View allAll Photos Tagged Blockage
Mammoth Hot Springs is a very large old, but still active geothermal area at the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. While it doesn't sport any geysers, the hot springs form beautiful pools and rivulets spilling over terraces formed by travertine dissolved in the source water and gradually deposited above ground.
It's one of the best places in Yellowstone to observe the ever-changing character of geothermal activity. One of the biggest, most active areas called "Canary Spring" seems to be experiencing partial blockage of its underground water sources, and the size of the pool at its origin has been reduced significantly. The gray area in the lower left indicate where the flow has been impeded. Nonetheless it's still beautiful and a lot of hot, mineralized water still tumbles down the terraces, leaving the tell-tale stains - orange in this case - of the "extremophile" organisms, including highly specialized algaes, bacteria, archea, and even viruses that thrive in the spring's waters.
Attabad Lake, Hunza Valley, also known as Gojal Lake is a lake in the Gojal (Upper Hunza Valley of northern Pakistan) created in January 2010 by a landslide dam.
Since the lake was formed the only means of crossing was by loading vehicles onto wooden boats. In 2015 the Chinese built a road tunnel that opened in September 2015.
The lake was formed due to a massive landslide at Attabad village in Gilgit-Baltistan, 9 miles (14 km) upstream (east) of Karimabad that occurred on 4 January 2010. The landslide killed twenty people and blocked the flow of the Hunza River for five months. The lake flooding has displaced 6,000 people from upstream villages, stranded (from land transportation routes) a further 25,000,[6] and inundated over 12 miles (19 km) of the Karakoram Highway.The lake reached 13 miles (21 km) long and over 100 metres (330 ft) in depth by the first week of June 2010 when it began flowing over the landslide dam, completely submerging lower Shishkat and partly flooding Gulmit.The subdivision of Gojal has the greatest number of flooded buildings, over 170 houses, and 120 shops. The residents also had shortages of food and other items due to the blockage of the Karakoram Highway.
What you see here; is a couple, blocking the bread I normally purchase. This was on 7-25-28, at 2:25 pm, at the Grand Junction, Colorado, Walmart. They were set up; before Koda and I, made the turn into the mile long bread section. They can be seen looking at us, as we turn, then stalling for several minutes. Directly in front of the bread I purchase. Blocking it completely. Maybe the guy thought I would be intimidated, by his size? Behind them, at the end of the aisle, was a Walmart employee, watching the whole skit. This is all captured on the Walmart, Grand Junction, Colorado, surveillance cameras. Can’t they, FBI Director Christopher Wray? This could be pretty much any Walmart, in the United States of America. Like the one in Laramie, Wyoming; depicted in my photostream.
They, along with many others; will set up in place. In front of items I purchase regularly. Like another woman on the same day. She had a small baby in her cart. She was attractive and nicely dressed. As Koda and I, approached the department I purchase a specific item in. She pushes her cart in front of that item, then walks away. Her cart had a small baby in it, wrapped in a baby carrier. She stepped away, then looks directly at us. This, again, was a conspired act. In hopes that I act out, and be persecuted for it. What are the chances that her child, will grow to be a bully in school, at work, or involved in Gang Stalking? We had another woman, using her teenage daughter, to get into Koda’s face, in hope he may act out. They followed us throughout the store.
Prior, to the above events; we were in the automotive section. A very well dressed, older woman; stood with her empty cart, in the oil section. She watched every move I made, and my oil selection. She was gathering information, for my next intentional blocking. She followed us throughout the store, then walked in front of our car, as we were leaving. Again, this is all captured on Walmart surveillance cameras. These cameras, many times, reviewed by our many Law Enforcement Agencies. So, why FBI Director Christopher Wray; don’t your Agents, do anything about Gang Stalking? They are fully aware of it, in the United States of America. They have been for decades!
We did come across a mother with two young children. One was in her cart, the other standing close to her, eating cheese squares. She said Mom, look at the dog. She was amazed at Koda, walking so calmly. We stopped, I very seldom do. I told the little girl “If you were to give him a piece of cheese, he will do tricks for you”. She smiled, but was afraid to approach Koda too closely. Koda sat patiently waiting a tasty cheese morsel. Her mother asked if it was OK. I said yes, but the little girl too shy, let her mother give it to him. Koda, was so gently taking it. He did several tricks for them, and the smiles were endless. We continued shopping, to be mobbed and harassed by others.
I’ve seen this over and over again, not the mother and two kids I just mentioned. Parents, willing to put their, and other children, possibly, in harms way, to harass my dog. This happened repeatably two years ago, in Grand Junction, CO. I called law enforcement, told the officer what was happening, showed him a couple of pictures. He said “next time this happens, take videos, and call me”. I did just that. After repeated phone calls and messages; he did not return any of my calls. These were people using young children, to harass Koda, right after I adopted him. American’s willing to put their children, in harms way, to harass a newly adopted, strange, dog.
Before we went to Walmart, we were at St Mary’s Hospital, in Grand Junction, Colorado. This like all hospitals; are supposed to be a place of help and healing. What we received was harassment and mobbing. Before we even entered the hospital, we were chased down by a guy with a weed-wacker. We walked towards the front side, of a patch of grass, so Koda could pee. As Koda, sniffs out a place to pee; the guy with a weed-wacker, comes rushing right at him. Koda, looked at him like the piece of shit that he is, and didn’t flinch or bark. I told Koda, as I do many times, “Koda, your working”. Me, on the other hand; walked up to the guy and asked “Is this how you harass a service dog, in Colorado”. He walked away quickly.
We walked into the main entrance of St Mary’s hospital, had a guy rush to crowd us, in the revolving door. Once we were in; there was a man playing a piano, in the main lobby. It was so loud, I couldn’t hear the woman, I asked for directions. She said something about the purple line. She had to repeat it several times. This tactic, is done to Targets, on a regular basis, They overwhelm you with noise, and talk over you; when you ask someone for help, or try to place a food order somewhere. In hopes, you are overwhelmed by the noise campaign, frustration, and won’t return. It didn’t faze me, Koda the Magnificent, and I, were on our way. We went to check into the clinic, but I was way early, and decided to go back to the main lobby. While I was driving, they called to schedule the appointment. It was at 1pm, but I scribbled down two number ones, making it look like 11. I get a lot of calls, while driving, or preoccupied by something.
The maniac, wasn’t smashing keys on the piano, anymore. I sat down, and Koda lay at my feet. There was a Security Guard standing in front of us. He and another guy, starts hugging each other. Perps, do this all the time; excessive, over-exaggerated, Public Displays of Affection. I mentioned before; these Perps have their tales, and they will throw it in your face. After the fake PDA, the other guy starts talking, almost yelling, pointing outstretched arm and finger, directly at Koda. He’s looking directly at Koda, while doing so. I said, “Sir, he’s a service dog”. The guy continues to point, talking extremely loud. He says to me, “I’ve raised more dogs than you’ll ever know”. He then starts doing a chicken dance. Flapping his arms. I looked to the Security Guard and asked, “are you going to allow this”. “This is a service dog”. He made excuses for the guy, and dismissed it. I asked if he knew the guy, he said he new his first name as Rod, didn’t know his last. They had pulled their skit, so the security guard walked away. They other guy was walking away too, but came back, pointing again. Again, It did faze Koda a bit. I nurse walked by, and I asked her; “is this the way you treat your patients”. She caught the tale end of it, as the Security Guard, just walked away from us. She said she would get a patient’s advocate, She did, the advocate spoke with me. I explained the situation, what had happens, as Koda lay at my feet. She said, she would gather more information, and call me back. She did, and told me the security guard, did tell her, he new the guy that was harassing Koda. The guard told me he didn’t really know him, just his first name.
Koda and I had enough of their bullshit. We had time to grab lunch, before our appointment. We walked about two blocks, to a Deli. As we waited for street lights across from the Deli. A woman came out from a child day care place. She stood in the small parking lot. She had something in her hand beside a phone. Then a car alarm went off, several feet from her. It continued, as the woman looked at us, in a stern manner. Once the light turn green, and we were able to cross, the car alarm stopped, and the woman went back inside. We get the car alarm treatment a lot. It’s another noise campaign, intended to onset anxiety in a Target. It didn’t faze Koda, we crossed, when the crosswalk audio began beeping.
We ordered our lunch, sat down and waited. There was no one ahead of us, but the stall began. The woman that took our order, clapping her hands for no apparent reason. She would walk behind the counter, throw her arms into the air, slap her palms to geather, and make a loud clap. It’s another Perp tale. They want you to know they are involved in Gang Stalking. She then brought out two big bags of ice, started slamming them on a counter, by the soda machine. She then, poured them into the top of the machine, as slow as possible. After that, she went back to clapping. A couple of people came in. A man that was eating when we came in, stood up, walked out of his way, to dispose of his trash. So he could stare Koda down, as he walked by.
We had our lunch and left. We just crossed the street, some guy was chasing us down with an electric cart thing. I’m supersized he didn’t have American flags, sticking out from the thing. I then heard a woman yelling, so I turned around. The woman that took our order at the deli, was yelling, asking if I left my credit card there. I knew I didn’t, I used a debit card. She asked if I was sure, I said yes. She wanted to stall me, as two young boys come racing at us on bicycles. The guy setting on the electric cart watching our response. These Perps, will do whatever it takes, to stall someone, until others show up to harass a Target. These same sequence of events, have been recorded and documented over and over. These conspired acts, have been repeated, from one state to another. It may change up a bit, but it’s always delaying a Target, so others can show up and get their licks in.
We made it back to the St Mary’s Hospital. We went to our clinic to check in. There was a woman in the clinic lobby, without a face mask. We get this often, in a required mask area. They want the Target to say something, to start a confrontation. I don’t bite, and the woman looked disappointed. The woman checking us in, wanted me to give her my social security and phone number out-loud. This was a small lobby, anyone in there could hear me giving personal information. Information, that can be used to steal your identity. The woman, even wanted me to repeat my social security number. Which was total bullshit. I told her, I shouldn’t be giving this information out-loud. They should have a form. She said they don’t, this is how they check people in. A lot of these acts, are designed to get a Target riled up, just before a blood pressure test. I just went with the flow, and got the ultrasound on my carotid arteries. The technician that did it, was decent, and enjoyed Koda. I told him, the only time Koda acted out, was when a doctor, had his finger up my ass, checking my prostate. I was kidding with him. This Hospital, has a 2 Star rating. I wonder why?
After our long morning of being baited, and hated; we headed back to camp. I spent the rest of the day, and night, trying to access, my medical records and MRI test. We vets, use MyHealthVet, to access this information online. I haven’t been able to access my MRI, and it was done on 5-27-22.
Here we are, and it’s Tuesday. I finally contact, tech support, with MyHealthVet. A woman named Monica, help me. I can’t give this woman enough praise. She spent over an hour with me. It wasn’t by catch, or browser. Someone had locked me out, my password was no longer valid, and I couldn’t reset it. She told me this happens often. I had the same thing happen, to my Flickr account. Monica, was finally able to remove my old password. This woman was extremely patient, kind and understanding.
I set a password and was able to download, and view my MRI results, and the images. They were worse, than I had anticipated. I could go into detail, but I’ll spare you. If you read my last post; you would have read the bullshit the Neurologist, with Barrows Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, puts me through.
I had my fist visit with him on 4-14-22. He said he reviewed my records, and if I was having vision problem in only one eye; it could not be a neurological problem. He, along with my VA primary care doctor, wanted to dismiss my physical problems, as migraine headaches. Even though, I told them I don’t have migraine headaches, I very seldom have mild headache. I asked for an MRI, on my brain.
He said there’s nothing in my records, warranting an MRI. I had to insist. They didn’t return my many calls to see if they received my MRI, for a video call on 7-18-22. On that call, he talks down to me again, telling me, it’s my responsibility, to insure they had it. When his staff, and Phoenix VA, Community Care person, didn’t return my calls for weeks. He still set up the video call, knowing they didn’t have it. Then on the call he tells me “anyone can read your MRI, to you”. But, they are holding off, releasing me to another physician, and Neurologist. Because, he wants to have another video call, go over my MRI (that he didn’t want done in the first place), so they can bill the VA, again. He is postponing, my care. Even though I told my physician, and the Community Team in Phoenix, the bullshit, they have pulled. I want to repeat this; my care is being delayed, so a man that didn’t want me to have an MRI, who’s staff doesn’t return my calls, so they can continue to bill the VA. This mans actions, and lack of, show; he could care less about my outcome, or receiving the Neurological care that I need. The nurse that has been corresponding with me, on my primary care team; has been a real dick too. They don’t want to release me to Grand Junction, either. When a patient is transferred to another VA facility, they lose their funding for that patient. Meanwhile, I’m denied the urgent care, I desperatly need.
Now, I’m setting up for a video call, with my Rheumatologist, in Phoenix. She’s one of the good ones. She puts all the bullshit aside, and looks out for her patients. I’m going on line, a black Cadillac, yes a Cadillac, parks about 100 meters behind us. Then, I hear a small drone flying around. I take a couple of pictures, from a window. They gather their things and slowly leave. I get cued to click onto the link. As soon as I do, gunshots, just to the left side of our motorhome.
I’m on the call now, my Rheumatologist able to access my MRI. She said, Rick, you need to see a Neurologist ASAP. I told her, I know. She was angered at the shit I’m going through, told me to keep a close eye on my blood pressure. Just as she did, a Jet dives, right over the top of our motorhome. It was probably, a National Guard Jet. They have a small base, in Grand Junction. Planes and jets, flight paths, are often diverted over a Targets whereabouts. It’s another conspired act, of overwhelming harassment. It also helps validitfy, the amoral actions of all the other minions. I will set up at a new boondocking site, in the middle of nowhere. Within a couple of days, there’s planes and jets, buzzing our motorhome. Colorado, Wyoming, Arizona; it doesn’t matter where I’m at. It’s not that I camp within flight patterns. The flight patters are changed, so aircraft can harass, surveil, and intimidate a Target.
Then, within minutes, the Village Idiots, start showing up. I have documented and recorded this, for many years.
We head back to St Mary’s Hospital, that afternoon. I had an appointment with a Vascular Surgeon. As we get close to the clinic within the hospital. One of the clinic staff is walking towards us, with her mask pulled down. As we get closer, she pulls it up. She left the clinic for her break, like the staff did in at the license branch, in a previous post. We walk into the clinic, no one at the window, so we set down in the unoccupied lobby. One of the women calls us back, said the other woman is gone, she will check check us in. She called us back to a crowded small hallway, so Koda and I could be mobbed. This creepy older couple walk right up to us, as we stood there at the counter. Then, there were a couple nurses, that had to get in on the action. The woman behind the counter, says she will get my information. As the older guy starts fake coughing, right in our face. He, and the woman, give Koda the stare down. She disappears, the guy steps to our other side. He continues to cough, as others work their way closer to us. This, all, in a very small hallway. The woman behind the counter said, “Oh, we already have your information. So, we just stood there. I finally had enough, and said, “if your done with this show, we will be in the lobby”. She quickly says, the nurse will take you back now.
The first thing the nurse did, was take my blood pressure. You can imagine, how high it is by now. We get this treatment all the time, at the VA. They do everything they can it elevate your blood pressure, so they can document it in your chart. But, when you try to address your valid medical problems, they dismiss them. Saying, if we don’t see it, we can’t put it in your records. The nurse took my vitals, and said the doctor will be in shortly.
The doctor knocked on the door, then entered, with two young women. He introduces them; one as a nurse in training, the other as his Physicians Assistant. Koda, laying at my left side. One of the women positioned to stare directly at him; as the doctor told me, one of my carotid arteries my be completely blocked. He said, we have had patients describe the gray curtain, in their eyes, like you have. He then says, there is no chance of a stroke. Which was bullshit. He may have had the two Honey Pots in there, in case, he has to collaborate a story. I have see this a lot, in questionable doctors. Like my Primary Care Doctor, in Phoenix. She and the Neurologist with Barrows, wanted to dismiss the extensive blood flow restrictions, as migraine headaches. Now, I’m seeing physical proof, that they are not. I’m falling on my face; because my brain is not getting the blood flow it needs, to produce the neurons, that signal for my left leg to lift, when I need it to. The doctor says he will, discuses the gray spot with the Ophthalmologist, and get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have one artery completely blocked, blockage in another one, and he will get back to me in 2-4 weeks. I have addressed this with VA doctor, after doctor, for over two years. I’m told I’ll have to wait another 2-4 weeks, for a game plan. As brain tissue dies off, because of blood flow restrictions.
