Shamanism</span></i></b> <p><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/bar_med.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="18" width="331" /></p> <basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl> <dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Definitions</b> </dt><dd>According to archaeological and ethnological evidence, shamanism has been part of nature practices for some 10 to 20,000 years. Some suggest it's much longer back than that.The basic concepts are found all over the world, from Siberia, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The word 'Shaman,' is actually a Tungus (Siberian) word for a spiritual practice or profession that is still practiced today. Shamanism is not rooted in any organized religious tradition, but is instead a system of abilities utilized for contact with divine spirit. Shamanic systems vary, but there are basic similarities in most. But before we can begin understanding what Celtic Shamanism is, we need a common understanding of what Shamanism is itself. There are of course, many definitions, so let's cover a few. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In the <i>Donning Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary</i>, June Bletzer, PhD, describes Shamanism as a very highly respected profession where one serves his tribe with psychic skills and healing abilities which is intermingled with influential guidance, protection and advanced knowledge from the Etheric World. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Websters Dictionary defines shamanism as the religion of certain peoples of ancient peoples, based on a belief in good and evil spirits who can be influenced only by shamans. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In her renowned work <i>Witches & Witchcraft, </i>Rosemary Ellen Guiley describes Shamanism as a system of belief and healing practiced by a Shaman who enters an altered state of consciousness, which enables him/her to communicate with guardian and helping spirits to draw upon divine energy. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Kenneth Meadows in <i>Shamanic Experience</i>, describes shamanism as The practice of the principles and techniques which involves working with the energy of nature that exist both inside and outside the individual self as both manifest forms and unmanifest potentials. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>From The Celtic Shaman, John Mathews defines Shamanism as only one of a number of labels used by various cultures to denote someone who through trance and ecstasy, enters other states of being which he/she usually lives. Returning with news and guidance from which all humanity can benefit. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>One of the foremost authors on Shamanism, Mircea Eliade explains, the fundamental characteristic of shamanism is ecstasy. In all probability the ecstatic experience in its many aspects is coexistent with the human condition in the sense that it is an integral part of what is called man's gaining consciousness of his specific mode of being in the word. Shamanism is not only a technique of ecstasy it's theology and it's philosophy finally depend on the spiritual value that is accorded to ecstasy. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In <i>Spiral Dance</i>, Starhawk states Witchcraft is a shamanistic religion and the spiritual value placed on ecstasy is a high one. It is the source of union, healing, creative inspiration and communion with the divine. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Margot Adler, in <i>Drawing Down the Moon</i>, refers to the definition put forth by one of my favorite authors on Shamanism, Michael Harner. And this is the definition we'll use through out this article. <dl><dd>Shamanism is best defined as a method to open a door and enter a different reality. A shaman is someone who enters an altered state of consciousness and goes on a journey in order to gather knowledge from a different reality populated by spirit, the spirit of plants and animals, and the divine self both within and around the individual. The methods used depend on the culture. Some cultures use drugs, others use drumming and ecstatic dancing. And still others utilize chanting, dancing, trance, meditation, wine, fasting, vision quests and sexuality. </dd><dd> </dd></dl> </dd><dd>Shamanism is a very highly respected profession wherein one serves his or her community as a spiritual leader. Providing guidance through psychic skills, healing abilities and communications with Divine spirit. Believed to be learned from a past incarnation and initiations, along with study and practice in the current embodiment. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Shaman, in the strictest definition is more often viewed through it's secondary meaning "one who is dedicated to a spiritual life achieving a level of leadership and teaching". The profession can be found under various other titles such as Mantis, Druid, Medicine Man or Woman. The Greeks called them Bhopa. </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Celtic Controversy</b> </dt><dd>Celtic Shamanism is filled with controversy. Most from new neo-pagans who have heard comments in chat rooms or read half researched sites on the web. It can be both frustrating and annoying to argue the validity of Celtic Shamanism, when little of the archaic documentation remains in existence. Much was destroyed by early Roman conquerors and the religious invasion of the Christians into Celtic lands. However, with a little time and some proper research one can discover the information they need to understand the history of Shamanism in the Celtic world. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>First let's talk about who the Celts are. Many associate Ireland as the Celtic land. Ireland is only one of 3 lands that make up the Celtic peoples. Also included in that mix are the Scots and the Welsh. To cover more about the Celts, refer to article: <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/whoare.htm">Who Are The Celts</a>. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Now let's address the assumption that Druidism was the religion of all the Celts. During the rise of Druidism, the many tribes of the Celtic lands honored their own set of Gods/Goddesses. While there is evidence that some of these tribes maintained similar legends, many had their own names for the same deities. About this same time, other cultures began small invasions into the Celtic lands. The Druids had the foresight to see their way of life and belief would not last in this type of fragmented society. They began a campaign to join all the tribes together into one common belief system and confront the invaders as a united force. </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Celtic Shamanism</b> </dt><dd>So who were these other spiritual practioners. Shamanic traditions in the Celtic lands never completely disappeared. There have been long periods which it has been forgotten, but some say there has always been a coalition of practioners. But the basic foundations behind Shamanistic practices still existed through the history of the Celts. Practices such as psychic divination through prophecy, scrying, second sight, spiritual healing, spiritual guidance and leadership continued through each invasion from outsiders. Practioners of these skills used poetic invocations and communications with the otherworld spirits to gain their knowledge and provide practical direction for the lives and souls of their fellow tribes people. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>We can see the influence of Celtic Shamanism in Celtic myths. In addition to Fionn mac Cumhail, and Amergin, we can really see Shamanistic symbology in Suibhne Geilt, and Taliesin. As well as the popular stories of Merlin. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><i>The Story of Suibhne Geilt</i>, the King of the Dalraidhe. In this story Suibhne is driven "mad" by war and retreats the safety of nature, sleeping in tree tops. When he is approached by friends he utters inspirational prophecies which come true. Through these prophecies he teaches the spiritual values he has learned from the animals and forest beings around him. The story also describes his ability to fly like a bird from tree to tree. As well as his winning of a contest over a rival mystic, the Hag of the Mill. These are good descriptions how rival shamans in South America struggled for their own supremacy. He becomes known as Geilt, which means "madman". </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Merlin the Magician is an other good and better known example of a Celtic Shaman. He often spoke in riddle and rhyme as he spouted one prophetic wisdom after another. He is often described as a Geilt and a Gwylt (Welsh for wild) just as Sibhne was. But few would argue the legendary ability as a sorcerer and wise man associated with Merlin. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>From these two The Irish equivalent of the Welsh gwylt meaning wild is also associated with these two mythological figures, many suggest the word "geilt" or "gwelt" is the Celtic equivalent to the word shaman. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><i>The Story of Taliesin</i>, which describes the initiation and rebirth process as changes into animal, bird and fish is another example of shamanistic experiences in Celtic mythology. The story explains how Gwion gains wisdom through his initiation, and expands his awareness and understand of the world around him as he is reborn from one animal spirit to the next. This shape shifting transformation is a key example of Shamanistic principles. His rebirth into the world is an example of how a Shaman gains wisdom from a previous incarnation and pulls it into the next where it can be utilized and added to in the new life experiences. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Information about the Derilans (Gaelic meaning 'afflicted') can be found in The Dingwall Presbytery Records. These people are described as people living with 'divine madness' who incidentally were also wisest of the priests of a tribe or village. This is a common description of a shaman the world over. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Some suggest Taliesin became a Bard and through his teaching and endless story telling, he also became the Father of Celtic Shamanism. Many scholars have devoted a lifetime to researching the early historical roots of Celtic Shamanism. There's no way I can put all their research into one small article. Here is a list of suggested reading to further your interests: <ul><li>Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>The Celtic Shaman: A Handbook (Earth Quest)<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>The Celtic Shaman: A Practical Guide<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>Advanced Celtic Shamanism<br /> by D. J. Conway </li><li>By Oak, Ash & Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism<br /> by Anna-Marie Ferguson </li><li>Fire in the Head : Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit<br /> by Tom Cowan </li></ul> </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Modern Celtic Shamanism</b> </dt><dd>On a closing note: It amuses me sometimes, how people define the validity of a belief based on it's age of existence. As if the older the belief, the more valid it is. But then those same individuals will argue that religion grows and expands as the human condition and understanding of the universe increases. Thus religion must ever change to keep pace with human evolution. Many suggest this is the problem with highly organized fundamental religions. These religions try to enforce a way of living based on the human condition from 2000 years ago, ignoring the evolution of mankind over that period of history. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Today we see many Celtic shamanistic traditions which have emerged over the past 200-300 years. When the Celts migrated to the Americas they found a kinship with Native American tribes. They're belief systems are very similar in nature and these two cultures often intermingled and married. Through these relations, their beliefs also intermingled and a new system of belief emerged. Many of these systems of belief </dd><dd> </dd><dd>So even if someone wants to argue the point concerning Shamanism being part of the ancient peoples of the Celtic lands, it's hard to argue the belief systems that emerged in the Americas. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Considering traditions such as Wicca weren't established until the mid-1900s, how can some suggest their tradition is any more valid than those who practice a tradition they call Celtic Shamanism. </dd><dd> </dd> </dl><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215128510183449?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122151245889743582005-07-23T13:40:00.000-07:002005-07-23T13:41:04.673-07:00<b><i><span style="font-size:+2;">What Is Celtic Witchcraft?</span></i></b> <p><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/bar_med.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="18" width="331" /></p> <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="5" width="571"> <tbody><tr> <td width="560"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> <b>Celtic Witchcraft</b> </dt><dd>Actually, this title is a bit of a misnomer. <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/witchcraft.htm">Witchcraft</a> as a religion contains many variations of practices. One of these variations is based on Celtic culture, history and tradition. Within the Celtic view of Witchcraft, there are many many sects or Traditions of practice. Many practioners often just lump all together when asked what tradition or form of The Craft they practice. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Celtics did not have books in the same fashion, but rather a rich and colorful oral tradition. These stories were kept alive by poets, story-tellers and druids who recited traditional lore within a collection of verses or legends.One such collection was called the Immrama (meaning 'mystical voyages'). It is from these stories we can learn about the views and beliefs of the early Celts. </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="560"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /><b> Celtic Practices</b> </dt><dd>Most Celtic practices and belief follow the lines of those held in religion of Witchcraft over all. There are a few additions or views that are influenced by Celtic legend and myth. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>One of these is the concept of The God aspect, which is better known as the Horned God from the ancient Celtic god, Cernunnos ("The Horned One"). Evidence of the Horned God dates back to cave paintings from the Paleolithic times in Europe. Other representations of the Horned God later appeared in Egypt, Mesopotamia and India. The Horned God is honored as the masculine side of nature, as well as, the opener of the gates of life and death. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Horned God represents the fertility that allows the Goddess to create life so in essence, all life originates from Him. He is also known as the Hunter so eventually, he is also the bringer of death. The Horned God represents a masculine force that is wild, strong and expressive without being violent, patriarchical and destructive. Essentially, the Horned God is the perfect opposing force and complement to the Triple Goddess. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Within the Immrama, the Celts gain their belief of the <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/othrwrld.htm">Otherworld</a>. The land where life continues after life. The Otherworld is not the same concept as Summerland which is held by Wiccans and many other pagan practioners. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/lebhar.htm">The Lebhar Gabhála Éireann</a> (The Book of the Conquest of Ireland also known as the Book of Invasions) is a great source of history, anthropology and Celtic legend in the early Celtic days. The Book of Invasions is a 12th-century recount of Celtic mythology and lore, listing the 6 successful invasions of Ireland that are the basis of Celtic deities or greatly impacted and influenced Celtic belief and festivals. </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="560"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> <b>Celtic Traditions</b> </dt><dd>As mentioned earlier, there are many Celtic traditions. Here are a few. This is definitely not a complete listing. <ul><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Arthurian</span></b><br /> This is one of the more well-known traditions. As the name implies, this tradition is based on Arthurian Legends from Cornwall and Wales. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Caledoni</span></b><br /> This tradition preserves the Scottish festivals. It originated in Scotland and was formally known as the Hecatine Tradition. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Celtic</span></b><br /> This broad tradition originated in Celtic Gaul, Western and Northern England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany and the Isle of Man. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Cymri </span></b><br /> Pronounced KIM-ree or KEEM-ree, this tradition is the principle Pagan tradition of Wales. It is influenced in part by the Arthurian legends. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Deborean </span></b><br /> A combination of Celtic and Native American traditions, focused primarily on Celtic origins. Formed in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the Carolinas and southwestern Virginia. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Deborean Wicca </span></b><br /> An American eclectic tradition which attempts to reconstruct Wicca as it was before The Burning Times or the European witch craze. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Druid </span></b><br /> This tradition is based on mostly modern views of the rituals, rites, magik and practices of the Celtic priestly class, the Druids. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Druid Reconstructionalists</span></b><br /> This tradition is striving to return to the rites, magik and practices of the Druids based on historical and anthropological study. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Eireannach </span></b><br /> Pronounced AIR-un-n'yock, this name is a catch-all of many Irish-influenced traditions. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Faery </span></b><br /> The origins of this tradition come from the myths and legends of the Tuatha De Danann, the deities who are now known as "Faery Folk". This tradition focuses heavily on the environment. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Family </span></b><br /> Traditions which are passed down through families are known as "Family Traditions". Some are secretive, others openly practice their Celtic Pagan beliefs, often times mixed with mainstream religious beliefs. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Fennian </span></b><br /> This tradition is based on the Fianna, Fionn MacCumhal's warriors. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Gaelic </span></b><br /> A generic description, sometimes applied to the Celtic traditions of Ireland and Scotland. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Irish </span></b><br /> Another generic term used to describe traditions native to Ireland . </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Manx </span></b><br /> An Irish tradition deeply connected with the mystical Isle of Man. Manann Mac Llyr, God of the Sea and Fand, a Faery Queen are the principal deities. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">North Isles </span></b><br /> This tradition was heavily influenced by the Norse and is prominent in the Orkney and Shetland Islands of Scotland. To this day, many ancient Nordic celebrations are still held. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Obod </span></b><br /> This acronym stands for the Celtic English Druidic tradition, Order of Bard, Ovates and Druids. </li><li><b><span style="color:#009900;">Pecti-Wita </span></b><br /> A solitary tradition influenced by the Picts, a pre-Celtic people who warred with the Celts. </li></ul> </dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="560"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <hr align="left"></td></tr></tbody> </table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215124588974358?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122150731283268772005-07-23T13:31:00.001-07:002005-07-23T13:32:15.956-07:00<b><span style="font-size:+3;">The Witch's Crede</span></b> <p><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/bar_med.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="18" width="331" /></p> <basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl> <dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /><b>The Witches Guidelines of Life </b><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/chalice.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="right" height="204" width="128" /> </dt><dd>The Witches credo acknowledges the right of all people to practice their own path of spirituality. As long as that path does not bring harm or injury to any living being. The term rede is derived from the Old English term roedan "to guide or direct". But don't confused the witches credo with the <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/wicca/rede.htm">Wiccan Rede & Credo</a>. The Witches Credo provides the same guidelines, but it's purpose is broader for many varying traditions of magik, including the solitary practioner. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Historians debate the origins of the Wiccan Rede, which is simply: </dd><dd> "Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, An' it harm none, do what ye will" </dd><dd> An' is old English for And. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In general it is believed the Rede originated during the mid-to-late 18th century. The Credo, which is very similar to the witches credo, holds it's origins in modern times of the 1910's during the mystical revivals of the Gilded Age and into the 1940's and 50's. The reasoning behind the credos, according to spiritual scholars, was to add acceptance of modern witchcraft for the general public. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>However, a broader study of both the Wiccan Credo and the Witches Credo may lead a researcher back to ancient myths, legends and pagan traditions of the 7th and 8th centuries. Even in it's varying forms, the practice of witchcraft and it's underlying spiritual beliefs have been utilized all over the world for thousands of years. All of which can be seen and often documented through the study and research of mythology. Within each mythical legend of Celtic, Greek or even Asian origin, resides a structure of do's and don'ts for the magikal practioners of the day. Within each of these structures, are the references to free will, karma and choice; the laws of magikal practices so to speak. The modern Credo's adhered to today, regardless of their original dates of creation, reside in the frame work of these ancient structures. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Many spiritualists today have a deep respect for the sanctity of free will within all living creatures. This is especially true for the modern neo-pagan. To use one's spiritual talents and gifts to interfere in that free will is unethical and violates the essence of living in balance and harmony with the universe. To violate that balance would bring a karmic boomerang of negative energies and events back to the sender. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Witches Credo is therefore a guideline of direction, not only for one's spiritual practices in magik, but in all aspects of life. The credo is first instilled into a pagan's life during their 'Coming Of Age' ceremony. Many traditions believe in making a rededication of faith with the Credo during the Witches new year celebration of Samhain as a means of reconfirming their spiritual belief and practices. </dd><dd> </dd><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /><b>The Witches Credo</b> </dt><dd><table border="1" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="5" height="435" width="515"> <tbody><tr> <td height="424" valign="top" width="52%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt>Hear now the word of the Witch, </dt><dt>the secrets once hid in the night, </dt><dt>When darkness was for protection, </dt><dt>We now bring forth in the light. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>Mysteries of the Water and Fire, </dt><dt>The Earth and the wide-ranging Air, </dt><dt>By hidden Quintessence we know them, </dt><dt>and we bring honor in silence and fair. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>The birth and rebirth of all Nature, </dt><dt>the passing of Winter and Spring, </dt><dt>We share with the life Universal, </dt><dt>rejoicing in the never-ending Ring </dt><dt> </dt><dt>Four times in the year we give homage, </dt><dt>come forth the Witches are seen, </dt><dt>At Lammas and Candelas we're dancing, </dt><dt>so too on May Eve and old Halloween </dt><dt> </dt><dt>When daytime and nighttime are equal, </dt><dt>when sun is at it's greatest and least, </dt><dt>The four lesser Sabbats are summoned, </dt><dt>again the Witches gather in feast. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>Thirteen silver moons in a year, </dt><dt>thirteen to be the magikal array, </dt><dt>Thirteen times at Esbat we make merry, </dt><dt>for the work of the night and the day. </dt></dl> </td> <td valign="top" width="48%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt>The knowledge has passed down the ages, </dt><dt>each time between woman and man </dt><dt>Each century unto the other, </dt><dt>old times since the ages began. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>When drawn in the Magikal circle, </dt><dt>by sword or athame of light, </dt><dt>It's compass between two worlds opens, </dt><dt>in honor and love for this night. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>Our world has no right to know it, </dt><dt>and the world beyond will tell naught, </dt><dt>The oldest of Gods are invoked there, </dt><dt>the great work of light's Magik is wrought. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>For two are the mystical pillars, </dt><dt>that stand at the gate of the shrine, </dt><dt>And two are the powers of Nature, </dt><dt>the forms and the forces divine. </dt><dt> </dt><dt>Do what thou wilt be the challenge, </dt><dt>so be it in love that harms none, </dt><dt>For this is the only commandment, </dt><dt>By wisdom of faith so let it be done. </dt><dt> </dt></dl></td></tr></tbody></table></dd> </dl><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215073128326877?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122150680158975502005-07-23T13:31:00.000-07:002005-07-23T13:31:24.996-07:00<p><b><span style="font-size:+3;">An Evolution Of WitchCraft</span></b></p> <p><a name="top"></a><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/bar_med.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="18" width="331" /></p> <table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="4" height="23" width="588"> <tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" width="5%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> </td> <td valign="top" width="95%"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p>Every religious or spiritual belief has it's beginning and evolution. That's definitely true for one of the oldest beliefs in the world; Wicca or Neo-Paganism. This time line shows the general history and evolution of Paganism, along with a brief description for each point in history.</p> <p><table cellpaddig="2" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" height="1219" width="524"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="3"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <b>Prehistory</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="69" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 1. Small cultures begin to develop spiritual structures.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 2. Hunter-gathering cultures gradually change to farming societies. Gods and Goddess of the harvest become prevalent. Sacrifices appear in rituals.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 3. Urban societies take root. Communities form as spiritual sects formalize their beliefs and practices. The Goddess figures dominate most cultures.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="90" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 4. Biblical times begin to record historical evolutions. Patriarchal governances begin to dominate most societies.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 5. Celtic/Druid cultures survive into the Christian era. The 8 sabbats are further ingrained into ritual and spiritual practices. Small communities known as Covens become prevalent.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 6. Magikal practices spread through eastern and western Europe. Gypsy societies form and carry the practices of Witchcraft through all cultures.</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <b>The Burning Times</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="104" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 7. The 8th Century; The Catholic Church forms the Council of Necea to review Biblical texts. 5 books of the Christian Bible are removed from the testaments to solitify the Churches control over society and political governments.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 8. Late 8th Century, Sorcery & Witchcraft are deemed harmful and associated with heresy by the Church.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 9. 13th Century, The Inquisition is established 1227-1233, many lose their lifes for the sake of spiritual cleansing. Anglo-Saxons form covens and the label Wicca {The Wise Ones} is born.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="104" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 10. 15th Century, The Witch trials being in 1490. The burning times begin with full vigor.