Mother Shipton and Her Prophesies

 In North Yorkshire, along the River Nidd, one can find the birthplace of Ursula Southeil, better known as the soothsayer Mother Shipton.

Within her lifetime she had several premonitions about some of the largest historical events to take place in England, such as the Great Fire of London and the Spanish Armada. After passing away in 1561, aged seventy-three, she remained an important local phenomenon in her hometown of Knaresborough and the remnants of a cave in which she lived, situated close to the Petrifying Well, can be visited.

Mother Shipton began her life in this cave in the Knaresborough woodland in 1488. She was born during a dark and stormy night, the daughter of a fifteen-year-old called Agatha who named her only daughter Ursula.

As soon as she was born, her life would be the subject of scrutiny and controversy, particularly when her mother refused to reveal the identity of Ursula’s father.

Within no time at all, speculation about this mysterious child began to circulate with later sources describing the child’s appearance as ugly, deformed and witch-like from birth.

Her destitute young mother was thought to be herself an orphan and lacked the ability to support her daughter.

Whilst she refused to give details of the father, she became ostracised from the local community and thus Ursula too, was shunned and the two desperate souls were forced into the forest as pariahs.

Some believed that the child’s conception was the work of the Devil, with many accusing Agatha too of being a witch...<<<Read More>>>...

The Enochian Language

The Magical language used in certain magick rituals is Enochian (Enoch), a language thought to be older than Sanskrit, with a sound grammatical and syntactical basis. It resembles Arabic in some sounds and Hebrew and Latin in others. It first appeared in print in 1659 in a biography of John Dee. The barbaric tonal qualities of this language gives it a truley magical effect wich cannot be described.

In the year of 1581 through the extraordinary efforts of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly, the secrets that were lost with the patriarch of the Bible known as Enoch were returned to those who thirst for the knowledge of Light. Dee kept close records of their intensive work. Although some of Dee's work has been lost, much of it is to be found in Sloane Documents 3188,3189, 3191, 3677, and 3679. These documents are to be found at the British Museum in London.

One of the most important breakthroughs in the rediscovery of these lost secrets was an entirely new language. This language contained its own grammar and syntax. It is an Angelic language often referred to as "Enochian." Dee and Kelly used great care and effort when receiving the lost knowledge of Enoch. The dictating Angel was the Great Angel Ave. Many hours were spent bringing forth the information by Dee and Kelly. Often times sessions would last 8 to 10 hours a day. Some of the material was actually dictated backwards by the Angel so as not to invoke dangerous forces of power.

The beginnings of Enochian Magic were coming into place, but the information was just information. It was not a system of any usable value. Thus, for the most part, it remained dormant, undefined and unusable. Then, over 200 years later, this body of raw knowledge that Dee & Kelly painstakingly uncovered was given form and life by the genius of S.L. MacGregor Mathers. Enochian Magic was born! Under the tutelage of Mathers, the Second (Inner) Order of the Golden Dawn began working the most powerful system of magic the world has or would ever see.

Years later in Chicago, a disgruntled Paul Foster Case (after being expelled from the order by Moina Mathers) ,would lead a quiet crusade to convince fellow students that Enochian Magic was "volatile and dangerous." Case would even go so far as to have it sliced and diced out of all Inner Order Teachings of a group he founded called the Builders of the Adytum. Others would follow in Case's footsteps, claiming Enochian was too dangerous.

When used with caution and in accordance with Second Order Teachings, it is reputed that Enochian Magic is not only safe, but it is utterly effective in the physical world, and illuminating in the area of Spiritual development!

The Psychological Model of Magick

Sigmund Freud's theory of the subconscious revolutionized Western thinking in general and psychology (which he did not, as some people are wont to believe, invent all by himself) in particular. Suddenly, man was seen as a being which was only partially conscious and in control of itself. While psychology is still fighting for its academical recognition as a science, it has stamped its mark on therapeutic disciplines - and on magic.

The psychological model of magic does not purport to explain how magic works, its only premise is that the subconscious (or, as Carl Jung later retagged it, the unconscious) will do the job if it is properly addressed and/or conditioned. This again is achieved by magical trance, suggestion and the use of symbols (i.e. selective sensory input) as tools of association and as a means of communication between the magician's conscious will and his subconscious faculty responsible for putting it into effect.

