HORNED

Another Horned God image, created from a pentacle, this one with a distinctive Pan goat appearance

This is a stylized representation of the Horned God, who in Wicca represents the masculine polarity of the universe. The horned god is the archetypal horned Shaman, related to the ancient Gods of vegetation and the hunt: Greek Pan, the Celtic Cernunnos, and the Egyptian Ammon. This symbol is sometimes referred to as the "horn moon," and as such, is also a symbol of the Goddess Diana, especially in Dianic Wicca.

Adsense Tool Kit

documental

Black M

Full Of Fright

Black Magick?
Another well known, but far more infamous book is the so called Grimoire of Honorious, improbably attributed to a catholic Pope. Filled with pages of prayers and pious supplications to God, it is also one of the more sinister, containing requirements for animal sacrifice and instructions for obtaining a pact with the Devil. It is for these reasons it is popular with some self styled Satanists and African Obi-men. It is possible the book was originally written with the intent to defame the somewhat controversial Pope.
Divine Union
The slightly sinister atmosphere of Honorius is in direct contrast to the highly praised Book of the Sacred magick of Abramelin the Mage. Held in high regard by Aleister Crowley and MacGregor Mathers alike, it contains complex instructions for attaining a guiding spirit and eventually, a state of enlightened union with God. The workings in Abramelin are so complex that the book recommends one take a year away from work and family obligations to complete it. Some of the concepts introduced in Abramelin have become enshrined in modern Ritual tradition, especially the concept of the "Holy Guardian Angel," believed to be a divine aspect of one's own personality, a "true self" that can be contacted to guide one's spiritual development.

The Magician's Handbook

A Grimoire, strictly speaking, is a collection of magickal formulas or symbols, with instructions for their use to achieve certain ends. The word "Grimoire" is actually an archaic spelling of the word "grammar," a word which once referred to things magical.

Often containing complex instructions for conjuring demons and spirits, European Grimoires were astonishingly common between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. What is even more surprising is the atmosphere of Christian piety that often permeates these texts. A far cry from the black magick and pacts with Satan one might expect, they are filled with biblical references and regimens of prayer and Angelic supplications. Ritual Magicians of the Middle ages and Renaissance periods tended to be heavily religious, and although they found inspiration in Pagan and Islamic texts, they often relied on Christian magical traditions going back as far as the first century. Some especially religiously oriented magicians even found a biblical imperative in the words of Jesus- " And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do "

There are generally two types of magical manuals, Ritual Magick primers and compendiums of so called "Natural magic." While the latter are usually a hodge podge of chemical preparations and herbal formulas, the former contain a curious mixture of prayer, conjuration, and kabbalistic or astrological formulas. They often contain a laundry list of enchantments, from the mundane (obtaining money and favors) to the improbable (invisibility, invincibility, and the power to fly), to the profoundly spiritual (union with God, enlightenment, and wisdom). Much of modern Ritual Magick is based on the techniques found in these old books, which contain many features recognizable to both Magicians and Wiccans- magical weapons, the calling of quarters, pentacles and sigils used in invocations, and the use of magickal or heavenly languages.

Solomonic Magick

Perhaps the most well known Grimoire is the Legemeton, better known as "The Key of Solomon," which originated in the twelfth century and is still in print (usually in expurgated form) nearly a thousand years later. The Key is named for the Biblical figure believed to have authored it, whose legend as a conjuror and magician were widespread. As early as the first century, the historian Josephus makes references to a book of demonic conjurations attributed to Solomon. Another text attributed to Solomon is the Goetia, or "Lesser Key," dating from the sixteenth century. It contains a list of demonic spirits, their powers, and the means to invoke them.