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 11. 16th Century, The 1st Witchcraft Act of England is established in 1542 under the realm of King Henry VIII. The Craft is deemed illegal and organized covens go underground. The secrecy begins.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 12. 16th Century, The 2nd Witchcraft Act of England is signed by Queen Elizabeth in 1563.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="118" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 13. Late 16th - early 17th Century, Fear of witches and their worships peak. This hysteria starts the creation of mis-information concerning Pagan ways and beliefs. Associations of Satan and Pagans are established by Church leaders to further the destruction of this wide spread belief system.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 14. 17th Century, The 2nd Witchcraft Act is repealed and replaced with a much tougher one. The new law passes in 1604 and lives until 1736.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 15. Mid 17th Century, Hysteria in England is at it's highest point and migrates to the American Colonies.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="90" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 16. Mid 17th Century, England's laws govern the new pilgrim communities and the first hanging for Witchcraft occurs in Connecticut.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 17. Late 17th Century, The Salem Witch Trials begin in Massachusetts during 1692. Hangings expand to include drowning and the horrific burnings.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 18. 18th Century, Some sanity finds it's way into England's grand halls and the 1604 Witchcraft Act is repealed by King George II in 1736.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="92" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 19. Mid 19th Century, Many leaders of the 'secret' covens open the curtains and step out into the public eye. Many mystical novels and reference books are written and published in England.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 20. Late 19th Century, Spiritualism flourishes. Charles Godfrey Leland claims to have discovered hereditary witches in Tuscany. The Gospel of Aradia enters the public eye.</td> <td align="center"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <b><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/ankh2.gif" alt="WiccanStar Entrance Page" naturalsizeflag="3" align="middle" border="0" height="68" width="70" /></b> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <b>Current Century</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="51" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 21. 20th Century, Anthropologist Margeret Murray publishes the theory of organized pagan cults.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 22. Gerald Gardner was initiated into an English coven in 1939. The Murray theory is accepted.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 23. The last Witchcraft Acts of England are repealed. The Craft is no longer illegal in 1951.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="90" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 24. Gerald Gardner establishes a coven combining beliefs from Crowley, Ordo,Templi Orientis, Masonry, Golden Dawn, Rosicrucians, folklore and mythology. The Coven is founded in 1951.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 25. The Gardnerian sect is introduced into the U.S. in the 1960's.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 26. The Alexandrian sect created by Alex Sander's becomes popular in the 1970's. The Gardnerian traditions begin to decline.</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="104" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 27. 1980's becomes a decade of feminine spirituality and Wicca is seen as a woman's religion. Often referred to as 'Feminist spirituality'.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 28. New Age, Metaphysical and Native American beliefs become increasingly popular. The late 80's and early 90's bring a new evolution of Paganism to it's original balance of God/Goddess beliefs.</td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> 29. Wicca becomes increasingly popular and is more widely accepted as a system of belief in society and culture.</td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <b>Current Wiccan/Pagan Sects</b></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="74" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>Traditional English</b></p> <ul><li>Wicca </li><li>Gardnerian </li><li>Alexandrian </li></ul> </td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>Cultural</b></p> <ul><li>Family Tradition </li><li>Ethnic </li></ul> </td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>Eclectic</b></p> <ul><li>New Age Wicca </li></ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="116" valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>Feminist Wicca</b></p> <ul><li>Dianic </li></ul> </td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>Gay/Lesbian</b></p> <ul><li>Circles </li></ul> </td> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <p><b>New Age</b></p> <ul><li>Native American </li><li>Druid/Celtic </li><li>Shamanistic </li><li>Churches </li><li>Study Groups </li><li>Eco-Spiritualist </li></ul></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody> </table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112215068015897550?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122067435478974252005-07-22T14:23:00.000-07:002005-07-22T14:24:03.986-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Church of Christ, Scientist</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <div style="margin: 0pt 10%; text-align: center;"> <table class="notice noprint" id="NPOV" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0pt auto; background: AntiqueWhite none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;"> <tbody><tr> <td><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stop_hand.png" class="image" title=" "><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Stop_hand.png/40px-Stop_hand.png" alt=" " longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stop_hand.png" height="40" width="40" /></a></td> <td><b>This article may not conform to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view" title="Wikipedia:Neutral point of view">neutral point of view</a> policy.</b><br /><small>A Wikipedian has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:POV_check" title="Wikipedia:POV check">nominated this article</a> to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this nomination can be found on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist" title="Talk:Church of Christ, Scientist">talk page</a>.</small></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> <p><b>The Church of Christ, Scientist</b>, often known as <b>The Christian Science Church</b> or simply <b>Christian Science</b>, is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontrinitarianism" title="Nontrinitarianism">nontrinitarian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_denomination" title="Christian denomination">Christian denomination</a> with about 2,000 branches in over 70 countries. The church was founded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Baker_Eddy" title="Mary Baker Eddy">Mary Baker Eddy</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1879" title="1879">1879</a> following her own personal healing experience, which she believed to be the result of her Christian faith. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Bible</a> and Mrs. Eddy's book <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Health_with_Key_to_the_Scriptures" title="Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures">Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</a></i> are together the church's key doctrinal sources.</p> <p>Christian Science is widely known for its publications, especially the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Monitor" title="Christian Science Monitor">Christian Science Monitor</a>, a daily <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspaper" title="Newspaper">newspaper</a> published internationally in print and on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet" title="Internet">Internet</a>. The Church is controversial for its encouragement of prayer for healing in lieu of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_medicine" title="Modern medicine">modern medicine</a>, its traditionally authoritarian practices, and its doctrinal deviations from orthodox <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christianity</a>.</p> <p>Christian Science has no connection with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology" title="Scientology">Scientology</a>, which was founded about 75 years after Christian Science and which is not based on Christianity.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Theology_and_healing"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Theology and healing</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Origins_and_early_development"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Origins and early development</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Possible_influences"><span class="tocnumber">1.1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Possible influences</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Theology"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">Theology</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Spiritual_healing_in_the_material_world"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Spiritual healing in the material world</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Organization"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Organization</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Recent_history"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Recent history</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Public_controversy"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Public controversy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#The_Christian_Science_Church"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">The Christian Science Church</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Writings_of_Mary_Baker_Eddy"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Writings of Mary Baker Eddy</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist#Criticism_of_Christian_Science"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">Criticism of Christian Science</span></a></li></ul> </li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Theology_and_healing" id="Theology_and_healing"></a></p> <h2>Theology and healing</h2> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Origins_and_early_development" id="Origins_and_early_development"></a></p> <h3>Origins and early development</h3> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ChristianScienceChurch20040307.jpg" class="internal" title="The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston (the Mother Church)"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/62/ChristianScienceChurch20040307.jpg/180px-ChristianScienceChurch20040307.jpg" alt="The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston (the Mother Church)" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ChristianScienceChurch20040307.jpg" height="135" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ChristianScienceChurch20040307.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston (the Mother Church)</div> </div> </div> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Baker_Eddy" title="Mary Baker Eddy">Mary Baker Eddy</a> (known at the time as Mary Glover) coined the phrase "Christian Science" in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1866" title="1866">1866</a>, after recovering from an accidental injury that, she wrote, "neither medicine nor surgery could reach...." According to her personal accounts, when she appeared to be near death, she called out for her Bible. She turned it to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Matthew" title="Book of Matthew">Matthew</a> 9:2, which tells the story of Jesus healing a man who was sick with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palsy" title="Palsy">palsy</a>, and found herself suddenly well and able to get up. As she recounted in her autiobiography, <i>Retrospection and Introspection</i>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Even to the homoeopathic physician who attended me, and rejoiced in my recovery, I could not then explain the <i>modus</i> of my relief. I could only assure him that the divine Spirit had wrought the miracle—a miracle which later I found to be in perfect scientific accord with divine law.</p> </blockquote> <p>She referred to this event as her "Great Discovery." Not knowing how it had occurred, she spent the next three years studying the Bible, experimenting and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prayer" title="Prayer">praying</a> to discover if the experience was repeatable and if there were knowable laws that governed it. She claimed that she was able to heal others and began to be called out to the bedsides of those whom the medical faculty had not been able to help. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor" title="Doctor">doctor</a> attending a severe case in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire" title="New Hampshire">New Hampshire</a> is said to have witnessed her healing of his patient and asked if she could explain her system. At the time, she said only that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God" title="God">God</a> did it. But he urged her to write about it and soon she began her main work explaining her system of Christian healing, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Health_with_Key_to_the_Scriptures" title="Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures">Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</a></i>.</p> <p>Soon others began to ask her to teach her healing method and she claimed that her students were able to approximate her ability to heal. The readers of her book gathered into an organization and gradually developed into a church, with Mary Baker Eddy as its <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pastor" title="Pastor">pastor</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Possible_influences" id="Possible_influences"></a></p> <h4>Possible influences</h4> <p>Prior to her recovery in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1866" title="1866">1866</a>, Mary Baker Eddy had investigated a number of common healing methods of her day, including <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allopathy" title="Allopathy">allopathy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeopathy" title="Homeopathy">homeopathy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydropathy" title="Hydropathy">hydropathy</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quimbyism&action=edit" class="new" title="Quimbyism">Quimbyism</a>. Although she had no formal education, she spent much of her youth reading works in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_philosophy" title="Natural philosophy">natural philosophy</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic" title="Logic">logic</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moral_science&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Moral science">moral science</a>, as well as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Bible</a> and other Christian works.</p> <dl> <dd> <div class="notice metadata" id="stub"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Wiki_letter_w.png" class="image" title="Image:Wiki_letter_w.png"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/6a/Wiki_letter_w.png" alt="Image:Wiki_letter_w.png" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Wiki_letter_w.png" height="48" width="48" /></a><i>This section is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Perfect_stub_article" title="Wikipedia:Perfect stub article">stub</a>. You can <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Find_or_fix_a_stub" title="Wikipedia:Find or fix a stub">help</a> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church of Christ, Scientist&amp;action=edit">adding to it</a>.</i></div> </dd> </dl> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Theology" id="Theology"></a></p> <h3>Theology</h3> <p>In <i>Science and Health</i>, Mrs. Eddy argued that given the absolute goodness and perfection of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God" title="God">God</a>, sin, disease, and death were not created by Him, and therefore cannot be truly real. This led her to conclude that the material world was an illusion that obscures God's world of spiritual "Truth," which she felt was the true reality. Mrs. Eddy came to believe that this misperception, which she called "error," could be remedied through a better spiritual understanding of humanity's relationship to God, and contended that this understanding was what enabled the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">biblical</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> to heal.</p> <p>This teaching is the foundation of the Christian Science doctrine that teaches disease – and any other adversity – can be cured through prayerful efforts to fully understand this spiritual relationship. It is encapsulated in <i>Science and Health</i> as "The Scientific Statement of Being," a kind of Christian Science <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed" title="Creed">creed</a> that is arguably the most cited textual passage in Christian Science practice; it is also read aloud in churches and Sunday schools at the end of every Sunday service:</p> <dl> <dd> <dl><dd><i>There is no life, truth, intelligence, nor substance in matter.</i></dd><dd><i>All is infinite Mind and its infinite manifestation, for God is All-in-all.</i></dd><dd><i>Spirit is immortal Truth; matter is mortal error.</i></dd><dd><i>Spirit is the real and eternal; matter is the unreal and temporal.</i></dd><dd><i>Spirit is God, and man is His image and likeness.</i></dd><dd><i>Therefore man is not material; he is spiritual.</i> (p. 468)</dd></dl> </dd> </dl> <p>This belief in the unreality of imperfection is the basis of Christian Scientists' characteristic reliance on prayer for traditional medical care, often with the aid of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Practitioner" title="Christian Science Practitioner">Christian Science practitioners</a>, who are, with the permission of the church's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Board_of_Directors" title="Christian Science Board of Directors">Board of Directors</a>, listed in the Christian Science <i>Journal</i>, their only form of official recognition by the church and among the Christian Science laity. (Some "unlisted" practitioners maintain active practices as well, but they do so without the prestige that a <i>Journal</i> listing brings.)</p> <p>Practitioners "treat patients," in Christian Science parlance, through prayer. Such treatment usually, though not always, is for health-related problems, and a practitioner's patient may request help for personal problems as well, such as relationships, workplace difficulties, and so on. Practitioners may also charge modest fees for their services.</p> <p>Since Christian Scientists deny the existence of evil, the devil, and all sin, the role of Jesus Christ is radically different from many other Christian sects. In Christian Science, Christ did not die for the sins of man; rather, Christ's works, crucifixion, and resurrection serve to reveal the non-existence of sin and death. Christian Scientists believe that through proper adherence to the teachings of Jesus, one can also demonstrate (albeit on a smaller scale) the non-existence of such "error."</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Spiritual_healing_in_the_material_world" id="Spiritual_healing_in_the_material_world"></a></p> <h3>Spiritual healing in the material world</h3> <p>Christian Science's focus on the idea of spiritual healing led to some measure of stir in the theological realm at first. Under the eye of the scientific revolutions of the 19th century, many mainstream denominations had relegated spiritual healing to the realm of a one-time <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispensationalism" title="Dispensationalism">dispensation</a> rather than a modern practice. During Christian Science's early days of rapid growth, claims of healing under its influence became a subject of heated debate at Christian conventions, but for the same reason it also became a subject of reawakened interest in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s" title="1960s">1960s</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970s" title="1970s">70s</a>.</p> <p>While reliance on the theology of spiritual healing is important to Christian Scientists, it is also not officially required of them, which has led to mixed legal opinions as to what constitutes negligence in its use. Orthodox practitioners treating a patient who decides to switch to medical care will typically no longer pray for that person. "Mixing" of methods is discouraged among orthodox Christian Scientists. This is because if one's premise is that God is the only cause and creator, then accepting that material medicine can heal while also arguing that prayer as medicine can heal lead to trying to serve two masters -- which Jesus cautioned against.</p> <p>Christian Science teaches that spiritual healing is a natural result of following Jesus' teachings. Healing was a major part of Jesus' ministry, and Christian Scientists see no basis for excluding it from the practice of modern day Christians. They understand Jesus to have presented health-giving guidance in his spiritual teachings, and that following laws, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_rule" title="Golden rule">golden rule</a>, practice of prayer, recognition that it is done unto us as we believe, and the exhortation to love one's enemies, will result in a practical form of health care.</p> <p>The Church claims to have 50,000 testimonies of healing through Christian Science treatment alone. While most of these testimonies represent ailments neither diagnosed nor treated by medical practitioners, the Church does require three other people who witnessed the healing to vouch for its authenticity in order to publish the account in its official organ, the <i>Christian Science Journal</i>. The Church also has a number of statements regarding diagnosed conditions accompanied by legal affidavits of authenticity signed by medical practitioners who witnessed a non-medical healing. A book entitled <i>Spiritual Healing in a Scientific Age</i> by Robert Peel chronicles many of these accounts.</p> <p>Christian Scientists who wish to become public practitioners of Christian Science—spiritual healers—complete an intensive class that trains them in the methods. The instruction in these classes is taken from Mary Baker Eddy's textbook on healing, <i>Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</i>.</p> <p>Ultimately, modern medical practice is more important to Christian Scientists than is believed by many outsiders looking in at the Church. Mrs. Eddy, the founder of the Church, stressed that one should accept temporary aid from "materia medica" if spiritual healing is not yielding results in the case at hand. While the Church does not require members to forgo medical treatment, many orthodox Christian Scientists do so voluntarily because of their faith and they feel they have a history of success with this alternative form of healing.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Organization" id="Organization"></a></p> <h2>Organization</h2> <p>The Mother Church is the church's world headquarters, and is located in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston%2C_Massachusetts" title="Boston, Massachusetts">Boston</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts" title="Massachusetts">Massachusetts</a>. (An international daily newspaper, the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Monitor" title="Christian Science Monitor">Christian Science Monitor</a></i>, founded by Mrs. Eddy in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1908" title="1908">1908</a> and winner of seven <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_prize" title="Pulitzer prize">Pulitzer prizes</a>, is published by the church through the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Publishing_Society" title="Christian Science Publishing Society">Christian Science Publishing Society</a>.)</p> <p>Branch Christian Science churches and Christian Science Societies are at once related to the central church but with large autonomy. They can be found worldwide, primarily in the US though also in Europe and other locations, and usually maintain a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Reading_Room" title="Christian Science Reading Room">Christian Science Reading Room</a> for reading and study open to the public. Churches usually hold a one-hour church service each Sunday, consisting of hymns, prayer, and readings from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Bible</a> and <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_and_Health_with_Key_to_the_Scriptures" title="Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures">Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</a></i>. They also hold a one-hour Wednesday evening testimony meeting, with similar readings and accounts of healing from prayer by those attending. They also sponsor Christian Science talks by experienced healers in their communities periodically.</p> <p>There are no clergy in any Christian Science church. Though Mary Baker Eddy and some of her senior students regularly gave sermons at services during Mrs. Eddy's lifetime, no one was permitted to preach in the church after her passing. Instead, a committee in the church's Boston headquarters determines each week's "Lesson-Sermon" by selecting brief, complementary passages from the Bible and Science and Health to be studied throughout the week and read aloud in churches on Sundays.</p> <p>There are 26 set topics for the Lesson-Sermon, selected by Mrs. Eddy herself. The topics follow each other in an unchanging, predetermined order, and the progression starts over mid-year so that every week in the year has a topic devoted to it. Typical topics include: "God the Only Cause and Creator"; "Is the Universe, Including Man, Evolved by Atomic Force?"; "Are Sin, Disease and Death Real?"; "Christ Jesus"; "Doctrine of Atonement"; and "Love."</p> <p>The Bible and <i>Science and Health</i> are Christian Science's "dual and impersonal pastor," according to church law, so churches in the faith elect First and Second Readers who are in charge of leading Sunday services by reading the Mother Church's Lesson-Sermon aloud. The First Reader reads from <i>Science and Health</i>, and the Second Reader from the Bible. The First Reader also selects the hymns that will be sung at the service. The Second Reader has no powers or responsibilities other than to read from the Bible on Sundays. To be the First Reader in one's branch church is one of the highest and most prestigious positions the lay Christian Scientist can aspire to. Church Readers are often a team of one man and one woman, to avoid gender discrimination and bias in the church authority.</p> <p>Church services, along with every other aspect of church government, are regulated by a constitution of sorts by Mrs. Eddy called the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_of_The_Mother_Church" title="Manual of The Mother Church">Manual of The Mother Church</a></i>, consisting of various regulations covering everything from the duties of officers to discipline to provisions for church meetings and publications. The Manual enacted a rule of law over the Mother Church, though some controversy and historical ambiguity surround the Manual's current, 89th edition, causing a minority of Christian Scientists to dispute the Manual's authority and authenticity.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Recent_history" id="Recent_history"></a></p> <h2>Recent history</h2> <p>Beginning in the mid-1980s, church executives undertook an ambitious foray into electronic broadcast media. A monthly half-hour television production was followed by a nightly half-hour news show on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Channel" title="Discovery Channel">Discovery Channel</a>, anchored by veteran journalist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hart" title="John Hart">John Hart</a>. The Church then purchased a Boston <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_TV" title="Cable TV">cable TV</a> station for elaborate in-house programming production. In parallel, the church purchased a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_radio" title="Shortwave radio">shortwave radio</a> station and syndicated radio production to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Public_Radio" title="National Public Radio">National Public Radio</a>. However, revenues fell short of optimistic predictions by church management, who had ignored early warnings by members and media experts. Most of these operations closed in well under a decade. Public accounts in both the mainstream and trade media reported that the church lost approximately $250 million on these ventures.</p> <p>The media collapse brought the church to the brink of bankruptcy. However, with the 1991 publication of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Destiny_of_The_Mother_Church" title="The Destiny of The Mother Church">The Destiny of The Mother Church</a></i> by the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bliss_Knapp" title="Bliss Knapp">Bliss Knapp</a>, the church secured a $90 million bequest from the Knapp trust. The trust dictated that the book be published as "Authorized Literature," with neither modification nor comment. Historically the church had censured Knapp for deviating at several points from church teaching, and had refused to publish the work. The church's archivist, fired in anticipation of the book's publication, wrote to branch churches to inform them of the book's history. Many Christian Scientists thought the book violated the church's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_of_The_Mother_Church" title="Manual of The Mother Church">bylaws</a>, and the editors of the church's religious periodicals and several other church employees resigned in protest. Alternate beneficiaries subsequently sued to contest the church's claim it had complied fully with the will's terms, and the church ultimately received only half of the original sum.