🎵 Rostam - youtu.be/RHe3PL0BkaM 🎵

Well do I know that 'look' = "Do it NOW !"

 

Lucy's pleading to be let out.

A pee or a 'jobbie', is urgently required.

As is said: When you gotta go...... You gotta go !

 

Her house-training wasn't easy.

I was preoccupied with Pat's 24-7 Caring.

Sometimes, poor little Lucy had to take a back-seat ?

 

No one ever gets into trouble for an "accident".

Observation, repetition and patience, are what it takes.

If you can't mange those, then don't have any dogs - or children !

There is still room to join me this fall for the "Whitetail Buck in Rut and Much More", Shenandoah National Park Instructional Photo Tour: www.the-digital-picture.com/News/News-Post.aspx?News=30097

 

Get the backstory and learn about the gear and settings used here: www.the-digital-picture.com/Pictures/Picture.aspx?Picture...

Communicate or Wiretap!

 

Posted here

I come from meow planet.

I communicate with nose <3 .

  

極簡咖啡

Sony A6000 with SEL35F18

f/1.8 1/80s ISO1000

Enochian is an angelic language used by angels in Heaven. They communicate over angel radio using this language, though in more recent years, they began communicating in English predominately. The angels, the Knights of Hell, and the Men of Letters are also familiar with an archaic dialect of the angelic language called "Pre-Enochian" or "Old Enochian". Castiel used sigils from this Enochian dialect to bind Alastair in a devil's trap he made. The Knights of Hell like Abaddon used the old Enochian sigil associated with them as their crest, leaving it behind in areas where they strike. Belphegor reveals that very few demons like Lilith, Crowley, and Abaddon have been known to understand Enochian. Enochian sigils are powerful glyphs that can be used against angels and demons and protect an area from angelic and demonic interference. Throughout Season 5, Castiel uses one to conceal Sam, Dean, and Adam from every angel in creation by carving it into their ribs.

www.supernaturalwiki.com/Enochian

 

Enochian has also been used in reciting various spells that can be used against some of the most dangerous creatures in all creation. Lily Sunder became a practitioner of Enochian Magic after Ishim taught her all their secrets, using spells that burn off pieces of her soul in exchange for longevity and access to angelic powers until it's completely burned away. The Whore of Babylon uses what appears to be an Enochian spell to harm Castiel. Lucifer's Cage can be opened and closed with the rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and an Enochian phrase. When angels are reverted to their "factory settings", they relay any information hidden in their minds encrypted in Enochian.

  

The Two of Swords shows a blindfolded woman, Pamela Smith has become an impetrant, she begins her initiation into Enochian magic, the artist is dressed in a white dress, holding two crossed swords. The blindfold tells us that Pamela is confused about her inner light and cannot clearly see either the problem or the solution. She may also be missing relevant information that would make her decision much clearer if she were to get it. The swords she holds are in perfect balance, suggesting that she is weighing her thoughts and addressing both sides of the situation to find the best resolution.

Behind the woman is a body of water dotted with rocky islets. Water represents emotions, and while the costume of swords is traditionally associated with the mind and intellect, its presence shows that Pamela must use both her head and her heart to weigh her options. The islands represent obstacles in his path and suggest that his decision is not as clear cut as it seems. It will have to consider the situation as a whole. The crescent moon to her right is a sign that Pamela should trust her intuition to make her choice. Pamela is also alone on the beach. His eyes are blindfolded, his arms are tied. Eight swords planted in the ground form a prison around her. However, the circle is not completely closed. So there is an exit that the blindfold prevents you from seeing. The Two of Swords indicates that you are faced with a difficult decision, but you do not know which option to take. Both possibilities may seem equally good – or equally bad – and you don't know which will lead you to the better result. You need to be able to weigh the pros and cons of each choice and then make a conscious judgment. Use both your head (your mind and intellect) and your heart (your feelings and intuition) to choose the path that is most in alignment with your Higher Self.

 

Pamela Smith represented in this card wears a blindfold, indicating that she cannot see the entirety of her circumstance. You may lack the information you need to make the right decisions. You may be missing something, such as the threats or potential risks, alternative solutions or critical pieces of information that would help guide you in a particular direction. Once you remove the blindfold and see the situation for what it really is, you will be in a much better position to find your best path forward. Research your options more, seek outside opinions and feedback and ask yourself what you might be missing.`` Alone, far from the city and its ramparts, this woman seems very isolated. The sky is gray, the landscape is bleak. There emerges from the Card a feeling of uncertainty and absence of hope. The Eight of Swords symbolizes the feeling of helplessness of the Consultant. Lost, disoriented, the Consultant does not know what to do to overcome the obstacles or challenges of his environment. The Consultant experiences the very unpleasant feeling of being “stuck”, trapped. However – and this is important to stress – the Eight of Swords is not a fatalistic card. On the Map, the young woman could free herself from her fabric ties and remove the blindfold covering her eyes. She could regain the comfort and safety of the city behind her. The blockage, the "prison" of these Swords planted in a circle therefore symbolize first of all a situation created by the Consultant himself. Quite logically, he or she could get rid of it and get by on his own. The blockage is notably due to limiting beliefs on the part of the Consultant. These limiting beliefs go on and on: “You are not capable of…”; “A man like that, caring about you!? Do not even think about it ! » ; "Returning to training at your age to change paths will never work..." These limiting thoughts end up defining our possibilities and therefore we are no longer able to do otherwise, innovate or find solutions. It also happens that the feeling of helplessness is generated by external circumstances. The Consultant “wakes up”, dissatisfied with his environment and his life and wonders how he or she could have come to this.The Eight of Swords reveals that you feel trapped and restricted by your circumstances. You believe your options are limited with no clear path out. You might be in an unfulfilling job, an abusive relationship, a significant amount of debt or a situation way out of alignment with your inner being. You are now trapped between a rock and a hard place, with no resolution available. However, take note that the woman in the card is not entirely imprisoned by the eight swords around her, and if she wanted to escape, she could. She merely needs to remove the blindfold and free herself from the self-imposed bindings that hold her back. When the Eight of Swords appears in a Tarot reading, it comes as a warning that your thoughts and beliefs are no longer serving you. You may be over-thinking things, creating negative patterns or limiting yourself by only considering the worst-case scenario. The more you think about the situation, the more you feel stuck and without any options. It is time to get out of your head and let go of those thoughts and beliefs holding you back. As you change your thoughts, you change your reality. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones, and you will start to create a more favourable situation for yourself. The Eight of Swords assures you there is a way out of your current predicament – you just need a new perspective. You already have the resources you need, but it is up to you to use those resources in a way that serves you. Others may be offering you help, or there may be an alternative solution you haven’t yet fully explored. Be open to finding the answer rather than getting stuck on the problem. The Eight of Swords is often associated with a victim mentality. You surrendered your power to an external entity, allowing yourself to become trapped and limited in some way. You may feel that it isn’t your fault – you have been placed here against your will. You may feel like the victim, waiting to be rescued, but is this energy serving you? If not, it is imperative you take back your power and personal accountability and open your eyes to the options in front of you. The fact is you do have choices, even if you do not like them. You are not powerless. At times, the Eight of Swords indicates that you are confused about whether you should stay or go, particularly if you are in a challenging situation. It is not as clear-cut as you would like, making the decision very difficult. You have one foot in, hoping things can work out, but your other foot is out the door, ready to leave. The trouble is that you worry either option could lead to negative consequences, and so you remain stuck where you are. Again, this card is asking you to get out of your head and drop down into your gut and your intuition so you can hear your inner guidance. Your thoughts are not serving you right now, but your intuition is. Trust yourself. In any case, it is necessary to "take back control" of the circumstances and to remember that in life, we always have a choice. The possibilities in front of you may not be ideal, easy or desired… but they exist! You have to be able to look them in the face, and choose the best… or the least bad.

 

www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...

