View allAll Photos Tagged TRANSMUTATION
The making of the Madonna & Child Or Re-parenting My Inner Child, Series 3.
An art film by Mary Bogdan.
click here to see the video,
or click here to see it on my blog
Madonna & Child OR Re-Parenting My Inner Child 3.1
Series 3, total of 13. Mixed media and giclée printed on archival paper, 8.25” x 10”, 2007
I was getting ready for The 9th International Collage Exhibition and Exchange, New Zealand, April 2007. BUT, something crazy happened along the way. I reread the rules, and realized I couldn't/shouldn't send any PLANT MATERIAL in/on the collages to New Zealand from Canada...
I'm OUT, I thought. I have several collages with dried leaves, parsley leaves, a hibiscus bloom, twigs, moss, dog hairs, my hairs, pubic hairs... So, I decided I couldn't break up the set of 13 as they were and so decided to just keep them... and hope for the best... that they'll be shown eventually together, somewhere. So, here they are, all 13, together.
This has been my process. I was working on these 13 in the last couple of weeks and am now posting the transitions, or should I say transformations, or should I say transmutations, or, dare I say... transcendence.
madonna & child or re-parenting my inner child, a film by mary bogdan www.lulu.tv/?p=7650
With this, it marks the end of my photo documentary of the Chinese Hungry Ghosts Festival, and the Seventh month in the Lunar Calendar is coming to an end seven days later - when it's believed that the gates of hell will once again be closed.
*** Thank You so much for visiting my set and taking the time to get to know more about these Chinese traditions ***
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Origin and facts of the Hungry Ghost Festival:
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Photo shot with Nikon D600 +AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
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---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.
"The Entombment" (detail).
After RAPHAEL, Raffaello Santi; (Italian; 1483-1520)
oil on canvas 174.6 x 170.0 .This is a full-scale copy, by an unknown artist, of one of Raphael's major panel pictures, finished in 1507 (Galleria Borghese, Rome). A fine painting, it was bought by the Foulis brothers for their Academy of Fine Arts, Glasgow's first art academy, so that students could learn from an important example of the master's work. This picture was rescued by the Friends of College in 1776 from the Foulis bankruptcy sale in London. It was finally sold to the University of Glasgow in 1779. The work is an accomplished copy, by an unknown hand, of Raphael's dymanic response to Atalanta Baglioni's 1505 commission for an altar piece for San Francesco del Prato in Perugia. Robert Foulis, who inaugurated the Academy in 1754, made copious purchases of casts and 'Old Masters' - genuine or not - to support the teaching role of the school. Raphael seems to have been held in dutiful regard by the Academy, which possessed a few good copies of the master, and which issued sets of engravings after certain of his most celebrated works. Yet Raphael's position was equivocal within the fledgling Academies of Britain - he represented the epitome of 'high taste', yet could be lampooned mercilessly for that very rigidity : witness Joshua Reynolds' caricature of the 'School of Athens' of 1751, now in the National Gallery of Ireland. It indeed transpired that the Foulis Raphaels had little role in the formation of subsequent trends in Scottish art. Genre, portraiture and landscape were too important to the Scots, as was the desirability of evolving a distinctive personal style. Nevertheless, the average Foulis student may have gained from the 'Entombment' an insight into the mechanics of high art, namely, the absorption of great example transmuted by highly developed personal taste. For has not Raphael himself, in this composition, adapted, in the most cunningly surreptitious way, both the Christ figure of Michelangelo's 'Pieta' of 1497-1500 and the Virgin of Michelangelo's Doni Tondo (1503-4) for the figure supporting the swooning Virgin on the right? The Scottish artist doubtless acknowledged this complexity, but resolved ultimately to resist its convolutions. After the dissolution of the Foulis Academy, this fine copy was rescued by the 'Friends of College', who purchased it at sale in London in 1776. It was finally sold to the University of Glasgow in 1779, and remains as memorial to Glasgow's precocious artistic life in the latter half of the 18th century. Text Copyright : Marion Lawson, History of Art Department, University of Glasgow, 1984. Our painting was among the works acquired by the Glasgow University Printer Robert Foulis to hang in the Academy of painting and used by students for copying. For another of the paintings formerly in the Foulis collection see 43521, the Martyrdom of St Catherine by Cossiers. In 1768 Robert Paul, a Foulis Academy pupil, engraved a Raphael drawing for the picture then owned by Crozat. Oil copies of the heads of Saint Mary Magdalen and of Nicidemus appear in p. 3 of A Catalogue of Pictures, Drawings, Prints, Statues and Busts in Plaster of Paris done at the Academy in Glasgow, c.1763 (Duncan p.113). Another same size copy, attributed to Cavaliere d'Arpino, is in the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia. Purchased, 1779.
www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/Detail...
Palingenesis (/ˌpælɪnˈdʒɛnəsɪs/; also palingenesia) is a concept of rebirth or re-creation, used in various contexts in philosophy, theology, politics, and biology. Its meaning stems from Greek palin, meaning again, and genesis, meaning birth. "What is palingenesis?"
Answer: The term palingenesis has two common uses relevant to the Bible. One usage relates to evolutionary biology; the other is a theological term. Both usages are connected to the word’s Greek roots. The combination of the terms genesis, meaning “origin” or “birth”; and palin, meaning “again,” defines the term palingenesis as “a rebirth, new beginning, or repetition.”
At one point in history, the term palingenesis was used in biology as part of the theory of evolution. Also known as recapitulation or embryological parallelism, the theory of palingenesis taught that embryos passed through their prior evolutionary stages prior to birth. In other words, a developing fetus would look like the animals it had evolved from, in order, as it grew. A human fetus, according to palingenesis, progressed through the stages of fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal before arriving at a fully formed human being.
A major driver behind the popularity of palingenesis or recapitulation theory was the work of Ernst Haeckel. He produced drawings of various creatures in their embryonic form. The problem was that he deliberately over-emphasized the similarities between different animals. As a result, many biology students were taught palingenesis using a visual representation of embryos that was itself misleading. Recapitulation theory eventually fell out of favor and is no longer considered a valid theory by the general scientific community. Unfortunately, in no small part due to widespread use of Haeckel’s drawings, it is a lingering myth.
In the spiritual or cultural sense, palingenesis refers to a rebirth or renewal. The term is very broad, so it can be applied to both resurrection within Christianity or reincarnation in faiths such as Hinduism. At times, the term is also used in reference to a personal or cultural revival. Any restarting, re-forming, or re-invention of a once-lost or dead practice could also be considered a type of palingenesis. From a political standpoint, palingenesis refers to the idea of a culture rising from the ashes of history, making this a popular concept with revolutionaries and dictators.
The most direct biblical references to palingenesis are in passages such as John 3, where Jesus indicates that only those who are “born again” can see heaven. First Peter 1:3 says, “In [God’s] great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (see also verse 23). The theme of renewal, a core aspect of palingenesis, is also found in verses like Titus 3:5, which speaks of regeneration and renewal. The same idea is found in 1 Corinthians 6:11 and Revelation 7:14.
In biology, it is another word for recapitulation—the largely discredited hypothesis which talks of the phase in the development of an organism in which its form and structure pass through the changes undergone in the evolution of the species. In political theory, it is a central component of Roger Griffin's analysis of Fascism as a fundamentally modernist ideology.[1] In theology, the word may refer to reincarnation or to Christian spiritual rebirth symbolized by baptism.
Contents
1Philosophy and theology
2Politics and history
3Science
4Notes
5References
Philosophy and theology[edit]
The word palingenesis or rather palingenesia (Ancient Greek: παλιγγενεσία) may be traced back to the Stoics,[2][3][4][5] who used the term for the continual re-creation of the universe. Similarly Philo spoke of Noah and his sons as leaders of a renovation or rebirth of the earth, Plutarch of the transmigration of souls, and Cicero of his own return from exile.
In the Gospel of Matthew[6] Jesus is quoted in Greek (although his historical utterance would most likely have been in Aramaic) using the word "παλιγγενεσία" (palingenesia) to describe the Last Judgment foreshadowing the event of the regeneration of a new world. Palingenesia is thus as much the result of, or reason for, the Last Judgement as it is directly the Judgement itself.
In philosophy it denotes in its broadest sense the theory (e.g. of the Pythagoreans) that the human soul does not die with the body but is born again in new incarnations. It is thus the equivalent of metempsychosis. The term has a narrower and more specific use in the system of Schopenhauer, who applied it to his doctrine that the will does not die but manifests itself afresh in new individuals. He thus repudiates the primitive metempsychosis doctrine which maintains the reincarnation of the particular soul.
Robert Burton, in The Anatomy of Melancholy (1628), writes, "The Pythagoreans defend metempsychosis and palingenesia, that souls go from one body to another."
The 17th century English physician-philosopher Sir Thomas Browne in his Religio Medici (1643) declared a belief in palingenesis, stating,
A plant or vegetable consumed to ashes, to a contemplative and school Philosopher seems utterly destroyed, and the form to have taken his leave for ever: But to a sensible Artist the forms are not perished, but withdrawn into their incombustible part, where they lie secure from the action of that devouring element. This is made good by experience, which can from the ashes of a plant revive the plant, and from its cinders recall it into its stalk and leaves again.'[7]
Palingenesis is the subject of the Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges's last ever short story, The Rose of Paracelsus (1983)
Politics and history[edit]
In Antiquities of the Jews (11.3.9) Josephus used the term palingenesis for the national restoration of the Jews in their homeland after the Babylonian exile. The term is commonly used in Modern Greek to refer to the rebirth of the Greek nation after the Greek Revolution. British political theorist Roger Griffin has coined the term palingenetic ultranationalism as a core tenet of fascism, stressing the notion of fascism as an ideology of rebirth of a state or empire in the image of that which came before it – its ancestral political underpinnings. Examples of this are Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Under Benito Mussolini, Italy purported to establish an empire as the second incarnation of the Roman Empire, while Adolf Hitler's regime was seen[by whom?] as being the third palingenetic incarnation of the German "Reich" - beginning first with the Holy Roman Empire ("First Reich"), followed by Bismarck's German Empire ("Second Reich") and then Nazi Germany ("Third Reich").
Moreover, Griffin's work on palingenesis in fascism analysed the pre-war Fin De Siecle Western society. In doing so he built on Frank Kermode's work The Sense of an Ending which sought to understand the belief in the death of society at the end of the century.[8] As part of this death and rebirth Fascism sought to target what it perceived as degenerative elements of society, notably decadence, materialism, rationalism and enlightenment ideology. Out of this death society would regenerate by returning to a more spiritual and emotional state, with the role of the individual core. This built on the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, Gustave Le Bon and Henri Bergson's work on the relationship between the mass and the individual with the individual's actions necessary to achieving a state of regeneration.[citation needed]
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet expressed his post-coup project in government as a national rebirth inspired in Diego Portales, a figure of the early republic:[9]
“...[democracy] will be born again purified from the vices and bad habits that ended up destroying our institutions... ...we are inspired in the Portalian spirit which has fused together the nation...”
— Augusto Pinochet, 11 October 1973.
Science[edit]
In modern biology (e.g. Haeckel and Fritz Müller), palingenesis has been used for the exact reproduction of ancestral features by inheritance, as opposed to kenogenesis, in which the inherited characteristics are modified by environment.
It was also applied to the quite different process supposed by Karl Beurlen to be the mechanism for his orthogenetic theory of evolution.[10]
St Andrew, Colney, Norfolk
I passed this church for years before I ever went inside. It sits within the urban area of Norwich, on the busy Earlham Road just before it disgorges its heavy load of traffic onto the A47, and I have always thought it rather a poor, beleaguered thing. It was only when I cycled from Bowthorpe, that most maligned of Norwich suburbs, and turned off the road into a little lane with cottages and the beautiful church in its graveyard, that I got a sense that Colney really was once a little village. Indeed, a map inside the church shows that the greater part of the parish is south of the Earlham Road, and is still intensely rural today.
This is one of half a dozen or so round-towered churches in the urban area of Norwich, and unless you are viewing it from the main road it has the most successfully rural setting of any of them. The churchyard is a narrow one, and it is easy to forget that, until a few years ago, the route of the main road ran alongside the churchyard wall, and heavy traffic thundered past within a few metres of the church.
A reminder of the traffic that once passed so close, and probably the best-known feature of St Andrew, is the headstone to John Fox recut and reset above the south porch entrance. It reads Sacred to the memory of John Fox who on the 20th December 1806 in the 79th year of his age was unfortunately killed near this spot having been thrust down and trampled on by the horses of a wagon. READER if thou drivest a team be careful and endanger not the life of another or thine own. The tower above is heavily restored, but there are double-splayed window holes, and there are also carstone quoins below in the west wall of the nave, both suggestive that this dates back to Saxon times. Otherwise, the church is generally 14th Century in character, albeit with the crispness of its 19th Century restoration.
