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Our Daily Challenge: Ground or Grounding
Not only did I take this image whilst grounded to the ground, as Miss Maggie is also grounded, it is very grounding having Miss Maggie in my life.
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LOVE: It's the circle of life
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga-ijQP0KxY
"You should never take more than you give" . . .
Blessings to all human kind.
January 01, 2026
How could we build a liveable space habitat?
In the not-too-distant future, humanity will be faced with the challenge of building permanent homes in space. For this to happen, space habitats will need to closely replicate Earth’s gravity, while dealing with the threat of radiation and meteorites from outer space. Through his research, Werner Grandl at Space Renaissance International in Italy considers how these challenges could be overcome. Through a series of recent studies, he conceives a feasible design for a rotating space habitat, shielded from outer space by a mined‑out asteroid.
The idea of human settlers establishing permanent homes in space is a staple of our favourite sci-fi. Over the past century, countless films, books, TV shows, and video games have found creative, often elaborate ways to convey the threats and motivations which would force humanity to leave Earth behind and explain how they might survive in the harsh environment of space.
Yet today, many of these fictional threats look all too familiar in the real world. Werner Grandl at Space Renaissance International explains, ‘Besides man-made disasters like global warming or nuclear war, there are a number of serious natural threats to planet Earth such as asteroid impacts, super-volcanoes, and ice ages.’
For Grandl, the ever-looming presence of these threats creates a pressing need for us to think about what realistic extra-terrestrial habitats could look like and consider how they could be constructed in the not-too-distant future. ‘The construction of self-sustaining colonies in space using lunar and asteroid resources will be the next step of human evolution,’ he says.
Accommodating the human body
Beyond the staggering feats of engineering required to build these habitats, some of the most important challenges to consider in their design are related to the limitations of our own bodies. Having evolved on Earth, the physical attributes of our muscles, bones, and many other vital biological systems are finely tuned to functioning in the gravitational field of our home planet. If we leave this familiar environment for extended periods, medical problems will inevitably start to emerge before long. ‘A lack of gravity can cause danger for human health such as bone demineralisation, muscle atrophy, and orthostatic intolerance,’ Grandl explains.
Artificial Gravity Orbital Station AGOS: a spinning space station, built in three stages.
Just like generations of sci-fi writers – although with far higher stakes – this challenge will be one of the first things we will need to consider when conceiving future space colonies. To provide a suitable home for the human body, habitats will need to generate their own artificial gravity, which matches Earth’s field as closely as possible.
A familiar grounding force
To simulate gravity, future space habitats will need to spin. ’Rotating space habitats can provide simulated gravity and a comfortable environment for astronauts and space settlers,’ says Grandl. The effect is achieved through the effect of centrifugal forces – you have probably experienced this effect yourself when driving a car around a tight curve or riding the loop-the-loop on a rollercoaster.
Prototype Asteroid Habitat for 2,000 people: the rotating torus is driven by magnetic levitation bearings; sunlight is beamed into the cave and distributed by a central mirror cone.
Here, the idea is that the manned part of a space habitat will constantly circle around the centre of the station. In this way, a person standing on the inner rim of the circle would feel like they are being pulled downwards by gravity, when in fact the floor is pushing them upwards, towards the centre of the habitat’s rotation.
Designing a rotating station
In one recent study, Grandl took this concept a step further. In his paper, he envisages a habitat built from interconnected cylindrical modules, which spin around the axis of a central cylinder – powered by a non-rotating framework of solar panels.
Grandl then shows how such a habitat could be enlarged in stages: eventually reaching a diameter of 102 metres, incorporating some 32 living quarter modules, which could comfortably house up to 180 people long term. He also considers how an agricultural sphere could be attached, providing food for these inhabitants.
A home inside an asteroid
Low-gravity environments aren’t the only challenge. In the harsh environment of space, without any atmosphere to protect them, future space habitats would face a constant threat of bombarded with radiation from the Sun, as well as tiny meteorites hurtling through space. Building further on his earlier concept, Grandl next considered how rotating habitats could be made safer by housing them inside hollowed-out asteroids – shielding them from outer space.
‘Near-Earth asteroids can be mined and the remaining cave would be a natural shelter against cosmic rays, solar flares, micrometeorites,’ he describes. ‘Inside excavated asteroids we can build self-sustaining human outposts in space providing artificial gravity.’
To reach this point, Grandl has conceived a multi-step process. It starts with a pair of unmanned space tugs, docked to either side of a near-Earth asteroid using anchors drilled firmly into the rock. Using advanced propulsion systems, the tugs could then pull the asteroid into a stable orbit around Earth, beyond the Moon.
From here, mining can begin along the axis of the asteroid’s rotation. At this point, the asteroid is connected to a manned space station – with the space and equipment required for digging, as well as carrying, processing, and storing mined materials.
After boring a straight tunnel into the centre of the asteroid, a larger spherical cave could then be excavated, taking up around half of the asteroid’s total volume. While mass is being removed from the asteroid, its orbit would be continuously stabilised by the two space tugs, still docked to either side. Finally, once mining has finished, a rotating habitat could be constructed inside the cave.
The future path to space
While our technology is still a long way off from being able to build these habitats, Grandl is confident that with the current pace of advancement, they will one day be perfectly feasible. Before we get there, he envisages a step-by-step improvement in our understanding of survival in space. ‘As a first step, we should build a rotating space station in Earth’s orbit to study the influence of different gravity-levels on human health,’ he describes.