Aleister Crowley dabbled a great deal in the psychological model which comes as no surprise as he not only tried to keep up with all major academic disciplines of his time but thought himself to be the world's greatest psychologist into the bargain. But all considered he remained a traditionalist exponent of the spirit model: after all Aiwass was, in his belief, a praeternatural entity. Nevertheless he did have a knack of explaining magic in psychological terms to make it sound sensible to the sceptics of his time.

A more radical approach was taken by Austin Osman Spare whose sigil magic rests on the basic tenets of the psychological model. Spare's brilliant system is in principle an inversion of Freud's theory of complexes: by actively suppressing his will in the form of a graphical sigil and forgetting it, the magician creates an artificial "complex" which then starts to work on similar lines just as suppressed, subconscious traumas will cause neurotic behaviour etc.

The psychological magician is a programmer of symbols and different states of consciousness. He is not necessarily in need of a transcendent otherworld or even subtle energies, though in practice he will usually work on the assumption that one or the other (or both) do in fact exist and can be utilized by his subconscious.

Authors such as Israel Regardie, Dion Fortune, William Butler, Francis King, William Gray and to some extent Pete Carroll subscribe to the psychological model which seems to be the primary domain of the English speaking world of magic and which has become the prevailing paradigm ever since the seventies of this century.

With Patience & Perseverance

Through the gateway of mediumship the spirits make themselves known in a variety of ways. There are many phases of mediumistic phenomena, and the student will find that he must be patient, painstaking, and persevering if he would make sure of his facts. Careful investigation, possibly prolonged research, under many difficulties and with many discouragements, will be required; but 'success is certain if energy fail not,' and the results will adequately recompense him for all sacrifice and struggle! For in the light of the demonstrated fact of continued conscious existence after death, it is clear that man is even now 'a spirit served by organs'—that consequently the basis of all religious experience and affirmation is the spiritual consciousness of mankind. There could be no revelation to man of spiritual truth or moral duty if he were not a spirit possessing the capabilities of receiving and comprehending, of interpreting and applying, the revelations and inspirations which appeal to and quicken the inner (and higher) self. (Extract taken from A GUIDE TO MEDIUMSHIP AND PSYCHICAL UNFOLDMENT BY E. W. AND M. H. WALLIS)

Mystic Insight for the Day

From Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki:

"Because you have become a point of light, you will attract people like moths to a flame. Some will want to draw on your energy. Others will recognise a point of power and want to use it for their own ends.

Discretion and discrimination, use them both.

Treat people with respect and with love, but be wary. They will use flattery to draw you in. Keep control of your ego or you will lose what you have so recently gained.

Remember this: you are NOT the only one to grow in this way. You are not the centre of the world. Keep a sense of perspective and don't start thinking you are the next Avatar of the Age"

John Dee & the Enochian Apocalypse

New Dawn Magazine: 'Doctor John Dee (1527-1609) remains one of London’s most intriguing historical figures. Dee was a renaissance man; an occultist, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and navigator. In addition to his prodigious skills, Dee was a confidant of Queen Elizabeth I, who guided the nation through one of its most challenging eras, partly based upon Dee’s unique blend of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy. In fact, the Queen had so much faith in Dee’s calculations she had him choose her coronation date. By all accounts Dee was a distinctive looking gentleman, respected and admired by many, as John Aubrey describes: “Dee had a very cleare rosie complexion… a long beard as white as milke. A very handsome man… he was tall and slender. He wore a gowne like an artist’s gowne, with hanging sleeves, and a slitt. A mighty good man he was.”...read more>>>...

'Lost' City of Atlantis: Fact & Fable

S.O.T.T: 'Atlantis is a legendary "lost" island subcontinent often idealized as an advanced, utopian society holding wisdom that could bring world peace. The idea of Atlantis has captivated dreamers, occultists, and New Agers for generations. In the 1800s, mystic Madame Blavatsky claimed that she learned about Atlantis from Tibetan gurus; a century later, psychic Edgar Cayce claimed that Atlantis (which he described as an ancient, highly evolved civilization powered by crystals) would be discovered by 1969. In the 1980s, New Age mystic J.Z. Knight claimed that she learned about Atlantis from Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old warrior spirit who speaks through her. Thousands of books, magazines and websites are devoted to Atlantis, and it remains a popular topic.' ... read more>>>...