</p> <p>The fallout of the new media debacle also sparked a minor revolt among some prominent church members. In late 1993, a group of Christian Scientists filed suit against the Board of Directors, alleging a willful disregard for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_of_The_Mother_Church" title="Manual of The Mother Church">Manual of the Mother Church</a> in its financial dealings. The suit was thrown out by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in 1997, but a lingering discontent with the church's financial matters persists to this day.</p> <p>In spite of its early meteoric rise, it appears likely that the Christian Science Church has suffered a decline in membership over recent decades. Though the Church is prohibited by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_of_The_Mother_Church" title="Manual of The Mother Church">Manual</a> from publishing membership figures, the number of branch churches in the United States has fallen steadily since World War II. A 1992 study in the <i>Christian Research Journal</i> found that church membership had fallen from 269,000 in the 1930s to about 150,000. Some believe membership has fallen further since then, however current estimates for church membership very widely, from under 100,000 to 400,000.</p> <p>The church's most recent effort to stimulate interest in the faith led to the creation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mary_Baker_Eddy_Library_for_the_Betterment_of_Humanity&action=edit" class="new" title="Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity">Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity</a>, a $50 million building in Boston housing Mrs. Eddy's published and unpublished writings. As with the church's earlier multimillion-dollar outreach projects, the library's expense and concept caused controversy among some church members, though not on the same scale as the other undertakings.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Public_controversy" id="Public_controversy"></a></p> <h2>Public controversy</h2> <p>Christian Science has been subject to significant criticism and public controversy throughout its history. The most highly publicized controversy surrounds Christian Science and medicine. While church members point out that followers are free to choose to seek traditional medical treatment, most rely heavily or exclusively on healing by prayer (also known as “<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_healing" title="Faith healing">faith healing</a>,” though most serious followers of the church dislike this term as it does not embody the idea of understanding and instead prefer "spiritual healing"), believing it to be superior. In addition, many former members and others claim those who seek medical treatment are shunned and considered to have “fallen from grace” by orthodox members, resulting in internal pressure to refrain from seeking treatment. Although many followers are healthy and live to old age, the rejection of modern medicine inevitably leads to cases of early deaths from medically treatable causes.</p> <p>This issue is most controversial regarding children. In a number of nationally publicized cases in the early <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1990s" title="1990s">1990s</a>, prosecutors charged parents belonging to the Christian Science faith, whose children had died of curable ailments without being medically treated, with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder" title="Murder">murder</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manslaughter" title="Manslaughter">manslaughter</a>. In the end, most of these parents were legally exonerated. However, most outside observers see these early deaths, particularly among children, as very tragic and highly unnecessary and irrational.</p> <p>From its foundation, the Church of Christ, Scientist has been accused of being highly authoritarian, with dissenters quickly silenced and sometimes excommunicated. Because of this, and because it encourages the rejection of medicine, many consider it to have at least some elements in common with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cults</a>.</p> <p>While members of the Christian Science church claim their religion is based in, reconcilable with, and part of Christianity, some orthodox Christian theologians and others claim that Christian Science beliefs deviate so far from some of the basic tenets of Christianity (such as the nature of the creation, the nature/existence of evil, the divinity and resurrection of Jesus, and the trinity) that they can no longer be considered “Christian.” Some say that Christian Science more closely resembles <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism" title="Gnosticism">gnosticism</a> and other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysticism" title="Mysticism">mystic traditions</a>. In parallel, scientists point out that the reliance on faith healing and other beliefs are decidedly non-scientific in the view of the mainstream scientific community. Because of these criticisms, some have quipped that “Christian Science is neither Christian nor science.” <a href="http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq469.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.raptureready.com/faq/faq469.html">[1]</a></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="External_links" id="External_links"></a></p> <h2>External links</h2> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=10" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_Christian_Science_Church" id="The_Christian_Science_Church"></a></p> <h3>The Christian Science Church</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.tfccs.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.tfccs.com/">Home Page of The First Church of Christ, Scientist</a></li><li><a href="http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org/">The Mary Baker Eddy Library for the Betterment of Humanity</a></li><li><a href="http://www.tfccs.org/gv/csps/csj/testimonies.jhtml" class="external text" title="http://www.tfccs.org/gv/csps/csj/testimonies.jhtml">"Reports of Healing"</a> from the <i>Christian Science Journal</i></li><li><a href="http://www.spirituality.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.spirituality.com">Spirituality.com</a> The official website of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Science_Publishing_Society" title="Christian Science Publishing Society">Christian Science Publishing Society</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=11" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Writings_of_Mary_Baker_Eddy" id="Writings_of_Mary_Baker_Eddy"></a></p> <h3>Writings of Mary Baker Eddy</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3458" class="external text" title="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3458">Free eBook of <i>Science and Health, with Key to the Scriptures</i></a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a>, the Christian Science textbook</li><li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10437" class="external text" title="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10437">Free eBook of <i>Pulpit and Press (6th Edition)</i></a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a></li><li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12321" class="external text" title="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12321">Free eBook of <i>Rudimental Divine Science</i></a> at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gutenberg" title="Project Gutenberg">Project Gutenberg</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist&action=edit&amp;section=12" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Criticism_of_Christian_Science" id="Criticism_of_Christian_Science"></a></p> <h3>Criticism of Christian Science</h3> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3187" class="external text" title="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3187"><i>Christian Science</i> by Mark Twain</a> a 1907 work mocking Mary Baker Eddy's writings and the Church's financial arrangements</li><li><a href="http://www.godsperfectchild.com/" class="external text" title="http://www.godsperfectchild.com">God's <i>Perfect Child: Living and Dying in the Christian Science Church</i> by Caroline Fraser</a> history and criticism about Christian Science (link to book site)</li> </ul> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:idhash:6462-0!1!0!0!!en!2 and timestamp 20050722202609 --> <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks"><p class="catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Categories&amp;article=Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Articles_which_may_be_biased" title="Category:Articles which may be biased">Articles which may be biased</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Section_stubs" title="Category:Section stubs">Section stubs</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Christian_Science" title="Category:Christian Science">Christian Science</a></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206743547897425?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122067135507841702005-07-22T14:18:00.000-07:002005-07-22T14:19:51.153-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Scientology</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ScientologyCenter1.jpg" class="internal" title="A Scientology Center on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/68/ScientologyCenter1.jpg/180px-ScientologyCenter1.jpg" alt="A Scientology Center on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California" longdesc="/wiki/Image:ScientologyCenter1.jpg" height="271" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ScientologyCenter1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> A Scientology Center on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Boulevard" title="Hollywood Boulevard">Hollywood Boulevard</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood%2C_Los_Angeles%2C_California" title="Hollywood, Los Angeles, California">Hollywood, California</a></div> </div> </div> <p><b>Scientology</b> is a system of beliefs, teachings and rituals, originally established as a secular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952" title="1952">1952</a> by science-fiction author <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._Ron_Hubbard" title="L. Ron Hubbard">L. Ron Hubbard</a>, then recharacterized by him in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953" title="1953">1953</a> as an "applied <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious" title="Religious">religious</a> philosophy."</p> <p>Scientology is officially represented by the controversial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology" title="Church of Scientology">Church of Scientology</a>. The Church presents itself as a non-profit religious organization dedicated to encouraging development of the human spirit. Providing counseling and rehabilitation programs, the Church offers itself as an alternative to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatry" title="Psychiatry">psychiatry</a>, which Scientologists believe to be a barbaric and corrupt profession. <a href="http://www.scientology.org/en_US/religion/heritage/pg011.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.scientology.org/en US/religion/heritage/pg011.html">[1]</a> Church spokespeople attest that Hubbard's teaching (called "technology" or "tech") has freed them from drug and alcohol addictions, depression, learning disabilities, mental disorders and other problems. Scientology, however, has been the object of many allegations that sharply contradict the Church's self-description. Critics—including officials of several governments—have characterized the Church of Scientology as an unscrupulous commercial organization; it has often been described as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cult</a> that harasses its critics and exploits its members. Many of the Church's most controversial actions are, critics argue, a direct reflection of Hubbard's Scientology teachings.</p> <p>Despite the similarity of names, there is no historical, doctrinal, or organizational connection between Scientology and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ%2C_Scientist" title="Church of Christ, Scientist">Church of Christ, Scientist</a>, better known as "Christian Science".</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Beliefs_and_practices"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Beliefs and practices</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Central_beliefs"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Central beliefs</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#The_Structure_of_the_Mind"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">The Structure of the Mind</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Auditing"><span class="tocnumber">1.3</span> <span class="toctext">Auditing</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#The_ARC_triangle"><span class="tocnumber">1.4</span> <span class="toctext">The ARC triangle</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#The_Tone_Scale"><span class="tocnumber">1.5</span> <span class="toctext">The Tone Scale</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Past_lives"><span class="tocnumber">1.6</span> <span class="toctext">Past lives</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Operating_Thetan_Levels_and_the_Xenu_incident"><span class="tocnumber">1.7</span> <span class="toctext">Operating Thetan Levels and the Xenu incident</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Scientology_and_other_religions"><span class="tocnumber">1.8</span> <span class="toctext">Scientology and other religions</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Origins_of_Scientology"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Origins of Scientology</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#The_Church_of_Scientology"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">The Church of Scientology</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Independent_Scientology_groups"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Independent Scientology groups</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Controversy_and_criticism"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Controversy and criticism</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Scientology_Critics"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">Scientology Critics</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Opposition_to_psychiatry"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Opposition to psychiatry</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Scientology_vs._the_Internet"><span class="tocnumber">5.3</span> <span class="toctext">Scientology vs. the Internet</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Celebrity_practitioners"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Celebrity practitioners</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Popular_culture_references_to_Scientology"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">Popular culture references to Scientology</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Further_reading_and_references"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Further reading and references</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Beliefs_and_practices" id="Beliefs_and_practices"></a></p> <h2>Beliefs and practices</h2> <p><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_beliefs_and_practices" title="Scientology beliefs and practices">Scientology beliefs and practices</a></i></p> <p>Scientology's doctrines were established by Hubbard over some 33 years from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1952" title="1952">1952</a> until his death in January <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986" title="1986">1986</a>. Most of the basic principles were set out during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s" title="1950s">1950s</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960s" title="1960s">1960s</a>.</p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 183px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:L_Ron_Hubbard.jpg" class="internal" title=" L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1970"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/L_Ron_Hubbard.jpg" alt=" L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1970" longdesc="/wiki/Image:L_Ron_Hubbard.jpg" height="240" width="181" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption">L. Ron Hubbard, circa 1970</div> </div> </div> <p>Scientology was expanded and reworked from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics" title="Dianetics">Dianetics</a> <a href="http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Wolf/pg6.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.neuereligion.de/ENG/Wolf/pg6.htm">[2]</a>, an earlier system of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-improvement_technique" title="Self-improvement technique">self-improvement techniques</a> set out by Hubbard in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950" title="1950">1950</a> book, <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics" title="Dianetics">Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health</a>.</i> By the mid-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1950s" title="1950s">1950s</a>, Hubbard had relegated Dianetics to a sub-study of Scientology. The chief difference between the two is that Dianetics is explicitly secular, focused on the individual's present life and dealing with physical and mental or emotional problems, whereas Scientology adopts a more overtly religious approach <a href="http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/124/last.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbury/124/last.htm">[3]</a> dealing with spiritual issues spanning multiple past lives as well as the present day.</p> <p>Scientology beliefs are structured in a series of levels, with new initiates working their way up by steps to the more advanced strata of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric_knowledge" title="Esoteric knowledge">esoteric knowledge</a>. This is described as the passage up "the bridge to total freedom," or simply "the bridge." The more advanced teachings are kept strictly confidential from those who are not sufficiently "spiritually prepared" to learn about them. The model is similar to that practiced by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnostic" title="Gnostic">gnostic</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_religion" title="Mystery religion">mystery religions</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Central_beliefs" id="Central_beliefs"></a></p> <h3>Central beliefs</h3> <p>The central beliefs of Scientology are that:</p> <ul> <li>a person is an immortal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiritual_being" title="Spiritual being">spiritual being</a> (termed a <i>thetan</i>) who possesses a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind" title="Mind">mind</a> and a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body" title="Body">body</a>, accompanied by a lesser "genetic entity";</li><li>the thetan has lived through many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_lives" title="Past lives">past lives</a>, stored memories of which can cause problems in the present day;</li><li>a person is basically good, but is "aberrated" by the memories of past traumas.</li> </ul> <p>Scientology claims to offer an exact methodology to help a person achieve spiritual and ethical education, awareness, and improvement, so that he or she may achieve a level of spiritual purity as well as greater effectiveness in the physical world. The ultimate goal of Scientology is to "rehabilitate" the thetan, restoring its superhuman abilities to control "matter, energy, space and time" (MEST).</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_Structure_of_the_Mind" id="The_Structure_of_the_Mind"></a></p> <h3>The Structure of the Mind</h3> <p>Scientology holds that the human mind consists of two parts: the "analytical mind" and the "reactive mind". Hubbard described the analytical mind as the positive, rational, computing portion, while the "reactive mind" operates on a stimulus-response basis based on pain. Scientologists believe that the reactive mind has a malignant effect, causing irrational behaviour and creating individual weaknesses as well as undermining efforts to create lasting, prosperous and sane societies. Past painful incidents are seen as acting as templates for future actions and events, which are often acted out with destructive results. The "analytical mind" and the "reactive mind" have been compared to Freud's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superego" title="Superego">superego</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id" title="Id">id</a>, respectively, although the functionality is not the same.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Auditing" id="Auditing"></a></p> <h3>Auditing</h3> <p>The central practice of Scientology is called "auditing," (from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> <i>audire,</i>"to listen"), which is one-on-one communication with a Scientology-trained counselor or "auditor." The auditor follows an exact sequence of commands, as set out by Hubbard, to "clear" the reactive mind. Utilizing a biofeedback machine known as an "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-meter" title="E-meter">E-meter</a>", the process is intended to help a person to unburden himself of specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions that collectively restrict the person from achieving their goals. Primary rules of auditing require that the auditor does not suggest or imply answers for the person receiving auditing, and does not degrade or invalidate these same answers.</p> <p>During this process, the auditor may collect personal or confidential material from the person being audited.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_ARC_triangle" id="The_ARC_triangle"></a></p> <h3>The ARC triangle</h3> <p>Another basic tenet of Scientology is that there are three interrelated (and intrinsically spiritual) components that makeup successful "livingness": <b>affinity</b> (emotional response), <b>reality</b> (an agreement on what is real), and <b>communication</b> (exchange of ideas). Hubbard called this the "ARC triangle", (pronounced A. R. C.). Scientologists utilize ARC as a central organizing principle in their lives, primarily based upon the belief that raising one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_Tone_Scale" id="The_Tone_Scale"></a></p> <h3>The Tone Scale</h3> <p>Scientologists organize their personal relationships around the concept of the "Tone Scale"<a href="http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/full.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/full.htm">[4]</a>, devised by Hubbard in 1951, which classifies people according to their emotional perception and worth to society. Its primary use has been as a chart of what auditing procedures are best suited to an individual. The ideal place for a person to be on the scale is where there is a balance between spirit and the physical universe, at the tone level called <i>games</i>. Critics allege that Scientologists aim to be at the top end of the scale at a tone level of 40.0, at which level they will have an ability to issue commands to any object that exists in "matter, energy, space and time". This is claimed to extend to being able to control the physical environment on Earth, even down to fine-grained molecular and atomic levels.</p> <p>Toward the low end of the scale are what Hubbard calls "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressive_person" title="Suppressive person">suppressive persons</a>", those whose destructive actions can directly impede the progress of Scientology and individual Scientologists. The suppressive persons <i>par excellence</i> are said to be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatrists" title="Psychiatrists">psychiatrists</a>, for whom Hubbard had a special dislike. He claimed that they had been agents of repression for billions of years and were responsible for inventing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain" title="Pain">pain</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex" title="Sex">sex</a>, both of which were "artificial wavelengths" on "exact frequencies that can be manufactured". <a href="http://www.amazing.com/scientology/testa-hubbard-on-sex.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.amazing.com/scientology/testa-hubbard-on-sex.html">[5]</a></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Past_lives" id="Past_lives"></a></p> <h3>Past lives</h3> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics" title="Dianetics">Dianetics</a>, Hubbard proposed that the cause of "aberrations" in the human mind was the accumulated unconscious memories of traumatic incidents and guilty feelings. These memories would date back, in some cases, to before the moment of birth. He extended this view further in Scientology, declaring that thetans have existed for tens of trillions of years. During that time, they have been exposed to vast numbers of traumatic incidents, and have made a great many decisions which influence their present state.</p> <p>Some of the past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships to brainwash and control people. Scientology doctrine includes a wide variety of beliefs in extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in Earthly events, collectively described by Hubbard as "space opera". For a detailed overview, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_opera_in_Scientology_doctrine" title="Space opera in Scientology doctrine">Space opera in Scientology doctrine</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Operating_Thetan_Levels_and_the_Xenu_incident" id="Operating_Thetan_Levels_and_the_Xenu_incident"></a></p> <h3>Operating Thetan Levels and the Xenu incident</h3> <p>The "Hidden Truth" about the nature of the universe is taught to the most advanced Scientologists in a series of courses known as the Advanced Levels. These are the levels above "Clear," and their contents are held in strict confidence within Scientology. The most advanced of all are the eight Operating Thetan levels, for which the initiate needs to be thoroughly prepared. The highest level, OT VIII, is only disclosed at sea, on the Scientology cruise ship <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freewinds" title="Freewinds">Freewinds</a></i>. Since being entered into evidence in several court cases beginning in the 1980s, synopses and excerpts of these secret teachings have appeared in innumerable publications.</p> <p>In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_Thetan" title="Operating Thetan">OT</a> levels, Hubbard describes a variety of traumas commonly experienced in past lives. He explains how to reverse the effects of such traumas by "running" various Scientology processes. Among these advanced teachings, one episode that is revealed to those who reach <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating_Thetan" title="Operating Thetan">OT</a> level III has been widely remarked upon in the press: the story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu" title="Xenu">Xenu</a>, the galactic tyrant who stacked hundreds of billions of his frozen victims around Earth's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano" title="Volcano">volcanoes</a> 75 million years ago before blowing them up with hydrogen bombs and brainwashing them with a "three-D, super colossal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_picture" title="Motion picture">motion picture</a>" for 36 days. The traumatised thetans subsequently clustered around human bodies, in effect acting as invisible spiritual parasites known as "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_Thetans" title="Body Thetans">Body Thetans</a>" that can only be removed using advanced Scientology techniques.</p> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 252px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Xenu_space_plane.jpg" class="internal" title="Artist's impression of one of Xenu's spaceships, per Hubbard's description."><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/73/Xenu_space_plane.jpg/250px-Xenu_space_plane.jpg" alt="Artist's impression of one of Xenu's spaceships, per Hubbard's description." longdesc="/wiki/Image:Xenu_space_plane.jpg" height="250" width="250" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Xenu_space_plane.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Artist's impression of one of Xenu's spaceships, per Hubbard's description.</div> </div> </div> <p>Scientologists argue that accounts of teachings such as the Xenu story are pulled out of context for the purpose of ridiculing their religion. Journalists and critics of Scientology counter that Xenu is part of a much wider Scientology belief in alien past lives, some of which has been public knowledge for decades. For instance, Hubbard's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958" title="1958">1958</a> book <i>Have You Lived Before This Life</i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=0884044475" class="internal">ISBN 0884044475</a>) documents past lives as described by individual Scientologists during auditing sessions. These included incidents such as being "deceived into a love affair with a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot" title="Robot">robot</a> decked out as a beautiful red-haired girl", being run over by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_%28planet%29" title="Mars (planet)">Martian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop" title="Bishop">bishop</a> driving a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamroller" title="Steamroller">steamroller</a>, being transformed into an intergalactic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walrus" title="Walrus">walrus</a> which perished after falling out of a flying saucer and being "a very happy being who strayed to the planet Nostra 23,064,000,000 years ago".