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the bulldozing of the abandoned houses and other buildings at the Halloran Summit (N) exit off of the I15, February 27th 2019.
An Egyptian court sentenced to death nearly 530 suspected backers of ousted President Morsi over a deadly attack on a police station. It was the largest single batch of death sentences in the world in recent years. © Eric Lafforgue
At the old cemetery Freiburg you`ll find a huge Jesus cross near the St. Michael`s chapel. On the bottom of the cross there is a skull with a frog coming out of the right cheek. Through the other cheek bone there`s a nail.
There is an old legend which says the skull reminds of an old smith who lived happily together with his young wife. At least until the moment when another smith started working in the same place. His wife fell in love with him and thought up a murder plan together with the new guy. While her old man was sleeping they hit a nail into his head which injured him but didn`t leave any trace. The murdered man was buried and his wife married the new guy.
Years later when the cemetery had to be restacked because there wasn`t enough space anymore his body was digged out. A toad crawled out of his skull and turned the skull to the side. Then the grave-diggers found the nail in his skull. The both lovers were sentenced to death and executed.
Three sentences, only one instance of 'fucking' removed. That could be a record for an Al Swearengen quote.
I climbed Mt. Defiance last week.
Yeah, we're just going to let that sentence stand alone, because it was a fairly big deal for me. I've had Mt. Defiance on my bucket list for the past several years. After working in progressively harder and steeper hikes this year, my goal was to complete Defiance before going to Ireland, as I knew it would be an excellent training exercise for the hiking I'd be doing there (in particular for summiting Carrauntoohil, the highest peak in Ireland).
But then the sprained ankle incident happened, and I was forced to rest for two weeks prior to Ireland. Upon returning, Defiance was top on my list of things to get done this fall, before the weather turned dark and rainy, and before my endurance waned significantly.
So I set out from the Starvation Creek Trailhead last Thursday around 10 am (which turned out to be entirely too late) and started climbing. And huffing. And puffing. The saving grace was the beauty of the day - a clear, cool fall one, with autumn's colors springing up everywhere in the woods. I remember cresting one ridge and hiking into the start of a beautiful green and gold forest, a place where the unrelenting steepness of the tail evened out a bit... but not for long. That forest turned into the bane of my existence as it soon switched from a gentle grade to a quad-quivering, calf-cramping assault. The climb through that forest was as tough as the last third of a Mt. St. Helens ascent - as with Helens, I was forced to rest for ten seconds after every 80 feet or so of hiking. It was ridiculous. At one point, thinking I had to be close to four (out of about 5.5) miles, I stopped to lean against a tree and catch my breath. Looking over to the other side of the trail, my gaze happened upon a metal plate that had been secured to a tree trunk there. And on the plate, the number "3".
Really? Only three miles? I was admittedly a bit devastated by that. I sat down in a spot of sunlight, in that rather creepy, endless and dark forest (most of the hike was a bit dim, as the sun stayed to the south side of the mountain, while I climbed the north), had part of my sandwich, another granola bar, and after a few minutes of contemplation decided to just get on with it.
So up I went. The forest eventually ended and I emerged finally into the open. The radio tower atop Defiance could be seen from there, and was a welcome sight. Also noted, in the opposite direction, was Dog Mountain... but I did a double-take, because Dog Mountain looked absolutely puny from that height. Jaw-droppingly puny.
It didn't take long from there to summit. The way back was nearly as brutal (my knees are very grateful for trekking poles and Ibuprofen), and unfortunately I had to push faster than I would have liked, because I was quickly running out of daylight (and had stupidly forgotten a flashlight). The last 0.4 miles of trail (very steep trail at that) were done in the near-dark, but without incident.
To put the climb into a bit more perspective, Mt. Defiance gains 5,000 feet during that hike. By comparison, the highest peak in Ireland gains less than 3,500. Dog Mountain is about 2,800 feet (so it's like climbing Dog Mountain, twice) and even the Mt. St. Helens climb is less at 4,500 feet of elevation gained. People looking to climb Mt. Hood use Defiance as a training hike. That's crazy. Just crazy.
But then again, pretty much anything is possible if you're just able to put one foot in front of the other, over and over again.
This image was taken during a very brief break on the way back down. The forest was exploding with color, but I sadly only had time to make a few images, due to the time crunch. I'd like to make it back up to this ridge trail soon.
Lex Luthor is laughing despite himself. It’s such a simple, small victory, that it should hold no meaning. In the grand scheme of things achieved by the brilliance of Lex Luthor, escaping this shoddy excuse for a prison sentence was akin to removing lint from his pockets. However, his failures had begun to slowly outweigh his successes, so at this point, he’d begun to take anything he could get.
And if all he could get was shattering his own explosive leash with a hastily cobbled-together sonic device, escaping via built-in rocket packs stored in his boots, and annihilating the four simpletons that surrounded him now, then that would have to do just fine for now.
Without any further gloating, Lex Luthor began to run.
Deadshot: Dammit. Boomer, with me. You two try and figure out how to shut this thing off.
Angle-man: What?! No way, we’re going with you. This thing blows, I don’t wanna be anywhere near it!
Deadshot grabs him and slams him against the wall.
Deadshot: This thing goes, it takes out the entire city block. Normally I wouldn’t care, but the boss does. Bomb takes out the block: She takes out you.
He shoves him away and takes off down the corridor,
Boomerang in tow. Angle-man tries, desperately and futilely, to cast a wave of teleportation energy over the machine, only to watch it dissipate like steam in the air.
Angle-Man: Well come on, come on! Use your sound powers to . . . I dunno, shatter that thing to pieces!
Sonar: I do not believe that to be wise.
Angle-Man, sweating: W-why not!
Sonar: Because, If we were try to and dismantle this machine,
there is a chance we will cause it to explode prematurely. This aside, I believe I have done enough.
Angle-Man: Done enough?! Then goddamnit we’re screwed! We’re absolutely screwed. We may as well have Waller blow our heads off now and spare us the pain.
Out of frustration, Angle-Man kicks the nearest corpse. That of the android Luthor had inspected earlier. A small device falls from the breast pocket of its uniform and clatters across the floor.
Angle-man: H-hey hold on, what’s this thing?
He lifts it to meet his gaze. It’s rectangular, and made of a material he doesn’t recognize. It’s warm in his hand, and glows slightly. In the corner, the ivory box glows too.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Luthor, chuckling to himself, floats as rapidly as his little jet boots can take him. His hands clasp behind his back. He resists the urge to devolve into a full-on evil laugh. Too gauche, he thinks.
Twenty steps behind him, his would-be killers close in fast. Luthor knows they pose no real threat to him. Normally he’d incinerate them, but, he thinks, he must conserve battery. It’s a long flight from Hub City to Metropolis.
Besides, they’re more likely to kill each other, first.
Boomerang: Y’know, I did kinda mean what I said back there, ‘bout leadin’ an’ all.
Deadshot says nothing. He merely switches his scope to infra-red as the light gets dimmer.
Boomerang: I mean, I’m not a complete incompetent! I was a secret agent back in Ole Oz y’know.
Deadshot scoffs despite himself.
Boomerang: It’s true, mate! Besides, why would ole Waller hire us both, if she’s just gonna put you in charge of every mission, eh? I should get me own chance to shine.
Deadshot: Well, next time The Wall needs her groceries bought, I’ll put in a good word for you.
Boomerang: Har Har. Real bleeding clever.
Deadshot stops and listens for a second. He fires one shot into the darkness, the sound of its ricochet rings out through a catacombs and stops with an abrupt fizzing sound.
Deadshot: We’re gaining.
Boomerang, striding forward: Well come one then!
Deadshot: . . . You’re still not leading.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Angle-Man, understandably, is sweating bullets. He holds aloft the tiny, glowing rectangle in his three-fingered hand. Then it hits him.
Angle-Man: It’s a remote! Wladon, it’s a remote!
Sonar, gesturing towards the device: Well, utilize it!
Angle-Man slams his finger down on one of the buttons to no avail. The machine begins to vibrate. The ground begins to shake and pulse. Like the bricks from the walls, Sonar and Angle-Man hit the ground hard, laying among the corpses. A glow, like that of the rectangle, catches his eye.
Angle-Man: Here! Wladon here, look at this!
Sonar takes the box in his own hands.
Sonar: Splendid, splendid! Its seems as though the energy signatures match. This supposed remote was not for the machine at all, but for this ornate package.
Sonar sets it on the ground in front of the machine and steps back.
Sonar: Well?
Angle-man: Well what!
Sonar: If you wish for our accord to be fulfilled we must make it out of this alive! Do something with the box!
Angle-Man yelps and frantically hits every button he can on the device. A different humming; deeper, more resonant begins to sound through the chamber. There is a crack of thunder and light as the box splits open, and before either man can react, it swallows the Machine in one thunderous belch.
Somewhere, thousands of lightyears away, an Apokaliptan machine collides with an already-dying star, and implodes, scattering fire and stardust across the cosmos. This blue little planet doesn’t even notice.
Sonar takes a deep breath: How a man of your ilk came into
possession of a power such as yours I shall never comprehend.
Angle-Man, shaking with adrenaline, slumps down against the wall.
Angle-Man: I s-stole it.
Sonar, exiting the room: Ah. How drearily comprehendible after all.
--------------------------------------------------------
Up ahead, a spot of light. A draft of fresh air. Luthor grins heartily. At last, he thinks, sunlight. Freedom. Soon he’ll be in one of his many safehouses. A place to rest. To clean himself. And more importantly; to work. ‘City of Fear’ was just the beginning. His future holds even greater plans.
Luthor stands out in the sun and breathes in the fresh, clear air. He gauges his surroundings, and determines he’s about an hour’s travel from his nearest safehouse. Unpleasant, but acceptable. He can hear the Killer and the Moron approaching steadily. He waits for them to fully emerge from the drainage tunnel. Uncharacteristically, he flips them off. Blames them for it. The scum’s habits wear off on a man. Then he clicks his heels together, and rockets upwards.
Boomerang: Strewth! Ah bleeding hell, The Wall’s gonna have our heads for this.
Deadshot: Boss, bird’s flown.
Waller: I know. Wait for it.
Deadshot: . . . Alright.
Luthor, airborne, realizes his personal shield has gone down. For the best, he thinks, preserves power. Then, he realizes, there’s something wrong with his onboard computer. Every single letter, every single key and number, every last symbol, has turned into an exclamation point.
In a park in Louisiana, Michael Patten’s phone vibrates. He removes it from his pocket and smiles broadly.
Waller, over Lex’s comms: Hello, Lex. I’d say, ‘I’m sure you’re confused right now,’ but we both know Lex Luthor doesn’t get confused.
Luthor, scathing: No, he does not. He gets even, Aman-
Waller: Luthor, shut up. Just know that while you were hacking
into those fake files we set up for you, our tech man laid a few more surprises. Happy landing.
Before Luthor can respond, a boomerang, blunt, yet elegant, clobbers him in the back of the head and sends him plummeting headfirst into a small lake.
Deadshot: Alright, nice shot.
Boomerang, waiting for the return: Thank ye, sir.
Deadshot: Should we fish him out’n bring him back in?
Waller: Don’t bother. He’ll only try and make more half-assed escape attempts, and he’s too rich for the state to house and feed him without it feeling like a waste. No, I think Luthor’s had enough humiliation for a few days. I’ve already sent out a notification to the proper authorities. They can handle it from here.
In the distance, two figures in red capes, one broad and impressive even from a great distance, and one slender but strong, approach.
Boomerang: And so y’have ‘Manda. C’mon Floyd, let’s see if the other two drongos survived and ‘ead back to base, eh? Time for a brew, says I.
Deadshot: . . . You’re still not in charge.
Today my girlfriend Rani and I met the cutest kid in the world. We were sitting on a bench at the train station waiting for our train to come, when this boy came up to us and asked me if he could sit on the bench next to me. I said, "Sure you can, champ." He sat down and loudly exclaimed, "My name is Tom!"
We spent the next 45 minutes being thoroughly entertained by Tom. Tom had more energy than a 2-year-old on Red Bull, and he wasn't the least bit shy. Tom also clearly had a love affair with trains, because he asked 343,209 times, "How long until the train comes? Is the train here yet? When will the train be here? Can you let me know when the train is here? You HAVE to tell me when the train is here, ok?" And anytime a train would come on any of the platforms, Tom would loudly scream, "IS THIS OUR TRAIN CAN WE GET ON THIS TRAIN THIS IS OUR TRAIN!!?!?!?!?!" He told us we had to listen out for the "toot toot" that a train makes. And we also needed to look for the train's headlights in-case he missed it. Tom really didn't want to miss the train, you see.
Tom had some other cute quirks. He started almost every sentence with, "Excuse me", which is incredibly polite and hilariously adorable. He kept tapping us on the shoulder before telling us really cool stories, such as, "I rode the train today!", "I went to the museum today" "The train has lights on it", "You have to wait until the train stops before pushing the button" and "I'm standing behind the yellow line, just like the sign says!"
He also started some frickin' hilarious conversations, such as:
Tom: "Excuse me, what is that thing that's blowing air on me?"
Me: "The air conditioner? The vents are above you."
Tom (pointing towards the tunnel): "NO! The wind is coming from down there!"
Me: "Oh, that's the tunnel. The wind rushes through the tunnel."
Tom: "Why?"
Me (cupping my hands together and pretending to blow): "Somebody is down the other end blowing really hard like this."
Tom: "Jesus Christ?"
Me (cracking the hell up): "HAHA! No, it's not Jesus."