This is what happens to Americans, not gust veterans, that dare question, their medical care, or lack of. People go to a hospital for help and healing, and are harassed and dismissed. If you dare question these doctors, or medical facilities; your life will be a living hell. Like they did to my mother, in another Catholic Hospital. She truly feared the nurse treating her, after she took a bad fall in her 80s. My sister was there to witness, the rude and dismissive treatment. My mother pleaded with my sister, not to say anything. There are many great people in the medical field. Their dedication and sacrifices, are often overshadowed by the Bullies, that work along side them. Gaslighting and Workplace Mobbing, is off the charts in the medical field. Administrators, and what is labeled as leadership, allow it. Like many, many in the corporate world. Like our FBI Director.
The rest of the week, is filled with the same conspired acts of gaslighting, harassment and mobbing. We have the Village Idiots, walking around the back and sides of our motorhome, as we lay in bed at night. When I get up to pee in the middle of the night, they zoom pass the back of our motorhome. Like the Bully pictured in the white Tacoma, in the previous post. They will then stop and shine their lights, into our bedroom windows. I even had one shining their lights in to the bathroom, while I took a dump. I don’t know what kind of fetish, these sick fucks have with poop. Koda can’t take one outside; with out a plane and these idiots, showing up to watch, and harass him, as he scrunches up to drop one. It happened again this morning.
I spent the rest of the week making phone calls and emails to patient advocates and my primary care provider in Phoenix. They won’t transfer my care to Grand Junction. I was told by a dick in my primary care team; they will not release my care because the Neurologist that didn’t want me to have an MRI, scheduled a video call to read it. They won’t release my care to another Neurologist. I’m told, I need to coordinate with him, for a meeting on 8-18-22. I don’t know how I’m suppose to do this, when his staff won’t return my phone calls. Meanwhile, they bill the VA, for video calls. When, on the last one, he told me “anyone can read your MRI”.
Now were into Friday. I started writing this the day before. We’ve had the Village Idiots keeping us sleep deprived for three nights now. Zooming pass the back of the motorhome, walking around it, hitting the motorhome with something, as we lay in bed. They don’t want to be captured on camera, so they pick up the harassment and mobbing at night.
I took Koda for a short walk. A plane the keeps showing up as we step out, is overhead. It has a black underbelly, with white wings. I ignore it, and try to get Koda a little exercise. After, we went back in. I began my phone calls again. I called the Phoenix VA, to continue, trying to get my care transferred. I told everyone; I didn’t want to see the Neurologist from Hell again, or have anything to do with him. I told the young woman about the young patient advocate, that laughed at me, as I tried to explained what was going on. The supervisor that was trying to cover for the person in Community Care, that didn’t return my calls. They don’t seem to fucking get it. Veterans die every day; waiting for a phone call, or authorization for care. My close cousin did. He died in his mothers living room recliner. She was making him breakfast, called him into the kitchen. He didn’t come, she went into the living room, and found him dead, in her recliner. He was a Vietnam War Veteran, waiting for authorization, to receive VA care. Thiis is what happens, when Bullies, and Administrators, can pick and chose who receives care.
The woman I spoke with said she will forward this to the head supervisor, but she may not respond because its Friday. It was the 1st thing Friday. While I was on the phone with her; one of the Village Idiots is stopped behind our motorhome, harassing Koda, as he looked out the window. I stepped out with my camera, he spins off, throwing gravel and dust into the air. Here comes a plane again, buzzing directly overhead. I take a couple picks, go back inside.
I decided to call the White House VA Hotline. This was recommend to me by a Community Care Nurse, here in Grand Junction, trying to get me transferred. I spent an hour and 24 minutes speaking to a woman. I told her about the Neurologist dicking me around for months, and still wants too. I told her about being laughed at, by someone who was supposed to be my advocate. I told her about the Village Idiots shooting their high powered rifles over and in front of our motorhome. From Colorado, to Wyoming, to Arizona. I told her about the Village Idiots, keeping us up at night, and sleep deprived. I told her about me, being locked out of my medical and testing records. I told her, this is not a Biden Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. She didn’t seem at all surprised. She said she would start a case, it would take 2-4 weeks, for them to possibly get a resolution. Now, I have to wait another 2-4 weeks. How many veterans will die, waiting 2-4 weeks for a response? How may, Mr Denis Richard McDonough, VA Secretary? Meanwhile, Republicans block a bill, that would help fund the care of veterans dying from exposure to burn pits.
It’s not just the Republicans. Look at all the legislators that jumped on board, for the 880 billion dollar spending bill for defense. Or the 280 billion, to subsidies their buddies in the tech field, that will make billions from chip manufacturing. We have a former president that lied, pushed his lie, to start a 20 year war. Now, our legislators, won’t take care of the men and women that served in that war. How many of these legislators, have spouses, family, and corporate friends, making millions from these contracts. AS, they turn their backs on veterans once again. Right Joe! Have another televised meeting with your corporate friends, like you recently did. Like you did last year too. So, they can tell the American people, how great you are. Meanwhile, veterans are dying, awaiting care. Other veterans, and other United States Citizens, are being used as test subjects, for Direct Energy Weapons. Right, Mr. CIA, and FBI, directors.
It had been another taxing morning. It was mid afternoon, I was drained. I went to the bedroom, laid down to take a nap. Koda, lays at my feet. Withing 5 minutes, there was a jet, that dove right at, and over the top of, our motorhome. Not shortly, after my call, to the White House VA Hotline. Seriously people, this shit happens! The rest of the day was filled with noise campaigns, Village Idiots zooming pass, on a state highway. Every time we stepped out of the motorhome.
This is what happens to United States Citizens, that dare to speak out, about the vast corruption within our government, the defense and medical industry, and corporate America. This is what happens to Targeted Individuals, in the United States of America. It’s not a Biden, Bullshit Story, or a Trump Lie; these are facts. I don’t want your sympathy, your money. I want everyone to know the truth.
All photos, and content of my photostream, are free to download, copy, print and share. All I ask, is that they maintain my logos and copyright info. Help me share the truth! Knowledge, Truth and Exposure, are powerful tools. Please bare with me; when I try to post these truths, my internet speeds slows, or drops completely. Many times, unable to award those very deserving, in the many Flickr groups. I was even unable to edit my last post, from spelling and grammar.
Thanks for visiting our photstream. I have to go. Koda, is trying to protect me from the chipmunk, at our door. The poor guys has been a bit, stressed. He had to take a double poo, this morning; while planes and the Village Idiots, bombarded him with noise. Oh shit, here comes another National Guard Jet. I’m going to get some serious hate, from this post. My connection, just timed out.
one more sunset
from Belle Isle
over the detroit river
to windsor, canada.
Been at the hospital with my Mom the past 2 days. We thought she had a real bad flu, but turns out she has an intestinal blockage. Hoping she will not have to have another surgery ... keep fingers crossed !!
A Dog’s Life: Kennedy Bravely Faced Every Challenge With A Smile - IMRAN®
At the end of March 2024, I took my beloved German Shepherd, Kennedy, to the vet. He had started having difficulty not only going to the bathroom but also urinating—symptoms he had never displayed before. I brought him to the veterinary clinic on Apollo Beach Boulevard, hoping for answers.
As K2 and I waited, the doctor approached me with Kennedy. With a mix of compassion and honesty, she gently shared heartbreaking news: Kennedy didn’t have a typical blockage. Instead, he had an aggressive, inoperable tumor that had grown rapidly, making it impossible for him to pass anything through his system.
Brave as always, Kennedy had tried countless times but simply couldn’t. My world shattered as I realized I had to make the unfathomable decision of how much time I could spend with him before saying goodbye forever. I saw tears in the doctor’s eyes as she revealed she had faced the same sorrow with her own dog just a year before.
In a video I recorded at home one year ago, you can hear my voice tremble with emotion as I fought back tears while talking to Kennedy. Despite everything, he remained steadfast—bravely smiling, a true testament to his loving, loyal nature.
It’s been a year since that moment, and even now, as I type these words, I am overcome with grief, crying like a child. Kennedy, Best Dog Ever.
© 2024-2025 IMRAN®
#IMRAN #Florida #TampaBay #ApolloBeach #GSD #GermanShepherdDogs #dogs #memories #life #loss #greatness #philosophy #LifeLessons
Merry Christmas & New Year! Here's to more photography in 2015!
Add yourself to the photo!
Finbarr.
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Monday, 29 September 2014
GM 084 departs Wellingtonbridge with the ECS movement of the RPSI Craven carriages from Wexford to Waterford. The train had earlier operated the Railtours Ireland 'Emerald Isle Express" tour (Day 1) from Dublin Connolly to Wexford. The ECS movement across the mothballed South Wexford Line to Waterford allowed the positioning of the train for Day 2 of the tour, which would see the train bringing the guests from Waterford to Cork City via Clonmel.
Back in 2011, a rake of 29000 class railcars was brought from Dublin to Rosslare via Waterford and the South Wexford Line due to a line blockage at Lansdowne Road caused by flooding. Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/finnyus/...
© Finbarr O'Neill
The road collapse between Richmond and Kingston that became known as `The Petersham Hole`, severed routes 65 and 71 for many months. A lot of `kerbside scheduling` resulted as buses terminated either side of the blockage and here at Sudbrook Lane, Petersham on 4 December 1979, RM 2026 and RM 496 await southbound departure.
The COSS for a recently surrendered Line Blockage on the Cambridge branch stands aside as 66753 passes Chippenham Junction signal box on 23rd November with a fully laden 4M29 1028 Felixstowe to Birch Coppice.
The line on the left leads to Cambridge via Dullingham.
The box is a GER construction from 1921 with a 16 lever McKenzie & Holland frame.
Another venture on the invaluable Brompton saw me nipping between Dullingham, Chippenham & Bury St Edmunds on bike and train in this thankfully flat part of the world.
On the 24th February 2015 the crew of 0-6-0T no.25-30 take advantage of a blockage in the conveyor to clean the fire. Oskova Washery, Bosnia.
My father-in-law is doing a lot better and his heart cath showed no signs of any blockage. The doctor told us he could have had a blood clot and with the meds. it broke it up and I thank God for that too! He may get to come home Friday or Saturday. Thank you all so much for the prayers. You all are the best! Have a super day my sweet flickr friends!
Kim
My new pup :) Juba was born June 15, 2024. His dad's mom/paternal grandmother is a littermate to Tino, so Tino is his grand uncle. He is all his mother, though, which is the complete opposite of Tino! Everything is YAY with Juba. He has no reaction to being told "no" or that he did something wrong, just wags his tail and goes off to find something else to be happy about. Kevin is his best friend in the whole world, even if Kevin isn't so thrilled about that.
Last November he had emergency surgery for a blockage, he had swallowed one of Kevin's favorite balls. I was paying the $4k vet bill ($3k less than they expected!) when they brought him out. He was happy as could be, bouncing around, giving everyone hugs and kisses before leaving :D There were some very confused people in the waiting room lol.
His name is pronounced with a Y, you-bah. The cheetah's binomial name is Acinonyx jubatus. Jubatus is a bit of a mouthful, so Juba it is.
Update on my niece. Sadly this photo title is relative.
She was doing better but now she is worse.
There was a blockage in her intestine and now everything is inflamed and swollen again.
She has been so sick that she said she doesn't want to die.
I am heartbroken that my little niece is going through this. It seems to be one step forward two steps back. A roller coaster that she can't get off of.
Today's dominant theme seems to be being blocked, in every possible way: creatively, spiritually, organizationally, even intestinally. It's discouraging.
But there are signs everywhere that I need to use this feeling of blockage as a moment to teach myself to move through those feelings to a clearer, more fulfilled place. The first T-shirt I pulled out of the closet this morning was printed with the legend DO BETTER. During morning devotional the Bible opened to Matthew 23, which is all about woe on the hypocrites; reading it, my mind went immediately to the need to see things differently. (And at this moment it recalls yesterday's cocktail conversation with a new friend who explained the danger of a "one-story narrative" and the need to hear more than one point of view.)
Today's horoscopes are full of prudent advice for me, such as: Watch your thoughts...notice how your thoughts affect your energy. A negative thought will weigh you down while a positive thought will lift you up...[challenge:] to find wisdom in our actions." (Gold River Astrology) Also advice to relax the mind, compromise, accommodate -- not be so rigid.
I needed to receive this guidance at the start of the day, and I'm grateful I did. Already I am refraining from holding on mentally to bad news in the papers, and refraining from commenting! Today I am making my citrine pendant a talisman for positivity. Citrine enhances creative imagination (and I need that today), mental clarity, and manifestion through the will -- all things that can keep me on an even keel today.
This citrine pendant is like a spot of liquid sunshine. As soon as I saw the dealer's photo online I knew it would be mine. Even though, as it happens, it might not be a real citrine but baked amethyst, it has come to me at the right time, and I love having it and wearing it. Soon, I will be wearing it at the beach!
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday she was running through the bluebonnets and 24 hours later she just got home from the veterinarian. She apparently ate something that violently disagreed with her in the middle of the night and vomited so much that it became bloody at one point. Xrays proved no blockage but she was severely dehydrated in just 8 hours. She received meds to stop the vomiting and coat her stomach and IV fluids all day. She's still pretty wobbly, but she's home. Hug your dogs tonight!
Piraeus port, Syria war refugees, little boy and a woman holding a kid
It's been, for long now, a common daily activity where hundreds of Syria War refugees along with illegal & undocumented Asian and African migrants are smuggled (in unseaworthy rubber boats and perilous conditions in the Aegean sea) from the Asian coast of Turkey to the Greek islands, by conveniently operating and hugely profiting traffickers (selling out even fake, water-absorbent life-jackets, to migrants), under the nose, if not guidance and pressure, of the Turkish coast guard, and despite the EU-Turkey Migration treaty.
Migrants arriving to Greek islands are then transferred by ferryboats to Piraeus with the prospect to be dispersed to "temporary" camps all over the Greek mainland, but most likely to remain "trapped" for undisclosed time, if not for ever, as far as the key migrant "European corridor" remains closed-down at the borders in the north region of Macedonia(Greece) with FYROM* in order to protect the rest of EU states (uneager to accept but a tiny number of documented refugees) and also discourage future migrants from heading to Europe.....
Meanwhile in Greece, migration inflow steadily surpasses outflow, as far as the war in Syria continues and Turkey capitalizes not only on Syrian refugees but on all its Asian and African migrants reaching swiftly (with cheap TurkishAirlines fare & e-visa) Istanbul, Europe's backdoor, by smuggling them to Greece so assisting its expansionist policy through the ethnological, cultural and economic destabilization of the small communities in the islands and (given the huge influx and the border blockage), all over Greece, while generating also an instability potential of the status quo in the Aegean Sea that Turkey's "deep state" would like to change by dividing it in the middle (if not by taking over whatever Greek land) at a given opportunity, alike with the Invasion of Cyprus in 1974 ...
Consequently, Greece, already suffering a deep socio-economic & political crisis under its divisive, incompetent and obsessed neo-communist leadership, is turned into a de facto European "migrant buffer zone", and has to manage alone, just with EU "technical assistance", the unstoppable migration influx from Turkey and an additional, social crisis. It looks as if Greece is declining into a state of uncontrolled anarchy (UPDATE MAR31 less than 24hrs after OP) while EU is imploding and fragmenting from the backlash of its own misdeeds and consequent crises ....
Crises that emerged from the geopolitical games and the wars imposed and/or exploited by the .... Great European Powers ( UK, France, Germany), along with the USA, NATO, as well as the Sunni Islamists of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, last but not least, Turkey and its neo-ottoman styled leadership that promoted the war in Syria and cooperated undercover with ISIS, further escalating its own undeclared (civil) war against the Kurds, not just within Turkey, but also in Syria
Wars fancily dubbed as "against tyranny and terror", have in fact caused by far more misery, terror and havoc with the disintegration of Iraq, Libya and Syria, the eventual creation of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and the other jihadist organizations that preach and exercise blind hatred, and terrorism against the West, while they impose their domain and Brutal Rule of Terror on a number of regions across Middle East, Asia, and Africa.
UPDATES
MAR.31 : Migrants Clash at Pireus Port
APR .. 1 : Violence at Chios Island Migrant Camp
APR . 4 : First Deportations to Turkey While Migrant Boats Continue Ariving to Greek Islands
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*FYROM, (originally Vardarska or Vardar Banovina), a landlocked country and non EU member state, is usually referred as "Macedonia" in the "narrative overlay" of media such as CNN, BBC etc that systematically defy the only officially recognized (by UN, EU, NATO, IOC, IAAF etc. etc) name "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), for their very own reasons. if not for assisting the agenda of specific interests (of USA, NATO, UK, certain EU member states and, as usual, Turkey) in the allready quite broken apart and multi-divided, Balkans ...