You step into a church which feels entirely Victorian, although very much with a fitting sense of its rural past. The great treasure of the church is the late medieval font. It is an exotic species - I do not think there is another like it in East Anglia. It features the signs of the four Evangelists carved characterfully, the winged lion, bull and eagle taking off with their scrolls in their mouths, the angel of St Matthew holding his in front of him. Facing east is a very good Crucifixion scene, but the most extraordinary panel is that which faces west. It shows a hooded figure kneeling, a donor perhaps, next to what appears to be a man tied to a post with arrows sticking out of his body. Now, this being East Anglia, your first instinct might be that it is intended to represent St Edmund, but the imagery is so close to that of St Sebastian that I think that is who it is meant to be. And, given that this is such an unusual font, it raises the suggestion that this font did not come from Colney originally, and possibly not even from elsewhere in East Anglia.
Norwich has contributed more than its fair share of familiar 18th and 19th century family business names, and perhaps the most prominent in the modern age is that of the Barclay banking family of Colney Hall. This was their parish church, and when Evelyn Louisa Barclay died at the age of 37 in 1899, the windows in the chancel by Edward Frampton were placed in her honour. They are worth more than a glance, because they feature Mrs Barclay and her eight children. The most charming window shows her at her reading desk, a baby on her lap and an infant on the floor, the six older Barclay children standing and listening attentively. They are in the height of late Victorian gravitas before it transmuted into the triumphalism of the years before and after the First World War. The oldest boy, Terence, standing in blue, met a tragic and curious end, for in 1911, when he was 29, he was mauled and killed by a lion kept in the menagerie at Colney Hall. His little brother David, the infant sitting at his mother's feet, died just five years later, mortally wounded on the Western Front during the First World War. Both of them are buried in the churchyard.
In the decades immediately before the Reformation, there was a great flowering in East Anglia of brasses for Priests, and there is one here, to Henry Alikok, who was Rector, and died in 1502. It is a chalice brass, depicting a chalice and host, to denote that the commemorated person was a Priest. It sits on the edge of a great expanse of orange tiles, which appear to have been painted. I assume that they are actually late Victorian, perhaps contemporary with the Barclay windows, and I couldn't help wondering what had been obscured.
A memorial to William Scott is a reminder of the days of the Raj. He was a Cornet of the Bengal Light Infantry, and he died at Jullunder in India in the year before the Indian Mutiny. He was 23 years old. The inscription quotes Genesis, Shall not the God of all the Earth do right, which must have been small comfort to his parents, I think. Outside in the graveyard is another memory of an Eastern tragedy, this time a modern one, in the form of a memorial to a local woman who died in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004.
Here, it is hard to blot out the traffic on the busy road, or the vision of Bowthorpe across the fields. But two jays were obviously quite happy with the way things were. In recent years, these beautiful birds have followed their cousins the magpies into the cities. From being shy birds, they are becoming rather fearless. These two hopped from the churchyard wall onto the top of two adjacent 19th Century headstones, watching me with interest, dipping and tilting their tails slightly to find a balance. The sun came out, and their vivid buff and sapphire dress was jewel-like in this green of late spring. The tufts on their heads made their sharp eyes quizzical. It made a perfect photograph. But, of course, as soon as I lifted my camera, they launched themselves into the air, and were gone.
Arturo Gonzalez and Maru Izaguirre. Radical Horizons: The Art of Burning Man. Chatsworth House Gardens, Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK.
Character Creation
Garth Ranzz, also known as Live Wire and Lightning Lad, is a superhero appearing in media published by DC Comics, usually those featuring the Legion of Superheroes, a 30th and 31st century group of which he is a founding member.[1] He has the superhuman ability to generate electricity, usually in the form of lightning bolts.
Garth Ranzz as Lightning Lad has appeared in various media outside comics, primarily those featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes. He is voiced by Andy Milder in Legion of Super Heroes (2006) and portrayed by Calum Worthy in Smallville.
The character first appeared in Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958), and was created by Otto Binder and Al Plastino.
Character History
Garth Ranzz was born on the agricultural world of Winath with his twin, Ayla. Garth, Ayla, and their older brother Mekt were joy riding when their ship lost power and came down on the world of Korbal. They devised a scheme to recharge their ship's energy cells using the electrical energy of Korbal's lightning beasts. They underestimated the beasts' power and were all bathed in bio-electric energy. After their return with new found powers, Mekt disappeared.
Garth left home to look for his brother. On his journey he helped two other super powered teenagers foil the assassination of philanthropist R.J. Brande. Brande suggested they form a team - the Legion of Super-Heroes. Garth assumed the name Lightning Boy initially, but switched to Lightning Lad.
Original Continuity: New Earth
He was one of the first Legionnaires to be killed when he sacrificed his life to save Saturn Girl, taking a blast from Zaryan the Conqueror's ship. He was resurrected by Proty, the shape shifting pet of Chameleon Boy, who sacrificed his life to revive Garth in a lightning ceremony. Later, Garth lost his right arm to a giant space whale, and had to get a cybernetic replacement. Years later, his parents were killed in a space cruiser accident. His years on the Legion weren't all bad.
He formed close friendships with Cosmic Boy** and Sun Boy and he and Saturn Girl became one of the Legion's earliest couples following his resurrection. His sister joined the Legion as well. Though Garth lost his arm, it was eventually restored. After several years of dating, Lightning Lad proposed to Saturn Girl and she accepted.*
Reboot: Earth-247
In his search for his brother Mekt he had been branded a runaway due to only being 14, which was a minor on Winath. When his sister arrived to join the Legion as Winath's official representative, Garth quit in shame. He went on to work for the industrialist Leland McCauley on his Workforce team. Garth had hoped to make some money to look for his brother, but quit the team soon after due to McCauley's lack of morals.
Despite aiding the Legion against Daxamite terrorists, Garth was still not allowed to rejoin, so he went off again to find his brother. When he found Mekt, his mind had snapped, and he was a deadly criminal. Mekt abducted Garth and shot his right arm off. After recovering from his battle with Mekt and gaining a cybernetic arm, Garth worked with a newly formed Espionage Squad to uncover the corruption of President Chu.
She was impeached, and Brande was made president in her place. His first act as President was to eliminate the membership restrictions on the Legion, finally allowing Garth to rejoin.
Threeboot: Earth-Prime
On Earth-Prime, Garth Ranzz was Lightning Lad once more and one of the founders of the Legion of Super-Heroes. They were now a teen youth movement and Garth coined their first battle cry: "Eat it, Grandpa!" He was dating Saturn Girl, and said that the only way to successfully date a telepath was to be "way honest." He was instrumental in gaining legal status for the Legion, but forgot to read the fine print in the agreement - the U.P. now had the right to use the Legion's image in any way they wished.
When Cosmic Boy disappeared after the Dominators attempted to take over Earth, a public election was held for Legion leadership. Supergirl was elected with Lightning Lad her deputy. She soon left for the 21st century and Garth became the team leader. Garth was quickly overwhelmed with the responsibilities of leadership, especially dealing with the various organizations of the United Planets.
This put a strain in he and Saturn Girl's relationship which led her to have a psychic affair. She confessed the indiscretion and Garth broke up with her.
Retroboot: New Earth
Infinite Crisis restored the original Legion continuity from before Five Years Later. Garth was once again married to Saturn Girl and a father to twin sons, though he ultimately rejoined the Legion when Earth-Man began an anti-alien campaign on Earth.
The Legion founders went to the Batcave to find proof that Superman was actually a Kryptonian and not an Earthling like Earth-Man was leading the people to believe, but Garth and the others were captured. Eventually he was freed and Earth-Man was defeated. After Saturn Girl's homeworld of Titan was destroyed and their twin boys were kidnapped but recovered from a servant of Darkseid, Garth and Imra decide to take a leave of absence from the Legion to spend time with their boys.
Post-Flashpoint: Earth-0
Following the conclusion of Flashpoint, the various timelines were united and rebooted once again. The Legion's timeline changed slightly where they still reached out to a young Clark Kent long before he became Superman, but they Legion grew up along with Clark and have changed their names to reflect their age.
Imra changed her name to Saturn Woman and her along with Saturn Girl (Now Saturn Woman) and Cosmic Boy (Now Cosmic Man) reunited with an adult Clark Kent in an effort to stop the Anti-Superman army from destroying the original rocket that took Clark to Earth. They succeeded in saving the rocket and keeping he timeline intact.
During the battle, Garth's right arm was apparently destroyed off-panel. The wires seen in its place indicate that he had already replaced it with a cybernetic arm akin to the Earth-247 version.
DC Rebirth
Lightning Lad reappears once again as a founding member of the Legion Of Superheroes
Major Story Arcs
Original Continuity: New Earth - Married Life
Garth and Imra were married and were forced to leave the Legion by its own by-laws, but this was shortly thereafter vetoed and the couple returned to active duty. Garth was even elected leader at one point, but the stress became too much and he resigned before the end of his term. Imra became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Graym Ranzz.
Wanting to spend more time with his young family, Garth resigned with his fellow Legion founders from the team. Though it was a horror to learn that the villainous Validus was actually his son's twin, thrust through time and manipulated by Darkseid, the boy was eventually restored and returned to the Ranzzes. Even after Saturn Girl returned to active duty, Garth remained at home with his sons.
Five Years Later
Following the five years later after the Magic Wars, Garth had relocated his family to Winath. There they established the Lightning Plantation and became a successful farming and shipping collective. Tragedy struck when Garth's son Garridan, the former Validus, began infecting Winathians with a deadly plague.
His son had to be taken off-world to the planet Quarantine and could only visit wearing a special suit. The disease also caused Garth to walk with a limp. However, good news soon followed.
Imra became pregnant again with twins and the Legion of Super-Heroes was reforming. Though the Ranzzes didn't join back up, they did assist their old teammates from time to time and Garth even gave them an old storage facility on Talus to use as a headquarters.
Who is Garth?
Shortly after his daughters Dacey and Dorritt were born, his sister Ayla stumbled upon a secret that Garth had been keeping: he wasn't Garth at all, but Proty. Proty's consciousness had been transferred into Garth's body and was the cause of Lightning Lad's resurrection. Being a former telepath as Proty, Garth was able to protect his thoughts from his telepathic wife about the matter.
Garth assisted Legionnaires past and present in hunting down Glorith and Mordru to save Cosmic Boy. Zero Hour then happened and Garth and the other Legionnaires sacrificed themselves to save the timestream and create a new reality.
Reboot: Earth-247 - The Death of Garth
When half the Legion was stuck in the 20th century, Brande personally asked Garth to become Legion leader. Live Wire wasn't comfortable with the idea and shortly thereafter hosted a leadership election for a replacement. Once the team was reunited, he began a relationship with Saturn Girl and ultimately proposed. Garth and Imra were one of several Legionnaires lost in a spatial rift. Saturn Girl's manipulation of the team put a strain on their relationship. Live Wire sacrificed himself fighting their former teammate, Element Lad, who had spent billions of years becoming a mad god.
Garth's Body Restored
Garth's spirit, however, was stored in the living crystals of Element Lad's corpse, and he was able to return to the Legion - but in Element Lad's body. This caused a lot of anxiety among the Legion, but eventually his friends came to accept Garth. When Earth-247 was destroyed in Infinite Crisis, Garth and his team survived because they had been lost in the timestream. Garth's original body was eventually restored when the Brainiac 5 of New Earth used a special lightning rod to help Garth transmute himself to normal. He then rejoined his team as they pushed into the multiverse as the new Wanderers.
Powers & Abilities - Electricity Control
Lightning Lad has the ability to generate electricity and direct bolts of electricity accurately. Lightning Lad can use his power destructively, such as to short-circuit electrical items, split boulders, burn objects with precision or shatter walls. He can also reduce the force of his bolts so that they will only stun. He can send his electricity through conductive metals. He has a degree of immunity to electrical charge; in fact, they give him more strength to use his power. In some instances he has a robotic right arm that is powered by his lightning power.
Equipment
As a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, Lightning Lad possesses a Legion Flight Ring. The ring gives its wearer the ability to fly, the speed and range of which is determined by the wearer's willpower. It also acts as a long-range communicator (enabling constant vocal contact with other Legionnaires, even across vast distances of space), a signal device, and a navigational compass, all powered by a micro-computer built inside the ring.
⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽
_____________________________
A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.
Secret Identity: Garth Ranzz
Publisher: DC
First Appearance: Adventure Comics #247 (April 1958)
Created by: Otto Binder (Writer)
Al Plastino (Artist)
* Saturn Girl seen in BP 2021 Day 239!
www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/51406326508/
** Cosmic Boy seen in BP 2022 Day 364!
It became apparent that the site was well suited for another high-profile memorial since it sat directly south of the White House. By 1901 the Senate Park Commission, better known as the McMillan Commission, had proposed placing a pantheon-like structure on the site hosting "the statues of the illustrious men of the nation, or whether the memory of some individual shall be honored by a monument of the first rank may be left to the future"; no action was ever taken by Congress on this issue.[3]
The completion of the Tidal Basin Inlet Bridge in 1908 helped to facilitate the recreational usage of East and West Potomac Parks. In 1918, large liquid-chlorine dispensers were installed under the bridge to treat the water and make the Tidal Basin (also known as Twining Lake) suitable for swimming. The Tidal Basin Beach, on the site of the future Memorial, opened in May 1918 and operated as a "Whites Only" facility through 1925, when it was permanently closed to avoid the question of racial integration.[5]
A design competition was held for a memorial to Theodore Roosevelt in 1925. The winning design was submitted by John Russell Pope and consisted of a half-circle memorial situated next to a circular basin. The plan was never funded by Congress and was not built.[3]
Jefferson Memorial Side View
The Memorial's chance came in 1934 when President Franklin Roosevelt, an admirer of Jefferson himself, inquired to the Commission of Fine Arts about the possibility of erecting a memorial to Jefferson, including it in the plans for the Federal Triangle project, which was under construction at the time. Later the same year, Congressman John J. Boylan jumped off FDR's starting point and urged Congress to create the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Commission. Boylan was appointed the Commission's first chairman and Congress eventually appropriated $3 million for a memorial to Jefferson.[3]
Jefferson warns that a nation cannot be "ignorant and free."