It was a pretty epic moment when our train arrived. As you can imagine, Tom went bonkers when he realised we were getting on the train. He stood near the door next to a lady, and then spent the next 10 minutes telling her the correct procedure for riding a train. He forced her to hold onto the railings so she wouldn't fall over. He told her how to push the button to open the train doors, explaining this in great detail. He explained how she has to WAIT until the train stops COMPLETELY before pushing the BUTTON (he yelled when he got excited). All the while she's trying so hard not to laugh, trying to smile politely and keep it together, but her boyfriend is cracking the hell up, totally losing it. Other passengers found it equally hilarious. When her stop arrived, Tom quickly rehashed the correct way to push the button and she and her boyfriend managed to get it right; I guess that speaks volumes to Tom's ability to educate and train (pun intended) people on correct train procedures. As they left, she thanked him for all his help, which made her boyfriend crack up again.
The rest of the train journey had many more lol moments. At one point he started screaming, "I'M FLYING!", holding his hands up in the air and pretending to surf. He self-appointed himself to "Train Door Operator", pushing the button for everyone, waving them on to the train and telling them where to go, and then telling them when it was safe to exit the train. He kept a constant lookout to see if any trains were coming in the other direction. He explained to us that train drivers have to stop the train and wait for signals and change tracks so they don't accidentally bump other trains (I think it would be more than a "bump" if two trains collided...) He talked about Thomas the Tank Engine and how that train can drive himself, but other trains in the real world have a train driver. He told a cool story to the man he was traveling with about how his parents are going to buy him a train for his birthday (sounds like the perfect gift for Tom). The man asked, "Where are you going to put it?" Tom yelled, "ON THE TRAIN TRACKS!" Which made us all crack up again.
Just before we all arrived at our stop, Tom explained to us how he wasn't going to push the button when we arrived at his stop; he wanted to leave that great responsibility to the person who was on the other side of the door getting on the train. I said, "What if there's nobody on the other side... Who will push the button then?" This confused Tom, and he scrunched his face up and didn't really give me an answer... Maybe he couldn't envision a world where people wouldn't want to get on a train. After all, Tom loves trains.
When it was time for us all to get off, we said goodbye to Tom and went our separate ways. I like to think Tom's out there somewhere right now, explaining to someone the correct way to operate a belt buckle or a cup or a fork, or maybe discussing how much he loves trains with a random stranger who's smiling and nodding and secretly hoping this kid never changes, never grows up, never loses his zest for life, never loses that childlike innocence.
Bye, Tom.
-Andy and Rani
Not the most original idea, I know... & the tiles are wonky, but oh well.
Came up with the idea (& the quote) yesterday afternoon, as it applies to me a lot.
Bryan Mackenzie Redden is serving 44 years to Life for the murder of a mother and her daughter. The two were killed after he had broken into their home to burglarize them while Redden was high. Redden is housed at Elmira Correctional Facility in New York and is eligible for parole in August 2061
Light Sentence, the play of the expression "life sentence", is one of Mona Hatoums first installations. It consits of units wich resemble "animal cages, such as you might see in a laboratory, or a poultry processing factory". The only source of light emanates from a single light bulb which multiplies the shadows of the lockers against the walls, exacerbating the sense of oppression and imprisonment.
Source: Centre Pompidou
Bryan Mackenzie Redden is serving 44 years to Life for the murder of a mother and her daughter. The two were killed after he had broken into their home to burglarize them while Redden was high. Redden is housed at Elmira Correctional Facility in New York and is eligible for parole in August 2061
Bryan Mackenzie Redden is serving 44 years to Life for the murder of a mother and her daughter. The two were killed after he had broken into their home to burglarize them while Redden was high. Redden is housed at Elmira Correctional Facility in New York and is eligible for parole in August 2061
Edward Shevlin stole a coat and was sentenced to 6 months in prison.
Age: 32
Height: 5.5
Hair: Brown
Eyes:Blue
Place of Birth: Ireland
Work: Labourer
Status: Married
These photographs are of convicted criminals in Newcastle between 1871 - 1873.
Reference:TWAS: PR.NC/6/1/1117
(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.
To purchase a hi-res copy please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk quoting the title and reference number.
I think this sentence is so wrong because you are never too young to care. I care a lot about some things but sometimes I'm just too stupid to handle things and I make mistakes. But I do care. I know that I've made so many mistakes in the last time and I had to apologize a lot but I hope that life is going to bring better things and better times. I want to enjoy life and I don't want to be unhappy all the time. I want to be with people who make me happy and you make me laugh.
I'm writing shit but I don't know what to do.
Where the Jewels Are.
A Prequel to
“An Odyssey Less Taken “ (Tallie)
An Escapade in 3 Acts…
Excerpts:
************
Act 1
The Mustard Seed is planted
***********
A couple is getting ready to leave for an apparently Fancy Dress Affair:
The wife cascades down the stairs swirling her silk dress for to catch her husband’s eye, which she does.
Blimey Bess, did you leave anything in ur Jewelry Casket, he chides with a satisfied smirk.
Casket, Luv? Really? I keep telling you what a morbid term that is, she scolds him , while she smiles radiantly ; fetchingly placing a hand to her husband’s cheek, then straightening the black bow tie of his tux.
Don’t be snide, I know you like it when I dress. Besides it’s not often we get to hob nob with near royalty. Beth said in justification of herself driving to the occasion dressed to the nines.
But Beth, Calling it a casket is an old term, and her husband starts to explain (not for the first time) the origin of the phrase ”jewele casket”
Hush child, Beth simpers, placing a finger to his lips, with a very becoming look in her eyes, save it for the students. She turns away and he slaps her lovingly upon her posterior. She giggles and heads back to the stairs.
The doorbell rings.
Beth stops and turns, looking at the door. Could you get that dear, looks like a postal package. I have to go upstairs to finish my hair, and to bury my casket, you old toad she tosses at him, making no attempt to hide in her voice the with undying affection she has for her husband, the love of her life.
He obediently goes to the door, where a man in uniform can be seen through the window, waiting with a package.
He turns, a lump rising in his throat as he eyeballs his pretty ( to him) wife Bess. The main reason is too catch another look at the pretty party dress swishing along her withdrawing figure ,but he also throws a teasing retort at her retreating back, . besides, casket It what me Mum called it luv…..
Turning away, he goes to open the door.
End Act 1
*******
Act 2
The Trolley Cometh
*******
Up on a hummock a large stone manor sits, dominating the landscape below.
A proper butler opens the Manor’s double doors and a stream of well gowned, ladies pour out. The many jewels they are wearing sparkling like some sort of jewel filled waterfall as they move heading down to where a quite ornate Trolley awaits them.
The whispering rustle of high end satin and the erupting glitter of colourfully flickering tiffany quality jewels, lighting up the dreary early morning as female members of the wedding party descend.
The bride is the last to come out into the early morning, stopping to survey the activity below , ever so a royal highness looking down on her subjects.
It was her idea to have her brides maids be driven out to her parents country estate before the dress rehearsal and have a photo grapher take shots of her party at various locations. Since the Groom and his Groomsmen were not allowed, by custom, to view the gowned bride before the ceremony, they were of course not invited. Nor was anyone else outside herself, the bridal party and the photo grapher. The rehearsal and dinner were to take place later that afternoon, and the bride and her party would be changing at the country estate. Towards that means they had already placed cases aboard the trolley containing their evening clothes and everyday jewelry that they would wear for the evenings festivities..
She preferred to be in control off all aspects of the situation. Needless to say, her wedding planner, waiting at the stone cathedral, had developed a migraine over the whole affair.
After a couple of group shots are arranged in front of the elegant trolley, the party is herded aboard by the tuxedoed trolley driver. He has their schedule to keep. He is helped by his pretty blonde wife, herself dressed shimmering, sparkling, as she expertly moves (herds?) the elegant ladies , escorting them cheerfully to their seats.
And with a lurch of the trolley on the old private road, the entire ultra-wealthy group set off on their pre nuptial adventure.
End Act 2
*******
The connection between acts 1 & 2, for those who haven’t figured it out, will be revealed in act 3.
Please comment if you’re going to stay tuned for the outcome
************
****************
This would be the 3rd and possibly final installment of the trilogy…..If you are interested in reading the storyline complete you may find it enlightening to visit Acts 1 and 2 (respectively) before proceeding any further.
Please consider leaving a comment behind that you have (read) the acts. It would be deeply appreciated.
Act 3(?)
After the Harvest
*******
The inspector arrives in his rather jaunty sports auto. He emerges with his Detective Sargent, approaching a waiting constable.
The constable’s partner, Archie, is inside with the police matron.
What do we have Constable? The inspector asks quizzically.
Apparently we have a husband and wife teem who own and drive a private rental trolley, that then decides to waylay and rob the entire wedding party they were hired to ferry about.
Way out here, in the middle of nowhere, Constable?
Appears they were going to the Brides summer home to be photographed. The trolley turned down the path to this old deserted manor where they were told there was engine trouble.
And they were robbed, by the driver and his wife you say Constable?
Them, and two others waiting.
4 robbers then,
Who called it in Constable?
Received an anonymous tip
And just what were they robbed of, Constable? The inspector asked, almost wearily.
Stripped of everything down to their bloody knickers, the lot of them. Then handcuffed and left.
Language Mate, the inspector chided his constable, looking at his Sargent, taking this all down?
Detective Sargent nods
Now, he said turning back to the Constable, Just why do you suppose they stripped them of their clothes.
The gowns were worth L3000 pounds each, real emeralds, the brides was worth double that, with real diamonds
So they were robbed for their expensive clothes, then eh Sargent, the inspector leered.
No Sir that was not all the lot were after.
The Bride was wearing diamond jewelry worth L100,000 pounds easy, the rest of the girls were wearing matching emeralds sets that the bride paid L32,000 pounds each.
Each, The inspector arched an eyebrow.
Each of the Bridesmaids, inspector, answered the ridden constable.
That’s a great amount of information constable. Just how did you acquire it.
The bride sir, she won’t stop squawking on about it. answered the Constable
Careful how you talk about your betters, constable, the inspector winked at him.
I’m sure the young lady in question has every right to squawk.
So let me get this straight constable, a bridal party was Shanghaied and robbed of their possessions by their trolley driver, his wife and two other associates. Then someone cordially calls the station to let us in on the joke?
Right sir, no joke though
Then why did they leave their trolley here, for evidence against them?
Asked the Inspector, before turning to his Detective Sargent.
Sergeant. send a man down to the drivers abode, the information should be acquired from the registration from the plates they so handily left.
The Constable cleared his throat, actually my partner Archie already called it in Sir.
The inspector raised an eyebrow, Glad to see someone is on the ball.
The police radio crackles, the constable goes to answer it.
He comes back, standing smartly at attention.
Just received a call, they found the husband and wife tied up in their basement.
Apparently two men posing as a postal worker and driver held them up.
The ones who robbed the bride and her party? Constable?
No sir, apparently the two who brought them here were imposters.
The real uns were held them up at gunpoint, made to strip to their underthings and tied up.
Then Two others, man and woman, took the Trolly to the Manor to “pick up” the Bride and her Bridesmaids.
Has a statement been taken? Yes sir, but there is not much.
Thieves were disguised as postal workers. House was ransacked, safe looted, wife jewel case cleaned out, the usual.
After burgling their manor, the occupants were stripped to their skivvies, trussed up and locked in their basement cannery.
Then a call came in on their telephone, the thieves answered it. After they hung up, the husband heard their phone used to call us, and heard the two thieves leave..
Was anything said by the thieves?
They only overheard the one thing, something one of the postage men said.
Thief posing as one, right constable, don’t want to give anyone a bad rep
Yes sir,
it appears that when the thief - wearing the postman’s costume- answered the phone, he repeated a phrase.
And what would that phrase have been, constable?
Mustard Seed,
Mustard seed? Eh.
Sergeant, the inspector turned to his detective sergeant. That begs the question, why Mustard seed?
The Detective Sergeant mulled it over for a minute. Then offered:
Seed, could be seed money, mustards grow from a small seed into something quite large. This robbery was seed money for something bigger, possibly, sir?
Not bad Sargent, will make an inspector of you yet.
The inspector turns back to the constable, who has had just about enough of his superiors questions.
He is relieved to now hear what the inspector has to say.
Constable, stand pat here while my sergeant and I have a chat with our victims inside,
The inspector turned to his Detective Sergeant :
Let’s get this lot sorted out, and then will we’ll head over and see about the driver and his wife…
The two made their way up towards the decaying deserted manor house.
The Constable, watching them disappear inside, mutters under his breath.
That is an awfully big haul just for seed money. I would be happy with what that lot will get for what they stole. I bet the old man is off target on this one. Thieves probably will be out of the country with the loot and have it pawned in the states by the time he gets done with his questions.
The constable was closer to the truth than he realized…..
Originally the gang planning the heist had meant to carry out the caper then head off to parts unknown with the loot and lay low. During planning the stages of the heist, one of their members infiltrated the group to garner information. Remarks were interestingly overheard by chatting bridesmaids about a lavish affair being staged a fortnight away (only one week after the rehearsal dinner).
From the “seed” planted by that helpful bit of overheard gossip, grew the new job the group was now going to carry out very shortly .
Mustard seed become its code name.
End of Act 3
*****************
In addendum
Now we break away from the crime scene to visit an occurrence that took place some two hours prior to the phone call that alerted the police to the unfortunate incident related above.
The scene: Inside a C. Hoare & Co branch, in a posh end of London..
Two ladies, both, opulently dressed in satins and jewels, their thick fur coats have been carefully hung by a smartly dressed lady porter, nearby, had been seated and served. The pair are now alone in a richly furnished private room of the bank. Wine at hand, they are merrily going through a collection of jewelry glistening from an open safe deposit strongbox brought up from the depths of the banks’ vault.
The fashionable, long haired daughter is half-heartedly trying on one of several jewel encrusted Tiaras…… Her stylish, bobbed haired mother is admiring the sparkle of a diamond waterfall style necklace; the pricy jewels’ matching mates, (earrings and bracelets and brooch) are laid out next to her.