FYROM also should not be confused, with the historical region of Macedonia in Greece as the later incorporates the whole area where Ancient Macedonian People firstly appeared and lived more than 2500 years ago, that is about 1000 years earlier than the arrival of the Slavs in the Balkans....
La Rogativa is a famous bronze statue located at the Plazuela de la Rogativa in Old San Juan. "The Legend of La Rogativa" and this statue that commemorates the first time local, civilian islanders fought for their island marks the birth of Puerto Rican patriotism or “puertorriqueñismo.”
Rogativa is an old Spanish word for prayer that derives from the verb “rogar” meaning to plea or supplicate. The legend is about a Catholic Bishop and his companions who made an evening procession in faith holding crosses and torches, while chanting during an invasion and the surprising results that supposedly happened.
When all seemed lost the women of the city, along with the bishop, started at the Cathedral and paraded through the streets at night singing hymns, carrying torches, bells, and praying for their city to be saved. It is then claimed that the British mistook the sights and sounds of that night and thought the procession was Spanish Army reinforcements. And then, believing that reinforcements outnumbering the British had arrived, Abercrombie’s fleet abandoned the siege and left.
What definitely did happen was that British troupes led by Sir Ralph Abercromby (who had just conquered Trinidad) had taken control of the city through a naval blockage on April 30, 1797. What definitely didn't happen was the British getting to celebrate another victory. Historians may see the unfolding of events a bit differently than the legend of La Rogativa but why should history stand in the way of a good story?
The statue that stands 12-feet tall in front of an old sentry box with a beautiful view of the San Juan Bay was completed in 1971 by Lindsay Daen.
Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives.
While we have already discussed the planetary archetypes, it is worth reminding ourselves at this point exactly how the alchemists looked on the relationship between the planet and its metal. They believed that the metals had the same “virtue” as the corresponding planet, that a single spirit infuses both the planet and the metal. In other words, the planet was a celestial manifestation and the metal a terrestrial manifestation of the same universal force. Therefore, the metals are the purest expression of the planetary energies in the mineral kingdom, which is the basis for material reality on earth. The next stage of evolution on our planet is the plant kingdom, and the alchemists assigned a metal and its corresponding planet to describe the characteristics of every known herb, flower, and plant. Similarly, on the next level in the evolution of matter in the animal kingdom, all creatures carry their own metallic or planetary signatures, which are expressed in their behavior. In human beings, the alchemists referred to the sum total of the cosmic signatures of the metals as a person’s “temperament.” Originally, that word referred to the metallurgical process of “tempering” or mixing different metals to produce certain characteristics in an alloy. Although the alchemists considered lead the lowest of the base metals, they treated it with a great deal of respect, as they did its corresponding planet Saturn. Lead was said to carry all the energy of its own transformation, and it was that hidden energy that the alchemists sought to free. To the alchemists, the ancient metal was a powerful “sleeping giant” with a dark and secret nature that encompassed both the beginning and end of the Great Work.
Lead is the heaviest of the seven metals; it is very tied to gravity, form, and manifested reality. It is also a very stubborn metal known for its durability and resistance to change. Lead products dating from 7000 BC are still intact, and lead water pipes installed by the Romans 1,500 years ago are still in use today. Alchemists depicted lead in their drawings as the god Saturn (a crippled old man with a sickle), Father Time, or a skeleton representing death itself. Any of these symbols in their manuscripts meant the alchemist was working with the metal lead in the laboratory or a leaden attitude in his accompanying meditation.Lead is a boundary of heaviness for matter. Metals of greater atomic weight are too heavy and disintegrate over time (by radioactive decay) to turn back into lead. So radioactive decay is really a Saturnic process that introduces a new characteristic in the metals – that of time. All the hyper-energetic metals beyond lead are trapped in time to inexorably return to lead. There is no natural process more unalterably exact than radioactive decay. Atomic clocks, the most precise timekeeping devices we have, are based on this leaden process. Geologists measure the age of radioactive rocks by how much lead they contain, and the age of the earth is estimated by taking lead isotope measurements. In many ways, lead carries the signature of Father Time.Native lead, which is lead metal found in a chemically uncombined state, is actually extremely rare. It is found in the earth's crust in a concentration of only about 13 parts per billion. Lead does not form crystals easily, and thus the pure mineral form is very rare and extremely valuable as rock specimens. Such elemental lead can also be found in very unusual “metamorphosed” limestone and marble formations that are equally rare.Surprisingly, lead is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and when it occurs in nature, it is always found with gold and silver. In fact, the chemical symbol for lead (Pb) is from the Latin word plumbum, which means “liquid silver.” We derive our words “plumbing” and “plumb bob” from the use of lead in those applications. In the smelting of silver, lead plays an important role by forming a layer over the emerging molten silver and protecting it from combining with the air and splattering out. The volatile molten lead covering is gradually burnt away, until only the pure silver metal “peeks out” (in the smelter’s terminology) in a stabilized form. Thus, lead protects and even sacrifices itself for the nobler metals.The planet Saturn and its metal and the planet have the same symbol (L) in alchemy. The Hermetic interpretation is that the symbol is basically the cross of the elements that depicts the division between the Above and Below or spirit and matter. The lunar crescent of the soul is below the cross, representing the manifestation (or entrapment) of soul below in matter. Despite these associations with the noble metals, lead itself never makes it to such heights among the metals. The silvery luster of fresh cut lead quickly fades, as if it were “dying” before your eyes. Furthermore, alchemists considered lead to be “hydrophobic” or against the life nourishing archetype of water. Lead ores lack the slightest water content and tend to form machine-like structures.The most common ore of lead is galena, which also contains the noble metals silver and gold. Galena is lead sulfide, a favorite of rock collectors because of its distinctive cubic shapes, characteristic cleavage, and high density. In fact, the structure of galena is identical to that of natural table salt. The two minerals have exactly the same crystal shapes, symmetry and cleavage, although galena crystals are thousands of times larger. Some galena may contain up to 1% silver and often contains trace amounts of gold. The large volume of galena that is processed for lead produces enough silver as a by product to make galena the leading ore of silver as well Galena definitely has the signature of lead. Its color is silver gray with a bluish tint. The luster ranges from metallic to dull in the weathered faces, and the isometric crystals are opaque to light. The massive crystals of galena almost always take the form of a cube or octahedron, and the cleavage is perfect in four direction always forming cubes. Because of the perfect cleavage, fractures are rarely seen and the dark crystalline structure is nearly perfect.Lead is also found in other sulfuric minerals like calcite and dolomite, as well as lead oxidation minerals such as and anglesite and cerussite, which is found in the oxidation zone of lead deposits usually associated with galena. Some formations show cerussite crusts around a galena core as if the act of oxidation was frozen in time. Cerrussite is lead carbonate and also a favorite of rock hounds. Its very high luster is due mostly to the metallic lead content, and just as leaded crystal glass sparkles more brilliantly because of its lead content, so too does cerussite. Cerussite has one of the highest densities for a transparent mineral. It is over six and a half times as dense as water. Most rocks and minerals average only around three times the density of water. Cerussite is famous for its great sparkle and density, and its amazing twinned (or double) crystals. The mineral forms geometrically intricate structures and star shapes that simply amazing to behold – sometimes the twinned crystals form star shapes with six "rays" extending out from the star.When freed from its ores, lead metal has a bluish-white color and is very soft – capable of being scratched by a fingernail. With its dull metallic luster and high density, lead cannot easily be confused with any other metal. It is also malleable, ductile, and sectile – meaning it can be pounded into other shapes, stretched into a wire, and cut into slices. However, lead is a dark, sluggish, base metal. Of the seven metals, it is the slowest conductor of electricity and heat, the least lustrous or resonant. Its Saturnic signature of heaviness is expressed not only in its being the heaviest metal but also in its tendency to form inert and insoluble compounds. No other metal forms as many. Although it tarnishes upon exposure to air like silver, lead is extremely resistant to corrosion over time and seems to last forever. Lead pipes bearing the insignia of Roman emperors, used as drains from the baths, are still in service. The surface of lead is protected by a thin layer of lead oxide, and it does not react with water. The same process protects lead from the traditional “liquid fire” of the alchemists – sulfuric acid. In fact, lead bottles are still used to store the highly corrosive acid. Lead is so inalterable, that half of all the lead in the world today is simply recovered from scrap and formed directly into bullion for reuse.Lead is truly a destroyer of light. It is added to high-quality glassware (lead crystal) to absorb light reflections and make the glass clearer. Lead salts in glass are not changed by light but change light itself by absorbing it. Incoming light in lead crystal meets with high resistance, but once it is within the glass, light is immediately absorbed or dispersed without any reflected light escaping. Sheets of lead are also impermeable to all forms of light, even high energy X-rays and gamma rays, which makes lead the perfect shield against any form of radiation and is why it is used to transport and store radioactive materials.Lead is an extremely poor conductor of electricity and blocks all kinds of energy transmission. Indeed, one of the signatures of lead is its ability to “dampen” or absorb energy. Unlike other metals, when lead is struck, the vibrations are immediately absorbed and any tone is smothered in dullness. Lead is an effective sound proofing medium and tetraethyl lead is still used in some grades of gasoline as an antiknock compound to “quiet” the combustion of gasoline.Thin lead sheets are used extensively in the walls of high-rise buildings to block the transmission of sound, and thick pads of lead are used in the foundations to absorb the vibrations of street traffic and even minor earthquakes. Lead sheets are widely used in roofing to block solar rays, and lead foil is used to form lightproof enclosures in laboratory work. Ultimately, lead corresponds to the galactic Black Hole that absorbs all forms of radiation and light.Lead reacts with more chemicals than any other metal, however, instead of producing something new and useful, lead “kills” the combining substance by making it inert, insoluble and unable to enter into further chemical reactions. Its salts precipitate out of solutions heavily and copiously. Lead has the same effect in the plant kingdom. It accumulates in the roots and slows down the “breathing” process in plants. Young plants are adversely affected by even the smallest amount of lead in the soil.Lead is poisonous and accumulates over time in the bones of the human body, where it cannot be flushed out. It has also been found in high concentrations in gallstones and kidney stones. The old alchemical graphic for lead – a skeleton – was grotesquely appropriate. The symptoms of lead poisoning (known as “Saturnism”) are lack of energy, depression, blindness, dizziness, severe headaches at the back of the head, brain damage, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities and mental retardation, antisocial behavior and anger, atrophy of muscular tissue and cramping, excess growth of connective tissue resulting in a rigid appearance, rapid aging, coma, and early death. Rats fed only 5 parts per million of lead had a lifespan 25% shorter than normal rats. Children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, and it is believed to be an important factor in stillborn fetuses. Children with more than just 0.3 parts per million of lead in their blood suffer a significant slowing of brain function and corresponding drop in IQ. Lead in paint has caused mental retardation and premature aging in hundreds of children who ingested old flaking paint from the walls of their homes. Lead paint was used extensively until the poisonous effects were documented in the 1960s. Because of its lasting durability, lead paint is still used outdoors in advertising and the yellow lines on highways and curbs. The subtly controlling aspect of those applications is another signature of lead and of “leaden” persons in general.Not surprisingly, lead has found use as an insecticide and was even once considered for use as a military weapon. Lead metal reacts violently with fluorine and chlorine to form the highly poisonous gases, lead fluoride and lead chloride. Lead is also used in all kinds of ammunition – another appropriate application of lead’s esoteric signature as Father Time and the Grim Reaper. There are many research studies linking lead exposure to anger and violence, especially in adolescents. One recent study of all counties in the United States conducted by Colorado State University revealed that the murder rate in counties with the highest lead levels were four times higher than in counties with the lowest levels of lead.More benevolent uses of lead are in storage batteries, covering for underground and transoceanic cables, waste plumbing, shielding around X-ray equipment and nuclear reactors, solder, pewter, fine lead crystal glass, and flint glass with a high refractive index for achromatic lenses.Even the elemental metal carries the seed of its own redemption. The alchemists knew that Fire is lord over lead, for the metal has a low melting point and is easily separated from its ore by roasting in an open flame, and the metal itself melts in a candle flame. Lead expands on heating and contracts on cooling more than any other solid heavy metal. (Silver is the opposite and is considered an antidote to lead.)Perhaps owing to its dual nature, lead carries deeply hidden within its structure the fire of its own transformation. Many lead salts reveal a whole rainbow of brilliant colors, with the solar colors of yellow, orange, and red predominating. This is why lead has been used in paints for so many centuries. Finely divided lead powder is pyrophoric (“fire containing”) and easily catches fire or erupts spontaneously in flames. When made into a fine powder, lead metal must be kept in a vacuum to keep from catching fire. Otherwise, it ignites and burns down to a bright yellow ash, revealing its deeply hidden solar signature. So, the wonder of lead is that hidden deep inside the gray, dead metal is a tiny, eternal spark that is the seed of its own resurrection. In the eyes of alchemists, this makes lead the most important metal despite its unattractive darkness. For dull lead and gleaming gold are really the same things, only at different stages of growth or maturity.The Secret Fire inside lead is really the alchemical basis for transforming lead into gold, and correspondingly, gives mankind hope for its own spiritual transformation. That tiny spark of light in the darkest part of matter makes resurrection part of the structure of the universe. So, deep down inside, the metal lead also yearns to be transformed. It wants to rise in the air and fly, leave matter and form behind, and be free as Fire. Lead unites two contrasting forces: rigid heaviness and revivifying inner fire. Archetypically, the lead process is concerned with death and resurrection. Greek myth says that after death our soul is put on a scale, and the weights of the scale are made from lead, the metal that carries Saturn's signature.Lead is used in magical rituals, spells, and amulets to promote contact with deep unconscious levels (the underworld), deep meditation, controlling negativity, breaking bad habits and addictions, protection, stability, grounding, solidity, perseverance, decisiveness, concentration, conservation, and material constructions (buildings). Pick up a hunk of lead and the first thing you notice is its weight – its connection to gravity. It is that connection to something beyond matter and light, the very form of the universe that is the physical basis for this experiment. During the winter months, preferably on some clear night in late January or early February, go outside and find the planet Saturn in the northern sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Saturn and place a piece of lead metal in your hand. You should be able to feel a strange resonance building. That eerie, cold vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of lead.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The strange connection between lead and Saturn has been documented by modern scientists, who have shown that lead compounds react differently depending on Saturn’s position in the sky. For instance, solutions of lead nitrate produce the greatest weight of crystallization (or manifestation) during February, when Saturn rules the sky, and the least during June, when Saturn is barely visible. Lead compounds also exhibit different properties when Saturn aligns with other planets. For example, lead sulfate solution rises 60% higher on strips of filter paper during conjunctions of Saturn with Mars than at other times. It is also known that the ease of making lead solutions (the “solubility coefficient” of lead) varies with the position of Saturn relative to the other planets. NASA is even considering a series of astrochemical experiments to see if the Saturn-lead effects become more pronounced in outer space.Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Surprisingly, because the metals are such perfect expressions of archetypal energies, we can actually learn quite a bit about people by studying the properties of metals and the behavior of planets. That same correspondence exists in the human temperament. For instance, the leaden person is someone who has, like Saturn, lost their bid to become a star. They have accepted a mere physical existence and believe the created world is all that counts. The positive characteristics of the saturnine person are patience, responsibility, somberness, structure and realism, true knowledge of history and karma. The black messenger crows of Chronos bring black moods, depression and despair to us, but they also alert us to illusion and fakeness in our lives. Because the lusterless metal is so “dead” and resists interaction with other substances, it is used as containers for acids, like automobile batteries, and is used as a lining in pipes that carry corrosive substances. Similarly, the lead tempered person is like an acid-proof container that stores up caustic feelings and anger. Phrases like “acid tongued” and “vitriolic” have their origins in this alchemical process of storing negative emotional energy.On the psychological level, lead is symbolic of a person’s inertness and unwillingness to change. There is a denial of all higher or spiritual energies, and the alchemists often portrayed the leaden person as lying in an open grave or hopelessly chained to matter in some way. A feeling of being trapped in material reality is symptomatic of a leaden attitude. Leaden people are stubborn, unyielding, and often control other people by making them wait. They must always be right, rarely accept blame or admit to being in error, and have no real regard for the truth of a situation. They may be religious but not spiritual. They tend to be suspicious of genius and inspiration, which they will often attribute to fantasy, They feel threatened by freedom of thought and expression, and sometimes use ridicule or try to “push people’s buttons” to control it. They tend to be very uncreative, judgmental, and smug.On the other hand, leaden people are grounded, earthy, and practical. They are good friends during times of bereavement – a rock of support at funerals and deathbeds. Such people secretly crave stimulation, excitement, and new ideas. They gravitate to people who supply energy and entertainment in their lives. This craving for stimulation often makes them focus on nervous energy instead of higher inspiration. Therefore, Saturn’s children can be very reactive and excitable instead of lethargic, as they try to escape from their prison of matter.As soon as bright, fresh lead metal is exposed to air, it forms a dull-gray oxide layer called the “litharge” that resists any further chemical interaction. In alchemy, air is associated with spiritual energy, and lead reacts to it by instantly forming a barrier or blocking it. Likewise, one of the distinguishing characteristics of someone with a lead temperament is their lack of interest in spiritual ideas. There is also a general lack of interest in life in general, and leaden people often seem lazy, lethargic, or unresponsive.In the individual, lead absorbs the inner light or insight necessary for personal growth and blocks all outside “radiations,” such as attempts at spiritual instruction by others. Because psychological lead absorbs both the deeper vibrations of intuition and higher spiritual energies and aspirations, the person with a lead temperament is uninspired, unimaginative, and lacks that creative spark so necessary for positive change. Before long the lead person starts to feel trapped in his or her dull environment and seeks out excitement, death-defying feats, lively people, and challenging conversation. Their favorite color is often red, and unconsciously, they are seeking the alchemical element of Fire. Fire is one of the Four Elements that represents activity, energy, creative thinking, and transformation. Fire is the tool alchemists use to begin the transmutation of lead into gold as well as transform leaden consciousness into a golden awareness of higher reality. In the laboratory, the changes in the metal and in the alchemist take place simultaneously. Otherwise, there can be no real transformation. The alchemists transmuted the Lead temperament using the Fire operation of Calcination. Physically, lead and Saturn rule the bones, teeth, spleen, and slow chronic processes such as aging. The therapeutic effects are contracting, coagulating, drying, and mineralizing. Saturn-ruled plants enhance the structures of life. They give a sobriety of disposition, en-abling one to see limitations. These plants give steadiness, solidity of pur-pose, subtlety, diplomacy, patience, and an ability to work on the physical plane better.Saturnic or leaden energies are needed for those who have a hard time finishing pro-jects or for those with plenty of ideas but never realize them. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Alchemists seeking to produce physical effects found in saturnine elixirs the essential vibratory rate that enabled materialization. Generally speaking, any other elixir mixed with a Saturn elixir will be earthed, which makes them of great value when working on physical plane phenomenon. Their physical therapeutic properties become refrigerant, anti-pyretic, sedative, styptic, and astringent.For instance, if one mixes a saturnine elixir with a mercurial one, the alchemists believed it would release knowledge contained in secret magical manuscripts or in ancient hermetic traditions, because the Saturn-Mercury vibration contains all hidden knowledge of an esoteric nature within it. Alchemical oils were mixed in the same way. For example, to treat leukemia, alchemists would prescribe an equal mixture of lead oil and gold oil. The alchemists made an Oil of Lead that was good for “growth of bones after breaking, strengthening the skeleton, osteoporosis and atrophy of the bones, stimulation of the spleen, drying tissue, reducing secretions and discharges, stopping bleeding, reducing fever, increasing patience, and stopping visions and an overactive imagination.” They also suggested it for hallucinations due to neurological disorders that have delirious after-effects such as encephalitis and post-traumatic stress syndrome. In the “like cures like” philosophy of homeopathy, lead is used to treat sclerosis, the hardening of bones and arteries, which is the hallmark of old age and signature of lead. The homeopathic name of lead is Plumbum metallicum. Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.
Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.
Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.Native tin is known as stannum, which is the Latin word for tin and also gives the metal its chemical symbol (Sn). The alchemical symbol is K, which shows the lunar principle of soul above the cross of the elements or emerging from the darkness of matter.
Tin is a shiny, silvery-white metal that is malleable, somewhat ductile and sectile, and seems like a perfected form of lead to the casual observer. In fact, the Romans called tin Plumbum album or “white lead.” Tin resists weathering and does not oxidize, and tin utensils buried underground or lost at sea in sunken ships shone like new when rediscovered after hundreds of years. “Tinkers” were gypsy craftsmen who wandered from neighborhood to neighborhood in Europe repairing tin kettles and utensils or melting them down and recasting them. Native or elemental tin is extremely rare in nature and is found with gold and copper deposits. The metal was considered “semi-noble” in ancient times and was used for jewelry in Babylonia and Egypt. The Romans used it to make mirrors, and it was used as coinage in Europe at one time.
Tin has a highly crystalline structure, and due to the breaking of these crystals, a "cry" is heard when a tin bar is bent. Unlike lead, tin has pleasing acoustic effects and is used in the making of bells. The crystals in common grey tin have a cubic structure, but when heated or frozen it changes into white tin, which has a tetragonal structure. After further heating or freezing, white tin disintegrates into a powdery substance. This powder has the ability to “infect” other tin surfaces it comes in contact with by forming blisters that spread until all the metal “sickens” and disintegrates. This transformation is encouraged by impurities such as zinc and aluminum and can be prevented by adding small amounts of antimony or bismuth to the metal. The sickness of tin was called the “tin plague” and was the scourge of tin roofs during Europe’s frigid winters. The mysterious effect was first was first noticed as “growths” on organ pipes in European cathedrals, where it was thought to be the work of the devil to disfigure god’s work.Tin metal has only a few practical uses and most tin is used in alloys. Bronze is an alloy of 5% tin and 95% copper, and the development of bronze by humans marked a new age of advancement known as the Bronze Age. Most solder is a combination of tin and lead; pewter is also an alloy of tin and lead. Other tin alloys are used to make tin cans and tin roofs, and tin has significant use as a corrosion fighter in the protection of other metals. Tin resists distilled, sea and soft tap water, but is attacked by strong acids, alkalis, and acid salts. When heated in air, tin forms tin oxide, which is used to plate steel and make tin cans. Other uses are in type metal, fusible metal, Babbitt metal, and die casting alloys. Tin chloride is used as a reducing agent and mordant in calico printing. Tin salts sprayed onto glass are used to produce electrically conductive coatings, which are used for panel lighting and for frost-free windshields. Window glass is made by floating molten glass on molten tin to produce a flat surface. A crystalline tin-niobium alloy is superconductive at very low temperatures, and shoebox-sized electromagnets made of the wire produce magnetic fields comparable to conventional electromagnets weighing hundreds of tons.The distribution of tin on earth follows an ecliptic at an angle of 23.5 º to the equator that is an exact track of the orbit of Jupiter slicing through the planet. Even stranger, these jovian forces seem to form tin veins that zigzag through the rocks in a lightening bolt pattern. This is no haphazard effect, but an astonishing confirmation of Jupiter freeing the metals from their Saturnic prison on earth. Goethe was just one great alchemical philosopher who believed this. “A remarkable influence proceeds from the metal tin,” he wrote. “This has a differentiating influence, and opens a door through which a way is provided for different metals to be formed from primeval rocks.”Tin ore minerals include oxide minerals like cassiterite and a few sulfides such as franckerite. By far the most tin comes from cassiterite or tin oxide. Reduction of this ore in burning coal results in tin metal and was probably how tin was made by the ancients. Cassiterite is a black or reddish brown mineral that has ornately faceted specimens with a greasy, high luster. It is generally opaque, but its luster and multiple crystal faces cause a sparkling surface. Cassiterite has been an important ore of tin for thousands of years and is still the greatest source of tin today. Most aggregate specimens of cassiterite show crystal twins, with the typical twin bent at a near-60-degree angle to form a distinctive "Elbow Twin." Other crystalline forms include eight-sided prisms and four-sided pyramids. Cassiterite is sometimes found in nature associated with topaz and fluorite gemstones.Tin has a surprising affinity for silica and shares its crystalline structure. In the jovian ring on our planet where native tin is found, the metal lies in silica veins of quartz and granite. In the body, high concentrations of tin and silica are found in the boundary layer of the skin, and tin reacts with silica acid in many of the “shaping” processes of growth. In the Middle Ages, sick people were served food on a tin plate and drinks in a tin vessel to help them regenerate and recover their strength. Today, we know that tin acts as a bactericide and pesticide.
Flowers last longer in tin vases, and food has been preserved in the tin cans (actually a thin layer of tin on iron) for over a century. Beer (ruled by the jovial Jupiter) is said to taste best from a tin mug. Jupiter rules growth, the metabolic system, the liver, and the enrichment of the blood from food. Jupiter therapeutic effects are anti-spasmodic and hepatic. Jupiter-ruled plants preserve the body and promote healthy growth and are the natural healing herbs of the planetary system. They af-fect the mind in such a way as to promote an understanding of ritual form from the highest point of view, and religious leaders, doctors, lawyers, etc. will find great benefit from jovian herb remedies. They also attune one to the wealth vibration and open up channels for growth and expansion, materi-ally as well as spiritually.Jupiter controls the circulation of blood in the human body. If mixed with a solar herbal eider, it will give the alchemist access to the highest plane. Jupiter-Mercury combinations produce insight into the philosophical principles of any system and their part in the cosmic scheme and provide an intuitive understanding of the great spiritual masters. This particular herbal mixture also produces a lightheartedness and gaiety, which can be very useful to those with a predisposition to depression or gloominess. The physical properties of such a mixture are anabolic and antispasmodic.The alchemists made an Oil of Tin that was used to treat the liver (jaundice, hepatitis, cirrhosis), certain types of eczema, liquid ovarian cysts, inflammatory effusions, pleurisies, acne, water retention, and certain types of obesity. This oil was said to be excellent for someone "loosing shape." The oil was also used as a sweat inducer, wormer, antispasmodic, cathartic, and laxative.The polar (opposite) metal to tin is mercury, and Oil of Tin was said to be an excellent antidote for mercury poisoning, and likewise mercury was said to balance the bad effects of tin. Tin and mercury oil combined are said to provide deep insight and cure lightheadedness and certain phases of manic-depressive syndrome.The homeopathic form of tin is called Stannum, a remedy which is said to strengthen and regenerate muscle and brain tissue. It is also a remedy for the joints and connective tissue of ligaments and cartilage. Stannum is allegedly beneficial in liver disease and is used for congestion, hardening, encephalitis, and other illnesses where the fluid balance is upset.During the early Spring, preferably sometime in March, go outside and find the red planet Mars in the night sky. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the tiny red sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon Mars and place a piece of iron in your hand or a small cast iron pot or other object but not something of made of steel or chromed. You should be able to feel a resonance building. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of iron.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin. See how your feelings compare to how the alchemists felt about this powerful metal.When mixed with solar herbs, iron herbs increase energy and activate the energetic potentials of other herbs. Martian elixirs release the action poten-tial of the soul of something. When mixed with other herbs, martian herbs acti-vate the potentialities of the other herbs to a great degree making them more forceful in applica-tion and generally more active. Mars herbs are wonderful tonics when mixed with Sun herbs. The combination gives great physical energy, tones the muscles, and increases sexual potency. They also provoke self-reliance, spontaneity, and indepen-dence of attitude. If the alchemist is involved in magical evocation, a mixture of a mars, moon, and mercurial elixirs will help produce the physical plane vehicle of manifestation.Copper is a reddish-brown metal with a bright metallic luster. It is in the same group in the Periodic Table as gold, and like gold, it is remarkably ductile. It is also very malleable and sectile (it can be pounded into other shapes and cut into slices) and is an excellent conductor of heat and electricity. Molten copper is a sea green color, and copper tarnishes with a green color and burns with a blue-green flame with flashes of red, and the alchemists sometimes described Venus, the metal’s archetypal planetary source, as dressed in a blue cloak over a red gown.Pick up a piece of copper and the first thing you notice is its surprising feeling of warmth and moisture. It is that connection to something archetypal and nourishing that makes up the signature of this metal. It is easy to connect with copper, just as its planet (Venus) is easy to see in the sky. It is so brilliant it is often mistaken for a bright star or even a UFO. The best time to see it is in the early evening or morning when it is close to the horizon. In fact, Venus has been called both the “Morning Star” and the “Evening Star” and is associated with magical energies. It is the “first star I see tonight” upon you make you wish that will come true with the sympathetic venusian energies. On some clear night or morning, go outside and find the planet Venus. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the brilliant white sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the planet influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant planet. Continue gazing upon the planet and grab a piece of copper, a fistful of pennies, or even a copper cooking utensil. You should be able to feel a warm resonance building. That deep and soothing vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of copper.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with its planetary twin.The venusian signature gives refinement of senses and the ability to appreciate beauty. Artists, actors, and others in the public eye will find these elixirs a great aid to performing their work. Venus herbs also enhance the taste perceptions, promote affection, give an amiable disposition, and make one more psychically sensitive to astral influences. For those who feel a lack of charm, or some of the softer human qualities, a venusian elixir will stimulate the right vibration in your aura. Venusian elixirs also promote harmony and balance within our being and in our dealings with others. Venusian elixirs are said to give access to that realm of the astral that is intimately connected with the working and forces of the most intimate magic of nature. They are a great aid to alchemists who wish to make herbal alchemy their life work, as they open up the human consciousness to the secrets of the plant kingdom. Naturalists will find these elixirs most illuminating, as they will give conscious con-tact with the various “deities” of long past nature religions.Mercury is truly unique. It is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature and the heaviest natural liquid on the planet. According to alchemical theory, all the metals began in the liquid state on deep in the earth, but only mercury was able to retain it original innocence and life force and resist taking on a final form, and for that reason, the ancients called it Mercurius vivens (the “living mercury”). This silvery liquid metal (also known as “Quicksilver”) was known to ancient Chinese and Hindus before 2000 BC and has been found in sacred tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals around 500 BC. The Greeks applied germ-killing ability of mercury in healing ointments (to the benefit of those afflicted with wounds and skin infections), and in the Middle Ages, Paracelsus used it successfully to treat syphilis. However, the ancient Romans applied mercury compounds for long-term use in cosmetics, and many beautiful women eventually died of its cumulative poisonous effects. Today, many popular brands of eye makeup still contain low levels of mercury.In the East, metallic mercury was the main ingredient in most Tantric medicinal preparations. In his travels through India, Marco Polo observed that many people drank a concoction of mercury and sulfur twice monthly from early childhood with no observable ill effects. They believed the drink gave them longevity. Tantric alchemists in India still take metallic mercury in place of food as an elixir of life, although they caution that the body must be perfectly attuned and strengthened to tolerate the intense cosmic infusion of life force. In Indian alchemy, mercury is called rasa, which refers to the subtle essence that is the origin of all forms of matter. The cosmic chaos from which the universe sprang is called the Rasasara or “Sea of Mercury.” The craft of alchemy is referred to as Rasayana or “Knowledge of Mercury.” Go outside on the night of the full moon and gaze up at the silver orb. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the surface of the moon. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let our closest planetary body influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection. Now, pick up piece of silver jewelry or dinnerware, and hold it in your left hand until it gets warm. You should be able to feel a liquid-like sensation of cool metallic energy. This is what alchemists refer to as the “call of silver.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence with the moon itself. Try to remember how this feels in your body. Has the taste in your mouth changed? Has your eyesight altered? How does your skin feel.The alchemists prepared an Oil of Silver they used to treat disorders of the brain and cerebellum, reduce stress, balance emotions, improve memory, treat nervous disorders and epilepsy, improve both melancholia and mania. It was also used as a physical purgative and mental purifier. It was said to affect the subconscious mind, see into the past clearly, remove fears and blockages, allow one to unwind, produce “homey” feelings, give a feeling of grace and sensitivity, and enhanced imagination.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.Gold is a stubbornly pure metal when it comes to reacting or even associating with “lesser” elements. That signature explains a lot of the chemical characteristics of gold. Unlike nearly every other metal, there are no plants that contain even trace amounts of metallic gold. There are very few gold ores, because the noblest metal never alloys with the baser metals, but does alloy with the noble metal silver and makes an amalgam with mercury.Gold is extremely ductile, malleable, and sectile, and so soft it can be cut with a knife, which makes gold impractical to use for tools. It is also very heavy. A gold bar is twice as heavy as an equal-sized bar of lead. Furthermore, gold embodies an inner equilibrium of forces that make it pretty much indestructible. Gold never tarnishes like copper or silver or rust like iron and, whether found buried in the ground, at the bottom of the ocean, in an ancient tomb, or in the ring on your finger, it always looks the same. It cannot be damaged by heat and was considered completely inalterable until around 1100 AD, when alchemists concocted a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids known as Agua Regia (“Royal Water”) that could dissolve gold. The immortal metal is endlessly recycled, and all the gold known today is very nearly equal to all the gold that has ever been mined. One ounce of gold can be stretched into a single wire 35 miles long, or it can be beaten to just a few atoms thick. It is the most flexible, enduring, and beautiful of all metals.