The Commission chose John Russell Pope as the architect in 1935. Pope was also the architect of the National Archives Building and original (west) building of the National Gallery of Art. He prepared four different plans for the project, each on a different site. One was on the Anacostia River at the end of East Capitol Street; one at Lincoln Park; one on the south side of the National Mall across from the National Archives; and one situated on the Tidal Basin, directly south of the White House. The Commission preferred the site on the Tidal Basin mainly because it was the most prominent site and because it completed the four-point plan called for by the McMillan Commission (Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol; White House to the Tidal Basin site). Pope designed a very large pantheon-like structure, to sit on a square platform, and to be flanked by two smaller, rectangular, colonnaded buildings.[3]
[edit] Construction
Under construction in 1941, as seen from across the Tidal Basin
Construction began on December 15, 1938 and the cornerstone was laid on November 15, 1939, by president Franklin Roosevelt. By this point Pope had died (1937) and his surviving partners, Daniel P. Higgins and Otto R. Eggers, took over construction of the memorial. The design was modified at the request of the Commission of Fine Arts to a more conservative design.
Construction commenced amid significant opposition. The Commission of Fine Arts never actually approved any design for the Memorial and even published a pamphlet in 1939 opposing both the design and site of the Memorial. In addition, many Washingtonians opposed the site because it was not aligned with L'Enfant's original plan. Finally, many well established elm and cherry trees had to be removed for construction. Construction continued amid the opposition.[3]
In 1939, the Memorial Commission hosted a competition to select a sculptor for the planned statue in the center of the Memorial. They received 101 entries and chose six finalists. Of the six, Rudulph Evans was chosen as the main sculptor and Adolph A. Weinman was chosen to sculpt the pediment relief situated above the entrance.[3]
The Jefferson Memorial was officially dedicated by President Roosevelt on April 13, 1943, the 200th anniversary of Jefferson's birthday. At that time, Evans' statue had not yet been finished. Due to material shortages during World War II, the statue that was installed at the time was a plaster cast of Evans' work painted to look like bronze. The finished bronze statue was installed in 1947, having been cast by the Roman Bronze Company of New York.[3]
One of the last American public monuments in the Beaux-Arts tradition,[citation needed] the Memorial was severely criticized even as it was being built, by those who adhered to the modernist argument that dressing 20th century buildings like Greek and Roman ones constituted a "tired architectural lie."[citation needed] More than 60 years ago, Pope responded with silence to critics who dismissed him as part of an enervated architectural elite practicing "styles that are safely dead."[citation needed] As a National Memorial it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.[1][6]
[edit] Description
The monument's marble steps, portico, and circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and shallow dome.
Composed of circular marble steps, a portico, a circular colonnade of Ionic order columns, and a shallow dome, the building is open to the elements. Pope made references to the Roman Pantheon and Jefferson's own design for the Rotunda at the University of Virginia. It is situated in West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Tidal Basin of the Potomac River. The Jefferson Memorial, and the White House located directly north, form one of the main anchor points in the area of the National Mall in D.C. The Washington Monument, just east of the axis on the national Mall, was intended to be located at the intersection of the White House and the site for the Jefferson Memorial to the south, but soft swampy ground which defied 19th century engineering required it be sited to the east.[citation needed]
[edit] The interior
Rudulph Evans's statue of Thomas Jefferson with excerpts from the Declaration of Independence to the right
The interior of the memorial has a 19-foot (5.8 m) tall, 10,000 lb (4336 kg) bronze statue[7] of Jefferson by sculptor Rudulph Evans[7] showing Jefferson looking out toward the White House. This statue was added four years after the dedication. Most prominent are the words which are inscribed in a frieze below the dome: "I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."[8] This sentence is taken from a September 23, 1800, letter by Jefferson to Dr. Benjamin Rush wherein he defends the constitutional refusal to recognize a state religion.
On the panel of the southwest interior wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776:[9]
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, that to secure these rights governments are instituted among men. We...solemnly publish and declare, that these colonies are and of right ought to be free and independent states...And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honour.
Note that the inscription uses the word "inalienable", as in Jefferson's draft, rather than "unalienable", as in the published Declaration.[10]
On the panel of the northwest interior wall is an excerpt from "A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1777", except for the last sentence, which is taken from a letter of August 28, 1789, to James Madison:[9][11]
Almighty God hath created the mind free...All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens...are a departure from the plan of the Holy Author of our religion...No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively.
Detail of the statue
The quotes from the panel of the northeast interior wall are from multiple sources. The first sentence, beginning "God who gave...", is from "A Summary View of the Rights of British America".[12] The second, third and fourth sentences are from Notes on the State of Virginia.[13] The fifth sentence, beginning "Nothing is more...", is from Jefferson's autobiography.[14] The sixth sentence, beginning "Establish the law...", is from an August 13, 1790, letter to George Wythe.[15] The final sentence is from a letter of January 4, 1786, to George Washington[16]:[9]
God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. Commerce between master and slave is despotism. Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free. Establish the law for educating the common people. This it is the business of the state to effect and on a general plan.
The inscription on the panel of the southeast interior wall is redacted and excerpted from a letter July 12, 1816, to Samuel Kercheval:[17][9]
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
[edit] Criticism
Cato Institute Fellow and University of Alberta history professor emeritus Ronald Hamowy has called the inscriptions "[p]erhaps the most egregious examples of invoking Jefferson for purely transient political purposes." Hamowy argues that:
Planned and built during the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the walls of the memorial are adorned with quotations from Jefferson’s writings, many of which suggest that Jefferson advocated positions consistent with the aims of the New Deal—with which he would, in fact, have had little sympathy. Thus, Jefferson’s admonition that an educated electorate was essential if liberty were to be preserved is transmuted into a call for universal public education. And his caution that man, as he advances in his understanding of the world, must accompany his greater enlightenment with changes in his social institutions becomes a justification for a new theory of government in keeping with the social-democratic principles that animated the New Deal.[18]
The excerpts chosen from the Declaration have been criticized because the first half alters Jefferson's prose (for the sake of saving space) and eliminates the right of revolution passage that Jefferson believed was the point of the Declaration, while much of the second half (from "solemnly publish" to "divine providence") was not written by Jefferson.[19]
The fifth sentence quoted on the northeast interior wall ("Nothing is more certainly written in the book of fate than these people are to be free.") has been called "misleadingly truncated" by historian Garry Wills, because Jefferson's sentence continued with: "Nor is it less certain that the two races, equally free, cannot live in the same government."[20]
[edit] Location
Jefferson Memorial, with Potomac River in the background. Photographed from the top of the Washington Monument, January 1967
The site of the monument is in Washington D.C. West Potomac Park, on the shore of the Potomac River Tidal Basin, is enhanced with the massed planting of Japanese cherry trees, a gift from the people of Japan in 1912.[21]
The monument is not as prominent in popular culture as other Washington, D.C. buildings and monuments, possibly due to its location well removed from the National Mall and the Washington Metro. The Jefferson Memorial hosts many events and ceremonies each year, including memorial exercises, the Easter Sunrise Service, and the annual National Cherry Blossom Festival.[21]
The monument is open 24 hours a day but park rangers are there only until 11:30 p.m.;however, the monument is only a few hundred yards from the National Park Police D.C. Headquarters in East Potomac Park. (0330 UTC)[22]
Happy Friday, dear Flickr friends... :-)
Here is my next entry into my crystal database.
Cut and polished, 3.5 x 2 x 0.5 cm
Chiastolite is a powerfully protective stone. In ancient times it was used to ward off ill wishing and curses. It has the property of transmuting dissension into harmony. This is a creative stone with the power to dispel negative thoughts and feelings. It transmutes conflict into harmony and aids problem solving and change. Chiastolite is a gateway onto mysteries and facilitates journeys out of the body. It facilitates understanding and exploration of immortality. Linked to death and rebirth, it is helpful for those making the transition beyond death. This stone can provide the answer to mysterious events. It assists in attuning to the soul's purpose.
Healing: Chiastolite lessens fevers, stanches blood flow, and alleviates over-acidification, healing rheumatism and gout. It stimulates lactation in nursing mothers. This stone repairs chromosome damage and balances the immune system. It can cure paralysis and is a nerve fortifier.
Received as a present from my wife Sigi...
This shot is not digitally manipulated in any way.
© Nic Kolbe • Please do not use this photo for Blogs or Banners without my permission.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
In The Sufis, Idries Shaw states the Templars ’ worship of a mysterious head could well be a reference to the great work of transhumanisation that takes place in the aspirant’s own head.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Elderly man continues checking out the list of donations for this ceremony from local residents.
=====
** Origin and facts of the Hungry Ghost Festival:
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
"大士爺" "Dai Si Yeh" is the highly respected Guardian of Hell, and of all spirits. A paper statue of "Dai Si Yeh"Every festival, who plays the role of maintaining order and discipline among the spiritual realm during the festival.
By the end of the festival, a ritual will be held to send off the Guardian and his paper statue will then be burnt.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
=====
" Mahakala is almost always depicted with a crown of five skulls, which represent the transmutation of the five kleshas (negative afflictions) into the five wisdoms."
Man has felt enslaved to his thoughts & emotions for aeons of time. Lacking a clear direction & understanding of the Laws of the Universe, he feels like Nature’s victim. However, Man with his intellect actually stands above Nature. Nature merely follows blind Laws. Man has the potential to learn how to use these Laws for his benefit. It is a matter of practice & perseverance. From an understanding of the Laws of Nature has been groomed the Art of Mental Transmutation, a practice of Mental Alchemy developed thousands of years ago, & just now coming back to light.
Alchemy, in the past, has often been referred to as the process of transforming lead into gold. The average Man understands this process to happen purely on the physical plane. This misinformation deprives him of the ability to master his mind, thus master his life. Mental Alchemy is the process of transformation that happens on the mental & spiritual planes. Through Mental Alchemy, Man transforms his inner life from undesirable (lead) to desirable (gold). Now why would Man need a transformation on the invisible yet very existent mental & spiritual planes?
The rich Man like the poor Man has often expressed dissatisfaction with the conditions of his life. For the past few thousands of years, his solution to this dissatisfaction has been to change his external conditions. Be it a change of house, a change of car, a change of partner, or a change of country, Man has consistently seeked to make an external change that would hopefully lead to a boost in satisfaction levels. Unfortunately, Man has almost always been blighted in his attempts for happiness & satisfaction. Man has given far too much importance to his external circumstances, & far too little importance to his internal circumstances. By observing merely external conditions, he feels like he is constantly playing catch up to the Universe. He feels like everything just happens & he has no effect on anything. He feels like the victim of the Universe. This blatant misperception is what Mental Alchemy aims at transforming.
The Universe may seem very complicated to Man’s closed eyes, but its simplicity outstands him once he chooses to open his eyes. Evidently, this shift in attention does not happen on the physical plane. It happens on the mental plane. Once Man embraces responsibility for his thoughts, words, & actions, he unlocks the door that will lead him to Mastery. Man no longer blindly represses his thoughts & emotions. He starts investigating their nature. Through this open investigation, he will eventually gain control over his Mind. Through Mental Alchemy, Man will eventually gain control of his Powers. This process of transmutation may be divided into 3 sub-steps, that will be outlined hereafter.
1) Self-Awareness
Man’s pursuit of Self-Mastery inevitably starts with Self-Awareness. As long as Man is not aware of his inner conditions, he can do nothing to change them. His outer conditions are merely a reflection of his inner conditions. His external life is merely a reflection of his internal life. Self-Observation is a key pillar in the process of Mental Alchemy. Man must strive for awareness of his every thought, word, & action. Anytime he witnesses a negative thought come to consciousness, it is his duty to immediately investigate the origins of that thought. The average Man may feel baffled as to why he would have to do such a thing. Are his thoughts not the product of his private consciousness? How do his thoughts impact his life or the life of others in any way? Well, thoughts emit extremely strong waves of energy. These waves of energy are ultimately what dictates Man’s fate. If Man’s inner thought-life is dominated by negativity, his external conditions will inevitably follow suit. Negativity will be prevalent in his outer life. If Man desires a positive love-filled environment, he must nurture a positive love-filled environment within his own being. Through consistent Self-Observation, Man learns to recognize & discern positive thought & behavioural-patterns from negative thought & behavioural-patterns.