Space habitats could be made safer by housing them inside hollowed-out asteroids – shielding them from outer space.
From here, we could build on this understanding to modify designs of manned space habitats to ensure the highest possible standards of safety and comfort for their inhabitants. Ultimately, by starting to tackle these challenges now, Grandl hopes that the possibility of permanently manned space habitats will begin to look far more feasible in the coming decades. In turn, his ideas may one day help to accelerate humanity’s exploration of the solar system, and to ensure our future in the face of whatever disasters we may one day face.
Personal Response
How long do you think it will be before humans will be able to live permanently in space?
It will depend on political decisions. In a best case scenario, a spinning orbital station as a successor of the present ISS could be built by 2035. First habitats inside hollow asteroids may be constructed in the last decade of this century. It will depend on the development of mining techniques in space.
References
Grandl, W, Böck, C, (2023) Asteroid habitats—Living inside a hollow celestial body. In: Badescu, V, et al, (eds), Handbook of Space Resources. Switzerland: Springer Nature, 763–785. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97913-3_22
Grandl, W, Autino, AV, Böck, C, (2023) Artificial gravity orbital dtation (AGOS)-the simulation of gravity in a rotating space station, 74th International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
Grandl, W, Bazso A, (2013) Near Earth asteroids — Prospection, orbit modification, mining and habitation. In: Badescu, V, (eds), Asteroids. Heidelberg: Springer Berlin, 415–438. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39244-3_17
Behind the Research
Werner Grandl
Werner Grandl was born in Vienna in 1957. He graduated from the Technical University of Vienna in 1984. He is a trained architect and civil engineer in Austria. His research interests include space stations and space colonies, and the use of lunar and asteroid resources.
Research Objectives
Werner Grandl describes the construction of self-sustaining colonies in space using lunar and asteroid resources.
Funding
Space Renaissance International (SRI), Viale Risorgimento 57, 22073 Fino Mornasco (CO), Italy.
Collaborators
Clemens Böck
Adriano V Autino
Cite this Article
Grandl, W, (2024) How could we build a liveable space habitat?, Research Outreach, 139.
DOI: 10.32907/RO-139-5856553861
Creative Commons Licence
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Creative Commons License
What does this mean?
Share: You can copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
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Making a Home on the Moon
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ESA / Education / Moon Camp
A future home on the Moon has to have a lot more than a place to eat and sleep. It will be the only structure on the Moon, it will have to provide shelter, power, and a place to work and live. But where should it be located and how will it be built? Find out more in this set of 6 animations from Airbus Foundation Discovery Space.
What is the best place to live on the Moon?
An entirely new landscape awaits when you land on the Moon. Will you choose one of the poles or dig underground – where will your Moon village be?
Ever since the US Federal Aviation Administration lifted the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX in December 2020 after prolonged testing and recertification, numerous countries have also began lifting the restrictions allowing the aircraft to fly in commercial service with the necessary modifications in place.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority and the European Aviation Standards Authority both lifted the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX on 27th January 2021, with the affected aircraft having software updates to MCAS, pilots undergo further training and rewiring of avionics.
TUI fly Belgium became the first European carrier to operate the Boeing 737 MAX since the grounding was lifted on 17th February 2021, and their reintroduction has been steady with little incident.
More recently, LOT Polish Airlines began the process of reintroducing Boeing 737 MAX 8s into service on 24th March 2021 and so far two have returned to service, with the 3 remaining examples currently pending. During the grounding, all of their Boeing 737 MAX fleet had been stored initially at their Warsaw-Chopin hub before being parked longer-term in Lublin. Since the grounding was lifted, the Boeing 737 MAXs have been returning to their hub in Warsaw-Chopin prior to reintroduction.
Prior to the grounding, LOT had been utilising Boeing 737 MAX 8s into London Heathrow on their twice daily flights (LO281/282 and LO279/280), but during the grounding, Boeing 737-800s and Embraer E190/E195s took over before their eventual return on 27th March 2021.
Currently, LOT Polish Airlines operates 11 Boeing 737s, which includes 6 Boeing 737-800s and 5 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. LOT Polish Airlines have 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s on-order.
Lima Victor Alpha is one of 5 Boeing 737 MAX 8s operated by LOT Polish Airlines, delivered new to the flag-carrier on lease from ALC on 1st December 2017 and she is powered by 2 CFM LEAP-1B engines. She was placed into long-term storage at Warsaw-Chopin between 21st February 2019 to 14th June 2019 until being parked at Lublin on the same day until 25th March 2021 where she returned at Warsaw-Chopin prior to re-entry to service after the grounding was lifted.
Boeing 737-8 MAX SP-LVA on final approach into Runway 27R at London Heathrow (LHR) on LO281 from Warsaw-Chopin (WAW).
I set my alarm just a little later than I would've liked, but I did manage to be down by the river in time to capture this. Watching the sun come up has become a new obsession of mine; it's so grounding and thrilling at once!
Dublin Airport, 10th June 2019.
This A330 has been leased in to operate Norwegian's daily service to Stewart, NY due to the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max-8 fleet.
This work evokes the artist’s French and Anishnaabe roots, referencing the standing stone of Britany and the lunar cycles central to Algonquin tradition. In this way, the spheres serves as guideposts and monuments of transatlantic journey.
Monnet sees this Atlantic roue, layered with colonial histories and economic interchanges, as a vexed yet fertile space. The spheres bring a sense of grounding in contrast to the turbulence of the ocean.
A few days after our discovery of the explosion at the chemical processing plant, I float some twenty feet above the hectic goings on of life in downtown Denver, invisible, watching time slowly pass. Despite all that has happened during my time on Earth, I still feel as though I am an outcast. The residents of Earth accept me in all the same ways that they accept people like Superman. But I realise, observing them as they go about their taxing, monotonous lives, that despite everything I do, and everything I will do for this planet, I will always be the true foundling, the extraterrestrial. The man from Mars.
I will arrive to prevent a crime, and the people will say "thank you." But behind me, there will always be those whispers; the discrete glances around the shoulder to keep me in check. To ensure I'm staying in line.
For a species that has enough trouble accepting itself, I don't doubt for one minute that it doesn't have second thoughts about accepting me.
Despite my best efforts, those whispers will always be heard. Even at home on Mars, the way society worked was microcosmic to what occurs here, on Earth.
It may be that I'm just being hypocritical; that I refuse to acknowledge that I too have acted just like them, and that exclusion is just a way of life.
I suppose, in a way, that makes me more human than anything else does.
To some extent the true aliens of this planet will never fit in.
I pull myself from my thoughts and open my mind to the thoughts of the pedestrians below me, a skill I have come to master in these past months. The moment I begin, my mind is flooded with the thoughts of those around me:
~"IhopetogodJennyhasgoodnewsohpleaseletitbegoodnewsIcan'twaittotellMarkwearehavingalittlegirlheisgoingtobeextaticOhmydaysheseriouslyneedstostoptalkingImeanwhothehellevenspeakslikethatheissoannoyingitisunrealDamnsheislookinggoodIhopetogodsheIfIgetonemorepersoncomeuptomeandoffermeagoddamnpamphletIthinkImaybetemptedtoturntomurderIsDouggoingtoeatthatormakeoutwithitIswearhelovesthatpizzamorethanhelovesmeSometimesIjustcan'texpressmeemotionsokaystoplookingatmelikethatHedoesrealiseyouneedthattostartupthecarrightHe'snotworhtyourtimejustleavehimdon'tmakemespellitouttoyouJesusNoIdon'tthinkweneedmilkbutCaseyneverwritesitdownsowhothehellknowsIwishthatguywouldstopyellinglikethatThatgirl'sshoesareundonemaybeIshouldtellhercasueshecouldtriporsomethingohgodwouldthatcountasmanslaughter-"~
So much discussion. So much laughter; so many tears.
It is enough to drive one to madness.
I do enjoy my times mind-dipping, however. It helps pull my thoughts back to now; grounding me back to the reality of life on Earth.
Just as I am about to return to their minds, I am pulled from my thoughts by a commotion down the high street.
My eyes flip open and I steadily float over to the source of the noise, but before I can make a move the noise dies down and a voice rings out through the air.
"Martian Manhunter! I'm looking for Martian Manhunter! Hello? Does anyone know where I can find Martian Manhunter?"
Amazed, I scan the area for the source of the voice, but my eyes soon do the job for me and discover who it is that is speaking.
In the middle of the street stands a fairly tall, well-built figure whom appears to be coated in some kind of rock that covers him from head to toe. Two beady red beacons shine out in the space that should be occupied by his eyes, and streaks of a burnt orange solution line his face in place of blemishes and wrinkles. As he steps forwards, the solution that hides in the cracks of his face appears in the exposed gaps of his rocky exoskeleton, seemingly taking up the place where one would find skin. As he approaches, I turn visible again and gently glide down to the street to face him.
The thing pauses, and we look at each other for a moment.
"You called?"
The figure opens what I presume to be his mouth, displaying a set of yellowed teeth, and begins to speak.
"There you are. I wanna talk to you."
There is a gravelled edge to his voice that makes it sound strained and tired, but underneath the distortion, I realise that I know that voice.
"Michael Miller?"
The red beacons widen as I speak, and his smile grows wider as he steps forwards.
"You do know who I am!"
I remain silent.
"I didn't think you would recognise me!"
"I'm not entirely sure I do, Michael."
"Haha, all will be explained. And please, Michael Miller is no more. Call me Human Flame."
I remain where I am stood with caution. I knew something did not feel right about him.
"Human Flame? Now why would you call yourself that?"
His grin subsides as he takes a step back.
"Just watch."
He takes a breath and flexes his arms, then out of nowhere his body ignites itself in a sea of bright orange flames.
I step back as his grin re-appears, but I do not share in his enjoyment.
Of course, during our encounter in the bank, he never did find out the true power of fire against a Martian.
"Please Michael - Human Flame - stop."
Like a dog learning a new trick, he relaxes his body and extinguishes the flames. Around us, I begin to notice people watching our encounter with a nervous curiosity, and decide that here may not be the best place for Miller to perform whatever it is he has done. Despite his new power, what it is that has happened to him fills me with curiosity.
"We cannot stay here."
He pulls his eyes from examining his arms and looks up.
"What?"
"Don't do this, not here at least. You're making the people anxious."
He looks around, but ignorantly holds out his hand and ignites a flame, in some kind of attempt to put on a show for them.
"No I'm not, see?"
A group of girls move back in caution, and a father picks up his daughter and begins to move away.
"Michael! Please, you can't do this here."
He puts out his hand and looks at me, silently.
"There's a place we can talk, and I am sure you have more than enough to say. So please, calm down for a moment, and come with me."
He looks around, then nods.
"Alright. Let's go."
I take Michael up to the hills just outside the city, the sight where I often bring M'gann to help her with flying practice. It's calm and isolated conditions are perfect for creating a work area of absolute focus where the mind can be at rest, away from the bustling noises of the city.
I doubt I am going to be treated to such a calming discussion today, however.
Michael looks around at the mountains, then positions himself next to a rock and looks at me.
"I've never been this far out of Denver before. It's amazing."
"That's good to hear. Now, tell me, because I'm having some slight difficulties piecing this together, what exactly is going on?"
He smiles.
"Where do I start?"
"The beginning would be preferable."
He laughs excitedly, then steps forwards to face me fully.
"Alright, alright. I guess I'll start right after we met. You remember that, right? The bank? Homemade hairdryer?"
I nod.
"I do."
"Well, after that, I guess I hit rock bottom. All my life I wanted to be someone, to do something people would remember me for. Now I had no talents. I couldn't sing, or act, and I sure as hell couldn't be a hero like you."
"So you decided to hold up a bank."
"Well, yeah, I guess. I made the flamethrower and pieced together that shitty suit and just decided, screw it, I may as well do something, right? And, we all know how well that ended up. But after you talked those cops into letting me off, I realised something. I realised, you don't need special powers to be a hero, or to make a difference. You just need the right mindset. You'd inspired me to make a change."
I am silent.
"So when I was released that night, that's when I decided to start a new life. A whole new me. I found that chemical plant outside the city, and decided I'd try and fix my gear, but-"
"So that was you."
"Oh, the explosion? Well, yeah I guess. It was an accident, but, that's not the point!"
I sigh.
"Go on."
"Before that happened, I had a massive come-down. Again. I thought I was being an idiot in trying to change. I tried to destroy my gear, but it caused this explosion, and when I came round...."
I nod.
"You were like this."
"U-huh. But I thought that was it. I'd become some kinda freak, a monster. I didn't know what the hell to do, so I ran off into the forest, and there... Well, that don't matter. What does matter is what happened next."
He looks around.
"I heard these gunshots from somewhere in the forest. Now, again, not knowing what the hell to do, I followed them, and found Oaksridge,"
"Oaksridge?"
"It's this little town in Roosevelt Forest. It's where I had my...what's it called? My epiphany."
"Your epiphany?"
"U-huh. Some guy in the town was trying to kill this other guy, and I stopped him. When I did, I realised I could do this-"
He goes to ignite himself again, but I raise my hand to stop him.
"Thank you, Michael, I get the picture. You were saying?"
"Oh right, yeah. So I save this guy, and suddenly the folks there are treating me like some sorta hero. Me! It was then I realised, I could do what you do. I could be the hero. I stayed in Oaksridge a few days, then decided to come find you, to tell you what had happened. After all, if it weren't for you stopping me back at the bank, who knows where we'd be now, right?"
I don't know what to say. It is clear Michael has found great excitement in what has happened to him, but I know better than anyone else that just because you can do something, it doesn't mean you should.
"Michael, whilst I do admire you for your enthusiasm, you can't just become a hero overnight."
He frowns.
"Your body has gone through a momentous change, one you were lucky to survive from how it sounds, and you need to take time to adjust to those changes. I know how you feel. You have powers beyond your imagination and a burning passion to do good, but you need to prepare, to take time to get used to yourself. Rome wasn't built in a day."
"Then train me! Help me get used to it! I wanna be like you; help you!"
I don't tell him of my weakness. Training him would be impossible. His fire power may be too much for me to handle. His heart, however, does appear to be in a good enough place, one that might allow me to help him somewhere down the line, and if I can contain him, guide him, his abilities may not be as big a threat to me as first believed.
But then I face a dilemma.
I don't want to treat him like some experiment, or to try and subside his powers and treat him like an animal. He is, at the end of the day, still human.
"I'm sorry Michael, but that would be impossible. I admire your passion, but you need to take time to prepare yourself, instead of worrying about others doing it for you."
He looks down at his feet, then steps back and nods.
"Alright. I get it."
There's a long pause, and I am tempted to enter his mind to find out what it is he's debating. I decided against it, however. This is something he needs to decide by himself.
"I know now. I know what I could do."
He begins to head down the hills and back towards the city, but turns at the last moment to face me with a smile.
"Thank you, Manhunter. Thank you for everything."
He begins to leave, but as he does I step forwards.
"Please. Call me J'onn."
He smiles.
"Okay. J'onn."
Not losing the smile from his face, he turns back and begins to descend the hill, leaving me alone, looking out over the mountainous skyline on the horizon.
One of the lesser effects of the Covid pandemic was the grounding of virtually all real bus related aspects of the hobby. I don't wish to make this seem like anything more than the small disappointment it was in the light of the devastating loss suffered by so many globally. However, it is good that the old normal is now beginning to return . . . the one it was confidently predicted wouldn't.
Saturday saw ex Bournemouth Corporation Daimler Roadliner KRU 55F extracted from its cosy back garden bus garage home of two to three years in rural Shropshire and driven back to base in Stoke on Trent. The smile inducing journey passed without incident I'm happy to report.
I'm grateful to Tony and Pam Reekie who have so kindly stored this and one of my shared ownership other buses on their premises with their Midland Fox Leyland Leopard GJW 43N.
compulsory pilotage, obliged to take pilotage in certain difficult or restricted waters where grounding or other type of accident can be restricted waters or cause damage by leakage of fuel oil and environmentally damaging charge.
A State may provide for compulsory pilotage national waters, while it is difficult to introduce compulsory pilotage in international waters. This applies especially to the Danish sund and belts that have the status of international passages, which further comes to Denmark by Sund duty (tax) waiver in 1857 renounced ever would introduce compulsory pilotage in Transit waters.
Wet-leased from/operated by GetJet Airlines (Lithuania) on behalf of Icelandair to cover the grounding of their Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft (all white livery, still with Germania's green engines).
First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVYO, this aiorcraft was delivered to Germania as D-ASTB in May-11. It was leased to subsidiary company Germania Express in Nov-12 and wet-leased to Gambia Bird Airlines two weeks later. The aircraft returned to Germania Express in Aug-14 and was transferred back to Germania soon afterwards. Germania ceased operations on 05-Feb-19 and the aircraft was stored at Berlin-Schoenfeld. It was sold to a lessor in Jun-19, leased to GetJet Airlines (Lithuania) as LY-KEA and wet-leased to Icelandair a few days later. Current, updated (Jul-19).
Stacking stones is often interpreted as a spiritual symbol representing patience, balance, harmony, and connection to the earth; the act of carefully placing stones on top of each other signifies a mindful practice, while the stones themselves can be seen as a representation of stability and grounding, often used in various cultures to mark a sacred space, create memorials, or as a focus point for prayer and meditation.
Hello Everyone, I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Saturday! Today I will be sharing the first set of photos of a large-scale interior design project that we have recently completed for our client, Chontei. From the beginning of this project, Chontei had a clear vision of the design foundation that she wanted to see throughout the numerous spaces that comprise her home. Chontei envisioned dark hardwood floors throughout, with a light & neutral colour palette to offset the grounding effect that a dark floor has on a space. As you all know, and will see in this series of photos, we at The Design Firm love to customize our clients' spaces, whenever possible. We took Chontei’s dark hardwood floor request & kicked it up a notch, adding in stone & marble inlays within the flooring of each room, creating layers of beautifully polished stones, which are complimented with layers of polished exotic dark woods.
In the first photo, you are getting a look into the Grand Foyer. The very first room you see when entering Chontei’s home. The foyer is so large in scale, we opted to break the space up into three distinct areas. The first area is directly in front of the home's main entry point (out of shot) where we’ve placed a large console table, with an assortment of accessories, in the centre of the space. On the right & left-hand side of this photo (out of shot) there are two large console tables, each with a pair of lamps, accessories, as well as a set of chairs on each side. The second area of the foyer houses the dual grand staircases, with a small console table centered between them. Beneath each staircase, we’ve placed two large identical horse statues, each slightly tilted towards the front door. To finish off this area, we’ve placed a large series of art, ascending each staircase. The third and final area of the foyer, at the very back of the space, connects the foyer to the formal living room, as well as hallways on the right & left-hand side connecting to separate wings of the home. We’ve also opted to keep this portion of the foyer rather simple, placing matching dual book cases, complete with accessories.
In the second photo, you are getting a peak into the formal living room. When working on this space, we wanted it to have the feeling of a hotel lobby. To accomplish this, we started by placing a grand piano at the back of the space, centering it with the main doorway that connects the space with the Grand Foyer. We then decided to create two separate, but identical, seating areas within the space. Out of shot, we’ve filled the walls with large canvases of modern art in a neutral palette, complimenting the colour scheme that Chontei has chosen. Also out of shot, on each side of the main doorway which leads to the Grand Foyer, we’ve placed two large credenzas, each topped with a set of beautiful lamps and accessories.
Over the next 1-2 weeks I will share the other sets of photos that our amazing photographer, Sean, has taken of this project. Trust me, there are a bunch of great photos to share!
As always, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting the work that my colleagues and I churn out at The Design Firm. It means the world to us that almost three years later, since we joined up to create The Design Firm, that you still follow & support everything that we do. Even if we don’t always get around to posting about all of the projects that we are doing around the grid.
Lastly, I always recommend viewing my photos in full screen mode when able! This allows you to see the true depth and detail of the spaces that my colleagues and I create for our clients.
Photo Credit - Sean Hardy
To matters maritime to begin the week, a stranded ship on a shore with supporting craft around it.
With thanks to sharon.corbet, guliolopez, swordscookie, Derek, patrick.vickers1 and B-59, it seems that this image (probably a later copy by Poole) shows the 1896 grounding of the SS Dunbrody on the River Avon in England. The ship was refloated during Christmas 1896, and continued to service the Waterford Steamship Company's route from Bristol to Waterford into the early 20th century.
If we can refine the location a little, we'd love to pin a location for this on the map....
Photographer: A.H. Poole
Collection:Poole Photographic Studio, Waterford
Date: ca. 1901-1954 (likely a copy of an 1896 original)
NLI Ref: POOLEWP 0781
You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
Evelop Airlines A330-343 Reg: EC-MII on finals to Dublin from Stewart. Aircraft has been operating for Norwegian after the grounding of the 737 Max.
The surprising lesson behind holiday eating piersey.com/holiday-eating-real-effects/ and why hunger can be grounding instead of stressful.