Gold shows a distinct affinity for sulfur and forms an ore with a rare element called tellurium. It is one of the few elements gold easily bonds with. In fact, telluride is rarely found without gold. Gold also appears in minerals that are part of a group of tellurium sulfides called the tellurides. However, the amount of gold in these minerals is really miniscule next to the amount of gold found in its native metallic state. Native gold seems to like the company of the purest white quartz and is also found mixed with deposits of pyrite and a few other sulfide minerals. Gold is six times rarer than silver, and it takes about three tons of gold ore to extract an ounce of gold metal.Around the world, nearly every culture associated their supreme god or goddess with gold. For many centuries only the images of gods graced gold coins, until Alexander the Great began the trend of rulers’ images appearing on gold coins around 30 BC. Even the most primitive societies recognize the sacred properties of gold. For example, the Makuna tribes of modern Brazil believe that gold contains “the light of the sun and stars." The chemical symbol for gold (Au) comes from the Latin word aurum meaning "gold.” The alchemical cipher for gold is a rendition of the sun (A), and gold was considered a kind of congealed light. Sol is the King of alchemy, and his royal purple-red color is revealed in gold colloidal solutions, and red is his symbolic color. Sol Philosophorum was the name the alchemists gave to this living spirit of gold, which they saw as the refined essence of heat and fire. Gold was known and considered sacred from earliest times. Gold became popular because it reminded people of the sun with its warm, life-giving properties. Because of its imperishability, the ancient Chinese thought that gold conveyed immortality to its owners. Egyptian inscriptions dating back to 2600 BC describe these same associations with gold. Gold replaced bartering around 3500 BC when the people of Mesopotamia started using it as a kind of money because of it eternal value. By 2800 BC, gold was being fashioned into standardized weights in the form of rings. People started carried black stones called “touchstones” onto which they scraped a piece of gold to leave a streak. Depending on the brightness of the streak, one could estimate how much gold was in the sample. Around 1500 BC, Mesopotamian alchemists discovered a process for purifying gold known as "cuppellation," which involved heating impure gold in a porcelain cup called a “cuppel.” Impurities were absorbed by the porcelain, leaving a button of pure gold behind. Later alchemists used cuppels to test the quality of their transmutations.Using elaborate mixing and heating techniques, Egyptian alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular. One such recipe called for heating a mixture of two parts gold with one part each of silver and copper. After appropriate alchemical charging that brought the seed of gold alive, twice as much of a gold as originally added was produced. Egyptian alchemists believed that the gold acted as a seed in metals, especially copper and silver. According to their view, the seed of gold grew, eating the copper and silver as food, until the whole mixture was transformed into pure gold.According to the medieval alchemists, Nature sought continually to create the perfection achieved in gold, and they looked at every metal as gold in the making. Alchemists also thought that the objective of every metal was to become gold, and every metal was tested for corrosion and strength and ranked as to how far it was from gold. Many alchemists felt that mercury was the closest metal to gold and that it could be transmuted directly into gold. Their intuition was correct, for mercury can indeed be turned into gold. Gold and mercury are next to each other on the Periodic Table. Mercury is element 80 (has 80 protons) and gold is element 79 (has 79 protons). In the 1960s, physicists were able to knock out a proton in mercury atoms using neutron particle accelerators, and thereby create minute quantities of gold.Gold is at the head of the metals, paired with what in the medieval mind was the strongest planet, the Sun. The alchemists were obsessed with gold’s signature of perfection. Medieval Italian alchemist Bernard Trevisan speculated, "Is not gold merely the Sun’s beams condensed into a solid yellow?" Seventeenth-century alchemist John French asked fervently: “Is there no sperm in gold? Is it not possible to exalt it for multiplication? Is there no universal spirit in the world? Is it not possible to find that collected in One Thing which is dispersed in all things? What is that which makes gold incorruptible? What induced the philosophers to examine gold for the matter of their medicine? Was not all gold once living? Is there none of this living gold, the matter of philosophers, to be had anymore?”Gold is highly valued in the everyday world too. It is used as coinage and is a standard for monetary systems in many countries. It is used to make jewelry and artwork, and also in dentistry, electronics, and plating. Since it is an excellent reflector of infrared energy (such as emerges from the sun), the metal is used to coat space satellites and interstellar probes. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also used in medicine to treat degenerative diseases such as arthritis and cancer.Chemist Lilly Kolisko performed experiments with gold chloride and showed its chemical behavior coincided with events that altered the strength of the sun, such as the weakening in solar forces during solar eclipses or their increase during the summer solstice. Moreover, she found that both silver and gold salts seemed to be equally influenced by the sun. In the case of silver, it was the forms or patterns that changed, whereas in the gold, it was the colors that changed. Silver shapes moved from jagged spikes to smooth rolling forms but the colors remained hues of grey, while the basic shape of gold patterns remained the same but the colors changed from brilliant yellows through violet to reddish-purple hues. This work presents an amazing confirmation of how the King and Queen, Sol and Luna, work together in creation, with the female principle representing soul and form and the male principle representing spirit and energy. Kolisko’s innovative work with the metals is presented in the Appendix. Her work has been duplicated by dozens of other chemists and has been confirmed many times.The signatures of gold are invoked in rituals, magical spells, and talismans concerning solar deities, the male force, authority, self-confidence, creativity, financial riches, investments, fortune, hope, health, and worldly and magical power. Gold talismans can be very expensive, but you can make one of gold colored cardboard or write the symbols on it with gold paint or plate an object with gold. Gold jewelry is said to improve self-confidence and inner strength. To charge water with the signature of gold, put a gold object in a glass of water and let sit in the sunlight for 6-10 hours.During sunrise or sunset, face the sun and try to feel it archetypal presence. If not too bright, gaze into the rising or setting sun and try to see the metallic solar disk of which the Egyptian alchemists spoke. Relax and try to focus all your attention on the golden sphere. Relax completely with an open and quiet mind. Become empty and let the presence at the center of our solar system influence you. Do this until you feel a real connection with the distant sun. Continue facing the sun as you pick up a piece of gold jewelry or a vial of pure gold flakes (such as sold in some novelty shops) into your right palm. You should be able to feel a electric warmth building. That eerie, warm vibration is not your imagination. It is what alchemists refer to as the “call of gold” – the resonation of the metal with its “planet.” You are experiencing the metal’s true signature or living correspondence, and for gold, this is the most perfect expression of all materials. If you can connect with this archetype, you will realize that it a very personal as well as divine presence. As Above, so Below. This is perfection on all levels of your mind, body, and soul resonating with the perfection inherent in the Whole Universe.For those with weaker wills or loss of contact with the divine presence, gold represents a psychological cure. The solar essences gives great ambition, courage, self-re-liance, dignity, authority, and the ability to manage oneself and others. The creative principle, no matter how small and insignificant it is within us can be enhanced to a great degree by tapping into the solar archetype. Just as the Sun represents the di-vine creative force in our immediate solar system, gold represents the same thing in our inner temperament. For lasting manifestation, the golden temperament needs to be firmly grounded in the world, and the danger at this phase of transformation is that the individual become too focused on the workings Above and forget his or her connection to the real world. Gold and the blazing Sun correspond to personal ambition, courage, and creative energy and vitality, but without a constant effort to remain pure and alive in the real world, the golden temperament can quickly transmute into the leaden qualities of despair, poor self esteem, lack of confidence, and impurity. Most important for the golden temperament, however, is to realize that once having reached this plateau, one has certain personal and karmic obligations. The golden attitude of this temperament is what brings the rewards of health, wealth, and happiness through synchonistic responses from the universe. Go against these archetypal powers at this level of achievement and even the slightest deviation from the golden path of righteousness and personal integrity can have disastrous and immediate consequences. The alchemists transmuted the Gold temperament using the operation of Coagulation.Chrysotherapy is the name given to healing with gold. The mystical metal has been used for both spiritual and medical purposes as far back as ancient Egypt. Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians used gold in dentistry and ingested it for mental, bodily, and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels. In Alexandria, alchemists developed a powerful elixir known as “liquid gold,” which reportedly had the ability to restore youth and perfect health. In ancient Rome, gold salves were used for the treatment of skin ulcers, and today, gold leaf plays an important role in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers. The great alchemist and founder of modern medicine, Paracelsus, developed many highly successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and “gold waters” were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to "comfort sore limbs," and today, it is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. In the 1900s, surgeons implanted a $5.00 gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. In China, peasants still cook their rice with a gold coin in order to help replenish gold in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparations.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.The alchemists believed that gold represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of “dis-eases.” Gold is never corrodes or even tarnishes, is completely non-toxic, and exhibits no interactions with other drugs. Gold is the only heavy metal that has a right-hand atomic spin and is therefore easily tolerated by the body.Sun-ruled plants affect the soul in its positive phase of manifestation, which manifests on the personal level as our idea of ourselves as a progressive unified entity. Solar herbs help us realize our evolutionary epoch as an individual among many other individuals, helping to synthesize and synchronize our goals with those of the macrocosm. In this sense they are ego fortifiers, but with a divine purpose.Solar herbs heal inferiority complexes, bolstering people and giving them a sense of purpose beyond the norm. The Sun represents the Christ and Osiris consciousness in man, as well as Hercules in his monumental strength. For those with weaker wills, Sun ruled herbs will provide the springboard for more posi-tive action; they also bestow the quality of generosity to our souls. Solar plants, when alchemically charged, will reveal the divine purpose of our solar system, and will let you be-come aware of the will of God in manifestation. Solar essences give great ambition.
After travelling down to Peterborough as ecs from Neville Hill during one of the ECML weekend blockages , 91105 arrives back at Leeds with only the train crew on board due to a signalling fault .
I took this photo about an hour after he came home from hospital today. His 79th birthday. All things considered, an extremely welcome present.
Within 5 minutes of getting home my wife somewhat incredulously caught him half way up a step ladder into the loft, "There's another walking stick up here somewhere..." Yeah, well, we'll be sure to get it down for you and put it on the stretcher when they take off in another ambulance after you've broken your neck! Unbelievable.
Dad continued to make steady physical progress throughout the first week of 2012, but it seems clear that the autonomic rewiring has finished and now it will be down to the daily visits of the physiotherapists [for 6 weeks] and his own motivation to reinforce and strengthen those newly constructed neural pathways.
Here you can see how his left hand is attempting to mirror his right but, despite immense effort on his part, stubbornly refuses to comply; the arm and hand tiring quickly as the tension of the movement slowly evaporates. The index finger is working much more effectively now, though, in tandem with his thumb - but the second, third and fourth fingers currently remain 'mostly asleep'. Dad often reports the sensation of holding something which isn't there. [Er, like a step ladder?!]
During the week he had a scan of his neck which showed severe stenosis of his right carotid artery. On the plus side, this is virtually guaranteed as the cause of his stroke, but with his rating at 70-75%, means he will need to return to hospital on Thursday for a carotid endarterectomy. Think: your drains need rodding to clear a blockage, then apply that image to the artery in your neck.
Obviously, as with any operation, there's a risk - of death and/or of a second stroke [between 1-5%] - but it will reduce the likelihood of a second stroke occurring within three years, essentially a daily living form of Russian roulette, by 33%. So, it's a bit of a, umm, no-brainer, really.
Psychologically, dad's currently dealing with the idea of the operation, but is otherwise in good spirits and very happy to be out of the acute ward. Two guys sadly died during the week and, as we were leaving, another is now on permanent oxygen and fading. When we take a look around us, the reality of dad's progress in less than three weeks since admission is truly blessed and remarkable.
Twitter: Anatomy Of A Stroke
Did not have the ideal equipment with me at the time, but really liked the treatment of the sunset light filling in the space between these 2 evening thunderheads. A pretty good glow from this particular angle. But, being in an urban area, I spent as much time driving around looking for a place without major building blockage as I did shooting. But a nice sunset for a hot July day.
Young pokeweed shoots, which contain very low levels of toxins, were used as food by Native Americans and others. In the Southeastern United States, some people still cook and eat “poke sallet.” It is thoroughly boiled in water that is changed twice during cooking. Native Americans also used pokeweed in herbal remedies as a heart stimulant and to treat cancer, rheumatism, itching, and syphilis. The pokeweed root was also used as a laxative and to induce vomiting. European settlers adopted the use of pokeweed, which went on to become a common folk medicine.
Juice from the berries was once used to make ink and dye, and it is still used by the food industry to make red food coloring. Farmers and dairymen use an alcohol extract or tincture of pokeweed to reduce swelling of cows’ udders. Followers of President James Polk wore pokeweed twigs during their candidate's election campaign, mistakenly believing that the plant was named for him.
All parts of the pokeweed are poisonous, particularly the roots. The leaves and stems are next in toxicity, and the berries have the smallest amount of poison. However, children have been poisoned by eating raw pokeweed berries, and some have died. The practice of brewing pokeweed plant parts with hot water to make tea has caused poisoning. Thoroughly cooking the plant reduces its toxicity. The effects of eating the uncooked or improperly prepared plant can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headaches, blurred vision, confusion, dermatitis, dizziness, and weakness. Convulsions, low blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, heart block (a blockage of the electrical impulses that stimulate the heart to contract), and death may occur. Animals can also die of toxic effects from eating pokeweed, although it does not happen often.
Have a great day and thank you for stopping by!
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It sure has been a while, I know. La Jolla is so far, about an hour one way, and gas prices are so high. But I had some time, so I had to go!
I know, I have not "left" Flickr, nor have I abandon friends. I just have not been shooting lately. I am still waiting on FedX for some gear to get started with the astrophotography and that has just put life on hold. I will be getting the gear soon, and I will have to have some test nights out but once I get that all done, you will hopefully be amazed at what I will be able to do!
OH, and I have my star party tomorrow night, any one interested, flickr mail me! Which means that by mid day Saturday, I should have a brand new star trail to share, weather permitting.
Other then that, here is the geek talk:
For this, I used two ND filters. B+W ND106 and B+W ND110. That would be a total blockage of 16 stops of light. A total of 400 seconds of exposure here. Please, enjoy! :D
Summer Fun
Lila is doing fine. She had one partially blocked artery, about 65% blockage. They put a stent in it and restored normal blood and oxygen flow. The surgeon told me her EKG is perfectly normal again. I noticed her oxygen saturation was up at 99-98, where before the stent it was at the same level as mine, about 93-95. So I knew she was in trouble. I keep one of those finger monitors around to check on myself every now and then. Just to make sure the devil is not at the front door.
Lila is resting comfortably and will be coming home today. Good thing too, I got dishes from the floor to the ceiling!
Any, thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.
During the winter of 1987-88 the old Medway Canal basin dock at Strood was filled in to make way for a housing development. The up shot of this work was the railway tunnels between Strood and Higham flooded within weeks. Being a former canal tunnel built in 1824 for the Thames & Medway Canal it was constructed on the level so although the tunnels had never flooded before there was now nowhere for the drainage water to go.
In 1830 when still a canal the tunnel was 2 mile 369yds long, it was opened out midway during that year to create a passing place for canal barges. This deep cut hole in the chalk downland was thus used in 1988 to install pumps to draw water out of the now two rail tunnels (Higham and Strood) with Higham tunnel visible in the background above. When Strood tunnel first started to fill with water at track level in early February 1988 it resembled a Turkish bath as the conductor rail just heated it up like an immersion heater with the insulator support pots almost glowing in the dark. At first an electric service operated but within days it soon became too dangerous and electric services were suspended between Strood and Gravesend. Until sufficient pumping equipment was installed BR operated a mixed bag of shuttle trains between Rochester and Gravesend comprising 3-Car SR DEMU's, 3-Car Western Region DMU's and a 33+4-TC set. All were regular performers during the blockage as it's a busy stretch of line linking the Medway towns to London.
The above shot is taken at Higham as 33 117 hauling 4-TC set 8024 accelerates away leaving a blue haze of exhaust on a Rochester to Gravesend "Floodex"shuttle. The ditch to the left of the station is a remnant of the Thames & Medway canal which was promoted as a shorter route for traders on the Medway River to access London rather than going 41 miles around the Grain peninsula. The canal was bought by the Gravesend & Rochester Railway Company in 1844 and during 1845 they built a single track railway beside the canal on the 5ft wide tow path, supported the other side by a trestle in the water. This bizarre arrangement last from February to November that year where boats and trains ran beside one another but in 1846 it was all sold to the SER (South Eastern Railway) who dispensed with the canal altogether and laid a twin track railway.