2) Self-Cleansing
Once Man has identified the harmful thoughts & emotions he harbours within, his next step is to cleanse his inner life of such negative frequencies of energy. He attentively investigates the origins of his relationships with each trigger of negativity. If he observes himself reacting negatively to a certain situation, his task becomes to investigate the root of the reaction. Man will notice that many of these roots have their origin in childhood & adolescent conditioning. Those are times when Man had as of yet very little awareness in regard to his thoughts & emotions. In those times is when he developed detrimental habits to his mental conditioning. Those habits have been replaying themselves over the years in a variety of shapes & forms, waiting hopelessly for Man to notice them & come to terms with them. In going through his storehouse of memories, Man will encounter many painful recollections. It is his task to crystalize each painful moment into Experience. He does this through active understanding & forgiveness of himself & his fellow humans. Now he may wonder as to how & why he should forgive someone or something that has inflicted pain onto his being. A quick recap of some Laws of Nature will provide him with sufficient material to re-structure his ill-mental habits.
Principle of Cause & Effect
The principle of Cause & Effect is always in motion. Each Cause has its Effect; Each Effect has its Cause. Not a single act has ever been committed out of pure luck. Man often finds it hard to recall the first Cause that enabled a chain of consequences that have led him to his current predicament. Nonetheless, there is always a Cause preceding an Effect. Any perceived pain inflicted onto him by a fellow human is never out of pure evil. There are specific Causes & Effects that led this human to behave the way he did. As a matter of fact, evil is simply ignorance veiled in negativity. When Man perceives himself as separate from the rest of the Universe, he finds a tendency to act selfishly. He believes that he can get away with it. He believes that it is beneficial for himself. Once Man realizes that he is an Individual Centre of Consciousness playing his part in the Infinite Cosmic Consciousness, he understands that he cannot separate himself from who he is. He cannot separate himself from the other Individual Centres of Consciousness nor from the Cosmic Whole.
Principle of Rhythm
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Unfortunately for the ignorant Man, the Principle of Rhythm is Universally in motion. Man has always observed this principle on the physical plane, be it through the rising & fall of nations, the rising & fall of the Sun, or the rising & fall of the ocean. However, Man has mistakenly turned a blind eye to the fact that this principle is also in full effect on the mental plane. The Law of Karma is simply the Universal Principle of Rhythm in motion. What goes around comes around. What Man emits into the Universe; he receives. The negative action is always followed by the negative reaction. The positive reaction always follows the positive action. The swing of the pendulum is always in effect.
Principle of Polarity
The Principle of Polarity underlies the Principle of Rhythm. Everything manifested in the Universe has two poles, two opposites. These opposites are essentially the same in kind, yet infinitely different in degree. For instance, on the physical plane, hot/cold are merely different degrees of the same thing. You may also find hard/soft, gas/solid, or alive/dead as different examples of pairs of opposites. The Principle of Polarity is also in full effect on the mental plane of Man. Love/hate are essentially the same emotion, just experienced at different spectrums of the polarity scale. Joy/sadness is another example, as is fear/courage. Within these extremes does the Principle of Rhythm operate. Whenever one polarity is being manifested, its opposite is always existent in the unmanifested state. Man chooses which pole he wishes to manifest. The potential for manifestation of either-or is always present.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
Polarity Scale for Fear/Courage
3) Self-Polarization
Once Man has grasped the different Principles underlying the Manifestation of Life, he may truly become a Master of Mental Transmutation. Essentially, what this practice of Alchemy consists of is transforming the negative mental habits into positive mental habits. Recognizing the presence of the Principle of Polarity in all thoughts & manifestations, he aims to transmute his thought & behavioural-patterns from the negative harmful pole to the positive empowering pole. Man understands that the negative manifested aspect of his thought has a positive unmanifested aspect to it as well. Hate, being the same thing in kind as Love, can be transformed into Love. Fear, being the same in kind as Courage, can be transmuted into Courage. Consequently, Man embarks on the lengthy process of transmuting his thought-life from negative to positive; from undesirable to desirable. Judgemental thought-patterns become empathetic thought-patterns. Anxious thought-patterns become serene thought-patterns. Unreliable behavioural-patterns becomes consistent behavioural-patterns. Unmindful behavioural-patterns becomes self-disciplined behavioural-patterns. By transmuting his inner life, his outer life inevitably follows suit.
Press enter or click to view image in full size
The Empowered Individual & his Positive Aspects
Aiming for Mastery, Man tasks himself with transmuting every negative aspect of his mental character. Essentially, he transforms his vices into his virtues. Through this process of Mental Transmutation, he becomes Master of his Mind & of his Character. Instead of being a mere sheep to his thought-life, he tames his thought-life & takes the position of the shepherd. He asserts his Will-Power over his Mental Character & reshapes himself into the successful positive love-filled human he desires to be. Through extensive pain & suffering, he obtains extensive joy & satisfaction.
Food for thought…
Ego
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三件神袍高掛在神袍棚內, 分別為給「天地父母」、「南辰北斗」和「諸位福神」穿著。
其中天地父母衣上的裝飾手工精細，往往以金龍為中心。
Hanging at one of the tents are three giant paper crafted robes, as offerings for the "Gods of Heaven & Earth", "Gods of Spiritual Realm" and "Gods of Blessings".
The golden dragon is often the center point of the delicate design.
=====
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
=====
Follow my rediscovery of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
For my past visits to the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
On the occasion of the 56th International Art Exhibition of la Biennale di Venezia, one of Venice’s most celebrated landmarks, the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore, will host Together, a major exhibition of new works by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.
Plensa (Spain, b.1955) is one of the world’s foremost artists working in the public art space, with permanent works spanning the globe including the Crown Fountain (Chicago), Echo (Seattle), Breathing (London) and Roots (Tokyo). The exhibition is curated by Clare Lilley, Director of Programmes at Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The works in the exhibition all make their debut in San Giorgio and reflect the artist’s continued interest in a bodily relationship to space, scale, material and place.
For four hundred years the Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore has been a place of worship, communication and meditation, where Palladio’s profound architecture creates a stilling and contemplative environment. Plensa’s response to this powerful space is Together; a conversation between two sculptures - hand, suspended beneath the cupola in the foreground of the altar, and head, sited in the nave. Placed on the dominant west-east axis of the building, the works set up a line of spiritual and intellectual discourse which evokes emotion and seeks to connect with his viewers on an intuitive level.
As a speaker of five languages alongside a nomadic life that takes him around the globe, Plensa’s work reflects a desire to break down barriers. Merging difference is a cornerstone of his work, and here it is further emphasized by the installation of meticulous drawings and a group of five alabaster portraits in the contiguous Officina dell’Arte Spirituale, located 300 meters from the entrance to the Basilica on the island’s northern edge. Plunged in darkness and lit to reveal their luminous opacity, the sculptures were carved using reformed scans of real girls; chosen because, like nomads, they have traveled, settled and traveled again. Chosen, too, because they are teenage girls on the cusp of leaving and arriving, whose potential – like that of all humanity – so deeply glows.
Plensa’s sculptures reference a Judeo-Christian tradition while connecting with a much longer human history, where the making of art has social purpose and which we see played out across histories and geographies – in heads from the Croatian Upper Paleolithic, carved some 26,000 years ago; in exquisite, elongated hands incised in stone from 1300 BCE Egypt. For these and other reasons, Plensa’s forms will connect people and welcome them into the Basilica. Made from stainless steel which distills and diffuses light, Plensa’s hand and head are at times transmutable hazes that pull and root the gaze. The opening, gestural hand formed from characters of eight languages, speaks of a coming together of peoples and traditions. Similarly, Nuria’s face speaks of diversity; indeed the subject is the daughter of a Chinese friend in Barcelona, who in her young life has already crossed many borders.
Clare Lilley, Curator, commented: “Plensa’s installations for the Isola di San Georgio Maggiore are testament to his acute understanding of space and scale. His sculptures do not impose themselves on these historic spaces; rather they capture and reflect the actual light and shadows within to communicate a metaphorical language. Both visually stunning and intimate, they draw our attention to a world where migration and difference challenge civilized behavior; in this place, which for centuries has welcomed world travelers, Plensa’s work will connect people of many faiths and of no faith.
In collaboration with the monks of the Abbazia di San Giorgio, as part of the cultural activities of the Benedicti Claustra Onlus, Together hopes to advance the Benedictine community’s efforts to develop a number of restoration projects of the monumental Palladian complex on San Giorgio Maggiore. Inspired by textual elements in the body of Plensa’s work, the project has contributed a significant donation to restore the Abbazia’s 15th and 16th Century illuminated manuscripts; prayer books previously too delicate for public view. (Press release)
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Kyot the Provençal, claimed the Grail was a stone that fell from Heaven (called lapsit exillis), and had been the abode of the Neutral Angels who took neither side during Lucifer’s rebellion. The stone was said to be green, but of no one specific material. In an obscure account by another author, Lucifer was said to have claimed the emerald and set it in a crown. The crown was destroyed when Lucifer fell to Earth from Heaven. Apparently, the stone had survived. It, being the source of Lucifer’s power over Alchemy, was said to have split into two parts. At first, Lucifer pursued the two fragments of the emerald, but gave up. Then, human beings found them and made them into a tablet and another object which eventually became a cup. The material is assumed to have been emerald, or just simply glass.
The emerald chalice at Genoa was obtained during the Crusades at Caesarea Maritima, and thought to be the Holy Grail. But an accident on the road, while it was being returned from Paris after the fall of Napoleon, revealed that the emerald was green glass. The broken chalice was later found by Nazis during their occupation of Paris, but the chalice were said to have been destroyed during bombings and explosions. There is a museum, I forget where, which actually had the charred pieces of the Genoa chalice. They couldn’t carbon date it though, because of some kind of deterioration.
Account 2. The Emerald Lens
The Roman emperor Nero was near-sighted, so he had an enormous emerald which he used as a glass to view gladiatorial fights. The Romans thought that emeralds were good for the sight, and Nero’s emerald was hollowed out to act as a lens to help him see. Many of the Christians persecuted by him came to think that the emerald was of diabolical origin. It is less commonly believed that the emerald was actually a sacred object to the early Christians, and that Nero’s misuse of it was a deliberate blasphemy, while to the Romans it was seen as just an expensive and inefficient waste. The emerald itself was described as being concave-shaped, and nothing is mentioned of it’s fate. Here is a little of this object’s story on a history page about emperor Nero:
A mysterious plate made of some green material, which legend says is a half of a fragment of an emerald lost by Lucifer when he/she was cast out and fell to Earth (the remaining half is said to have been used to forge the Holy Grail). The Tablet was found, according to the legend, by one of the soldiers of Alexander the Great in a tomb at Ebron, in the hands of the mummy of Hermes Trismegistus, defined as “all alchemists’ father”. The Tablet, also known as Smaragdine Table, Tabula Smaragdina, or The Secret of Hermes, is a text said to reveal the secret of primordial substances and transmutations. It claims to be the work of Hermes Trismegistus (“Hermes the Thrice-Great”), a legendary Egyptian sage or god, variously identified with the Egyptian god Thoth and/or the Greek god Hermes. No one knows what the fate of this object is, since no one has actually seen it since sometime prior to 400 AD, where it was last reported being found in a cave by a man who copied the writings engraved upon the surface of the tablet. The full history of this object is too much to fit here, so here is a link to a site that has the story: Now, here are my thoughts regarding the Emerald of Lucifer: (Speculation, for the most part, but educated speculation, so just bear with me here…)
Theory 1 – If the Legend is True:
If the legend is to be believed, this huge “emerald” belonged to some neutral angels until Lucifer stole it and put it into his/her crown. Lucifer got kicked out of Heaven, the emerald broke in two. Lucifer went looking for it, but gave up, and human beings found them. It was after this time that the two halves of the emerald were made into the Tablet and the Grail by who knows who.