The daughter suddenly lest out a squeal of delight as she spy’s a small sparkling ruby and emerald encrusted diamond cocktail ring , which she grabs and slips on her pinky. She admires the raw, rainbow like fireworks as she moves it under the lights.
Mum, can I? it will go ever so nicely with the gown I’m wearing to Polly’s Soiree.
Hey, that was my Great Aunts , her Mother yelps grasping at the ring. Almost looking like Defoe’s Sunday dressed Moll Flanders snatching at the colourful trinket worn by a young miss, awed by the passing parade of royals.
Unlike that distracted young miss, however, the daughter was able to hold the ring high from the reach of Her mother’s fingertips, giggling as she did so.
Now Millicent, her mother lectured, You know we don’t approve of young Lady Pollyanna’s fancy boy, Raul. He would probably manage a way to slip the ring from off your finger.
Oh, MaMa, , answered Millicent, I’ll be ever so careful, and please don’t you harp on poor Raul. He really is quite a dear, and the pearls were simply lost, nothing more. Let me wear the ring, and I’ll wear whatever jewelry you pick out for me the weekend, Sagely bargained Millicent.
Promise? Her mother asks, relenting in to her daughter’s wishes. It’s just that we don’t you making publicity over getting robbed just before your occasion.
Mum, Millicent says soothingly, nothing will happen to me before my Debs Ball, or occasion as you will call it. She bent over and kissed her mother on the forehead, before going back to her admiration of the pretty ring.
But innocently enough, pretty Millicent has no idea of the prophetic canniness her naively made promise to her mother would soon foretell.
To be continued….
Please see:
Album entitled “Tallie”
For the main story of what the mustard seed turned out to grow into…..
*********************************************************************************
For everyone to have a look and a chance to figure out. OUT...
Rarely one expresses clearly the wish to head for the big gates (but to make a provocative statement, or out of insanity). While a myriad of little back doors are more easily approached. More discrete and welcoming, perhaps.
A feminine figure, here. OK, please wait... I declined a position in the inquisition... :) I just flipped coins. Woman it was. Had it been man, honestly, maybe I would have cheated, out of a sense of aesthetics. And said I’d cheated :) But definitely not me to make some utterly stupid associations.
I also did it for the sake of controversy :) Who wage war? Who commit mass murders? Who dare separate the mother and the child, in a dark and icy morning when the train is about to leave for hideous places? Who-men? I know there are exceptions to the evident facts. But come on, fellow guys... Well, there is good news, sometimes: The “Girl of Qatif”, rape victim sentenced to six month in jail and 200 lashes, has just been pardoned by the Saudi monarch (here, AP). Though “strongly” suggested a decision, maybe this was not such a simple one to take, even for a king. I’m so glad he did.
ps: 66? I SWEAR this is the true stuff - I wanted to erase it, too obvious a detail. Just a strange coincidence, too good to be scratched out, I thought. Well... Because the third digit is up to us, I guess.
pps, just in case... Technicalities. I "only" used four pictures, the door (WITH the number :), the model and blinds, the scorched earth, and small bits of winter trees. No stock images. Obviously, the sky is fake. As a good Brazilian friend stated recently, anyway real colors are fake :)
A woman with a giant flaming axe....it couldn’t really get any better. Maybe that’s why I’ve haven’t encountered the person in charge with a high powerset. Just because she's the niece of our most terrifying enemy, we should never underestimate how far this can go. But the presence is frightening to say the least.
Just about right now, I pictured myself throwing rays of light against Fireflare. That's right, it's her villain name. Before I could finish the sentence in my head, she probably sliced one of my favourite guns in half....damnit. I check my virtual watch and it’s been 15 minutes already. Time is always the most vital to spies, regardless if it's a fight or not. Then you have your own team occupied against the weird guy who mumbles in third person. Joint assault on both fronts.
Here's the plan, mentally: if we beat them and gave them a 5 minute interrogation—which has been the shortest amount of time I used to choke info out of enemies, then we’d reach some compromise for the end goals. But it doesn't matter. You know you're already pinned down.
Sabine: “Ready to give up yet?”
Kieran: “No you give up.”
Sabine: “Classy. I like you already.”
Kieran: “Sorry I’m taken. She probably has more temper than you. You're the worst nightmare I'd ever encounter in junior high.”
Sabine: “Aw, what a mood killer. Shame I couldn't see what bitch she would be.”
Kurt: “Don’t forget I’m the single one here. No one can or ever take me!”
Sabine: “I’ll deal with the old man in a bit. But yes, I'm gladly to capture you for my uncle....”
Kieran: “Tell me, how many have you even captured ever since he killed one of us?”
Sabine: “Hm, a few maybe. Only if you’re gonna learn to play nice....”
Kieran: “No, no like that. Did you raid our compounds? Why?”
Sabine: “Yes. I ensured a big bloodbath. Some of them left with a trace behind. So that you could be led to this moment of confrontation.”
I felt my anger swelling, drops of sweat rising up to my face. She was obviously stalling us. Everyone does that. To calm my pressured state, I kept thinking about my girlfriend. Something that would be the best meditation technique that Gary gave good lessons on. Being with her long enough, Riley was always reckless despite her powerful skill sets....and the doctor. I did regret a bit leaving them behind when Ty knows it’s his responsibility to keep the mission going. But if anyone can handle a good fight with swords, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Just as our odds were slightly tilting to the losing side, Lyra was constantly launching a flurry of attacks against Knifenight. Presumably under her damaged suit, she’d taken a few hits but with quick regeneration. The absorption of her abilities are simply amazing just like the day we found her. And Kurt, despite his age (and probably still has a six pack from all that prison time), was no stranger to using defenses as a weapon. His hands brimmed with rearranging molecules, launched a shot at Knifenight, send him flying across the wall. Again, also never underestimate what your allies can do even if there are powers that seem weaker at hand.
What remains are two remaining members of the other team, Ty and Erin—-who happened to coordinate a very (beautiful) energy attack. I could see how much they cared for each other. Love is back on the tables? You’d better figure that out yourself.
Ty: “You good?”
Erin: “Yeah.”
Ty: “Show’s not over yet. We gotta help him out.”
Kieran: “Yes, I'd appreciate hand here.”
Sabine: “This is even better. Aiding the third wheel....how sweet.”
Kieran: “Ok that’s enough!”
I charge myself up, glowing like a firefly. Beams protrude out of my body as I create a heavy gun and some swords in the form of light. Rackham is stifled, but she’s not entirely surprised. With her axe, she manages to cut down some of them, but I keep exposing her to my rays, blinding her in a flash as Ty and Erin pin her to a damaged wall. Talk about timing correctly.
Sabine: “Heh....so I’ve definitely underestimated some of you. Good tricks, but you should have known to impress me more.”
Kieran: “Yeah you did. Might have it easy on this one. Now f*cking tell me where he is.”
Sabine: “Why should I tell you? The first rule of interrogation, is never ask where.”
Kieran: “I want you to lead us to him, or else I’ll kill him.”
Sabine: “Do what you want. As long as you know you’re walking into that trap....don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Kieran: “Show me. You said you to take us in right? We're using it exactly just as he wants.”
Sabine: *coughs* “Of course....look at the damn hologram. Cyprus.”
And then I knocked her brains out. I quickly take my mask off for a fresh breath of air, as the others stare at me. I give them a what look before they all cheer.
Lyra: *squeals* “Damn boss. That was impressive. I’ve never seen that before!”
Kurt: “I guess it’s time to check on my research for power levels...well, who wants to get their soda on the jet before I upgrade the tech later?”
Ty: “Provably soon when we depart, hahaha...”
Erin: “So guys, do we need a compost bag or no?”
Kieran: "There is certainly a mess here, but let's just clean up real quick and get the hell outta here.
***
(London to Cyprus, current time 3:43 A.M:)
After destroying what's left behind with an unconscious Sabine and Knifeknight in toll, strapped and cuffed. Our jet arrives quickly at the foretold base. I assume Edens or Gardner know we've managed to handle the situation back underground. En route, Erin and Kurt have already send them the coordinates. Knowing his defection situation, Gardner should definitely coming along in person as well, obviously for many other reasons too.
Landing seems obviously smooth if it’s a super-villain-or-whoever’s island that is. There’s not security breach, not a single guard. I’m raising my suspicion level alerts to high in case it’s an ambush....which is possible. We all switch on the night vision gear again, this time with Kurt providing the heat sensors and grid scans. The door is just right up another tunnel, as we enter....
It’s a big facility, something like that. Some dark shades of green around. Still, no guards...until a figure emerges. Lights flare up as well. Gotta keep caution.
Holy f**k. It’s North. I haven’t really seen his face clearly before, even through the files, but I can clearly make it out that it’s him. His damn face staring right at us above. I witness the other entrance is led by Edens and his team, along with a cloaked guy who they told me is an ally named Dusksmoke.
North: “Hello, knights. It is time—-and I welcome you all to this grand meeting. The truly wonderful spectacle of my most wanted. The teams that are capable of the survival of the fittest.”
Edens: “Here you are.”
Gardner: “F**king hell. Why don’t you come down from that box of yours and answer me!”
North: “Oh yes. You brought me this muddled spectacle....”
Ty: “Wake up, both of you.”
(Sabine and Knifenight are thrown into the middle, still bound and tied with electrocuted ropes.)
Sabine: *wakes* “Ah, see, I told you....”
Knifenight: “Uggh....yes. It is him. But, Knifenight....Knifenight is not supposed to be here!”
North: “Once again, I will deal with this fool later. Now, show them.”
Even more lights flare up around us as we ready our battle stances. The White Ninja steps out, followed by the ES agents all around him. Then he snaps his fingers, revealing my girlfriend and Sam tied on a platform. They look battered and torn, yet not hurt enough badly.
North: “I have your friends. You already have guts to step into my lair, give me what I need.”
Gardner: “Free them. Now.”
North: “You should really learn to play nice, Mason. I don't trade if you threaten me with this behaviour...”
Edens: “You mean the plans. The rest to kill us. You’re the Modred to our cause.”
North: “Ahh yes. And you would be the Merlin on the chess board, Remus. Just another disposable old wizard. And Arthur here—-isn’t what I would expect too much more of a king....look at you being frail and sickly, Mason.”
Gardner: “Pulling the sword is when I should finally get to kill the worst f**ker ever. I know you wanted to cleanse the world, to get rid of us. Then why not do it now.”
North: “Oh yes. But it would be a waste to blow up too much more faculties and incompetent human beings. I enjoy the slow, painful death of a man....like how I always toyed with yours. Now my patience has run thin. Kill them. All of them.”
Well, sh*t. I guess we can’t leave without stains then...
What's in a name?! The Meuse River as it flows north from Venlo in Limburg, The Netherlands, is banked by horticulturalist fields of roses, by acres of vegetables and maize, by woodlands and mushroom grottos. Recently it was decided to 'return' the margins of the riverbanks both left and right to 'nature'. Of course, nature was aided by man and by new laws and bylaws regulating the 'naturalisation' of what is now called the Maascorridor.
Our Blue Button's official name in Latin is Knautia arvensis, "Knaut of the Cultivated Fields"; and yet the place where I took this photo is now supposed to be 'natural' and non-cultivated. Indeed: what's in a name!
In his succinct "The Blue Book", Ludwig Wittgenstein begins his discussion of language with the sentence: 'What is the meaning of a word?'. 'Arvensis' I've explained... What's this 'Knautia'? Knautia is for the siblings Christoph (1638-1694) and Christian (1656-1716) Knaut, fine German physicians and especially botanists. The younger brother was a librarian as well, and would have had sympathy for stories with regard to the curious history of Wittgenstein's 'The Blue Book'... Carolus Linnaeus, my hero, had a high regard for the Knauts' botany, and thus named this pretty plant for them. And there's a medical connection as well: Knautia was used as a remedy against the itching of scabies.
I put aside my wandering thoughts and ambled further through the fields to the little chapel at Genooi, where The Lady in Blue is honored...
Chronologically, Ally's photo was the first one, but due to editing, answering questions, and some real-life setbacks, I was only able to publish it now, almost 3 weeks later! Ally is a very kind and friendly person, and it was a true pleasure to take a photo of her avatar and have a pleasant chat with her. Here are her answers to our 3 questions:
1) If your avatar could describe itself in one sentence, what would it say? Ally Nova is a sweet, fun loving girl that loves hanging out with her friends, fashion, meeting people from all over the world, photography and the social aspect of second life.
2)What’s the one thing that makes you stand out in Second Life?
I'd have to say the number one thing is the fact that in my time in SL i have learned to curse in so many different languages!
3)What’s the best adventure you’ve had in Second Life so far?
Dressing up like a pirate with some friends and sailing around the blake sea! We had so much fun that day and hopefully are doing it again soon!!
I took two of my sisters into my room to make page poems......But they didn't quite understand, so we decided to do "funny spages" instead.
Left to Right: 8 year old, me, 9 year-old
............................................Here's what they say........................................
8 year old: "I say a box on the red waves in a man french and french'
Me: "My dinner got to be the receptionist. The paperwork lingered across my table. She refused a ride, but seemed restless. I'd regret making dinner. We talked, she'd had enough conversation. But I quiver when she switched of my music..
9 year-old : One day our class had a party. Graciously all of us bumped into his barreled rib cage.
Stay Safe, Eat Donuts(╭☞⌐■◞ ■)╭☞
Challenge-Complete the Sentence 4
Owner : haychcdee
Artwork by me.
Link to Challenge : www.flickr.com/groups/3940040@N21/discuss/721577219215898...
I was allowed out of the cuffs to read a short statement in court. But as soon as I finished, the cuffs went on again. So I stood there shackled to learn my sentence: 60 more days in jail.