Making visible the hydro-thermal activity on the flanks of Canary Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone. There is considerable water cascading over the feature here; some is moving through "canyon-like" fissures, and some is just pooling across the flatter spots and moving more gently down the stepped formations.
Mammoth Hot Springs is a very large old, but still active geothermal area at the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. While it doesn't sport any geysers, the hot springs form beautiful pools and rivulets spilling over terraces formed by travertine dissolved in the source water and gradually deposited above ground.
It's one of the best places in Yellowstone to observe the ever-changing character of geothermal activity. One of the biggest, most active areas called "Canary Spring" seems to be experiencing partial blockage of its underground water sources, and the size of the pool at its origin has been reduced significantly. The gray areas in the lower left part of the frame indicate where the flow has been impeded. Nonetheless it's still beautiful and a lot of hot, mineralized water still tumbles down the terraces, leaving the tell-tale stains - orange in this case - of the "extremophile" organisms, including highly specialized algaes, bacteria, archea, and even viruses that thrive in the spring's waters.
Trams, police cars and police officer lining up in Swanston St, Melbourne during the 'March4Justice' protest rally. These 4 cops, particularly n#3 seem to have an extraordinary large number of ballpoint pens as part of their 'public order' kit. (c)Henk Graalman 2021
66710 & 66728 head back to Eastleigh East yard with the 3Y88 SITT (snow and ice treatment train) circular that had traversed the whole of the Pompey direct line and reversed at Woking. This was running from Eastleigh East yard vice Totton yard due to 2 separate engineering blockages, one to the west of Southampton Central the other at Southampton Airport parkway, resulting in the route travelled only being accessible from Eastleigh via Fareham. This location is 10 minutes walk from home for me.
Saturday 27 February 2021
Jan. 16, 2014 - Bangkok, Thailand. Early evening scene at Victory Monument protest site. Tens of thousands of protesters have disrupted traffic at major intersections and marched on government offices in Thailand's large and hectic capital city this week. The protests, dubbed "Bangkok Shutdown," had begun Monday 13th January without serious incident. The rallies are orchestrated by the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protest group, led by Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister for the opposition Democrat Party. The protesters say they want Thailand's political system overhauled instead of new elections scheduled for next month. They're demanding that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government be replaced with an unelected "people's council." Since Monday, groups of demonstrators have occupied seven main intersections in Bangkok and marched on several government buildings. The protests have caused some disruption in central Bangkok, but large areas of the sprawling capital city so far remain unaffected.
Update - 3 February - This blockade was cleared due to security concerns and a number of violent attacks.
Full set here: www.southeastasia-images.com/Bangkok-Shut-Down
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The official weather forecast seems accurate and there is some stuff on it's way. The change in the light was astounding around mid-afternoon as seen here.
A very odd day in more ways than one as I had to spend a couple of hours unblocking our main drain to the road, about 30 metres away and all in hot sunshine. Clearing the blockage was unpleasant obviously but fairly quickly resolved. It is the clearing up afterwards that takes the time. Just thought I would share that with you!
106/365
I wish this place didn't look as grey as it does. I wish I had a distraction. I wish the tears didn't still well up in my eyes every time I remember. but at the same time, you know? I am so, so happy. and I'm so very lucky. I need to keep reminding myself of that, because it's the truth.
I need to keep working, and I need to keep studying. I need to keep learning, to keep being inspired by other people's talents. I need more than this. To make it all go by faster, to make me leave this place at some point in my life. This country is blockage. Pure and utter blockage.
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The first Sunday of the Meadowhall blockage resulting in no through trains to Sheffield sees 66128 sat at Wincobank Jct facing Sheffield with an engineering train. It will depart later in the day as the 2330 Nunnery Main Line - Toton North Yard.
13 1 19
York: about to haul train 1E74 14:05 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle (with train loco on other end) to Holgate Junction 21/04/1984.
Due to a blockage just north of York Station northbound trains had to reverse to Holgate Junction before proceeding north via the avoiding line.
Rescanned
Created today, 07/19/08. Inspired by a recent conversation with a friend.
Thanks Karl.
Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha is a Sanskrit mantra to remove blockages.
Mandala drawn with a black F Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen. Lettering done with Lamy Safari's filled with Private Reserve Arabian Rose and Burgundy Mist. Done in an 8x10ish Bargain Table Piccadilly sketch book from Barnes & Noble.
Voigtlander Bessa R3A + Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f1.4 + 35mm C200 film
Epson v600 Scan
France 2012 - out on my bike chasing the sunset. I think this was 1/8 f1.4 if I remember as almost dark
Dust plus line as scanned (blockage on scanner I believe)
Mixed manifest freight 14G rolls east through the ridges of Western Pennsylvania at MP 287, between New Florence and Seward, along the Pittsburgh Line, running a day late due to a track blockage at Summerhill the day prior.
Enochian is an angelic language used by angels in Heaven. They communicate over angel radio using this language, though in more recent years, they began communicating in English predominately. The angels, the Knights of Hell, and the Men of Letters are also familiar with an archaic dialect of the angelic language called "Pre-Enochian" or "Old Enochian". Castiel used sigils from this Enochian dialect to bind Alastair in a devil's trap he made. The Knights of Hell like Abaddon used the old Enochian sigil associated with them as their crest, leaving it behind in areas where they strike. Belphegor reveals that very few demons like Lilith, Crowley, and Abaddon have been known to understand Enochian. Enochian sigils are powerful glyphs that can be used against angels and demons and protect an area from angelic and demonic interference. Throughout Season 5, Castiel uses one to conceal Sam, Dean, and Adam from every angel in creation by carving it into their ribs.
www.supernaturalwiki.com/Enochian
Enochian has also been used in reciting various spells that can be used against some of the most dangerous creatures in all creation. Lily Sunder became a practitioner of Enochian Magic after Ishim taught her all their secrets, using spells that burn off pieces of her soul in exchange for longevity and access to angelic powers until it's completely burned away. The Whore of Babylon uses what appears to be an Enochian spell to harm Castiel. Lucifer's Cage can be opened and closed with the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and an Enochian phrase. When angels are reverted to their "factory settings", they relay any information hidden in their minds encrypted in Enochian.
The Two of Swords shows a blindfolded woman, Pamela Smith has become an impetrant, she begins her initiation into Enochian magic, the artist is dressed in a white dress, holding two crossed swords. The blindfold tells us that Pamela is confused about her inner light and cannot clearly see either the problem or the solution. She may also be missing relevant information that would make her decision much clearer if she were to get it. The swords she holds are in perfect balance, suggesting that she is weighing her thoughts and addressing both sides of the situation to find the best resolution.
Behind the woman is a body of water dotted with rocky islets. Water represents emotions, and while the costume of swords is traditionally associated with the mind and intellect, its presence shows that Pamela must use both her head and her heart to weigh her options. The islands represent obstacles in his path and suggest that his decision is not as clear cut as it seems. It will have to consider the situation as a whole. The crescent moon to her right is a sign that Pamela should trust her intuition to make her choice. Pamela is also alone on the beach. His eyes are blindfolded, his arms are tied. Eight swords planted in the ground form a prison around her. However, the circle is not completely closed. So there is an exit that the blindfold prevents you from seeing. The Two of Swords indicates that you are faced with a difficult decision, but you do not know which option to take. Both possibilities may seem equally good – or equally bad – and you don't know which will lead you to the better result. You need to be able to weigh the pros and cons of each choice and then make a conscious judgment. Use both your head (your mind and intellect) and your heart (your feelings and intuition) to choose the path that is most in alignment with your Higher Self.
Pamela Smith represented in this card wears a blindfold, indicating that she cannot see the entirety of her circumstance. You may lack the information you need to make the right decisions. You may be missing something, such as the threats or potential risks, alternative solutions or critical pieces of information that would help guide you in a particular direction. Once you remove the blindfold and see the situation for what it really is, you will be in a much better position to find your best path forward. Research your options more, seek outside opinions and feedback and ask yourself what you might be missing.`` Alone, far from the city and its ramparts, this woman seems very isolated. The sky is gray, the landscape is bleak. There emerges from the Card a feeling of uncertainty and absence of hope. The Eight of Swords symbolizes the feeling of helplessness of the Consultant. Lost, disoriented, the Consultant does not know what to do to overcome the obstacles or challenges of his environment. The Consultant experiences the very unpleasant feeling of being “stuck”, trapped. However – and this is important to stress – the Eight of Swords is not a fatalistic card. On the Map, the young woman could free herself from her fabric ties and remove the blindfold covering her eyes. She could regain the comfort and safety of the city behind her. The blockage, the "prison" of these Swords planted in a circle therefore symbolize first of all a situation created by the Consultant himself. Quite logically, he or she could get rid of it and get by on his own. The blockage is notably due to limiting beliefs on the part of the Consultant. These limiting beliefs go on and on: “You are not capable of…”; “A man like that, caring about you!? Do not even think about it ! » ; "Returning to training at your age to change paths will never work..." These limiting thoughts end up defining our possibilities and therefore we are no longer able to do otherwise, innovate or find solutions. It also happens that the feeling of helplessness is generated by external circumstances. The Consultant “wakes up”, dissatisfied with his environment and his life and wonders how he or she could have come to this.The Eight of Swords reveals that you feel trapped and restricted by your circumstances. You believe your options are limited with no clear path out. You might be in an unfulfilling job, an abusive relationship, a significant amount of debt or a situation way out of alignment with your inner being. You are now trapped between a rock and a hard place, with no resolution available. However, take note that the woman in the card is not entirely imprisoned by the eight swords around her, and if she wanted to escape, she could. She merely needs to remove the blindfold and free herself from the self-imposed bindings that hold her back. When the Eight of Swords appears in a Tarot reading, it comes as a warning that your thoughts and beliefs are no longer serving you. You may be over-thinking things, creating negative patterns or limiting yourself by only considering the worst-case scenario. The more you think about the situation, the more you feel stuck and without any options. It is time to get out of your head and let go of those thoughts and beliefs holding you back. As you change your thoughts, you change your reality. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and you will start to create a more favourable situation for yourself. The Eight of Swords assures you there is a way out of your current predicament – you just need a new perspective. You already have the resources you need, but it is up to you to use those resources in a way that serves you. Others may be offering you help, or there may be an alternative solution you haven’t yet fully explored. Be open to finding the answer rather than getting stuck on the problem. The Eight of Swords is often associated with a victim mentality. You surrendered your power to an external entity, allowing yourself to become trapped and limited in some way. You may feel that it isn’t your fault – you have been placed here against your will. You may feel like the victim, waiting to be rescued, but is this energy serving you? If not, it is imperative you take back your power and personal accountability and open your eyes to the options in front of you. The fact is you do have choices, even if you do not like them. You are not powerless. At times, the Eight of Swords indicates that you are confused about whether you should stay or go, particularly if you are in a challenging situation. It is not as clear-cut as you would like, making the decision very difficult. You have one foot in, hoping things can work out, but your other foot is out the door, ready to leave. The trouble is that you worry either option could lead to negative consequences, and so you remain stuck where you are. Again, this card is asking you to get out of your head and drop down into your gut and your intuition so you can hear your inner guidance. Your thoughts are not serving you right now, but your intuition is. Trust yourself. In any case, it is necessary to "take back control" of the circumstances and to remember that in life, we always have a choice. The possibilities in front of you may not be ideal, easy or desired… but they exist! You have to be able to look them in the face, and choose the best… or the least bad.
www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...
www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...
In 1903 Waite succeeded Yeats as Grand Master of the Golden Dawn. His first act under his new status was a reform of the fundamental principles of the Order: he proclaimed the primacy of spiritual achievement (emphasis on esoteric knowledge and the search for Truth) over material fulfillment (which occultism in general, and magic in particular, presupposes). Seeing in this act of negating the very foundation of the Golden Dawn (namely the practice of the occult sciences) the outright annihilation of the Order, former Grand Master Yeats strongly opposed Waite.
Two camps were then formed: one bringing together the supporters of the reform and represented by William Alexander Ayton, (relatively fearful in terms of operability), Waite's right-hand man, and the other bringing together, alongside the former Grand Mr. Yeats, the curators. The feud lasted two years, after which the Yeats camp ended up going on to found its own order (La Stella Matutina, the "Morning Star")—a perfect transposition of the Golden Dawn before Waite's reform, seceding from what took then the name of Holy Order of the Golden Dawn ("Holy Order of the Golden Dawn"; the expression "holy order" illustrating more the new mystical tendencies instilled by Waite) and which continued to be shaken by internal strife until disbanded in 1915, following Waite's departure.
After this "schism of 1905", which was the real coup de grace for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, certain initiates who had remained neutral in the struggle between Camp Yeats and Camp Ayton preferred to go and found, alone or in groups, their own brotherhood.
Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942), wanted to be a true scholar in occultism. He wrote, among other things, "The Holy Kaballah" and "The Key to the Tarot", published in London in 1910. For Waite, symbolism is the key to the Tarot. In "The Key to the Tarot" he says, "True tarot is symbolic; it uses no other languages or other signs". One of the unique characteristics of the Arthur Edwart Waite tarot and one of the main reasons for its popularity is that all the cards, including those of the Minor Arcana, depict scenes complete with figures and symbols. The images of all Pamela Coman-Smith's cards lend themselves to an interpretation based on the conscious and unconscious reading of the scene, without the need to consult explanatory texts.
What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.The Tarots of Wirth and Knapp Hall are to be considered to be Tarots based on "hermetic science". A science which will be strongly included in the broad fields of esoteric exploration to which the golden dawn will give access...The first decks that can be designated as decks born from the ideologies of the Golden Dawn and created according to their cosmogony is undoubtedly the Tarot Rider-Waite... It is the result of a long and meticulous research on esoteric symbols and their correspondence.
But the first member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to have designed a Tarot is obviously doctor Gérard Encausse, Papus, who joined the members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1895. The Papus tarot would have been designed around 1899... At the beginning, it was certainly reserved for a few insider circles only... It was seen for the first time in illustration in the works of Papus, among others in "Le Tarot des Bohémiens , absolute key to the occult sciences" (1889), but the book will only be really known and accessible to the general public from its 3rd edition published in 1926. Then will follow the work "The divinatory tarot. Key to card printing and fates" (1909), reissued in large circulation also the same year of 1926. From then on, the Tarot of Papus will gain much popularity and the public will seek to obtain it... The Tarot of Papus will be diffused little by little print from the 1930s.
While the tarots of Papus, Wirth and the Knapp Hall were appearing almost simultaneously, the renowned house of Grimaud, for its part, was preparing to publish the Tarot which would become the reference for the general public, it was this famous modified reproduction of the Conver, proposed by Paul Marteau. It will appear in 1930 and will become the most fashionable tarot... Despite the modifications made to this Tarot, it has no affiliation with occult groups and is intended to be a Tarot in the tradition of the Tarot de Marseille.
That said, the Tarot which will set the tone and which will be the reference for the members of the Golden Dawn is undoubtedly the Tarot developed by Rider and Waite.
There are already a hundred decks that derive directly from the tarot originally designed by Rider-Waite. Not to mention pirated copies, clones, etc... This tarot has long been a reference for budding occultists and kabbalists... It still is...
So, in fact, there are many tarots that were designed in the ideology of the Golden Dawn!!!
It will first be the Tarot of Aleister Crowley which, following the Rider-Waite, will stand out and bring modifications to the "esoteric" Tarot, always with reference to the Golden Dawn, to the Kabbalah, to ancient Egypt initiates, etc... With in addition, references to sexual magic...The members of the Golden Dawn mainly used the Tarot of Waite, but during the 1950s, 1960s, they put a lot of effort into creating a Tarot that could finally be directly linked to the precepts and esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn... A Tarot which originally wanted to be, once again, a Tarot exclusively reserved for members of the Order. This is the famous "Tarot of the Golden Dawn", so the Tarot which wants to be "officially" attested by the order...
But beware !! This name known as "Tarot of the Golden Dawn" is confusing... Several Tarots are decked out with the label "of the Golden Dawn"...
In truth, of all these tarot cards there is only one that is truly recognized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and as such, and that is the one developed by Israel Regardie and Robert Wang from esoteric works of Samuel Liddel Matthers.
Robert Wang will also create the "Jungian Tarot", very appreciated also by the followers of the Golden Dawn; and perhaps even more by those interested in "modern theosophy" and in the principles elaborated by Jung.
The "Jungian Tarot" is quite similar to the so-called "Golden Dawn" Tarot, but is intended more for "personal evolution" than for the initiatory journey of the Order, strictly speaking... In truth these two tarots are the results of extensive research in matters of esotericism, research that has been carried out by the study centers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Its construction, on the basis of the four elements, the celestial phenomena, the Holy Kabbalah, and a highly evolved psychology, can apparently lead its followers into the inner recesses of psychic and intuitive awareness.