 

www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-...

 

In 1903 Waite succeeded Yeats as Grand Master of the Golden Dawn. His first act under his new status was a reform of the fundamental principles of the Order: he proclaimed the primacy of spiritual achievement (emphasis on esoteric knowledge and the search for Truth) over material fulfillment (which occultism in general, and magic in particular, presupposes). Seeing in this act of negating the very foundation of the Golden Dawn (namely the practice of the occult sciences) the outright annihilation of the Order, former Grand Master Yeats strongly opposed Waite.

Two camps were then formed: one bringing together the supporters of the reform and represented by William Alexander Ayton, (relatively fearful in terms of operability), Waite's right-hand man, and the other bringing together, alongside the former Grand Mr. Yeats, the curators. The feud lasted two years, after which the Yeats camp ended up going on to found its own order (La Stella Matutina, the "Morning Star")—a perfect transposition of the Golden Dawn before Waite's reform, seceding from what took then the name of Holy Order of the Golden Dawn ("Holy Order of the Golden Dawn"; the expression "holy order" illustrating more the new mystical tendencies instilled by Waite) and which continued to be shaken by internal strife until disbanded in 1915, following Waite's departure.

 

After this "schism of 1905", which was the real coup de grace for the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, certain initiates who had remained neutral in the struggle between Camp Yeats and Camp Ayton preferred to go and found, alone or in groups, their own brotherhood.

 

Arthur Edward Waite (1857-1942), wanted to be a true scholar in occultism. He wrote, among other things, "The Holy Kaballah" and "The Key to the Tarot", published in London in 1910. For Waite, symbolism is the key to the Tarot. In "The Key to the Tarot" he says, "True tarot is symbolic; it uses no other languages or other signs". One of the unique characteristics of the Arthur Edwart Waite tarot and one of the main reasons for its popularity is that all the cards, including those of the Minor Arcana, depict scenes complete with figures and symbols. The images of all Pamela Coman-Smith's cards lend themselves to an interpretation based on the conscious and unconscious reading of the scene, without the need to consult explanatory texts.

What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.The Tarots of Wirth and Knapp Hall are to be considered to be Tarots based on "hermetic science". A science which will be strongly included in the broad fields of esoteric exploration to which the golden dawn will give access...The first decks that can be designated as decks born from the ideologies of the Golden Dawn and created according to their cosmogony is undoubtedly the Tarot Rider-Waite... It is the result of a long and meticulous research on esoteric symbols and their correspondence.

 

But the first member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn to have designed a Tarot is obviously doctor Gérard Encausse, Papus, who joined the members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in 1895. The Papus tarot would have been designed around 1899... At the beginning, it was certainly reserved for a few insider circles only... It was seen for the first time in illustration in the works of Papus, among others in "Le Tarot des Bohémiens , absolute key to the occult sciences" (1889), but the book will only be really known and accessible to the general public from its 3rd edition published in 1926. Then will follow the work "The divinatory tarot. Key to card printing and fates" (1909), reissued in large circulation also the same year of 1926. From then on, the Tarot of Papus will gain much popularity and the public will seek to obtain it... The Tarot of Papus will be diffused little by little print from the 1930s.

 

While the tarots of Papus, Wirth and the Knapp Hall were appearing almost simultaneously, the renowned house of Grimaud, for its part, was preparing to publish the Tarot which would become the reference for the general public, it was this famous modified reproduction of the Conver, proposed by Paul Marteau. It will appear in 1930 and will become the most fashionable tarot... Despite the modifications made to this Tarot, it has no affiliation with occult groups and is intended to be a Tarot in the tradition of the Tarot de Marseille.

 

That said, the Tarot which will set the tone and which will be the reference for the members of the Golden Dawn is undoubtedly the Tarot developed by Rider and Waite.

 

There are already a hundred decks that derive directly from the tarot originally designed by Rider-Waite. Not to mention pirated copies, clones, etc... This tarot has long been a reference for budding occultists and kabbalists... It still is...

 

So, in fact, there are many tarots that were designed in the ideology of the Golden Dawn!!!

 

It will first be the Tarot of Aleister Crowley which, following the Rider-Waite, will stand out and bring modifications to the "esoteric" Tarot, always with reference to the Golden Dawn, to the Kabbalah, to ancient Egypt initiates, etc... With in addition, references to sexual magic...The members of the Golden Dawn mainly used the Tarot of Waite, but during the 1950s, 1960s, they put a lot of effort into creating a Tarot that could finally be directly linked to the precepts and esoteric teachings of the Golden Dawn... A Tarot which originally wanted to be, once again, a Tarot exclusively reserved for members of the Order. This is the famous "Tarot of the Golden Dawn", so the Tarot which wants to be "officially" attested by the order...

 

But beware !! This name known as "Tarot of the Golden Dawn" is confusing... Several Tarots are decked out with the label "of the Golden Dawn"...

 

In truth, of all these tarot cards there is only one that is truly recognized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and as such, and that is the one developed by Israel Regardie and Robert Wang from esoteric works of Samuel Liddel Matthers.

 

Robert Wang will also create the "Jungian Tarot", very appreciated also by the followers of the Golden Dawn; and perhaps even more by those interested in "modern theosophy" and in the principles elaborated by Jung.

 

The "Jungian Tarot" is quite similar to the so-called "Golden Dawn" Tarot, but is intended more for "personal evolution" than for the initiatory journey of the Order, strictly speaking... In truth these two tarots are the results of extensive research in matters of esotericism, research that has been carried out by the study centers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Its construction, on the basis of the four elements, the celestial phenomena, the Holy Kabbalah, and a highly evolved psychology, can apparently lead its followers into the inner recesses of psychic and intuitive awareness.

 

Above all, this tarot can be used as a basis for occult study, in order to learn to possess all the aspects of the traditional "center-wisdom", and "high-science" kabbalistic... (There are many Rosicrucian references , and also references to Freemasonry and alchemy).

 

Originally, the Golden Dawn Tarot was only reserved for members of the official Order. It began to be broadcast from 1975.

 

Despite the claim of these creators, it should still be known that the vast majority of members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, will study the Tarot from the "Tarot B.O.T.A.", or the original Rider-Waite. What is striking in the Tarot Rider-Waite, therefore, is above all the Minor Arcana, which are difficult to translate with the Tarot of Marseilles for most of those interested, but have suddenly become emblematic with the Tarot that Waite offers us. Therefore, these mysteries illustrated with scenes are easier to interpret.

THE TAROT B.O.T.A.

 

It is actually a very special version of the Rider-Waite Tarot presented in a "black and white" version, and the members were invited to color their own tarots... The study of symbolism esoteric was first done using this Tarot Rider-Waite in its original version (in black and bench). Indeed, the Waite-Rider Tarot in its black and white version is the most used by Golden Dawn followers and should be considered the official Golden Dawn Tarot.

 

A nearly similar version is still used by members of the B.O.T.A. and followers of hermetic schools. (The initials B.O.T.A. mean "Builders of the Adytum", it is a traditional and fraternal association founded by Paul Foster Case, continued and extended by Ann Davies...

 

A popular theory is that author William Walker Atkinson co-wrote the legendary "Kybalion" tome with Paul Foster Case. This theory is often defended by members of the "Builders of the Adytum". B.O.T.A. offers courses and techniques based on the study of the mystical teachings of the Holy Qabalah and TAROT. In fact, this confusing story about the Tarot B.O.T.A. and writing the "Kybalion", seems to have started with a breakaway group from the B.O.T.A., "The Brotherhood of Hidden Light" (which emphasizes the "secret (or lost) knowledge of the sages of Atlantis") .

 

The members of the Golden Dawn like the members of the B.O.T.A., consider that the Rider-Waite tarot is the ultimate "reference"...

secretsdutarot.blogspot.com/2013/01/les-tarots-dits-de-la...