</p> <p>Although reliable statistics are not available, it is fair to say that most Scientologists are not at a sufficiently high level on "the bridge" to learn about Xenu. Therefore, while knowledge of Xenu and Body Thetans is crucial to the highest level church teachings, it cannot be regarded as a core belief of rank and file Scientologists. On the other hand, Scientology literature does include many references to extraterrestrial past lives, and internal Scientology publications are often illustrated with pictures of spaceships and oblique references to catastrophic events that happened "75 million years ago" (i.e. the Xenu incident).</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Scientology_and_other_religions" id="Scientology_and_other_religions"></a></p> <h3>Scientology and other religions</h3> <p>Scientology publicly takes the position that it is fully compatible with all existing major religions. However, due to the fact that it is essentially a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_religion" title="Mystery religion">mystery religion</a>, the more <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esoteric" title="Esoteric">esoteric</a> teachings of Scientology—which are normally only available to the most advanced practitioners of Scientology and which the Church attempts to retain in relative secrecy—may not always be entirely consistent with its publicly stated positions.</p> <p>As a typical Scientology practitioner eventually advances through the various stages and levels of admission to the more esoteric teachings of the organization, he or she will learn a variety of increasingly secret doctrines, some of which may not be entirely consistent with what was initially taught at the entry level. In its application for tax exempt status in the United States, the Church of Scientology International states:</p> <dl> <dd>"Although there is no policy or Scriptural mandate expressly requiring Scientologists to renounce other religious beliefs or membership in other churches, as a practical matter Scientologists are expected to and do become fully devoted to Scientology to the exclusion of other faiths. As Scientologists, they are required to look only to Scientology Scriptures for the answers to the fundamental questions of their existence and to seek enlightenment only from Scientology. (Response to Final Series of IRS Questions Prior to Recognition of Exemption Under Section 501(c)(3) As a Church, October 1, 1993)"</dd> </dl> <p>This Church statement would seem to imply a Church view that Scientology teachings are superior to, rather than harmonious with, traditional religious teachings. As a typical Scientology practitioner continues to advance his or her course of study, he or she will gradually discover numerous teachings that confirm this general view, that Scientology teachings are viewed as far advanced above and beyond the teachings of traditional religions.</p> <p>A typical Scientology practitioner eventually discovers that Hubbard left little doubt in his writings and lectures about the very dim view he took towards existing major religions. In some of Hubbards teachings intended for more 'senior level' Scientologists, he claimed that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ" title="Christ">Christ</a> had never existed as most popularly portrayed, but had been implanted in collective memory by an extraterrestrial tyrant 75 million years ago (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenu#Xenu_in_Scientology_doctrine" title="Xenu">Xenu</a>), and that Christianity was an "entheta [evil] operation" mounted by beings called Targs (Hubbard, "Electropsychometric Scouting: Battle of the Universes", April 1952).</p> <p>Hubbard apparently believed himself to be the reincarnation of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha" title="Buddha">Buddha</a>, based on a rather dubious interpretation of Buddhist writings (Hubbard, <i>Hymn of Asia</i>, 1952). He claimed that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islam</a> was also the result of an extraterrestrial memory implant, which he called the Emanator, of which the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ka%27aba" title="Ka'aba">Ka'aba</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mecca" title="Mecca">Mecca</a> is supposedly an artifact. Mainstream religions, in his view, had failed to realise their objectives: "It is all very well to idealise poverty and associate wisdom with begging bowls, or virtue with low estate. However, those who have done this (Buddhists, Christians, Communists and other fanatics) have dead ended or are dead ending." (Hubbard, HCOPL of 21 Jan uary 1965).</p> <p>It has been claimed that a high-level Scientology document, OT VIII, states that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> was actually a "lover of young boys and men, he was given to uncontrollable bursts of temper and hatred." However, despite the document being admitted into evidence in court as part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishman_Affidavit" title="Fishman Affidavit">Fishman Affidavit</a>, the Church of Scientology has stated that this document is a forgery and even some critics of Scientology have expressed doubts about its authenticity.</p> <p>The Church of Scientology has on occasion clashed with other religious groups, such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church of England</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church" title="Russian Orthodox Church">Russian Orthodox Church</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_Church" title="Lutheran Church">Lutheran Church</a>, all of which have criticised Scientology's activities and doctrines on various occasions. Having said that, it has also worked closely with other religious groups on community outreach projects and campaigns against perceived "persecution" by governments around the world.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=10" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Origins_of_Scientology" id="Origins_of_Scientology"></a></p> <h2>Origins of Scientology</h2> <p>Immediately prior to his first Dianetics publications, Hubbard was involved with the occultist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Parsons" title="Jack Parsons">Jack Parsons</a> in performing rites developed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" title="Aleister Crowley">Aleister Crowley</a>. Some investigators have noted similarities in Hubbard's writings to the doctrines of Crowley <a href="http://www.xenu.net/archive/lrhbare/lrhbare08.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.xenu.net/archive/lrhbare/lrhbare08.html">[6]</a>, though the Church of Scientology denies any such connection. An influence that Hubbard did acknowledge is the system of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Semantics" title="General Semantics">General Semantics</a> developed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Korzybski" title="Alfred Korzybski">Alfred Korzybski</a> in the 1930s. <a href="http://home.snafu.de/tilman/j/origins6.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://home.snafu.de/tilman/j/origins6.html">[7]</a> Scientology also reflects the influence of the Hindu concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma" title="Karma">karma</a>, as well as the less metaphysical theories of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud" title="Sigmund Freud">Sigmund Freud</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sargant" title="William Sargant">William Sargant</a>.</p> <p>Hubbard was repeatedly accused of adopting a religious facade for Scientology in order for the organization to maintain <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_exemption" title="Tax exemption">tax-exempt</a> status and avoid prosecution for false medical claims. These accusations have dogged the Church of Scientology to the present day, bolstered by numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors that on various occasions he stated that the way to get rich was to start a religion <a href="http://www.bible.ca/scientology-1million-start-a-religion.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.bible.ca/scientology-1million-start-a-religion.htm">[8]</a>.</p> <p>The word <i>scientology</i> has a history of its own. Although nowadays associated almost exclusively with Hubbard's work, it was coined by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philology" title="Philology">philologist</a> Alan Upward in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1907" title="1907">1907</a> as a synonym for "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoscience" title="Pseudoscience">pseudoscience</a>". <a href="http://www.instinct.org/texts/bluesky/bs3-4.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.instinct.org/texts/bluesky/bs3-4.htm">[9]</a> In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" title="1934">1934</a>, the Argentine-German writer Anastasius Nordenholz published a book using the word positively: <i>Scientologie, Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und der Tauglichkeit des Wissens,</i> or <i>Scientology, Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge</i>. <a href="http://www.scientologie.de/scientologie/index.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.scientologie.de/scientologie/index.htm">[10]</a> Nordenholz's book is a study of consciousness, and its usage of the word is not greatly different from Hubbard's definition, "knowing how to know". However, it is not clear to what extent Hubbard was aware of these earlier usages. The word itself is a pairing of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> word <i>scio</i> ("know" or "distinguish") and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a> λογος <i>lógos</i> ("reason itself" or "inward thought"). Hubbard said, in a lecture given on the 19th of July 1962 entitled "The E-meter":</p> <blockquote> <p>So Suzie and I went down to the library, and we started hauling books out and looking for words. And we finally found "scio" and we find "ology". And there was the founding of that word. Now, that word had been used to some degree before. There had been some thought of this. Actually the earliest studies on these didn't have any name to them until a little bit along the line and then I called it anything you could think of. But we found that this word Scientology, you see–and it could have been any other word that had also been used–was the best-fitted word for exactly what we wanted.</p> </blockquote> <p>There are also claims that Scientology was started as a result of a bet between science fiction authors. In some versions, the other participant was Kurt Vonnegut, while other versions name R.A. Heinlein.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=11" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_Church_of_Scientology" id="The_Church_of_Scientology"></a></p> <h2>The Church of Scientology</h2> <p><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology" title="Church of Scientology">Church of Scientology</a></i></p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology" title="Church of Scientology">Church of Scientology</a> was first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation" title="Corporation">incorporated</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden%2C_New_Jersey" title="Camden, New Jersey">Camden, New Jersey</a> as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonprofit_organization" title="Nonprofit organization">nonprofit organization</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953" title="1953">1953</a>. Today it forms the center of a complex worldwide network of corporations dedicated to the promotion of L. Ron Hubbard's philosophies in all areas of life. This includes:</p> <ul> <li>drug treatment centers (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon" title="Narconon">Narconon</a>);</li><li>criminal rehab programs (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminon" title="Criminon">Criminon</a>);</li><li>activities to reform the field of mental health (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Commission_on_Human_Rights" title="Citizens Commission on Human Rights">Citizens Commission on Human Rights</a>)</li><li>projects to implement workable and effective educational methods in schools (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_Scholastics" title="Applied Scholastics">Applied Scholastics</a>);</li><li>a campaign to return moral values to living (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Way_to_Happiness" title="The Way to Happiness">The Way to Happiness</a>)</li><li>an organization to educate and assist businesses in the use of Scientology management techniques (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Institute_of_Scientology_Enterprises" title="World Institute of Scientology Enterprises">World Institute of Scientology Enterprises</a>, or WISE)</li><li>a consulting firm based on Hubbard's management techniques (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Management_Systems" title="Sterling Management Systems">Sterling Management Systems</a>)</li><li>and a campaign directed to world leaders as well as the general public to implement the 1948 United Nations document, "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" (with particular emphasis on the religious freedom elements).</li> </ul> <p>The Church of Scientology has been, and remains, a controversial organization. Countries have taken markedly different approaches to Scientology. In the United States, Scientology declares itself to be a religion and regularly cites religious protection under the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment" title="First Amendment">First Amendment</a>. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> the Church of Scientology is legal but has the unique distinction of being criminally convicted as a corporation of two counts of breach of the public trust (for an organized conspiracy to break into government offices) following a trial by jury.</p> <p>Other countries, notably in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a>, have regarded Scientology as a potentially dangerous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cult</a> and have significantly restricted its activities at various times, or at least have not considered that the branches of the Church of Scientology met the legal criteria for being considered <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion-supporting_organization" title="Religion-supporting organization">religion-supporting organizations</a>. In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> for instance, Scientology is not seen as a religion by the government but as a commercial business with potentially anti-democratic tendencies, and has been subjected to state surveillance as a result. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> government does not recognize Scientology as a <i>bona fide</i> religion, and it has been subjected to considerable pressure from the state in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>.</p> <p>Scientology has also been the focus of criticism by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-cult_movement" title="Anti-cult movement">anti-cult campaigners</a> and has aroused controversy for its high-profile campaigns against <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatry" title="Psychiatry">psychiatry</a> and psychiatric medication (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology#Opposition_to_psychiatry" title="">opposition to psychiatry</a>, below).</p> <p>The many legal battles fought by the Church of Scientology since its inception have given it a reputation as an extremely litigious organization. (See also: <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_the_legal_system" title="Scientology and the legal system">Scientology and the legal system</a></i>)</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=12" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Independent_Scientology_groups" id="Independent_Scientology_groups"></a></p> <h2>Independent Scientology groups</h2> <p><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Zone" title="Free Zone">Free Zone</a></i></p> <p>Although "Scientology" is most often used as shorthand for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology" title="Church of Scientology">Church of Scientology</a>, a number of groups practice Scientology and Dianetics outside of the fold of the official Church. Such groups are invariably breakaways from the official Church and usually argue that it has corrupted L. Ron Hubbard's principles or has otherwise become overly domineering. The Church takes an extremely hard line on breakaway groups, labeling them "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostate" title="Apostate">apostates</a>" (or "squirrels" in Scientology jargon) and often subjecting them to considerable legal and social pressure. Breakaway groups avoid the name "Scientology" so as to keep from being <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue" title="Sue">sued</a>, instead referring to themselves collectively as the <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Zone" title="Free Zone">Free Zone</a></b>.</p> <p>Free Zone groups are extremely heterogeneous in terms of doctrine—very unlike the official Church. Some Free Zoners practice more or less pure Scientology, based on Hubbard's original (Church-published) texts and principles but without the supervision or fee system of the official Church. Others have developed Hubbard's ideas into radically new forms, some of which are barely recognizable as being related to Scientology.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=13" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Controversy_and_criticism" id="Controversy_and_criticism"></a></p> <h2>Controversy and criticism</h2> <p><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_controversy" title="Scientology controversy">Scientology controversy</a></i></p> <p>Of the many <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_religious_movement" title="New religious movement">new religious movements</a> to appear during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century" title="20th century">20th century</a>, Scientology has been one of the most controversial almost since its inception. The Church of Scientology has come into conflict with the governments and police of several countries (including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany) numerous times over the years, though supporters point out that many major world religions have found themselves in conflict with civil government while in their early years.</p> <p>The nature of Scientology is hotly debated in many countries. Scientology is considered a religion in the United States and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a>, and thus it enjoys the constitutional protections afforded to religious practice (First Amendment to the United States Constitution; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Constitution" title="Australian Constitution">Australian Constitution</a>, s 116). In the United States, the church obtained "public charity" status (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS" title="IRS">IRS</a> Code <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501%28c%29%283%29" title="501(c)(3)">501(c)(3)</a>) and the associated preferential tax treatment after extended litigation. Some European governments (including Germany) do not consider the Church of Scientology to be a bona fide <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion-supporting_organization" title="Religion-supporting organization">religious organization</a>, but instead a commercial enterprise, or a totalitarian cult (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_purported_cults#Alleged_cults" title="List of purported cults">the list of alleged cults</a>).</p> <p>The Church of Scientology pursues an extensive <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_relations" title="Public relations">public relations</a> campaign arguing that Scientology is a <i>bona fide</i> religion. The organization cites numerous scholarly sources supporting its position, many of which can be found on a website the Church has established for this purpose. <a href="http://www.bonafidescientology.org/bonafide-scientology.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.bonafidescientology.org/bonafide-scientology.htm">[11]</a></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=14" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Scientology_Critics" id="Scientology_Critics"></a></p> <h3>Scientology Critics</h3> <p>Critics dismiss many of these studies as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias" title="Bias">biased</a>, contending that the studies were commissioned by Scientology to produce the results that Scientology desired. Academic papers that conclude that Scientology is a not a legitimate religion have also been published (some are available online in the Marburg Journal of Religion). <a href="http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr">[12]</a></p> <p>In the U.S., in October of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993" title="1993">1993</a> the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service" title="Internal Revenue Service">Internal Revenue Service</a>, after reviewing voluminous information on the Church's financial and other operations, recognized the Church as an "organization operated exclusively for religious and charitable purposes." <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-97-50.txt" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-97-50.txt">[13]</a> The Church offers this tax exemption as proof that it is a religion.</p> <p>Critics point to this passage in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982" title="1982">1982</a> ruling of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Court_of_Australia" title="High Court of Australia">High Court of Australia</a> stating that the State Government of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_%28Australia%29" title="Victoria (Australia)">Victoria</a> could not declare, as they had, that the Church of Scientology was not a religion on grounds of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlatan" title="Charlatan">charlatanism</a> (<i>Church of the New Faith v. Commissioner Of Pay-roll Tax (Vict.) 1983, 154 CLR 120</i>).<a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high_ct/154clr120.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/high ct/154clr120.html">[14]</a> :<i>"Charlatanism is a necessary price of religious freedom, and if a self-proclaimed teacher persuades others to believe in a religion which he propounds, lack of sincerity or integrity on his part is not incompatible with the religious character of the beliefs, practices and observances accepted by his followers."</i></p> <p>Another point of controversy is Scientology's infiltration of the United States <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_Revenue_Service" title="Internal Revenue Service">Internal Revenue Service</a> in what Scientology termed "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Snow_White" title="Operation Snow White">Operation Snow White</a>". Eleven high-ranking Scientologists, including Hubbard's wife Mary Sue Hubbard, served time in federal prison for their involvement in this infiltration.</p> <p>The ongoing controversies involving the Church of Scientology and its critics include:</p> <ul> <li>Scientology's harassing and litigious actions against its critics and "enemies."</li><li>Differing accounts of L. Ron Hubbard's life, (critics charge Scientology with being a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_personality" title="Cult of personality">cult of personality</a>, with much emphasis placed on the alleged accomplishments of its founder). Scientologists claim that government files, such as those from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FBI" title="FBI">FBI</a>, are loaded with forgeries and other false documents detrimental to Scientology.</li><li>Deaths of Scientologists due to mistreatment by other members.</li><li>Scientology's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disconnection" title="Disconnection">disconnection</a> policy, in which members are encouraged to cut off all contact with friends or family members critical of the Church.</li><li>Criminal activities by some members of the Church of Scientology.</li><li>Claims of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwashing" title="Brainwashing">brainwashing</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_control" title="Mind control">mind control</a>.</li><li>The use of high-pressure sales tactics to obtain money from members.</li><li>Accounts of L. Ron Hubbard discussing his intent to start a religion to make money.</li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=15" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Opposition_to_psychiatry" id="Opposition_to_psychiatry"></a></p> <h3>Opposition to psychiatry</h3> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 252px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Scientology_psychiatry_kills.jpg" class="internal" title="Scientologists regularly hold anti-psychiatry demonstrations, which they call &quot;Psychbusts&quot;"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/98/Scientology_psychiatry_kills.jpg/250px-Scientology_psychiatry_kills.jpg" alt="Scientologists regularly hold anti-psychiatry demonstrations, which they call &quot;Psychbusts&quot;" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Scientology_psychiatry_kills.jpg" height="137" width="250" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Scientology_psychiatry_kills.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> Scientologists regularly hold anti-psychiatry demonstrations, which they call "Psychbusts"</div> </div> </div> <p>Scientology is publicly, and often vehemently, opposed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatry" title="Psychiatry">psychiatry</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology" title="Psychology">psychology</a>. According to the Church of Scientology, this opposition is focused on psychiatry's practices:</p> <dl> <dd><i>What the Church opposes are brutal, inhumane psychiatric treatments. It does so for three principal reasons: 1) procedures such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroshock_therapy" title="Electroshock therapy">electro-shock</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drugs" title="Drugs">drugs</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobotomy" title="Lobotomy">lobotomy</a> injure, maim and destroy people in the guise of help; 2) psychiatry is not a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science" title="Science">science</a> and has no proven methods to justify the billions of dollars of government funds that are poured into it; and 3) psychiatric theories that man is a mere animal have been used to rationalize, for example, the wholesale slaughter of human beings in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World Wars I</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">II</a>.</i> <a href="http://faq.scientology.org/psychtry.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://faq.scientology.org/psychtry.htm">[15]</a></dd> </dl> <p>This theme also appears in some of Hubbard's literary works. In Hubbard's "dekology" <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Earth" title="Mission Earth">Mission Earth</a>,</i> various characters praise and criticize these methods; and the antagonists in his novel <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battlefield_Earth" title="Battlefield Earth">Battlefield Earth</a></i> are called <i>Psychlos</i>, a similar allusion.</p> <p>L. Ron Hubbard was bitterly critical of psychiatry's citation of physical causes for mental disorders, for instance <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_imbalance_theory" title="Chemical imbalance theory">chemical imbalances</a> in the brain. He regarded psychiatrists as denying human spirituality and peddling fake cures. He was also convinced that psychiatrists were themselves deeply unethical individuals, committing "extortion, mayhem and murder. Our files are full of evidence on them." <a href="http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page080.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page080.htm">[16]</a> The Church of Scientology claims that psychiatry was responsible for World War I <a href="http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page104a.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://freedom.lronhubbard.org/page104a.htm">[17]</a>, the rise of Hitler and Stalin <a href="http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol30I1/page40.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol30I1/page40.htm">[18]</a>, the decline in education standards in the United States <a href="http://www.cchr.org/educate/e_sr.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cchr.org/educate/e sr.htm">[19]</a>, the wars in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosnia" title="Bosnia">Bosnia</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_War" title="Kosovo War">Kosovo</a> <a href="http://www.cchr.org/failure/eng/page42.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cchr.org/failure/eng/page42.htm">[20]</a>, and even the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11th_attacks" title="September 11th attacks">September 11th attacks</a> <a href="http://www.freedommag.org/English/vol34i1/page02.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.freedommag.org/English/vol34i1/page02.htm">[21]</a>.</p> <p>Tom Anderson, creator of myspace, eats canteloupe!