1. The Tablet’s history, unlike the Grail’s, is actually better documented even though the object itself has never been found by archeologists. It is possible that the Tablet is the Philosopher’s Stone of Alchemy, the “Stone which is not a Stone”. Since the legend tells that Lucifer had power over Alchemy through the Emerald, this would be exceedingly likely. It is also possible that it may have been destroyed or reworked into something else in the years since 400 AD, but something of it’s fate can be guessed at in this theory:
2. The Grail’s history can be pieced together, and may tie into the Lens’s as well. Clearly, it was an object of sacred value to early Christians, and it likely was a green glass cup mistaken for the cup of Christ. I say mistaken because Jesus would not have been able to *afford* such a rich cup to drink from. Carpenters back then did not exactly earn a king’s wage, and glasswork like that was rare and costly. But because Jesus was, to his faithful, the King of Kings, to them he would have had only the best. Maybe Nero heard about this object… and in an effort to make Christians even more miserable, had it made into his famous lens. Now let’s say this object was given to Nero and he was told that it was emerald. Since emeralds were both “expensive and inefficient” to treat poor vision Nero’s physicians could have used glass and just told Nero it was emerald, to satisfy the emperor’s extravagant taste. No one knows the fate of this lens, but then we have that green glass chalice appearing at Genoa, so it’s possible that Christians simply reworked Nero’s lens back into a cup again… but this time a more expensive kind of cup: a chalice. This chalice found it’s way into the hands of Napoleon and Hitler before it met destruction in World War II, as documented by some sources. So, this could be a reason why we’ll never find the Holy Grail of the legends. And, since this Grail is more Lucifer’s holy object than Christ’s, that is most likely for the best, and could be the reason so many conquerors and tyrants were drawn to it. This theory makes the fate of the Tablet rather obvious…
3. If the Grail was just green glass and not really emerald, and let us say for argument’s sake the legend of Lucifer was true and the Grail was just one half of a larger object, the other half being the Tablet… then the Tablet would also be made from green glass. It is likely, therefore, the Tablet was broken and that is the reason why the last man to actually see it made a copy of what it said upon it’s surface: to preserve what was lost. Moses had made a new set of Ten Commandments for a similar purpose… because the originals broke. If the Emerald Tablet is Lucifer’s own “Commandments”, you can bet it suffered a similar fate to Moses’ Tablets. It is likely that this is one excuse why the Church had put so many Alchemists to death during the Inquisition and accused them of doing “the Devil’s work”. If they knew the history of the “Philosopher’s Stone”, a.k.a. the Emerald Tablet, it would have, to them, confirmed their worst fears about Alchemy being a “Magic of the Devil”, even though we know Alchemy is just chemistry combined with esoteric philosophy.
4. Is this instead about DNA?
Theory 2 – If the Legend is False:
If the whole legend isn’t true, then someone made both the Grail and the Tablet, and tried to get people to believe that these objects were of divine origin. From this viewpoint, the Grail of Genoa, the Lens of Nero, and the Tablet not only have nothing to do with one another but are by themselves rather common objects compared to more important relics. Since the ruined remnants of the Genoa cup apparently cannot be dated in any kind of truly satisfactory manner, we can *never* know if this old legend is true or false.
1. The Emerald Tablet:
“Here is that which the Priest Sagiyus of Nablus has dictated concerning the entrance of Balinas [Apollonius] into the hidden chamber [Cave of Trophonius?]:
After my entrance into the chamber, where the talisman was set up, I came up to an old man sitting on a golden throne, who was holding an Emerald Tablet in one hand. And behold the following — in Syriac [Assyrian], the primordial language — was written thereon:
1) Here is a true explanation, concerning which there can be no doubt.
2) It attests: As Above, So Below — the work of the miracle of the One.
3) And things have been created from this primal substance through a single act. How wonderful is this work! It is the main principle of the world and is its maintainer.
4) Its father is the Sun and its mother, the Moon.
5) The wind has borne it in its body, and the Earth has nourished it.
6) The father of talismen and the protector of miracles whose powers are perfect, and whose lights are confirmed.
7) A fire becomes Earth, so separate the Earth from the fire, and thereby attain the subtle over the gross, with care and sagacity.
8) It rises from Earth to Heaven, so as to draw the lights of the heights to itself, and descends to the earth; thus within it are the forces of above and below.
9) Thus wilt thou partake of the light of the world, and darkness will flee from thee.
10) This is the force of forces, which overcomes every subtle thing and penetrates into all that is gross.
11) The structure of the microcosm is in accordance with the structure of the macrocosm.
12) And accordingly, the arrangements to follow this road are hidden.
13) And to this, aspired Hermes, who was thrice graced with majestic wisdom.
14) And this is his last book, which he concealed in this chamber.”
“Is Moldavite a Grail Stone? Pieces of the Emerald from the Crown of Lucifer? Moldavite is a heavenly stone that fell approximately 15 million years ago to Earth. It is mostly found in Bohemia near the Austrian Czech border. Some were found in Moravia, Lausitz in Germany and close to Radessen in Austria. The term Moldavite was coined in 1836 by the German curator of the mineralogical collection in the Vlasteneck Museum in Prague Dr. Franz Xaver Maximilian Lippe . The name Moldavite is derived from the German name ‘Moldau’ for the Moldavian river. Around 1826, they were called Bohemian emerald. Moldavite is probably the only tektite made into gemstones because of their coloration and gloss. Moldavite has been used as jewels for kings, “VIP’s” and/or political, social or religious leaders. In Wolfram von Eschenbach’s version of the grail’s legend the Moldavite is considered to be the Grail – the “lapsit exillis” – a green gemstone that fell from heaven out of a crown of an higher ranking angel, Lucifer, after the battle with Archangel Michael.” So, this is why they mistook it for “green glass”! Moldavite looks like emerald, yet resembles green glass in it’s texture and some of it’s properties, such as being more fragile than emerald. This was a great thing to discover about it.
The creepiest thing that links all this to Indiana Jones, is the fact that there exists a Moldavite Crystal Skull. And here is the picture to prove it: The legend is trying to tell us that before it took form as Moldavite, this old stone which fell to Earth from space long ago was part of the elements that make up all of Creation. Part of the universe, in other words. So, if Lucifer is a force of Creation and the Crown is the five elements, then before this angel fell from Heaven he/she must have aided God in the act of Creation! Which is why Alchemy (which reveals this as a secret spiritual truth) was demonized by the Church as “Devil’s Magic” even though it was a good and solid science that formed the basis for modern Chemistry as it is known today. There is a basis for what these alchemists believed about Lucifer, in ancient myths and legends. Apparently, God and Lucifer needed each other in order to create the universe and have everything be in balance. Three examples:
According to Gnosticism, the God of Darkness Yaldabaoth (which derives from the Sumerian Yog-Sothoth and is the origin of the name Yahweh), created all the physical universe; the God of Light (Lucifer) whose name no one dared to speak helped Him by first creating the spiritual universe. Yaldabaoth never saw the God of Light, however, seeing instead His own reflection through the waters of the Abyss in Hell, which served as a barrier between Yaldabaoth’s Heaven and the God of Light’s Heaven. The God of Light grew angry with Him and sent an aspect of itself to cast Yaldabaoth into the Abyss. When this occurred, there was war in Heaven between darkness and light. In the end, the God of Light retreated into the highest Heaven and the God of Darkness laid claim to all of creation. However, he could only claim it physically, since he didn’t make it spiritually. Thusly are peoples’ souls fully immortal, being of the spiritual plane, although Yaldabaoth cursed all flesh to be mortal and die. When Lucifer’s aspect manifested to Yaldabaoth, he/she appeared as in the form of a goddess with the name Sophia (Wisdom). The other names of God given in this account are Sakla and Samael. In Greek tradition, Yaldabaoth was Zeus and Lucifer as Sophia was Athena. The term Philosophy originates from Philosophia: “Love of Sophia” or “Love of Wisdom”. In Gnosticism, this whole legend was the reverse of the Greek myths. Instead of Zeus creating Athena from his head (thought) as a subservient daughter, Lucifer as Sophia created a rebellious God from her Light (Knowledge). It is widely believed that religions that worshiped the male sky gods such as Zeus totally altered the goddess faiths that were older and came before them. (What a twisted web we weave! Samael/Zeus/Sakla are names for Lucifer/Satan.) According to Zoroastrianism, Ahura Mazda (God) cast a shadow from Himself in the beginning of time. This shadow became possessed of it’s own soul and became the God of Light’s brother. Ahura Mazda named the being Ahriman (Lucifer), and together they created everything in the universe. Ahura Mazda created all that was light and good, while Ahriman created all that was dark and evil in order to balance his brother and keep true harmony in Creation. However, once this was done, Ahriman wanted to make everything over in his own image, so Ahura Mazda just gave him his own domain (Hell) to rule over. There, Ahriman created mockeries of all that Ahura Mazda had made above in Heaven, and ever after sought to persuade human hearts to his own cause. This is the only myth that actually tells how and why Hell was first made, and it was not as a prison for the damned but as an abode for a god and all that god’s creations. Ahriman, however, saw Hell as a fancy prison and in several legends is constantly trying to escape from it, into the mortal world. Each time, he is vanquished by a savior who appears to prevent his emergence. Ahura Mazda and Ahriman: According to J.R.R. Tolkien’s created mythology for England, The Silmarillion, from which all of Tolkien’s fiction including The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings derives… Melkor (his name for Lucifer) helped Eru Illuvatar (God) to shape Arda (The Earth) by singing a song of creation along with all the Valar (Angels). At some point, Melkor wanted to shape things his/her own way and Eru countered this with ideas of His own. This is why there is good and evil in the universe. In the end, Melkor was banished to his own domain Utumno, or Hell, and from there he created twisted versions of everything Eru created. It is worth noting that J.R.R. Tolkien mentioned the Crown of Lucifer in the Silmarillion, as Melkor’s Iron Crown in which three sacred Silmaril jewels were placed, which Melkor stole from the beings who had originally created them. In the later myths, the lovers Beren and Luthien stole one of the jewels from Melkor’s crown. Luthien danced for the dark god, causing him to fall asleep. As he slept, she remained by his side while Beren managed to steal the stone.
Note: Tolkien’s Silmarillion was so influential, it even inspired a scene in the movie “Legend”! The princess, Lily, dances before the Lord of Darkness to make him believe she is under his spell while her lover Jack sneaks into his fortress to rescue her. Instead of a jewel, the treasure Jack must steal from the Dark Lord before escaping is the horn of a unicorn. At some point, the Lord of Darkness is cast into the Void, also exactly like in the Silmarillion. Melkor and the Iron Crown: It’s the same story told different throughout history. I imagine it’s partly why the Church declared Gnosticism a heresy in the Middle Ages. But Gnosticism has a point to it: darkness and light cannot exist without the one to define what the other is. For that reason, there cannot be a final victory of the one over the other, since everything in the universe must be in balance. People always think we’ve come a long way, but people still have a long way to go! Anyhow, with the mystery of the Crown solved, we can move on to: The Cup of Death...Apparently, whereas the Cup of Christ would grant you eternal life, the Grail of Lucifer would bestow eternal death. This is a continuation of an old Pagan legend about the twin Cauldrons. There was the Cauldron of Creation which would allow those placed in it to be reborn in a reincarnated body, and then there was the Black Cauldron which would raise only the body of someone as a zombie known as a “Cauldron Born” and sending their soul to the underworld. That duality was depicted very nicely, in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade! Who carved the Emerald Tablet? An old myth regarding the Emerald Tablet is that it was first carved by an evil necromancer named Koeshu of Egypt, who then allowed Hermes to inscribe it with it’s alchemical secrets. Koeshu was probably the famous Egyptian Moon God, Khonshu. The Moon being synonymous with darkness, night, and the art of necromancy, this is most likely the case. Again, we have a duality where something cannot be created without both good and evil getting together to make it balanced. It seems everything in this legend is about cosmic balance.
God’s Emerald Throne in Heaven
I’ll bet somewhere along the line, all this is what inspired the Emerald City in the Oz stories. Wizard: a flawed person who tries to be perfect but ends up making mistakes. Lucifer is like Ozma: once a beautiful queen but now stuck in another form and searching for a way to regain all her lost glory. The idea of Lucifer (bringer of light to man), or Prometheus (bringer of fire to man), tie into KOTCS, with the Interdimensionals bringing knowledge to man. What KOTCS does is take away God, for now it’s the Interdimensionals punishing man, or woman as in the case of Spalko, for demanding too much knowledge. Spalko takes the place of Lucifer (who was cast out of Heaven) or Prometheus (who suffered daily torture as punishment) for her crime of trying to gain knowledge to give to man (i.e., the Soviet regime). With these old myths I’m sure there’s more mileage for Indy, with ancient and powerful intelligence. I’m still thinking Cthulhu and a creepy, mysterious supernatural element for the next movie. Something other than the Interdimensional aliens we saw in KOTCS could cross into Indy’s world, brought forth by cultists dabbling with an Emerald something.
Vincent van Gogh - Chaumes de Cordeville à Auvers-sur-Oise [Thatched Cottages at Cordeville, Auvers-sur-Oise]
This picture was painted during the artist's most frenetic creative period, a few weeks before his tragic death. Van Gogh had left Provence in May 1890, at the end of his voluntary stay at the asylum in Saint-Rémy. He moved to Auvers-sur-Oise, north of Paris. On 10 June, he wrote to his brother Theo that "he was doing two studies of houses out in the countryside". Corot, Daubigny, Pissarro and Cézanne had already evoked the peaceful charm of Auvers. Van Gogh would transform it into a volcanic land where the houses seem to have been twisted by an earthquake.
Here the painter subjects the landscape to a veritable transmutation driven by psychic forces. The peaceful thatched cottages, which can still be seen in old photographs, seem to have been lifted by some powerful telluric force that has dilated them. The wild, swirling design makes the roof undulate, sends the tree branches up in spirals, transforms the clouds into arabesques... Moreover, the image is worked in thick impasto with real furrows gouged into the paint.
It is clear that this artist is not overwhelmed as the Romantics were by the awe-inspiring landscape. On the contrary, it is he who torments and inflames the lowliest hovel and the smallest cypress tree. Just as in Starry Night (New York, MoMA) from 1889, all the elements in the landscape unite in distorting their contours and give the whole scene a supernatural air.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.
It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.
It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Some pictures before de-transmuting. Went to church and then did some Christmas shopping.