The Grimoire

A Grimoire, strictly speaking, is a collection of magickal formulas or symbols, with instructions for their use to achieve certain ends. The word "Grimoire" is actually an archaic spelling of the word "grammar," a word which once referred to things magical.
Often containing complex instructions for conjuring demons and spirits, European Grimoires were astonishingly common between the twelfth and eighteenth centuries. What is even more surprising is the atmosphere of Christian piety that often permeates these texts. A far cry from the black magick and pacts with Satan one might expect, they are filled with biblical references and regimens of prayer and Angelic supplications. Ritual Magicians of the Middle ages and Renaissance periods tended to be heavily religious, and although they found inspiration in Pagan and Islamic texts, they often relied on Christian magical traditions going back as far as the first century. Some especially religiously oriented magicians even found a biblical imperative in the words of Jesus- " And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do "

Diamond scepter

Dorje in Tibetan means 'indestructible.' The Dorje is the Tibetan Buddhist equivalent of the double terminated Hindu ritual tool known as the Vajre, or thunderbolt. It represents masculine force, sudden inspiration, the 'cutting' of ignorance and illusion. In rituals it is always paired with the singing bell, or Ghanta, its feminine counterpart. The spoked ends represent the closing of the spokes of the wheel of Samsara; the attainment of enlightenment.
A ritual gesture is performed crossing the tools over the chest, representing union of the male and female principals. As ritual tools, they are similar in symbolism to the chalice and dagger used in Wicca and ritual magick.

A "double Dorje," or vishvavajra, is two dorjes crossed, as pictured above, the emblem of Amoghshiddhi, the fifth Dhyani Buddha. It represents stabilty and inpenetrability, and is often used on the doorways of temples, or placed under meditation cushions.

Both the Dorje and the Vishvavajra are forged from meteorite metal

Black Metal

A Wisdom Archive on the Aura

Auras
Auras not only reflect our distinctive personalities but are also a barometer of energy fields within our body, warning us of impending trouble well in advance

Indian metaphysics describes the aura as an emanation that can only be felt in a state of tranquility. Ancient Egyptians and Greeks associated the halo with resurrection. They, along with Indians and Romans, used the halo in art to depict supernatural forces and mystical states.

The aura is a protective shield that keeps you healthy and joyful. However, stress and illness may adversely affect your aura. Certain diseases can even cause gaps in it. When something blocks the energy flow within the aura, the shield weakens, making you unhappy, depressed or sick.

Spirituality and Health

Spirituality and health is in essence to also look beyond the physical body. In the ancient systems of medicine and healing, mind, body and soul where seen as interconnected and non-separable. Spirituality and Health were not seen as separated but closely connected. When one part of the whole was stimulated, it also affected the other parts as well as the whole.

Health in a spiritual perpective concern both physical, emotional, mental and spiritual aspects of our being. An approach where spirituality and health are seen as two sides of the same coin is holistic by nature and looks at the whole being to understand and correct that which is not in balance.

Faith and Belief

The Power of Belief and Expectation

While you may not always get what you want, you will always get what you expect! Surprisingly, the power of belief and expectation work just as effectively on your feelings of self-doubt and limitation as they do on your thoughts of success and achievement. Think thoughts of defeat or failure and you are bound to be discouraged.

Belief is an incredibly powerful state of mind. Your belief system not only defines and shapes who you are, but it also determines your potential. Henry Ford was correct when he said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right."

Planetary Ascension year 2012

2012 - Planetary Ascension year 2012
2012 is by many separate sources of wisdom seen as being a portal into what some people call the Golden Age. 2012 marks, according to the The Mayan Calendar, the ending of Time as we know it and as something old die something new will be born. The Mayan perspective of 2012 and the current times we live in is very similar to the view of Kalki and the Golden Age Foundation who is also co-organising the Oneness Festival. The concept of a coming Golden Age is widely recognised among many spiritual authors, spiritual traditions and teachers. "I think that by 2012 you will have people that are enlightened (open, honest, caring, loving, united to the divine) and those that still seek humanity's lower natures (suffering, misery, hate, separation from the divine) but at least the scale may be tipping more toward enlightened."Hermes Trismegistus

By Murad Ali Baig

Tolerance the Key To Lasting Peace


The gory massacre at Godhra and the subsequent retaliatory slaughter throughout Gujarat underlines how easily communal passions can be aroused among otherwise normal people. A major cause for such behaviour is a mindset, found both among Muslims and Hindus, that believes that tolerance is a sign of weakness. Convinced about the infallibility of their own faith, they are totally intolerant to the views of others. Bolstered by the exhortations of their religious and political leaders, they feel no compunctions in smashing all that stands in their way including the laws of the land.