</p> <p>Scientology's opposition to psychiatry has also undoubtedly been influenced by the fact that a number of psychiatrists have strongly spoken out against the Church of Scientology, resulting in pressure from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media" title="Media">media</a> and governments. Additionally, after Hubbard's book on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianetics" title="Dianetics">Dianetics</a> was published, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Psychological_Association" title="American Psychological Association">American Psychological Association</a> advised its members against using Hubbard's techniques with their patients. Hubbard came to believe that psychiatrists were behind a worldwide conspiracy to attack Scientology and create a "world government" run by psychiatrists on behalf of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet" title="Soviet">Soviet</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a>:</p> <dl> <dd><i>Our enemies are less than twelve men. They are members of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England" title="Bank of England">Bank of England</a> and other higher financial circles. They own and control newspaper chains and they, oddly enough, run all the mental health groups in the world that had sprung up ...</i></dd> </dl> <dl> <dd><i>Their apparent programme was to use mental health, which is to say psychiatric electric shock and pre-frontal lobotomy, to remove from their path any political dissenters ... These fellows have gotten nearly every government in the world to owe them considerable quantities of money through various chicaneries and they control, of course, income tax, government finance — <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Wilson" title="Harold Wilson">(Harold) Wilson</a>, for instance, the current Premier of England, is totally involved with these fellows and talks about nothing else actually.</i> (Hubbard, <i>Ron's Journal 67</i> <a href="http://www.solitarytrees.net/cowen/misc/psywar.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.solitarytrees.net/cowen/misc/psywar.htm">[22]</a>)</dd> </dl> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1966" title="1966">1966</a>, Hubbard declared all-out war on psychiatry, telling Scientologists that "We want at least one bad mark on every psychiatrist in England, a murder, an assault, or a rape or more than one." He committed the Church of Scientology to the goal of eradicating psychiatry in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969" title="1969">1969</a>, announcing that "Our war has been forced to become 'To take over absolutely the field of mental healing on this planet in all forms.'" <a href="http://www.solitarytrees.net/cowen/misc/psywar.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.solitarytrees.net/cowen/misc/psywar.htm">[23]</a> Not coincidentally, the Church of Scientology founded the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_Commission_on_Human_Rights" title="Citizens Commission on Human Rights">Citizens Commission on Human Rights</a> that same year as its primary vehicle for attacking psychiatry. Around the same time, Hubbard also decided that psychiatrists were an ancient evil that had been a problem for billions of years. He cast them in the role of assisting Xenu's genocide of 75 million years ago. In a 1982 bulletin entitled "Pain and Sex", Hubbard declares that "pain and sex were the INVENTED TOOLS of degradation", having been devised eons ago by psychiatrists "who have been on the [time] track a long time and are the sole cause of decline in this universe." (Hubbard, HCO Bulletin of 26 August 1982) Most Scientologists are learning that sun myung moon is the messiah. Scientology celebrities, notably <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cruise" title="Tom Cruise">Tom Cruise</a>, have been extremely vocal in attacking the use of psychiatric medication. Their position has attracted considerable criticism from supporters of psychiatry and individuals with mental illnesses, but has been defended and promoted by other Scientologists. <a href="http://www.cchr.org/pseudoscience/index.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cchr.org/pseudoscience/index.htm">[24]</a></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=16" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Scientology_vs._the_Internet" id="Scientology_vs._the_Internet"></a></p> <h3>Scientology vs. the Internet</h3> <p><i>Main Article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_vs._the_Internet" title="Scientology vs. the Internet">Scientology vs. the Internet</a></i></p> <p>Leaders of Scientology have undertaken extensive operations on the Internet to deal with growing allegations of fraud and exposure of unscrupulousness within Scientology. The organization states that it is taking actions to prevent distribution of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright" title="Copyright">copyrighted</a> Scientology documents and publications online by people whom it has called "copyright terrorists". Critics claim the organization's true motive is an attempt to suppress free speech and legitimate criticism.</p> <p>In January <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995" title="1995">1995</a>, Church lawyer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Helena_Kobrin&action=edit" class="new" title="Helena Kobrin">Helena Kobrin</a> attempted to shut down the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet" title="Usenet">Usenet</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroup" title="Newsgroup">discussion group</a> <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt.religion.scientology" title="Alt.religion.scientology">alt.religion.scientology</a></i> by sending a control message instructing Usenet servers to delete the group on the grounds that</p> <dl> <dd><i>(1) It was started with a forged message; (2) not discussed on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt.config" title="Alt.config">alt.config</a>; (3) it has the name "scientology" in its title which is a trademark and is misleading, as a.r.s. is mainly used for flamers to attack the Scientology religion; (4) it has been and continues to be heavily abused with copyright and trade secret violations and serves no purpose other than condoning these illegal practices.</i> <a href="http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ekspaink/cos/rnewman/usenet/rmgroup" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/cos/rnewman/usenet/rmgroup">[25]</a></dd> </dl> <p>In practice, this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rmgroup&action=edit" class="new" title="Rmgroup">rmgroup</a> message had little effect, since most Usenet servers are configured to disregard such messages when applied to groups that receive substantial traffic, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Newgroup&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Newgroup">newgroup</a> messages were quickly issued for those servers that did not do so. However, the issuance of the message led to a great deal of public criticism of Scientology by free-speech advocates.</p> <p>The Church also started suing people for posting copies of its copyrighted scriptures on the newsgroup and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web" title="World Wide Web">World Wide Web</a>, and pressed for tighter restrictions on copyrights in general. This effort was spearheaded by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono" title="Sonny Bono">Sonny Bono</a>, a Scientologist, who introduced the controversial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny_Bono_Copyright_Term_Extension_Act" title="Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act">Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act</a>. The even more controversial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act" title="Digital Millennium Copyright Act">Digital Millennium Copyright Act</a> was also strongly promoted by the Church and some of its provisions (notably the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Copyright_Infringement_Liability_Limitation_Act" title="Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act">Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act</a>) were heavily influenced by Church litigation against US <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_providers" title="Internet service providers">Internet service providers</a> over copyrighted Scientology materials that had been posted or uploaded through their servers.</p> <p>Beginning in the middle of 1996 and for several years after, the newsgroup was attacked by anonymous parties using a tactic dubbed "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sporgery" title="Sporgery">sporgery</a>" by some, in the form of hundreds of thousands of forged spam messages posted on the group. Although the Church neither confirmed nor denied that it was behind the spam, some investigators claimed that some of the spam had been traced to Church members.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=17" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Celebrity_practitioners" id="Celebrity_practitioners"></a></p> <h2>Celebrity practitioners</h2> <p>The Church of Scientology has made a concerted effort to attract and serve artists and entertainers -- they have special facilities in Hollywood and elsewhere that are designated "celebrity centers." Public awareness of Scientology has been promoted by Scientologists in the entertainment industry, including such well-known celebrities as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Travolta" title="John Travolta">John Travolta</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirstie_Alley" title="Kirstie Alley">Kirstie Alley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Cruise" title="Tom Cruise">Tom Cruise</a>, and his recently converted fiancée <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Holmes" title="Katie Holmes">Katie Holmes</a>. Cruise in particular has made a reputation as an outspoken Scientologist, publicly criticizing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooke_Shields" title="Brooke Shields">Brooke Shields</a> on national television for her use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-depressant" title="Anti-depressant">anti-depressants</a> in recovering from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postpartum_depression" title="Postpartum depression">postpartum depression</a>. Cruise has also publicly attacked psychiatry and the use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritalin" title="Ritalin">Ritalin</a>.</p> <p><i>See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_famous_Scientologists" title="List of famous Scientologists">List of famous Scientologists</a>.</i></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=18" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Popular_culture_references_to_Scientology" id="Popular_culture_references_to_Scientology"></a></p> <h2>Popular culture references to Scientology</h2> <div class="notice metadata" id="spoiler"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Spoiler_warning" title="Wikipedia:Spoiler warning">Spoiler warning</a>: <i>Plot and/or ending details follow.</i></b></div> <p>The 1999 satirical film "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfinger" title="Bowfinger">Bowfinger</a>" includes an organisation called "Mindhead" as a thinly-veiled reference to the Scientology movement. The Mindhead organisation features a wealthy, charismatic figurehead and its adherents include prominent film celebrities.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Soderbergh" title="Steven Soderbergh">Steven Soderbergh</a>'s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizopolis" title="Schizopolis">Schizopolis</a></i> (1996) also parodies Scientology in the guise of a self-help corporation called Eventualism.</p> <p>The computer game <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout_%28computer_game%29" title="Fallout (computer game)">Fallout 2</a></i> has a "religion" named "The Hubologists". Much of the Hubologist teachings are similar to Scientology's teachings. By and large, actions that hurt the Hubologists are considered good things for the world of Fallout, and those that aid them are considered bad things for the world of Fallout. However being "scanned" and cleansed by Hubologists (a jab at the belief in Thetans and Xenu) can increase the protagonist's luck and intelligence.</p> <p>In the computer adventure game <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Island" title="Monkey Island">Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge</a></i>, the Phat City Public Library features a book titled "Dynanetics by L. Ron Gilbert", to which Guybrush Threepwood, the main protagonist of the game, quips, "Who does this guy think he is, anyway?" The book is an obvious spoof of both Scientology and the Monkey Island series creator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Gilbert" title="Ron Gilbert">Ron Gilbert</a>.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zappa" title="Frank Zappa">Frank Zappa</a>'s concept album <i>Joe's Garage</i> talks about L. Ron Hoover's 'Appliantology.'</p> <p>On <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_%28band%29" title="Tool (band)">Tool</a>'s album <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86nima" title="Ænima">Ænima</a></i>, in the song <i>Ænema</i> the lyrics include "Fuck L. Ron Hubbard and fuck all his clones." The song <i>Eulogy</i> from the same album is about L. Ron Hubbard as well, according to the band members.</p> <p>Alex Cox's film <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repo_Man" title="Repo Man">Repo Man</a></i> features a character telling another character to read 'Diaretics - The Science Of Matter Over Mind'.</p> <p>In the TV series <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_%28TV_series%29" title="Millennium (TV series)">Millennium</a></i>, the episode "Jose Chung's Doomsday Defense" involves a Scientology-like religion called "Selfosophy," formed by a science-fiction writer named Onan Goopta. Selfosophy boasts of its celebrity adherents and employs a device called the "Onan-o-graph," similar to Scientology's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-meter" title="E-meter">E-meter</a>.</p> <p>The TV series <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4400" title="4400">The 4400</a></i> contains a cult-of-personality organization that promises special powers to people following its course of study, courts celebrities, including advancing them more quickly than non-celebrities, encourages its members to disassociate from people opposed to the organization, uses technological devices during therapy-like sessions, and confiscates psychiatric drugs from its members. Also, one former member of the organization accuses it of bankrupting him through payments for endless courses and ejecting him from the organization once he no longer had any money to pay.</p> <p>The computer role-playing game (by Origin Systems and Richard Garriot, aka Lord British) <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultima_VII" title="Ultima VII">Ultima VII</a></i> also contains references to Scientology with its own religion called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fellowship_%28Ultima%29" title="The Fellowship (Ultima)">The Fellowship</a>." Early on in the game in Britannia, players are given the option to join the Fellowship and, in order to do so, subjected to a personality test by the leader, Batlin. Of course, any answer to any of the questions posed is interpreted as some flaw in your character; there are no "correct" answers that do not ultimately lead to the conclusion that you, the Avatar, need the Fellowship. The Fellowship also believes in a basic tenet, which is called the <b>Triad of Inner Strength</b>: "Strive for Unity," "Trust Thy Brother," and "Worthiness Precedes Reward." In the end, the Fellowship is shown to be one of the ploys of the Guardian (a powerful, but evil red extraterrestial) to corrupt and destroy Britannia, with Batlin being in on the plan.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlayStation_2" title="PlayStation 2">PlayStation 2</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xbox" title="Xbox">Xbox</a>, and computer video game <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto:_San_Andreas" title="Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas">Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</a></i> features a cult called the Epsilon Program that heavily parodies Scientology's symbols and activities.</p> <p><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crisscross&action=edit" class="new" title="Crisscross">Crisscross</a></i> by F. Paul Wilson involves a corporation/religion/cult called the Dormentalists, which teaches converts how to awake their 'inner, personal Xelton' and is obviously based upon the beliefs of Scientology.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Stephenson" title="Neal Stephenson">Neal Stephenson</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk" title="Cyberpunk">cyberpunk</a> novel <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Crash" title="Snow Crash">Snow Crash</a></i> (1992) includes a major character called L. Bob Rife, who is intent on brainwashing the world's population with an ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian" title="Sumerian">Sumerian</a> mind virus.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Spinrad" title="Norman Spinrad">Norman Spinrad</a>'s novel <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Mind_Game&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="The Mind Game">The Mind Game</a></i> (1980) is a story about a film director whose wife becomes involved in a religion/cult called "Transformationalism" created by a science fiction author. The cult maintains a Celebrity Center, and the Transformational enlightenment uses a process that may be similar to auditing.</p> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Simpsons" title="The Simpsons">The Simpsons</a> episode titled "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joy_of_Sect" title="The Joy of Sect">The Joy of Sect</a>," originally aired on 2/08/98, Homer and his family join a cult called Movementarianism. Many aspects of this cult appear similar to descriptions of Scientology, including nutritional deprivation, group humiliation, indoctrination movies, brainwashing techniques, and alien cosmology. Also parallel is the extremely litigous nature of the Movementarians. The reddish-haired guru of the cult lives a lavish lifestyle using the money of his adherents.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=19" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2>See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alt.religion.scientology" title="Alt.religion.scientology">Alt.religion.scientology</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_checklist" title="Cult checklist">Cult checklist</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_purported_cults" title="List of purported cults">List of purported cults</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_religious_organizations" title="List of religious organizations">List of religious organizations</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narconon" title="Narconon">Narconon</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_controversy" title="Scientology controversy">Scientology controversy</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_vs._the_Internet" title="Scientology vs. the Internet">Scientology vs. the Internet</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_and_Homosexuality" title="Scientology and Homosexuality">Scientology and Homosexuality</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=20" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Further_reading_and_references" id="Further_reading_and_references"></a></p> <h2>Further reading and references</h2> <ul> <li><i>L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology: An annotated bibliographical survey of primary and selected secondary literature</i> by Marco Frenschkowski <a href="http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/frenschkowski.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.uni-marburg.de/religionswissenschaft/journal/mjr/frenschkowski.html">[26]</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishman_Affidavit" title="Fishman Affidavit"><i>The Fishman Affidavit</i></a> Includes details of some of Scientology's high-level "Operating Thetan" teachings. <a href="http://www.xs4all.nl/%7Ekspaink/fishman/home.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.xs4all.nl/~kspaink/fishman/home.html">[27]</a></li><li><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bare-faced_Messiah" title="Bare-faced Messiah">Bare-faced Messiah</a>, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard</i> by Russell Miller (N.Y.: Henry Holt & Co., 1987) <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=0805006540" class="internal">ISBN 0-8050-0654-0</a> <a href="http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/bfmconte.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/bfm/bfmconte.htm">An unauthorized biography</a></li><li><i>A Piece of Blue Sky</i>, by Jon Atack (Lyle Stuart, 1990), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=081840499X" class="internal">ISBN 081840499X</a> <a href="http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/apobs/" class="external text" title="http://www.clambake.org/archive/books/apobs/">A critical history of Scientology, by a Scientology archivist and former Scientologist.</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scientology&action=edit&amp;section=21" title="Scientology">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="External_links" id="External_links"></a></p> <h2>External links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.scientology.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.scientology.org">Scientology.org</a> (Church of Scientology home page)</li><li><a href="http://www.xenu.net/" class="external text" title="http://www.xenu.net">Xenu.net</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Clambake" title="Operation Clambake">Operation Clambake</a>: main critical site)</li><li><a href="http://www.clearing.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.clearing.org">Clearing.org</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Zone" title="Free Zone">Free Zone</a> link list)</li><li><a href="http://www.altreligionscientology.org/" class="external text" title="http://www.altreligionscientology.org/">altreligionscientology.org</a> (List of Scientology-related sites, mostly critical)</li><li><a href="http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl_scientologyfaq.htm" class="external text" title="http://altreligion.about.com/library/faqs/bl scientologyfaq.htm">Scientology FAQ</a> (about.com)</li> </ul> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:idhash:26877-0!1!0!0!!en!2 and timestamp 20050722065107 --> <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks"><p class="catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Categories&amp;article=Scientology" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:New_religious_movements" title="Category:New religious movements">New religious movements</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Cults" title="Category:Cults">Cults</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Scientology" title="Category:Scientology">Scientology</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mystery_religions" title="Category:Mystery religions">Mystery religions</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Pseudoscience" title="Category:Pseudoscience">Pseudoscience</a></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206713550784170?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122063577611688282005-07-22T13:19:00.000-07:002005-07-22T13:19:43.703-07:00<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="4" height="183" width="575"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top"><dl><dt><b>The Seal of Solomon:</b> <img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/solomon.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="right" height="80" width="86" /> </dt><dd>The seal was developed as symbol of unity and family at the suggestion from one of Solomon's wives. Each symbol within the seal holds a special meaning. From our research, this is the general meaning of each object. Some see this seal as one of the first magikal sigils in recorded history. I'm not so sure of that claim, but ok. <p>The star at the bottom of the seal (also known as the Star of David) represents the land of Israel which was built from the reign of David and established to it's glory during the reign of Solomon. </p><p>There is some debate about the meaning of the small crescent moon, and the two small pyramids on either side just above the smaller Star of David. Some scholars suggest it is a symbol of Solomon's kingdom, a tribute to his winning battles to conquer his enemies. Others suggest it is an alliance, a tribute to the ancestry of his most beloved wife who was reportedly from a foreign soil. The star at the top of the seal represents the Divine hand, the God of Israel. The two lines that fall from the lower tips of the star are reportedly the representation of the divine light shinning down on Israel and the realm of King Solomon. </p></dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> <b>King Solomon: (960? BC).</b> </dt><dd>King of Israel when he was a young boy, Solomon is considered to be one of the most magnificent kings in history. He succeeded his father, David, to the thrown and began his rule of the most powerful and wealthiest kingdom in that time. The southern border of his kingdom began in Egypt and ran north to the Euphrates River. <p>According to the Christian Bible, God appeared to Solomon in a dream. Solomon asked God for understanding in his heart and mind so that he could rule his kingdom with true justice and honor. God granted the prayer and Solomon became a great King not only to his own subjects, but as consultant to other rulers who came to ask his advice. Kings, Princes and dignitaries from many other lands brought friendship and gifts to the Israeli king to form alliances and gain his favor. </p><p>The famous queen of Sheba brought a caravan of gifts containing spices, gold and gemstones to honor Solomon. She questioned him and provided him with much entertainment with her many riddles. Again the Christian bible foretells Shebas' declaring to Solomon, "Behold, the half was not told me, thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard." </p><p>As the story is told, Solomon conquered many lands and over-lords to carry out his father's plan of creating a temple dedicated to Jehovah. It took seven years to build the temple of stone and cedar, with carvings overladen with gold. In the center of the temple is stands a marble and tile mosque known as the Dome of the Rock, which became a focal point for worship in Israel. The ruins of the temple of day are barely noticeable due to the destruction and reconstruction of Israel. The Muslims have recapture part of the land and have build their own mosques for Muhammad. Both mosques sit on what is commonly called the Temple Mount or the Haram. The western boundary of the Haram is the Western Wall which is the retaining wall of Solomon's Temple. What we know as the Wailing Wall. </p><p>Solomon built many other temples in his kingdom as well as this special one, but these were dedicated to other deities. These temples and altars were primarily created for the Kings' many foreign wives who did not share in the beliefs of Israel. These additional temples created a very diverse religious kingdom, and many Israeli's in his court held great animosity for these deeds. In their mind, it deprived Israel of a uniformed belief that had once been a great asset of strength to the kingdom. In addition, Solomon over taxed his subjects to maintain much of these luxurious temples, altars and his own palace which was adjoined to the Temple of Jehovah. </p><p>Presumably, it was during this time of rest of indulgence that Solomon recorded his collection of love poems, which many have come to know as the Song of Solomon. In actuality, the Song is really a collection of 5 poems, that describe the fall of Jerusalem, the reign of Israel and the love of his favorite wife. It is in this final poem that Solomon declares the vastness of his love, which covers the mountains of Amana (the mountains of truth) to the borders of Babylon. The mountain Amana was so called to honor a much earlier physician who was in the service of an Egyptian Pharaoh during the 5th Dynasty; his name was Amanacus. </p></dd></dl> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top"><basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <dl><dt><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" height="10" width="10" /> <b>The Story of King Solomon's Mine</b> </dt><dd>Is it a myth or did it really exist? The legend of King Solomon's mine is based in part on the wealth of his kingdom, but can attributed to the writhings of Henry Rider Haggard, (1856-1925). Haddard was a British Novelist who's works included "King Solomon's Mines" and "Allan Quartermain". Both books foretell of a great treasure of gold and wealth hidden in a mine deep in the jungles of Africa. <p>If legends are based on truth, then the wealth of Solomon's kingdom is part of that truth. During his reign, Solomon received many of his riches as gifts from other kingdoms. Most of these gifts were delivered to his kingdom through the Phoenician mariners. These sailors were great merchants and traders of the world, who worked in the silver mines of Spain, or on the British Isles for tin and even ventured to the southern coast of Africa. Originally from the Syrian coast, the Phoenicians founded many colonies around the Mediterranean and European ports. The greatest of these was Carthage. </p><p>From Carthage the legends of the Phoenicians grew. Not only were they renowned mariners, but they were famed craftsman as well. Metal, glass and cloth work became part of their trades. They developed the purple-dye industry in their colony known as Tyre and the glass industry in Sidon. The established relations with the Hebrews, and King Solomon called upon the King of Phoenicia when the time came to build his famed temple for Jehovah. </p><p>It is this close relationship between Phoenicia and Solomon that created the legend of the mines. As the story goes, Solomon hired the Phoenicians for the delicate craftsmanship of carving and inlaying the temple with pure gold. The gold was mined in Africa and shipped to Israel by the Phoenicians. When the temple was complete, Solomon continued his dealings with Phoenicia for the gold being mined. This gold and many of the treasures Solomon received from African kingdoms were stockpiled inside the mine itself, until it was ready for shipment to Israel. </p><p>However, after Solomon built his temple to Jehovah, he began to fall out of favor with his subjects. His character came under question as he created the altars and temples to other deities for his many wives. Out of fear for his wealth and the stability of his own fortune, Solomon stopped the shipments from Africa, but the work continued. the Phoenicians continued to stockpile his treasures inside the unused or fully tapped chambers of the mine. Reportedly, the legend continues, these shipments were never delivered to Israel and still lay unclaimed within the caverns of King Solomon's Mines. </p></dd></dl></td></tr></tbody> </table><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206357761168828?