Never imagined a couple inches (5 cm) could make such a difference! I'm 5'11" (1.8 m), only slightly taller than the average height for males, but 6.5" (16.5 cm) taller than the average female. I normally wear shoes with a heel height of around a half-inch (1.3 cm). Tonight I wore 2 inch heels. I felt like I was towering over everyone. At church I was the tallest woman and just about the tallest person. Standing in the checkout lines I was nearly a head above the others.
I used to think that everyone (especialy children) was eyeing me and seeing "a man in a dress," but a good freind pointed out that tall women stand out; and people are going to look, and sometimes stare. So don't cower, accept that you stand out, you're a special and exceptional woman. Oh, and help others reach the top shelves in the supermarket.
Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.
"The Entombment" (detail).
After RAPHAEL, Raffaello Santi; (Italian; 1483-1520)
oil on canvas 174.6 x 170.0 .This is a full-scale copy, by an unknown artist, of one of Raphael's major panel pictures, finished in 1507 (Galleria Borghese, Rome). A fine painting, it was bought by the Foulis brothers for their Academy of Fine Arts, Glasgow's first art academy, so that students could learn from an important example of the master's work. This picture was rescued by the Friends of College in 1776 from the Foulis bankruptcy sale in London. It was finally sold to the University of Glasgow in 1779. The work is an accomplished copy, by an unknown hand, of Raphael's dymanic response to Atalanta Baglioni's 1505 commission for an altar piece for San Francesco del Prato in Perugia. Robert Foulis, who inaugurated the Academy in 1754, made copious purchases of casts and 'Old Masters' - genuine or not - to support the teaching role of the school. Raphael seems to have been held in dutiful regard by the Academy, which possessed a few good copies of the master, and which issued sets of engravings after certain of his most celebrated works. Yet Raphael's position was equivocal within the fledgling Academies of Britain - he represented the epitome of 'high taste', yet could be lampooned mercilessly for that very rigidity : witness Joshua Reynolds' caricature of the 'School of Athens' of 1751, now in the National Gallery of Ireland. It indeed transpired that the Foulis Raphaels had little role in the formation of subsequent trends in Scottish art. Genre, portraiture and landscape were too important to the Scots, as was the desirability of evolving a distinctive personal style. Nevertheless, the average Foulis student may have gained from the 'Entombment' an insight into the mechanics of high art, namely, the absorption of great example transmuted by highly developed personal taste. For has not Raphael himself, in this composition, adapted, in the most cunningly surreptitious way, both the Christ figure of Michelangelo's 'Pieta' of 1497-1500 and the Virgin of Michelangelo's Doni Tondo (1503-4) for the figure supporting the swooning Virgin on the right? The Scottish artist doubtless acknowledged this complexity, but resolved ultimately to resist its convolutions. After the dissolution of the Foulis Academy, this fine copy was rescued by the 'Friends of College', who purchased it at sale in London in 1776. It was finally sold to the University of Glasgow in 1779, and remains as memorial to Glasgow's precocious artistic life in the latter half of the 18th century. Text Copyright : Marion Lawson, History of Art Department, University of Glasgow, 1984. Our painting was among the works acquired by the Glasgow University Printer Robert Foulis to hang in the Academy of painting and used by students for copying. For another of the paintings formerly in the Foulis collection see 43521, the Martyrdom of St Catherine by Cossiers. In 1768 Robert Paul, a Foulis Academy pupil, engraved a Raphael drawing for the picture then owned by Crozat. Oil copies of the heads of Saint Mary Magdalen and of Nicidemus appear in p. 3 of A Catalogue of Pictures, Drawings, Prints, Statues and Busts in Plaster of Paris done at the Academy in Glasgow, c.1763 (Duncan p.113). Another same size copy, attributed to Cavaliere d'Arpino, is in the National Gallery of Umbria in Perugia. Purchased, 1779.
www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/foxweb/huntsearch/Detail...
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
Great Work (Latin: magnum opus) is a term used in Hermeticism and occult traditions descended from it, such as Thelema.Accomplishing the Great Work, symbolized as the creation of the philosopher's stone, represents the culmination of the spiritual path, the attainment of enlightenment, or the rescue of the human soul from the unconscious forces which bind it. The Great Work signifies the spiritual path towards self-transcendence in its entirety. This is the process of bringing unconscious complexes into the conscious awareness, in order to integrate them back into oneself. Within Thelema, the Great Work is generally defined as those spiritual practices leading to the mystical union of the Self and the All through the accomplishment of True Will. Its founder, author and occultist Aleister Crowley, re-iterated the idea of the unification of opposites, saying in his book Magick Without Tears:
The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego."
Although the Great Work can describe specifically the moment of union between the self and the divine, it can also deal with the spiritual process in its entirety. Crowley also speaks on the Great Work as the conscious process of spiritual growth. The aspect of conscious devotion to the Great Work is very important.[2][better source needed] By purposefully, consciously turning inward and choosing to pursue self-realization, the seeker seals themselves in their very own vas hermeticum, their very own alchemical vessel. This attitude of deliberate turning within is necessary for the Great Work. By consciously devoting oneself to the Great Work, and therefore sealing oneself within one's own vas hermeticum, the inner heat of psychic struggle which is generated from this aids in the dissolution of ego boundaries and the integration of what is unconscious.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Work_(Hermeticism)
Within Thelema, the Great Work is generally defined as those spiritual practices leading to the accomplishment of the True Will of one's Self in mystical union with the All. Its founder, author and occultist Aleister Crowley, based this path of mystical attainment or enlightenment on his studies in Hermetic alchemy and the Hermetic Qabalah, particularly as they were expounded by Eliphas Levi in the 19th century and later by various members in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, an occult society of which had Crowley had been a member.
Crowley wrote that in 1904 he heard and transcribed, from an entity called Aiwass, a book which came to be titled The Book of the Law. Crowley made this book the central sacred text of his new religious movement called Thelema, which he believed heralded a new Aeon for mankind. Between 1907 and 1911, Crowley wrote a series of other small texts which he considered to be inspired, written through him rather than by him, which he afterwards collected together in an anthology now called The Holy Books of Thelema. These texts formed the mystical backbone of Crowley's system, on which he elaborated in his extensive writings on magick, mysticism, and occult subjects.
True Will and Union
Thelema is a path intended to do two interrelated things: to enable one to learn one's 'True Will'; and to achieve union with 'the All'.[1] This unification of opposites, the individual and the universal, is reiterated by Crowley in his book Magick Without Tears:
The Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It may mean the uniting of the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego.
The techniques for accomplishing these goals Crowley referred to as 'Magick,' a word he used to describe Western ceremonial magic (especially invocations and eucharistic ceremonies) supported by Buddhist meditation, Hermetic Qabalah, English Qaballa, tarot, and yoga, all set in the context of the worship of Nuit, the goddess of "Infinite Stars and Infinite Space"
Within the system of the magical Order A∴A∴, the Great Work of the Probationer Grade is considered to be the pursuit of self-knowledge to, as Crowley said in The Confessions of Aleister Crowley, "obtain the knowledge of the nature and powers of my own being."However, Crowley continues, the Great Work should also be something that is integrated into the daily life of all. Although Crowley often discussed the idea of "succeeding" or "accomplishing" in the Great Work, he also recognized that the process is ongoing.
The ability to accomplish the Great Work requires a great deal of preparation and effort, according to Crowley's system. The programme consists of several key elements, including a thorough knowledge of the Hermetic Qabalah (especially the Tree of Life), disciplined concentration (i.e. meditation), the development of one's body of light (in order to experience other planes) and the consistent and regular invocation of certain deities or spiritual beings ('assumption of godforms').
Within the mystical and philosophical system developed by Crowley, the core task for a practitioner is the discovery and manifestation of True Will. The realisation of this True Will is itself the Great Work, as expressed in the Benediction at the end of Crowley's Gnostic Mass, where the Priest blesses the congregation with the words:
The LORD bring you to the accomplishment of your true Wills, the Great Work, the Summum Bonum, True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness.
Methods
Tree of Life[edit]
The Tree of Life is a tool used to categorize and organize various mystical concepts. At its most simple level it is composed of ten spheres, or emanations, called sephiroth (sing. "sephira") which are connected by twenty-two paths. The sephiroth are represented by the planets and the paths by the characters of the Hebrew alphabet, which are subdivided by the five elements, the seven classical planets, and the twelve signs of the Zodiac.
Within the Western magical tradition, the Tree is used as a kind of conceptual filing cabinet. Each sephira and path is assigned various ideas, such as gods, cards of the Tarot, astrological planets and signs, elements, and so forth. Crowley's Liber 777 is one of the most comprehensive collections of such qabalistic correspondences.[7] Other authors have written on the topic, including Eliphas Levi,[citation needed] Israel Regardie,[citation needed] and Gareth Knight.
The path of attainment is largely defined by the Tree of Life. The aspirant begins in Malkuth, which is the everyday material world of phenomena, with the ultimate goal being at Kether, the sphere of Unity with the All. Through various exercises and practices, the aspirant attains certain spiritual and mental states that are characterized by the various sephiroth that ascend the Tree. Crowley considered a deep understanding of the Qabalah to be essential to the Thelemite. The practice of the Middle Pillar is especially important.
Qabalah is key to understanding Thelemic texts and scriptures, many of which, including The Book of the Law, are written in abstract, poetic, and often cryptic language. Through the use of the Qabalah, and especially the function of gematria (a form of numerology), the normally opaque meaning of the texts can be made clear. Thelemites can also make use of gematria to link words and concepts and to validate revelations given to them in magical operations, such as astral travel.
Concentration
Another key element to Thelemic mysticism is the ability to concentrate. This skill has two modalities: the first is the rapid, accurate, and efficient movement of thought (which is the realm of magick) and the other is the stopping of thought altogether (which is accomplished in Yoga). In the first, it is the manipulation of all ideas into one idea, and in the second is the taking of that one thought and reducing it to nothing.
Concentration is essentially the prerequisite for all sustained success, not only in spiritual practices, but in day-to-day life as well. The general program for developing concentration is borrowed almost completely from the practice of Yoga within the Hindu and Buddhist systems. Crowley gives a general overview of the techniques in two books: Eight Lectures on Yoga and in the section called "Mysticism" in Magick
Body of light
Main article: Body of light
Crowley referred to the 'augoeides', a Greek term for the body of light, and connected it with 'the Knowledge & Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel' associated with each human being. He stressed that the body of light must be built up though the use of imagination, and that it must then be animated, exercised, and disciplined.According to Asprem (2017):
The practice of creating a "body of light” in imagination builds on the body-image system, potentially working with alterations across all of its three modalities (perceptual, conceptual, and affective): an idealized body is produced (body-image model), new conceptual structures are attached to it (e.g., the doctrine of multiple, separable bodies), while emotional attachments of awe, dignity, and fear responses are cultivated through the performance of astral rituals and protections from "astral dangers" through the simulation of symbols and magical weapons.
Crowley explains that the most important practices for developing the Body of Light are:
1. The fortification of the Body of Light by the constant use of rituals, by the assumption of god-forms, and by the right use of the Eucharist. 2. The purification and consecration and exaltation of that Body by the use of rituals of invocation. 3. The education of that Body by experience. It must learn to travel on every plane; to break down every obstacle which may confront it.
According to Crowley, the role of the body of light is broader than simply being a vehicle for astral travel — he writes that it is also the storehouse of all experience.
The benefit of astral travel is essentially one of education: it is akin to exploring one's own spiritual universe[g] and understanding its fundamental components so that the one can eventually master it. The general object is the "control of the Astral Plane, the ability to find one's way about it, to penetrate such sanctuaries as are guarded from the profane, [and] to make such relations with its inhabitants as may avail to acquire knowledge and power, or to command service". Also, "one's apprehension of the Astral Plane must be accurate, for Angels, Archangels, and Gods are derived therefrom by analysis. One must have pure materials if one wishes to brew pure beer".
Crowley believed that what was experienced during "astral travel" was not relevant in terms of what is "real" or "unreal". He thought that the only value to this practice is in the utility it provides to the practitioner.[h] He believed that the body of light is more important than simply for astral travel—that it is also the storehouse of all experiences.[i]
Magick
Main article: Ceremonial magic
According to Crowley, there is a single definition of the purpose for ritual magick: to achieve Union with God through "the uniting of the Microcosm with the Macrocosm". Since this process is so arduous, it is also acceptable to use magick to develop the self (i.e. one's body of light) or to create ideal circumstances for the Work (e.g. having access to a place in which to do ritual undisturbed). There are many kinds of magick, but the categories of ritual that are recommended by Crowley include banishing unwanted forces, various forms of invocation, and the eucharist, which "consists in taking common things, transmuting them into things divine, and consuming them".
Milestone
Further information: A∴A∴ § Initiatory structure
Crowley often wrote that every practitioners's path will be unique. He also wrote that two major milestones are fundamental to Thelemic mysticism, which he called the knowledge of and conversation with one's Holy Guardian Angel and the crossing of the Abyss. Crowley wrote, "the two crises—the Angel and the Abyss—are necessary features in every career. The other tasks are not always accomplished in [any given order]".
Holy Guardian Angel
Main article: Holy Guardian Angel
Even though the Holy Guardian Angel (or HGA) is, in a sense, the “higher self”, it is often experienced as a separate being, independent from the experiencer. In the system of the A∴A∴ magical order, the single most important goal is to consciously connect with one's HGA, a process termed “Knowledge and Conversation.” By doing so, a magician becomes fully aware of their own True Will. For Crowley, this event was the single most important goal of any practitioner of magick.
In most of his writings, Crowley described the Holy Guardian Angel as one's "Silent Self", at times equitable with one's deepest unconscious. In later writings, he insisted that the HGA is an entirely separate and objective being. Whichever position is taken, the object remains the same—to gain an intimate spiritual connection so that one's True Will can become fully known and manifested. When using the Tree of Life as a guide, this event occurs in the Sphere of Tiphareth.
Crowley wrote Liber Samekh as an example of a ritual designed specifically for attaining the Knowledge and Conversation with one's HGA. In his notes to this ritual, Crowley sums up the key to success: “INVOKE OFTEN.” Another detailed description of the general operation is given in The Vision and the Voice, Aethyr 8.
Crossing the Abyss
Main article: Abyss (Thelema)
After one attains Knowledge and Conversation with the Holy Guardian Angel, a practitioner may choose to then reach the next major milestone: the crossing of the Abyss, the great gulf or void between the phenomenal world of manifestation and its noumenal source, that great spiritual wilderness which must be crossed by the practitioner to attain mastery.
According to Crowley, Choronzon is the Dweller in the Abyss; he is there as the final obstruction. If he is met with the proper preparation, then he is there to destroy the ego, which allows the practitioner to move beyond the Abyss. If unprepared, then the unfortunate traveller will be utterly dispersed into annihilation. Both Choronzon and the Abyss are discussed in Crowley's Confessions (ch. 66).
However, just on the other side of the Abyss awaits Babalon (in the sphere of Binah on the Tree of Life). She calls the practitioner to surrender completely, so that they may cross over.[citation needed]
City of the Pyramids and the Night of Pan
Main article: Night of Pan
If a practitioner gives themselves to Babalon, as symbolised by the pouring of the practitioners' blood into Babalon's graal, they become impregnated in her, becoming a "Babe of the Abyss" who is then reborn as a Master and a Saint that dwells in the City of the Pyramids.
The City of the Pyramids is the home to those practitioners that have crossed the great Abyss, having spilled all their blood in the Graal of Babalon. They have destroyed their earthly ego-identities, becoming nothing more than piles of dust (i.e. the remaining aspects of their True Selves without the self-sense of "I"). Within, they take on the name or title of Saint or Nemo (Latin for No-Man or No-One). In the system of A∴A∴ they are called Masters of the Temple. It is a step along the path of spiritual purification, and a spiritual resting place for those who have successfully shed their attachments to the mundane world.
The City exists under the Night of Pan, or N.O.X. The playful and lecherous Pan is the Greek god of nature, lust, and the masculine generative power. The Greek word Pan also translates as All, and so he is “a symbol of the Universal, a personification of Nature; both Pangenetor, "all-begetter," and Panphage, "all-devourer".[21][better source needed] Pan is both the giver and the taker of life, and his Night is that time of symbolic death where the practitioner experiences unification with the All through the ecstatic destruction of the ego-self. In a less poetic symbolic sense, this is the state where one transcends all limitations and experiences oneness with the universe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Work_(Thelema)
Claude Monet
French, 1840-1926
Oil on canvas
Courtesy of the Kirkland Family
This sunny, breezy painting captures the fleeting
effects of light and atmosphere at the broad
expanse of the Seine River at Vetheuil and
the ridge to the north. French Impressionist
Claude Monet moved to Vetheuil from Argenteuil,
in the suburbs of Paris, for reasons of cost and
tranquility. Farther up the Seine from Paris, Vetheuil
provided abundant natural beauty and an escape
from urban encroachment. His new home was
next to the location depicted in the museum's
River at Lavacourt of 1879, on view in Throughlines.
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Portland Art Museum
Pissarro to Picasso: Masterworks on Loan from the Kirkland Family Collection
Thanks to the generosity of the Kirkland family of Los Angeles, visitors to the Portland Art Museum will be able to enjoy fourteen art treasures from the family’s collection, many of which have not been publicly displayed for decades. The works span nearly a century, from the monumental 1887 canvas of Jamaica by Martin Johnson Heade, to Marc Chagall’s 1975 The Betrothed, these works follow the revolutionary changes in art in Europe and the United States. Two still lifes by Pablo Picasso trace the shift from the astonishing 1912 debut of cubism with La Glace (bowl of ice cream) to its mature form in 1938.
The landscape form transmutes from Heade’s highly detailed canvas to Claude Monet’s light-filled Impressionist masterpiece Banks of the Seine River near Vétheuil, to Chaim Soutine’s blood-red expressionist 1918 Southern Landscape. Also included are rare landscapes by Henri Matisse and Georgia O’Keeffe, and a stunning scene of lovers floating in the night sky by Chagall based on stories in Thousand and One Nights. The Portland Art Museum is grateful to be able to exhibit these artworks during the Monet to Matisse: French Moderns exhibition, providing a number of provocative parallels to the treasures on loan this summer from the Brooklyn Museum.
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Obviously the centre of all attention is the Center Stage made of bamboo structure with aluminium zinc roof.
Not only does this podium provides entertainment for the visitors, it is believed the spiritual buddies enjoy it even more so. In fact, the front row is often vacant out and reserved for the spirits.
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The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Photo shot with Photo shot with Nikon D600 + AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED
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Unconscious Reflections.
Composites comparant Fascination lieu particulier aromatique,
sanctum Reize Heil Vorhänge Einladung alle,
CHLOROFORMIUM chemicals forti motu experimentis,
specifiche di ingorgo esilaranti effetti stimolanti gamut canzoni romantiche,
ελευθεριάζουσα κώνειο γνωριμία επισκέπτεται φαρμακευτικές συνήθειες επιείκεια κόσμους,
ظاهرة أسرار توقع موازين الفضول كافية قفزات المعدة الضارة,
olwynion yn atseinio ar unwaith ymennydd a dreuliwyd yn allanol rhyfedd ysgogi,
conversas inimagináveis surgem sintomas penetrantes horas curva,
monotone hallucinaties breidt overgrote vreemdelingen direct omliggende verschrikkingen blast,
enunț își exprimă extremități de izolare automaton drame sălbatic,
Upp á rými fjarlægð staðföst appreciations meðvitundarlaus áhrif hátíðlega miðlað,
flashing transmutations bunúsach overwhelmed inconveniencing troscán frightens me,
utilgivelig demoner onde blodtørstige posisjoner hang,
strašan fantazam zagušen introvertiranost Sensation štrajkove,
循環輻輳リサウンド肉体礼拝は沈静化.
Steve.D.Hammond.
Amethyst is a powerful and protective stone. It guards against psychic attack, transmuting the energy into love and protecting the wearer from all types of harm, including geopathic or electromagnetic stress and ill wishes from others. Amethyst is a natural tranquiliser, it relieves stress and strain, soothes irritability, balances mood swings, dispels anger, rage, fear and anxiety. Alleviates sadness and grief, and dissolves negativity. Amethyst activates spiritual awareness, opens intuition and enhances psychic abilities. It has strong healing and cleansing powers. Amethyst encourages sobriety, having a sobering effect on overindulgence of alcohol, drugs or other addictions. It calms and stimulates the mind, helping you become more focused, enhancing memory and improving motivation. Amethyst assists in remembering and understanding dreams. It relieves insomnia. Encourages selflessness and spiritual wisdom.
Amethyst boosts hormone production, tunes the endocrine system and metabolism. It strengthens the immune system, reduces pain and strengthens the body to fight against cancer. It destroys malignant tumours and aids in tissue regeneration. Cleanses the blood. Relieves physical, emotional and psychological pain or stress. Amethyst eases headaches and releases tension. It reduces bruising, swellings, injuries, and treats hearing disorders. Amethyst heals diseases of the lungs and respiratory tract, skin conditions, cellular disorders and diseases of the digestive tract.
It's the birthstone for those born in February. Although I am a Pisces March gal I always have loved the amethyst stone so I picked this one up eons ago just because it made me smile. The added "powers" it is said to have ... well those are just a bonus in my mind :)
alchemists tried making gold by changing the proportions of the Four Elements in the base metals or by attempting to speed up natural growth of lesser metals into gold. Around 100 AD, Egyptian alchemist Maria Prophetissa used mercury and sulfur to try to make gold. Around 300 AD, the alchemist Zosimos, whose recipes often came to him in dreams, was working to transmute copper. “The soul of copper,” he wrote must be purified until it receives the sheen of gold and turns into the royal metal of the Sun." A technique known as "diplosis" (“doubling”) of gold became popular.
Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70.[1] Once focused almost entirely on cognition, the definition now includes both a component relating to mental functioning and one relating to individuals' functional skills in their environment. As a result, a person with a below-average intelligence quotient may not be considered mentally retarded. Syndromic mental retardation is intellectual deficits associated with other medical and behavioral signs and symptoms. Non-syndromic mental retardation refers to intellectual deficits that appear without other abnormalities.
The terms used for this condition are subject to a process called the euphemism treadmill. This means that whatever term is chosen for this condition, it eventually becomes perceived as an insult. The terms mental retardation and mentally retarded were invented in the middle of the 20th century to replace the previous set of terms, which were deemed to have become offensive. By the end of the 20th century, these terms themselves have come to be widely seen as disparaging and politically incorrect and in need of replacement.[2] The term intellectual disability or intellectually challenged is now preferred by most advocates in most English-speaking countries. The AAIDD have defined intellectual disability to mean the same thing as mental retardation.[3] Currently, the term mental retardation is used by the World Health Organization in the ICD-10 codes, which has a section titled "Mental Retardation" (codes F70–F79). In the future, the ICD-11 is expected to replace the term mental retardation with intellectual disability, and the DSM-5 is expected to replace it with intellectual developmental disorder.[4][5] Because of its specificity and lack of confusion with other conditions, mental retardation is still sometimes used professional medical settings around the world, such as formal scientific research and health insurance paperwork.
Print info:
Symbol: Hg
Atomic number: 80
Atomic weight: 200.59
About the Element:
I chose to represent Mercury because I have been told I have a mercurial nature and because it's a really interesting and unique metal. I find all of the associations with Mercury; space, science, alchemy, medicine, art, gods and death interesting. I love Alexander Calder's Mercury Fountain. I think I would have an overwhelming desire to run my hands throught it if I ever saw it in person.
Mercury is found either as a native metal (rare) or in cinnibar, coderoite, livingstonite and other minerals, with cinnabar (HgS) being the most common ore. Vermilion, also spelled vermillion, is an opaque reddish orange pigment, used since antiquity, originally derived from the powdered mineral cinnibar. Like all mercury compounds it is toxic. As pure sources of cinnabar are rare, natural vermilion has always been extremely expensive. In the Middle Ages, vermilion was often as expensive as gilding. As of 2007 a 35ml tube of genuine Chinese Vermilion oil paint can cost $170 (£112). Today vermilion is most commonly artificially produced by reacting mercury with molten sulfur. Most naturally produced vermilion comes from cinnabar mined in China, giving rise to its alternative name of China red.
Mercury was known to the ancient Chinese and Hindus, and was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC. In China, India and Tibet, mercury use was thought to prolong life, heal fractures, and maintain generally good health. The ancient Greeks used mercury in ointments and the Romans used it in cosmetics. By 500 BC mercury was used to make amalgams with other metals. Alchemists often thought of mercury as the First Matter from which all metals were formed. Different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulphur contained within the mercury. An ability to transform mercury into any metal resulted from the essentially mercurial quality of all metals. The purest of these was gold, and mercury was required for the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold as was the goal of many alchemists.
Hg is the modern chemical symbol for mercury. It comes from hydrargyrum, a Latinized form of the Greek word hydrargyros, which is a compound word meaning 'water' and 'silver' — since it is liquid, like water, and yet has a silvery metallic sheen. The element was named after the Roman god Mercury, known for speed and mobility. It is associated with the planet Mercury. The astrological symbol for the planet is also one of the alchemical symbols for the metal. Mercury is the only metal for which the alchemical planetary name became the common name.
About the print:
The print is a two color monotype with foiling. The main image is of a caduceus. It is the staff of the Roman god Mercury. There are also the nine planets, Mercury being closest to the sun.
About the Printmaker:
“Anger is a great force. If you control it, it can be transmuted into a power which can move the whole world.” –William Shenstone
A photographer friend of mine told me to try shooting myself with the 35mm at a 3200 ISO at this exposure. He told me I'd get a grain I was going to love. Oh was he right!!!
better in L
NO BANNERS, please!
UPDATED
Presented by Infinite Productions,
Join us for an unforgettable experience:
ERASERHEAD @ LynchLand
Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024
Venue: The Brand New Eraserhead Build
Dress Code: Black/White/Grey ONLY!! (NO COLORS, please!)