This dissertation seeks to define the importance of Waite’s interpretation of mediaeval and Renaissance esoterica regarding the contacting of daemons and its evolution into a body of astrological and terrestrial correspondences and intelligences that included a Biblical primordial language, or a lingua adamica. The intention and transmission of John Dee’s angel magic is linked to the philosophy outlined in his earlier works, most notably the Monas Hieroglyphica, and so this dissertation also provides a philosophical background to Dee’s angel magic. The aim of this dissertation is to establish Dee’s conversations with angels as a magic system that is a direct descendant of Solomonic and Ficinian magic with unique Kabbalistic elements. It is primarily by the Neoplatonic, Hermetic, Kabbalistic, and alchemical philosophy presented in the Monas Hieroglyphica that interest in Dee’s angel magic was transmitted through the Rosicrucian movement. Through Johann Valentin Andreae’s Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459, the emphasis on a spiritual, inner alchemy became attached to Dee’s philosophy. Figures such as Elias Ashmole, Ebenezer Sibley, Francis Barret, and Frederick Hockley were crucial in the transmission of interest in Dee’s practical angel magic and Hermetic philosophy to the founders of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn.

Enochian Angel Magic: From John Dee to the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn www.academia.edu/921740/Enochian_Angel_Magic_From_John_De...

 

The rituals of the Golden Dawn utilized Dee’s angel magic, in addition to creative Kabbalistic elements, to form a singular practice that has influenced Western esoterica of the modern age. This study utilizes a careful analysis of primary sources including the original manuscripts of the Sloane archives, the most recent scholarly editions of Dee’s works, authoritative editions of original documents linked to Rosicrucianism, and Israel Regardie’s texts on Golden Dawn practices."In Whose hands the Sun is as a sword, and the Moon as a through- thrusting fire." An elegant equation, defining the parameters of the. creation. The god declares dominion over planetary forces (Sun-Moon) and elemental forces (fire-air). He also declares control over the two types of dualities: those in which one pole is projective and the other responsive (Sun-Moon) and over those in which two forces of similar polarity are balanced (fire-air). Within the area of creation, the positive pole is attributed to the element of swords, Air, and the anti-positive pole is attributed to the element of Fire. This is reflected in the precedence followed by the elements throughout the Tablets and Calls: Air first, then Water, Earth, and Fire. "Which measure your garments in the midst of my vestures..." The word translated here as "garments" is used uniformly to mean "creation" or "being" elsewhere in the Keys. Another word is used for

"garments" in the next sentence of this same Key. Another word is also used for "midst" further on in this Key. So the translation here is questionable. A magickal image given to define this phrase shows the scene through the god's eyes as he pulls endless threads of living light out of a lamen on his chest.

Enochian magic is a system of ceremonial magic based on the 16th-century writings of John Dee and Edward Kelley, who wrote that their information, including the revealed Enochian language, was delivered to them directly by various angels. Dee's journals contain the record of these workings, the Enochian script, and the tables of correspondences used in Enochian magic. Dee and Kelley believed their visions gave them access to secrets contained within Liber Logaeth, which Dee and Kelley referred to as the "Book of Enoch".In the early 1580s, John Dee had become discontented with his progress in learning the secrets of nature. Dee wrote: I have from my youth up, desired and prayed unto God for pure and sound wisdom and understanding of truths natural and artificial, so that God's wisdom, goodness, and power bestowed in the frame of the world might be brought in some bountiful measure under the talent of my capacity... So for many years and in many places, far and near, I have sought and studied many books in sundry languages, and have conferred with sundry men, and have laboured with my own reasonable discourse, to find some inkling, gleam, or beam of those radical truths. But after all my endeavours I could find no other way to attain such wisdom but by the Extraordinary Gift, and not by any vulgar school, doctrine, or human invention. Enochian magic involves the evocation and commanding of various spirits.He subsequently began to turn energetically towards the supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. He sought to contact spirits through the use of a scryer or crystal-gazer, which he thought would act as an intermediary between himself and the angels. Dee's first attempts with several scryers were unsatisfactory, but in 1582 he met Edward Kelley (1555–1597/8), then calling himself Edward Talbot to disguise his conviction for "coining" or forgery, who impressed him greatly with his abilities.Dee took Kelley into his service and began to devote all his energies to his supernatural pursuits. These "spiritual conferences" or "actions" were conducted with intense Christian piety, always after periods of purification, prayer and fasting. Dee was convinced of the benefits they could bring to mankind. The character of Kelley is harder to assess: some conclude that he acted with cynicism, but delusion or self-deception cannot be ruled out. Kelley's "output" is remarkable for its volume, intricacy and vividness. Through Kelley, the angels laboriously dictated several books in this way, some in a previously unknown language which Dee called Angelical — now more commonly known as Enochian.The two pillars of modern Enochian magic, as outlined in Liber Chanokh, are the Elemental Tablets (including the "Tablet of Union") and the Keys of the 30 Aethyrs. The Enochian model of the universe is depicted by Dee as a square called "The Great Table" (made up of the 4 Elemental Tablets and incorporating the Tablet of Union), surrounded by 30 concentric circles representing the 30 Aethyrs or Aires. The Angelical Keys:

The essence of Enochian magic involves the recitation of one or more of nineteen Angelical Keys, which are also referred to as Calls. These keys are a series of rhetorical exhortations which function as evocations when read in the Enochian language. They are used to effect the "opening of 'gates' into various mystical realms." The first eighteen keys are used to 'open' the realms of the elements and sub-elements, which are mapped onto the quadrants and sub-quadrants of the Great Tablet.[clarification needed][citation needed]. The nineteenth key is used to 'open' the Thirty Aethyrs. The Aethyrs are conceived of as forming a map of the entire universe in the form of concentric rings which expand outward from the innermost to the outermost Aethyr. The Great Table: The angels of the four quarters are symbolized by the Elemental Tablets — four large magical word-square Tables (collectively called "The Great Table"). Most of the well-known Enochian angels are drawn from the Elemenal Tablets of the Great Table. Each of the four tablets (representing the Elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water), is collectively "governed" by a hierarchy of spiritual entities which runs (as explained in Crowley's Liber Chanokh) as the Three Holy Names, the Great Elemental King, the Six Seniors (aka Elders) (these make a total of 24 Elders as seen in the Revelation of St. John), the Two Divine Names of the Calvary Cross, the Kerubim, and the Sixteen Lesser Angels. Each tablet is further divided into four sub-quadrants (sometimes referred to as 'sub-angles') where we find the names of various Archangels and Angels who govern the quarters of the world. In this way, the entire universe, visible and invisible, is depicted as teeming with living intelligences. Each of the Elemental tablets is also divided into four sections by a figure known as the Great Central Cross. The Great Central cross consists of the two central vertical columns of the Elemental Tablet (the Linea Patris and Linea Filii) and the central horizontal line (known as the Linea Spiritus Sancti). In addition to the four Elemental Tablets, a twenty-square cell known as the Tablet of Union (aka The Black Cross, representing Spirit) completes the representation of the five traditional elemental attributes used in magic - Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. The Tablet of Union is derived from within the Great Central Cross of the Great Table. The Thirty Æthyrs : The 30 Aethyrs are numbered from 30 (TEX, the lowest and consequently the closest to the Great Table) to 1 (LIL, the highest, representing the Supreme Attainment. Magicians working the Enochian system record their impressions and visions within each of the successive Enochian Aethyrs. Each of the 30 Aethyrs is populated by "Governors" (3 for each Aethyr, except TEX which has four, thus a total of 91 Governors). Each of the governors has a sigil which can be traced onto the Great Tablet of Earth.

The Holy Table: a table with a top engraved with a Hexagram, a surrounding border of Enochian letters, and in the middle a Twelvefold table (cell) engraved with individual Enochian letters. According to Duquette and Hyatt, the Holy Table "does not directly concern Elemental or Aethyrical workings. Angels found on the Holy Table are not called forth in these operations."