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122063047153011732005-07-22T13:10:00.001-07:002005-07-22T13:10:51.433-07:00<dl> <dt><b>The Egyptian Symbol Of Life </b> </dt><dd>The Ankh has long been associated with the Egyptians who presumably created it. Although it's true origins are debated amongst many archeologists and egyptologists. One thing is for sure, the Egyptians revered the Ankh as a spiritual symbol. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Considered to be the symbol of life, immortality and the universe, the Ankh is both a symbol of the Goddess and God heads. The tau, or loop at the top has also been associated as a symbol of spiritual reflection. This could be a result of it's use by Tutankhamen who often used a large hand held Ankh with a mirror positioned in the loop. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The loop has a couple of common meanings. It represents the three upper chakras, also known as the spiritual chakras, which are associated with the divine. It represents the Godhead (not just the masculine, but God as an all encompassing divine being). It also represents the female principles or the Goddess, within nature and the divine universe. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The staff has a few meanings as well. It is a representation of the masculine God and male principles. The vertical line is a symbol of the lower four chakras also known as the physical chakras. The cross bar represents the division of the male and female aspects of life, and the balance of polarity between the two. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>An Ankh was made of many different materials, from wood and precious stones, to metals of gold and silver. Many Egyptians and early pagans placed precious stones within the loop of the Ankh to magnify the spiritual properties of the stone. An Ankh with an amethyst in the center for instance, was through to be a powerful tool for enhancing divination. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/ankh2.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="right" height="68" width="70" />As an amulet, the Ankh is worn for both good luck or fortune and to protect against bad luck or energies. It is seen in Egyptian art as a scepter in the right hand of deities, and as a tool used upon the nostrils of the dead to bring them back to life. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Ankh has long been associated with the Egyptians as a symbol of regeneration. But it also has deep roots as a symbol of magik. In ancient Egypt, the House of Life, symbolized by the Ankh over the door and throughout the interior, was a building, or group of buildings that housed the temple library. These libraries were filled with magical lore, accessible by magicians, priests and laymen alike. One of the largest of these libraries can be found at Karnak along the Nile river. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>As a magikal tool, the Ankh can be used for healing and to promote psychic communication with the divine. Some Egyptian art depict a priest or priestess placing an Ankh in the middle of their forehead (over the third eye) as a means to connect to the divine God/Goddess for communication. Healers often placed the Ankh over wounds or areas that required attention, to promote regeneration and divine healing. </dd> </dl> <basefont style="font-size:85%;"> <hr align="left"><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206304715301173?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122063015383124312005-07-22T13:10:00.000-07:002005-07-22T13:10:15.403-07:00<dl> <dt><b>Definitions</b> </dt><dd>According to archaeological and ethnological evidence, shamanism has been part of nature practices for some 10 to 20,000 years. Some suggest it's much longer back than that.The basic concepts are found all over the world, from Siberia, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. The word 'Shaman,' is actually a Tungus (Siberian) word for a spiritual practice or profession that is still practiced today. Shamanism is not rooted in any organized religious tradition, but is instead a system of abilities utilized for contact with divine spirit. Shamanic systems vary, but there are basic similarities in most. But before we can begin understanding what Celtic Shamanism is, we need a common understanding of what Shamanism is itself. There are of course, many definitions, so let's cover a few. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In the <i>Donning Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary</i>, June Bletzer, PhD, describes Shamanism as a very highly respected profession where one serves his tribe with psychic skills and healing abilities which is intermingled with influential guidance, protection and advanced knowledge from the Etheric World. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Websters Dictionary defines shamanism as the religion of certain peoples of ancient peoples, based on a belief in good and evil spirits who can be influenced only by shamans. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In her renowned work <i>Witches & Witchcraft, </i>Rosemary Ellen Guiley describes Shamanism as a system of belief and healing practiced by a Shaman who enters an altered state of consciousness, which enables him/her to communicate with guardian and helping spirits to draw upon divine energy. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Kenneth Meadows in <i>Shamanic Experience</i>, describes shamanism as The practice of the principles and techniques which involves working with the energy of nature that exist both inside and outside the individual self as both manifest forms and unmanifest potentials. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>From The Celtic Shaman, John Mathews defines Shamanism as only one of a number of labels used by various cultures to denote someone who through trance and ecstasy, enters other states of being which he/she usually lives. Returning with news and guidance from which all humanity can benefit. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>One of the foremost authors on Shamanism, Mircea Eliade explains, the fundamental characteristic of shamanism is ecstasy. In all probability the ecstatic experience in its many aspects is coexistent with the human condition in the sense that it is an integral part of what is called man's gaining consciousness of his specific mode of being in the word. Shamanism is not only a technique of ecstasy it's theology and it's philosophy finally depend on the spiritual value that is accorded to ecstasy. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>In <i>Spiral Dance</i>, Starhawk states Witchcraft is a shamanistic religion and the spiritual value placed on ecstasy is a high one. It is the source of union, healing, creative inspiration and communion with the divine. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Margot Adler, in <i>Drawing Down the Moon</i>, refers to the definition put forth by one of my favorite authors on Shamanism, Michael Harner. And this is the definition we'll use through out this article. <dl><dd>Shamanism is best defined as a method to open a door and enter a different reality. A shaman is someone who enters an altered state of consciousness and goes on a journey in order to gather knowledge from a different reality populated by spirit, the spirit of plants and animals, and the divine self both within and around the individual. The methods used depend on the culture. Some cultures use drugs, others use drumming and ecstatic dancing. And still others utilize chanting, dancing, trance, meditation, wine, fasting, vision quests and sexuality. </dd><dd> </dd></dl> </dd><dd>Shamanism is a very highly respected profession wherein one serves his or her community as a spiritual leader. Providing guidance through psychic skills, healing abilities and communications with Divine spirit. Believed to be learned from a past incarnation and initiations, along with study and practice in the current embodiment. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>The Shaman, in the strictest definition is more often viewed through it's secondary meaning "one who is dedicated to a spiritual life achieving a level of leadership and teaching". The profession can be found under various other titles such as Mantis, Druid, Medicine Man or Woman. The Greeks called them Bhopa. </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Celtic Controversy</b> </dt><dd>Celtic Shamanism is filled with controversy. Most from new neo-pagans who have heard comments in chat rooms or read half researched sites on the web. It can be both frustrating and annoying to argue the validity of Celtic Shamanism, when little of the archaic documentation remains in existence. Much was destroyed by early Roman conquerors and the religious invasion of the Christians into Celtic lands. However, with a little time and some proper research one can discover the information they need to understand the history of Shamanism in the Celtic world. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>First let's talk about who the Celts are. Many associate Ireland as the Celtic land. Ireland is only one of 3 lands that make up the Celtic peoples. Also included in that mix are the Scots and the Welsh. To cover more about the Celts, refer to article: <a href="http://www.paganspath.com/magik/celtic/whoare.htm">Who Are The Celts</a>. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Now let's address the assumption that Druidism was the religion of all the Celts. During the rise of Druidism, the many tribes of the Celtic lands honored their own set of Gods/Goddesses. While there is evidence that some of these tribes maintained similar legends, many had their own names for the same deities. About this same time, other cultures began small invasions into the Celtic lands. The Druids had the foresight to see their way of life and belief would not last in this type of fragmented society. They began a campaign to join all the tribes together into one common belief system and confront the invaders as a united force. </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Celtic Shamanism</b> </dt><dd>So who were these other spiritual practioners. Shamanic traditions in the Celtic lands never completely disappeared. There have been long periods which it has been forgotten, but some say there has always been a coalition of practioners. But the basic foundations behind Shamanistic practices still existed through the history of the Celts. Practices such as psychic divination through prophecy, scrying, second sight, spiritual healing, spiritual guidance and leadership continued through each invasion from outsiders. Practioners of these skills used poetic invocations and communications with the otherworld spirits to gain their knowledge and provide practical direction for the lives and souls of their fellow tribes people. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>We can see the influence of Celtic Shamanism in Celtic myths. In addition to Fionn mac Cumhail, and Amergin, we can really see Shamanistic symbology in Suibhne Geilt, and Taliesin. As well as the popular stories of Merlin. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><i>The Story of Suibhne Geilt</i>, the King of the Dalraidhe. In this story Suibhne is driven "mad" by war and retreats the safety of nature, sleeping in tree tops. When he is approached by friends he utters inspirational prophecies which come true. Through these prophecies he teaches the spiritual values he has learned from the animals and forest beings around him. The story also describes his ability to fly like a bird from tree to tree. As well as his winning of a contest over a rival mystic, the Hag of the Mill. These are good descriptions how rival shamans in South America struggled for their own supremacy. He becomes known as Geilt, which means "madman". </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Merlin the Magician is an other good and better known example of a Celtic Shaman. He often spoke in riddle and rhyme as he spouted one prophetic wisdom after another. He is often described as a Geilt and a Gwylt (Welsh for wild) just as Sibhne was. But few would argue the legendary ability as a sorcerer and wise man associated with Merlin. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>From these two The Irish equivalent of the Welsh gwylt meaning wild is also associated with these two mythological figures, many suggest the word "geilt" or "gwelt" is the Celtic equivalent to the word shaman. </dd><dd> </dd><dd><i>The Story of Taliesin</i>, which describes the initiation and rebirth process as changes into animal, bird and fish is another example of shamanistic experiences in Celtic mythology. The story explains how Gwion gains wisdom through his initiation, and expands his awareness and understand of the world around him as he is reborn from one animal spirit to the next. This shape shifting transformation is a key example of Shamanistic principles. His rebirth into the world is an example of how a Shaman gains wisdom from a previous incarnation and pulls it into the next where it can be utilized and added to in the new life experiences. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Information about the Derilans (Gaelic meaning 'afflicted') can be found in The Dingwall Presbytery Records. These people are described as people living with 'divine madness' who incidentally were also wisest of the priests of a tribe or village. This is a common description of a shaman the world over. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Some suggest Taliesin became a Bard and through his teaching and endless story telling, he also became the Father of Celtic Shamanism. Many scholars have devoted a lifetime to researching the early historical roots of Celtic Shamanism. There's no way I can put all their research into one small article. Here is a list of suggested reading to further your interests: <ul><li>Taliesin: The Last Celtic Shaman<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>The Celtic Shaman: A Handbook (Earth Quest)<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>The Celtic Shaman: A Practical Guide<br /> by John Matthews </li><li>Advanced Celtic Shamanism<br /> by D. J. Conway </li><li>By Oak, Ash & Thorn: Modern Celtic Shamanism<br /> by Anna-Marie Ferguson </li><li>Fire in the Head : Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit<br /> by Tom Cowan </li></ul> </dd><dd> </dd><dt><span style="font-size:-1;"><img src="http://www.paganspath.com/img/btnsm.gif" naturalsizeflag="3" align="bottom" border="0" height="10" width="10" /> </span><b>Modern Celtic Shamanism</b> </dt><dd>On a closing note: It amuses me sometimes, how people define the validity of a belief based on it's age of existence. As if the older the belief, the more valid it is. But then those same individuals will argue that religion grows and expands as the human condition and understanding of the universe increases. Thus religion must ever change to keep pace with human evolution. Many suggest this is the problem with highly organized fundamental religions. These religions try to enforce a way of living based on the human condition from 2000 years ago, ignoring the evolution of mankind over that period of history. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Today we see many Celtic shamanistic traditions which have emerged over the past 200-300 years. When the Celts migrated to the Americas they found a kinship with Native American tribes. They're belief systems are very similar in nature and these two cultures often intermingled and married. Through these relations, their beliefs also intermingled and a new system of belief emerged. Many of these systems of belief </dd><dd> </dd><dd>So even if someone wants to argue the point concerning Shamanism being part of the ancient peoples of the Celtic lands, it's hard to argue the belief systems that emerged in the Americas. </dd><dd> </dd><dd>Considering traditions such as Wicca weren't established until the mid-1900s, how can some suggest their tradition is any more valid than those who practice a tradition they call Celtic Shamanism.</dd> </dl><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206301538312431?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122062186652127052005-07-22T12:56:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:56:31.490-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Inquisition</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 252px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Inquisition2.jpg" class="internal" title="Pedro Berruguete. Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fe (1475)."><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Inquisition2.jpg/250px-Inquisition2.jpg" alt="Pedro Berruguete. Saint Dominic Presiding over an Auto-da-fe (1475)." longdesc="/wiki/Image:Inquisition2.jpg" height="426" width="250" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Inquisition2.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedro_Berruguete&action=edit" class="new" title="Pedro Berruguete">Pedro Berruguete</a>. <i>Saint Dominic Presiding over an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto-da-fe" title="Auto-da-fe">Auto-da-fe</a></i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1475" title="1475">1475</a>).</div> </div> </div> <p>The <b>Inquisition</b> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">latin</a>: <i>Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium</i>) was an office of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church">Roman Catholic Church</a> charged with suppressing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy" title="Heresy">heresy</a>. Its actions and interactions with local governments are subjects of considerable historical inquiry.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Origin"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Origin</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#History"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Medieval_Inquisition"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Medieval Inquisition</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Spanish_Inquisition"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Spanish Inquisition</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Roman_Inquisition"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Roman Inquisition</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Other_Inquisitions"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Other Inquisitions</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#Derivative_works"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Derivative works</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#References"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Origin" id="Origin"></a></p> <h2>Origin</h2> <p>The Inquisition was a permanent institution in the Catholic Church charged with the eradication of heresies. After <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_%28emperor%29" title="Constantine I (emperor)">Constantine the Great</a> eased the christians from their onus by making the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Milan" title="Edict of Milan">Edict of Milan</a> which sought to make the Roman Empire religiously neutral, and taking initiative to the first ecumenical conference in 325, known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_First_Council_of_Nicea&action=edit" class="new" title="The First Council of Nicea">the First Council of Nicea</a>, effecting the local administrative structures of the diverse christian cults and churches within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Empire" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> to be gathered in an hierarchic organisation situated in Rome, The Vatican. This caused the subordination of the diverse churches in the catholic ecumenic fold (cf. The Purpose of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Curia" title="Roman Curia">Roman Curia</a>). The organisational structure was inspired by the dominant Roman <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra" title="Mithra">Mithra Cult</a>. Already at the first ecumenic council it was a major controversy. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism" title="Arianism">The Arian Controversy</a> named after the presbyter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arius" title="Arius">Arius</a> who lost the controversy. Those who didn't follow the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicean_Creed&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Nicean Creed">Nicean Creed</a> were proclaimed heretic. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Roman_Empire" title="Western Roman Empire">Western Roman Empire</a> were thus able to focus on dealing with heresy, and those whose beliefs or practices deviated sufficiently from the orthodoxy of the councils now became the objects of efforts to bring them into the fold.</p> <p>Heresies (from Greek <i>haeresis</i>, sect, school of belief) were a problem for the Church from the beginning. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acts_of_the_Apostles" title="Acts of the Apostles">Acts</a> 15 recounts the convening of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_Council" title="Jerusalem Council">council in Jerusalem</a> to deal with the heresy of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaizers" title="Judaizers">Judaizers</a>, who had contended with the Jerusalem faction in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia_Minor" title="Asia Minor">Asia</a> and especially <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galatia" title="Galatia">Galatia</a>. In the subsequent centuries there were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism" title="Arianism">Arians</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manichaeism" title="Manichaeism">Manicheans</a>; in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> there were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathars" title="Cathars">Cathari</a> and Waldenses; and in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance">Renaissance</a> there were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite" title="Hussite">Hussites</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lutheran_Church" title="Lutheran Church">Lutherans</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvinism" title="Calvinism">Calvinists</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosicrucian" title="Rosicrucian">Rosicrucians</a>. Efforts to suppress heresies were initially <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ad_hoc" title="Ad hoc">ad hoc</a></i>, but in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages" title="Middle Ages">Middle Ages</a> a permanent structure came into being to combat heresies. Beginning in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12th_century" title="12th century">12th century</a>, Church Councils required secular rulers to prosecute heretics.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="History" id="History"></a></p> <h2>History</h2> <p>There were four Inquisitions; in chronological order, they were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition">Medieval Inquisition</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition" title="Spanish Inquisition">Spanish Inquisition</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Inquisition" title="Portuguese Inquisition">Portuguese Inquisition</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Inquisition" title="Roman Inquisition">Roman Inquisition</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Medieval_Inquisition" id="Medieval_Inquisition"></a></p> <h3><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition">Medieval Inquisition</a></h3> <dl> <dd><i>Main article: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition">Medieval Inquisition</a></i></dd> </dl> <p>The first of the Medieval Inquisitions is called the <b>Episcopal Inquisition</b> and was established in the year <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1184" title="1184">1184</a> by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_bull" title="Papal bull">papal bull</a>, an official letter from the Pope, entitled <i>Ad abolendam</i>; "For the purpose of doing away with". The Inquisition was in response to the growing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathars" title="Cathars">Catharist</a> heresy in southern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a>. It is called the "episcopal" because it was administered by local <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bishop" title="Bishop">bishops</a>, which in Greek is <i>episcopos</i>. The episcopal Inquisition was not very effective for many reasons (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition">Medieval Inquisition</a>).</p> <p>The <b>Papal Inquisition</b> in the 1230s was in response to the failures of the episcopal Inquisition and was staffed by professionals, trained specifically for the job as decreed by the Pope. Individuals were chosen from different orders and secular clergy, but primarily they came from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order" title="Dominican Order">Dominican Order</a> who had a number of traits that made them suitable (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition">Medieval Inquisition</a>).</p> <p>After the 13th Century the Inquisition spread northward to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavia" title="Scandinavia">Scandinavia</a>. In northern Europe the Inquisition was considerably more benign: in the Scandinavian countries it had hardly any impact (although northern Europe had its own institutions such as the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchhunt" title="Witchhunt">witchhunt</a>"). The Inquisition was never instituted in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, but <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus" title="Christopher Columbus">Christopher Columbus</a> carried it with him to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_World" title="New World">New World</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Spanish_Inquisition" id="Spanish_Inquisition"></a></p> <h3><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition" title="Spanish Inquisition">Spanish Inquisition</a></h3> <p>Unexpectedly, at the end of the 15th century, under <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_II_of_Aragon" title="Ferdinand II of Aragon">Ferdinand</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_of_Castile" title="Isabella of Castile">Isabella of Castile</a>, the Spanish inquisition became independent of Rome. In its dealings with converted Muslims and Jews and also illuminists, the Spanish Inquisition with its "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auto_de_fe" title="Auto de fe">auto de fe</a>" represents a particularly notorious period in the history of the Inquisition. This inquisition also gave rise to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Inquisition" title="Mexican Inquisition">Mexican Inquisition</a>, which continued in the Americas until Mexican Independence.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Roman_Inquisition" id="Roman_Inquisition"></a></p> <h3><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Inquisition" title="Roman Inquisition">Roman Inquisition</a></h3> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_III" title="Pope Paul III">Pope Paul III</a> established, in 1542, a permanent congregation staffed with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_%28Catholicism%29" title="Cardinal (Catholicism)">cardinals</a> and other officials, whose task it was to maintain and defend the integrity of the faith and to examine and proscribe errors and false doctrines. This body, the Congregation of the Holy Office, now called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith" title="Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith">Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</a>, part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Curia" title="Roman Curia">Roman Curia</a>, became the supervisory body of local Inquisitions. The Pope appoints one of the cardinals to preside over the meetings. There are usually ten other cardinals on the Congregation, as well as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prelate" title="Prelate">prelate</a> and two assistants all chosen from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order" title="Dominican Order">Dominican Order</a>. The Holy Office also has an international group of consultants, experienced scholars of theology and canon law, who advise it on specific questions. In 1616 these consultants gave their assessment of the propositions that the Sun is immobile and at the center of the universe and that the Earth moves around it, judging both to be "foolish and absurd in philosophy," and the first to be "formally heretical" and the second "at least erroneous in faith" in theology. This assessment led to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copernicus" title="Copernicus">Copernicus</a>'s <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Revolutionibus_Orbium_Coelestium" title="De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium">De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium</a></i> to be placed on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_Librorum_Prohibitorum" title="Index Librorum Prohibitorum">Index of Forbidden Books</a>, until revised and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei" title="Galileo Galilei">Galileo Galilei</a> to be admonished about his Copernicanism. It was this same body in 1633 that tried Galileo, condemned him for a "grave suspicion of heresy", and banned all his works.