Nurtured by examples in mythology, literature and popular films, the Indian hero always destroys his enemies and teaches them a 'lesson they will never forget". The 'eye for an eye"sentiment of the Old Testament continues to influence mass behaviour to this day. Muslims glorify the myths of their history and praise their invincible conquests even if history shows that in its real days of glory, from Spain to India, Islam was a more tolerant religion than any Muslim or Hindu wants to believe. Equally, adversaries in the Rigveda, Mahabharata, Ramaya-na or the Puranas had no qualms about putting their foes to painful death or humiliation.

The Buddhist concept of compassion has been long forgotten. Buddhism had preached: "Never in the world is hate appeased by hatred. It can only be appeased with love. This is the eternal law". Buddhist compassion did not mean pity. It meant a strong compassionate hand to hold the fist of an adversary'sanger, jealousy, bitterness or greed to diffuse it and restore balance and equanimity in relationships.

The Chinese also understood the need for tolerance and their concept of Yin Yang similarly has it that light and darkness or good and evil can never completely overwhelm each other. A tiny ember of each will always survive to rise again in a cycle like the waxing and waning of the moon or the rise or fall of ocean tides. Tranquillity requires a balancing of the opposing forces.

These mature concepts are also found in modern management practices where only 'win-win"situations can bring lasting peace. Wise managements know that they can never completely defeat their workers"unions, government officials or customer interests. Long term stability needs positions where both adversaries can find areas of mutual dependence to build the basis of co-existence.

Despite the trauma, India'sHindus and Muslims cannot be rid of each other. Killing, deporting or partitioning such large communities into separate units is a prospect too horrible to contemplate. But neither community has leaders of stature who can see beyond the immediate provocations to find a path to harmony.

Unfortunately both Hindus and Muslims have slipped far from their times of past greatness. Sliding into increasing ignorance and poverty, both communities console themselves by glorifying the past and accusing others for their sorry plight.

Hatred, sadly, is a much more powerful uniting factor than love. God and national plans, unlike hatred, can seldom unite people in an enthusiastic mass effort. This hate was evident in the many flag-waving devotees who went to Ayodhya chanting slogans, steeped in passionate hate rather than in gentle, caring devotion. The Islam of Mohammed, like the Hinduism of many Hindu sages and philosophers, were fundamentally religions that preached peace and harmony. Fundamentalism is a most inappropriate word for the fanaticism of the ignorant and prejudiced. Every religion began with the simple spiritual messages of humble prophets or sages and was practised without mosques, temples or churches.

As they matured, religions became useful tools for rulers and priests to manipulate the masses. This was superstitious religiosity and not the religion of the founders. Spirituality was the foundation of all religions and superstition its tombstone. The conflict in India today is not about the fundamental teachings of different religions but about the superstitions fanned by bigoted priests.

Perhaps we should remember the words of the Sikh Guru Arjun Dev who said: "I do not keep the Hindu fast nor the Muslim Ramzan. I serve him alone who is my refuge. I serve one master, who is also Allah".

Peace On Earth

The gory massacre at Godhra and the subsequent retaliatory slaughter throughout Gujarat underlines how easily communal passions can be aroused among otherwise normal people.

A major cause for such behaviour is a mindset, found both among Muslims and Hindus, that believes that tolerance is a sign of weakness. Convinced about the infallibility of their own faith, they are totally intolerant to the views of others. Bolstered by the exhortations of their religious and political leaders, they feel no compunctions in smashing all that stands in their way including the laws of the land.

Pictish Symbols

The Picts were a tribal people who lived in Northern Britain and Scotland until about a thousand years ago. Their language is lost, except for fragments, although they left behind a wealth of "picture stones," large monoliths carved with mysterious symbols whose meanings are mostly unknown. There are about fifty major symbols. Some are easily identified as animals or mythical creatures; others are completely mysterious, such as the "crescent and V-rod" and the "double disk." They may have originated as tattoos or amulets. After the fifth century, most Picts converted to Christianity, and most of their carvings reflect this change; many of the so-called "Celtic

Animals

Pictish animal signs may have been related to Gods and Goddesses, and included boars, salmon, wolves, and birds" crosses dotting England and Scotland are in fact Pictish stones.