The Seven Planetary Talismans: The names on these talismans (which are engraved on tin and placed on the surface of the Holy Table) are those of the Goetia. According to Duquette and Hyatt, "this indicates (or at least implies) Dee's familiarity with the Lemegeton and his attempt, at least early in his workings, to incorporate it in the Enochian system."] As with the Holy Table, Spirits found on these talismans are not called forth in these operations. The Sigillum dei Aemeth, Holy Sevenfold Table, or 'Seal of God's Truth': The symbol derives from Liber Juratus (aka The Sworn Book of Honorius or Grimoire of Honorius, of which Dee owned a copy). Five versions of this complex diagram are made from bee's wax, and engraved with the various lineal figures, letters and numbers. The four smaller ones are placed under the feet of the Holy Table. The fifth and larger one (about nine inches in diameter) is covered with a red cloth, placed on the Holy Table, and is used to support the "Shew-Stone" or "Speculum" (crystal or other device used for scrying). Scrying is an essential element of the magical system. Dee and Kelly's technique was to gaze into a concave obsidian mirror. Crowley habitually held a large topaz mounted upon a wooden cross to his forehead. Other methods include gazing into crystals, ink, fire or even a blank TV screen.Little else became of Dee's work until late in the nineteenth century,[citation needed] when it was incorporated by a brotherhood of adepts in England. The rediscovery of Dee and Kelley's material by Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the 1880s led to Mathers developing the material into a comprehensive system of ceremonial magic. Magicians invoked the Enochian deities whose names were written on the tablets. They also traveled in their bodies of light into these subtle regions and recorded their psychic experiences. The two major branches of the system were then grafted on to the Adeptus Minor curriculum of the Golden Dawn.

 

According to Aleister Crowley, the magician starts with the 30th aethyr and works up to the first, exploring only so far as his level of initiation will permit. According to Chris Zalewski's 1994 book, the Golden Dawn also invented the game of Enochian chess, in which aspects of the Enochian Tablets were used for divination. They used four chessboards without symbols on them, just sets of colored squares, and each board is associated with one of the four elements of magic. Florence Farr founded the Sphere Group which also experimented with Enochian magic.Aleister Crowley's work with Enochian magick generally follows the Golden Dawn system. He is known primarily for his explorations of the 30 Aethyrs, published in "The Vision and the Voice". This work established the idea that Aethyr might represent a means of initiation, and set a standard for methodical exploration, which few have equaled. It also fixed Crowley's particular perspective on the process of transcendence in the minds of many students of the occult. Crowley envisioned the Aethyr as being related to the sephiroth of the tree of life in groups of three. He also mentions that each Aethyr "bends" into the next Aethyr above it, in a way, so that in progressing through the Aethyrs from the last to the first, one also withdraws one's being from the lower levels and already experienced (this is parallel to the technique he describes in the Liber Yod, in which the magician achieves union with the deity by gradually banishing all other levels and powers.Under this conception the Aethyrs ZAX, whose parts have names formed from the cross of union, is the highest of the three attributed to Chesed. Thus, it is the last Aethyr encountered before entering the Supernal Triad and achieving transcendence. Crowley envisioned this movement as crossing an "abyss" or space, during which the magician encounters an Enochian devil named Choronzon dwelling therein. Crowley's other contribution to Enochian magick was adapting the pyramid system of the GD for use with the sex magick of the O.T.O. In this technique, physical representations of the pyramids are made for an angel's name, but inverted to form the square "cups". These serve as talismans, which are charged using the end product of the sex magick operation.

 

Paul Foster Case (1884–1954), an occultist who began his magical career with the Alpha et Omega, was critical of the Enochian system. According to Case, the system of Dee and Kelley was partial from the start, an incomplete system derived from an earlier and complete Qabalistic system, and lacked sufficient protection methods. Case believed he had witnessed the physical breakdown of a number of practitioners of Enochian magic, due to the lack of protective methods. When Case founded his own magical order, the Builders of the Adytum (B.O.T.A.), he removed the Enochian system and substituted elemental tablets based on Qabalistic formulae communicated to him by Master R.The first Enochian Key or Call is a recapitulation of the steps by which the creator of the system brought it into being. The Key follows the same macrocosmic-to-microcosmic progression used in the example consecration ritual, but then supplements this with a response from the microcosm directed at the macrocosm. Note that the description of the downward current contains seven significant phrases, suggesting the planets and sun, the macrocosm, while the description of the response contains five significant phrases, suggesting the four elements and elemental spirit, the microcosm."...and trussed you together as the palms of my hands." The magickal image continues by showing the god gathering the fibers of light into a bundle or cable. The god concentrates the energies within the area of work in preparation for shaping."Whose seats I garnished with the fire of gathering, which beautified your garments with admiration." Having generated the positive or spiritual pole of the creation, the god now looks to the anti-positive or material pole. The "seats" are the squares of the tablets in their two-dimensional form. The god embodies a part of his will in the Tablets, defining the order and place to which the spiritual energies will be attracted and attached. When the energies are attached to the Tablets, the pattern of will embodied in the Tablets extends back along their path to the positive pole, conditioning all the perceptible expressions (the "garments") of the energies.. The usual assumption of later magicians (which is not universally accepted) is that the remaining Calls refer to the "Minor Angles" within the Tablets.

 

The Golden Dawn method of associating the Callings with the tablets and Lesser Angles has become the accepted "standard". Donald Tyson recently proposed an alternative method which has received some attention

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enochian_magic

 

SUMMARY OF PATH POSITIONS IN ACHAD'S TREE OF LIFE

Path Trump Connects with:

Aleph The Fool Malkuth Yesod

Beth The Magician Malkuth Hod

Gimel The Priestess Yesod Hod

Daleth The Empress Malkuth Netzach

Heh The Emperor Tiphereth Geburah

Vav The Hierophant Hod Netzach

Zain The Lovers Hod Tiphereth

Cheth The Chariot Yesod Netzach

Teth Strength Netzach Tiphereth

YodT he Hermit Hod Geburah

Kaph The Wheel of Fortune Kether Chokmah

Lamed Justice Netzach Chesed

Mem The Hanged Man Yesod Tiphereth

Nun Death Geburah Chesed

Samek Temperance Chesed Chokmah

AyinThe DevilTiphereth Binah

PehThe Tower Geburah Binah

Tzaddi The Star Binah Chokmah

Qoph The Moon Tiphereth Chesed

Resh The Sun Tiphereth Chokmah

Shin Judgement Kether Tiphereth

TauT he Universe Kether Binah

"To whom I made a law to govern the holy ones," The word translated as "holy ones" appears to derive from the same root as the enochian words for "fire", suggesting that the holy ones are those who possess the spiritual will. The god specifies the manner in which his creation will respond to the mages and adepts."Moreover, you lifted up your voices and sware obedience and faith..."The connection between the two poles having been made, and the conditions of their interaction being set, the angels of the creation voice their response to the god, swearing to continue to follow the god's will. "...to him that liveth and triumpheth," The spirits of the Tablets affirm the existence of their creator by saying that he lives, and affirm the success of the act of creation by saying that he triumphs. The echoing of the god's statements by the spirits of the tablets also suggests that the conditions the god laid on the creation as a whole

are reflected in miniature within the creation. It shall be shown that this is the case with the Tablets as we proceed.In the remainder of the Key, the magician using it calls upon the

spirits to respond to him fully and openly. The word translated here as "servant" might be better rendered as "minister" or "representative". The magician asserts that he has a right to demand a response from the spirits because his acts are in accord with the will of their creator.

www.sacred-texts.com/eso/enoch/1stkey.txt

 