</p> <p>Not all prosecutions of alleged heretics, atheists and other deviations from the Catholic faith were prosecuted by the Inquisition. In some countries, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> under the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancien_r%C3%A9gime" title="Ancien régime">ancien régime</a></i>, atheists and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemers</a> could be prosecuted by civilian courts, with the possible penalty of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death" title="Death">death</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Other_Inquisitions" id="Other_Inquisitions"></a></p> <h2>Other Inquisitions</h2> <p>Even though the last Inquisition (The Spanish Inquisition) ended in 1834 almost 200 years ago, the word "Inquisition" remains a part of modern vocabulary; even those with no interest in European history associate it with negative meanings.<a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/madden200406181026.asp" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/madden200406181026.asp">[1]</a> Because of the negative images associated with the Inquisition, the term has taken on a pejorative usage, and is often used to express disapproval, and is often used in a non-neutral manner, and not as a neutral historical descriptor.</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> carried out religious investigations in its overseas colonies, particularly <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa" title="Goa">Goa</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India">India</a>, where methods similar to the European Inquisitions were used to eliminate a sort of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism" title="Syncretism">syncretism</a> that was developing there, which combined aspects of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism" title="Hinduism">Hinduism</a> and Catholicism (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition" title="Goa Inquisition">Goa Inquisition</a>).</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Some Christian fundamentalist authors like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Chick" title="Jack Chick">Jack Chick</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rivera" title="Alberto Rivera">Alberto Rivera</a>, along with other like-minded authors, believe the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi" title="Nazi">Nazi</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust" title="The Holocaust">Holocaust</a> was an Inquisition against the Jews undertaken by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler" title="Hitler">Hitler</a>, a Catholic, at the behest of the Pope. This interpretation of history is highly controversial and is rejected by professional historians.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>In modern American politics, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate" title="United States Senate">United States Senate</a> investigations are often called "Inquisitions" as a means of expressing disapproval of the investigators. For example some people call the Second <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare" title="Red Scare">Red Scare</a> an inquisition.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Anton_Wilson" title="Robert Anton Wilson">Robert Anton Wilson</a>'s book <i>The New Inquisition</i> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=1561840025" class="internal">ISBN 1561840025</a>) is critical of the application of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_Method" title="Scientific Method">Scientific Method</a> in the 20th century.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Qian_Long" title="Emperor Qian Long">Emperor Qian Long</a>'s literary inquisition in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qing_dynasty" title="Qing dynasty">Qing dynasty</a> China.</li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Derivative_works" id="Derivative_works"></a></p> <h2>Derivative works</h2> <p>The Inquisitions have been the subject of many cultural works. Some include:</p> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spanish_Inquisition_%28Monty_Python%29" title="The Spanish Inquisition (Monty Python)">The Spanish Inquisition</a> was the subject of a classic <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monty_Python" title="Monty Python">Monty Python</a> sketch.</li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2>See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witchhunt" title="Witchhunt">witchhunt</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_von_Marburg" title="Konrad von Marburg">Konrad von Marburg</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malleus_Maleficarum" title="Malleus Maleficarum">Malleus Maleficarum</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisitorial_system" title="Inquisitorial system">Inquisitorial system</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Inquisitor" title="Grand Inquisitor">List of Grand Inquisitors of Spain</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism_%28political%29" title="Historical revisionism (political)">Historical revisionism (political)</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Inquisition&action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Inquisition">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="References" id="References"></a></p> <h2>References</h2> <ul> <li>Edward M. Peters, <i>Inquisition.</i> (University of California Press, 1989). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=0520066308" class="internal">ISBN 0520066308</a> <ul><li>A brief, balanced inquiry, with an especially good section on the 'Myth of the Inquisition'. This is particularly valuable because much of the history available in English of the Inquisition was written in the 19th century by Protestants interested in documenting the dangers of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a> or Catholic apologists demonstrating that the Inquisition had been an entirely reasonable judicial body without flaws.</li></ul> </li><li>Henry Kamen, <i>The Spanish Inquisition: A Historical Revision.</i> (Yale University Press, 1999). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=0300078803" class="internal">ISBN 0300078803</a> <ul><li>This revised edition of his 1965 original contributes to the understanding of the Spanish Inquisition in its local context.</li></ul> </li><li>Cecil & Irene Roth, <i>A history of the Marranos</i>, Sepher-Hermon Press, 1974.</li><li>Simon Whitechapel, <i>Flesh Inferno: Atrocities of Torquemada and the Spanish Inquisition</i> (Creation Books, 2003). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=1840681055" class="internal">ISBN 1840681055</a></li><li>William Thomas Walsh, <i>Characters of the Inquisition</i> (TAN Books, 1997). <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&isbn=0895553260" class="internal">ISBN 0895553260</a> <ul><li>Favorable treatment of inquisitors.</li></ul> </li> </ul> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:idhash:15191-0!1!0!0!!en!2 and timestamp 20050722011421 --> <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks"><p class="catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Categories&amp;article=Inquisition" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Anti-Semitism" title="Category:Anti-Semitism">Anti-Semitism</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Jewish_Spanish_history" title="Category:Jewish Spanish history">Jewish Spanish history</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Religious_persecution" title="Category:Religious persecution">Religious persecution</a> | <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Inquisition" title="Category:Inquisition">Inquisition</a></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206218665212705?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122062132540182892005-07-22T12:55:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:55:37.356-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Chaos magic</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <div class="thumb tright"> <div style="width: 182px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Asterism-cuneiform.png" class="internal" title="The chaos star (called a 'chaosphere' by some practitioners) is the most popular symbol of chaos magic. Many variants exist."><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/26/Asterism-cuneiform.png/180px-Asterism-cuneiform.png" alt="The chaos star (called a 'chaosphere' by some practitioners) is the most popular symbol of chaos magic. Many variants exist." longdesc="/wiki/Image:Asterism-cuneiform.png" height="180" width="180" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"> <div class="magnify" style="float: right;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Asterism-cuneiform.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"><img src="http://en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png" alt="Enlarge" height="11" width="15" /></a></div> The chaos star (called a 'chaosphere' by some practitioners) is the most popular symbol of chaos magic. Many variants exist.</div> </div> </div> <p><b>Chaos magic</b> is a relatively new form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_magic" title="Ritual magic">ritual magic</a>, generally involving <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm" title="Paradigm">paradigm</a> shifting and empty-handed (without the use of props) rituals including stimulating <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focus" title="Focus">focus</a> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_%28philosophy%29" title="Will (philosophy)">will</a>, often through <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation" title="Meditation">meditation</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychoactive_drug" title="Psychoactive drug">psychoactive drugs</a>, self-inflicted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain" title="Pain">pain</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasm" title="Orgasm">orgasm</a>. Practitioners hold that they can shape reality using this form of magic.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#Magical_paradigm_shifting"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Magical paradigm shifting</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#The_Gnostic_state"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">The Gnostic state</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#Chaos_magicians"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Chaos magicians</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#Symbols_and_deities"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Symbols and deities</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#In_pop_culture"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">In pop culture</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic#References"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="History" id="History"></a></p> <h2>History</h2> <p>Following the death of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" title="Aleister Crowley">Aleister Crowley</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_%28paranormal%29" title="Magic (paranormal)">magic</a> as practiced by the still somewhat sparse <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occult" title="Occult">occult</a> subculture in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">Britain</a> tended to become more experimentalist, personal and a lot less bound to the magical traditions of established <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Magical_order&action=edit" class="new" title="Magical order">magical orders</a>. Main reasons for this might include the public availability of previously <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret" title="Secret">secret</a> information on magic (especially in the published works of Crowley and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Regardie" title="Israel Regardie">Israel Regardie</a>), the radically unorthodox magic of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austin_Osman_Spare" title="Austin Osman Spare">Austin Osman Spare</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zos_Kia_Cultus" title="Zos Kia Cultus">Zos Kia Cultus</a>, the influence of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism" title="Discordianism">Discordianism</a>, the increasing popularity of magic caused by the success of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca" title="Wicca">Wiccan</a> faith and the use of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_drugs" title="Psychedelic drugs">psychedelic drugs</a>.</p> <p>The term <b>chaos magic</b> first appeared in print in the widely influential <i>Liber Null</i> by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Carroll" title="Peter Carroll">Peter Carroll</a>, first published in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978" title="1978">1978</a>. In it, Carroll formulated several concepts on magic that were radically different from what was considered magical mysteries in the days of Crowley. This book, along with <i>Psychonaut</i> by the same author, remain important sourcebooks. Magicians who align themselves with these ideas call themselves Chaotes, Chaoists or sometimes Chaosites.</p> <p>Carroll also co-founded the Magical Pact of the Illuminates of Thanateros, or in short form <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminates_of_Thanateros" title="Illuminates of Thanateros">Illuminates of Thanateros</a> or IOT, a magical (dis-)order that continues study and development of chaos magic to the present day. Most authors and otherwise well-known practitioners of chaos magic mention affiliation with it. However, chaos magic in general is, unsurprisingly, among the least organized branches of magic.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Magical_paradigm_shifting" id="Magical_paradigm_shifting"></a></p> <h2>Magical paradigm shifting</h2> <p>Perhaps the most striking feature of chaos magic is the concept of the magical paradigm shift. Borrowing a term from philosopher <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kuhn" title="Thomas Kuhn">Thomas Kuhn</a>, Carroll made the technique of arbitrarily changing one's model (or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm" title="Paradigm">paradigm</a>) of magic a major concept of chaos magic. An example of a magical paradigm shift is using a ritual from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necronomicon" title="Necronomicon">Necronomicon</a> one day, and using a spell from a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Cunningham" title="Scott Cunningham">Scott Cunningham</a> book another day. These two magical paradigms are very different, but while the chaote is using one, he believes in it fully. The shifting of magical paradigms has since found its way into the magical work of practitioners of many other magical traditions, but chaos magic remains the field where it is most developed.</p> <p>The idea is that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belief" title="Belief">belief</a> is a tool that can be applied at will rather than unconsciously. Some chaos magicians think that having unusual, and often <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarre" title="Bizarre">bizarre</a> beliefs is in itself an experience worth having and consider flexibility of belief a form of power or freedom.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="The_Gnostic_state" id="The_Gnostic_state"></a></p> <h2>The Gnostic state</h2> <p>Another major concept introduced by Carroll is the gnostic state, also referred to as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosis" title="Gnosis">gnosis</a>. This is defined as a special state of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness" title="Consciousness">consciousness</a> that in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_theory" title="Magic theory">magic theory</a> is what is necessary for working (most forms of) magic. This is a departure from older concepts that described energies, spirits or symbolic acts as the source of magical powers. The concept has an ancestor in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhist</a> concept of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samadhi" title="Samadhi">Samadhi</a>, made popular in western occultism by Aleister Crowley and further explored by Austin Osman Spare.</p> <p>The gnostic state is acheived when a person's mind is focused on only one point, thought, or goal and all other thoughts are thrust out. Users of chaos magic each develop their own ways of reaching this state. Some of the most prominent techniques are prolonged <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation" title="Meditation">meditation</a>, the use of mind-altering <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug" title="Drug">drugs</a>, self-inflicted <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain" title="Pain">pain</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orgasm" title="Orgasm">orgasm</a>. All such methods hinge on the belief that a simple thought or direction experienced during the gnostic state and then forgotten quickly afterwards is sent to the subconscious rather than the conscious mind where it can be enacted through means unknown to the conscious mind.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Chaos_magicians" id="Chaos_magicians"></a></p> <h2>Chaos magicians</h2> <p>Practitioners of chaos magic attempt to be outside of all categories - for them, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worldviews" title="Worldviews">worldviews</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theories" title="Theories">theories</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beliefs" title="Beliefs">beliefs</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinions" title="Opinions">opinions</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habit" title="Habit">habits</a> and even <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality" title="Personality">personalities</a> are tools that may be chosen arbitrarily in order to understand or manipulate the world they see and create around themselves. Chaos magicians are frequently described as funny, extreme or very individualistic people. They also may consider themselves exceptionally tolerant, remarking that whatever one might disagree over is merely an opinion, and hence interchangeable, anyway.</p> <p>For a list of notable chaos magic practitioners, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Chaos_magicians" title="Category:Chaos magicians">Category:Chaos_magicians</a>.</p> <p>While chaos magic has lost some of the popularity it had in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">UK</a> during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s" title="1980s">1980s</a>, it is still active and influential. Its ideas can be found to leak into modern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shamanism" title="Shamanism">shamanism</a> in particular, and are common in occult <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_forums" title="Internet forums">Internet forums</a>. Proponents assert that the growing individuality of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occultism" title="Occultism">occultism</a> in informal, often Internet-based surroundings is a direct result of the success of chaos magic, while critics argue this informal occultism often lacks a well-developed understanding of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosis" title="Gnosis">gnosis</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradigm" title="Paradigm">paradigm</a> shifting and is therefore not rightfully called chaos magic.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Symbols_and_deities" id="Symbols_and_deities"></a></p> <h2>Symbols and deities</h2> <p>Chaos magic is unique among magical traditions in that it does not attribute significance to any particular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbol" title="Symbol">symbol</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity" title="Deity">deity</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca" title="Wicca">Wicca</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema" title="Thelema">Thelema</a>, for example, could not be what they are without the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_goddess" title="Mother goddess">Mother goddess</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horus" title="Horus">Horus</a>, respectively. In contrast, chaos magicians may (or may not) pick any concept or set of concepts to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worship" title="Worship">worship</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invocation" title="Invocation">invoke</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evocation" title="Evocation">evoke</a>.</p> <p>Following the tenet that anything can have significance and hold magical power, chaos magic rituals have centered around symbols as diverse as the color <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_Discworld_concepts#Octarine" title="Minor Discworld concepts">Octarine</a>, a single worn sock, or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpo_Marx" title="Harpo Marx">Harpo Marx</a>. In some instances these uses have developed into temporary, but elaborate <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult" title="Cult">cults</a> that may be seen as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parody" title="Parody">parodies</a> of more fixed magical traditions, or of fixedness in general.</p> <p>Traditional deities associated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos" title="Chaos">chaos</a>, such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiamat" title="Tiamat">Tiamat</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki" title="Loki">Loki</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_%28Chinese_god%29" title="Chaos (Chinese god)">Hun Tun</a> are also popular, as are the entities described in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necronomicon" title="Necronomicon">Necronomicon</a>.</p> <p>The eight-pointed chaos star (or chaosphere), originally taken from the fantasy novels of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock" title="Michael Moorcock">Michael Moorcock</a> is frequently used by chaos magicians. However, this preference is not shared by all and may be argued to root solely in the symbol's semi-official use by the Illuminates of Thanateros. Most chaos magicians routinely create magical symbols for themselves - see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigil_%28magic%29" title="Sigil (magic)">Sigil</a>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="In_pop_culture" id="In_pop_culture"></a></p> <h2>In pop culture</h2> <p>Chaos magic has had name checks in such places as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Comics" title="Marvel Comics">Marvel Comics</a> (See: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_Witch" title="Scarlet Witch">Scarlet Witch</a>) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer" title="Buffy the Vampire Slayer">Buffy the Vampire Slayer</a>, but beyond name-dropping, their actual practices had nothing in common with Chaos magic.</p> <p>Real life chaote <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Morrison" title="Grant Morrison">Grant Morrison</a> has afforded the theories of chaos magicians and their practices a more accurate portrayal in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comic_book" title="Comic book">comic book</a> epic <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Invisibles" title="The Invisibles">The Invisibles</a></i>.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chaos_magic&action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Chaos magic">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="References" id="References"></a></p> <h2>References</h2> <ul> <li><i>Liber Null & Psychonauts</i>, 1987. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Carroll" title="Peter Carroll">Peter Carroll</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Booksources&amp;isbn=0877286396" class="internal">ISBN 0-877-28639-6</a></li> </ul> <!-- Saved in parser cache with key enwiki:pcache:idhash:228484-0!1!0!0!!en!2 and timestamp 20050721225607 --> <div class="printfooter"> Retrieved from "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_magic</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks"><p class="catlinks"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Categories&amp;article=Chaos_magic" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Magic" title="Category:Magic">Magic</a></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206213254018289?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122062074373421252005-07-22T12:54:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:54:34.376-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Core Shamanism</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <div id="contentSub">(Redirected from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Core_shamanism&redirect=no" title="Core shamanism">Core shamanism</a>)</div> <!-- start content --> <p><b>Core Shamanism</b> or <b>Neoshamanism</b> is a system of shamanic beliefs and practices from all over the world. Synthesized by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Harner" title="Michael Harner">Michael Harner</a>, core shamanism does not hold a fixed belief system, but instead focuses on the practice of trance travel and may on an individual basis integrate indigenous shamanism, the teachings of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Castaneda" title="Carlos Castaneda">Carlos Castaneda</a> and other spiritualities. It is popular within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Age" title="New Age">New Age</a> movement and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopagan" title="Neopagan">Neopagan</a> communities.</p> <p>Specific practices include the use of rapid drumming to attain the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSC" title="SSC">SSC</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shamanic_State&amp;action=edit" class="new" title="Shamanic State">Shamanic State</a> of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness" title="Consciousness">Consciousness</a>, communication with power animals, and ritual dance. Those who practice core shamanism do not usually refer to themselves as shamans, preferring "shamanic practitioner" out of respect for indigenous peoples. Core shamanic practitioners are usually very careful to avoid cultural imperialism.</p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206207437342125?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122062001854092712005-07-22T12:52:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:54:01.946-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Two-Spirit</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <div id="contentSub">(Redirected from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two-spirit&redirect=no" title="Two-spirit">Two-spirit</a>)</div> <!-- start content --> <p><b>Two-Spirit</b> is a term for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender" title="Third gender">third gender</a> people (for example, woman-living-man) that are among many, if not most, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American" title="Native American">Native American</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Nations_of_Canada" title="First Nations of Canada">Canadian First Nations</a> tribes. It usually implies a masculine spirit and a feminine spirit living in the same body. It is also used by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay" title="Gay">gay</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian" title="Lesbian">lesbian</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisexuality" title="Bisexuality">bisexual</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender" title="Transgender">transgender</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex" title="Intersex">intersex</a> Native Americans to describe themselves. There are also native terms for these individuals in the various Native American languages.</p> <p>The old term "<i>berdache</i>" (from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a> <i>bardache</i>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_language" title="Spanish language">Spanish</a> <i>bardaxa</i> or <i>bardaje</i>/<i>bardaja</i>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_language" title="Italian language">Italian</a> <i>bardasso</i> or <i>berdasia</i>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language" title="Arabic language">Arabic</a> <i>bardaj</i>, from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language" title="Persian language">Persian</a> <i>bardaj</i> or <i>barah</i> meaning "kept boy," "male prostitute," or "catamite") is a generic term used primarily by anthropologists and is frequently rejected as inappropriate and offensive by Native Americans. It has widely been replaced with <i>two-spirit.</i></p> <p>These individuals are often viewed as having two spirits occupying one body. Their dress is usually a mixture of traditionally male and traditionally female articles. They have distinct gender and social roles in their tribes. For instance, among the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakota" title="Lakota">Lakota</a> there was one ceremony during the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Dance" title="Sun Dance">Sun Dance</a> that was performed only by a two-spirited person of that tribe. (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winkte" title="Winkte">winkte</a>)</p> <p>Two-spirited individuals perform specific social functions in their communities. Some are counselors while others are medicine persons or spiritual functionaries. They study skills including story telling, theater, magic, hypnotism, healing, herbal medicine, ventriloquism, singing, music and dance.