Above all, this tarot can be used as a basis for occult study, in order to learn to possess all the aspects of the traditional "center-wisdom", and "high-science" kabbalistic... (There are many Rosicrucian references , and also references to Freemasonry and alchemy).
Originally, the Golden Dawn Tarot was only reserved for members of the official Order. It began to be broadcast from 1975.
Despite the claim of these creators, it should still be known that the vast majority of members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, will study the Tarot from the "Tarot B.O.T.A.", or the original Rider-Waite. What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.
THE TAROT B.O.T.A.
It is actually a very special version of the Rider-Waite Tarot presented in a "black and white" version, and the members were invited to color their own tarots... The study of symbolism esoteric was first done using this Tarot Rider-Waite in its original version (in black and bench). Indeed, the Waite-Rider Tarot in its black and white version is the most used by Golden Dawn followers and should be considered the official Golden Dawn Tarot.
A nearly similar version is still used by members of the B.O.T.A. and followers of hermetic schools. (The initials B.O.T.A. mean "Builders of the Adytum", it is a traditional and fraternal association founded by Paul Foster Case, continued and extended by Ann Davies...
A popular theory is that author William Walker Atkinson co-wrote the legendary "Kybalion" tome with Paul Foster Case. This theory is often defended by members of the "Builders of the Adytum". B.O.T.A. offers courses and techniques based on the study of the mystical teachings of the Holy Qabalah and TAROT. In fact, this confusing story about the Tarot B.O.T.A. and writing the "Kybalion", seems to have started with a breakaway group from the B.O.T.A., "The Brotherhood of Hidden Light" (which emphasizes the "secret (or lost) knowledge of the sages of Atlantis") .
The members of the Golden Dawn like the members of the B.O.T.A., consider that the Rider-Waite tarot is the ultimate "reference"...
secretsdutarot.blogspot.com/2013/01/les-tarots-dits-de-la...
This dissertation seeks to define the importance of Waite’s interpretation of mediaeval and Renaissance esoterica regarding the contacting of daemons and its evolution into a body of astrological and terrestrial correspondences and intelligences that included a Biblical primordial language, or a lingua adamica. The intention and transmission of John Dee’s angel magic is linked to the philosophy outlined in his earlier works, most notably the Monas Hieroglyphica, and so this dissertation also provides a philosophical background to Dee’s angel magic. The aim of this dissertation is to establish Dee’s conversations with angels as a magic system that is a direct descendant of Solomonic and Ficinian magic with unique Kabbalistic elements. It is primarily by the Neoplatonic, Hermetic, Kabbalistic, and alchemical philosophy presented in the Monas Hieroglyphica that interest in Dee’s angel magic was transmitted through the Rosicrucian movement. Through Johann Valentin Andreae’s Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459, the emphasis on a spiritual, inner alchemy became attached to Dee’s philosophy. Figures such as Elias Ashmole, Ebenezer Sibley, Francis Barret, and Frederick Hockley were crucial in the transmission of interest in Dee’s practical angel magic and Hermetic philosophy to the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Enochian Angel Magic: From John Dee to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn www.academia.edu/921740/Enochian_Angel_Magic_From_John_De...
The rituals of the Golden Dawn utilized Dee’s angel magic, in addition to creative Kabbalistic elements, to form a singular practice that has influenced Western esoterica of the modern age. This study utilizes a careful analysis of primary sources including the original manuscripts of the Sloane archives, the most recent scholarly editions of Dee’s works, authoritative editions of original documents linked to Rosicrucianism, and Israel Regardie’s texts on Golden Dawn practices."In Whose hands the Sun is as a sword, and the Moon as a through- thrusting fire." An elegant equation, defining the parameters of the. creation. The god declares dominion over planetary forces (Sun-Moon) and elemental forces (fire-air). He also declares control over the two types of dualities: those in which one pole is projective and the other responsive (Sun-Moon) and over those in which two forces of similar polarity are balanced (fire-air). Within the area of creation, the positive pole is attributed to the element of swords, Air, and the anti-positive pole is attributed to the element of Fire. This is reflected in the precedence followed by the elements throughout the Tablets and Calls: Air first, then Water, Earth, and Fire. "Which measure your garments in the midst of my vestures..." The word translated here as "garments" is used uniformly to mean "creation" or "being" elsewhere in the Keys. Another word is used for
"garments" in the next sentence of this same Key. Another word is also used for "midst" further on in this Key. So the translation here is questionable. A magickal image given to define this phrase shows the scene through the god's eyes as he pulls endless threads of living light out of a lamen on his chest.
Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the 16th-century writings of John Dee and Edward Kelley, who wrote that their information, including the revealed Enochian language, was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contain the record of these workings, the Enochian script, and the tables of correspondences used in Enochian magic. Dee and Kelley believed their visions gave them access to secrets contained within Liber Logaeth, which Dee and Kelley referred to as the "Book of Enoch".In the early 1580s, John Dee had become discontented with his progress in learning the secrets of nature. Dee wrote: I have from my youth up, desired and prayed unto God for pure and sound wisdom and understanding of truths natural and artificial, so that God's wisdom, goodness, and power bestowed in the frame of the world might be brought in some bountiful measure under the talent of my capacity... So for many years and in many places, far and near, I have sought and studied many books in sundry languages, and have conferred with sundry men, and have laboured with my own reasonable discourse, to find some inkling, gleam, or beam of those radical truths. But after all my endeavours I could find no other way to attain such wisdom but by the Extraordinary Gift, and not by any vulgar school, doctrine, or human invention. Enochian magic involves the evocation and commanding of various spirits.He subsequently began to turn energetically towards the supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. He sought to contact spirits through the use of a scryer or crystal-gazer, which he thought would act as an intermediary between himself and the angels. Dee's first attempts with several scryers were unsatisfactory, but in 1582 he met Edward Kelley (1555–1597/8), then calling himself Edward Talbot to disguise his conviction for "coining" or forgery, who impressed him greatly with his abilities.Dee took Kelley into his service and began to devote all his energies to his supernatural pursuits. These "spiritual conferences" or "actions" were conducted with intense Christian piety, always after periods of purification, prayer and fasting. Dee was convinced of the benefits they could bring to mankind. The character of Kelley is harder to assess: some conclude that he acted with cynicism, but delusion or self-deception cannot be ruled out. Kelley's "output" is remarkable for its volume, intricacy and vividness. Through Kelley, the angels laboriously dictated several books in this way, some in a previously unknown language which Dee called Angelical — now more commonly known as Enochian.The two pillars of modern Enochian magic, as outlined in Liber Chanokh, are the Elemental Tablets (including the "Tablet of Union") and the Keys of the 30 Aethyrs. The Enochian model of the universe is depicted by Dee as a square called "The Great Table" (made up of the 4 Elemental Tablets and incorporating the Tablet of Union), surrounded by 30 concentric circles representing the 30 Aethyrs or Aires. The Angelical Keys:
The essence of Enochian magic involves the recitation of one or more of nineteen Angelical Keys, which are also referred to as Calls. These keys are a series of rhetorical exhortations which function as evocations when read in the Enochian language. They are used to effect the "opening of 'gates' into various mystical realms." The first eighteen keys are used to 'open' the realms of the elements and sub-elements, which are mapped onto the quadrants and sub-quadrants of the Great Tablet.[clarification needed][citation needed]. The nineteenth key is used to 'open' the Thirty Aethyrs. The Aethyrs are conceived of as forming a map of the entire universe in the form of concentric rings which expand outward from the innermost to the outermost Aethyr. The Great Table: The angels of the four quarters are symbolized by the Elemental Tablets — four large magical word-square Tables (collectively called "The Great Table"). Most of the well-known Enochian angels are drawn from the Elemenal Tablets of the Great Table. Each of the four tablets (representing the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water), is collectively "governed" by a hierarchy of spiritual entities which runs (as explained in Crowley's Liber Chanokh) as the Three Holy Names, the Great Elemental King, the Six Seniors (aka Elders) (these make a total of 24 Elders as seen in the Revelation of St. John), the Two Divine Names of the Calvary Cross, the Kerubim, and the Sixteen Lesser Angels. Each tablet is further divided into four sub-quadrants (sometimes referred to as 'sub-angles') where we find the names of various Archangels and Angels who govern the quarters of the world. In this way, the entire universe, visible and invisible, is depicted as teeming with living intelligences. Each of the Elemental tablets is also divided into four sections by a figure known as the Great Central Cross. The Great Central cross consists of the two central vertical columns of the Elemental Tablet (the Linea Patris and Linea Filii) and the central horizontal line (known as the Linea Spiritus Sancti). In addition to the four Elemental Tablets, a twenty-square cell known as the Tablet of Union (aka The Black Cross, representing Spirit) completes the representation of the five traditional elemental attributes used in magic - Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. The Tablet of Union is derived from within the Great Central Cross of the Great Table. The Thirty Æthyrs : The 30 Aethyrs are numbered from 30 (TEX, the lowest and consequently the closest to the Great Table) to 1 (LIL, the highest, representing the Supreme Attainment. Magicians working the Enochian system record their impressions and visions within each of the successive Enochian Aethyrs. Each of the 30 Aethyrs is populated by "Governors" (3 for each Aethyr, except TEX which has four, thus a total of 91 Governors). Each of the governors has a sigil which can be traced onto the Great Tablet of Earth.
The Holy Table: a table with a top engraved with a Hexagram, a surrounding border of Enochian letters, and in the middle a Twelvefold table (cell) engraved with individual Enochian letters. According to Duquette and Hyatt, the Holy Table "does not directly concern Elemental or Aethyrical workings. Angels found on the Holy Table are not called forth in these operations."
The Seven Planetary Talismans: The names on these talismans (which are engraved on tin and placed on the surface of the Holy Table) are those of the Goetia. According to Duquette and Hyatt, "this indicates (or at least implies) Dee's familiarity with the Lemegeton and his attempt, at least early in his workings, to incorporate it in the Enochian system."] As with the Holy Table, Spirits found on these talismans are not called forth in these operations. The Sigillum dei Aemeth, Holy Sevenfold Table, or 'Seal of God's Truth': The symbol derives from Liber Juratus (aka The Sworn Book of Honorius or Grimoire of Honorius, of which Dee owned a copy). Five versions of this complex diagram are made from bee's wax, and engraved with the various lineal figures, letters and numbers. The four smaller ones are placed under the feet of the Holy Table. The fifth and larger one (about nine inches in diameter) is covered with a red cloth, placed on the Holy Table, and is used to support the "Shew-Stone" or "Speculum" (crystal or other device used for scrying). Scrying is an essential element of the magical system. Dee and Kelly's technique was to gaze into a concave obsidian mirror. Crowley habitually held a large topaz mounted upon a wooden cross to his forehead. Other methods include gazing into crystals, ink, fire or even a blank TV screen.Little else became of Dee's work until late in the nineteenth century,[citation needed] when it was incorporated by a brotherhood of adepts in England. The rediscovery of Dee and Kelley's material by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the 1880s led to Mathers developing the material into a comprehensive system of ceremonial magic. Magicians invoked the Enochian deities whose names were written on the tablets. They also traveled in their bodies of light into these subtle regions and recorded their psychic experiences. The two major branches of the system were then grafted on to the Adeptus Minor curriculum of the Golden Dawn.
According to Aleister Crowley, the magician starts with the 30th aethyr and works up to the first, exploring only so far as his level of initiation will permit. According to Chris Zalewski's 1994 book, the Golden Dawn also invented the game of Enochian chess, in which aspects of the Enochian Tablets were used for divination. They used four chessboards without symbols on them, just sets of colored squares, and each board is associated with one of the four elements of magic. Florence Farr founded the Sphere Group which also experimented with Enochian magic.Aleister Crowley's work with Enochian magick generally follows the Golden Dawn system. He is known primarily for his explorations of the 30 Aethyrs, published in "The Vision and the Voice". This work established the idea that Aethyr might represent a means of initiation, and set a standard for methodical exploration, which few have equaled. It also fixed Crowley's particular perspective on the process of transcendence in the minds of many students of the occult. Crowley envisioned the Aethyr as being related to the sephiroth of the tree of life in groups of three. He also mentions that each Aethyr "bends" into the next Aethyr above it, in a way, so that in progressing through the Aethyrs from the last to the first, one also withdraws one's being from the lower levels and already experienced (this is parallel to the technique he describes in the Liber Yod, in which the magician achieves union with the deity by gradually banishing all other levels and powers.Under this conception the Aethyrs ZAX, whose parts have names formed from the cross of union, is the highest of the three attributed to Chesed. Thus, it is the last Aethyr encountered before entering the Supernal Triad and achieving transcendence. Crowley envisioned this movement as crossing an "abyss" or space, during which the magician encounters an Enochian devil named Choronzon dwelling therein. Crowley's other contribution to Enochian magick was adapting the pyramid system of the GD for use with the sex magick of the O.T.O. In this technique, physical representations of the pyramids are made for an angel's name, but inverted to form the square "cups". These serve as talismans, which are charged using the end product of the sex magick operation.
Paul Foster Case (1884–1954), an occultist who began his magical career with the Alpha et Omega, was critical of the Enochian system. According to Case, the system of Dee and Kelley was partial from the start, an incomplete system derived from an earlier and complete Qabalistic system, and lacked sufficient protection methods. Case believed he had witnessed the physical breakdown of a number of practitioners of Enochian magic, due to the lack of protective methods. When Case founded his own magical order, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), he removed the Enochian system and substituted elemental tablets based on Qabalistic formulae communicated to him by Master R.The first Enochian Key or Call is a recapitulation of the steps by which the creator of the system brought it into being. The Key follows the same macrocosmic-to-microcosmic progression used in the example consecration ritual, but then supplements this with a response from the microcosm directed at the macrocosm. Note that the description of the downward current contains seven significant phrases, suggesting the planets and sun, the macrocosm, while the description of the response contains five significant phrases, suggesting the four elements and elemental spirit, the microcosm."...and trussed you together as the palms of my hands." The magickal image continues by showing the god gathering the fibers of light into a bundle or cable. The god concentrates the energies within the area of work in preparation for shaping."Whose seats I garnished with the fire of gathering, which beautified your garments with admiration." Having generated the positive or spiritual pole of the creation, the god now looks to the anti-positive or material pole. The "seats" are the squares of the tablets in their two-dimensional form. The god embodies a part of his will in the Tablets, defining the order and place to which the spiritual energies will be attracted and attached. When the energies are attached to the Tablets, the pattern of will embodied in the Tablets extends back along their path to the positive pole, conditioning all the perceptible expressions (the "garments") of the energies.. The usual assumption of later magicians (which is not universally accepted) is that the remaining Calls refer to the "Minor Angles" within the Tablets.