Angelic chatter, but very little solid information. Additionally, the reader must deal with forays into apocalyptic religion, Elizabethan politics, Dee's and Kelly's personal issues, and the various irrelevant issues Dee insisted on inserting into the work. Chronologically, Dee and Kelly's work falls into three highly productive periods separated by months when nothing of particular value was received. The material received in each period generally stands on its own, and is only loosely related to that of the other periods. but the term is often applied to all work. First Period: The Heptarchia Mystica. Equipment: Ring, Lamen, and Holy Table The angels claimed that the ring they designed for Dee was the same one used by Solomon to control demons. The ring had a full band, to which was attached a rectangular plate. The letters PELE (coming from Latin for "he will do miracles") were inscribed in the four corners. In the center was a circle crossed by a horizontal line, with the letter "V" inscribed above and the letter "L" below. Two different lamens were given to Dee. The first bears a generic resemblance to various sigils of goetia being an assortment of free-form lines and oddly placed letters. The giving being indicated that it was to be made of gold and worn every time and place for the purpose of protection. given by an evil spirit. During the spring session of 1583, the angels indicated that a session had been scheduled in which detailed instructions would be given for the use of Heptarchic magick. If this session took place, it is not in the records that have survived; but some idea of the general technique can be gathered from the comments in other parts of the recording. The magician would be seated at the Holy Table, wearing the ring and lamen. table in front of him. He would hold an appropriate Heptarchic king's talisman in one hand, with a talisman of the names of the king's ministers placed beneath his feet. The magician would then invite the king with petition and prayer, followed by petitions to his prince, and invocations of the six chief ministers. They would appear in the stone of clairvoyance, whereupon the magician would instruct them to accomplish the task he desired.The Liber Loagaeth is the most mysterious part of Dee and Kelly's work. It is also known by different names like

book of Enoch and the Liber Mysteriorum Sextus et Sanctus. So far no one has seriously attempted to use it, or to understand its nature, beyond what is found in the diaries. According to the angels, "loagaeth" means "speech of God", this book is supposed to be, literally, the words by which God created all things. It is supposed to be the language in which the "true names" of all things are known, giving power over them. As described in the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, the book was to consist of 48 "leaves", of which each contains a 49x49 grid. Infact, the book actually presented to Kelly is somewhat different. It contains 49 "invocations" in an unknown language, 95 square tables filled with letters and numbers, 2 similar tables not filled, and 4 drawn tables twice the width of the others. 2 "leaves" are recorded, but these are not included in the final book, and apparently serve as an introduction or prologue to the work. this term. There is no translation by which this could be judged in detail, but the text lacks the logical repetitions and word placements which are characteristic of the 48 Enochian invocations given in later years. There is no apparent grammar in the text. Donald Laycock remarks that the language is strongly alliterative and repetitively rhyming, while Robert Turner calls it "glossolalic". many "languages", all being spoken immediately. The purpose of the Loagaeth has been said to be the unleashing/introduction of a new age on earth, the last age before the end of all things. Instructions for use for this purpose were never given; the angels continually put it off, saying that only God could decide when the time has come. During the presentation of the two leaves of the Liber Mysteriorum Quintis, in the stone of clairvoyance an angel moved successively towards letters, and Kelly pronounced the names of the angelic character. Dee transcribed a version using the Roman alphabet, apparently with the intention of redoing it in angelic characters at a later date. of Kelly; this light was seen by both of them. Once the light entered Kelly's head, his consciousness was transformed so that he could understand the text as he read it. He was strongly commanded not to provide a translation, explaining that God would choose the time for it to be revealed. He provided the translation of a few of the words, but it was insufficient to capture the meaning of the text as a whole. When the light withdrew from Kelly's head, he immediately ceased to understand the text, and could no longer see it in the stone. On a few occasions, the light continued to work within him for a short time after the session ended, and at those times Dee noticed that Kelly said many wonderful (and unrecorded) things about the nature of the texts. But the moment the light went out, Kelly couldn't understand it anymore, nor remember what he had said during the previous moment. The record indicates that the 23rd line of the first leaf was a preface to the creation and distinction of the angels, and the 24th line a pleasant invitation to the good angels. Nothing else is recorded concerning the purpose of this book.

Enochian Magic and the Apocalypse

There are 2 major threads of thought in Christian millennialism. One thread, called postmillennialism, is largely utopian in nature. He sees the millennium as the beginning of a period of progressive perfection of conditions on Earth; the basic principle is that the world must be perfected and the city of God built on earth before Christ returns, and only after Christ returns will the world end. Two decades after Dee, this form of millennialism was the driving force behind the religious groups shoeing the English colonization of America. Dee's own thought contains many post-millennial ideals in the search for Enochian magick, one of his goals was to gain means to bring earthly governments and societies to God's design, thereby bringing the return of Christ closer. quickly. The other thread, called premillennialism, is the more catastrophic variety. In this version, the typical scenario is the return of Christ, and then mankind's current "evil" societies will be destroyed in worldwide disasters, while the elect are preserved from evil. After the world is destroyed, Christ will join the faithful in a city built by God to rule over the earth for a thousand years. While there is a strong millennial flavor to the angel's statements, they are almost uniformly of the postmillennial variety. The angels divided the world into four ages. The first of these ages began with the creation and ended with the flood; the second ended with the appearance of Christ. The revelation of Liber Loagaeth ended the third age and triggered the final age, in which the world would be brought to perfection before Christ's return. . A particular passage makes this clear.

The Enochian Magical System of Golden Dawn

Regardie, Israel, The Golden Dawn, Llewellyn Publications, 1971, St Paul, MN. Reprinted at regular intervals. Contains detailed descriptions of the Enochian Magical System developed from GD. Zalewski, Pat. Golden Dawn Enochian Magic, Llewellyn Certainly there are influences of the Qabalah (the Sigillum Dei Aemeth, the communications of Uriel, Michael...) but this is not the originality and the strength of the system. Some practitioners of Enochian magic said that it was a Qabala (when I hear a Qabala I tend to write Kabbalah, like in the theater) that put into action the world of Atziluth, the highest of the four Qabalah classic. It's quite difficult to verify...even ! (See the introduction to the Necrono-micon at Belfond Editions).

 

But back to Enochian magick proper. The successors of the G.. D.. today reorganize its system and Schueler in his Enochian Magic) gives the material and the rituals "step by step" ("step by step"). Americans (and us too) like to practice if it is simple and impressive... The investigation by Enochian magic generally gives results, we cannot really say that they are controllable since they do not correspond to any standard of experiences already lived by the inventors of this practice.

 

Be that as it may, the Enochian, this language with its grammar and its syntax, this magical system and its original Theogony, remains a mystery that should not be taken for a simple variant of this or that traditional system already known. It is therefore useful when approaching it to master the fundamental elements which are used for its use without being subservient to the rituals of the pentagrams and hexagrams, to their signs, to the notions of Qabala of the G., D.., etc. This will make it possible to know what is original or what is borrowed in the Enochian, and what one can think of such or such contemporary development. A culture that will provide some points of reference in our consumer society where the practice of magic has much in common with video games or the daily television session.

 

In this, the most honorable goal (if it can be a question of honour) is the success of the experience known as the "Knowledge and Conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel", i.e. contact with one's true will, devoid of intention, in other words his heart. But it also applies to solving the various problems of life. After all, a magic is white or black only according to the use that is made of it... Let's say that we are still far from the religious John Dee. In fact not, for if Dee's conscious aims and methods were very far from those of our contemporaries, would ultimately the adventures and misadventures of his life, the problem of his relationship with Kelly evidently culminating in the ritually ordered exchange what they did with their wives would not be indications that this practice was beginning to ferment the elements of their consciences into a quintessential non-conformist?

 

MATTHEW LEON.

 

This text constitutes the introduction to the "Book of the gathering of forces" Editions RAMUEL 1994

 

Today we can no longer answer, lacking the benchmarks of a conventional morality no longer existing in the heart of the modern magician. But what is left? On what do we base ourselves if our practice has not yet allowed us an unambiguous contact with our heart, if our magical training lets us wander in the imagination that we have shaped? Publications 1990, St Paul, MN.