Lisa Buttmonkey (Jasmine0Alaya)
Chilean Rose: ‘Sentence first — verdict afterwards.’, 2018
Staged inSL™, color rebalanced in Lightroom CC
3300 × 6000
Taken at my installation, Out of the Looking Glass|Into the Madness.
Main entrence: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Fender/33/204/297
This status of Anne Frank is located in the Wilhelmina Park in Oranjestad, the capital of Aruba.
The base includes a sentence from her diary, in four languages:
"How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment to improve the world!"
I was allowed out of the cuffs to read a short statement in court. But as soon as I finished, the cuffs went on again. So I stood there shackled to learn my sentence: 60 more days in jail.
Dubrovnik
Minčeta Tower
Dubrovnik (pronounced [dǔbroːʋnik]) is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641 (census 2011).[1] In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.
The prosperity of the city of Dubrovnik has always been based on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages, as the Republic of Ragusa, also known as a Maritime Republic (together with Amalfi, Pisa, Genoa, Venice and other Italian cities), it became the only eastern Adriatic city-state to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the city achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries. Although demilitarised in the 1970s with the intent of forever protecting it from war devastation, in 1991, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it was besieged by Serb-Montenegrin forces for 7 months and received significant damage from being shelled.
Name
In Croatian, the city is known as Dubrovnik; in Italian as Ragusa; and in Latin as Ragusium. Its historical name in Greek is Raugia (Ραυγια) or Ragousa (Ραγουσα).
The current Croatian name was officially adopted in 1918 after the fall of Austria–Hungary, but was in use from the Middle Ages. It is also referred to as Dubrovnik in the first official document of the treaty with the Ban of Bosnia Ban Kulin.
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History
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Origins
Historical lore indicates that Ragusa (Dubrovnik) was founded in the 7th century on a rocky island named Laus, which provided shelter for refugees from the nearby city of Epidaurus[2]
Another theory appeared recently, based on new archaeological excavations. New findings (a Byzantine basilica from 8th century and parts of the city walls) contradict the traditional theory. The size of the old basilica clearly indicates that there was quite a large settlement at the time. There is also increasing support in the scientific community for the theory that major construction of Ragusa took place before the current era. This "Greek theory" has been boosted by recent findings of numerous Greek artefacts during excavations in the Port of Dubrovnik. Also, drilling below the main city road has revealed natural sand, contradicting the theory of Laus (Lausa) island.
Dr. Antun Ničetić, in his book "Povijest dubrovačke luke" (History of the Port of Dubrovnik), expounds the theory that Dubrovnik was established by Greek sailors. A key element in this theory is the fact that ships in ancient times travelled about 45-50 nautical miles per day, and required a sandy shore to pull out of water for the rest period during the night. The ideal rest site would have a fresh water source in its vicinity. Dubrovnik has both, and is situated almost halfway between the two known Greek settlements of Budva and Korčula (95 NM is the distance between them).
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The Republic
Main article: Republic of Ragusa
Coat of Arms of the Republic of Ragusa
After the fall of the Ostrogothic Kingdom, the town came under the protection of the Byzantine Empire. Ragusa in those mediaeval centuries had a population of Latinized Illyrians.[3] After the Crusades, Ragusa came under the sovereignty of Venice (1205–1358), which would give its institutions to the Dalmatian city. By the Peace Treaty of Zadar in 1358, Ragusa achieved relative independence as a vassal-state of the Kingdom of Hungary.
Between the 14th century and 1808, Ragusa ruled itself as a free state, although it was a vassal from 1440 to 1804 of the Ottoman Empire and paid an annual tribute to its sultan.[4] The Republic reached its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries, when its thalassocracy rivalled that of the Republic of Venice and other Italian maritime republics.
For centuries, the Republic of Ragusa was an ally of Ancona, the other Adriatic maritime Republic rival of Venice, which was the Ottoman Empire's chief rival for control of the Adriatic. This alliance enabled the two towns set on opposite sides of the Adriatic to resist attempts by the Venetians to make the Adriatic a "Venetian Bay", also said to control directly or indirectly all the Adriatic ports. Ancona and Ragusa developed an alternative trade route to the Venetian (Venice-Germany-Austria): this route started from the East, passed through Ragusa and Ancona, then interested Florence and finally Flanders.
The Republic of Ragusa received its own Statutes as early as 1272, statutes which, among other things, codified Roman practice and local customs. The Statutes included prescriptions for town planning and the regulation of quarantine (for sanitary reasons).[5]
The Republic was an early adopter of what are now regarded as modern laws and institutions: a medical service was introduced in 1301, with the first pharmacy, still operating to this day, being opened in 1317. An almshouse was opened in 1347, and the first quarantine hospital (Lazarete) was established in 1377. Slave trading was abolished in 1418, and an orphanage opened in 1432. A 20 km (12 mi) water supply system was constructed in 1436.
The city was ruled by the local aristocracy which was of Latin-dalmatian extraction and formed two city councils. As usual for the time, they maintained a strict system of social classes. The republic abolished the slave trade early in the 15th century and valued liberty highly. The city successfully balanced its sovereignty between the interests of Venice and the Ottoman Empire for centuries.
The languages spoken by the people were the Romance Dalmatian and Croatian. The latter started to replace Dalmatian little by little since the 11th century amongst the common people who inhabited the city. The aristocracy was of Latin extraction. The population itself was mostly of Latin origin until the 17th century, when Croatians migrated from the surrounding regions.
Italian and Venetian would become important languages of culture and trade in the Republic of Ragusa. The Italian language replaced Latin as official language of the Republic of Ragusa from 1472 until the end of the republic itself.[citation needed] At the same time, due to a pacific cohabitation with the Slavic element and the influence of Italian culture during the Renaissance, Ragusa became a cradle of Croatian literature.
Onofrio's Fountain
The economic wealth of the Republic was partially the result of the land it developed, but especially of seafaring trade. With the help of skilled diplomacy, Ragusa's merchants travelled lands freely and on the sea the city had a huge fleet of merchant ships (argosy) that travelled all over the world. From these travels they founded some settlements, from India to America, and brought parts of their culture and flora home with them. One of its keys to success was not conquering, but trading and sailing under a white flag with the word Latin: Libertas(freedom) prominently featured on it. The flag was adopted when slave trading was abolished in 1418.
Many Conversos, Jews from Spain and Portugal, were attracted to the city. In May 1544, a ship landed there filled exclusively with Portuguese refugees, as Balthasar de Faria reported to King John. During this time there worked in the city one of the most famous cannon and bell founders of his time: Ivan Rabljanin (Magister Johannes Baptista Arbensis de la Tolle).
Ragusan territory before 1808
The Republic gradually declined after a crisis in Mediterranean shipping and the catastrophic earthquake of 1667[6] killed over 5,000 citizens and levelled most of the public buildings, ruining the well-being of the Republic. In 1699, the Republic sold two mainland patches of its territory to the Ottomans in order to avoid being caught in the clash with advancing Venetian forces. Today this strip of land belongs to Bosnia and Herzegovina and is that country's only direct access to the Adriatic.
In 1806, the city surrendered to the Napoleonic army,[7] as that was the only way to end a month long siege by the Russian-Montenegrin fleets (during which 3,000 cannonballs fell on the city). At first, Napoleon demanded only free passage for his troops, promising not to occupy the territory and stressing that the French were friends of the Ragusans. Later, however, French forces blockaded the harbours, forcing the government to give in and let French troops enter the city. On this day, all flags and coats of arms above the city walls were painted black as a sign of mourning. In 1808, Marshal Marmont abolished the republic and integrated its territory first into Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy and later into the Illyrian provinces under French rule.
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Languages
The official language until 1472 was Latin. Later, the Senate of the Republic decided that the official language of the Republic would be the Ragusan dialect of the Romance Dalmatian language, and forbade the use of the Slavic language in senatorial debate. The Gospari (the Aristocracy) held on to their language for many centuries, while it slowly disappeared.
Although the Latin language was in official use, inhabitants of the republic were[when?] mostly native speakers of Slavonic languages (as confirmed[clarification needed] by P. A. Tolstoj in 1698, when he noted In Dalmatia... Dubrovnikans....called themselves as Ragusan(Raguseos) and always have pride in the Republic).[8] The Dalmatian language was also spoken in the city. The Italian language as spoken in the republic was heavily influenced by the Venetian language and the Tuscan dialect. Italian took root among the Dalmatian Romance-speaking merchant upper classes, as a result of Venetian influence.[9]
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Austrian ruleThis article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009)
When the Habsburg Empire annexed these provinces after the 1815 Congress of Vienna, the new authorities implemented a bureaucratic administration, established the Kingdom of Dalmatia, which had its own Sabor (Diet) or Parliament, based in the city of Zadar, and political parties such as the Autonomist Party and the People's Party. They introduced a series of modifications intended to slowly centralize the bureaucratic, tax, religious, educational, and trade structure. Unfortunately for the local residents, these steps largely failed, despite the intention of wanting to stimulate the economy. And once the personal, political and economic damage of the Napoleonic Wars had been overcome, new movements began to form in the region, calling for a political reorganization of the Adriatic along the national lines.[citation needed]
The combination of these two forces—a flawed Habsburg administrative system and new national movement claiming ethnicity as the founding block toward a community—posed a particularly perplexing problem; since Dalmatia was a province ruled by the German-speaking Habsburg monarchy, with bilingual (Slavic- and Italian-speaking) elites that dominated the general population consisting of a Slavic Catholic majority (and a Slavic Orthodox minority of not more than 300 people).[citation needed]
Ragusan Flag "Libertas"
In 1815, the former Ragusan Government (its noble assembly) met for the last time in Ljetnikovac in Mokošica. Once again, extreme measures were taken to re-establish the Republic, but it was all in vain. After the fall of the Republic most of the aristocracy was recognized by the Austrian Empire.
In 1832, Baron Sigismondo Ghetaldi-Gondola (1795–1860) was elected podestà of Ragusa, serving for 13 years; the Austrian government granted him the title of "Baron".
Count Raffaele Pozza, Dr. Jur., (1828–90) was elected for first time Podestà of Ragusa in the year 1869 after this was re-elected in 1872, 1875, 1882, 1884) and elected twice into the Dalmatian Council, 1870, 1876. The victory of the Nationalists in Spalato in 1882 strongly affected in the areas of Curzola and Ragusa. It was greeted by the mayor (podestà) of Ragusa Raffaele Pozza, the National Reading Club of Dubrovnik, the Workers Association of Dubrovnik and the review "Slovinac"; by the communities of Kuna and Orebić, the latter one getting the nationalist government even before Split.
The Austrian and Austro-Hungarian rule that followed folloved the Divide et impera policy. The Austrian policy of denationalizing the Dalmatian coasts left its mark in the political division of the population as best expressed in the political parties: the Croatian People's Party and the mostly Italianite Autonomous Party.[citation needed]
In 1889, the Serbian-Catholics circle supported Baron Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola, the candidate of the Autonomous Party, vs the candidate of Popular Party Vlaho de Giulli, in the 1890 election to the Dalmatian Diet.[10] The following year, during the local government election, the Autonomous Party won the municipal re-election with Francesco Gondola, who died in power in 1899. The alliance won the election again on 27 May 1894. Francesco Ghetaldi-Gondola founded the Società Philately on 4 December 1890.
Ivan Gundulić monument 1893
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1918–1991
With the fall of Austria–Hungary in 1918, the city was incorporated into the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The name of the city was officially changed from Ragusa to Dubrovnik.
In 1921 Pero Cingrija died (born 1837), politician and one of the leaders of the People's Party in Dalmatia. It was thanks to his efforts that the People's Party and the Party of Right were fused into one Croatian Party in 1905.
During World War II, Dubrovnik became part of the Nazi controlled Independent State of Croatia, occupied by the Italian army first, and by the German army after 8 September 1943. In October 1944 Tito's partisans entered Dubrovnik, that became consequently part of Communist Yugoslavia. Soon after their arrival into the city, Partisans executed approximately 78 influential and well known citizens without a trial, including a Catholic priests, on the nearby island of Daksa.[11] Communist leadership during several next years continued prosecution of Croats which culminated on 12 April 1947 by capturing and imprisoned more than 90 citizens of Dubrovnik.[12]
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Break-up of Yugoslavia
Main article: Siege of Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik Shelling (black dots) 1991 to 1992.
In 1991 Croatia and Slovenia, which at that time were republics within Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared their independence. At that event, Socialist Republic of Croatia was renamed Republic of Croatia.
Despite demilitarization of the old town in early 1970s in an attempt to prevent it from ever becoming a casualty of war, following Croatia's independence in 1991, Serbian-Montenegrin remains of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) attacked the city. The regime in Montenegro led by Momir Bulatović, which was installed by and loyal to the Serbian government led by Slobodan Milošević, declared that Dubrovnik would not be permitted to remain in Croatia because they claimed it was historically part of Montenegro.[13] This was in spite of the large Croat majority in the city and that very few Montenegrins resided there, though Serbs accounted for six percent of the population.[13] Many consider the claims by the Bulatović government, as being part of Serbian President Milošević's plan to deliver his nationalist supporters the Greater Serbia they desired as Yugoslavia collapsed.[13]
On October 1, 1991 Dubrovnik was attacked by JNA with a siege of Dubrovnik that lasted for seven months. Heaviest artillery attack happened on December 6 with 19 people killed and 60 wounded. Total casualties in the conflict according to Croatian Red Cross were 114 killed civilians, among them celebrated poet Milan Milisić. Foreign newspapers have been criticised for exaggerating the damage sustained by the old town, instead of responding to human casualties.[14] Nonetheless, the artillery attacks on Dubrovnik damaged 56% of its buildings to some degree, as the historic walled city, a UNESCO world heritage site, sustained 650 hits by artillery rounds.[15] In May 1992 the Croatian Army lifted the siege and liberated Dubrovnik's surroundings, but the danger of sudden attacks by the JNA lasted for another three years.[16]
Following the end of the war, damage caused by the shelling of the Old Town was repaired. Adhering to UNESCO guidelines, repairs were performed in the original style. As of 2005, most damage had been repaired. The inflicted damage can be seen on a chart near the city gate, showing all artillery hits during the siege, and is clearly visible from high points around the city in the form of the more brightly coloured new roofs. ICTY indictments were issued for JNA generals and officers involved in the bombing.
General Pavle Strugar, who coordinated the attack on the city, was sentenced to an eight year prison term by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for his role in the attack.
The 1996 Croatia USAF CT-43 crash, near Dubrovnik Airport, killed everyone on a United States Air Force jet with United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown, The New York Times Frankfurt Bureau chief Nathaniel C. Nash and 33 other people.
[edit]
HeritageOld City of Dubrovnik
Native name:
Croatian: Stari grad Dubrovnik
The Old Harbour at Dubrovnik
Location:Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Type:Cultural
Criteria:i, iii, iv
Designated:1979 (3rd Session)
Reference #:95
:Europe and North America
Extension:1994
Endangered:1991–1998
Cultural Good of Croatia
Official name: Stari grad Dubrovnik
The annual Dubrovnik Summer Festival is a 45 day-long cultural event with live plays, concerts, and games. It has been awarded a Gold International Trophy for Quality (2007) by the Editorial Office in collaboration with the Trade Leaders Club.
The patron saint of the city is Sveti Vlaho (Saint Blaise), whose statues are seen around the city. He has an importance similar to that of St. Mark the Evangelist to Venice. One of the larger churches in city is named after Saint Blaise. February 3 is the feast of Sveti Vlaho (Saint Blaise), who is the city's patron saint. Every year the city of Dubrovnik celebrates the holiday with Mass, parades, and festivities that last for several days.[17]
The Old Town of Dubrovnik is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 50 kuna banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.[18]
The city boasts of many old buildings, such as the Arboretum Trsteno, the oldest arboretum in the world, dating back to before 1492. Also, the third oldest European pharmacy is located in the city, which dates back to 1317 (and is the only one still in operation today). It is located at Little Brothers monastery in Dubrovnik.[19]
A night shot of the Dubrovnik Old Town
In history, many Conversos (Marranos) were attracted to Dubrovnik, formerly a considerable seaport. In May, 1544, a ship landed there filled exclusively with Portuguese refugees, as Balthasar de Faria reported to King John. Another admirer of Dubrovnik, George Bernard Shaw, visited the city in 1929 and said: "If you want to see heaven on earth, come to Dubrovnik."
In the bay of Dubrovnik is the 72-hectare wooded island of Lokrum, where according to legend, Richard the Lionheart was cast ashore after being shipwrecked in 1192. The island includes a fortress, botanical garden, monastery and naturist beach.
Among the many tourist destinations are a few beaches. Banje, Dubrovnik's main public beach, is home to the Eastwest Beach Club. There is also Copacabana Beach, a stony beach on the Lapad peninsula,[20] named after the popular beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Dubrovnik has also been mentioned in popular film and theatre. In the film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea with Michael Caine, one of the characters said to have been dreaming of fairy from Dubrovnik (motive known from local legends and literature).
Ivan Gundulić, a 17th century Croatian writer, predicted the downfall of the great Turkish Empire in his poem Osman.
[edit]
Important monuments
Rooftops in Dubrovnik's Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Few of Dubrovnik's Renaissance buildings survived the earthquake of 1667 but fortunately enough remain to give an idea of the city's architectural heritage.[21] The finest Renaissance highlight is the Sponza Palace which dates from the 16th century and is currently used to house the National Archives.[22] The Rectors Palace is a Gothic-Renaissance structure that displays finely carved capitals and an ornate staircase. It now houses a museum.[23][24] Its façade is depicted on the reverse of the Croatian 50 kuna banknote, issued in 1993 and 2002.[18] The St. Saviour Church is another remnant of the Renaissance period, next to the much-visited Franciscan Monastery.[19][25][26] The Franciscan monastery's library possesses 30,000 volumes, 216 incunabula, 1,500 valuable handwritten documents. Exhibits include a 15th century silver-gilt cross and silver thurible, an 18th century crucifix from Jerusalem, a martyrology (1541) by Bemardin Gucetic and illuminated psalters.[19]
Dubrovnik's most beloved church is St Blaise's church, built in the 18th century in honour of Dubrovnik's patron saint. Dubrovnik's baroque Cathedral was built in the 18th century and houses an impressive Treasury with relics of Saint Blaise. The city's Dominican Monastery resembles a fortress on the outside but the interior contains an art museum and a Gothic-Romanesque church.[27][28] A special treasure of the Dominican monastery is its library with 216 incunabula, numerous illustrated manuscripts, a rich archive with precious manuscripts and documents and an extensive art collection.[29][30][31]
He has just got a 6 years sentence. He will spend 6 years wearing that ugly uniform, cuffed and treated like an inmate. He will be sleeping on a plastic matress, surronded by criminals like him. Working all day at the prison laundry and maybe having sex with inmates. I wish I was him...
Let this little sentence be continually before the eyes of our minds!
Let it check us when we are ready to murmur at earthly trials.
Let it strengthen us when we are tempted to deny our Master on account of persecution.
Let it caution us when we begin to think too much of the things of this world.
Let it quicken us when we are disposed to look back, like Lot's wife.
In all such seasons, let the words of our Lord ring in our ears like a trumpet, and bring us to a right mind! "Only one thing is needed!"
If Christ is ours — then we have all and abound!
Mission/Trial Report 14
Date: 08-30-2325
Location: Council Chambers, Citadel
Defendants Present:
• Cian Lios
• Daisy MacKenzie
• Fazzy Constantine
• Noah Constantine
• Ryoma Halvern
• Tai Astrofengia
• T1NM4N
• Vahenir
• Scrap
• Zeth Ryder
BluShock Special Witness:
• Jaron
Prosecutor:
• Tobias Sidonis
It had been some time since the “former” BluShock crew’s last mission on Stackspire Colony, where C-Sec—led by the newly installed BluShock Commander Robert Kean—finally apprehended Fazzy Constantine and his crew. Now, dragged back to the very heart of galactic law, they were forced to stand before the Citadel Council and answer for their alleged crimes.
The list was long: Noveria. The Citadel bombings. The destruction of Stackspire. The accusations were heavy, the weight of the galaxy pressing down on them. The crew knew they had their evidence ready, their witnesses lined up, their innocence to prove. But Daisy reminded them at every turn that this was a stitch-up from the very beginning. The Council wasn’t looking for truth—they were looking for blood.
As the day began, the sound of sirens split the wards. The apartment doors blew open under the force of C-Sec. Fazzy and his crew’s old friend from Valtoria—now C-Sec agent Saeed Massani—entered with the unit. He wasn’t here as an ally. He was here as law. He was here to do his job. And so the crew was marched out.
The journey through the Wards was chaos incarnate. Barricades, shouting mobs, and angry citizens lined the streets. “Murderers!” “Terrorists!” “Traitors!” Some cursed their names. Some wept for lost loved ones in the bombings the crew had actually prevented. None of it mattered. The people had already been told the story. The truth had been written out of history.
The elevator doors opened to the Council Chambers. What awaited them was a scene of grandeur and judgment. Crimson-leaved trees, sculpted planters, pristine staircases ascending into the chamber of galactic justice itself. The Council was assembled: an Orc councillor, a Turian, an Asari, and a Salarian—the brother of the slain Administrator Calzen of Noveria. Prosecutor Tobias Sidonis presided over the case, his voice cold and sharp as he read the charges.
The crew were lined up, cuffed, made to climb the steps to the platform of judgment. Their witnesses were already there: Gavin Tarius and Darrek Solan of Noveria. Marco and Leo, the garage brothers of Stackspire. Private investigator Havid Gabour and Battle Ready Pizza Joint owner, A Krogan. Then the accusations came. Twenty counts. Smuggling. Murder. Bombings. Destruction. Fabricated evidence was hurled onto holoscreens for all to see: falsified images of Fazzy in a relationship with the Salarian Administrator; Tai Astrofengia handing over a suspicious package; the long-missing BluShock operative Chastian Necrosa setting the Citadel bomb timers. The lies were as grotesque as they were elaborate.
The crew spoke, one by one, defending themselves. Their innocence was unwavering. They reminded the chamber of their deeds: the evacuation of Stackspire, the halting of the Citadel bombings, the saving of billions from galactic annihilation—not once, but twice. But the Council’s faces remained stone.
The witnesses were called. The Stackspire trio spoke truth to power and confirmed the crew’s actions had been heroic. But betrayal was present as well—the Turian receptionist from Noveria, who once thanked BluShock for saving him, now lied under oath. He declared they were behind the massacres at Port Hanshan, his words dripping with falsity, his motives bought and paid for by unknown hands.
Then came Jaron. The dragon-being from Duneshade, Icaros. He had traveled far to stand in their defense. His evidence cut through the lies: recorded footage of the Stackspire president himself planting charges, abandoning the colony, and triggering the explosion that would later be pinned on Fazzy and his crew. His proof revealed the trap for what it was: a staged execution, an attempt to erase BluShock from the galaxy.
But even that was not enough.
The chamber quieted as the Council withdrew to deliberate. When they returned, the sentence was swift and merciless. Guilty. Guilty on all counts. Their heroism meant nothing. Their sacrifices meant nothing. The truth meant nothing.
Prosecutor Sidonis gave the order: Purgatory. The infamous space prison where convicts are sent to vanish into silence. A place so remote, so forgotten, that escape was not even a rumor. Fazzy, Daisy, Noah, and the rest would be cast into its abyss for an undefined sentence. Their ranks were stripped. Their honor burned. Their legacy erased.
Daisy spat words at the Orc councillor, a defiant curse about his manhood, her voice echoing as the crew was marched away. Saeed Massani, once a friend, once a comrade, carried out the Council’s will and led them to their doom.
Outside, celebrations broke across the galaxy. Illium News Network broadcast the verdict: “Justice has been served. Fazzy Constantine and the BluShock crew are incarcerated.” In the streets, there were cheers. In the Presidium, there was relief. For most, it was over.
But for Fazzy and his crew, stripped of everything, this was not the end. Somewhere, beyond the sirens and the cells, lay a future untold. Could they rise again? Could they ever return to the galaxy as its heroes?
That remains the unanswered question.
End of Report.
Hopefully not a fate awaiting those who cannot pay?
This pub is located close to the Tower of London.
It is near Tower Green, where many executions took place.
There is a plaque on the wall that recalls the gruesome execution of Major General Thomas Harrison.
General Harrison was a friend, and strong supporter of Oliver Cromwell. He was also one of those who approved the execution of King Charles 1st in January 1649.
Following the Stuart restoration in 1660, King Charles ll had Harrison arrested for treason, and regicide.
He was sentenced to death, and he was given a traitors death by being hung, drawn, & quartered.
The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the events.
P30 Pro- Leica lens
Jane Farrell stole 2 boots and was sentenced to do 10 hard days labour.
Age (on discharge): 12
Height: 4.2
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Place of Birth: Newcastle
Married or single: Single
These photographs are of convicted criminals in Newcastle between 1871 - 1873.
Reference: TWAS: PR.NC/6/1/1090
(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.
To purchase a hi-res copy please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk quoting the title and reference number.
An early Chinese etiological myth for the phases of the moon involved a great forest or tree which quickly grew and lost its leaves and flowers every month. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, this was sometimes connected to a woodsman named Wu Gang, sentenced to cut at a self-repairing tree as a punishment for varying offenses. The tree was originally identified as a 桂 (guì) and described in the terms of the osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans, now known in Chinese as the 桂花 or "gui flower"), whose blossoms are still used to flavor wine and confections for the Mid-Autumn Festival. However, in English, it is often associated with the more well-known cassia (Cinnamomum cassia, now known in Chinese as the 肉桂 or "meat gui") while, in modern Chinese, it has instead become associated with the Mediterranean laurel. By the Qing dynasty, the chengyu "pluck osmanthus in the Toad Palace" (蟾宫折桂, Chángōng zhé guì) meant passing the imperial examinations,which were held around the time of the lunar festival. The similar association in Europe of laurels with victory and success led to its translation into Chinese as the 月桂 or "Moon gui".
Other uses
Bay is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in regions with Mediterranean or oceanic climates, and as a house plant or greenhouse plant in colder regions. It is used in topiary to create single erect stems with ball-shaped, box-shaped or twisted crowns; also for low hedges. Together with a gold form, L. nobilis 'Aurea', it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Laurel oil is a main ingredient, and the distinguishing characteristic of Aleppo soap.
sentenced to Life as a pony
Visit this location at DoomsDay Designs & Moonlight Stables in Second Life
There are two eyes watching me. They´re studying my prayers... It is difficult for me to forget my roots. I will make it.
Enochian is an angelic language used by angels in Heaven. They communicate over angel radio using this language, though in more recent years, they began communicating in English predominately. The angels, the Knights of Hell, and the Men of Letters are also familiar with an archaic dialect of the angelic language called "Pre-Enochian" or "Old Enochian". Castiel used sigils from this Enochian dialect to bind Alastair in a devil's trap he made. The Knights of Hell like Abaddon used the old Enochian sigil associated with them as their crest, leaving it behind in areas where they strike. Belphegor reveals that very few demons like Lilith, Crowley, and Abaddon have been known to understand Enochian. Enochian sigils are powerful glyphs that can be used against angels and demons and protect an area from angelic and demonic interference. Throughout Season 5, Castiel uses one to conceal Sam, Dean, and Adam from every angel in creation by carving it into their ribs.
www.supernaturalwiki.com/Enochian
Enochian has also been used in reciting various spells that can be used against some of the most dangerous creatures in all creation. Lily Sunder became a practitioner of Enochian Magic after Ishim taught her all their secrets, using spells that burn off pieces of her soul in exchange for longevity and access to angelic powers until it's completely burned away. The Whore of Babylon uses what appears to be an Enochian spell to harm Castiel. Lucifer's Cage can be opened and closed with the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and an Enochian phrase. When angels are reverted to their "factory settings", they relay any information hidden in their minds encrypted in Enochian.
The Two of Swords shows a blindfolded woman, Pamela Smith has become an impetrant, she begins her initiation into Enochian magic, the artist is dressed in a white dress, holding two crossed swords. The blindfold tells us that Pamela is confused about her inner light and cannot clearly see either the problem or the solution. She may also be missing relevant information that would make her decision much clearer if she were to get it. The swords she holds are in perfect balance, suggesting that she is weighing her thoughts and addressing both sides of the situation to find the best resolution.
Behind the woman is a body of water dotted with rocky islets. Water represents emotions, and while the costume of swords is traditionally associated with the mind and intellect, its presence shows that Pamela must use both her head and her heart to weigh her options. The islands represent obstacles in his path and suggest that his decision is not as clear cut as it seems. It will have to consider the situation as a whole. The crescent moon to her right is a sign that Pamela should trust her intuition to make her choice. Pamela is also alone on the beach. His eyes are blindfolded, his arms are tied. Eight swords planted in the ground form a prison around her. However, the circle is not completely closed. So there is an exit that the blindfold prevents you from seeing. The Two of Swords indicates that you are faced with a difficult decision, but you do not know which option to take. Both possibilities may seem equally good – or equally bad – and you don't know which will lead you to the better result. You need to be able to weigh the pros and cons of each choice and then make a conscious judgment. Use both your head (your mind and intellect) and your heart (your feelings and intuition) to choose the path that is most in alignment with your Higher Self.
Pamela Smith represented in this card wears a blindfold, indicating that she cannot see the entirety of her circumstance. You may lack the information you need to make the right decisions. You may be missing something, such as the threats or potential risks, alternative solutions or critical pieces of information that would help guide you in a particular direction. Once you remove the blindfold and see the situation for what it really is, you will be in a much better position to find your best path forward. Research your options more, seek outside opinions and feedback and ask yourself what you might be missing.`` Alone, far from the city and its ramparts, this woman seems very isolated. The sky is gray, the landscape is bleak. There emerges from the Card a feeling of uncertainty and absence of hope. The Eight of Swords symbolizes the feeling of helplessness of the Consultant. Lost, disoriented, the Consultant does not know what to do to overcome the obstacles or challenges of his environment. The Consultant experiences the very unpleasant feeling of being “stuck”, trapped. However – and this is important to stress – the Eight of Swords is not a fatalistic card. On the Map, the young woman could free herself from her fabric ties and remove the blindfold covering her eyes. She could regain the comfort and safety of the city behind her. The blockage, the "prison" of these Swords planted in a circle therefore symbolize first of all a situation created by the Consultant himself. Quite logically, he or she could get rid of it and get by on his own. The blockage is notably due to limiting beliefs on the part of the Consultant. These limiting beliefs go on and on: “You are not capable of…”; “A man like that, caring about you!? Do not even think about it ! » ; "Returning to training at your age to change paths will never work..." These limiting thoughts end up defining our possibilities and therefore we are no longer able to do otherwise, innovate or find solutions. It also happens that the feeling of helplessness is generated by external circumstances. The Consultant “wakes up”, dissatisfied with his environment and his life and wonders how he or she could have come to this.The Eight of Swords reveals that you feel trapped and restricted by your circumstances. You believe your options are limited with no clear path out. You might be in an unfulfilling job, an abusive relationship, a significant amount of debt or a situation way out of alignment with your inner being. You are now trapped between a rock and a hard place, with no resolution available. However, take note that the woman in the card is not entirely imprisoned by the eight swords around her, and if she wanted to escape, she could. She merely needs to remove the blindfold and free herself from the self-imposed bindings that hold her back. When the Eight of Swords appears in a Tarot reading, it comes as a warning that your thoughts and beliefs are no longer serving you. You may be over-thinking things, creating negative patterns or limiting yourself by only considering the worst-case scenario. The more you think about the situation, the more you feel stuck and without any options. It is time to get out of your head and let go of those thoughts and beliefs holding you back. As you change your thoughts, you change your reality. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and you will start to create a more favourable situation for yourself. The Eight of Swords assures you there is a way out of your current predicament – you just need a new perspective. You already have the resources you need, but it is up to you to use those resources in a way that serves you. Others may be offering you help, or there may be an alternative solution you haven’t yet fully explored. Be open to finding the answer rather than getting stuck on the problem. The Eight of Swords is often associated with a victim mentality. You surrendered your power to an external entity, allowing yourself to become trapped and limited in some way. You may feel that it isn’t your fault – you have been placed here against your will. You may feel like the victim, waiting to be rescued, but is this energy serving you? If not, it is imperative you take back your power and personal accountability and open your eyes to the options in front of you. The fact is you do have choices, even if you do not like them. You are not powerless. At times, the Eight of Swords indicates that you are confused about whether you should stay or go, particularly if you are in a challenging situation. It is not as clear-cut as you would like, making the decision very difficult. You have one foot in, hoping things can work out, but your other foot is out the door, ready to leave. The trouble is that you worry either option could lead to negative consequences, and so you remain stuck where you are. Again, this card is asking you to get out of your head and drop down into your gut and your intuition so you can hear your inner guidance. Your thoughts are not serving you right now, but your intuition is. Trust yourself. In any case, it is necessary to "take back control" of the circumstances and to remember that in life, we always have a choice. The possibilities in front of you may not be ideal, easy or desired… but they exist! You have to be able to look them in the face, and choose the best… or the least bad.
www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...
www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...
In 1903 Waite succeeded Yeats as Grand Master of the Golden Dawn. His first act under his new status was a reform of the fundamental principles of the Order: he proclaimed the primacy of spiritual achievement (emphasis on esoteric knowledge and the search for Truth) over material fulfillment (which occultism in general, and magic in particular, presupposes). Seeing in this act of negating the very foundation of the Golden Dawn (namely the practice of the occult sciences) the outright annihilation of the Order, former Grand Master Yeats strongly opposed Waite.
Two camps were then formed: one bringing together the supporters of the reform and represented by William Alexander Ayton, (relatively fearful in terms of operability), Waite's right-hand man, and the other bringing together, alongside the former Grand Mr. Yeats, the curators. The feud lasted two years, after which the Yeats camp ended up going on to found its own order (La Stella Matutina, the "Morning Star")—a perfect transposition of the Golden Dawn before Waite's reform, seceding from what took then the name of Holy Order of the Golden Dawn ("Holy Order of the Golden Dawn"; the expression "holy order" illustrating more the new mystical tendencies instilled by Waite) and which continued to be shaken by internal strife until disbanded in 1915, following Waite's departure.
After this "schism of 1905", which was the real coup de grace for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, certain initiates who had remained neutral in the struggle between Camp Yeats and Camp Ayton preferred to go and found, alone or in groups, their own brotherhood.
Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942), wanted to be a true scholar in occultism. He wrote, among other things, "The Holy Kaballah" and "The Key to the Tarot", published in London in 1910. For Waite, symbolism is the key to the Tarot. In "The Key to the Tarot" he says, "True tarot is symbolic; it uses no other languages or other signs". One of the unique characteristics of the Arthur Edwart Waite tarot and one of the main reasons for its popularity is that all the cards, including those of the Minor Arcana, depict scenes complete with figures and symbols. The images of all Pamela Coman-Smith's cards lend themselves to an interpretation based on the conscious and unconscious reading of the scene, without the need to consult explanatory texts.
What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.The Tarots of Wirth and Knapp Hall are to be considered to be Tarots based on "hermetic science". A science which will be strongly included in the broad fields of esoteric exploration to which the golden dawn will give access...The first decks that can be designated as decks born from the ideologies of the Golden Dawn and created according to their cosmogony is undoubtedly the Tarot Rider-Waite... It is the result of a long and meticulous research on esoteric symbols and their correspondence.
But the first member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to have designed a Tarot is obviously doctor Gérard Encausse, Papus, who joined the members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1895. The Papus tarot would have been designed around 1899... At the beginning, it was certainly reserved for a few insider circles only... It was seen for the first time in illustration in the works of Papus, among others in "Le Tarot des Bohémiens , absolute key to the occult sciences" (1889), but the book will only be really known and accessible to the general public from its 3rd edition published in 1926. Then will follow the work "The divinatory tarot. Key to card printing and fates" (1909), reissued in large circulation also the same year of 1926. From then on, the Tarot of Papus will gain much popularity and the public will seek to obtain it... The Tarot of Papus will be diffused little by little print from the 1930s.
While the tarots of Papus, Wirth and the Knapp Hall were appearing almost simultaneously, the renowned house of Grimaud, for its part, was preparing to publish the Tarot which would become the reference for the general public, it was this famous modified reproduction of the Conver, proposed by Paul Marteau. It will appear in 1930 and will become the most fashionable tarot... Despite the modifications made to this Tarot, it has no affiliation with occult groups and is intended to be a Tarot in the tradition of the Tarot de Marseille.
That said, the Tarot which will set the tone and which will be the reference for the members of the Golden Dawn is undoubtedly the Tarot developed by Rider and Waite.
There are already a hundred decks that derive directly from the tarot originally designed by Rider-Waite. Not to mention pirated copies, clones, etc... This tarot has long been a reference for budding occultists and kabbalists... It still is...
So, in fact, there are many tarots that were designed in the ideology of the Golden Dawn!!!
It will first be the Tarot of Aleister Crowley which, following the Rider-Waite, will stand out and bring modifications to the "esoteric" Tarot, always with reference to the Golden Dawn, to the Kabbalah, to ancient Egypt initiates, etc... With in addition, references to sexual magic...The members of the Golden Dawn mainly used the Tarot of Waite, but during the 1950s, 1960s, they put a lot of effort into creating a Tarot that could finally be directly linked to the precepts and esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn... A Tarot which originally wanted to be, once again, a Tarot exclusively reserved for members of the Order. This is the famous "Tarot of the Golden Dawn", so the Tarot which wants to be "officially" attested by the order...
But beware !! This name known as "Tarot of the Golden Dawn" is confusing... Several Tarots are decked out with the label "of the Golden Dawn"...
In truth, of all these tarot cards there is only one that is truly recognized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and as such, and that is the one developed by Israel Regardie and Robert Wang from esoteric works of Samuel Liddel Matthers.
Robert Wang will also create the "Jungian Tarot", very appreciated also by the followers of the Golden Dawn; and perhaps even more by those interested in "modern theosophy" and in the principles elaborated by Jung.
The "Jungian Tarot" is quite similar to the so-called "Golden Dawn" Tarot, but is intended more for "personal evolution" than for the initiatory journey of the Order, strictly speaking... In truth these two tarots are the results of extensive research in matters of esotericism, research that has been carried out by the study centers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Its construction, on the basis of the four elements, the celestial phenomena, the Holy Kabbalah, and a highly evolved psychology, can apparently lead its followers into the inner recesses of psychic and intuitive awareness.
Above all, this tarot can be used as a basis for occult study, in order to learn to possess all the aspects of the traditional "center-wisdom", and "high-science" kabbalistic... (There are many Rosicrucian references , and also references to Freemasonry and alchemy).
Originally, the Golden Dawn Tarot was only reserved for members of the official Order. It began to be broadcast from 1975.
Despite the claim of these creators, it should still be known that the vast majority of members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, will study the Tarot from the "Tarot B.O.T.A.", or the original Rider-Waite. What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.
THE TAROT B.O.T.A.
It is actually a very special version of the Rider-Waite Tarot presented in a "black and white" version, and the members were invited to color their own tarots... The study of symbolism esoteric was first done using this Tarot Rider-Waite in its original version (in black and bench). Indeed, the Waite-Rider Tarot in its black and white version is the most used by Golden Dawn followers and should be considered the official Golden Dawn Tarot.
A nearly similar version is still used by members of the B.O.T.A. and followers of hermetic schools. (The initials B.O.T.A. mean "Builders of the Adytum", it is a traditional and fraternal association founded by Paul Foster Case, continued and extended by Ann Davies...
A popular theory is that author William Walker Atkinson co-wrote the legendary "Kybalion" tome with Paul Foster Case. This theory is often defended by members of the "Builders of the Adytum". B.O.T.A. offers courses and techniques based on the study of the mystical teachings of the Holy Qabalah and TAROT. In fact, this confusing story about the Tarot B.O.T.A. and writing the "Kybalion", seems to have started with a breakaway group from the B.O.T.A., "The Brotherhood of Hidden Light" (which emphasizes the "secret (or lost) knowledge of the sages of Atlantis") .
The members of the Golden Dawn like the members of the B.O.T.A., consider that the Rider-Waite tarot is the ultimate "reference"...
secretsdutarot.blogspot.com/2013/01/les-tarots-dits-de-la...
This dissertation seeks to define the importance of Waite’s interpretation of mediaeval and Renaissance esoterica regarding the contacting of daemons and its evolution into a body of astrological and terrestrial correspondences and intelligences that included a Biblical primordial language, or a lingua adamica. The intention and transmission of John Dee’s angel magic is linked to the philosophy outlined in his earlier works, most notably the Monas Hieroglyphica, and so this dissertation also provides a philosophical background to Dee’s angel magic. The aim of this dissertation is to establish Dee’s conversations with angels as a magic system that is a direct descendant of Solomonic and Ficinian magic with unique Kabbalistic elements. It is primarily by the Neoplatonic, Hermetic, Kabbalistic, and alchemical philosophy presented in the Monas Hieroglyphica that interest in Dee’s angel magic was transmitted through the Rosicrucian movement. Through Johann Valentin Andreae’s Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459, the emphasis on a spiritual, inner alchemy became attached to Dee’s philosophy. Figures such as Elias Ashmole, Ebenezer Sibley, Francis Barret, and Frederick Hockley were crucial in the transmission of interest in Dee’s practical angel magic and Hermetic philosophy to the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.
Enochian Angel Magic: From John Dee to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn www.academia.edu/921740/Enochian_Angel_Magic_From_John_De...
The rituals of the Golden Dawn utilized Dee’s angel magic, in addition to creative Kabbalistic elements, to form a singular practice that has influenced Western esoterica of the modern age. This study utilizes a careful analysis of primary sources including the original manuscripts of the Sloane archives, the most recent scholarly editions of Dee’s works, authoritative editions of original documents linked to Rosicrucianism, and Israel Regardie’s texts on Golden Dawn practices."In Whose hands the Sun is as a sword, and the Moon as a through- thrusting fire." An elegant equation, defining the parameters of the. creation. The god declares dominion over planetary forces (Sun-Moon) and elemental forces (fire-air). He also declares control over the two types of dualities: those in which one pole is projective and the other responsive (Sun-Moon) and over those in which two forces of similar polarity are balanced (fire-air). Within the area of creation, the positive pole is attributed to the element of swords, Air, and the anti-positive pole is attributed to the element of Fire. This is reflected in the precedence followed by the elements throughout the Tablets and Calls: Air first, then Water, Earth, and Fire. "Which measure your garments in the midst of my vestures..." The word translated here as "garments" is used uniformly to mean "creation" or "being" elsewhere in the Keys. Another word is used for
"garments" in the next sentence of this same Key. Another word is also used for "midst" further on in this Key. So the translation here is questionable. A magickal image given to define this phrase shows the scene through the god's eyes as he pulls endless threads of living light out of a lamen on his chest.
Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the 16th-century writings of John Dee and Edward Kelley, who wrote that their information, including the revealed Enochian language, was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contain the record of these workings, the Enochian script, and the tables of correspondences used in Enochian magic. Dee and Kelley believed their visions gave them access to secrets contained within Liber Logaeth, which Dee and Kelley referred to as the "Book of Enoch".In the early 1580s, John Dee had become discontented with his progress in learning the secrets of nature. Dee wrote: I have from my youth up, desired and prayed unto God for pure and sound wisdom and understanding of truths natural and artificial, so that God's wisdom, goodness, and power bestowed in the frame of the world might be brought in some bountiful measure under the talent of my capacity... So for many years and in many places, far and near, I have sought and studied many books in sundry languages, and have conferred with sundry men, and have laboured with my own reasonable discourse, to find some inkling, gleam, or beam of those radical truths. But after all my endeavours I could find no other way to attain such wisdom but by the Extraordinary Gift, and not by any vulgar school, doctrine, or human invention. Enochian magic involves the evocation and commanding of various spirits.He subsequently began to turn energetically towards the supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. He sought to contact spirits through the use of a scryer or crystal-gazer, which he thought would act as an intermediary between himself and the angels. Dee's first attempts with several scryers were unsatisfactory, but in 1582 he met Edward Kelley (1555–1597/8), then calling himself Edward Talbot to disguise his conviction for "coining" or forgery, who impressed him greatly with his abilities.Dee took Kelley into his service and began to devote all his energies to his supernatural pursuits. These "spiritual conferences" or "actions" were conducted with intense Christian piety, always after periods of purification, prayer and fasting. Dee was convinced of the benefits they could bring to mankind. The character of Kelley is harder to assess: some conclude that he acted with cynicism, but delusion or self-deception cannot be ruled out. Kelley's "output" is remarkable for its volume, intricacy and vividness. Through Kelley, the angels laboriously dictated several books in this way, some in a previously unknown language which Dee called Angelical — now more commonly known as Enochian.The two pillars of modern Enochian magic, as outlined in Liber Chanokh, are the Elemental Tablets (including the "Tablet of Union") and the Keys of the 30 Aethyrs. The Enochian model of the universe is depicted by Dee as a square called "The Great Table" (made up of the 4 Elemental Tablets and incorporating the Tablet of Union), surrounded by 30 concentric circles representing the 30 Aethyrs or Aires. The Angelical Keys:
The essence of Enochian magic involves the recitation of one or more of nineteen Angelical Keys, which are also referred to as Calls. These keys are a series of rhetorical exhortations which function as evocations when read in the Enochian language. They are used to effect the "opening of 'gates' into various mystical realms." The first eighteen keys are used to 'open' the realms of the elements and sub-elements, which are mapped onto the quadrants and sub-quadrants of the Great Tablet.[clarification needed][citation needed]. The nineteenth key is used to 'open' the Thirty Aethyrs. The Aethyrs are conceived of as forming a map of the entire universe in the form of concentric rings which expand outward from the innermost to the outermost Aethyr. The Great Table: The angels of the four quarters are symbolized by the Elemental Tablets — four large magical word-square Tables (collectively called "The Great Table"). Most of the well-known Enochian angels are drawn from the Elemenal Tablets of the Great Table. Each of the four tablets (representing the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water), is collectively "governed" by a hierarchy of spiritual entities which runs (as explained in Crowley's Liber Chanokh) as the Three Holy Names, the Great Elemental King, the Six Seniors (aka Elders) (these make a total of 24 Elders as seen in the Revelation of St. John), the Two Divine Names of the Calvary Cross, the Kerubim, and the Sixteen Lesser Angels. Each tablet is further divided into four sub-quadrants (sometimes referred to as 'sub-angles') where we find the names of various Archangels and Angels who govern the quarters of the world. In this way, the entire universe, visible and invisible, is depicted as teeming with living intelligences. Each of the Elemental tablets is also divided into four sections by a figure known as the Great Central Cross. The Great Central cross consists of the two central vertical columns of the Elemental Tablet (the Linea Patris and Linea Filii) and the central horizontal line (known as the Linea Spiritus Sancti). In addition to the four Elemental Tablets, a twenty-square cell known as the Tablet of Union (aka The Black Cross, representing Spirit) completes the representation of the five traditional elemental attributes used in magic - Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. The Tablet of Union is derived from within the Great Central Cross of the Great Table. The Thirty Æthyrs : The 30 Aethyrs are numbered from 30 (TEX, the lowest and consequently the closest to the Great Table) to 1 (LIL, the highest, representing the Supreme Attainment. Magicians working the Enochian system record their impressions and visions within each of the successive Enochian Aethyrs. Each of the 30 Aethyrs is populated by "Governors" (3 for each Aethyr, except TEX which has four, thus a total of 91 Governors). Each of the governors has a sigil which can be traced onto the Great Tablet of Earth.
The Holy Table: a table with a top engraved with a Hexagram, a surrounding border of Enochian letters, and in the middle a Twelvefold table (cell) engraved with individual Enochian letters. According to Duquette and Hyatt, the Holy Table "does not directly concern Elemental or Aethyrical workings. Angels found on the Holy Table are not called forth in these operations."
The Seven Planetary Talismans: The names on these talismans (which are engraved on tin and placed on the surface of the Holy Table) are those of the Goetia. According to Duquette and Hyatt, "this indicates (or at least implies) Dee's familiarity with the Lemegeton and his attempt, at least early in his workings, to incorporate it in the Enochian system."] As with the Holy Table, Spirits found on these talismans are not called forth in these operations. The Sigillum dei Aemeth, Holy Sevenfold Table, or 'Seal of God's Truth': The symbol derives from Liber Juratus (aka The Sworn Book of Honorius or Grimoire of Honorius, of which Dee owned a copy). Five versions of this complex diagram are made from bee's wax, and engraved with the various lineal figures, letters and numbers. The four smaller ones are placed under the feet of the Holy Table. The fifth and larger one (about nine inches in diameter) is covered with a red cloth, placed on the Holy Table, and is used to support the "Shew-Stone" or "Speculum" (crystal or other device used for scrying). Scrying is an essential element of the magical system. Dee and Kelly's technique was to gaze into a concave obsidian mirror. Crowley habitually held a large topaz mounted upon a wooden cross to his forehead. Other methods include gazing into crystals, ink, fire or even a blank TV screen.Little else became of Dee's work until late in the nineteenth century,[citation needed] when it was incorporated by a brotherhood of adepts in England. The rediscovery of Dee and Kelley's material by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the 1880s led to Mathers developing the material into a comprehensive system of ceremonial magic. Magicians invoked the Enochian deities whose names were written on the tablets. They also traveled in their bodies of light into these subtle regions and recorded their psychic experiences. The two major branches of the system were then grafted on to the Adeptus Minor curriculum of the Golden Dawn.
According to Aleister Crowley, the magician starts with the 30th aethyr and works up to the first, exploring only so far as his level of initiation will permit. According to Chris Zalewski's 1994 book, the Golden Dawn also invented the game of Enochian chess, in which aspects of the Enochian Tablets were used for divination. They used four chessboards without symbols on them, just sets of colored squares, and each board is associated with one of the four elements of magic. Florence Farr founded the Sphere Group which also experimented with Enochian magic.Aleister Crowley's work with Enochian magick generally follows the Golden Dawn system. He is known primarily for his explorations of the 30 Aethyrs, published in "The Vision and the Voice". This work established the idea that Aethyr might represent a means of initiation, and set a standard for methodical exploration, which few have equaled. It also fixed Crowley's particular perspective on the process of transcendence in the minds of many students of the occult. Crowley envisioned the Aethyr as being related to the sephiroth of the tree of life in groups of three. He also mentions that each Aethyr "bends" into the next Aethyr above it, in a way, so that in progressing through the Aethyrs from the last to the first, one also withdraws one's being from the lower levels and already experienced (this is parallel to the technique he describes in the Liber Yod, in which the magician achieves union with the deity by gradually banishing all other levels and powers.Under this conception the Aethyrs ZAX, whose parts have names formed from the cross of union, is the highest of the three attributed to Chesed. Thus, it is the last Aethyr encountered before entering the Supernal Triad and achieving transcendence. Crowley envisioned this movement as crossing an "abyss" or space, during which the magician encounters an Enochian devil named Choronzon dwelling therein. Crowley's other contribution to Enochian magick was adapting the pyramid system of the GD for use with the sex magick of the O.T.O. In this technique, physical representations of the pyramids are made for an angel's name, but inverted to form the square "cups". These serve as talismans, which are charged using the end product of the sex magick operation.
Paul Foster Case (1884–1954), an occultist who began his magical career with the Alpha et Omega, was critical of the Enochian system. According to Case, the system of Dee and Kelley was partial from the start, an incomplete system derived from an earlier and complete Qabalistic system, and lacked sufficient protection methods. Case believed he had witnessed the physical breakdown of a number of practitioners of Enochian magic, due to the lack of protective methods. When Case founded his own magical order, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), he removed the Enochian system and substituted elemental tablets based on Qabalistic formulae communicated to him by Master R.The first Enochian Key or Call is a recapitulation of the steps by which the creator of the system brought it into being. The Key follows the same macrocosmic-to-microcosmic progression used in the example consecration ritual, but then supplements this with a response from the microcosm directed at the macrocosm. Note that the description of the downward current contains seven significant phrases, suggesting the planets and sun, the macrocosm, while the description of the response contains five significant phrases, suggesting the four elements and elemental spirit, the microcosm."...and trussed you together as the palms of my hands." The magickal image continues by showing the god gathering the fibers of light into a bundle or cable. The god concentrates the energies within the area of work in preparation for shaping."Whose seats I garnished with the fire of gathering, which beautified your garments with admiration." Having generated the positive or spiritual pole of the creation, the god now looks to the anti-positive or material pole. The "seats" are the squares of the tablets in their two-dimensional form. The god embodies a part of his will in the Tablets, defining the order and place to which the spiritual energies will be attracted and attached. When the energies are attached to the Tablets, the pattern of will embodied in the Tablets extends back along their path to the positive pole, conditioning all the perceptible expressions (the "garments") of the energies.. The usual assumption of later magicians (which is not universally accepted) is that the remaining Calls refer to the "Minor Angles" within the Tablets.
The Golden Dawn method of associating the Callings with the tablets and Lesser Angles has become the accepted "standard". Donald Tyson recently proposed an alternative method which has received some attention
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian_magic
SUMMARY OF PATH POSITIONS IN ACHAD'S TREE OF LIFE
Path Trump Connects with:
Aleph The Fool Malkuth Yesod
Beth The Magician Malkuth Hod
Gimel The Priestess Yesod Hod
Daleth The Empress Malkuth Netzach
Heh The Emperor Tiphereth Geburah
Vav The Hierophant Hod Netzach
Zain The Lovers Hod Tiphereth
Cheth The Chariot Yesod Netzach
Teth Strength Netzach Tiphereth
YodT he Hermit Hod Geburah
Kaph The Wheel of Fortune Kether Chokmah
Lamed Justice Netzach Chesed
Mem The Hanged Man Yesod Tiphereth
Nun Death Geburah Chesed
Samek Temperance Chesed Chokmah
AyinThe DevilTiphereth Binah
PehThe Tower Geburah Binah
Tzaddi The Star Binah Chokmah
Qoph The Moon Tiphereth Chesed
Resh The Sun Tiphereth Chokmah
Shin Judgement Kether Tiphereth
TauT he Universe Kether Binah
"To whom I made a law to govern the holy ones," The word translated as "holy ones" appears to derive from the same root as the enochian words for "fire", suggesting that the holy ones are those who possess the spiritual will. The god specifies the manner in which his creation will respond to the mages and adepts."Moreover, you lifted up your voices and sware obedience and faith..."The connection between the two poles having been made, and the conditions of their interaction being set, the angels of the creation voice their response to the god, swearing to continue to follow the god's will. "...to him that liveth and triumpheth," The spirits of the Tablets affirm the existence of their creator by saying that he lives, and affirm the success of the act of creation by saying that he triumphs. The echoing of the god's statements by the spirits of the tablets also suggests that the conditions the god laid on the creation as a whole
are reflected in miniature within the creation. It shall be shown that this is the case with the Tablets as we proceed.In the remainder of the Key, the magician using it calls upon the
spirits to respond to him fully and openly. The word translated here as "servant" might be better rendered as "minister" or "representative". The magician asserts that he has a right to demand a response from the spirits because his acts are in accord with the will of their creator.
www.sacred-texts.com/eso/enoch/1stkey.txt
Angelic chatter, but very little solid information. Additionally, the reader must deal with forays into apocalyptic religion, Elizabethan politics, Dee's and Kelly's personal issues, and the various irrelevant issues Dee insisted on inserting into the work. Chronologically, Dee and Kelly's work falls into three highly productive periods separated by months when nothing of particular value was received. The material received in each period generally stands on its own, and is only loosely related to that of the other periods. but the term is often applied to all work. First Period: The Heptarchia Mystica. Equipment: Ring, Lamen, and Holy Table The angels claimed that the ring they designed for Dee was the same one used by Solomon to control demons. The ring had a full band, to which was attached a rectangular plate. The letters PELE (coming from Latin for "he will do miracles") were inscribed in the four corners. In the center was a circle crossed by a horizontal line, with the letter "V" inscribed above and the letter "L" below. Two different lamens were given to Dee. The first bears a generic resemblance to various sigils of goetia being an assortment of free-form lines and oddly placed letters. The giving being indicated that it was to be made of gold and worn every time and place for the purpose of protection. given by an evil spirit. During the spring session of 1583, the angels indicated that a session had been scheduled in which detailed instructions would be given for the use of Heptarchic magick. If this session took place, it is not in the records that have survived; but some idea of the general technique can be gathered from the comments in other parts of the recording. The magician would be seated at the Holy Table, wearing the ring and lamen. table in front of him. He would hold an appropriate Heptarchic king's talisman in one hand, with a talisman of the names of the king's ministers placed beneath his feet. The magician would then invite the king with petition and prayer, followed by petitions to his prince, and invocations of the six chief ministers. They would appear in the stone of clairvoyance, whereupon the magician would instruct them to accomplish the task he desired.The Liber Loagaeth is the most mysterious part of Dee and Kelly's work. It is also known by different names like
book of Enoch and the Liber Mysteriorum Sextus et Sanctus. So far no one has seriously attempted to use it, or to understand its nature, beyond what is found in the diaries. According to the angels, "loagaeth" means "speech of God", this book is supposed to be, literally, the words by which God created all things. It is supposed to be the language in which the "true names" of all things are known, giving power over them. As described in the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, the book was to consist of 48 "leaves", of which each contains a 49x49 grid. Infact, the book actually presented to Kelly is somewhat different. It contains 49 "invocations" in an unknown language, 95 square tables filled with letters and numbers, 2 similar tables not filled, and 4 drawn tables twice the width of the others. 2 "leaves" are recorded, but these are not included in the final book, and apparently serve as an introduction or prologue to the work. this term. There is no translation by which this could be judged in detail, but the text lacks the logical repetitions and word placements which are characteristic of the 48 Enochian invocations given in later years. There is no apparent grammar in the text. Donald Laycock remarks that the language is strongly alliterative and repetitively rhyming, while Robert Turner calls it "glossolalic". many "languages", all being spoken immediately. The purpose of the Loagaeth has been said to be the unleashing/introduction of a new age on earth, the last age before the end of all things. Instructions for use for this purpose were never given; the angels continually put it off, saying that only God could decide when the time has come. During the presentation of the two leaves of the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, in the stone of clairvoyance an angel moved successively towards letters, and Kelly pronounced the names of the angelic character. Dee transcribed a version using the Roman alphabet, apparently with the intention of redoing it in angelic characters at a later date. of Kelly; this light was seen by both of them. Once the light entered Kelly's head, his consciousness was transformed so that he could understand the text as he read it. He was strongly commanded not to provide a translation, explaining that God would choose the time for it to be revealed. He provided the translation of a few of the words, but it was insufficient to capture the meaning of the text as a whole. When the light withdrew from Kelly's head, he immediately ceased to understand the text, and could no longer see it in the stone. On a few occasions, the light continued to work within him for a short time after the session ended, and at those times Dee noticed that Kelly said many wonderful (and unrecorded) things about the nature of the texts. But the moment the light went out, Kelly couldn't understand it anymore, nor remember what he had said during the previous moment. The record indicates that the 23rd line of the first leaf was a preface to the creation and distinction of the angels, and the 24th line a pleasant invitation to the good angels. Nothing else is recorded concerning the purpose of this book.
Enochian Magic and the Apocalypse
There are 2 major threads of thought in Christian millennialism. One thread, called postmillennialism, is largely utopian in nature. He sees the millennium as the beginning of a period of progressive perfection of conditions on Earth; the basic principle is that the world must be perfected and the city of God built on earth before Christ returns, and only after Christ returns will the world end. Two decades after Dee, this form of millennialism was the driving force behind the religious groups shoeing the English colonization of America. Dee's own thought contains many post-millennial ideals in the search for Enochian magick, one of his goals was to gain means to bring earthly governments and societies to God's design, thereby bringing the return of Christ closer. quickly. The other thread, called premillennialism, is the more catastrophic variety. In this version, the typical scenario is the return of Christ, and then mankind's current "evil" societies will be destroyed in worldwide disasters, while the elect are preserved from evil. After the world is destroyed, Christ will join the faithful in a city built by God to rule over the earth for a thousand years. While there is a strong millennial flavor to the angel's statements, they are almost uniformly of the postmillennial variety. The angels divided the world into four ages. The first of these ages began with the creation and ended with the flood; the second ended with the appearance of Christ. The revelation of Liber Loagaeth ended the third age and triggered the final age, in which the world would be brought to perfection before Christ's return. . A particular passage makes this clear.
The Enochian Magical System of Golden Dawn
Regardie, Israel, The Golden Dawn, Llewellyn Publications, 1971, St Paul, MN. Reprinted at regular intervals. Contains detailed descriptions of the Enochian Magical System developed from GD. Zalewski, Pat. Golden Dawn Enochian Magic, Llewellyn Certainly there are influences of the Qabalah (the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the communications of Uriel, Michael...) but this is not the originality and the strength of the system. Some practitioners of Enochian magic said that it was a Qabala (when I hear a Qabala I tend to write Kabbalah, like in the theater) that put into action the world of Atziluth, the highest of the four Qabalah classic. It's quite difficult to verify...even ! (See the introduction to the Necrono-micon at Belfond Editions).
But back to Enochian magick proper. The successors of the G.. D.. today reorganize its system and Schueler in his Enochian Magic) gives the material and the rituals "step by step" ("step by step"). Americans (and us too) like to practice if it is simple and impressive... The investigation by Enochian magic generally gives results, we cannot really say that they are controllable since they do not correspond to any standard of experiences already lived by the inventors of this practice.
Be that as it may, the Enochian, this language with its grammar and its syntax, this magical system and its original Theogony, remains a mystery that should not be taken for a simple variant of this or that traditional system already known. It is therefore useful when approaching it to master the fundamental elements which are used for its use without being subservient to the rituals of the pentagrams and hexagrams, to their signs, to the notions of Qabala of the G., D.., etc. This will make it possible to know what is original or what is borrowed in the Enochian, and what one can think of such or such contemporary development. A culture that will provide some points of reference in our consumer society where the practice of magic has much in common with video games or the daily television session.
In this, the most honorable goal (if it can be a question of honour) is the success of the experience known as the "Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel", i.e. contact with one's true will, devoid of intention, in other words his heart. But it also applies to solving the various problems of life. After all, a magic is white or black only according to the use that is made of it... Let's say that we are still far from the religious John Dee. In fact not, for if Dee's conscious aims and methods were very far from those of our contemporaries, would ultimately the adventures and misadventures of his life, the problem of his relationship with Kelly evidently culminating in the ritually ordered exchange what they did with their wives would not be indications that this practice was beginning to ferment the elements of their consciences into a quintessential non-conformist?
MATTHEW LEON.
This text constitutes the introduction to the "Book of the gathering of forces" Editions RAMUEL 1994
Today we can no longer answer, lacking the benchmarks of a conventional morality no longer existing in the heart of the modern magician. But what is left? On what do we base ourselves if our practice has not yet allowed us an unambiguous contact with our heart, if our magical training lets us wander in the imagination that we have shaped? Publications 1990, St Paul, MN.
Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored.In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (e.g., 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise). Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways. Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that synesthesia develops during childhood when children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. This hypothesis—referred to as semantic vacuum hypothesis—could explain why the most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme-color, spatial sequence, and number form. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn. The earliest recorded case of synesthesia is attributed to the Oxford University academic and philosopher John Locke, who, in 1690, made a report about a blind man who said he experienced the color scarlet when he heard the sound of a trumpet. However, there is disagreement as to whether Locke described an actual instance of synesthesia or was using a metaphor. The first medical account came from German physician Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812. The term is from the Ancient Greek σύν syn, 'together', and αἴσθησις aisthēsis, 'sensation'.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia
When Pamela Coleman Smith was attending the Pratt Institute of Art, she realized that she possessed a high degree of sound-color synesthesia, i.e., she was able to visualize colors and forms while listening to music and could transmit those visualizations into tangible works of art. Modern psychologists define synesthesia as a crossing-over of sensory input. Depending upon the type of synesthesia, individuals are able to hear colors, see music, smell words, etc. Many people, particularly artists, possess this phenomenon to some extent; however, Pamela possessed sound-color synesthesia to an exceptionally high degree. She was able to create sound paintings just by unconsciously drawing while listening to passages of music. She embodied the Symbolist ideal in this area. Many examples of her work in this area have survived, including three watercolors in the possession of the Stieglitz/Georgia O'Keeffe Archive. In July 1908, an article appeared in The Strand Magazine entitled "Pictures in Music." The article included six black and white images of her music paintings (see below) and provided a long quotation by her which described how her art was created. A pertinent excerpt from that article is as follows: Do you see pictures in music? When you hear a Beethoven symphony or a sonata by Schumann, do mystic human figures and landscapes float before your eyes ? It is by no means new or uncommon for a composer to have a distinct picture in his mind when he sets himself to create a work. Schumann saw children at play in an embowered wood, dancing merrily until, lo ! the sudden advent of a satyr sent them shrieking to their homes. Few, however, have been able to delineate their hallucinations born of music.
Mendelssohn, who was no mean draughtsman, was often asked to do so, but always refused. "It is like asking a sculptor to paint a portrait of his statue," he once said. " All art is one, just as the human body is one, but each of the members has its functions. It is the function of music to hear, not to see." Nevertheless, it is highly interesting to see music translated in the terms of a sister art, and this is what a clever artist, Miss Pamela Colman Smith, has done, in pictures which are published now for the first time in The Strand Magazine. Many of the compositions selected by the artist will instantly be recognized as conveying, in quite a surprising way, a vivid idea of the music as a whole. Every reader can ascertain for himself whether he possesses this peculiar psychic gift—this power of conjuring up music pictures. When you next hear a famous sonata, close your eyes and see what, if any, "pictures" pass before the eye of your brain. Under the magical influence of music the soul has glimpses of wondrous shapes, lit by the light that never was on sea or land. "You ask me how these pictures are evolved," said Miss Colman Smith. "They are not pictures of the music theme — pictures of the flying notes—not conscious illustrations of the name given to a piece of music, but just what I see when I hear music—thoughts loosened and set free by the spell of sound. "When I take a brush in hand and the music begins, it is like unlocking the door into a beautiful country. There, stretched far away, are plains and mountains and the billowy sea, and as the music forms a net of sound the people who dwell there enter the scene; tall, slow-moving, stately queens, with jewelled crowns and garments gay or sad, who walk on mountain - tops or stand beside the shore, watching the water - people. These water-folk are passionless, and sway or fall with little heed of time; they toss the spray and, bending down, dive headlong through the deep. "There are the dwellers, too, of the great plain, who sit and brood, made of stone and motionless; the trees, which slumber till some elf goes by with magic spear and wakes the green to life ; towers, white and tall, standing against the darkening sky— Those tall white towers that one sees afar, Topping the mountain crests like crowns of snow. Their silence hangs so heavy in the air That thoughts are stifled. "Then huddling crowds, who carry spears, hasten across the changing scene. Sunsets fade from rose to grey, and clouds scud across the sky. "For a long time the land I saw when hearing Beethoven was unpeopled; hills, plains, ruined towers, churches by the sea. After a time I saw far off a little company of spearmen ride away across the plain. But now the clanging sea is strong with the salt of the lashing spray and full of elemental life; the riders of the waves, the Queen of Tides, who carries in her hand the pearl-like moon, and bubbles gleaming on the inky wave. "Often when hearing Bach I hear bells ringing in the sky, rung by whirling cords held in the hands of maidens dressed in brown. There is a rare freshness in the air, like morning on a mountain-top, with opal-coloured mists that chase each other fast across the scene. "Chopin brings night ; gardens where mystery and dread lurk under every bush, but joy and passion throb within the air, and the cold moon bewitches all the scene. There is a garden that I often see, with moonlight glistening on the vine-leaves, and drooping roses with pale petals fluttering down, tall, misty trees and purple sky, and lovers wandering there. A drawing of that garden I have shown to several people and asked them if they could play the music that I heard when I drew it. They have all, without any hesitation, played the same. I do not know the name, but— well, I know the music of that place."