</p> <p>Some examples of two-spirited people in history include the accounts by Spanish conquistadors who spotted a two-spirited individual(s) in almost every village they entered in Central America and whom they then murdered. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi" title="Hopi">Hopis</a> used to hold a ritual in which a 16 year old male-bodied two-spirit was dressed as the Corn Goddess. All the men of the village then performed anal sex with this individual in order to bring fertility to the corn crop for the year. Subsequently a huge feast was held in the youth's honor.</p> <p>There are descriptions of two-spirited individuals having strong mystical powers. In one account, raiding soldiers of a rival tribe begin to attack a group of foraging women when they perceive that one of the women, the one that does not run away, is a two-spirit. They halt their attack and retreat after the two-spirit counters them with a stick, determining that the two-spirit will have great power which they will not be able to overcome.</p> <p>Alternate spellings are "two spirit" and "twospirit."</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit#Terms"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Terms</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit#Two-Spirit_like_identities_outside_of_North_America"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Two-Spirit like identities outside of North America</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit#Sources.2FRecommended_reading"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Sources/Recommended reading</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-spirit#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two-Spirit&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Two-Spirit">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Terms" id="Terms"></a></p> <h2>Terms</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot" title="Blackfoot">Blackfoot</a> (Southern <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peigan" title="Peigan">Peigan</a>) <ul><li>Male-bodied: <i>Ake'skassi</i> ("acts like a woman") [ <i>editor's note: this is how Schaeffer spelt it and is also the spelling that Roscoe and Lang use, however a more correct spelling may be aakíí'skassi</i> ]</li><li>Female-bodied: <i>Sakwo'mapi akikwan</i> ("boy-girl") [ <i>editor's note: this is how Schultz spelt it and is also the spelling used by Roscoe, however a more correct spelling may be saahkómaapi'aakííkoan, *strickly a nickname given to Running Eagle*</i> ]</li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crow_Tribe" title="Crow Tribe">Crow</a> <ul><li>Male-bodied: <i>Bote/Bate/Bade</i> (not man, not woman)</li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakota" title="Lakota">Lakota</a> <ul><li>Male-bodied: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winkte" title="Winkte"><i>Winkte</i></a> ("['wants' or 'wishes'] to be [like] [a] woman." A contraction of <i>winyanktehca</i>)</li><li>Female-bodied: <i>Bloka egla wa ke</i> ("thinks she can act like a man") [ <i>editor's note: cited by Beatrice Medicine, its age unknown</i> ]</li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo" title="Navajo">Navajo</a> <ul><li>Male/female/intersexed-bodied: <i>Nadleeh</i> or <i>nadle</i> (gender class/category), <i>nadleehi</i> (singular), <i>nadleehe</i> (plural) ("one in a constant state of change," "one who changes," "being transformed")</li></ul> </li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two-Spirit&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Two-Spirit">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Two-Spirit_like_identities_outside_of_North_America" id="Two-Spirit_like_identities_outside_of_North_America"></a></p> <h3>Two-Spirit like identities outside of North America</h3> <ul> <li>Asia <ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tahiti" title="Tahiti">Tahiti</a> <ul><li><i>mahu</i></li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> <ul><li><i>bantut</i></li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> <ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_%28India%29" title="Hijra (India)"><i>hijra</i></a></li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borneo" title="Borneo">Borneo</a> <ul><li><i>basir</i></li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> <ul><li><i>basaja</i></li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea" title="Korea">Korea</a> <ul><li><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudang" title="Mudang">mudang</a></i></li></ul> </li></ul> </li><li>African <ul><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lugbara&action=edit" class="new" title="Lugbara">Lugbara</a> <ul><li><i>okule</i> (male-bodied)</li><li><i>agule</i> (female-bodied)</li></ul> </li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zulu" title="Zulu">Zulu</a> <ul><li><i>i<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sangoma" title="Sangoma">Sangoma</a></i></li></ul> </li></ul> </li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two-Spirit&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Two-Spirit">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="See_also" id="See_also"></a></p> <h2>See also</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_transgender-related_topics" title="List of transgender-related topics">List of transgender-related topics</a></li><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gay-related_topics" title="List of gay-related topics">List of gay-related topics</a></li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Two-Spirit&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Two-Spirit">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Sources.2FRecommended_reading" id="Sources.2FRecommended_reading"></a></p> <h2>Sources/Recommended reading</h2> <p>[ <b>*</b> = most important ]</p> <ul> <li><i>The Kutenai Female Berdache</i> in <i>Ethnohistory</i> 12(3):193-236, 1965, by Claude E. Schaeffer</li><li><i>Blackfeet tales of Glacier National Park</i> (1916) and <i>Running Eagle</i> (1919) by James W. Schultz</li><li><i>Changing Native American Roles in an Urban Context and Changing Native American Sex Roles in an Urban Context</i> in <i>Two-Spirit People</i> [see below], pg. 145-148, by Beatrice Medicine <b>*</b></li><li><i>The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Cultures</i> by Walter L. Williams</li><li><i>Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology</i> by Will Roscoe</li><li><i>The Zuni Man-Woman</i> by Will Roscoe</li><li><i>Sex and Conquest: Gendered Violence, Political Order, and the European Conquest of the Americas</i> by Richard C. Trexler <b>*</b></li><li><i>Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality</i> edited by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang <b>*</b></li><li><i>Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America</i> by Will Roscoe <b>*</b></li><li><i>Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures</i> by Sabine Lang <b>*</b></li> </ul><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206200185409271?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122061847118467992005-07-22T12:50:00.000-07:002005-07-22T12:50:47.126-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Vision quest</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <div id="contentSub">(Redirected from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vision_quests&redirect=no" title="Vision quests">Vision quests</a>)</div> <!-- start content --> <center> <div style="margin: 0pt 10% 1em; text-align: center;"> <table class="notice noprint" id="disputed" style="border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); margin: 0.5em auto; padding: 0.1em; background: beige none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="padding: 0.1em;" valign="top"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stop_hand.png" class="image" title=" "><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Stop_hand.png/45px-Stop_hand.png" alt=" " longdesc="/wiki/Image:Stop_hand.png" height="45" width="45" /></a></td> <td style="padding: 0.1em;"><b>The factual accuracy of this article is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Accuracy_dispute" title="Wikipedia:Accuracy dispute">disputed</a>.</b><br /><div style="font-size: 90%;">Please see the relevant discussion on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Vision_quest" title="Talk:Vision quest">talk page</a>.</div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </div> </center> <p>A <b>vision quest</b> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rite_of_passage" title="Rite of passage">rite of passage</a> in some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classification_of_Native_Americans" title="Classification of Native Americans">native American cultures</a>. In traditional Lakota culture the Hanblecheyapi (vision quest, literally "crying for a vision") is one of seven main rites. Vision quest preparations involve a time of fasting, the guidance of a tribal <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_Man" title="Medicine Man">Holy Man</a> and sometimes ingestion of natural <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entheogen" title="Entheogen">entheogens</a>; this quest is undertaken for the first time in the early teenage years. The quest itself is usually a journey alone into the wilderness seeking personal growth and spiritual guidance from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakan_Tanka" title="Wakan Tanka">Wakan Tanka</a>.</p> <p>Traditionally, the seeker finds a place that they feel is special, and sits in a 10 foot circle and brings nothing in from society (not even clothes) with the exception of water. A normal <b>Vision Quest</b> usually lasts two to four days within this circle, in which time the seeker is forced to look into his soul. It is said that a strong urge to leave the Quest area will come to the seeker and a feeling of insanity may set in. However, the seeker normally overcomes this by reminding him or herself of the overall outcome of the quest, causing the mind to stop wandering on random thoughts. The individual can generally find solace in the fact that he or she will not die in just two to four days. It is noted that few have claimed grand visions on their first <b>Vision Quest</b>. Native American <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem" title="Totem">totems</a> are said to be capable of speaking through all things, including messages or instructions in the form of an animal or bird. Generally a physical representation of the vision or message such as a feather, fur or a rock is collected and placed in the seeker's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_bag" title="Medicine bag">medicine bag</a> to ensure the power of the vision will stay with the individual to remind, protect or guide him.</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vision_quest&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Vision quest">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="External_links" id="External_links"></a></p> <h2>External links</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://www.thewildwest.org/native_american/religion/Quest.html" class="external free" title="http://www.thewildwest.org/native american/religion/Quest.html">http://www.thewildwest.org/native_american/religion/Quest.html</a></li><li><a href="http://www.crystalinks.com/visionquest.html" class="external free" title="http://www.crystalinks.com/visionquest.html">http://www.crystalinks.com/visionquest.html</a></li> </ul> <div class="notice metadata" id="stub"><i>This <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a>-related article is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Perfect_stub_article" title="Wikipedia:Perfect stub article">stub</a>. You can <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Find_or_fix_a_stub" title="Wikipedia:Find or fix a stub">help</a> Wikipedia by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vision_quest&action=edit" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vision quest&amp;action=edit">expanding it</a></i>.</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/14726881-112206184711846799?l=mystudiesresearchs.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>DM Poet Lestathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13598962756420169948noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14726881.post-1122053962485394172005-07-22T10:35:00.000-07:002005-07-22T10:39:28.743-07:00<h1 class="firstHeading">Demon</h1> <h3 id="siteSub">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.</h3> <!-- start content --> <dl> <dd><i>For the</i> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who" title="Doctor Who">Doctor Who</a> <i>serial, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_D%C3%A6mons" title="The Dæmons">The Dæmons</a>. For the professional wrestler, see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Torborg" title="Dale Torborg">Dale Torborg</a>.</i></dd> </dl> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folklore" title="Folklore">folklore</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology" title="Mythology">mythology</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a>, a <b>demon</b> or <b>demoness</b> is a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural" title="Supernatural">supernatural</a> being that is generally described as a malevolent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit" title="Spirit">spirit</a>, but is also depicted as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Force" title="Force">force</a> that may be <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conjury" title="Conjury">conjured</a> and insecurely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control" title="Control">controlled</a>. The "good" demon is largely a literary device (eg: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell%27s_demon" title="Maxwell's demon">Maxwell's demon</a>).</p> <p>As the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian" title="Indo-Iranian">Indo-Iranian</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avestan" title="Avestan">Avestan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vedic" title="Vedic">Vedic</a> traditions and also other branches of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European" title="Indo-European">Indo-European</a> mythologies show, the notion of demon has been with those people from very ancient times.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PIE" title="PIE">PIE</a> word <i>*deivos</i>, originally an adjective meaning "celestial" remained its meaning in all other branches of Indo-Europeans (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daeva" title="Daeva">Daeva</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deus" title="Deus">Deus</a>, theo-) but in a very early stage during the time of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarathustra" title="Zarathustra">Zarathustra</a> the same word (<b>Div</b>) recieved the notion of demon in the Iranian tradition.</p> <p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a> conception of a <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_%28mythology%29" title="Daemon (mythology)">daemon</a></i>, δαίμων, appears in the works of Plato and many other ancient authors, without the evil connotations apparent in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septuagint" title="Septuagint">Septuagint</a> translation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Bible" title="Hebrew Bible">Hebrew Bible</a> and in the Greek originals of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Testament" title="New Testament">New Testament</a>. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval" title="Medieval">medieval</a> and neo-medieval conception of a "demon" in Western civilization (see the Medieval <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimoire" title="Grimoire">grimoire</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_Goetia" title="Ars Goetia">Ars Goetia</a>) derives from the ambient popular culture of Late (Roman) Antiquity. The Hellenistic "Demon" eventually came to include many Semitic and Near Eastern gods as seen by Christianity.</p> <p>Greco-Roman concepts of <i>daemons</i> that passed into Christian culture are discussed in the entry <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daemon_%28mythology%29" title="Daemon (mythology)">daemon</a>.</p> <p>In some cultures demons are still feared in popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition" title="Superstition">superstition</a>, largely due to their power to '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonic_possession" title="Demonic possession">possess</a>' humans, and they are an important concept in many modern religions and occultist traditions. In the contemporary Western mystical tradition epitomized by the work of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley" title="Aleister Crowley">Aleister Crowley</a>, a demon, such as the "Demon of the Abyss", <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choronzon" title="Choronzon">Choronzon</a>, is a useful metaphor for certain inner psychological processes, one which is nonetheless, in a sense, 'real' to those who experience it as a separate being.</p> <table id="toc" class="toc"> <tbody><tr> <td> <div id="toctitle"> <h2>Contents</h2> <span class="toctoggle">[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</span></div> <ul><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Demons_in_ancient_Persia"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Demons in ancient Persia</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Demons_in_the_Hebrew_Bible"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Demons in the Hebrew Bible</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Influences_from_Chaldean_mythology"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Influences from Chaldean mythology</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_Jewish_rabbinic_literature"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">In Jewish rabbinic literature</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#The_King_and_Queen_of_Demons"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">The King and Queen of Demons</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_the_New_Testament_and_Christianity"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">In the New Testament and Christianity</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_Christian_myth_and_legend"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">In Christian myth and legend</span></a> <ul><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#War_in_Heaven"><span class="tocnumber">5.1</span> <span class="toctext">War in Heaven</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Demonologies"><span class="tocnumber">5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Demonologies</span></a></li></ul> </li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_pre-Islamic_Arab_culture"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">In pre-Islamic Arab culture</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_Islam"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">In Islam</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_Hinduism"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">In Hinduism</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#Demons_in_other_cultures_and_religions"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Demons in other cultures and religions</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_art_and_literature"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">In art and literature</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_science"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">In science</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#In_games"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">In games</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li><li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon#External_link"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">External link</span></a></li></ul> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ if (window.showTocToggle) { var tocShowText = "show"; var tocHideText = "hide"; showTocToggle(); } //]]> </script></p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demon&action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Demon">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Demons_in_ancient_Persia" id="Demons_in_ancient_Persia"></a></p> <h2>Demons in ancient Persia</h2> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism">Zoroastrianism</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avesta" title="Avesta">Avesta</a>, the <i>ahuras</i> are supreme, while the <i>daevas</i> are <strong>demonic</strong>. This has been forwarded as an argument of a religious split between early <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan" title="Indo-Aryan">Indo-Aryans</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranians" title="Iranians">Iranians</a>. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avesta" title="Avesta">Avesta</a> which is believed to be written c. 1500 BC has recorded very ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian" title="Iranian">Iranian</a> beliefs among them a large number of demons and their attributes. Some of them are to be found in Indian traditions too which is because of the common <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Iranian" title="Indo-Iranian">Indo-Iranian</a> (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryan" title="Aryan">Aryan</a>) heritage. Some of the more important demons of ancient <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire" title="Persian Empire">Persia</a> are mentioned below with their <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle-Persian" title="Middle-Persian">Middle-Persian</a> pronounciations:</p> <ul> <li>Astwihad: a demon of death.</li><li>Az: the demon of greed.</li><li>Bushasp: the demon of sloth.</li><li>Druj: demon of the lie, falsehood.</li><li>Xeshm: demon of Fury/Wrath.</li><li>Indar: Name of a demon. (Sanskrit: Indra)</li><li>Nasa: demon of putrefaction.</li><li>Spozgar: demon of thunderstorms.</li><li>Tishn: demon of thirst.</li> </ul> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demon&action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Demon">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Demons_in_the_Hebrew_Bible" id="Demons_in_the_Hebrew_Bible"></a></p> <h2>Demons in the Hebrew Bible</h2> <p>Demons in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanakh" title="Tanakh">Tanakh</a> are not the same as "demons" commonly understood today by Christians. The demons mentioned in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Bible" title="Hebrew Bible">Hebrew Bible</a> are of two classes, the <i>se'irim</i> and the <i>shedim</i>. The <i>se'irim</i> ("hairy beings"), to which some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelite" title="Israelite">Israelites</a> sacrificed in the open fields, are satyr-like demons, described as dancing in the wilderness (Isaiah xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14), and are identical with the <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn" title="Jinn">jinn</a></i> of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab" title="Arab">Arabian</a> woods and deserts. (But compare the completely European <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwose" title="Woodwose">woodwose</a>.) Possibly to the same class belongs <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azazel" title="Azazel">Azazel</a>, the goat-like demon of the wilderness (Leviticus xvi. 10ff), probably the chief of the <i>se'irim</i>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith" title="Lilith">Lilith</a> (Isaiah xxxiv. 14). Possibly "the roes and hinds of the field", by which Shulamit conjures the daughters of Jerusalem to bring her back to her lover (Canticles ii. 7, iii. 5), are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faun" title="Faun">faunlike spirits</a> similar to the <i>se'irim</i>, though of a harmless nature.</p> <p>The "stones of the field" (Job v. 23), with which the righteous are said to be in league, seem to be field-demons of the same nature. The wilderness as the home of demons was regarded as the place whence such diseases as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprosy" title="Leprosy">leprosy</a> issued, and in cases of leprosy one of the birds set apart to be offered as an expiatory sacrifice was released, that it might carry the disease back to the desert (Leviticus xiv. 7, 52).</p> <p>Possibly the evil spirit that troubled <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_the_King" title="Saul the King">Saul</a> (I Samuel xvi. 14 et seq.) was originally a demon, turned into an evil spirit coming from God in the amended <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masoretic_text" title="Masoretic text">Masoretic text</a>. None of these demons, however, has actually a place in the system of Biblical theology; it is God alone who sends pestilence and death. That the <i>shedim</i> are "not gods" (Deuteronomy xxxii. 17) may reflect reforms in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuteronomist" title="Deuteronomist">Deuteronomist</a>'s circle; there is no supernatural power beyond God (Deuteronomy iv. 35.) in fully-developed Judaism.</p> <p>It is possible, however, that, as at a later stage in the development of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism" title="Judaism">Judaism</a> the idols were regarded as demons, so the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan" title="Canaan">Canaanite</a> deities were, either in disparagement, or as powers seducing men to idolatry, called <i>shedim</i> by the sacred writers (Deuteronomy xxxii. 17; Ps. cv. 37); all the more so as the latter ascribed a certain reality to the idols (Exodus. xii. 12; Isaiah xix. 1, xxiv. 21.)</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demon&action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Demon">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="Influences_from_Chaldean_mythology" id="Influences_from_Chaldean_mythology"></a></p> <h3>Influences from Chaldean mythology</h3> <p>In <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldea" title="Chaldea">Chaldean</a> mythology the seven evil deities were known as "shedim", storm-demons, represented in bull form; and because these colossal bulls representing evil demons were, by a peculiar law of contrast, used also as protective genii of royal palaces and the like, the name "shed" assumed also the meaning of a propitious genius in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon" title="Babylon">Babylonian</a> magic literature (see Delitzsch, <i>Assyrisches Handwörterbuch</i>. pp. 60, 253, 261, 646; Jensen, <i>Assyr.-Babyl. Mythen und Epen</i>, 1900, p. 453; Sayce, l.c. pp. 441, 450, 463; Lenormant, l.c. pp. 48-51).</p> <p>It was from Chaldea that the name "shedim" = evil demons came to the Israelites, and so the sacred writers intentionally applied the word in a dyslogistic sense to the Canaanite deities 'in the two passages quoted. But they also spoke of "the destroyer" (Exodus xii. 23) as a demon whose malignant effect upon the houses of the Israelites was to be warded off by the blood of the paschal sacrifice sprinkled upon the lintel and the door-post (a corresponding pagan talisman is mentioned in Isaiah lvii. 8). In II Samuel xxiv; 16 and II Chronicles xxi. 15 the pestilence-dealing demon is called "the destroying angel" (compare "the angel of the Lord" in II Kings xix. 35; Isaiah xxxvii. 36), because, although they are demons, these "evil messengers" (Psalms lxxviii. 49; A. V. "evil angels") do only the bidding of God; they are the agents of His divine wrath.</p> <p>There are indications that popular Hebrew mythology ascribed to the demons a certain independence, a malevolent character of their own, because they are believed to come forth, not from the heavenly abode of God, but from the nether world (compare Isaiah xxxviii. 11 with Job xiv. 13; Psalms xvi. 10, xlix. 16, cxxxix. 8).</p> <div class="editsection" style="float: right; margin-left: 5px;">[<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demon&action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Demon">edit</a>]</div> <p><a name="In_Jewish_rabbinic_literature" id="In_Jewish_rabbinic_literature"></a></p> <h2>In Jewish rabbinic literature</h2> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi" title="Rabbi">Rabbinical</a> demonology has three classes of, demons, though they are scarcely separable one from another. There were the <i>shedim</i>, the <i>mazziḳim</i> ("harmers"), and the <i>ruḥin</i> ("evil spirits"). Besides these there were <i>lilin</i> ("night spirits"), <i>ṭelane</i> ("shade", or "evening spirits"), <i>ṭiharire</i> ("midday spirits"), and <i>ẓafrire</i> ("morning spirits"), as well as the "demons that bring famine" and "such as cause storm and earthquake" (Targ. Yer. to Deuteronomy xxxii. 24 and Numbers vi. 24; Targ. to Cant. iii. 8, iv. 6; Eccl. ii. 5; Ps. xci. 5, 6.)</p> <p>In the main, Hebrew demons were workers of harm. To them were ascribed the various diseases, particularly such as affect the brain and the inner parts. Hence there was a fear of "Shabriri" (lit. "dazzling glare"), the demon of blindness, who rests on uncovered water at night and strikes those with blindness who drink of it (Pesachim 112a; Avodah Zarah 12b); also mentioned were the spirit of catalepsy and the spirit of headache, the demon of epilepsy, and the spirit of nightmare,</p> <p>These demons were supposed to enter the body and cause the disease while overwhelming or "seizing" the victim. To cure such diseases it was necessary to draw out the evil demons by certain incantations and talismanic performances, in which the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.o