 

Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People who report a lifelong history of such experiences are known as synesthetes. Awareness of synesthetic perceptions varies from person to person. In one common form of synesthesia, known as grapheme–color synesthesia or color–graphemic synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as inherently colored.In spatial-sequence, or number form synesthesia, numbers, months of the year, or days of the week elicit precise locations in space (e.g., 1980 may be "farther away" than 1990), or may appear as a three-dimensional map (clockwise or counterclockwise). Synesthetic associations can occur in any combination and any number of senses or cognitive pathways. Little is known about how synesthesia develops. It has been suggested that synesthesia develops during childhood when children are intensively engaged with abstract concepts for the first time. This hypothesis—referred to as semantic vacuum hypothesis—could explain why the most common forms of synesthesia are grapheme-color, spatial sequence, and number form. These are usually the first abstract concepts that educational systems require children to learn. The earliest recorded case of synesthesia is attributed to the Oxford University academic and philosopher John Locke, who, in 1690, made a report about a blind man who said he experienced the color scarlet when he heard the sound of a trumpet. However, there is disagreement as to whether Locke described an actual instance of synesthesia or was using a metaphor. The first medical account came from German physician Georg Tobias Ludwig Sachs in 1812. The term is from the Ancient Greek σύν syn, 'together', and αἴσθησις aisthēsis, 'sensation'.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synesthesia

When Pamela Coleman Smith was attending the Pratt Institute of Art, she realized that she possessed a high degree of sound-color synesthesia, i.e., she was able to visualize colors and forms while listening to music and could transmit those visualizations into tangible works of art. Modern psychologists define synesthesia as a crossing-over of sensory input. Depending upon the type of synesthesia, individuals are able to hear colors, see music, smell words, etc. Many people, particularly artists, possess this phenomenon to some extent; however, Pamela possessed sound-color synesthesia to an exceptionally high degree. She was able to create sound paintings just by unconsciously drawing while listening to passages of music. She embodied the Symbolist ideal in this area. Many examples of her work in this area have survived, including three watercolors in the possession of the Stieglitz/Georgia O'Keeffe Archive. In July 1908, an article appeared in The Strand Magazine entitled "Pictures in Music." The article included six black and white images of her music paintings (see below) and provided a long quotation by her which described how her art was created. A pertinent excerpt from that article is as follows: Do you see pictures in music? When you hear a Beethoven symphony or a sonata by Schumann, do mystic human figures and landscapes float before your eyes ? It is by no means new or uncommon for a composer to have a distinct picture in his mind when he sets himself to create a work. Schumann saw children at play in an embowered wood, dancing merrily until, lo ! the sudden advent of a satyr sent them shrieking to their homes. Few, however, have been able to delineate their hallucinations born of music.

Mendelssohn, who was no mean draughtsman, was often asked to do so, but always refused. "It is like asking a sculptor to paint a portrait of his statue," he once said. " All art is one, just as the human body is one, but each of the members has its functions. It is the function of music to hear, not to see." Nevertheless, it is highly interesting to see music translated in the terms of a sister art, and this is what a clever artist, Miss Pamela Colman Smith, has done, in pictures which are published now for the first time in The Strand Magazine. Many of the compositions selected by the artist will instantly be recognized as conveying, in quite a surprising way, a vivid idea of the music as a whole. Every reader can ascertain for himself whether he possesses this peculiar psychic gift—this power of conjuring up music pictures. When you next hear a famous sonata, close your eyes and see what, if any, "pictures" pass before the eye of your brain. Under the magical influence of music the soul has glimpses of wondrous shapes, lit by the light that never was on sea or land. "You ask me how these pictures are evolved," said Miss Colman Smith. "They are not pictures of the music theme — pictures of the flying notes—not conscious illustrations of the name given to a piece of music, but just what I see when I hear music—thoughts loosened and set free by the spell of sound. "When I take a brush in hand and the music begins, it is like unlocking the door into a beautiful country. There, stretched far away, are plains and mountains and the billowy sea, and as the music forms a net of sound the people who dwell there enter the scene; tall, slow-moving, stately queens, with jewelled crowns and garments gay or sad, who walk on mountain - tops or stand beside the shore, watching the water - people. These water-folk are passionless, and sway or fall with little heed of time; they toss the spray and, bending down, dive headlong through the deep. "There are the dwellers, too, of the great plain, who sit and brood, made of stone and motionless; the trees, which slumber till some elf goes by with magic spear and wakes the green to life ; towers, white and tall, standing against the darkening sky— Those tall white towers that one sees afar, Topping the mountain crests like crowns of snow. Their silence hangs so heavy in the air That thoughts are stifled. "Then huddling crowds, who carry spears, hasten across the changing scene. Sunsets fade from rose to grey, and clouds scud across the sky. "For a long time the land I saw when hearing Beethoven was unpeopled; hills, plains, ruined towers, churches by the sea. After a time I saw far off a little company of spearmen ride away across the plain. But now the clanging sea is strong with the salt of the lashing spray and full of elemental life; the riders of the waves, the Queen of Tides, who carries in her hand the pearl-like moon, and bubbles gleaming on the inky wave. "Often when hearing Bach I hear bells ringing in the sky, rung by whirling cords held in the hands of maidens dressed in brown. There is a rare freshness in the air, like morning on a mountain-top, with opal-coloured mists that chase each other fast across the scene. "Chopin brings night ; gardens where mystery and dread lurk under every bush, but joy and passion throb within the air, and the cold moon bewitches all the scene. There is a garden that I often see, with moonlight glistening on the vine-leaves, and drooping roses with pale petals fluttering down, tall, misty trees and purple sky, and lovers wandering there. A drawing of that garden I have shown to several people and asked them if they could play the music that I heard when I drew it. They have all, without any hesitation, played the same. I do not know the name, but— well, I know the music of that place."

 

pcs2051.tripod.com/synesthesia.htm

  

beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/asgo.html

Textured experimentally in oil.

  

An old lady sat right in front of me, by a window side of a train compartment. She wore aristocracy like no other; around 75-80 years old, travelling alone from Kolkata. Her son would receive her from the station. She was communicating with her son over the cell phone. She was on the edge of her mood, at times relaxed and sometimes fidgety, as the train was running late. She was an expressive woman, as her gestures reflected her mood. She was ignorant about everything happening in the compartment, as she was eager to reach the station on time. I took a few shots of her gestures with my cell phone camera, secretly. They turned out to be pretty productive, as natural documentation of one’s body languages.

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve is a U.S. national monument and national preserve in the Snake River Plain in central Idaho. It is along US 20 (concurrent with US 93 and US 26), between the small towns of Arco and Carey, at an average elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

The Monument was established on May 2, 1924. In November 2000, a presidential proclamation by President Clinton greatly expanded the Monument area. The 410,000-acre National Park Service portions of the expanded Monument were designated as Craters of the Moon National Preserve in August 2002. It spreads across Blaine, Butte, Lincoln, Minidoka, and Power counties. The area is managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

 

The Monument and Preserve encompass three major lava fields and about 400 square miles (1,000 km2) of sagebrush steppe grasslands to cover a total area of 1,117 square miles (2,893 km2). The Monument alone covers 343,000 acres (139,000 ha). All three lava fields lie along the Great Rift of Idaho, with some of the best examples of open rift cracks in the world, including the deepest known on Earth at 800 feet (240 m). There are excellent examples of almost every variety of basaltic lava, as well as tree molds (cavities left by lava-incinerated trees), lava tubes (a type of cave), and many other volcanic features.

 

Craters of the Moon is in south-central Idaho, midway between Boise and Yellowstone National Park. The lava field reaches southeastward from the Pioneer Mountains. Combined U.S. Highway 20–26–93 cuts through the northwestern part of the monument and provides access to it. However, the rugged landscape of the monument itself remains remote and undeveloped, with only one paved road across the northern end.