Celtic Pathways - Inspiration for the Day

Quote: Plato

Paula Paradaema's Talks: Reincarnation

Paula Paradaema, One of the north-west's leading psychic clairvoyants reveals her insights on Reincarnation.

A Word On 'The Enochian Language Of Angels'

In the year of 1581 through the extraordinary efforts of Dr. John Dee and Edward Kelly, the secrets that were lost with the patriarch of the Bible known as Enoch were returned to those who thirst for the knowledge of Light. Dee kept close records of their intensive work. Although some of Dee's work has been lost, much of it is to be found in Sloane Documents 3188, 3189, 3191, 3677, and 3679. These documents are to be found at the British Museum in London. One of the most important breakthroughs in the rediscovery of these lost secrets was an entirely new language. This language contained its own grammar and syntax. It is an Angelic language often referred to as "Enochian." Dee and Kelly used great care and effort when receiving the lost knowledge of Enoch. The dictating Angel was the Great Angel Ave. Many hours were spent bringing forth the information by Dee and Kelly. Often times sessions would last 8 to 10 hours a day. Some of the material was actually dictated backwards by the Angel so as not to invoke dangerous forces of power...read more>>>...

Top Ten Edgar Cayce Predictions...part 2

4. The city of Atlantis will be found near Bimini. It will be discovered that there are healing powers in the waters off Bimini and quartz crystals will be recognized for their healing properties to uplift, empower, and synchronize many types of energy, such as light and electricity.

5. The records of Atlantis will be open to those that are the spiritual initiates in the knowledge of the One God. A secret chamber will be found and the rising of the Temple will make the records accessible.

When asked, "Can you give in detail what the sealed room contains?" referring to the Atlantean Library, Cayce responded that it has a record of Atlantis from the beginning of those periods when the Spirit took form. The records describe the first destruction and the changes that took place in the land. It is a journal of sorts, a record of the sojourns of the peoples and their varied activities in other lands and a record of the meetings of all the nations and lands. it explains the building of the pyramid of initiation, together with whom, what, and where the opening of the records would come, that are as copies from the sunken Atlantis. Cayce also predicted Atlantis must rise again....read more...

The Right Use of Energy

Certain astral energies, emanating from some planetary forms which as yet exist not in the form of physical planets, nor yet in the etheric realm, but which are enclosed within the ring-pass-not of our solar system. They represent, in the planetary sense, two groups of lives: - First, those astral shells of decaying and disintegrating planets which are to be seen by the initiate, still revolving around our sun, but which are nevertheless fast disappearing. Our moon will join their number when the complete disintegration of the outer form has taken place. Second, the astral forms of those lesser solar lives on the evolutionary arc who are taking form slowly but have not yet taken an etheric body, and will never in this world period take a physical body. These two groups are the planetary correspondences to the reincarnating types of men, and to those who have passed over and are slowly shedding their bodies, prior to eventual rebirth, or who have completely vacated their shells....read more....

John Dee

The most notorious wizard in English medieval history was the Tudor alchemist and court astrologer Dr. John Dee. He reached the height of his fame during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and was known across Europe as a scientist, scholar and sorcerer. He enjoyed a period of considerable wealth and influence, but eventually fell from grace, and died nearly penniless. He left behind him a legacy of philosophical, wizardly, astrological and chemical writings and translations that remain important today.
John Dee was born in 1527 and educated at the Chantry School in Chelmsford. From there, he proceeded to Cambridge University and entered St. John’s College before transferring to Trinity College. In 1547, aged 20, he made his first journey to continental Europe, and spent some time discussing various matters with assorted people in the various Dutch universities. The next year he travelled to Europe again, to the University of Louvain in France, where he obtained his degree as a doctor.