Mythical creatures

Some of the most famous Pictish carvings are of monsters, mermaids, and other sea creatures


Enigmatic Symbols

Most unusual are the enigmatic symbols known as the "V-rod," "Z-rod," and "double disks," all named for their unusual shapes. The V-rod is a bent arrow superimposed on a crescent; it is thought by some to be a symbol of death

The z-rod is found in combination with a serpent, a tomb/doorway, or a double-sun (double disk), all possibly symbols of the solar cycle and the afterlife

Mirrors

Another object commonly inscribed is the mirror, often paired with a comb. The comb and mirror are symbols of female prestige, and usually denote a woman's memoria

Brighid's cross

Usually known as "Bride's Cross," this equal-armed cross is traditionally woven from straw in honor of Ireland's Saint Bridget (Also known as: Bride, Brighid, Brigid) on her holiday, Candlemas, observed on the second of February. There is a very strong likelihood that there never was such a personage as St. Bridget, and that she may have been a cover for worship of the Celtic Goddess of the same name. The cross itself is a type of solar cross, and both the symbol and the woven representation probably predate Christianity in Ireland.

KAPALA

The kapala or thod-pa is a highly decoratedcup or bowl made from a human skull for use in Tibetan Buddhism, and represents the symbolic destruction of evil entities. The cup is used to hold offerings of bread or wine, symbolizing blood and flesh, to "wrathful" deities. The kapala may be a carryover from ancient practices of human sacrifice.
When creating a kapala, a skull is specially collected, prepared, and elaborately annointed and consecrated before use. Many are decorated with carvings, jewels, or silverwork.
The kapala is one of several "charnel ground" implements made from human bone.

Dearinth

The Dearinth symbol was designed by Oberon Zell (Then known as Otter Zell) as an emblem to represent his "Church of All Worlds," a Neopagan religious group based on the spiritual themes in Robert Heinlein's novel Stranger in a Strange Land.
The symbol is based on ancient labyrinth designs, and incorporates the images of the Goddess and the Horned God. The nine concentric rings asymbolize the nine levels of initiation in the Church.

Celtic Knots

The Celtic Knot is one of the best known motifs in Celtic jewelry and art. The delicate twists and turns are found in ancient stone art and tattoos, in illuminated manuscripts- in fact, just about anywhere the Celtic people have travelled. Similar designs exist in Norse culture, and as far as China.

While there are many Celtic symbol guides available, especially those that list every variation of celtic knot, many of the purported meanings of the symbols are usually simply made up (most often to sell trinkets and jewelry).

There are no known authentic knotwork designs meaning love or loyalty or many of the other common meanings ascribed to the designs

While many of the ancient designs certainly had some spiritually significant meaning, these have been lost to the ages. The continual looping of the designs suggests themes of eternity and interconnectedness, and knots may have been made at one time to foil evil spirits. Interwoven figures of people and animals may have represented the interdependent nature of life-two or more knots laced together symbolize lovers, hunters and their prey, God and man, etc. Some knots were used as magical talismans for protection.

The more modern designs, such as those found in decorated Christian scriptures, were mainly decorative designs used for ornamentation. Other relatively modern designs include linked hearts and other "love knots," Christian crosses, harps, shamrocks, and other folk symbols, and so on.

The Celts themselves left very little in the way of records, and most symbols are interpreted by archaeologists and other scholars who study the symbols in context. Some ancient Celtic symbols have changed in meaning over time, having been influenced by the introduction of Christianity and the influence of other cultures.

A general rule of thumb is: the shape of the design often determines the "meaning" of a knotwork design- triskele and trefoil shapes should be regarded as triskeles, bird, fish, and animal designs represent the attributes of the animal, etc. Circles represent unity or eternity, spirals reincarnation or cycles of life and rebirth, triangles and trefoils the threefold dominions of earth, sea, and sky. Squares or four-fold shapes are shield knots, symbols of protection from spirits or malevolent influence. Interlaced animals and men usually represent relationships, or emphasize the interdependence of mankind and nature.