 

The Craters of the Moon Lava Field spreads across 618 square miles (1,601 km2) and is the largest mostly Holocene-aged basaltic lava field in the contiguous United States. The Monument and Preserve contain more than 25 volcanic cones, including outstanding examples of spatter cones. The 60 distinct solidified lava flows that form the Craters of the Moon Lava Field range in age from 15,000 to just 2,000 years. The Kings Bowl and Wapi lava fields, both about 2,200 years old, are part of the National Preserve.

 

This lava field is the largest of several large beds of lava that erupted from the 53-mile (85 km) south-east to north-west trending Great Rift volcanic zone, a line of weakness in the Earth's crust. Together with fields from other fissures they make up the Lava Beds of Idaho, which in turn are in the much larger Snake River Plain volcanic province. The Great Rift extends across almost the entire Snake River Plain.

 

Elevation at the visitor center is 5,900 feet (1,800 m) above sea level.

 

Total average precipitation in the Craters of the Moon area is between 15–20 inches (380–510 mm) per year. Most of this is lost in cracks in the basalt, only to emerge later in springs and seeps in the walls of the Snake River Canyon. Older lava fields on the plain have been invaded by drought-resistant plants such as sagebrush, while younger fields, such as Craters of the Moon, only have a seasonal and very sparse cover of vegetation. From a distance this cover disappears almost entirely, giving an impression of utter black desolation. Repeated lava flows over the last 15,000 years have raised the land surface enough to expose it to the prevailing southwesterly winds, which help to keep the area dry. Together these conditions make life on the lava field difficult.

 

Paleo-Indians visited the area about 12,000 years ago but did not leave much archaeological evidence. Northern Shoshone created trails through the Craters of the Moon Lava Field during their summer migrations from the Snake River to the camas prairie, west of the lava field. Stone windbreaks at Indian Tunnel were used to protect campsites from the dry summer wind. No evidence exists for permanent habitation by any Native American group. A hunting and gathering culture, the Northern Shoshone pursued elk, bears, American bison, cougars, and bighorn sheep — all large game who no longer range the area. The most recent volcanic eruptions ended about 2,100 years ago and were likely witnessed by the Shoshone people. Ella E. Clark has recorded a Shoshone legend which speaks of a serpent on a mountain who, angered by lightning, coiled around and squeezed the mountain until liquid rock flowed, fire shot from cracks, and the mountain exploded.

 

In 1879, two Arco cattlemen named Arthur Ferris and J.W. Powell became the first known European-Americans to explore the lava fields. They were investigating its possible use for grazing and watering cattle but found the area to be unsuitable and left.

 

U.S. Army Captain and western explorer B.L.E. Bonneville visited the lava fields and other places in the West in the 19th century and wrote about his experiences in his diaries. Washington Irving later used Bonneville's diaries to write the Adventures of Captain Bonneville, saying this unnamed lava field is a place "where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava."

 

In 1901 and 1903, Israel Russell became the first geologist to study this area while surveying it for the United States Geological Survey (USGS). In 1910, Samuel Paisley continued Russell's work and later became the monument's first custodian. Others followed and in time much of the mystery surrounding this and the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted.

 

The few European settlers who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument.

 

The Snake River Plain is a volcanic province that was created by a series of cataclysmic caldera-forming eruptions which started about 15 million years ago. A migrating hotspot thought to now exist under Yellowstone Caldera in Yellowstone National Park has been implicated. This hot spot was under the Craters of the Moon area some 10 to 11 million years ago but 'moved' as the North American Plate migrated northwestward. Pressure from the hot spot heaves the land surface up, creating fault-block mountains. After the hot spot passes the pressure is released and the land subsides.

 

Leftover heat from this hot spot was later liberated by Basin and Range-associated rifting and created the many overlapping lava flows that make up the Lava Beds of Idaho. The largest rift zone is the Great Rift; it is from this 'Great Rift fissure system' that Craters of the Moon, Kings Bowl, and Wapi lava fields were created. The Great Rift is a National Natural Landmark.

 

In spite of their fresh appearance, the oldest flows in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field are 15,000 years old and the youngest erupted about 2000 years ago, according to Mel Kuntz and other USGS geologists. Nevertheless, the volcanic fissures at Craters of the Moon are considered to be dormant, not extinct, and are expected to erupt again in less than a thousand years. There are eight major eruptive periods recognized in the Craters of the Moon Lava Field. Each period lasted about 1000 years or less and were separated by relatively quiet periods that lasted between 500 and as long as 3000 years. Individual lava flows were up to 30 miles (50 km) long with the Blue Dragon Flow being the longest.

 

Kings Bowl Lava Field erupted during a single fissure eruption on the southern part of the Great Rift about 2,250 years ago. This eruption probably lasted only a few hours to a few days. The field preserves explosion pits, lava lakes, squeeze-ups, basalt mounds, and an ash blanket. The Wapi Lava Field probably formed from a fissure eruption at the same time as the Kings Bowl eruption. More prolonged activity over a period of months to a few years led to the formation of low shield volcanoes in the Wapi field. The Bear Trap lava tube, between the Craters of the Moon and the Wapi lava fields, is a cave system more than 15 miles (24 km) long. The lava tube is remarkable for its length and for the number of well-preserved lava cave features, such as lava stalactites and curbs, the latter marking high stands of the flowing lava frozen on the lava tube walls. The lava tubes and pit craters of the monument are known for their unusual preservation of winter ice and snow into the hot summer months, due to shielding from the sun and the insulating properties of basalt.

 

A typical eruption along the Great Rift and similar basaltic rift systems starts with a curtain of very fluid lava shooting up to 1,000 feet (300 m) high along a segment of the rift up to 1 mile (1.6 km) long. As the eruption continues, pressure and heat decrease and the chemistry of the lava becomes slightly more silica rich. The curtain of lava responds by breaking apart into separate vents. Various types of volcanoes may form at these vents: gas-rich pulverized lava creates cinder cones (such as Inferno Cone – stop 4), and pasty lava blobs form spatter cones (such as Spatter Cones – stop 5). Later stages of an eruption push lava streams out through the side or base of cinder cones, which usually ends the life of the cinder cone (North Crater, Watchmen, and Sheep Trail Butte are notable exceptions). This will sometimes breach part of the cone and carry it away as large and craggy blocks of cinder (as seen at North Crater Flow – stop 2 – and Devils Orchard – stop 3). Solid crust forms over lava streams, and lava tubes (a type of cave) are created when lava vacates its course (examples can be seen at the Cave Area – stop 7).

 

Geologists feared that a large earthquake that shook Borah Peak, Idaho's tallest mountain, in 1983 would restart volcanic activity at Craters of the Moon, though this proved not to be the case. Geologists predict that the area will experience its next eruption some time in the next 900 years with the most likely period in the next 100 years.

 

All plants and animals that live in and around Craters of the Moon are under great environmental stress due to constant dry winds and heat-absorbing black lavas that tend to quickly sap water from living things. Summer soil temperatures often exceed 150 °F (66 °C) and plant cover is generally less than 5% on cinder cones and about 15% over the entire monument. Adaptation is therefore necessary for survival in this semi-arid harsh climate.

 

Water is usually only found deep inside holes at the bottom of blow-out craters. Animals therefore get the moisture they need directly from their food. The black soil on and around cinder cones does not hold moisture for long, making it difficult for plants to establish themselves. Soil particles first develop from direct rock decomposition by lichens and typically collect in crevices in lava flows. Successively more complex plants then colonize the microhabitat created by the increasingly productive soil.

 

The shaded north slopes of cinder cones provide more protection from direct sunlight and prevailing southwesterly winds and have a more persistent snow cover (an important water source in early spring). These parts of cinder cones are therefore colonized by plants first.