In 1551, Dee obtained an introduction to the Court of King Edward VI, to whom he had already dedicated two of his books. He returned to court in 1553, when Mary Tudor gained the throne. By this time he was known as an astrologer, and was invited to prepare the Queen’s natal horoscope for her. He also calculated a horoscope for a young Elizabeth, at that point still a princess. Shortly after this time he began to experiment with magic. He quickly ended up in trouble, being arrested on the testimony of a man called George Ferrys, who accused Dee of cursing his children, killing one and blinding another. Other rumours accused Dee of trying to curse the Queen. His home was searched and he was brought to trial in front of the Secretary of State, but he was cleared of all charges. Astrology was a common fascination right throughout society at the time, and anyone with a skill at casting horoscopes was in high demand. Dee’s reputation ensured that his fame as an astrologer spread. He became quite a common figure at court.

In 1581, Dee met up with a would-be medium and alchemist named Edward Kelly, who convinced Dee of his abilities. Kelly claimed to have found a pair of caskets containing mysterious red and white powders with which he was able to turn base metals into gold. Dees diaries record Kelly using his powders to turn mercury into gold, and later pieces of brass, copper and other metal. This process is described as involving nothing more than adding Kelly’s powders to the metal and warming it a fire – with Kelly coming nowhere near the experiment. Although Queen Elizabeth’s favour protected him to a certain extent, it was commonly said that Dee was a magician of dubious reputation. He openly practised the sorcerous art of divination, and held séances at which he claimed to raise spirits. His divination was conducted with the aid of an oval mirror of black obsidian, which he claimed could conjure an image of a person into thin air. The mirror itself can now be found in the British Museum in London...read more...

Famous Mystics: Helen Duncan

Spiritualists are no strangers to scorn, skepticism and stupidity. We face these regularly and deal with them appropriately. But few know that one of our most gifted Mediums was charged with conspiracy and actually imprisoned for her special psychic gifts of proving survival after death.

This unsung heroine was one Helen Duncan, a simple Scottish housewife, who was forced to serve time in London's notorious Victorian Holloway women's prison for the appalling "crime" of holding physical phenomena seance's - many months which took a great toll on her health and contributed to her own premature earthly demise.

Helen was born in Callander, a small Scottish town on the 25th of November 1897, the daughter of a master cabinet maker. Her family was far from rich. Like many of her fellow Celtic lassies she struggled to earn a living even after her marriage at the age of 20. Her husband, Henry, another cabinet maker, had been injured during WW1. She had 12 pregnancies, but only six children survived. To sustain this large family and a disabled husband she worked in the local bleach factory by day and her Spiritual work and domestic duties by night.

The small amount of cash she made from her sittings, mostly token donations from friends and neighbours existing in a similar poverty to herself, would often discreetly go to their local doctor to pay for those patients who were destitute. This was in the time before Britain's national health service concept of free medicine for all had been introduced.

But her skill lay in Mediumship of a particular kind, that rare psychic gift of being a vehicle for physical phenomena whilst in trance state. A precious gift that brought comfort to thousands but one which was eventually to cost her her earthly life.

By the 1930's and 1940's she was traveling the length of wartime Britain giving regular seance's in hundreds of Spiritualist churches and home circles. The evidence that flowed from these physical phenomena seance's was astonishing. 'Dead' loved ones appeared in physical form, spoke to and touched their earthly relatives and and in this way brought both proof of survival and much comfort to thousands of traumatised and grieving wartime families.

One such sitting was attended by a man named Vincent Woodcock, who had brought his sister in law for an evening's demonstration. Those 60 minutes changed both their lives. Vincent gave evidence in London's premier Old Bailey court room that the medium Helen Duncan slipped into trance and began producing the much scoffed 'ectoplasm'. Then his 'dead' wife materialised from this ectoplasmic matter and asked both Vincent and his sister in law to stand up. The materialised spirit then removed her wedding ring and placed it on her sister's wedding finger, adding "It is my wish that this takes place for the sake of my little girl". A year later the couple were married and returned for a further seance during which the dead woman appeared once more to give her renewed blessings to the happy couple.

But this touching human story, along with other similar unsolicited and genuine testimonials to her remarkable gifts, were ignored by the law courts for Helen Duncan was destined to 'go down' to appease an establishment terrified that she might accurately discern the date of the D-Day Normandy Landings...READ MORE...

Thought Elementals

As long as the attention of the creator of any thought form, great or small, is turned towards it, that magnetic link persists, the thought form is vitalized, and its work carried on. When the work has been accomplished, and the thought-form has served its purpose, every creator, consciously or unconsciously, turns his attention elsewhere, and his thought form disintegrates. Hence the occult significance of all the processes occultly involved in sight, can be seen.

As long as the eye of the Creator is upon that which is created, just so long does it persist; let the Creator withdraw "the light of his countenance" and the death of the thought form ensues, for vitality or energy follows the line of the eye. When, therefore, a man, in meditation, considers his work and builds his thought form for service, he is occultly looking, and consequently energizing; he begins to use the third eye in its secondary aspect.

The third or spiritual eye has several functions. Amongst others, it is the organ of illumination, the unveiled eye of the soul, through which light and illumination comes into the mind, and thus the entire lower life becomes irradiated. It is also the organ through which pours the directing energy which streams out from the conscious creating adept to the instruments of service, his thought-forms.

The little evolved do not, of course, employ the third eye for the stimulating of their thought-forms. The energy used by them in the majority of cases originates in the solar plexus, and works in two directions, either via the organs of generation, or through the physical eyes. In many people these three points - the lower organs, the solar plexus, and the physical eyes - form a triangle of force, around which the stream of energy flows before going out to the objectivised thought form. In the aspirant, and the man who is intellectual, the triangle may be from the solar plexus, to the throat centre and thence to the eyes.

Later, as the aspirant grows in knowledge and purity of motive, the triangle of energy will have the heart for its lowest point instead of the solar plexus, and the third eye will begin to do its work, though as yet very imperfectly. Just as long as the "Eye" is directed to the created form, the current of force will be transmitted to it, and the more one-pointed the man may be the more this energy will be centralized and effective. (Alice A Bailey)

A Word On 'Dion Fortune'

Dion Fortune was born in Llandudno, North Wales, as Violet Mary Firth on December 6th 1890.

1910-20: Interest and involvement in psychoanalysis and attracted towards the occult by their apparent overlap. Studied occultism under Dr. Theodore Moriarty and joined the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1919, in the Alpha et Omega Lodge run by the novelist Brodie Innes.

1920-30: Transferred to Stella Matutina Lodge of the Golden Dawn run by Moina MacGregor Mathers and developed mediumship capabilities in herself whilst continuing the occult/psychological interest. Her writings in this period reflect this: MACHINERY OF THE MIND; THE SOYA BEAN, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE SERVANT PROBLEM, THE PROBLEM OF PURITY; THE ESOTERIC PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE, SANE OCCULTISM, THE ESOTERIC ORDERS AND THEIR WORK, THE TRAINING AND WORK OF AN INITIATE, THE COSMIC DOCTRINE, PSYCHIC SELF DEFENCE and the fictional works THE SECRETS OF DR. TAVERNER and THE DEMON LOVER. Her strong magical-psychological bias was modified by a powerful vision about the need to take on board the Christian dynamic, and she joined, somewhat reluctantly, the Christian Mystic Lodge of the Theosophical Society of which she soon become President. As a result however of strong disapproval of senior figures in the Theosophical Society, and the Golden Dawn, in her view, becoming moribund, she founded the Community of the Inner Light, first at Glastonbury and soon also with a headquarters in London. In 1927 she married Dr. Thomas Penry Evans.

1930-40: Most of her subsequent non-fiction work first saw the light of day in The Inner Light Magazine and her inner development can be followed fairly straightforwardly from their titles. AVALON OF THE HEART, SPIRITUALISM IN THE LIGHT OF OCCULT SCIENCE, THROUGH THE GATES OF DEATH, PRACTICAL OCCULTISM IN DAILY LIFE, MYSTICAL MEDITATIONS ON THE COLLECTS, THE MYSTICAL QABALAH and the novels THE WINGED BULL, THE GOAT-FOOT GOD, THE SEA PRIESTESS. The novels were an attempt to give practical exemplification to the theoretical principles given in her important textbook "THE MYSTICAL QABALAH".