The Golden Dawn method of associating the Callings with the tablets and Lesser Angles has become the accepted "standard". Donald Tyson recently proposed an alternative method which has received some attention
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian_magic
SUMMARY OF PATH POSITIONS IN ACHAD'S TREE OF LIFE
Path Trump Connects with:
Aleph The Fool Malkuth Yesod
Beth The Magician Malkuth Hod
Gimel The Priestess Yesod Hod
Daleth The Empress Malkuth Netzach
Heh The Emperor Tiphereth Geburah
Vav The Hierophant Hod Netzach
Zain The Lovers Hod Tiphereth
Cheth The Chariot Yesod Netzach
Teth Strength Netzach Tiphereth
YodT he Hermit Hod Geburah
Kaph The Wheel of Fortune Kether Chokmah
Lamed Justice Netzach Chesed
Mem The Hanged Man Yesod Tiphereth
Nun Death Geburah Chesed
Samek Temperance Chesed Chokmah
AyinThe DevilTiphereth Binah
PehThe Tower Geburah Binah
Tzaddi The Star Binah Chokmah
Qoph The Moon Tiphereth Chesed
Resh The Sun Tiphereth Chokmah
Shin Judgement Kether Tiphereth
TauT he Universe Kether Binah
"To whom I made a law to govern the holy ones," The word translated as "holy ones" appears to derive from the same root as the enochian words for "fire", suggesting that the holy ones are those who possess the spiritual will. The god specifies the manner in which his creation will respond to the mages and adepts."Moreover, you lifted up your voices and sware obedience and faith..."The connection between the two poles having been made, and the conditions of their interaction being set, the angels of the creation voice their response to the god, swearing to continue to follow the god's will. "...to him that liveth and triumpheth," The spirits of the Tablets affirm the existence of their creator by saying that he lives, and affirm the success of the act of creation by saying that he triumphs. The echoing of the god's statements by the spirits of the tablets also suggests that the conditions the god laid on the creation as a whole
are reflected in miniature within the creation. It shall be shown that this is the case with the Tablets as we proceed.In the remainder of the Key, the magician using it calls upon the
spirits to respond to him fully and openly. The word translated here as "servant" might be better rendered as "minister" or "representative". The magician asserts that he has a right to demand a response from the spirits because his acts are in accord with the will of their creator.
www.sacred-texts.com/eso/enoch/1stkey.txt
Angelic chatter, but very little solid information. Additionally, the reader must deal with forays into apocalyptic religion, Elizabethan politics, Dee's and Kelly's personal issues, and the various irrelevant issues Dee insisted on inserting into the work. Chronologically, Dee and Kelly's work falls into three highly productive periods separated by months when nothing of particular value was received. The material received in each period generally stands on its own, and is only loosely related to that of the other periods. but the term is often applied to all work. First Period: The Heptarchia Mystica. Equipment: Ring, Lamen, and Holy Table The angels claimed that the ring they designed for Dee was the same one used by Solomon to control demons. The ring had a full band, to which was attached a rectangular plate. The letters PELE (coming from Latin for "he will do miracles") were inscribed in the four corners. In the center was a circle crossed by a horizontal line, with the letter "V" inscribed above and the letter "L" below. Two different lamens were given to Dee. The first bears a generic resemblance to various sigils of goetia being an assortment of free-form lines and oddly placed letters. The giving being indicated that it was to be made of gold and worn every time and place for the purpose of protection. given by an evil spirit. During the spring session of 1583, the angels indicated that a session had been scheduled in which detailed instructions would be given for the use of Heptarchic magick. If this session took place, it is not in the records that have survived; but some idea of the general technique can be gathered from the comments in other parts of the recording. The magician would be seated at the Holy Table, wearing the ring and lamen. table in front of him. He would hold an appropriate Heptarchic king's talisman in one hand, with a talisman of the names of the king's ministers placed beneath his feet. The magician would then invite the king with petition and prayer, followed by petitions to his prince, and invocations of the six chief ministers. They would appear in the stone of clairvoyance, whereupon the magician would instruct them to accomplish the task he desired.The Liber Loagaeth is the most mysterious part of Dee and Kelly's work. It is also known by different names like
book of Enoch and the Liber Mysteriorum Sextus et Sanctus. So far no one has seriously attempted to use it, or to understand its nature, beyond what is found in the diaries. According to the angels, "loagaeth" means "speech of God", this book is supposed to be, literally, the words by which God created all things. It is supposed to be the language in which the "true names" of all things are known, giving power over them. As described in the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, the book was to consist of 48 "leaves", of which each contains a 49x49 grid. Infact, the book actually presented to Kelly is somewhat different. It contains 49 "invocations" in an unknown language, 95 square tables filled with letters and numbers, 2 similar tables not filled, and 4 drawn tables twice the width of the others. 2 "leaves" are recorded, but these are not included in the final book, and apparently serve as an introduction or prologue to the work. this term. There is no translation by which this could be judged in detail, but the text lacks the logical repetitions and word placements which are characteristic of the 48 Enochian invocations given in later years. There is no apparent grammar in the text. Donald Laycock remarks that the language is strongly alliterative and repetitively rhyming, while Robert Turner calls it "glossolalic". many "languages", all being spoken immediately. The purpose of the Loagaeth has been said to be the unleashing/introduction of a new age on earth, the last age before the end of all things. Instructions for use for this purpose were never given; the angels continually put it off, saying that only God could decide when the time has come. During the presentation of the two leaves of the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, in the stone of clairvoyance an angel moved successively towards letters, and Kelly pronounced the names of the angelic character. Dee transcribed a version using the Roman alphabet, apparently with the intention of redoing it in angelic characters at a later date. of Kelly; this light was seen by both of them. Once the light entered Kelly's head, his consciousness was transformed so that he could understand the text as he read it. He was strongly commanded not to provide a translation, explaining that God would choose the time for it to be revealed. He provided the translation of a few of the words, but it was insufficient to capture the meaning of the text as a whole. When the light withdrew from Kelly's head, he immediately ceased to understand the text, and could no longer see it in the stone. On a few occasions, the light continued to work within him for a short time after the session ended, and at those times Dee noticed that Kelly said many wonderful (and unrecorded) things about the nature of the texts. But the moment the light went out, Kelly couldn't understand it anymore, nor remember what he had said during the previous moment. The record indicates that the 23rd line of the first leaf was a preface to the creation and distinction of the angels, and the 24th line a pleasant invitation to the good angels. Nothing else is recorded concerning the purpose of this book.
Enochian Magic and the Apocalypse
There are 2 major threads of thought in Christian millennialism. One thread, called postmillennialism, is largely utopian in nature. He sees the millennium as the beginning of a period of progressive perfection of conditions on Earth; the basic principle is that the world must be perfected and the city of God built on earth before Christ returns, and only after Christ returns will the world end. Two decades after Dee, this form of millennialism was the driving force behind the religious groups shoeing the English colonization of America. Dee's own thought contains many post-millennial ideals in the search for Enochian magick, one of his goals was to gain means to bring earthly governments and societies to God's design, thereby bringing the return of Christ closer. quickly. The other thread, called premillennialism, is the more catastrophic variety. In this version, the typical scenario is the return of Christ, and then mankind's current "evil" societies will be destroyed in worldwide disasters, while the elect are preserved from evil. After the world is destroyed, Christ will join the faithful in a city built by God to rule over the earth for a thousand years. While there is a strong millennial flavor to the angel's statements, they are almost uniformly of the postmillennial variety. The angels divided the world into four ages. The first of these ages began with the creation and ended with the flood; the second ended with the appearance of Christ. The revelation of Liber Loagaeth ended the third age and triggered the final age, in which the world would be brought to perfection before Christ's return. . A particular passage makes this clear.
The Enochian Magical System of Golden Dawn
Regardie, Israel, The Golden Dawn, Llewellyn Publications, 1971, St Paul, MN. Reprinted at regular intervals. Contains detailed descriptions of the Enochian Magical System developed from GD. Zalewski, Pat. Golden Dawn Enochian Magic, Llewellyn Certainly there are influences of the Qabalah (the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the communications of Uriel, Michael...) but this is not the originality and the strength of the system. Some practitioners of Enochian magic said that it was a Qabala (when I hear a Qabala I tend to write Kabbalah, like in the theater) that put into action the world of Atziluth, the highest of the four Qabalah classic. It's quite difficult to verify...even ! (See the introduction to the Necrono-micon at Belfond Editions).
But back to Enochian magick proper. The successors of the G.. D.. today reorganize its system and Schueler in his Enochian Magic) gives the material and the rituals "step by step" ("step by step"). Americans (and us too) like to practice if it is simple and impressive... The investigation by Enochian magic generally gives results, we cannot really say that they are controllable since they do not correspond to any standard of experiences already lived by the inventors of this practice.
Be that as it may, the Enochian, this language with its grammar and its syntax, this magical system and its original Theogony, remains a mystery that should not be taken for a simple variant of this or that traditional system already known. It is therefore useful when approaching it to master the fundamental elements which are used for its use without being subservient to the rituals of the pentagrams and hexagrams, to their signs, to the notions of Qabala of the G., D.., etc. This will make it possible to know what is original or what is borrowed in the Enochian, and what one can think of such or such contemporary development. A culture that will provide some points of reference in our consumer society where the practice of magic has much in common with video games or the daily television session.
In this, the most honorable goal (if it can be a question of honour) is the success of the experience known as the "Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel", i.e. contact with one's true will, devoid of intention, in other words his heart. But it also applies to solving the various problems of life. After all, a magic is white or black only according to the use that is made of it... Let's say that we are still far from the religious John Dee. In fact not, for if Dee's conscious aims and methods were very far from those of our contemporaries, would ultimately the adventures and misadventures of his life, the problem of his relationship with Kelly evidently culminating in the ritually ordered exchange what they did with their wives would not be indications that this practice was beginning to ferment the elements of their consciences into a quintessential non-conformist?
MATTHEW LEON.
This text constitutes the introduction to the "Book of the gathering of forces" Editions RAMUEL 1994
Today we can no longer answer, lacking the benchmarks of a conventional morality no longer existing in the heart of the modern magician. But what is left? On what do we base ourselves if our practice has not yet allowed us an unambiguous contact with our heart, if our magical training lets us wander in the imagination that we have shaped? Publications 1990, St Paul, MN.
Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored.In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (e.g., 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise). Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways. Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that synesthesia develops during childhood when children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. This hypothesis—referred to as semantic vacuum hypothesis—could explain why the most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme-color, spatial sequence, and number form. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn. The earliest recorded case of synesthesia is attributed to the Oxford University academic and philosopher John Locke, who, in 1690, made a report about a blind man who said he experienced the color scarlet when he heard the sound of a trumpet. However, there is disagreement as to whether Locke described an actual instance of synesthesia or was using a metaphor. The first medical account came from German physician Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812. The term is from the Ancient Greek σύν syn, 'together', and αἴσθησις aisthēsis, 'sensation'.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
When Pamela Coleman Smith was attending the Pratt Institute of Art, she realized that she possessed a high degree of sound-color synesthesia, i.e., she was able to visualize colors and forms while listening to music and could transmit those visualizations into tangible works of art. Modern psychologists define synesthesia as a crossing-over of sensory input. Depending upon the type of synesthesia, individuals are able to hear colors, see music, smell words, etc. Many people, particularly artists, possess this phenomenon to some extent; however, Pamela possessed sound-color synesthesia to an exceptionally high degree. She was able to create sound paintings just by unconsciously drawing while listening to passages of music. She embodied the Symbolist ideal in this area. Many examples of her work in this area have survived, including three watercolors in the possession of the Stieglitz/Georgia O'Keeffe Archive. In July 1908, an article appeared in The Strand Magazine entitled "Pictures in Music." The article included six black and white images of her music paintings (see below) and provided a long quotation by her which described how her art was created. A pertinent excerpt from that article is as follows: Do you see pictures in music? When you hear a Beethoven symphony or a sonata by Schumann, do mystic human figures and landscapes float before your eyes ? It is by no means new or uncommon for a composer to have a distinct picture in his mind when he sets himself to create a work. Schumann saw children at play in an embowered wood, dancing merrily until, lo ! the sudden advent of a satyr sent them shrieking to their homes. Few, however, have been able to delineate their hallucinations born of music.
Mendelssohn, who was no mean draughtsman, was often asked to do so, but always refused. "It is like asking a sculptor to paint a portrait of his statue," he once said. " All art is one, just as the human body is one, but each of the members has its functions. It is the function of music to hear, not to see." Nevertheless, it is highly interesting to see music translated in the terms of a sister art, and this is what a clever artist, Miss Pamela Colman Smith, has done, in pictures which are published now for the first time in The Strand Magazine. Many of the compositions selected by the artist will instantly be recognized as conveying, in quite a surprising way, a vivid idea of the music as a whole. Every reader can ascertain for himself whether he possesses this peculiar psychic gift—this power of conjuring up music pictures. When you next hear a famous sonata, close your eyes and see what, if any, "pictures" pass before the eye of your brain. Under the magical influence of music the soul has glimpses of wondrous shapes, lit by the light that never was on sea or land. "You ask me how these pictures are evolved," said Miss Colman Smith. "They are not pictures of the music theme — pictures of the flying notes—not conscious illustrations of the name given to a piece of music, but just what I see when I hear music—thoughts loosened and set free by the spell of sound. "When I take a brush in hand and the music begins, it is like unlocking the door into a beautiful country. There, stretched far away, are plains and mountains and the billowy sea, and as the music forms a net of sound the people who dwell there enter the scene; tall, slow-moving, stately queens, with jewelled crowns and garments gay or sad, who walk on mountain - tops or stand beside the shore, watching the water - people. These water-folk are passionless, and sway or fall with little heed of time; they toss the spray and, bending down, dive headlong through the deep. "There are the dwellers, too, of the great plain, who sit and brood, made of stone and motionless; the trees, which slumber till some elf goes by with magic spear and wakes the green to life ; towers, white and tall, standing against the darkening sky— Those tall white towers that one sees afar, Topping the mountain crests like crowns of snow. Their silence hangs so heavy in the air That thoughts are stifled. "Then huddling crowds, who carry spears, hasten across the changing scene. Sunsets fade from rose to grey, and clouds scud across the sky. "For a long time the land I saw when hearing Beethoven was unpeopled; hills, plains, ruined towers, churches by the sea. After a time I saw far off a little company of spearmen ride away across the plain. But now the clanging sea is strong with the salt of the lashing spray and full of elemental life; the riders of the waves, the Queen of Tides, who carries in her hand the pearl-like moon, and bubbles gleaming on the inky wave. "Often when hearing Bach I hear bells ringing in the sky, rung by whirling cords held in the hands of maidens dressed in brown. There is a rare freshness in the air, like morning on a mountain-top, with opal-coloured mists that chase each other fast across the scene. "Chopin brings night ; gardens where mystery and dread lurk under every bush, but joy and passion throb within the air, and the cold moon bewitches all the scene. There is a garden that I often see, with moonlight glistening on the vine-leaves, and drooping roses with pale petals fluttering down, tall, misty trees and purple sky, and lovers wandering there. A drawing of that garden I have shown to several people and asked them if they could play the music that I heard when I drew it. They have all, without any hesitation, played the same. I do not know the name, but— well, I know the music of that place."
...to let you know that my time on flickr may be limited today due to my cat being sick. My eldest cat Pearl [ 19 yrs- cancer survivor] hasn't been feeling well.
She went to the vet last week for blood work and check blood pressure...both came back normal....but clearly something is amiss.
Pearl's been keeping me awake for almost a week....pacing at night, drinking water and seems out of sorts. I suspect her urinary tract infection has flared up despite being on anti biotics every three days to treat a history of UTI [ common in elderly pets].
She is so frail and thin......can't keep food down and is such a fincky eater. Forgive me if I'm not around as often as I'd like.
Update:
Pearl went to the vet this morning and got an antibiotic injection and also one for nausea......I was told that her blood work last week ruled out diabetes. It seems we are dealing with just a nasty bladder infection and the meds given today will put her on the road to recovery. If not, we will take xrays next week to see if there's any blockage or abdominal abnormality.
An eastbound Rio Grande manifest clears one of the two tunnels built to bypass the mudslide at Thistle, Utah, which is hidden behind the mountain that now hosts the tunnels. At the extreme left, from left to right, are pre-1983 Rio Grande right of way, the Spanish Fork, and the original alignment of US Route 6. For a time in 1983, the lowest elevations in the scene were covered by the so-called “Lake Thistle”, which was created by rising floodwaters due to the blockage of the flow of Spanish Fork.
In the immortal words of Rossana, Dana, "It's always something!"
Now Floydd is sick.
Besides missing the creature comforts of my home, the big down side to not living under the same roof as some of the cats is that I don't get to observe their behavior 24/7.
As a result, it's easy to miss signs when something's amiss.
Thankfully Larry, who's actually been spending much more time than I have lately at the house, noticed that Flyodd seemed to be having some issues in the litterbox and brought it to my attention.
Cats are masters of hiding discomfort, and it took me another day to confirm that he was indeed having some problem peeing.
We were off immediately to see the vet.
He's got a pretty serious UTI, and he had a partial blockage.....YIKES!
He's on 3 different meds, and I now have him at the apt. where I can monitor him carefully, and make sure there's no signs of a blockage. 8-((
Cynipidae
This was an interesting little find yesterday. I thought at first it was a black ant queen (actually to begin with I just thought it was a small fly). It was certainly the right size for an ant,
The eyes give it away, being much larger than I usual see on my resident black garden ants. Being largely subterranean, ants don't need such large eyes so I concluded this must be an ant mimicking parasitic wasp.
It walked away from me as I approached but a finger place in it's path directed it back towards me. It didn't seem able or willing to fly off. Looking on the LCD screen I could see it had a very swollen abdomen and assumed this wouldn't be a standard state of affairs for this individual.
Maybe it's ram packed full of eggs, ready to parasitise which ever species this one specialises in. It could have a blockage that is preventing it from depositing and it's building up a back log of eggs it can't get rid of. Alternatively it could have a fungal infection or, my favourite explanation, hosting the larvae of another parasite species.
A parasitised, parasitic wasp. Fancy that!
EDIT: Confirmed as a Gall Wasp, thanks to bleu.geo. Not a parasite of other insects as I suspected, but a parasite of plants! A quick Google search reveals the abdomen as it appears here to be pretty typical of this family of wasps. Something new every day :)
Single image @3-4X magnification (cropped for composition)
More images in the comments below: