Deryn and I had a late flight so needed to kill a few hours in the morning. We walked up from Dulwich and entered what must be one of the strangest museums. The Horniman houses an eclectic collection of objects with no real theme holding them together. Preserved bugs and butterflies are within reach of voodoo shrines, musical instruments and Hindu and Buddhist figurines. The history of how the museum came into being, below, perhaps explains this mix.

Still it’s much loved and still attracts attendees and during our visit hundreds of tiny kids lining up for the dinosaur exhibition. It also proved a rich seam for amateur photographers! As my photography collection too lacks a theme I had no restrictions in capturing some these treasures.

“Frederick John Horniman, Victorian tea trader and philanthropist, began collecting objects, specimens and artefacts 'illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world' from around 1860. His overarching mission was to 'bring the world to Forest Hill' and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which 'either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands'. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.

By the late nineteenth century, these 'natural, industrial and artistic spoils had accumulated to such an extent that he gave up the whole house to the collections'.

His wife is reported to have said 'either the collection goes or we do'. With that, the family moved to Surrey Mount.”

www.horniman.ac.uk/about/museum-history

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

Excerpt from www.stepsinitiative.com: The STEPS Initiative, an activation partner along an east end stretch of the Pan Am Path that is being curated by East End Arts, have painted benches inspired by textile patterns from Caribbean, North, South, and Central American cultures, as well as the South Asian communities that live in their host community of Thorncliffe Park.

These new work provide much needed seating, as well as a spot for stretching and socializing in the Don Valley, while celebrating the storytelling, history, science, math, and art that intersects in textiles from across the globe.

Artists Anjuli Solanki and Carlos Delgado collaborated on this public art project. Solanki is a painter who became interested in weaving and textiles across different cultures and communities after she worked with Musqueam Weavers Debra Sparrow and Vivian Cambell, who were instrumental in reviving this art form in their community. Their focus on a traditionally female art form that integrated math, science, history, and, art inspired her to pay more attention to weaving and textiles, and to find certain cross-cultural parallels between weaving and other art forms – which ultimately inspired the overarching theme for Pan American Patterns. Solanki’s benches were inspired by patterns from Musqueam (North West Coast BC), Ojibwe (Southern Ontario/ Northern USA) and Oaxacan (Southern Mexican) textiles but also South Asian textile designs, making a connection between these different communities and the communities located around the Zone 9 Portion of the path.

Carlos Delgado, born in rural Colombia and now living in Toronto, believes that art can act as a tool to reflect the world around us while simultaneously being part of it. He creates works which bring beauty and vibrancy while allowing the viewer to create a sense of personal connection with the artwork and the space in which it is painted. One of Delgado’s benches is inspired by Colombian sombreros (or “straw hats”) which are widely worn across the nation. In Colombia patterns that appear on sombreros are representative of different regions, and the patterns which form the bench illustrate a range that are present on various sombreros. While the design of the hat is distinctive and identifiable by region, the black and white lines can be found across nearly every region and are characteristic of Colombian headwear. Another one of Delgado’s benches is inspired by a traditional textile pattern used widely by the indigenous people of Colombia on garments like bags, shoes, clothes, and ponchos.

Welcome to my new adventure to close out the year! I'm taking every theme from the figbarf page on Instagram and posting at least one figure per theme, since I feel bad for not keeping up the whole year and I like a challenge lol. As a way to guide myself, I also picked a theme from each group that would be the overarching theme, with this overall theme being Creatures, Aliens, & Monsters. Hope y'all enjoy these!

Left to right:

#figbarf11 - The 1920s: Nosferatu (with big credit to anotherlegoaccount for the head idea)

#figbarf12 - The Seven Seas: Shark Pirate

#figbarf13 - Creatures, Aliens, & Monsters: Stone Snake Man

#figbarf14 - Steampunk: Big Daddy from Bioshock

#figbarf15 - Spies & Secret Agents: Super-Skrull

Goal: print and media design that would help communicate Holy Week

Audience: Churches and Ministries

Uses: print and promotional design

Direction: icons to represent each day with an overarching theme

Although this is a finished piece, I would love feedback, as I am always looking to improve. Thanks!

Finished files can be found at: www.creationswap.com/media/17536

This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

Color Tales

2/17

The project should deal with colors and their effect on well-being, feelings, expression and thus on human psychology. When I realized that there was so much more to tell through this project, I began to develop it into an overarching concept. The language of images should not only shed light on the linear theories of the psychological effects of colors. The pictures with the help of the language of colors should tell a story, describe a situation, let thoughts wander into the future or the past, inspire our fantasies.

I used milk, acrylic paint, liquid soap and oil to create this amazing arts.

Every picture tells a story, but I desided not to explane the story behinde each one, but invite you to give your own meaning and your own feelings when you look at the picture. I belive that makes more fun:)

Enjoi it and I hope you’ll like it.

PS: have a good time and take care!

Color Tales

7/17

The project should deal with colors and their effect on well-being, feelings, expression and thus on human psychology. When I realized that there was so much more to tell through this project, I began to develop it into an overarching concept. The language of images should not only shed light on the linear theories of the psychological effects of colors. The pictures with the help of the language of colors should tell a story, describe a situation, let thoughts wander into the future or the past, inspire our fantasies.

I used milk, acrylic paint, liquid soap and oil to create this amazing arts.

Every picture tells a story, but I desided not to explane the story behinde each one, but invite you to give your own meaning and your own feelings when you look at the picture. I belive that makes more fun:)

Enjoi it and I hope you’ll like it.

PS: have a good time and take care!

This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

The U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63) is an Iowa-class battleship built for the United States Navy (USN) in the 1940's and is currently a museum ship. Completed in 1944, she is the last battleship commissioned by the United States. The ship was assigned to the Pacific Theater during World War II, where she participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa and shelled the Japanese home islands. Her quarterdeck was the site of the surrender of the Empire of Japan, which ended World War II. After World War II, Missouri served in various diplomatic, show of force and training missions. She later fought in the Korean War during two tours between 1950 and 1953. Missouri was the first American battleship to arrive in Korean waters and served as the flagship for several admirals. The battleship took part in numerous shore bombardment operations and also served in a screening role for aircraft carriers. Missouri was decommissioned in 1955 and transferred to the reserve fleet, (also known as the "Mothball Fleet"). Missouri was then reactivated and modernized in 1984 as part of the 600-ship Navy plan. Cruise missile and anti-ship missile launchers were added along with updated electronics. The ship served in the Persian Gulf escorting oil tankers during threats from Iran, often while keeping her fire-control systems trained on land-based Iranian missile launchers. She served in Operation Desert Storm in 1991 including providing fire support. Finally, Missouri was again decommissioned in 1992, but remained on the Naval Vessel Register until her name was struck in 1995. In 1998, she was donated to the U.S.S. Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

The photograph above is the Chaplains quarters, where many sailors would have received guidance and counseling throughout the years. The overarching purpose of the Navy Chaplain Corps, or their 'why', is to build the Spiritual Readiness of warfighters and their families for the rigors of military service. Navy Chaplains would be providing this spiritual and religious support to Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel and as well as their families.

-- Technical Information (or Nerdy Stuff) --

‧ Camera - Nikon D7200 (handheld)

‧ Lens – Nikkor 18-300mm Zoom

‧ ISO – 4000

‧ Aperture – f/8

‧ Exposure – 1/60 second

‧ Focal Length – 18mm

The original RAW file was processed with Adobe Camera Raw and final adjustments were made with Photoshop CS6.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11

The best way to view my photostream is through Flickriver with the following link: www.flickriver.com/photos/photojourney57/

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

We're living in an era of stealth wealth. You'll never catch Jeff Bezos in a top hat, tails, spats and a monocle, lighting his cigar with a hundred-dollar bill. A century ago, though, the rich flaunted their lifestyles and advertisers weren't the least bit inhibited about depicting them at their watering holes.

This is an ad for Baker's Chocolate and Cocoa that appeared on the back cover of the October, 1921, issue of the periodical The World's Work.

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The World's Work (1900–1932) was a monthly magazine that covered national affairs from a pro-business point of view. It was produced by the publishing house Doubleday, Page and Company, which provided the first editor, Walter Hines Page. The first issue appeared in November 1900, with an initial press run of 35,000.[1]

With the backing of the mail order department at Doubleday, Page, the magazine climbed to a circulation of 100,000. In 1913, Page's son Arthur became the editor.

The World's Work cost 25 cents an issue and was a physically attractive product; there were photo essays, some of which after 1916 contained color images.

The magazine tracked closely with Page's ideas: the feature articles worried about immigration from non-English-speaking countries and the declining birth rate among more educated Americans.

Concerns about the spread of labor unions and socialism also played out in the magazine. But the overarching editorial purpose of The World's Work was to defend the integrity of big business, even as other magazines were beginning the muckraking tradition.

There were sections each issue highlighting industries' contributions to society. The more people knew about how business operated, The World's Work argued, the more they would approve.

The spirit of that message was captured in a multipart article from 1911 by Arthur Wallace Dunn, "How a Business Man Would Run the Government: The Specific Items in Which He Would Save 300 Millions a Year".

In 1932, The World's Work was purchased by and merged into the journal Review of Reviews.[4] But its vision lived on in Arthur, who later became a vice president and director at AT&T, where he is credited as the "father of corporate public relations."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World's_Work

Historical research reveals that diverse political rationalities have framed the political means and objectives of state frontiers and borders, just as the difficult work of making borders actual has drawn upon a great variety of technologies

The single word ”border” conceals a multiplicity and implies a constancy where genealogical investigation uncovers mutation and descent. Historical research reveals that diverse political rationalities have framed the political means and objectives of state frontiers and borders, just as the difficult work of making borders actual has drawn upon a great variety of technologies and heterogeneous administrative practices, ranging from maps of the territory, the creation of specialized border officials, and architectures of fortification to today’s experimentation with bio- digitalized forms of surveillance. This chapter argues that we are witnessing a novel development within this history of borders and border-making, what I want to call the emergence of the humanitarian border. While a great deal has been written about the militarization, securitization and fortification of borders today, there is far less consideration of the humanitarianization of borders. But if the investment of border regimes by biometric technologies rightly warrants being treated as an event within the history of the making and remaking of borders (Amoore 2006), then arguably so too does the reinvention of the border as a space of humanitarian government.

Under what conditions are we seeing the rise of humanitarian borders? The emergence of the humanitarian border goes hand in hand with the move which has made state frontiers into privileged symbolic and regulatory instruments within strategies of migration control. It is part of a much wider trend that has been dubbed the ”rebordering” of political and territorial space (Andreas and Biersteker 2003). The humanitarian border emerges once it becomes established that border crossing has become, for thousands of migrants seeking, for a variety of reasons, to access the territories of the global North, a matter of life and death. It crystallizes as a way of governing this novel and disturbing situation,and compensating for the social violence embodied in the regime of migration control.The idea of a humanitarian border might sound at first counterintuitive or even oxymoronic. After all, we often think of contemporary humanitarianism as a force that, operating in the name of the universal but endangered subject of humanity, transcends the walled space of the inter-national system. This is, of course, quite valid. Yet it would be a mistake to draw any simple equation between humanitarian projects and what Deleuze and Guattari would call logics of deterritoralization. While humanitarian programmes might unsettle certain norms of statehood, it is important to recognize the ways in which the exercise of humanitarian power is connected to the actualization of new spaces. Whether by its redefinition of certain locales as humanitarian ”zones” and crises as ”emergencies” (Calhoun 2004), the authority it confers on certain experts to move rapidly across networks of aid and intervention, or its will to designate those populating these zones as ”victims,” it seems justified to follow Debrix’s (1998) observation that humanitarianism implies reterritorialization on top of deterritorialization. Humanitarian zones can materialize in various situations – in conflict zones, amidst the relief of famine, and against the backdrop of state failure. But the case that interests me in what follows is a specific one: a situation where the actual borders of states and gateways to the territory become themselves zones of humanitarian government. Understanding the consequences of this is paramount, since it has an important bearing on what is often termed the securitization of borders and citizenship.

Foucault and Frontiers

It is probably fair to say that the theme of frontiers is largely absent from the two courses that are today read together as Foucault’s lectures on ”governmentality” (Foucault 1991; 2007; 2008). This is not to suggest that frontiers receive no mention at all. Within these lectures we certainly encounter passing remarks on the theme. For instance, Foucault speaks at one point of ”the administrative state, born in the territoriality of national boundaries in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and corresponding to a society of regulation and discipline” (Foucault 1991: 104).1 Elsewhere, he notes how the calculation and demarcation of new frontiers served as one of the practical elements of military-diplomatic technology, a machine he associates with the government of Europe in the image of a balance of power and according to the governmental logic of raison d’état. ”When the diplomats, the ambassadors who negotiated the treaty of Westphalia, received instructions from their government, they were explicitly advised to ensure that the new frontiers, the distribution of states, the new relationships to be established between the German states and the Empire, and the zones of influence of France, Sweden, and Austria be established in terms of a principle: to maintain a balance between the different European states” (Foucault 2007: 297).

But these are only hints of what significance the question of frontiers might have within the different technologies of power which Foucault sought to analyze. They are only fragmentary reflections on the place borders and frontiers might occupy within the genealogy of the modern state which Foucault outlines with his research into governmentality.2

Why was Foucault apparently not particularly interested in borders when he composed these lectures? One possible answer is suggested by Elden’s careful and important work on power-knowledge and territory. Elden takes issue with Foucault for the way in which he discusses territorial rule largely as a foil which allows him to provide a more fully-worked out account of governmentality and its administration of population. Despite the fact that the term appears prominently in the title of Foucault’s lectures, ”the issue of territory continually emerges only to be repeatedly marginalized, eclipsed, and underplayed” (Elden 2007: 1). Because Foucault fails to reckon more fully with the many ways in which the production of territory – and most crucially its demarcation by practices of frontier marking and control – serves as a precondition for the government of population, it is not surprising that the question of frontiers occupies little space in his narrative.But there is another explanation for the relative absence of questions of frontiers in Foucault’s writing on governmentality. And here we have to acknowledge that, framed as it is previously, this is a problematic question. For it risks the kind of retrospective fallacy which projects a set of very contemporary issues and concerns onto Foucault’s time. It is probably fair to speculate that frontiers and border security was not a political issue during the 1970s in the way that it is today in many western states. ”Borders” had yet to be constituted as a sort of meta-issue, capable of condensing a whole complex of political fears and concerns, including globalization, the loss of sovereignty, terrorism, trafficking and unchecked immigration. The question of the welfare state certainly was an issue, perhaps even a meta-issue, when Foucault was lecturing, and it is perhaps not coincidental that he should devote so much space to the examination of pastoralism. But not the border. The point is not to suggest that Foucault’s work evolved in close,

Humanitarian Government

Before I address the question of the humanitarian border, it is necessary to explain what I understand by the humanitarian. Here my thinking has been shaped by recent work that engages the humanitarian not as a set of ideas and ideologies, nor simply as the activity of certain nongovernmental actors and organizations, but as a complex domain possessing specific forms of governmental reason. Fassin’s work on this theme is particularly important. Fassin demonstrates that humanitarianism can be fruitfully connected to the broader field of government which Foucault outlined, where government is not a necessary attribute of states but a rationalized activity than can be carried out by all sorts of agents, in various contexts, and towards multiple ends. At its core, ”Humanitarian government can be defined as the administration of human collectivities in the name of a higher moral principle which sees the preservation of life and the alleviation of suffering as the highest value of action” (Fassin 2007: 151). As he goes on to stress, the value of such a definition is that we do not see a particular state, or a non-state form such as a nongovernmental organization, as the necessary agent of humanitarian action. Instead, it becomes possible to think in terms of a complex assemblage, comprising particular forms of humanitarian.reason, specific forms of authority (medical, legal, spiritual) but also certain technologies of government – such as mechanisms for raising funds and training volunteers, administering aid and shelter, documenting injustice, and publicizing abuse. Seen from this angle humanitarianism appears as a much more supple, protean thing. Crucially, it opens up our ability to perceive ”a broader political and moral logic at work both within and outside state forms” (ibid.).

If the humanitarian can be situated in relation to the analytics of government, it can also be contextualized in relation to the biopolitical. ”Not only did the last century see the emergence of regimes committed to the physical destruction of populations,” observes Redfield, ”but also of entities devoted to monitoring and assisting populations in maintaining their physical existence, even while protesting the necessity of such an action and the failure of anyone to do much more than this bare minimum” (2005: 329). It is this ”minimalist biopolitics,” as Redfield puts it, that will be so characteristic of the humanitarian. And here the accent should be placed on the adjective “minimalist” if we are not to commit the kind of move which I criticized above, namely collapsing everything new into existing Foucauldian categories. It is important to regard contemporary humanitarianism as a novel formation and a site of ambivalence and undecideability, and not just as one more instance of what Hardt and Negri (2000) might call global “biopolitical production.”The Birth of the Humanitarian Border

In a press release issued on June 29, 2007, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) publicized a visit which its then Director General, Brunson McKinley, was about to make to a ”reception centre for migrants” on the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa (IOM 2007). The Director General is quoted as saying: ”Many more boats will probably arrive on Lampedusa over the summer with their desperate human cargo and we have to ensure we can adequately respond to their immediate needs.... This is why IOM will continue to work closely with the Italian government, the Italian Red Cross, UNHCR and other partners to provide appropriate humanitarian responses to irregular migrants and asylum seekers reaching the island.”

The same press release observes that IOM’s work with its ”partners” was part of a wider effort to improve the administration of the ”reception” (the word ”detention” is conspicuously absent) and ”repatriation” of ”irregular migrants” in Italy. Reception centers were being expanded, and problems of overcrowding alleviated. The statement goes on to observe that IOM had opened its office on Lampedusa in April 2006. Since that time ”Forced returns from Lampedusa [had] stopped.”

Lampedusa is a small Italian island located some 200 km south of Sicily and 300 km to the north of Libya. Its geographical location provides a clue as to how it is that in 2004 this Italian outpost first entered the spotlight of European and even world public attention, becoming a potent signifier for anxieties about an international migration crisis (Andrijasevic 2006). For it was then that this Italian holiday destination became the main point of arrival for boats carrying migrants from Libya to Italy. That year more than 10,000 migrants are reported to have passed through the ”temporary stay and assistance centre” (CPTA) the Italian state maintains on the island. The vast majority had arrived in overcrowded, makeshift boats after a perilous sea journey lasting up to several weeks. Usually these boats

are intercepted in Italian waters by the Italian border guards and the migrants transferred to the holding center on the island. Following detention, which can last for more than a month, they are either transferred to other CPTAs in Sicily and southern Italy, or expelled to Libya.Finally, there is a point to be made about humanitarianism, power and order. Those looking to locate contemporary humanitarianism within a bigger picture would perhaps follow the lead of Hardt and Negri. As these theorists of ”Empire” see things, NGOs like Amnesty International and Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) are, contrary to their own best intentions, implicated in global order. As agents of ”moral intervention” who, because they participate in the construction of emergency, ”prefigure the state of exception from below,” these actors serve as the preeminent ”frontline force of imperial intervention.” As such, Hardt and Negri see humanitarianism as ”completely immersed in the biopolitical context of the constitution of Empire” (Hardt and Negri 2000: 36).Humanitarianism, Borders, Politics

Foucauldian writing about borders has mirrored the wider field of governmentality studies in at least one respect. While it has produced some fascinating and insightful accounts of contemporary strategies and technologies of border-making and border policing, it has tended to confine its attention to official and often state-sanctioned projects. Political dynamics and political acts have certainly not been ignored. But little attention has been paid to the possibility that politics and resistance operate not just in an extrinsic relationship to contemporary regimes, but within them.12 To date this literature has largely failed to view politics as something constitutive and productive of border regimes and technologies. That is to say, there is little appreciation of the ways in which movements of opposition, and those particular kinds of resistance which Foucault calls ”counter conduct,” can operate not externally to modes of bordering but by means of ”a series of exchanges” and ”reciprocal supports” (Foucault 2007: 355).

There is a certain paradox involved when we speak of Foucault and frontiers. In certain key respects it could be said that Foucault is one of our most eminent and original theorists of bordering. For at the heart of one of his most widely read works – namely Discipline and Punish – what does one

find if not the question of power and how its modalities should be studied by focusing on practices of partitionment, segmentation, division, enclosure; practices that will underpin the ordering and policing of ever more aspects of the life of populations from the nineteenth century onwards. But while Foucault is interested in a range of practices which clearly pertain to the question of bordering understood in a somewhat general sense, one thing the reading of his lectures on security, governmentality and biopolitics reveals is that he had little to say explicitly about the specific forms of bordering associated with the government of the state. To put it differently, Foucault dealt at length with what we might call the microphysics of bordering, but much less with the place of borders considered at the level of tactics and strategies of governmentality.Recent literature has begun to address this imbalance, demonstrating that many of Foucault’s concepts are useful and important for understanding what kinds of power relations and governmental regimes are at stake in contemporary projects which are re-making state borders amidst renewed political concerns over things like terrorism and illegal immigration. However, the overarching theme of this chapter has been the need for caution when linking Foucault’s concepts to the study of borders and frontiers today. While analytics like biopolitics, discipline and neoliberalism offer all manner of insights, we need to avoid the trap which sees Foucault’s toolbox as something ready-made for any given situation. The challenge of understanding the emergent requires the development of new theoretical tools, not to mention the sharpening of older, well-used implements. With this end in mind the chapter has proposed the idea of the humanitarian border as a way of registering an event within the genealogy of the frontier, but also, although I have not developed it here, within the genealogy of citizenship.

What I have presented previously is only a very cursory overview of certain features of the humanitarianization of borders, most notably its inscription within regimes of knowledge, and its constitutive relationship to politics. In future research it would be interesting to undertake a fuller mapping of the humanitarian border in relation to certain trajectories of government. While we saw how themes of biopolitical and neoliberal government are pertinent in understanding the contemporary management of spaces like the detention center, it would seem especially relevant to consider the salience of pastoralism. Pastoral power has received far less attention within studies of governmentality than, say, discipline or liberal government (but see Dean 1999; Golder 2007; Hindess 1996; Lippert 2004). But here again, I suspect, it will be important to revise our concepts in the light of emergent practices and rationalities. For the ways in which NGOs and humanitarians engage in the governance of migrants and refugees today have changed quite significantly from the kinds of networks of care, self-examination and salvation which Foucault identified with pastoralism. For instance, and to take but one example, the pastoral care of migrants, whether in situations of sanctuary or detention, is not organized as a life-encompassing, permanent activity as it was for the church, or later, in a secular version, the welfare state. Instead, it is a temporary and ad hoc intervention. Just as Foucault’s notion of neo-liberalism was intended to register important transformations within the genealogy of liberal government, it may prove useful to think in terms of the neo-pastoral when we try to make better sense of the phenomenon of humanitarian government at/of borders, and of many other situations as well.

williamwalters.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/2011-Foucau...

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

Just a quick shot from my morning walk around Great Dunmow. This is one of those "unofficial" entrances to the graveyard from the adjoining farmers field.

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

My wonderland - @ New Town Eco Park (officially Prakriti Tirtha) - Calcutta, India.

FEATURED IN FLICKR EXPLORE ON 28-08-2014. # 285.

www.flickr.com/photos/59670248@N05/15062756921/in/explore...

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Copyright © learning.photography.

All rights reserved. All images contained in this Photostream remain the property of learning.photography and is protected by applicable Copyright Law. Any images from this Photostream may not be reproduced, copied, or used in any way without my written permission.

Thanks for your Visit, Comments, Favs and Awards !

No private group or multiple group invites please !

Those who have not uploaded any photograph yet, or have uploaded a very few photographs, should not mark me Contacts or comment on my photo. I may block them.

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New Town Eco Park (officially Prakriti Tirtha) is an urban park in Rajarhat, Kolkata. The park is situated on a 480 acres (190 ha) plot and will surround a 104 acres (42 ha) waterbody with an island in the middle. The park was conceptualised by Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee in July 2011. West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) is the overarching body coordinating the construction of the park, along with different other government bodies responsible for implementation of different works inside the park. The park has been divided into three broad parts; 1) ecological zones like wetlands, grasslands, and urban forest, 2)theme gardens and open spaces, 3)and urban recreational spaces. The Eco Park will be further divided into different sub-parts according to the different types of fauna planted. According to the plan, the park will have different areas like wild flower meadows, a bamboo garden, grasslands, tropical tree garden, bonsai garden, tea garden, Cactus Walk, a heliconia garden, a butterfly garden, a play area and an amphitheatre. Further, there is plan to develop an eco-resort in public-private partnership, and will also include an area where handicrafts from different part of the state will be exhibited. The park was inaugurated on 29 December 2012 by Mamata Banerjee.

Source : Internet

Detailed Exif Data :

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Bartolomeo Montagna, c. 1450-1523

St. Jerome in the Desert, 1500-2

Oil on panel

cm 51x58

Here the saint is in his cave, and we see in the foreground his red hat, as he had also

been a cardinal. He is flanked by his customary lion, and set within a landscape. Near the bottom there is a lake, and a beautiful staircase on which monks can be seen climbing the stairs towards the church. The overarching theme of this group of paintings in Room VII is to immerse the figure in the landscape.

The Owls - @ New Town Eco Park (officially Prakriti Tirtha) - Calcutta, India.

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New Town Eco Park (officially Prakriti Tirtha) is an urban park in Rajarhat, Kolkata. The park is situated on a 480 acres (190 ha) plot and will surround a 104 acres (42 ha) waterbody with an island in the middle. The park was conceptualised by Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee in July 2011. West Bengal Housing Infrastructure Development Corporation (HIDCO) is the overarching body coordinating the construction of the park, along with different other government bodies responsible for implementation of different works inside the park. The park has been divided into three broad parts; 1) ecological zones like wetlands, grasslands, and urban forest, 2)theme gardens and open spaces, 3)and urban recreational spaces. The Eco Park will be further divided into different sub-parts according to the different types of fauna planted. According to the plan, the park will have different areas like wild flower meadows, a bamboo garden, grasslands, tropical tree garden, bonsai garden, tea garden, Cactus Walk, a heliconia garden, a butterfly garden, a play area and an amphitheatre. Further, there is plan to develop an eco-resort in public-private partnership, and will also include an area where handicrafts from different part of the state will be exhibited. The park was inaugurated on 29 December 2012 by Mamata Banerjee.

Source : Internet

It weaves together very sad individual stories with the overarching narrative of how US involvement resulted in the destabilization of Central America and ultimately our migrant crisis. The perfect mix of historical context, data, policy jargon and heart wrenching very personal narratives of those who came here!

Following the success of the M-125 Porewit, the JNA went on to further experiment with low-profile casemate AFVs. The overarching ambition of the program that led to the M-205 was to produce a big-gunned combat vehicle capable of putting more rounds down range than the opposition. Initially this translated to trying to enhance autoloaders to be faster, lighter, and more reliable; however, a minority in the Zastava Arms firm decided that simply mounting two high-velocity guns to a single AFV was the way to go as material science wasn't advanced enough at the time to produce the required autoloader advancements. Hence, the M-205.

The design of the M-205 is fairly straightforward: two 105mm rifled guns (with slaved 7.62mm coaxials just above) housed independently in a moderately armored chassis with a steep frontal glacis capable of shrugging off numerous high-caliber rounds. Unfortunately, the high rate of fire and beefy front face came with costs elsewhere. The sides of the crew cabin are only rated to neglect 12.7mm rounds (the angled armor around the engine bay is able to resist 14.5mm rounds). Additionally, having two breeches in the cabin means the crew quarters--meant to house four crewmen--are fairly cramped compared to conventional MBTs. Furthermore, the guns mounted on the vehicle lack integrated bore evacuators, leading to an independent ventilation system needing to be built into the cabin, ergo eating more space and compromising the integrity of the armor around the vent itself. The upside, however, lies in the magazine being fairly secure and easy to reload. Located between the engine bay and the cabin, the magazine has doors that open for easy crate-based loading and in which case double as blowout panels in the event of catastrophic failure.

Aside from the twin-gun aspect of the M-205, another exceptional wonder of the vehicle rests in the vehicle's optics. Far more advanced and miniaturized than those of the West for the time--e.g. the early and mid-1980s--the independent electronic periscopes are exceptionally precise. The larger optics suite atop the vehicle is able to utilize data from the two separate periscopes and calculate how to best align their shots when firing on a single target. Thus, the rather small guns are able to penetrate the rough hides of most AFVs by tandem-firing. In the event of firing on two separate targets, the central suite will designate a sequence of engagements based upon distance and travel time, thereby maximizing camouflage by minimizing latency.

Unfortunately for Zastava, the M-205 never saw extensive service time. The complexity of the design overall and the optics in particular meant manufacturing was difficult, time-consuming, and generally costly. After the first four vehicles were produced for field testing, the Lada production line was essentially shut down and the testbed models mothballed. Zastava attempted to revive the vehicle by tossing around the idea of integrating a more advanced suspension system akin to the Strv 103's to further enhance the Lada's ability to target and engage vehicles from a fixed position, but this aspiration was quickly quashed as such an addition would only further the production issues. All in all the M-205 was too unique to be useful in an era where the JNA was trying to become slightly more conventional in nature.

"Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven."

— Matthew 6:10

Bringing Utopian ideas into real life is tough. If you want everyone to have equal opportunity, how do you do it? If you want to eliminate sexism and racism, how? If you want everyone to have their essentials covered of bread, water, shelter and healthcare, how? Making ideas of a just and fair Heaven stick on a very messy and limited earth is very tough stuff.

How do you lift your slice of the world up? For one, do one's work well. For example, architecture can inspire and remind the user that the path to heaven isn't so long. This 1839 spiraling staircase in the old Trustees' Office at the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky is marvelous to behold. It's beautiful.

It is amazing what Shaker non-architects accomplished in their desire to have the everyday mundane touch a bit of Heaven.

Shakers had a framework for their community layouts and building designs. Their overarching goal was to bring heaven to earth, as can be seen in this staircase from on high that connects the earth beneath.

Bleu, Blanc, et Rouge. I now have all 3 colours! Here we have 3 extremely chic models forming the French flag with their glittering brocade sheaths. I didn't notice this, but I think these 3 girls represent each overarching hairstyle the vintage barbie's had: Bob, Bubble, and Ponytail. And in my opinion the short bob, side part bubble, and the swirl are the most chic forms of those hairstyles too.

Not too long ago I received the red Golden Elegance sheath but without the coat and accessories. As a result I was finally able to create this image that I have been wanting to do for YEARS!

I was going to get the rest of Golden Elegance before I found out that most of the vintage outfits used real fur. Now I am happy to just own the sheath. I do have the rest of evening splendour but I intend to sell the coat and hat now that I know it is real fur. I understand the fur is 50 or so years old and what not, but as a Vegan the thought of animal carcass on my shelf gives me the heebie-jeebies. But don't get me wrong! I am not judging those who don't mind the fur on these vintage items, it just isn't for me sadly (goodbye 14 year dream of owning Gay Parisienne!)

Deryn and I had a late flight so needed to kill a few hours in the morning. We walked up from Dulwich and entered what must be one of the strangest museums. The Horniman houses an eclectic collection of objects with no real theme holding them together. Preserved bugs and butterflies are within reach of voodoo shrines, musical instruments and Hindu and Buddhist figurines. The history of how the museum came into being, below, perhaps explains this mix.

Still it’s much loved and still attracts attendees and during our visit hundreds of tiny kids lining up for the dinosaur exhibition. It also proved a rich seam for amateur photographers! As my photography collection too lacks a theme I had no restrictions in capturing some these treasures.

“Frederick John Horniman, Victorian tea trader and philanthropist, began collecting objects, specimens and artefacts 'illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world' from around 1860. His overarching mission was to 'bring the world to Forest Hill' and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which 'either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands'. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.

By the late nineteenth century, these 'natural, industrial and artistic spoils had accumulated to such an extent that he gave up the whole house to the collections'.

His wife is reported to have said 'either the collection goes or we do'. With that, the family moved to Surrey Mount.”

www.horniman.ac.uk/about/museum-history

This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

History[edit]

The Southport Beach House was built as part of the Works Progress Administration from 1936 to 1940. Kenosha, Wisconsin had aimed to develop an extensive park and beach system ever since the Kenosha Park Association formed in 1906. By 1922, most of the land that would become part of the Kenosha parks system had been donated by wealthy residents. However, outside of Library Park, this land was largely undeveloped until the Great Depression of the 1930s. The Works Progress Administration promised funds for municipalities seeking to develop public park projects. Kenosha successfully received grants for re-purposing building materials from condemned buildings into park structures.[2]

The use of re-purposed materials caused the resulting beach house to enjoy a mix of contemporary architectural styles and revivals. The exterior blends Tudor Revival details with an overarching Mediterranean Revival theme. Marble and stone from an old post office was used to create an Art Deco ballroom, featuring the geometric ornamentation common to the style. The Southport Beach House remains open to the public for events, although it no longer functions a beach house. On January 8, 2003, the building was recognized by the National Park Service with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.[2] It was damaged in the June 2012 North American derecho, casting doubt on its long-term viability.[3]

This building has been totally closed for some time waiting for the "powers that be" to decide what to do with it.

Right now my life is all about music - it feeds me, it fulfills me and provides me with opportunity to travel & make friends all over the world. I'm not sure if how long the back and forth everywhere will thrill me and when I'll want to settle down in one place more traditionally but I do plan to enjoy it all in the meantime, collecting memories along the way.

For the overarching theme I went with blue, with some splashes of orange and a little black sneaking in too.

Hartline, Washington: before breakfast-o’clock in the midst of temperatures tumbling into inhumane depths; when one can scarcely feel his digits ditch lights reach into the darkness and find Conductor Gary Durr wading through drifted and drifting snow to hold a job briefing with Dave Reagan, his Engineer, where Durr will briefly escape the inclemency in the relative warmth of the cab as they assess the situation and plan their next few moves. Railroaders have been at war with the elements for generations, hence there is nothing extraordinary about this scene. Yet, it is a glimpse into one such campaign in that perpetual conflict between man; his machines; his – a la Nietzsche – indomitable Will to Power and what is Force Majeure. To-wit: the crew confronts myriad complications: frozen switch locks; compacted, snowed in switches and “throwing” them means throwing your back – all your living and dead might – into bending frozen steel to one’s will; bad, if not non-existent footing; air hoses and the air that passes through them frozen, unbendable and impassable; not to mention the overarching mental and physical fatigue all while ensuring that each move is orchestrated according to a detailed, sequential plan: switches lined, handbrakes set, derails dropped, cars properly spotted, working in between unaired cars and 200-plus-ton locomotives. These men; this Band of Brothers, they have each other’s six every-single-step of the way for any lapse or deviation from said maneuver or miscommunication is consequential. The demand for unflagging concentration is nothing short of supreme as the wind mercilessly knifes its icy blades into any exposed skin and through as many layers of clothing, and any romantic notion of railroading leaves you as quickly as the boreal vacuum sucks the warmth from your body. (30Dec16 ©)

The theme for a 11/2 lifetime is bringing life into a sense of balance through the analyzing and synthesizing of ideas. Learning to trust in yourself, your intuition, and your psychic abilities.

Justice and the High Priestess (Papess) represent form the gateway into an 11/2 lifetime. Justice (ruled by the planet Libra) places focus on harmony, understanding others, and finding a sense of balance in life. Libra is by nature active and social, with the need to balance between nurturing self and helping others. The High Priestess (Papess) is ruled by the Moon, which places focus on our inner selves, our inner needs, intuition, unconscious, and psychic abilities. Here we are looking at reacting, rather than taking action. The nature here is a passive one. Personal empowerment is the ability to focus our personal and spiritual energy in a manner that enhances how we experience our life. As we define our true power, we actualize out potential and begin to live life from a core of inner confidence.

theworldoftarot.wordpress.com/2014/03/15/birth-card-pairs...

The occult has moved from secrecy to mainstream acceptance, and tarot card reading stands as a testament to this shift. The Rider-Waite deck, named after the mystic A.E. Waite and publisher William Rider and Son, is considered the definitive tarot deck. However, the captivating imagery and symbolism that define this deck come from the artistic genius of Pamela Colman Smith, a woman often forgotten in the history of the occult.

Smith, an artist with possible Jamaican roots, led a bohemian lifestyle and was introduced to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn by the renowned poet William Butler Yeats. She joined the secret society, which explored occult and paranormal aspects, as well as philosophy and magic. There, she met A.E. Waite, who would later request her artistic talents in creating a new deck of divination cards. Despite the immense popularity of the Rider-Waite deck, Smith’s role in its creation was largely forgotten.

However, many tarot enthusiasts today have started acknowledging her contributions by calling it the “Smith-Waite” deck or using decks that feature her name prominently.

culture.org/the-unseen-mothers-of-the-occult-pamela-colma...

"Gospel according to "Myriam" and this Mary is generally identified, without certainty, as being Mary of Magdala....In Christian tradition, the Three Marys also refers to three daughters – all three called Mary – whom Anne, the maternal grandmother of Jesus would have had with three successive husbands. According to Fernando Lanzi and Gioia Lanzi, this tradition would have been condemned by the Council of Trent (16th century), but it is still very much alive, particularly in German-speaking countries16 and in the Netherlands. then retired to the cave of Sainte-Baume where she lived for 30 years as a hermitage, with her only clothing, the fleece of her hair, and as her only food, the song of the angels who daily raised her to the heavens, seven times a day, it is said. She left Sainte Baume to die with Saint Maximin, one of the 72 disciples, in the small town where he had built his oratory and which today bears his name. He buried the saint in an alabaster sarcophagus.The name Magdala comes from Magdal in Aramaic or Migdal in Hebrew and designates a construction in the shape of a tower, representing faith, very similar to the House of God (The Tower) in Marseille's Tarot !

The Tarot de Marseille would then be a testimony to the teaching of Mary Magdalene. In Spanish-speaking countries, the Orion Belt Asterism is called “Las Tres Marias” (The Three Marys). In other Western countries, it is sometimes called "The Three Kings", a reference to the "Magi who came from the East" of the childhood narrative added to the Gospel according to Matthew and to the tradition of the three Magi, bearers of gifts for the child Jesus, whose oldest witnesses are found in Tertullian and Origen (early 3rd century). My "Mary Magdalene theory" is fortunately supported by thousands of codes that all come interconnected. "You will progress on a healthier basis with someone you know. Be authentic. Make sure you reserve moments of relaxation and do not pull too much on the rope, you tend to exceed your physical limits. Mary (mother of Jesus) Mary Magdalene Mary of Clopas. These three women are very often represented in art, as for example in this picture. The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. Mary was the most common name for Jewish women of the period. Mary speaks of strange encounters with Creator Beings. Read about her experiences with them, and how their decree changed her life with Jesus. In this final volume of the trilogy, Magdalene appears to the author by the river in Rennes les Bains, France. There she reveals an ancient healing technique called The True Baptism. Mary illustrates how to organize the life force from the matrix of The All and allow it to trigger our genetic code. Mary then answers more of your questions, this time about the hidden properties of gold, the evolution of her bloodline with Jesus, free will, inner earth, the star knowledge, and much more. The Tarot, in both its origin as a card game and in its transformation into an occult divinatory tool, functions as an iconographic mirror of a particular culture's time and place. By the examining the evolution of the World card, from the 14th century Italian decks to contemporary ones, we will see a shift from male Christ imagery to female anima mundi imagery. Parallel to this iconographic shift is the figure of Mary Magdalene, who in Renaissance painting began to be portrayed less as a sinner and more of a penitent saint. The assumption of Mary Magdalene in art correlates with the finalized form of the World card. The alterations of Christian iconography and symbolism in Tarot cards are the result of occultists’ reappropiation of the Tarot in the late 1700s. The fear/distrust/disbelief of God and Christianity that began at this time funneled into an interest in the occult; in the Tarot, we see a preservation of the luminous but a problematic relationality with Christianity. The World card, as it has been handed down to us today, is a synthesis of the assumption of Mary Magdalene, the Christus Victor, and the anima mundi. A sacred priestess of the ancient Womb Rites, Mary Magdalene was at the center of a great and enduring Mystery tradition. Unveiling the lost left-hand path of the Magdalene, the authors offer rituals and practices to initiate you into the Womb magic of the ancient priestesses and access deeper dimensions of sexuality and feminine power.

www.innertraditions.com/books/magdalene-mysteries

Tarot historians are in agreement that the appropriation of the cards by occultists occurred in the late 18th century. The first known interpretation of the Tarot through an esoteric lens was penned by the French occultist Court de Gebelin. He believed the deck was the lost Egyptian Book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists began syncretizing the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism, and alchemy. I believe we can locate the apex of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith deck from 1909 – the most familiar and popular deck to the contemporary reader. Later we will consider the effect this had on the Tarot symbolism and its relationship to the shifts in religious understanding in France and other European countries.Although there is a clear historical distinction between Tarot as “playing cards” and as occult divination tools, this is not to say that the imagery of the early decks are absent of symbolism or meaning. Rather than esoteric, the early cards are exoteric in their imagery; the symbols are clear referents to religion, culture, and mythology. While they seem esoteric today, as much of Christian iconography is to the contemporary viewer, these cards were probably not hard to decipher by their audiences. While much is admittedly conjecture, (as is a lot of Tarot historical studies), there is still much we can tease out of the visual evolution of the cards over time. It is surprising that there has been so little work done on the correlations and similarities between Tarot and Christian symbolism and iconography. My research hit a lot of dead-end roads in terms of proof, but I believe it is important to reveal my initial observations to show that, while perhaps not conscious, there is a great deal of Christian symbolism in Tarot, even in decks from the post-occult turn of the 18 and 19 centuries and from today as well.In the Waite-Smith deck, the most obvious Christian card is the 20 Major Arcana, Judgment, in which an angel blows a trumpet and the souls of dead bodies rise from coffins. Another obvious example is the Tower card, clearly a depiction of the fall of the Tower of Babel. Less obvious, perhaps, is the Fool card. It depicts a young man walking up to a cliff precipice, as though he does not see it; he carries a bag of money and is followed by a dog. Does this not recall the story of blind Tobias, who also carries money and is followed by a dog? Although in painting he is normally portrayed being guided by the angel Raphael, the similarities are astounding. How did this come to be?

The Hanged Man card is surprisingly consistent from the early Italian decks to the contemporary post-occult decks, and is one of the most mysterious within esoteric interpretation. In the Waite-Smith deck, it depicts a man hanging from a Tau cross by one leg; his other leg is crossed underneath the other to form another cross, and a nimbus glows around the head. Most occult interpretations of this card go along the lines that it is a symbol of self-sacrifice for spiritual gain. Robert Place argues that this can be understood as Christ, in that Christ was executed as a traitor by the state.3 Furthermore, a numerical reading of the card offers insight – being card 12, it might refer also to the self-sacrifice and martyrdom of the twelve disciples. By employing basic gematria, we can add the digits one and two to reach three, which could be the Trinity.

www.academia.edu/8851376/Tarot_and_Christian_Iconography_...

The Gospels refer to several women named Mary. At various points of Christian history, some of these women have been identified with one another..look at this picture from the Waite-Rider-Smth tarot:from left to right 1 Mary Magdalene 2 Mary of Jacob (mother of James the Less) 3 Mary, mother of Jesus (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40; Luke 24:10) Mary of Clopas (John 19:25), sometimes identified with Mary of Jacob. Mary of Bethany (Luke 10:38–42, John 12:1–3), not mentioned in any Crucifixion or Resurrection narratives but identified with Mary Magdalene in some traditions. Another woman who appears in the Crucifixion and Resurrection narratives is Salome, who, in some traditions, is referred to as Mary Salome and identified as being one of the Marys. Other women mentioned in the narratives are Joanna and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.Marie-Madeleine, Marie Salomé and Marie de Clopas are the 3 Maries of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, a French town, capital of the Camargue, in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône. The designation "of-the-sea" derives from the fact that after the death of Jesus, the three Marys crossed the sea by boat to there and then lived there, thus helping to bring Christianity to France and Europe. These 3 Marys were present during the execution of Jesus and, they were the first witnesses of the empty tomb at the resurrection of Jesus... After the death of Jesus, around 42 J.C. the Christians were persecuted, and the three Marys were arrested and expelled from Palestine. They therefore embarked, with many other Christians, on a ship named "The Ship of Peter" devoid of oars and sails which, led by Providence, managed to reach the shores of Provence, in the south of France in a place which now bears their names.This is where the three Marys were welcomed by Sara, according to some texts, according to others, Sara, herself would be the Holy Grail, the direct descent of Mary Magdalene and Jesus. Only Marie Salomé, Marie Jacobé and Sarah will remain; Marie Madeleine, will retire to a hermitage in a cave...This is a historically attested fact, because Christianity began to spread in Europe precisely from Gaul, which thus became the gateway to the new religion in Europe. Mary Magdalene occupies a privileged place for Christ, at the head of a group of women who accompany him. She will be the first witness to the Resurrection of Christ, the first to whom the Lord appears on Easter morning, a sign, whether we believe in it or not, of an exceptional position. She is Jewish like Christ, like him from the North of Palestine (Israel), from Galilee, probably from Magdala, near Nazareth and Cana. It is believed that she was an aristocrat born in the year 3 AD, who after attending the court of the king of the Jews Herod, was converted by Christ, changed her life and decided to follow him and put her fortune at the disposal of the group. Arrived in the Camargue, with the two other Maries, she evangelized the Marseillais, then withdrew to the cave of Sainte-Baume where she lived 30 years in hermitage, with as only clothing, the fleece of her hair, and as only food, the song of the angels who raised her daily in the heavens, seven times a day, it is said.

www.calistabellini.com/post/les-saintes-maries-de-la-mer-...

Different sets of three women have been referred to as the Three Marys: Three Marys present at the crucifixion of Jesus;

Three Marys at the tomb of Jesus on Easter Sunday; Three daughters of Saint Anne, all named Mary. The three Marys at the

The presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion of Jesus is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament. Differences in the parallel accounts have led to different interpretations of how many and which women were present. In some traditions, as exemplified in the Irish song Caoineadh na dTrí Muire, the Three Marys are the three whom the Gospel of John mentions as present at the crucifixion of Jesus: However, Jesus was not crucified upside-down. Looking at the Visconti-Sforza deck, we have an almost identical depiction of the Hanged Man. Helen Farley points out that in Renaissance society, there was an art form called pittura infamante – ‘shame painting’ – “in which a person was depicted as a traitor, particularly when beyond the reach of legitimate legal. recourse.”4 By depicting someone hanging upside-down, this could alternately mean the person had turned away from God. It also was used for the execution of Jews, witches, and Christians who had committed perfidy. I immediately thought of Peter, who is said to have asked to be crucified upside-down because he was unworthy to die as Christ died. In Christian iconography, he is the only individual portrayed in this manner. Peter could be said to be a traitor, in that he denied Christ three times, but the negative associations of shame paintings don’t seem to correlate with Peter’s sainthood. Judas is also said to have hung himself, and is traitor par excellance, but I remained convinced that this card was based upon Peter. While the usual understanding of Peter’s request for an upside-down crucifixion is his humility in relation to Christ’s death, there is a different explanation in apocryphal accounts. In the Acts of Peter, Peter speaks from the cross, saying that, “when the first man [Adam] came into the world, he came headfirst. That means that Adam’s perspective, as the one who brought sin into the world, was entirely reversed and upside down. That is why people seem to think that what is true is false and what is false true....All of this is because humans have reverse vision, due to the actions of Adam.”6 Thus, hanging upside-down is a model for Christians to live by, to see the world correctly. This is nearly identical to how Tarot esotericists interpret the Hanged Man; it is both Christ in its self-sacrifice, and also an inversion of corporeal ‘reality’ and perspective through which one gets a better understanding of how to reach God. While one cannot veritably locate a thread between the Acts of Peter and the Hanged Man, this connection exemplifies the latent Christian symbolism that flows through the Tarot, from 14th century Italy to now.

Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas and Mary (mother of Jesus). These three women are very often represented in art, as for example in these Flickr's picture.

Women at the tarot like a passkey to heaven; The Three Marys as passkey. What may be the earliest known representation of three women visiting the tomb of Jesus is a fairly large fresco in the Dura-Europos church in the ancient city of Dura Europos on the Euphrates. The fresco was painted before the city's conquest and abandonment in AD 256, but it is from the 5th century that representations of either two or three women approaching a tomb guarded by an angel appear with regularity, and become the standard depiction of the Resurrection. They have continued in use even after 1100, when images of the Resurrection of Jesus in Christian art began to show the risen Christ himself. Examples are the Melisende Psalter and Peter von Cornelius's The Three Marys at the tarot. Eastern icons continue to show either the Myrrhbearers or the Harrowing of Hell. The fifteenth-century Easter hymn "O filii et filiae" refers to three women going to the tomb on Easter morning to anoint the body of Jesus. The original Latin version of the hymn identifies the women as Mary Magdalene (Maria Magdalene), Mary of Joseph (et Iacobi), and Salome (et Salome).

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Marys

The World (XXI) is the 21st trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It can be incorporated as the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence (the first or last optioned as being "The Fool" (0). It is associated with the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 'Shin' also spelled 'Sin'. The oval shape of the wreath is also used by the Golden Dawn in their Tattva cards. These colorful cards were designed to aid the development of clairvoyance through visual meditation, and one of the symbols in the cards is an oval. The oval corresponds to the Akasha, ether or spiritual realm (see Akashic Records).

Description

Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the animal emblems representing the four evangelists in a German manuscript.

In the traditional Tarot of Marseilles, as well as the later Rider–Waite tarot deck, a naked woman hovers or dances above the Earth holding a staff in each hand, surrounded by a wreath, being watched by the four living creatures (or hayyoth) of Jewish mythology: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. This depiction parallels the tetramorph used in Christian art, where the four creatures are used as symbols of the four Evangelists. Some astrological sources explain these observers as representatives of the natural world or the kingdom of beasts. According to astrological tradition the Lion is Leo—a fire sign, the Bull or calf is Taurus—an earth sign, the Man is Aquarius—an air sign, and the Eagle is Scorpio—a water sign. These signs are the four fixed signs and represent the classical four elements. In some decks the wreath is an ouroboros biting its own tail. In the Thoth Tarot designed by Aleister Crowley, this card is called "The Universe." The World card, the highest ranked Major Arcana card, exists in the early Visconti-Sforza, Marseilles, and contemporary decks. It will serve as our loci in considering the relationship between Tarot and Christian iconography, the evolution of Mary Magdalene in Christian depiction/understanding, and the rise of the female anima mundi in occult and esoteric movements. To recall, the Visconti-Sforza is one of our earliest known decks. Helen Farley notes that the deck’s symbolism reflects concerns and themes of the Italian Renaissance: The proximity of death, the fickle hand of fortune, the desirability of living a life

of virtue, the importance of spirituality but also the contempt with which corporeal concerns were held, namely the corruption of the Church...[it] portrayed the lives and history of the Viscontis...as a game: a potent allegory of Visconti life. These themselves more as we follow the orbit of the World card around the sun of time.reveal themes, particularly the tension between spirituality and Catholicism, will. In the Visconti-Sforza deck, the world is shown as a globe, within which is surrounded by turbulent waters (fig. I). The globe is held aloft by two putti. The blue wings indicate they are Seraphim, the highest rank of angels. In other versions from this time, there is usually a figure of a woman or angel upon the globe and city usually represents Jerusalem, the city of God; “the microcosm of the city symbolically linked the earthly (human) body with the heavenly (cosmic) ‘body’”, observes Farley. This derives, of course, from St. Augustine’s The City of God, wherein the Christian empire is located around the Church of Rome, which links humankind with God. The earthly city reflects the heavenly city, and this card connects the actual city of Milan with the celestial city of heaven. Duke Sforza’s domination of Milan is enforced and made holy through its pictorial self-portrayal as the Augustinian city. This pride in the city-state enforces the power, wealth, and status of Milan; interestingly, as the World card follows the Resurrection/Judgment card, Milan is portrayed as the city Augustine believes will contain the saved souls. One also may observe that the city is separated from the rest of the ‘world’ by the edge of the globe; it is strongly fortified and separated by waters, illuminated by the stars of heaven.

What does 3 stars in the sky mean? many meanings...Each culture gives the Três Marias a different meaning. In Christian tradition, the stars are associated with the three women who visited the tomb of Jesus at the resurrection. They also represent the Three Wise Men -Gaspar, Melchior and Baltasar-, who would be on their way to Bethlehem at the birth of the messiah. What are the three Marias? Mark 16:1 indicates that "Mary Magdalene", "Mary the mother of James" and "Salome" went to the tomb to anoint Jesus....How many stars do the 3 Marias have?

The Belt or Belt of Orion, popularly known as the Three Marys or Three Kings, is an asterism of three stars that form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. The stars, easily identifiable in the sky by their brightness and alignment, are known as Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak. Where are the three Marias?

To identify it we must locate 3 stars close to each other, of the same brightness, and aligned. They are called Tres Marías and they form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. Their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitaka, from the Arabic Al-Mintakah, the belt, An-Nidham, the pearl, and An-Nitak, the rope.

What are the stars we see in the sky? Stars are large spheres formed by plasma heated to thousands of degrees. Its shape is due to its gravity, which points towards the core of the star. Stars are large spheres of plasma that are powered by nuclear fusion. Stars are large spheres of plasma, held together by their own gravity. > Constellation of ORION: Why are the three Marias called Três Marias? Origin and meanings of Três Marias.Each culture gives the Três Marias a different meaning. In Christian tradition, the stars are associated with the three women who visited the tomb of Jesus at the resurrection. They also represent the Three Wise Men -Gaspar, Melchior and Baltasar-, who would be on their way to Bethlehem at the birth of the messiah. What are the three Marias? Mark 16:1 indicates that "Mary Magdalene", "Mary the mother of James" and "Salome" went to the tomb to anoint Jesus....How many stars do the 3 Marias have? The Belt or Belt of Orion, popularly known as the Three Marys or Three Kings, is an asterism of three stars that form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. The stars, easily identifiable in the sky by their brightness and alignment, are known as Mintaka, Alnilam, and Alnitak.Where are the three Marias? To identify it we must locate 3 stars close to each other, of the same brightness, and aligned. They are called Tres Marías and they form the belt of the constellation of Orion, the hunter. Their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitaka, from the Arabic Al-Mintakah, the belt, An-Nidham, the pearl, and An-Nitak, the rope.The most curious thing of all is that, in reality, their names are Mintaka, Alnilan and Alnitak, Arabic names that mean, respectively, the "Belt", the "Pearl/Precious Stone" and the "Rope". Another is knowing that they are actually very close together in the sky, approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth.There are three enormous stars visible in the winter sky and in the center of the constellation Orion, the celestial cathedral. These three stars form a nearly perfect tilted alignment, separated by seemingly nearly equidistant distances. They are known as the three Marys, the three wise men or the belt of Orion -a giant hunter from mythology-, but these names are not enough to understand the mysteries that such colossal stars contain. We must look towards the south, at half height; between the horizon and the zenith. It has no loss, it is a brilliant stellar alignment, which is unique in the firmament. Three blue stars, three giants: Mintaka, Altinak and Alnilam.

Источник: planetariodevitoria.org/estrelas/qual-e-o-nome-das-estrel...

An engineer born in Alexandria in 1948, Robert Bauval, with a background in astronomy and an interest in Egyptology, discovered that the three Marys are positioned exactly like the three great pyramids of Giza in Egypt. The star Mintaka, in the upper part of the alignment of the three Marys, is somewhat deviated with respect to the previous two, the same imperfect alignment has the three great pyramids. But also, the pyramid deviated from the straight line that joins the other two, is the smallest of the three (Micerino), like Mintaka, which is the star that shines the least of the three Marias. Also, the pyramid that is highest on the plateau of the three and that stands out the most (Kefren) is the central one, as is the central star of Las tres Marías, which is the brightest. Did the Egyptians also know that these stars are visible from all over the world? And more specifically Mintaka, which is right on the celestial equator. Everything can be the product of chance, but many coincidences bear the truth. Curiously, the Egyptians believed that after their death, the gates of heaven opened in the place occupied by Orion's belt, but they never understood the greatness of those three spectacular stars. The three Marys were the place where the soul of Osiris, the Egyptian god of resurrection, rested and presides over the court of the judgment of the deceased, among other powers.Alnitak, an Arabic name meaning "belt", is the lowest of the three stars. A new star 6 million years old, while the Sun is about 5,000 million. This blue giant, 16 times the diameter of the Sun, with a visual magnitude of 1.79, located 700 light years from the Sun, of spectral type O9, shines with an intensity 100,000 times greater than that of our Sun, which next to it is a tiny star with a mass 20 times less than Alnitak. It ranks 35th among the most luminous stars we know of, including stars from other galaxies. Alnitak is a peculiar star, whose surface temperature reaches 29,000 degrees. The Sun only reaches 6,500. But it is also a very intense source of X-rays, due to the strong stellar winds that are projected from the surface in the form of particles, essentially hydrogen and helium, sweeping the surrounding space at speeds of 2,000 km/s. These types of giant stars have their days numbered. The bigger the stars are, the less time they live, so that Alnitak, in a short time will become a red supergiant, it will explode in the form of a supernova, which can be seen even during the day from Earth, to end up as a tiny star about 10 km in diameter, called a neutron star, a star so dense that a teaspoon of its surface would weigh as much as a mountain. Also Alnitak is a triple star. Alnilam. Located in the center of the stellar trio that make up Las tres Marías, it is a true celestial spectacle. It shines with a magnitude of 1.70, being the fourth brightest star in Orion and the brightest of the three Marys, in addition to being the furthest at 1,340 light years, but that is nothing compared to the luminosity of the star, equal to 380,000 times greater than the Sun, ranking 27th of all known stars. It is a blue supergiant star, 31 times the diameter of the Sun and 40 solar masses. Extraordinarily young, only 4 million years old, somewhat colder than the previous one, with about 25,000ºC on the surface. It also has a powerful stellar wind with speeds of 2,000 km/s, 20 million times more than the solar wind. The temperature and radiation are so high in this star that it lights up a nebula of gas and dust called NGC 1990 by reflection. Alnilam is so young that it is not yet a stable star, but variable in its brightness (pulsating variable), due to its continuous expansion and contraction. The Sun is a stable star, it does not pulse, expand, or contract. The force of gravity pulling in on the Sun has been offset by the expansive force of thermonuclear reactions by converting hydrogen to helium, but in Alnilam, both forces continue without agreeing. If it is possible to have planets, life there as we know it would be impossible, due to the instability of the star. Alnilam will end its days as Alnitak, becoming a premature red supergiant, exposing its superdense core; a neutron star. Meanwhile, it is moving away from us at a speed of 26 km/s. Mintaka: Arabic word meaning "for belt." Another blue giant star, although the faintest in brightness of the three Marias reaching 2.5 magnitude. It contains 20 solar masses and a luminosity 90,000 times greater than that of the Sun. Located at a distance of 915 light years, it is surprising that it shines with such intensity, not in vain its surface temperature is 31,000ºC. Mintaka is one of the most complex multiple systems known. The main star, that is to say Mintaka, has a companion of magnitude 6.8 at a real distance of more than 2.3 trillion km, or what is the same, ¼ of a light year. But in turn, this star that appears to be 1' of arc distant from Mintaka, is a spectroscopic binary, that is, it has another companion so close to it that it is impossible to take it off with telescopes, but it can be done using spectroscopy; the only thing we can detect is the spectrum of the companion, but we can't see it. Between the spectroscopic binary and Mintaka, there is a faint 14th magnitude star that may belong to the system. But in addition, Mintaka has an extraordinarily close companion to her, which is why she is a spectroscopic binary. Curiously, the companion star has almost the same characteristics as Mintaka, the same mass, temperature and luminosity and must be the same size. A complex 5-star star system. Almost all stars are double or multiple, the rarity is our Sun, which is a solitary star. However, many researchers look for dwarf stars that may be trapped by the Sun's gravity.

www.abc.es/ciencia/20140122/abci-tres-marias-estrellas-co...

The two putti slowly disappeared in other decks, to be replaced by either a male or female figure. In this example from the Museo Civico, we see a woman holding a wand and a globe as she stands upon the globe (fig. II). Another early example of a female World card is the Cary-Yale Visconti deck (fig. III), depicting a royally-clothed woman wielding a scepter and a crown. It was not uncommon to portray the earth as a feminine figure, but these early examples seem to be stressing not so much a personification of the earth but rather the domination of earth by something/someone. Consider figure IV and figure V. Here we have a male figure, one clothed and the other nude, ruling over the world. Consider also the nude male in the Jacques Vieville deck and the Bologna deck (fig. VI). In Christian art, when Jesus is portrayed as the Christus Victor, he looms over the world holding a globe with a cross fixed to it. He is often surrounded by the four evangelists as he stands upon God’s throne. When he is surrounded by the four evangelists, Christ is enclosed within a mandorla, and the four evangelists are often in the four corners. Should we understand these male figures as Christ? The examples we’ve looked at that have a clothed male figure can clearly be an iconographic Christus Victor; the World card, being the last Major Arcana, is Christ victorious over the entire world after the Resurrection. But what of the nude figures? The only instance of Christ nude in Christian art, that I know of, is Michelangelo’s altar wall in the Sistine Chapel; there, Christ is nude and beardless, as with these particular cards. But there is a shift from the Christ standing upon the world to the Christ on God’s throne. As we see with the Jacques Vieville card (fig. VI), the nude Christ holds his standard iconographic scepter with attached globe, is enclosed by a mandorla (a laurel wreath), and surrounded by the four evangelists. Again, following the tradition of Christian art, Matthew is a human with wings, Mark is a lion, Luke is an ox, and John is an eagle. There is no essential difference between this Tarot card and an atypical Christus Victor. It should be noted that this visual structure was also used in alchemy through the 16 to the 18 century. The four

evangelists are correlated with the four elements of the world, the four seasons, and the four directions. Consider figure VII; note the chalice with the serpent, the attribute of John the Evangelist, unusually associated with the anima mundi. But something happened. Recall that the Marseilles deck, circa blueprint structure and pattern for most subsequent decks created in France, Italy, and Belgium, and also for the decks created by occultists in the 19th century deck is unusual considering its forerunners. We have the same iconography of the four evangelists and the mandorla, but instead of the Christus Victor or royally-clothed woman, there is a nude woman (figure VIII). There are many versions of this, of course, but we can say that she is often portrayed with long hair, with a loose banner rippling around her nude body. She sometimes holds a bottle and a scepter; more often, two equal wands (that is, wands with a knob on both ends). She is always enclosed within a laurel wreath, and the four evangelists remain in the four corners of the card. Suddenly, a nude woman is dancing, or floating, on God’s throne instead of Christ; perhaps, she is being assumed up into heaven. This card serves as the bridge between the City of God and the Christus Victor depictions to most of the subsequent World cards: the rather curious and baffling conflagration of Christian iconography and feminine/Goddess imagery. What does this shift mean, and how can we situate it within Christian art? Let us turn our attention, now, to the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in Christian art. Mary Magdalene underwent quite a transformation through Renaissance art. The sinner Magdalene ultimately becomes the penitent, holy reformer to which many upheld as an exemplary and relatable model. Mrs. Jameson locates the rising popularity of Magdalene as penitent in the 16th and 17th into heaven. Magdalene became “still more endeared to the popular imagination by more affecting and attractive associations, and even more eminently picturesque...We have Magdalenes who look as if they never could have sinned, and others who look as if they never could have repented.”11 Magdalene became more sexualized just as she became more penitent. Rachel Geschwind observes that in the 16th century, paintings like Rossiglio’s Conversion of the Magdalene began to give Venus-like characteristics to Magdalene; she is both divine and corporeal. and art, and sometimes one might even mistake a Venus for a Magdalene. Courtesans at this time would write of divine love and the desire to enter the ‘paradise of Venus’, which was a metaphor where she is praying for forgiveness or being reconciled and/or assumed up for the city. (Recall the City of God from the Visconti deck). Magdalene seemed to serve as a perfect model for passion and romance that was acceptable religiously, and as a locus for the world of divine love. The dichotomy between the corporeal and the divine is also inherent in Correggio’s Noli Me Tangere; Margaret A. Morse writes that “Correggio evoked a natural style, while maintain a beauty and sanctity for which his subjects called, whereby the beholder...would be able to recognize the divine in the physical.”14 She is a bridge between the viewer and Christ, between the body and the spirit. Given that Neo-Platonism was on the rise during the Renaissance, it makes sense that this balance between two kinds of love, “sacred and profane, formulated by Plato in the Symposium”15, found Mary Magdalene as the perfect template and model. In addition to Venus-like characteristics, Magdalene was also beginning to assume the role as a “new Eve” from the Virgin.The relationship between the images of the Tarot de Marseille and the medieval heresy of the Holy Grail. The followers of this heresy claimed that Jesus of Nazareth had married Mary Magdalene. In this work are presented all the symbols of the Tarot in relation to this heresy and, for the first time, it is revealed that these images constitute the secret heritage of Mary Magdalene. that the game was the lost Egyptian book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists

2 began to syncretize the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. We believe we can place the pinnacle of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith game of 1909 - the most familiar and popular game for the contemporary reader. Later we will look at the effect this has had on Tarot symbolism and its relationship to changes in religious understanding in France and other European countries.

Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala), the woman with jars in Christian symbolism, could very well in this case be represented in the star map. But their assumptions stopped there. No one had ever imagined that the Tarot itself represents in its entirety the teaching and life of Marie-Madeleine on the one hand and even less that the Tarot was created by Marie-Madeleine herself in the 1st century. This is the entirely new Tarot theory that I have been expounding since the beginning of the second millennium. If my theory of the Tarot turns out to be correct, it completely changes the vision and the understanding that one could have of the Tarot. It changes the dating of the Tarot which goes from the 14th century to the 1st century AD with Mary Magdalene, the Tarot de Marseille thus becoming the ancestor of all Western tarots, that is to say "the Tarot". Historians and experts said that the Tarot originated in Italy during the Renaissance era around the end of the 14th century the beginning of the 15th century. On the other hand, no one thought that the Tarot de Marseille itself originated from Marseille. When I started to propose the theory of a Marseille origin of the Tarot de Marseille, Tarot historians and Tarot experts thought that I was an eccentric or that I wanted to make a publicity stunt. In 1999, I explained publicly that in my opinion the Tarot had been transmitted to Europe around 415 by the monk Jean Cassien who was entirely dedicated to Marie-Madeleine and who founded the order of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. My Tarot theory is based on thousands of secret codes that can be found in the new Tarot de Marseille Camoin that I drew in the 90s. The Mandorla that surrounds the naked woman indicates that it is a saint who has reached the beatific state. The most significant secret Tarot code in "The Mary Magdalene Theory" that I have discovered resides in the last two cards of the Tarot Major Arcana, Judgment and the World. Indeed, by their number, these two cards are naturally placed next to each other. I revealed that the two cards put together give the key to the mystery of the Tarot character that is found in the World card. Because the identity of this character had remained a mystery for centuries. Almost all Tarot researchers claimed that it was the androgynous Christ, so much so that it had become a real dogma in the Tarot world. Historians could not imagine that it was a woman because of the presence of the four living beings who are attributed to Christ in Christian sacred art. Some had interpreted this mysterious young woman as being the soul of the World, "Anima Mundi".

But the Tarot is coded in another way. Tarot codes are embedded in other Tarot codes and so on. Also, if we disregard the four living beings in the World map, we obtain a naked woman surrounded by an almond-shaped oval. This oval called mandorla symbolizes the state of beatific vision. We find the mandorla around some saints. This means that in the Tarot de Marseille, the woman on the World Map is a saint. My "Mary Magdalene theory" continues like this. In the pantheon of Western saints, there is only one saint who is depicted naked, and that is Saint Mary Magdalene. However, Marie de Magdala lived in the vicinity of Marseilles for 30 years. My theory, which is unique in the history of the Tarot, states that it is Mary Magdalene who is represented in the map of the World and that the Tarot de Marseille is therefore dedicated to this saint.

The two cards form a new symbol. Mary of Magdala is the Saint who sees the Resurrection of Christ (in blue. Furthermore, we can locate similar attributes to Magdalene from apocryphal sources as well as the writings of Origen. In the apocryphal Pistis Sophia, Magdalene is the sole recipient of Christ’s gnosis, rather than Peter and the other disciples. Christ says, “Well done, Mary. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullnesses and the completion of completions.”17Although this apocryphal account could not have been known to people during the Renaissance, it reveals that even within the early Christian communities there was a holiness attributed to Magdalene that transcended all others. Yet the Gnostic contempt for materiality seems to clash with the embrace of dualism during the Renaissance. This dualism can be found in Origen’s writings, however. In his commentary on the Song of Songs, he allegorically reads the bride as the Christian church. The bride anoints her lover with an ointment; Origen connects this with the scriptural account of Mary Magdalene anointing Christ. He interprets the line spoken by the bride, “I am dark but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5), as follows: “She has repented of her sins...beauty is the gift conversion has bestowed; that is the reason she is hymned as beautiful. She is called black, however, because she has not yet purged of every stain of sin, she has not yet been washed unto salvation, nevertheless she does not stay dark-hued, she is becoming white.”18 The dualism of black/evil and white/good is unfortunate, but the connection between the Bride of the Song of Songs and Magdalene reinforces her movement away from sin into penitence, and her positive association with the Church and Christ. The sexual language employed in the Song of Songs has always been difficult for commentators; however we see that when Magdalene is associated with the Bride, the sexuality is compounded with Magdalene’s penitence, in the same way we’ve seen in Renaissance painting. The portrayals of Magdalene’s assumption into heaven connect us back to the Tarot. Mrs. Jameson observes, dryly, that Italian paintings of Magdalene’s assumption began “to recall the idea of a Venus Meretrix.”19 Let us consider Giovanni Lanfranco’s La maddalenan portata in cielo, (fig. IX) and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (fig. X). Jameson is quite correct in her observation, despite her negativity towards this shift. In the Lanfranco, Magdalene’s hair barely covers her nude body as she is borne aloft by three putti. She holds out her hands at an angle, and below her is the world’s expanse of mountains, lakes, and forests. It is sexual and chaste, physical and divine. Her figure is very much the Platonic divine love, the ideal Venus. In some of the Assumptions, she is almost dwarfed by the sublime immensity of the landscape. The fact that the very earth is prominent in these paintings underscores Magdalene’s dualistic characteristics of corporeality and divinity; the world gapes below her as she rises above it into the sky. Although she is always borne by putti in her assumption, she seems to float and dance in ecstasy as she rises. We observed the replacement of the Christus Victor with a female nude in the Marseilles World card. That card is remarkably similar to the Lanfranco, Durer’s Assumption of the Magdalene, and others. One gets the same sense of elevation and completion (recall Christ’s words in the Pistis Sophia) in the rise of Magdalene as one gets in the World card. I argue for a parallel between Magdalene’s evolution and the World card’s evolution; just as painting was infusing Magdalene with traits of divine love and worldliness, Tarot decks began to see the post- Resurrection world not in light of Christ but in a neo-Platonic Venus, a Magdalene/New Eve that encompasses the new World. We saw that some World cards have the woman holding a bottle of some sort, which is an attribute of Magdalene. Also, the instances of the two equal wands supports the dualism of divinity and corporeality, dark and light, sinner and penitent, in the portrayals of Magdalene. Robert Place agrees, writing that “She takes her position in the sacred center, which identifies her as the Anima Mundi and the Quinta Essentia...she has mastered or transcended duality...the World Soul is depicted as both Christ, or Sophia his female counterpart....divine wisdom.”20 She is the completion, the alchemical Great Work, the culmination of all earthly phases into the elevation of the world into heaven. This is, of course, an esoteric alchemical interpretation, which as we noted did not apply to Tarot until the late 1700s. I hold that Magdalene’s iconographic transition in the Renaissance parallels the exoteric symbolism of the World; but what to make of the occultists’ appropriation of this image in the late 1700s? Farley argues that, “With tarot removed from its original environment, its symbolism lost its previous relevance and context, rendering its imagery mysterious.”21 Institutionalized religion was being questioned at this time; indeed, the first publications by occultists on the Tarot coincide with the French Revolution. While we cannot delve deeply into the Revolution here, suffice it to say that it was characterized by a rejection of Christianity but a preservation of Christian structure. “It had its creeds, liturgies and sacred texts, its own vocabulary of virtues and vices...and the ambition of regenerating mankind itself, even if it denied divine intervention or the afterlife. The result was a series of deified abstractions worshipped through the denatured language and liturgy of Christianity.”22 Much of the Revolution’s tactics was the replacing of old symbols with new ones, but maintaining the same essential religious structure. Similarly, I argue that the occult appropriation of the Tarot was also an appropriation of Christian iconography, in a general sense; esoteric interpretations and the revisions of Tarot symbolism was an attempt to escape Christian doctrine through fabricated ancient lore (Egyptian roots, e.g.) and synthesized connections between the Tarot and old esoteric traditions such as Kabbalah.

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the World card carries several divinatory associations:

Mary Magdalene (Mary of Magdala), the woman with jars in Christian symbolism, could very well in this case be represented in the star map. But their assumptions stopped there. No one had ever imagined that the Tarot itself represents in its entirety the teaching and life of Marie-Madeleine on the one hand and even less that the Tarot was created by Marie-Madeleine herself in the 1st century. This is the entirely new Tarot theory that I have been expounding since the beginning of the second millennium.

If my theory of the Tarot turns out to be correct, it completely changes the vision and the understanding that one could have of the Tarot. It changes the dating of the Tarot which goes from the 14th century to the 1st century AD with Mary Magdalene, the Tarot de Marseille thus becoming the ancestor of all Western tarots, that is to say "the Tarot". Historians and experts said that the Tarot originated in Italy during the Renaissance period around the end of the 14th century the beginning of the 15th century. On the other hand, no one thought that the Tarot de Marseille itself originated from Marseille.

21.THE WORLD—Assured success, recompense, voyage, route, emigration, flight, change of place. Reversed: Inertia, fixity, stagnation, permanence.

The World represents an ending to a cycle of life, a pause in life before the next big cycle beginning with the fool.[3] The figure is male and female, above and below, suspended between the heavens and the earth. It is completeness. It is also said to represent cosmic consciousness; the potential of perfect union with the One Power of the universe.[4] It tells us full happiness is to also give back to the world: sharing what we have learned or gained. As described in the book The New Mythic Tarot by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene (p. 82), the image of the woman (Hermaphroditus in Greek Mythology) is to show wholeness unrelated to sexual identification but rather of combined male and female energy on an inner level, which integrates opposites traits that arise in the personality charged by both energies. Opposite qualities between male and female that create turmoil in our life are joined in this card, and the image of becoming whole is an ideal goal, not something that can be possessed rather than achieved.

According to Robert M. Place in his book The Tarot, the four beasts on the World card represent the fourfold structure of the physical world—which frames the sacred center of the world, a place where the divine can manifest. Sophia, meaning Prudence or Wisdom (the dancing woman in the center), is spirit or the sacred center, the fifth element. Prudence is the fourth of the Cardinal virtues in the tarot. The lady in the center is a symbol of the goal of mystical seekers. In some older decks, this central figure is Christ, whereas in others it is Hermes. Whenever it comes up, this card represents what is truly desired.

In other media

In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders, tarot cards are used to name the character's powers, named 'Stands'. The overarching antagonist of Stardust Crusaders, DIO, has a Stand named The World, named after The World card. This stand has the power to stop time whenever DIO commands it to, and he can move during frozen time. In Steel Ball Run, an alternate version of DIO, Diego Brando, later gains this Stand after being summoned by Funny Valentine.

In the film Cryptozoo, a tarot reading is done with the Waite-Smith Deck that reveals The World card as part of the protagonist's journey.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_(tarot_card)

The relationship between the images of the Tarot de Marseille and the medieval heresy of the Holy Grail. The followers of this heresy claimed that Jesus of Nazareth had married Mary Magdalene. In this work are presented all the symbols of the Tarot in relation to this heresy and, for the first time, it is revealed that these images constitute the secret heritage of Mary Magdalene. that the game was the lost Egyptian book of Thoth, containing the secret mysteries of Egyptian wisdom and magic; following Gebelin, occultists began to syncretize the Tarot with the systems of Kabbalah, Hermeticism and Alchemy. We believe we can place the pinnacle of this appropriation in the Waite-Smith game of 1909 - the most familiar and popular game for the contemporary reader. Later we will look at the effect this has had on Tarot symbolism and its relationship to changes in religious understanding in France and other European countries.The Mandorla that surrounds the naked woman indicates that it is a saint who has reached the beatific state.

The most significant secret Tarot code in "The Mary Magdalene Theory" that I have discovered resides in the last two cards of the Tarot Major Arcana, Judgment and the World. Indeed, by their number, these two cards are naturally placed next to each other. I revealed that the two cards put together give the key to the mystery of the Tarot character that is found in the World card.

Because the identity of this character had remained a mystery for centuries. Almost all Tarot researchers claimed that it was the androgynous Christ, so much so that it had become a real dogma in the Tarot world. Historians could not imagine that it was a woman because of the presence of the four living beings who are attributed to Christ in Christian sacred art. Some had interpreted this mysterious young woman as being the soul of the World, "Anima Mundi". But the Tarot is coded in another way. Tarot codes are embedded in other Tarot codes and so on. Also, if we disregard the four living beings in the World map, we obtain a naked woman surrounded by an almond-shaped oval. This oval called mandorla symbolizes the state of beatific vision. We find the mandorla around some saints. This means that in the Tarot de Marseille, the woman on the World Map is a saint. My "Mary Magdalene theory" continues like this. In the pantheon of Western saints, there is only one saint who is depicted naked, and that is Saint Mary Magdalene. However, Marie de Magdala lived in the vicinity of Marseilles for 30 years. My theory which is unique in the history of the Tarot stipulates that it is Mary Magdalene who is represented in the map of the World and that the Tarot of Marseilles is therefore dedicated to this saint.

fr.camoin.com/tarot/Tarot-Marie-Madeleine-Magdala.html

What is the name of the brightest star?

Sirius, also called Sirius, α Canis Majoris is the brightest star in the night sky visible to the naked eye, with an apparent magnitude of −1.46. In Greek mythology, Orion's hunting dogs are said to have ascended to heaven at the hands of Zeus, taking the form of the star Sirius.,What are the stars called?

they are called bright stars. How the stars are classified? Astronomers classify stars by size and surface temperature. Based on their size, stars can be called supergiants, bright giants, giants, subgiants, dwarfs or normals, and subdwarfs.

Источник: planetariodevitoria.org/estrelas/qual-e-o-nome-das-estrel...

Hebrew Letter: Tave

In this article The World Symbols, I refer to The World card from the Rider Waite Tarot deck, also known as the Waite-Smith, or Rider-Waite-Smith, or Rider tarot deck. The symbolism found on this trump card is primarily drawn from mythology, Christianity, alchemy, astrology. Contents

The World: Key Symbol. Compare The World Tarot Card Symbols with Historical Decks

What Does The Dancer Symbolize in The World Tarot Card? Dancer Purple Sash Red Hairband

Two Wands Crossed Legs Symbolism What is The Meaning of The Laurel Wreath in The World Card?Laurel Wreath Two Red Ribbons Who Are The Four Figures in The World Card and What do They Symbolize? Man Lion Eagle Bull What is The Meaning of The Blue Background? The Rider Waite World card borrows heavily from the Marseille Tarot. Waite himself says, “this final message of the Major Trumps is unchanged – and indeed unchangeable – in respect of its design”. In both instances the naked World dancer moves encased within a victory wreath. The four corners of the card contain tetramorphs, mystical creatures of antiquity and mythology depicting a bull, lion, bird and human face.

The dancer holds dual magical wands, as opposed to The Magician who only holds one. What Does The Dancer Symbolize in The World Tarot Card? Dancer. The dancer symbolizes the fetus waiting to be born again, as the Fool prepares to start over through the procession of the Major Arcana. However, this is no babe starting from scratch, we are presented with a woman at her height of beauty and youth. She signifies the next stage of evolution. Some occultists claim that the figure is a hermaphrodite, because her sexual gender is hidden by the scarf. They say she is the union of male and female, and that sexual identity is no longer relevant or defining. The dancer perfectly integrates aspects of the male and female. Wouldn’t this card be a suitable iconographic image for gender fluidity in todays times! The dancer is both the bride and bridegroom. Purple Sash. The purple sash is the color of divinity and wisdom. It evokes the images of a Catholic priest who puts on a purple stole when offering the sacrament during mass. The sash curves in the figure of eight, suggestive of the cosmic lemniscate or infinity sign.

Red Hairband. The dancer wears a red hairband, which draws fire energy to her head area. It symbolizes that her mind and conscious is active. This is not someone who exists only in the spiritual realm.

Two Wands. The dancer holds two double-sided wands, which represent the polarity powers of involution and evolution. Involution is the decent of God into the soul or consciousness, and evolution is the assent of the soul back to God or the creator. ⭐Wands also appear here: The Magician Symbols

Crossed Legs Symbolism. The dancer crosses her legs in a similar manner to the Hanged Man. However, the triangle he represents is under the cross of the tree, symbolizing he is still bound by earthly things. The dancer is reversed, she forms a triangle pointing upwards, from the tip of her head to her two outstretched hands. Thus the triangle of Spirit now overturns the cross of the material earthly plane. What is The Meaning of The Laurel Wreath in The World Card? Laurel Wreath. The woman is surrounded by a large laurel wreath, traditionally a symbol of success and victory. The implication here, on the Fools Journey, is that there is cause for celebration. This is the end of the road before a new era begins. The wreath forms the shape of a zero, which is the number of The Fool card. The wreath also symbolizes the womb, signaling that the woman is like an embryo waiting to be reborn. The oval shape of the wreath is also used by the Golden Dawn in their Tattva cards. These colorful cards were designed to aid the development of clairvoyance through visual meditation, and one of the symbols in the cards is an oval. The oval corresponds to the Akasha, ether or spiritual realm (see Akashic Records). See Shamanism for more information on Tattva cards. ⭐A laurel wreath also appears here: The Chariot Symbols, Ace of Swords Symbols, Seven of Cups Symbols, Six of Wands Symbols Two Red Ribbons. The red ribbon bindings at the top and bottom of the wreath indicate completion, the circle has been made complete.

It also reminds one of the ancient quote, “as above, so below”. Who Are The Four Figures in The World Card and What do They Symbolize? The four beasts represent the four living figures or hayyot, which are a class of heavenly beings in Jewish mythology. According to both Jewish and Christian tradition, the creatures vary by description. In this card we see the four tetramorph, a lion, man, eagle and bull.

These creatures represent the four seasons, as well as the four elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth. Their presence implies that they are the cornerstones of a balanced life. Man. The blond-haired man represents the astrological sign of Aquarius, winter season and the element Air. Lion. The Lion represents Leo, summer and fire. Eagle. The Eagle represents Scorpio, autumn and water.

Bull. The Bull represents Taurus, spring and earth. What is The Meaning of The Blue Background?

The blue background is the cosmic mind or ‘Universe’ as it has come to be known in the New Age. The dancer is able to manipulate this realm easily with her two wands.

karinastarot.com/world-symbols/

Furthermore, we can locate similar attributes to Magdalene from apocryphal sources as well as the writings of Origen. In the apocryphal Pistis Sophia, Magdalene is the sole recipient of Christ’s gnosis, rather than Peter and the other disciples. Christ says, “Well done, Mary. You are more blessed than all women on earth, because you will be the fullness of fullnesses and the completion of completions.”17Although this apocryphal account could not have been known to people during the Renaissance, it reveals that even within the early Christian communities there was a holiness attributed to Magdalene that transcended all others. Yet the Gnostic contempt for materiality seems to clash with the embrace of dualism during the Renaissance. This dualism can be found in Origen’s writings, however. In his commentary on the Song of Songs, he allegorically reads the bride as the Christian church. The bride anoints her lover with an ointment; Origen connects this with the scriptural account of Mary Magdalene anointing Christ. He interprets the line spoken by the bride, “I am dark but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem” (Song 1:5), as follows: “She has repented of her sins...beauty is the gift conversion has bestowed; that is the reason she is hymned as beautiful. She is called black, however, because she has not yet purged of every stain of sin, she has not yet been washed unto salvation, nevertheless she does not stay dark-hued, she is becoming white.” The dualism of black/evil and white/good is unfortunate, but the connection between the Bride of the Song of Songs and Magdalene reinforces her movement away from sin into penitence, and her positive association with the Church and Christ. The sexual language employed in the Song of Songs has always been difficult for commentators; however we see that when Magdalene is associated with the Bride, the sexuality is compounded with Magdalene’s penitence, in the same way we’ve seen in Renaissance painting.

The portrayals of Magdalene’s assumption into heaven connect us back to the Tarot. Mrs. Jameson observes, dryly, that Italian paintings of Magdalene’s assumption began “to recall the idea of a Venus Meretrix.”19 Let us consider Giovanni Lanfranco’s La maddalenan portata in cielo, (fig. IX) and Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (fig. X). Jameson is quite correct in her observation, despite her negativity towards this shift. In the Lanfranco, Magdalene’s hair barely covers her nude body as she is borne aloft by three putti. She holds out her hands at an angle, and below her is the world’s expanse of mountains, lakes, and forests. It is sexual and chaste, physical and divine. Her figure is very much the Platonic divine love, the ideal Venus. In some of the Assumptions, she is al

Deryn and I had a late flight so needed to kill a few hours in the morning. We walked up from Dulwich and entered what must be one of the strangest museums. The Horniman houses an eclectic collection of objects with no real theme holding them together. Preserved bugs and butterflies are within reach of voodoo shrines, musical instruments and Hindu and Buddhist figurines. The history of how the museum came into being, below, perhaps explains this mix.

Still it’s much loved and still attracts attendees and during our visit hundreds of tiny kids lining up for the dinosaur exhibition. It also proved a rich seam for amateur photographers! As my photography collection too lacks a theme I had no restrictions in capturing some these treasures.

“Frederick John Horniman, Victorian tea trader and philanthropist, began collecting objects, specimens and artefacts 'illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world' from around 1860. His overarching mission was to 'bring the world to Forest Hill' and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which 'either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands'. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.

By the late nineteenth century, these 'natural, industrial and artistic spoils had accumulated to such an extent that he gave up the whole house to the collections'.

His wife is reported to have said 'either the collection goes or we do'. With that, the family moved to Surrey Mount.”

www.horniman.ac.uk/about/museum-history

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

„Once Upon A Time“ there was a collab scheduled for display at „Steinewahn“ in Berlin…

This was my main contribution: a big „Grimm‘s“ illustrated book of fairytales.

My general aim was to build a microscale landscape with forced perspective, fitting as many popular fairytales in there as possible.

How many can you spot?

Stay tuned to see how this book fits within the overarching storyline of the collab.

January 17th 2014

“Sehnsucht (noun): translated as "longing", "yearning", or "craving"

Sehnsucht represents thoughts and feelings about all facets of life that are unfinished or imperfect, paired with a yearning for ideal alternative experiences. The majority of people who experience it are not conscious of what or who the longed for object may be, and the longing is of such profundity and intensity that the subject may immediately be only aware of the emotion itself and not cognizant that there is a something longed for.

Psychologists have worked to capture the essence of Sehnsucht by identifying its six core characteristics: “(a) Utopian conceptions of ideal development; (b) sense of incompleteness and imperfection of life; (c) conjoint time focus on the past, present, and future; (d) ambivalent (bittersweet) emotions; (e) reflection and evaluation of one's life; and (f) symbolic richness.”

Some researchers posit that Sehnsucht has a developmental function that involves life management. By imagining overarching and possibly unachievable goals, individuals may be able to create direction in their life by developing more tangible goals, or “stepping stones” that will aide them on their path toward their ideal self.

Sehnsucht is reported as more related to the past and future, and therefore emotionally ambiguous.”

All of our stories are unfinished, works in progress. We all have goals, things we’re looking 1forward to, heights we hope to reach.

This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

Caney Junction, Moss, Meade Fork, Governor George Allen, and “LENOWISCO Unfair to Local Landowners”—Life in Southwest Virginia

The demand for coal during World War II was intense, and no one knew with any certainty when the war would end, or how it would turn out. The Clinchfield Coal Company determined the most economically recoverable coal deposits on the south side of Sandy Ridge, in Dickenson County, Va., were nearing depletion. The unaffiliated coal producer advised the Clinchfield Railroad of its desire to mine what was known as the Clintwood coal reserves. It would require a branch off the CRR main through demanding terrain. Location studies were initiated in 1943 and completed in 1944. The 14.6-mile line from a junction just south of Fremont to the proposed tipple site at Moss required a “ramp” from the mainline junction (to be named “Caney”) blasted from the side of the mountain to gain sufficient elevation to turn west into 2250-foot Bear Pen Gap Tunnel.

As all this unfolded, the Clinchfield Coal Company was acquired by the Pittston Company, which itself was controlled by the Allegheny Corporation—the overarching financial giant that controlled the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. The C&O filed a petition of intervention to the Clinchfield’s line, arguing it was better positioned to serve the new production area. Chessie’s Road wanted to build a line out of Jenkins, Ky. (on its Sandy Valley & Elkhorn Extension) to reach a proposed tipple site on the western side of what is today known colloquially as “Red Onion Mountain.” The name came from an old country store and bootleg “joint” at the top of the ridge---an appropriate choice since the Commonwealth of Virginia later built Red Onion Prison not far away. The “supermax” facility houses the “worst of the worst” in Virginia’s penal network and was opened in 1998. Of the 800 inmates housed there, there are indeed some notorious characters. Red Onion is the home of surviving "Beltway sniper" Lee Boyd Malvo. A portion the off-site infrastructure planning and construction fell into LENOWISCO’s lap during this period, so I spent a lot of time working with officials in the towns of Pound and Clintwood, and Dickenson and Wise Counties on the provision of access roads, water, and wastewater services. As it turned out, the only feasible way to provide sewer service was through a line down McFall Branch on the west side of the mountain to an expanded sewage plant in Pound. Much of the line was built on the former C&O right of way. The construction of the line was not without some local bellyaching and controversy, as some of the greedier landowners along the route expected their palms to be greased with generous “giverment” money for easements. During this project, I spent an inordinate amount of my professional work time dealing with these constant brushfires. One of our employees was threatened by a local landowner (who didn’t even live there!), so I had to step in (with legal help) to put a stop to such stuff. The sewer line to Red Onion Prison did not rate high in my list of “favorite” projects. When then-governor George Allen visited the construction site, he was driven there over the very road where we were trying to secure the easements. Some local morons (of which there were many) had erected signs along the way---like the old Burma Shave signs once familiar along the country’s many pre-Interstate highways. One sequence of signs read (in order): “LENOWISCO Unfair to Local Landowners,” “Millions for Others, Nothing for Us,” “Where’s OUR Money?,” and “God Bless America—and Welcome Governor Allen.” Not surprisingly, as soon as I rolled up to the site where site prep on the prison was underway, a staffer came over to the car. “Mr. Flanary—the Governor wants to talk with you.” To his credit, once I explained, Allen had a good laugh, patted me on the shoulder, and told me we were doing a great job. I sincerely appreciated the boost. The sewer line was completed on time and within budget, and I checked that one off my “to do” list.

So, getting back to the railroad part of the story---In a surprise ruling, the ICC granted rights to both the Clinchfield and C&O to build their respective branches. Construction finally began on the Clinchfield’s line in January 1946 with the first load of coal loaded at Moss (by a high-lift loader, as the tipple wasn’t yet finished) the following June. The line cost the railroad $2.6 million, but it would pay for itself many times over during its years of regular operation. In the 70s, for example, the Fremont Branch (as it was named) required the services of two “Moss Turns” every working day. Moss also had a coal prep plant, so as lesser quality seams were mined, loads ran in both directions on the branch. Raw coal from other Clinchfield-served mines were pulled to Moss to be processed with coal being fed directly to the plant, with the returning runs bringing the clean coal back to the main at Caney.

The C&O also experienced delays in building an ambitious rail line out of Jenkins to a tipple at “Meade.” The branch required a long tunnel under Pine Mountain (not to mention a switchback just to start the assault out of Jenkins), then a coiling descent to the Pound River and McFall Branch to reach the mine site. This ill-advised adventure cost the C&O $3 million and would turn out to be an enormous mistake. The tunnel under Pine Mountain had to go through a mixture of limestone, sandstone, shale, conglomerate, coal, loose earth, mud and gas (methane) pockets. The bore had to be lined with a thick wall of concrete reinforced with heavy structural beams. Even with more modern construction technology and materials, progress on some days could only be measured in inches. The tipple at Meade Fork didn’t last long, however, as it was more economical to build an underground shaft from there to the large tipple and prep plant at Moss. Except for some truck mines loading at Pound, Va., there wasn’t much left for the C&O to pull from its Meade Fork Extension. The compound 2-6-6-2s that worked the line (same class as former C&O 1309 running out of Cumberland, Maryland today) were replaced by GP7s and GP9s, but the trips from Jenkins through Pine Mountain became rare by the late 50s and early 60s. To no one’s surprise, the ICC soon allowed the C&O to abandon the line. The tunnel under Pine Mountain soon was impassable because of cave ins, so both portals were sealed.

When I photographed CSX Extra 7880 South approaching the junction at Caney on August 12, 1994, most of the coal activity on the branch was over. Given the date, I might have been in the area dealing with the prison sewer issue. A chip loading operation near the old Moss site kept the line open a little longer, with the woodchips headed to the large papermill in Kingsport, Tennessee. As that plant cut back production with ownership changes, the Fremont Branch fell into complete disuse. It’s still in place, however, as hope springs eternal that its services might be needed yet again one day. There are still many recoverable metallurgical coal reserves within reach of the line.

Color Tales

6/17

The project should deal with colors and their effect on well-being, feelings, expression and thus on human psychology. When I realized that there was so much more to tell through this project, I began to develop it into an overarching concept. The language of images should not only shed light on the linear theories of the psychological effects of colors. The pictures with the help of the language of colors should tell a story, describe a situation, let thoughts wander into the future or the past, inspire our fantasies.

I used milk, acrylic paint, liquid soap and oil to create this amazing arts.

Every picture tells a story, but I desided not to explane the story behinde each one, but invite you to give your own meaning and your own feelings when you look at the picture. I belive that makes more fun:)

Enjoi it and I hope you’ll like it.

PS: have a good time and take care!

The ELA-4 launch zone at Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana is currently undergoing reconstruction in preparation for Europe’s Ariane 6 launch vehicle.

In this image you see both the launch pad and, in the background, the steel frame of the mobile gantry.

ESA and European industry are currently developing a new-generation launcher: Ariane 6. This follows the decision taken at the ESA Council meeting at Ministerial level in December 2014, to maintain Europe’s leadership in the fast-changing commercial launch service market while responding to the needs of European institutional missions.

The overarching aim of Ariane 6 is to provide guaranteed access to space for Europe at a competitive price without requiring public sector support for exploitation.

The targeted payload performance of Ariane 6 is over 4.5 t for polar/Sun-synchronous orbit missions at 800 km altitude and the injection of two first-generation Galileo satellites. Ariane 6 can loft a payload mass of 4.5–10.5 tonnes in equivalent geostationary transfer orbit.

The exploitation cost of the Ariane 6 launch system is its key driver. Launch service costs will be halved, while maintaining reliability by reusing the trusted engines of Ariane 5. The first flight is scheduled for 2020.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja

Visit to RSPB Coombes Valley

Bradnop, Leek, Staffordshire, England

Mucial Instrument Collection, Horniman Museum.

Deryn and I had a late flight so needed to kill a few hours in the morning. We walked up from Dulwich and entered what must be one of the strangest museums. The Horniman houses an eclectic collection of objects with no real theme holding them together. Preserved bugs and butterflies are within reach of voodoo shrines, musical instruments and Hindu and Buddhist figurines. The history of how the museum came into being, below, perhaps explains this mix.

Still it’s much loved and still attracts attendees and during our visit hundreds of tiny kids lining up for the dinosaur exhibition. It also proved a rich seam for amateur photographers! As my photography collection too lacks a theme I had no restrictions in capturing some these treasures.

“Frederick John Horniman, Victorian tea trader and philanthropist, began collecting objects, specimens and artefacts 'illustrating natural history and the arts and handicrafts of various peoples of the world' from around 1860. His overarching mission was to 'bring the world to Forest Hill' and educate and enrich the lives of the local community.

His travels took him to far flung destinations such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Burma, China, Japan, Canada and the United States collecting objects which 'either appealed to his own fancy or that seemed to him likely to interest and inform those who had not had the opportunity to visit distant lands'. Mr Horniman’s interest as a collector was well known and many travellers approached him with specimens and curiosities.

By the late nineteenth century, these 'natural, industrial and artistic spoils had accumulated to such an extent that he gave up the whole house to the collections'.

His wife is reported to have said 'either the collection goes or we do'. With that, the family moved to Surrey Mount.”

www.horniman.ac.uk/about/museum-history

There's much more to explore within Frogner Park's Vigeland Sculpture Park than just The Monolith. While The Monolith rightfully commands attention, the park boasts a plethora of other sculptures waiting to be discovered. These artworks portray individuals caught in diverse poses and emotions, each piece meticulously detailed and expressively crafted, almost as if they could come to life. A distinctive hallmark of these sculptures is their nudity. Vigeland's aim was to create sculptures that convey the universal human experience in its most authentic and vulnerable form. He believed that by depicting human figures without clothing, he could capture the essence of human emotions, relationships, and experiences, all free from the distractions posed by clothing and societal roles. Vigeland devoted years to sculpting these works, and his overarching vision took shape between the late 1920s and early 1940s –Vigeland Sculpture Park, Frogner Park, Oslo, Norway.

Nimbin. Population 450.

Nimbin was a special place for the Bundjalung Aboriginal people as it was believed to be the home of sacred mystical small men who were the spiritual custodians of the mountains. The word meant “home to the little man”. When white pastoralists came the district became part of the Lismore station held by William Wilson – hence the naming

of the Wilson River. He held the lease until 1880 when the government sent surveyors in to survey virgin rainforest. The first white family arrived in 1882 followed by many more in 1883. Their first task was to clear land for a few pigs, cattle and vegetables. The Red Cedar and Hoop Pine were felled and then rolled into the Wilson River and floated down to the saw mills in Lismore. It was a tough life in this district. In 1903 one local block holder H Thornburn subdivided part of his property to create the village of Nimbin. Thornburn donated one block for a School of Arts (built 1904) and another for a Presbyterian Church. The first official school opened in 1906. The town grew quickly with a hotel, bakery, butchery, café, store, bank agency, Post Office and saw mill starting up within the first couple of years. The big boost to the town was the opening of a butter factory in 1908. Then the public buildings followed with Anglican and Presbyterian churches in 1909. A Methodist church followed in 1913 and a Catholic Church and school in 1918. A new Post Officer was built in 1914. The bank of N.S.W opened their first wooden bank in 1909 but this burnt down. The bank built a distinctive Art Deco wooden bank in 1919 and an E. S & A bank opened in 1922. The Freemason’s Hotel was erected in 1926 (it is now the Nimbin Hotel) and a wooden Masonic Lodge was erected in 1937. A Police Station was not built until 1934 but a police officer was stationed in the town from 1917. The main stays of the town economy were saw milling and butter production but apart from cattle, local farmers grew bananas, peas, beans and passionfruit. The Nimbin Dairy Cooperative amalgamated with Norco dairy in 1921. The factory closed in 1961 as cream could be fast trucked to Lismore.

The fortunes and direction of the town changed in 1973 when the Aquarius Foundation of the Australian Union of Students from Sydney University got permission to hold a bi-annual arts festival in Nimbin. The Aquarians opposed the War in Vietnam and wanted a freer and more humane world with peace, love and happiness. A Rainbow Café opened on the work site being prepared for the influx of a possible 5,000 university students. Volunteers did the work and artists came to prepare. The festival in May was successful and about 100 people stayed on to run the Rainbow Café, do their art and prepare for another festival. Several groups emerged to buy properties for cooperatives and the attraction of rural living and rainforest living blossomed amongst former city people. The hippy new comers built makeshift houses, prepared home crafts, and cared about environmental responsibility, communal living and loving, and in some cases, mind altering drugs. But life was not altogether free and each commune had its own rules which had to be obeyed as well as local and state laws. When the Lismore Council ordered illegal houses to be demolished the Nimbinites formed the district Homebuilders Association to fight the Council. In the end the Homebuilders won the right for multiple residences on one property. Then in 1979 a bigger opponent emerged – logging in the rainforests at Terania Creek. Conservation made national headlines, action groups were formed and the NSW government created new national parks like nearby Nightcap and reduced forest logging. Economically the new cooperatives promoted growth of Nimbin too. The Bush Co-Op began as a community organisation but it soon had food storage and wholesale distribution arms, mechanical, metal and woodworking shops, a media group and graphic art studios, theatre troupe and general design. At the same time independent artists, writers and musicians lived and worked in the town. Commercialism crept back into the new hippy world with markets, galleries and more festivals. But the overarching principles of living and caring for others and protecting the environment and living sustainably continued. Diversity was the key and new spiritual groups found a home at Nimbin too from Thai Buddhist groups to Indian Hindu philosophical ashrams to “born again” Christian groups. Not surprisingly Nimbin has an annual Mardi Grass and a world naked Bike Ride celebration amongst its annual festivals!

Just outside of Nimbin turn right into Stony Chute Road to see some granite boulders which are sacred place to the Bundjalung people and heritage listed. The lowest rock is called the cathedral, whilst the top level of rock is called the castle. The highest peak is named Lady Cunningham’s Needle. These granite dykes are evidence of old volcanic activity the basis of the rich fertile soils of the district.

This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

Many of the Metro stations in Washington DC were designed by Chicago architect Harry Weese and are examples of late-20th century modern architecture. With their heavy use of exposed concrete and repetitive design motifs, Metro stations display aspects of brutalist design. The stations also reflect the influence of Washington's neoclassical architecture in their overarching coffered ceiling vaults. Weese worked with Cambridge, Massachusetts-based lighting designer Bill Lam for the indirect lighting used throughout the system. All of Metro's original Brutalist stations are found in Downtown Washington, D.C. and neighboring urban corridors of Arlington, Virginia, with newer stations incorporating more cost-efficient designs. While this architecture is very original and distinctive looking, it's also quite cold and unfriendly. This sort of look gives me the impression of a very bleak, oppressive and totalitarian society.

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This moc was built for the second round of the 2017 bio-cup. The overarching theme was historical and my sub theme was western.

Poem.

Quintessentially Scotland, wrapped in a burnt amber autumnal cloak.

Lochan islet overarched by the noble, native Scots Pine.

Rosehips, gorse and sapling silver birch frame a breathless stillness and combine to form the archetypal landscape of Caledonia.

A perfect moment of utter calm where time ceases and beauty overwhelms.

How rare.

How special.

How therapeutic

to mind, body and soul.

Dear friends,

The past year has been really bumpy for me in a lot of ways. I’ve grappled with emotional dependency, depression, anxiety, and more. One good thing that has come about over the past year, albeit with some challenges of its own along the way, is thinking critically about my gender identity, which has led to some big realizations.

For a long time I have related really well to my female peers and have felt deeply invested in their personal struggles. Many of the fictional characters I was most inspired by as well as characters I was most interested in creating in my own art also tended to be girls and women. Meanwhile my feelings about my own more masculine traits have ranged from apathy to frustration — the closest I could generally come to pride in my appearance was a vague, dubious sense that other people might like or respect me more as an adult if my appearance and presentation were sufficiently “manly”. I was never quite satisfied with the way I presented myself in selfies and self-portraits and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why.

As a teenager, I would frequently try and visualize what it would be like to be a girl, sometimes in my head, sometimes with the aid of drawings or with software like the Yahoo Messenger avatar creator, and sometimes just by assuming feminine poses in the mirror when I was certain of my privacy. I didn’t really think too deeply about my motivations, though. Wasn’t all this curiosity just a quirky, introverted teenage way of coming to terms with my attraction to the female body? Come to find out, probably not!

In early March I finally opened up to myself about the possibility (or rather, near certainty) that I might be transgender. By this point I had a lot of transgender friends in the LEGO community, and their experiences spoke to me on a personal level. I’d also had over a decade to move beyond the narrow-minded thinking that my after-school Catholic youth group lessons had tried to instill in me. And as soon as I started thinking about my feelings and experiences in the context of being a transgender girl, all these disconnected bits and pieces suddenly made complete sense within my life’s overarching narrative. It’s been extremely liberating to be honest with myself and with some of the people closest to me, whose support and encouragement has been invaluable.

From here on out, you can call me Skye. I’m 27 years old and only just beginning the journey of loving myself for the sensitive, bright, and beautiful woman I am. I ask you to please be supportive of me as I engage with this process of self-reflection and discovery. It’ll be intimidating for me sometimes — even with as much social progress as there’s been as of late, the world is still a scary place for a woman. It’s also going to be a lengthy learning experience. It’s one thing to hear about how confusing things like women’s clothing sizes or prices can be; it’s another thing entirely to have to make sense of that confusion! But with all these big steps comes a long-overdue sense of pride and confidence in who I am, not just what I can do. I hope I can make all of you proud as well!

With love,

Skye 💖💛💖

Oooooooh boy it’s finally here. We’ve been waiting decades for this film to be release and now Justice League is finally in theaters! The DCEU has probably become the most controversial piece of pop culture ever since Man of Steel hit theaters. I for one this the DCEU is technically 3/5. I loved Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and the Ultimate Edition of Batman v Superman. Suicide Squad and the theatrical cut of Batman v Superman are pretty mediocre. So DC films is still on my good side, but to have a film that’s introducing characters like Aquaman and Flash, who are my two favorites, to this universe, there was no way this film wasn’t going to not be my most anticipated film of the year. The trailers were amazing, but the drama behind the scenes of this movie were some I’ve never seen before! I’m not going to get into it because I’d be here all day, so if you don’t know about it, go find it somewhere else. I saw this movie yesterday, and I’m finally ready to share my thoughts on it. Was Justice League the step in the right direction for DC like Wonder Woman, or is this the nail in the coffin for the DCEU (even though Aquaman, Shazam, and Wonder Woman 2 are deep into production but whatever)? Also, I want to start with the bad because I think it’ll fit with the overall thoughts on the film, so let’s check it out!

Bad: Jesus Christ, the Warner Bros Executives are at it again. There was a mandate that this film had to be under 2 hours and that’s honestly the worst part of this movie for me, the film’s too short and the pacing is so odd! We don’t get enough time to develop certain characters, and most of the drama is devalued because it’s just gets cut to something else. There’s a lot of unnecessary scenes in this movie, and what’s worse is, they use these unnecessary scenes to take away time that could’ve given more screen time to heroes like Aquaman, who has the least amount to do in this movie which is super disappointing! Aquaman was so disappointing in this film, Jason Momoa does a great performance with the character, but there was not enough of him in the movie! Good thing his solo movie is the next to come out because he’s good, but he barely does anything. Anyways, there’s like a tiny subplot with a family, and they keep cutting to them throughout the movie so we don’t forget them when this one joke happens. Granted it’s a good joke, but that’s the only reason why this family is in the movie! Movie’s that are primarily an ensemble piece need it’s own time to flesh out how these characters interact with each other, but to have a limit to how much time they can interact and have this overarching plot going on too. The pacing in the first act is so rocky, we’re jumping around from all these different places and none of it flows well. This is a movie that I would die to have a director’s cut of, I think it would benefit just as much as Batman v Superman did. Besides this problem, every other negative is not as big of a deal to me. Some CGI is bad yes, but it’s not as bad as everyone’s saying it is. Steppenwolf and Superman’s upper lip are problems, but everything else seemed pretty good to me. It’s definitely not as bad as the Norway scenes in Thor: Ragnarok. Speaking of Steppenwolf, I’m actually kind of glad that this movie used a character like him as a “sacrificial lamb” to boost the heroes. I’m glad they didn’t waste Darkseid because like the Marvel movies, this movie totally shits on the villain to make the heroes awesome, which I’m 100% okay with because the heroes are amazing in this movie. Speaking of the heroes…

Good: The absolute best part of Justice League is the league itself. Every character is absolutely amazing in this movie, and that’s why I think Justice League truly succeeds. I’ll breakdown each character and why I love them so much. To start off, I’ll talk about Superman. Don’t worry, I won’t spoil anything but all I’m going to say is that THIS is the Superman the world wanted and, to be quite honest, needs right now. He was my favorite character in the movie, but as I said before, I’m won’t spoil why. The next character I liked was Cyborg. I was so iffy with Cyborg’s inclusion before I saw this film due to his design and that better characters could’ve taken this place. What I’ll say is Cyborg is very important to the plot and his CGI and design didn’t bother me once I saw it in action in the movie. Ray Fisher does an incredible performance as Cyborg and overall was such a welcomed surprise of the film for me. Next up is the Flash. Now I gotta say that I still prefer Grant Gustin’s Flash over this one, because this Flash does not act like Barry Allen, he acts as if he’s Wally West. I honestly believe they should’ve called this this Flash Wally West in the movie, because this Flash is really funny, but Barry Allen isn’t really a jokester in the comics. Next up is Wonder Woman. Not much is to be said about her because she’s just as good as she was in her movie, so if you’re going into this movie for Wonder Woman, you’ll like it. Next up is Batman, who is very different from how he was in Batman v Superman. Now I gotta be honest, I prefer the performance that Affleck gives in BvS, but this performance does feel the most Conroy-like than any other Batman. This Batman was a little too jokey for my liking, but I thought he was fine. Finally is Aquaman. Like I said before, Aquaman is awesome in this movie, but he barely does anything! You’ve basically seen everything cool he does in the trailers, which really sucks since he’s my second favorite superhero. Now the second best thing of this movie is the third act. If the entire movie was like the third act of this movie, it would be one of my favorite movies of all time. I swear, the third act is like 11/10, especially the last 30 minutes. It really gave me hope that the DCEU is finally over the hump of building a cinematic universe that films like the Amazing Spider-Man and the Dark Universe franchises failed and gave up on. I really hope that now since DC universe is finally established and perfect, that the studio executives will just let their directors do whatever they want in this universe.

Overall, Justice League is an incredible ensemble piece with some major pacing flaws. I went into this movie looking for these iconic characters to interact with each other and a reason as to why I should continue support the DCEU, and I believe it succeeded. It’s not my favorite movie, and definitely not one of my favorite comicbook movies, but it gives me hope that their future movies will be some of my favorite comicbook movies. I cannot wait for Aquaman, Wonder Woman 2, Flashpoint, and The Batman. I NEED a Man of Steel 2 now after seeing this movie, that’s a #1 priority for me. Justice League is a solid film that could really use and extended cut, but I got what I wanted going in, so I’m going to give Justice League a 8.75/10. If you’ve seen Justice League, let me know what you thought in the comments below!

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“There is never a single, orthodox version of a myth. As our circumstances change, we need to tell our stories differently in order to bring out their timeless truth. In this short history of mythology, we shall see that every time men and women took a major step forward, they reviewed their mythology and made it speak to the new conditions. But we shall also see that human nature does not change much, and that many of these myths, devised in societies that could not be more different from our own, still address our most essential fears and desires.”

— “What is a Myth?”

A Short History of Myth, Karen Armstrong

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The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats

The other popular fairy tale it is similar to is The Goat and Her Three Kids. This is a Romanian literary fairy tale that was written several decades after the brothers Grimm passed away. Instead of seven, there are three kids. The oldest is hardheaded and outspoken and is the first to die, the youngest is quiet and obedient and is spared. There was some squabbling in youtube comments over which is the “true” version of the fairy tale and while the Grimm tale does predate it I’m not even sure that can provide a satisfactory answer. Most fairy tales have bits and pieces scattered back so far and so wide that finding an original anything is often literally impossible. Wolves or other monsters eating children or stones or even being turned into stone are common motifs, as are kids of various species and ages being warned against wolves and their tricks, and parents attempting to protect their young with knowledge and songs and wisdom and wile. These all are to be found in every culture in one form or another. It is an overarching theme of familial protection and instinct, protect the young ones from death, that we all share regardless of era or language. It is in everyone’s fairy tales if you look enough.

Brothers Grimm

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