1940-46: At the outbreak of war she continued in difficult circumstances, (including being bombed out of her headquarters temporarily), to keep the Fraternity going with a series of Weekly Letters and after the restructuring of the group in 1942 in readiness for the post-war epoch by a series of Monthly Letters, paper rationing having put a stop to magazine and book publication. She also continued work on the novel MOON MAGIC. Her writings of this time have been collected and edited by Gareth Knight under the titles of THE MAGICAL BATTLE OF BRITAIN, AN INTRODUCTION TO RITUAL MAGIC, THE CIRCUIT OF FORCE, and PRINCIPLES OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY (which includes "Esoteric Principles of Astrology"). Teaching upon the Arthurian Tradition that she initiated at this time has been incorporated into THE SECRET TRADITION IN ARTHURIAN LEGEND by Gareth Knight.

She died of leukaemia at the Middlesex Hospital, London on January 8th 1946 (Innerlight.org)

Magick Without Tears

"As for those mediums who possess magical ability, they almost always come from the most ignorant classes—Celts are an exception to this rule—and have no knowledge whatever of the technique of the business. Worse, they are usually of the type that delights in the secret dirty affinities, and so naturally and gladly attract entities of the Qliphothic world to their magical circle. Hence tricksters, of the lowest elemental orders, at the best, come and vitalize odds and ends of the Ruach of people recently deceased, and perform astonishing impersonations. The hollow shells glow with infernal fire. Also, of course, they soak up vitality from the sitters, and from the medium herself.

Altogether, a most poisonous performance. And what do they get out of it? Even when the "Spirits" are really spirits, they only stuff the party up with a lot of trashy lies." --- Crowley

"Liber 51"

Atlas is the true name of this archipelago --- continent is an altogether false term, for every "house" or mountain peak was cut from its fellows by natural, though often very narrow waterways. The African Atlas is a mere offshoot of the range. It was the true Atlas that supported the ancient world by its moral and magical strength, and hence the name of the fabled globe-bearer. The root is the Lemurian "Tla" or "Tlas", black, for reasons which will appear in due course. "A" is the feminine prefix, derived from the shape of the mouth when uttering the sound. "Black woman" is therefore as near a translation as one can give in English; the Latin has a closer equivalent.

The mountains are cut off, not only from each other by the channels of the sea, but from the plains at their feet by cliffs naturally or artificially smoothed and undercut for at least thirty feet on every side in order to make access impossible.

These plains had been made flat by generations of labour. Vines and fruit-trees growing only on the upper slopes, they were devoted principally to corn, and to grass pastures for the amphibian herds of Atlas. This corn was of a kind now unknown, flourishing in sea-water, and the periodical flood-tides served the same purpose as the Nile in Egypt. Enormous floating stages of spongy rock --- no trees of any kind grew anywhere on the plains so wood was unknown --- supported the villages. These were inhabited by a type of man similar to the modern Caucasian race. They were not permitted to use any of the food of their masters, neither the corn, nor the amphibians, nor the vast supplies of shellfish, but were fed by what they called "bread from heaven," which indeed came down from the mountains, being the whole of their refuse of every kind. The whole population was put to perpetual hard labour. The young and active tended the amphibians, grew the corn, collected the shell-fish, gathered the "bread from heaven" for their elders, and were compelled to reproduce their kind. At twenty they were considered strong enough for the factory, where they worked in gangs on a machine combining the features of our pump and treadmill for sixteen hours of the twentyfour. This machine supplied Atlas with its "ZRO"[2] or "power," of which I shall speak presently. Any worker showing even temporary weakness was transferred to the phosphorus works, where he was sure to die within a few months. Phosphorus was a prime necessity of Atlas; however, it was not used in its red or yellow forms, but in a third allotrope, a blue-black or rather violet-black substance, only known in powder finer than precipitated gold, harder than diamond, eleven times heavier than yellow phosphorus, quite incombustible, and so shockingly poisonous that, in spite of every precaution, an ounce of it cost the lives (on an average) of some two hundred and fifty men. Of its properties I shall speak later.

The people were left in utmost slavery and ignorance by the wise counsel of the first of the philosophers of Atlas, who had written: "An empty brain is a threat to Society." He had consequently instituted a system of mental culture, comprising two parts:

[#1] There were four (some say five) distinct races, each having several sub-races. But the main characteristics were the same. some alleged the Portuguese and the English to be survivals of this or kindred stock.

[#2] Or Zra'd. The ZR is drawled slowly; the the lips are suddenly curled back in a sneering snarl, and the vowel sharply and forcibly uttered. It is disputed whether this word is connected with the Sanscrit SRI, holy.

Taken from Liber 51 ‘The Lost Continent’ … Crowley

Rolling Thunder

A Native American Indian medicine man, spiritual leader, philosopher, and acknowledged spokesman and intertribal shaman for the Cherokee and Shoshone tribes, Rolling Thunder, served as a consultant to the popular films Billy Jack (1971), and its sequel, Billy Jack II (1972). His way of life as a powerful healer, teacher, and activist gave him widespread fame following the films. Internationally known, Rolling Thunder's spiritual counsel and tribal skills were sought on a regular basis by many in the entertainment industry.

Rolling Thunder was among the first ever to be studied by mainstream institutions and undergo many laboratory tests to determine the authenticity of his shamanic skills. It had been said that his powers over the elements of nature surpassed any seen in recent times. Reports of Rolling Thunder's ability to "make rain" on a clear day, to heal disease and wounds, to transport or teleport objects through the air, and his telepathic skills were legendary until he agreed to submit himself to testing. His abilities have been investigated and documented by such organizations as the Menninger Foundation.

An advocate for Native American rights, as well as for ecological harmony, Rolling Thunder traveled widely and was in great demand worldwide for his insight and teachings. He himself joked that he had to make it rain and thunder "in order to clean the polluted air" before he spoke in a new city. Speaking before spiritual, ecological, psychological, and healing gatherings, Rolling Thunder participated in conferences sponsored by the Association for Research and Enlightenment (Edgar Cayce's Foundation), the Menninger Foundation, the East West Academy of the Healing Arts, the Stockholm United Nations Conference on the Environment, the World Conference of Spiritual Leaders of the United Nations, and the World Humanity Conference in Vancouver, B.C., among others.

Often controversial and regarded even militant at times, Rolling Thunder was known for being outspoken and "telling it like it is." "The Great Spirit guides me to tell people what they need to know, not what they want to know," he often said. Never making claims for his special powers, he reminded those who called him a medicine man, or who spoke of his healing abilities, that "All power belongs to the Great Spirit." Then he would add, "You call him God." (unexplained stuff)

Is the Turin Shroud really a self-portrait by Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci?

He was the ultimate Renaissance man - studying anatomy, designing a rudimentary helicopter and creating some of the most admired paintings of the age.

But could Leonardo da Vinci also have perpetrated history's greatest art forgery? That's the suggestion of one expert, who claims that Leonardo was responsible for faking the Turin Shroud.

The relic has inspired generations of pilgrims who have flocked to see what they believe is the face of the crucified Jesus. But it has also provoked bitter controversy after scientists carbon-dated it to the Middle Ages.

Now an American artist has entered the fray, putting forward her own theory about its origin. Lillian Schwartz, a graphic consultant at the School of Visual Arts in New York, claims that the image is a self-portrait of Leonardo, which was made using a crude photographic technique. Using computer scans she found that the face on the Turin Shroud and a self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci share the same dimensions

Miss Schwartz came to prominence in the 1980s when she made detailed measurements of the Mona Lisa and a Leonardo self-portrait. To her amazement, the two faces lined up perfectly, leading her to suggest that he used a self portrait as a model for the painting.

Earlier this year she used the same technique to compare another Leonardo self-portrait with the Turin Shroud. 'It matched. I'm excited about this,' she said. 'There is no doubt in my mind that the proportions that Leonardo wrote about were used in creating this Shroud's face.'

According to a Channel Five documentary to be shown tonight, Leonardo scorched his facial features on to the linen of the Shroud using a sculpture of his face and a photographic device called a 'camera obscura'. He would have hung the shroud's fabric over a frame in a blacked- out room and coated it with a substance to make it light-sensitive, just like photographic film. When the sun's rays passed through a lens in one of the walls, Leonardo's 3D model would have been projected on to the material, creating a permanent image. (Daily Mail)