C-FMXA - Boeing B-737MAX-8 - Sunwing Airlines
(leased from ALC - Air Lease Corporation)
at Toronto Lester B. Pearson Airport (YYZ)
c/n 43.297 - built in 2018
currently stored YHM due to the worldwide MAX-grounding
UR-CGW Antonov 12 Meridian Air. Flight MEM3056 from Madrid-Torrejon to Nassau. Nice to see An-12's back in service following their European grounding following the loss of URCAH at Lvov in October 2019.
Shannon 14th December 2020
29th April 2019., Dublin Airport, Ireland
With the grounding of all Boeing 737MAX aircraft world wide, this example belonging to Norwegian is seen here in storage at Dublin
This is the beach where the famous grounding of the Pasha Bulker bulk carrier ship took place in 2007.
Brits stranded abroad on Royal Navy ship HMS Albion, which left Spanish port Santander, headed for portsmouth. Daily star Exclusive picture.the entire British passenger and british soldiers returning fron aghanistan on the main deck.© PICTURE BY HUMPHREY NEMAR. 21.4.2010©PICTURE BY HUMPHREY NEMAR. 21.4.2010.
Love to Decorate January/February 2017 issue out now!
Read it here
For this issue my assignment was “Pantone Colour of the Year” with 2017’s colour being “Greenery”. Not my favourite colour, but I had tons of fun with it. I went for a modern style this time, using the colour in a bold way, and grounding it with a black and white base with subtle organic accents.
Styling by myself
Photography credit goes to Jordan Giant.
With the grounding of the MD11's, FedEx has had to bring in outside help for Peak Season. Here Apex Logistics (operated by Atlas) 747-400 departs Memphis for Honolulu. This "Queen of the Skies" was originally delivered to Asiana Airlines as HL7411 in 1996.
These strappy sandals have not seen much action as I don't have a lot of turqouise fashions. Nice to finally have a dress to pair them up with.
The color turquoise is associated with meanings of refreshing, feminine, calming, sophisticated, energy, wisdom, serenity, wholeness, creativity, emotional balance, good luck, spiritual grounding, friendship, love, joy, tranquility, patience, intuition, and loyalty. Tints of turquoise color have a sweet feminine feel.
OK-SWI : Boeing 737 Max-8 : Smartwings.
Departing to Prague on its delivery flight, in very dull conditions.
This is the second Max to be registered as OK-SWI, the previous one was NTU in 2019 after the type's grounding.
Back in the air once again. After a 6 month grounding an MD11 lifts into the skies over Memphis. N621FE is the first of many MD11's that will be back hauling freight in the coming weeks.
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.
c/n 60880, l/n 6690
Built 2017
Seen on tow following worldwide grounding of 737MAX aircraft.
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing, People’s Republic of China
22nd March 2019
For sure a highlight of this month in CDG! UR-GEA has been wet-leased on short notice by XL Airways France to cover a capacity shortage, due to the grounding of HiFly's A343 CS-TQZ upon discovery of corrosion on the airplane at MAD during maintenance...
Nobbys Beach 12th June 2007. The 'Pasha Bulker remains on the beach since grounding four days earlier following a major storm. Finally towed off on the 2nd July.
Feeling somewhat stupefied by recent developments, I am resorting to iterating. I guess it, in a way, is searching for grounding, 'terra firma' so to speak. So here they are, new and improved 'Matisse', 'Duchamp', 'Picasso' and 'Joyce', a questionable posse of have-a-go heroes, perhaps. Rack and Rrose should be there too, though Rrose is there considering that Duchamp is. It's only an all-male group because it is a repeat of an older image, somewhat improved.
I have a feeling that UBU might come to the fore, that fat sweaty loud-mouth of a dictator, with his partner Mere UBU, his Lady Macbeth. I wonder why they might become pertinent.
History, and fable, is replete with inspirational 'bombasts' to draw from. We are thrust into a 'satire rich' environment courtesy of these latest developments.
Shakespeare's admonition to "by indirections, find directions out" would seem to be pertinent in these polarised times.
I am still flummoxed as to how to continue but presume this will abate with time.
Although the Industrial Revolution increased life expectancy, it also produced many negative consequences. As a result, we live in a society that has lost much of its roots and moral grounding. Therefore, we live unfulfilling lives. As technology continues to advance, we will witness more social disruption. We now live in an industrial-technological system, which we will not be able to turn back. As this system marches forward, we will lose our dignity and freedom—even our humanity.
We have become a society of leisure; we have become decadent. As a result, we have become bored, hedonistic, and demoralized. An individual must have meaningful goals in life, which they can ‘autonomously’ work toward—goals with real adversity and reward. In accomplishing such goals, a person finds fulfillment. In our modern society, we have lost much of our autonomy. We have been trained to be obedient to the system. We must follow ever-increasing bureaucratic rules and regulations. Nowadays, experts tell us what to do and how to think. We are cogs of the machine—we are under the direction and control of the system. Yet this is not healthy for human beings. We must have our own independence, so that we can build our lives by our own initiative. If there is little room for a person to exercise autonomy, they will feel insignificant. If they have the autonomy to attain meaningful goals, they will gain self-confidence. A society that cannot make/create/set or fulfill meaningful goals will become demoralized; they will suffer from low self-esteem and feelings of inferiority; they will suffer from depression, anxiety, and guilt; they will become frustrated, hostile, and unfriendly; they will become bored and pursue hedonistic pleasures in order to cope.
Many young people today lack goals. They cannot see themselves attaining enough financial stability to marry a spouse or raise a family. They cannot see themselves owning a house or having a future to look forward to. This results in demoralization and defeatism.
In the past, people had to truly survive. This took serious effort. They had to make tools and weapons. They had to hunt down an animal, kill it, butcher it, get it home, cook it, and eat it. How manly and satisfying! A man would find fulfillment in a lifetime of roaming and exploring the land, hunting wild game for his family. He would have many adventures. Yet in our modern society, it takes minimal effort to attain one’s basic needs. Today, we work dead-end jobs that are unsatisfying. They provide us with a paycheck, but they don’t provide us with real fulfillment. We then try to find fulfillment in hobbies and other leisure activities, which will not bring us real fulfillment. What is worse, we spend our spare time sitting around staring at screens. The human body is not built to live a sedentary life. The human brain is not built to doomscroll. Living sedentary lives and doomscrolling obviously leads to unhappiness. Such activities are less satisfying than accomplishing meaningful goals such as buying land, clearing the land of trees by hand, using the trees to build a house by hand, carrying ones wife over the threshold, raising a family, working the land and raising livestock, thus conquering the land and continuing ones posterity. This in itself is Biblical. Why do you think, when Christ returns, He will divide up the land among the people (as it was done in the Old Testament)? It is so that man will work his ‘own’ land. Then man will work in nature, where he will be happiest. God made nature for man, not man for nature. The goal of the globalist agenda is to further divide man from nature; it is an antichrist agenda. Their goal is transhumanism, which will dehumanize mankind and further divide him from nature. Moreover, transhumanism will divide man from God.
A pre-industrial society is predominantly rural. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the population of cities vastly increased. A technological society changes rapidly, thus there is less stability. These changes affect all aspects of society and cause the breakdown of traditional values. Breaking down traditional values causes the breakdown of societal bonds. An individual’s loyalty changes: it must not be first to their family or community, but first and foremost to the system. Indeed, individuals must be tools of the system. This makes us less independent and autonomous, because we become reliant on the system. The system is constantly changing, and we are taught to obey its changing rules and regulations. Yet these regulations are laid down by others. We have little to no input in the making of these rules. They are made by corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, corporations and organizations. This makes us feel powerless, which gives us a sense of hopelessness. Can you see why society has become so frustrated, insecure, humiliated, and angry? The more unfulfilled a society becomes, the more restless it becomes. Restlessness causes friction, and friction causes factions. Thus, a society breaks into factions. A society of impoverished relationships makes for a toxic society. Science will give us the tools to alter the material world, but our relationships with one another and with nature will be destroyed.
As society advances technologically, we lose more freedoms. People can’t even put down their phones, let alone toss them away to fight the system. People don’t want to sacrifice what they have become addicted to and dependent on. Yet they will replace their current technology with something more advanced. They will go from cell phones to wearable technology to microchips. With the promise of eliminating diseases and gaining super intelligence, much of society will give up freedom to be genetically engineered and microchipped. Even though, such a step will never be reversed. Humans will be modified to suit the needs of the system. They will become one with robotic technology.
Many people are not concerned about these dystopian scenarios. Yet technologies such as robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology pose a great threat to humanity. These technologies will be used as tools to redesign the world. Self-replicating technologies will cause great damage to the biosphere. In the end, self-replicating technology will be impossible to control.
Artificial Intelligence will replace human creativity. In the future, the internet will be accessed only by your personal AI assistant. You will ask your AI assistant questions, and it will surf the internet for you. You will not go on Youtube to watch videos. You will ask AI to make the kind of videos you desire to watch. There will be no human content creators. Get used to AI art, AI videos, AI music, AI articles, AI slop! That is what you will be fed. Many who want to fight the system will eventually become passive, and they will no longer resist. They will be sucked into the system and become zombified. They will become docile slaves of the system. It desires complete control over everything on earth, both man and nature. Humanity will then be reduced to the status of domestic animals. Of course, this will be for the good of the planet!
If university students are using AI to write papers, AI will replace them in their future jobs. If teachers and professors are using AI to write curriculum and mark papers, AI will replace them. If the younger generation has no work ethic, they will be replaced by subsidized foreign workers, then both will be replaced by AI. If generation Alpha can’t read, then AI will replace them. The (dangerous) foreign semi-truck drivers on our roads will be replaced by AI self-driving trucks. AI in the schools, AI in the hospitals, replace, replace, replace. The politicians make many terrible decisions, thus they will be replaced by AI.
Moving on! The more society moves away from the traditions of marriage and family, the more unfulfilled and unhappy society will become. Radical leftists feel the least fulfillment, because they long to destroy society and its traditions. How happy can one be if they want to destroy their roots? They are constantly deconstructing themselves, it’s the Maoist way—how else can you brainwash yourself? Therefore, they feel guilt and self-hatred. They gain an inferiority complex. They have a love-hate relationship with themselves. On one hand they loathe themselves, but on the other hand they selfishly desire power. For this reason, they are self-loathing narcissists. They feel unfulfilled and powerless. Therefore, they seek power to bring about fulfillment. They feel weak and helpless, so they desire to feel strong and competent. It’s a coping mechanism. They also hate anything that appears strong, moral, and successful. They hate America, Western civilization, capitalism, the family, patriarchy, whites, males, heterosexuals, the rich, the middleclass, and even rationality. They despise all who are more beautiful, talented, intelligent, or successful than them. Envy does not equate to fulfillment or happiness. Side note: social media causes much envy and unhappiness.
The far left wants society to take care of them, because they are lazy and lack confidence. They feel strong only as a member of a large group or movement. They like to be abusive to those who disagree with them, because they have masochistic tendencies. The Marxist ideology is an authoritarian ideology, which is masochistic in nature, because it revolves around revolution. The far left may act empathetic, but they are apathetic. Indeed, a study on this topic found that radical leftists were apathetic and narcissistic. Their goals revolve around revolution and power. Their insecurity causes them to feel hostile, and their revolution helps them to vent their hostility. They don’t care about diplomacy, so they act hostile. With them, it is all or nothing: they want revolution, they want power. How can you have a rational conversation with individuals who don’t want dialogue? They use minorities as an excuse for revolution. They hide behind minorities, using them to shield their intentions of revolution. They go into poor black communities to fight for poor black people, yet they burn down black businesses and ruin their local economy. The communist must fight for the revolution, for everything opposed to the revolution is a sin. The communist tries to find fulfillment in the act of rebellion; he tries to find fulfillment in the act of revolution. He, however, is never satisfied. Thus, the revolution moves onward.
For the radical, activism is a vent for their pent-up emotions. Activism produces unity among the young militants, creating a bond between like-minded people. Losers can feel accepted, like they belong. Many of these communist agitators are from middle and upper middleclass homes. They have had an easy but unfulfilling life. They are the most radicalized, because they feel the most unfulfilled. They have become so demoralized that they have become nihilistic. Their life seems to have no meaning. They have lost their moral compass. They rely on emotions rather than on reason. They rely on feelings rather than on facts. “Their political activism is thus only a reaction to the more basic fear that the times are against them, that a new world is emerging without either their assistance or their leadership.” These activists will gradually accept more deviant subcultures as they further divorce themselves from reality. “The supreme irony of that loose and volatile sociopolitical phenomenon of contemporary middleclass America named the New Left is that it is itself the creation of the technetronic revolution as well as a reaction against it.” “The New Left was able to draw on the deep-rooted traditions of American populism, Quaker pacifism, and the pre-World War II largely immigrant-imported socialism and communism.” (The ‘New Left’ refers to the leftist movement of the 60s).
Paying for your child’s first car, college tuition, wedding, or house down payment will give them little sense of accomplishment. Giving children everything not only spoils them but also makes life boring. There must be ups and downs for life to be interesting. Bad times can produce growth and maturity, that is, if a person desires to learn from life. Especially if they want to build a strong moral character. The rewards of being cogs in the system produce great boredom. These middleclass kids have a self-indulgent lifestyle that contradicts their professed anti-materialism. Their material existence tends to depend on their parents. Their ideological infantilism stems from obsolete nineteenth-century criticisms of capitalism. They are spoiled kids who are rebelling against middleclass society. These activists offer no real response to the dilemmas of our age. Their revolutionary movement is really an escapist movement. It is a way of coping with their unfulfilled lives. They supposedly desire to change society, but they really want to create a refuge (safe space) from society. Their activism is a psychological safety valve, in which they can blow off steam. They escape their boring lives through activism, so they can feel a sense of freedom and self-gratification. They pat each other on the back, because they are supposedly fighting against their capitalist enemy. However, this is really a form of group therapy.
The woke activists on the ground are the canaries in the coal mine. They are indicators of the problems of our society as a whole. Through them, we have the best lens on society’s anxiety, uncertainty, vulnerability, and dissatisfaction. Side note: we can see the incoming collectivist system through the lens of the United Nations. They want to eradicate poverty. Yet they hide behind poverty, using it to shield their intentions of ruling the world. With communism, it’s all about gaining power. Communism is meant to go worldwide. Collectivism seeks to bind together the entire world (both man and nature) into a unified whole.
Neo-Marxism went through the dialectic with postmodernism and produced wokeism. Some think that post-postmodernism will have a more spiritual element to it. I think that wokeism will go through the dialectic with some sort of religious spiritualism, which will produce antichristism. Wokeism is authoritarian in nature, yet it has a quasi-religious character. Post-postmodernism will lead to an authoritarian system with a spiritual flavour. Man must be grounded to a one-world religion to be grounded to a one-world government. Woke socialism must have a spiritual awakening, so to speak. Wokeism must awaken further in its social enlightenment in order to transcend to the next level of social consciousness. This dialectic enlightenment will mix socialism with a spiritual experience. It will lead to transhumanism. The coming socialist leader—the antichrist—will combine socialism, religion, and transhumanism. Modernity, with its globalization, technology, and social(ist) change, has produced a society that lacks fulfillment. Although technology will bring less fulfillment to humanity, the technological system will lead it forward on a leash. I can see one of the marketing strategies for the Mark of the Beast: we live in stressful times, take the microchip and become numb to the stresses of reality. The soma of the Brave New World Order will give you fulfillment. You will be modified to suit the needs of the system. Warning: do not follow the world system!
Revelation 18:4 “Then I heard another voice from heaven say: ‘Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues.’”
1 John 4:4 “Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].”
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever.”
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
Romans 8:7 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”
Galatians 5:25 “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”
In a sinful world, no individual can experience perfect fulfillment. When I’m in eternity with the Lord, I’ll know perfect fulfillment!