(Eraserhead-themed avatars would be absolutely fantastic!! 😜)
Event Schedule:
3:00-5:00 pm: DJ Sabbian
5:00-7:00 pm: DJ Khaos
7:00-9:00 pm: DJ Aisling
9:00-11:00 pm: DJ Seventh
Poster & Visual FX by Myrdin Sommer
Don't miss out on the magic as we dive into the world of ERASERHEAD in this cutting-edge new venue! Remember to adhere to the dress code and let the MONOCHROMATIC vibes immerse you in the ultimate Lynchian experience. We can't wait to see you there!
Taxi: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Pearl%20Coast/188/214/4052
P.S. Please set your Windlight to "Shared Environment" and don't wear bright lights such as big facelights etc. Also be respectful to the FX, so please don't use your own particles!
"Welcome to LynchLand, where the magic never sleeps! Our enchanting locations are open 24/7, inviting everyone to indulge in their splendor. Feel free to meander through picturesque landscapes, capturing moments with your camera, or discovering the perfect nook to relax, embrace, dance, or simply bask in the soothing and eccentric melodies of our land radio. For an even more unforgettable experience, I extend a warm invitation to stay in our exquisitely adorned cabins and motel. Unleash laughter and camaraderie with friends in our vibrant Fun&Games Hall. Let's unite to infuse life and boundless joy into the heart of LynchLand!"
What is Eraserhead?
In David Lynch's cinematic enigma, "Eraserhead," we are immersed in the disquieting psyche of Henry Spencer, a man navigating a surreal and nightmarish urban labyrinth. Thrust into the perplexities of fatherhood through the birth of a grotesque, otherworldly infant, Henry grapples with existential dread amid the eerie echoes of industrial decay. Lynch artfully spins a disconcerting narrative, where the line between reality and the bizarre blurs, and the ordinary transmutes into the macabre. As industrial hums and haunting soundscapes envelop the story, "Eraserhead" emerges as a Lynchian parable, beckoning viewers to ponder the elusive boundaries between reality and nightmare, the familiar and the unknown. In this cinematic reverie, Lynch invites us to navigate the disquieting corridors of the mind, where every frame resonates with a haunting and transformative ambiguity. - Cate Infinity
What is LynchLand?
In the ethereal realm of LynchLand, our events transcend mere gatherings, morphing into living tapestries that breathe life into David Lynch's surrealistic and uncanny dreams. Each gathering is a mobile canvas, painted with the avant-garde strokes of brilliant DJs crafting cool soundtracks. But it doesn't end there; the pièce de résistance unfolds under the enchanting wizardry of Myrdin Sommer's lights, a spectacle that spoils the senses with brilliance. Prepare to be perpetually entranced and bewildered as you step into the enigma of LynchLand's events. We revel in the embrace of the macabre and the strange, standing as torchbearers for creativity that defies the conventional. Our purpose is to not only entertain but to spark the fires of inspiration, encouraging the birth of unforgettable events, extraordinary venues, and experiences that linger in the recesses of the mind. In LynchLand, we beckon you to traverse the borderlands of the bizarre and to witness the birth of a creative alchemy that transcends the ordinary. - Cate Infinity
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
-------------------------------------------------------------------
this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
---- Angels & Demons (devil tries to tempt Saint Lucia, August 2018, Savoca - Sicily) ----
---- Angeli & Demoni (il demonio tenta Santa Lucia, agosto 2018, Savoca - Sicilia) ----
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards/winners-...
www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...
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this is a photographic narration that speaks of the eternal struggle that takes place between good and evil, which speaks of a dark period of history, speaks of the violence suffered by women but also by those who belonged to the poorest social classes, historical facts that have been handed down to us in the form of a story and associated-transmuted in the martyrdom of Saint Lucia, this is what happens in the town of Savoca (Sicily). This is a short and long report, I did in Savoca on August 2018 about the living representation of the martyrdom of Saint Lucia (patron saint of the city of Savoca); the cult of the young Saint of Syracuse seems to date back to the fifteenth century, under the influence of Spanish traditions. The commemoration of the history of St. Lucia occurs in two consecutive days, Saturday and Sunday: here I try to tell some times of the day on Sunday, a day during which the festival is held at the height of her beauty. And 'This is a historical event which speaks of Demons and Angels: Saint Lucy refused to marry a rich and powerful suitor (Lucy declared She was married in Christ), which reported the Christian faith of Lucia to prefect Pascasio that ordered his Praetorian Guard to drag Lucia with a rope to a place of prostitution; legend has it that the Holy became heavy, they then tried to drag it with the help of oxen, but it was impossible to move it from where he stood; failing in this, it was then given the order to cavarle eyes, but the young martyr (native of Syracuse) her eyes reappeared.
In the village of Savoca a young girl, affectionately called the "Lucy" is carried on the shoulder of a porter along the streets of the country (sitting on a pillow tied on the shoulder of a man, but in fact men are two); the young Saint remains impassive in the face of demonic temptations: the Devil, called in Sicilian dialect "u Diavulazzu, shake, shakes, turns his pitchfork in an attempt to "distract" the Saint.
The first day of this representation, on Saturday, in an old church in Savoca, the two girls who impersonate the Lucia, of the current year and the previous year, meet with the delivery of palm; the traditional event which we witness on Saturday, has all the appearance of an important rehearsal for the next day, on Sunday when the traditional festival will take place in all its beauty.
Sunday: on top of the procession there are the "Jews" (the emissaries of the prefect Pascasio) along with some Angels, is located immediately after the wagon drawn by two cows from which branches off a rope that will arrive to Saint Lucia (a girl of six years); between her and the cows there are Roman soldiers, who make their way through the crowd squirming like crazy; to hold the rope there are also male figures; the job of Devil (his mask is made of wood, whose invoice is dated, it seems, of the 400') is to distract the little Saint with the help of a long stick equipped of curved points, called "u 'croccu": Lucia hardly is deceived by the promises of the evil one, she will not abandon the state of her property concentration, aided in this by staring, almost in a trance, a small palm branch in silver , she brings devoutly in her hands.It's very important to mention the Baron Baldassarre (nicknamed Baron Altadonna), who applied without any hesitation the practice of Jus de seigneur: using this law the Baron obliged the young brides to spend the wedding night in his alcove. It 'very possible that in the representation of Saint Lucia of Savoca the character of the Devil tempting young Santa with his pitchfork, in reality is nothing but himself, Baron Altadonna, so allegorically described in this traditional Sicilian feast: the figure of the Devil if one takes into account what historians relate, does not belong more to the legend, but sadly to actual event happened. Post scriptum: the photographs, realized both on Saturday and Sunday, were organized and posted without taking into account the temporal chronology of what happened during the two days of the event; two photos of the mummy of Baron Altadonna have been included, which is located in the crypt of the Capuchin Fathers of Savoca; the portraits of two "Lucie" from previous editions, grandfather and great-grandfather of the "DIAVOLI" dynasty were included; the "silver palm" was delivered by Lucia of 2016 (Valentina), to the current Lucia (Miriana), in 2017 the event was not performed.
Ezio Famà.
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questa è una narrazione fotografica che parla dell'eterna lotta che avviene tra il bene ed il male, che parla di un periodo buio della storia, che parla delle violenze subite dalle donne ma anche da coloro che appartenevano alle classi sociali più povere, fatti storici che sono stati tramandati fino a noi in forma di racconto ed associati-trasmutati nel martirio di Santa Lucia, questo è quanto accade nel paese di Savoca (Sicilia). Questo è un report corto e lungo, che ho realizzato in quel di Savoca lo scorso mese di Agosto 2018, su quella che è la rappresentazione vivente del martirio di Santa Lucia (Santa patrona della città di Savoca); il culto della giovane Santa di Siracusa sembra risalire al XV secolo, sotto l'influenza delle tradizioni spagnole. La rievocazione vivente della storia di S.Lucia avviene in due giornate consecutive, il sabato e la domenica: qui tento di raccontare alcuni momenti della giornata della domenica, giorno durante il quale la festa si svolge nel pieno della sua bellezza. E' questa una rievocazione storica che parla di Demoni ed Angeli: la storia rievoca di quando la Santa, si rifiutò di andare in sposa ad un suo ricco e potente pretendente (essendosi dichiarata Cristiana e sposa in Cristo), il quale per vendetta riferì della fede Cristiana di Lucia al prefetto Pascasio; costui diede ordine ai suoi pretoriani di trascinare Lucia con una corda fino ad un lupanare, un luogo di prostituzione; la leggenda narra che la Santa divenne pesantissima, si tentò allora di trascinarla con l'ausilio dei buoi, ma fu impossibile smuoverla da dove si trovava; non riuscendo in ciò, fu allora dato l'ordine di cavarle gli occhi, ma alla giovane martire (nativa di Siracusa) gli occhi le rispuntarono. Nel paese di Savoca una giovane ragazza, chiamata con affetto "la Lucia" viene portata in spalla lungo le vie del paese (seduta su di un cuscino legato sulla spalla di un uomo; in realtà gli uomini portatori sono due, dandosi il cambio l'un l'altro); la giovane Santa rimane impassibile di fronte alle tentazioni demoniache: il Diavolo, chiamato in dialetto siciliano "u Diavulazzu, agita, scuote, fa ruotare il suo forcone nel tentativo di "distrarre" la Santa ma, vani saranno i suoi tentativi. Il primo giorno di questa rappresentazione, il sabato, in una vecchia chiesa di Savoca, le due bambine che impersonano la Lucia, dell'anno in corso e dell'anno precedente, si incontrano con la consegna della palma da una bimba all'altra; l'evento tradizionale al quale si assiste il sabato, ha tutto l'aspetto di una importante prova generale per il giorno dopo, quando la domenica la festa tradizionale avverrà in tutta la sua bellezza.La domenica: in cima alla processione ci sono i "Giudei" (gli emissari del prefetto Pascasio) insieme ad alcuni Angeli, subito dopo si trova il carro tirato da due giumente dalle quali si diparte una corda che giungerà fino a cingere il fianco della bimba che impersona Santa Lucia (una bambina di sei anni); tra lei e le giumente ci sono i soldati Romani, che si fanno largo tra la folla dimenandosi a più non posso; a tenere la corda ci sono anche delle figure maschili che evitano che gli strattonamenti dei soldati romani possano giungere fino alla Santa (ricordiamolo, che è legata a quella corda); davanti alla Santa piroetta il diavolo tentatore, u' Diavulazzu (la maschera è in legno, la cui fattura è datata, sembra, del 400'), il cui compito è quello di distrarre la piccola Santa con l'aiuto di un lungo bastone dotato di punte ricurve, chiamto dialettalmente "u' croccu": Lucia difficilmente si lascerà ingannare dalle promesse del Maligno, non abbandonerà quel suo stato di immobile concentrazione, aiutata in ciò dal fissare, quasi in stato di trance, un piccolo ramo di palma in argento, che lei strige devotamente tra le sue mani. E’ fondamentale menzionare tra i vari personaggi storici della tradizione, il barone Baldassarre, vissuto in Savoca in epoca medioevale, soprannominato barone Altadonna, che applicava senza remora alcuna la pratica della Jus primae noctis: avvalendosi di questa legge il barone obbligava le giovani spose a trascorrere la prima notte di nozze nella sua alcova. E’ fortemente ipotizzabile che nella rappresentazione di Santa Lucia di Savoca il personaggio del Diavolo che tenta la giovane Santa col suo forcone, in realtà non sia altro che egli stesso, il barone Altadonna, così allegoricamente descritto nella festa tradizionale siciliana: la figura del Diavolo, se si tiene conto di quanto narrano gli storici, non apparterrebbe più alla leggenda, ma a questo tristo personaggio realmente vissuto, che usava quotidianamente la moneta della prepotenza. Post scriptum: le fotografie, realizzate sia il sabato che la domenica, sono state organizzate e postate senza tenere conto della cronologia temporale di quanto avvenuto nei due giorni della manifestazione; sono state inserite due foto della mummia del barone Altadonna, che si trova nella cripta dei Padri Cappuccini di Savoca; sono stati inseriti i ritratti di due "Lucie" delle precedenti edizioni, del nonno e del bisnonno della dinastia dei "DIAVOLI"; la "palma d'argento" è stata consegnata dalla Lucia del 2016 (Valentina), alla attuale Lucia (Miriana); nel 2017 la manifestazione non è stata eseguita.
Ezio Famà.
It is believed that the soul contains elements of both yin and yang. The yin is the kui, or demon part, and the yang is the shin, or spirit part. When death occurs, the kui should return to earth, and the shin to the grave or family shrine. If a spirit is neglected, it will become a kui. The shin, or ancestral spirit watches over its descendants, and can bring good fortune if properly worshiped.
Through out the ceremony, different levels of monks will take turns to chant the "prayers of relief" for the hungry ghosts, hope to cleanse their guilt during life and provide them with sense of relief.
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Origin and facts of the Hungry Ghost Festival:
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China).
In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.
Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths.
Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors
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More images of the Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival here:
Hungry Ghosts "Yu Lan" Festival
More Chinese Temples images here:
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Photo shot with Photo shot with Nikon D600 + + AF-S NIikkor 50mm f/1.8G
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