 

Gaps between lava flows were sometimes cut off from surrounding vegetation. These literal islands of habitat are called kīpukas, a Hawaiian name used for older land surrounded by younger lava. Carey Kīpuka is one such area in the southernmost part of the monument and is used as a benchmark to measure how plant cover has changed in less pristine parts of southern Idaho.

 

Idaho is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the United States. It shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border to the north, with the province of British Columbia. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington and Oregon to the west. The state's capital and largest city is Boise. With an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest state by land area. With a population of approximately 1.8 million, it ranks as the 13th least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states.

 

For thousands of years, and prior to European colonization, Idaho has been inhabited by native peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area of dispute between the U.S. and the British Empire. It officially became a U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863, instead being included for periods in Oregon Territory and Washington Territory. Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.

 

Forming part of the Pacific Northwest (and the associated Cascadia bioregion), Idaho is divided into several distinct geographic and climatic regions. The state's north, the relatively isolated Idaho Panhandle, is closely linked with Eastern Washington, with which it shares the Pacific Time Zone—the rest of the state uses the Mountain Time Zone. The state's south includes the Snake River Plain (which has most of the population and agricultural land), and the southeast incorporates part of the Great Basin. Idaho is quite mountainous and contains several stretches of the Rocky Mountains. The United States Forest Service holds about 38% of Idaho's land, the highest proportion of any state.

 

Industries significant for the state economy include manufacturing, agriculture, mining, forestry, and tourism. Several science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield. The official state nickname is the "Gem State."

 

The history of Idaho is an examination of the human history and social activity within the state of Idaho, one of the United States of America located in the Pacific Northwest area near the west coast of the United States and Canada. Other associated areas include southern Alaska, all of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, western Montana and northern California and Nevada.

 

Humans may have been present in Idaho for 16,600 years. Recent findings in Cooper's Ferry along the Salmon River in western Idaho near the town of Cottonwood have unearthed stone tools and animal bone fragments in what may be the oldest evidence of humans in North America. Earlier excavations in 1959 at Wilson Butte Cave near Twin Falls revealed evidence of human activity, including arrowheads, that rank among the oldest dated artifacts in North America. Native American tribes predominant in the area in historic times included the Nez Perce and the Coeur d'Alene in the north; and the Northern and Western Shoshone and Bannock peoples in the south.

 

Idaho was one of the last areas in the lower 48 states of the US to be explored by people of European descent. The Lewis and Clark expedition entered present-day Idaho on August 12, 1805, at Lemhi Pass. It is believed that the first "European descent" expedition to enter southern Idaho was by a group led in 1811 and 1812 by Wilson Price Hunt, which navigated the Snake River while attempting to blaze an all-water trail westward from St. Louis, Missouri, to Astoria, Oregon. At that time, approximately 8,000 Native Americans lived in the region.

 

Fur trading led to the first significant incursion of Europeans in the region. Andrew Henry of the Missouri Fur Company first entered the Snake River plateau in 1810. He built Fort Henry on Henry's Fork on the upper Snake River, near modern St. Anthony, Idaho. However, this first American fur post west of the Rocky Mountains was abandoned the following spring.

 

The British-owned Hudson's Bay Company next entered Idaho and controlled the trade in the Snake River area by the 1820s. The North West Company's interior department of the Columbia was created in June 1816, and Donald Mackenzie was assigned as its head. Mackenzie had previously been employed by Hudson's Bay and had been a partner in the Pacific Fur Company, financed principally by John Jacob Astor. During these early years, he traveled west with a Pacific Fur Company's party and was involved in the initial exploration of the Salmon River and Clearwater River. The company proceeded down the lower Snake River and Columbia River by canoe, and were the first of the Overland Astorians to reach Fort Astoria, on January 18, 1812.

 

Under Mackenzie, the North West Company was a dominant force in the fur trade in the Snake River country. Out of Fort George in Astoria, Mackenzie led fur brigades up the Snake River in 1816-1817 and up the lower Snake in 1817-1818. Fort Nez Perce, established in July, 1818, became the staging point for Mackenzies' Snake brigades. The expedition of 1818-1819 explored the Blue Mountains, and traveled down the Snake River to the Bear River and approached the headwaters of the Snake. Mackenzie sought to establish a navigable route up the Snake River from Fort Nez Perce to the Boise area in 1819. While he did succeed in traveling by boat from the Columbia River through the Grand Canyon of the Snake past Hells Canyon, he concluded that water transport was generally impractical. Mackenzie held the first rendezvous in the region on the Boise River in 1819.

 

Despite their best efforts, early American fur companies in this region had difficulty maintaining the long-distance supply lines from the Missouri River system into the Intermountain West. However, Americans William H. Ashley and Jedediah Smith expanded the Saint Louis fur trade into Idaho in 1824. The 1832 trapper's rendezvous at Pierre's Hole, held at the foot of the Three Tetons in modern Teton County, was followed by an intense battle between the Gros Ventre and a large party of American trappers aided by their Nez Perce and Flathead allies.

 

The prospect of missionary work among the Native Americans also attracted early settlers to the region. In 1809, Kullyspell House, the first white-owned establishment and first trading post in Idaho, was constructed. In 1836, the Reverend Henry H. Spalding established a Protestant mission near Lapwai, where he printed the Northwest's first book, established Idaho's first school, developed its first irrigation system, and grew the state's first potatoes. Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding were the first non-native women to enter present-day Idaho.

 

Cataldo Mission, the oldest standing building in Idaho, was constructed at Cataldo by the Coeur d'Alene and Catholic missionaries. In 1842, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, with Fr. Nicholas Point and Br. Charles Duet, selected a mission location along the St. Joe River. The mission was moved a short distance away in 1846, as the original location was subject to flooding. In 1850, Antonio Ravalli designed a new mission building and Indians affiliated with the church effort built the mission, without nails, using the wattle and daub method. In time, the Cataldo mission became an important stop for traders, settlers, and miners. It served as a place for rest from the trail, offered needed supplies, and was a working port for boats heading up the Coeur d'Alene River.

 

During this time, the region which became Idaho was part of an unorganized territory known as Oregon Country, claimed by both the United States and Great Britain. The United States gained undisputed jurisdiction over the region in the Oregon Treaty of 1846, although the area was under the de facto jurisdiction of the Provisional Government of Oregon from 1843 to 1849. The original boundaries of Oregon Territory in 1848 included all three of the present-day Pacific Northwest states and extended eastward to the Continental Divide. In 1853, areas north of the 46th Parallel became Washington Territory, splitting what is now Idaho in two. The future state was reunited in 1859 after Oregon became a state and the boundaries of Washington Territory were redrawn.

 

While thousands passed through Idaho on the Oregon Trail or during the California gold rush of 1849, few people settled there. In 1860, the first of several gold rushes in Idaho began at Pierce in present-day Clearwater County. By 1862, settlements in both the north and south had formed around the mining boom.

 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints missionaries founded Fort Lemhi in 1855, but the settlement did not last. The first organized town in Idaho was Franklin, settled in April 1860 by Mormon pioneers who believed they were in Utah Territory; although a later survey determined they had crossed the border. Mormon pioneers reached areas near the current-day Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and established most of the historic and modern communities in Southeastern Idaho. These settlements include Ammon, Blackfoot, Chubbuck, Firth, Idaho Falls, Iona, Pocatello, Rexburg, Rigby, Shelley, and Ucon.

 

Large numbers of English immigrants settled in what is now the state of Idaho in the late 19th and early 20th century, many before statehood. The English found they had more property rights and paid less taxes than they did back in England. They were considered some of the most desirable immigrants at the time. Many came from humble beginnings and would rise to prominence in Idaho. Frank R. Gooding was raised in a rural working-class background in England, but was eventually elected as the seventh governor of the state. Today people of English descent make up one fifth of the entire state of Idaho and form a plurality in the southern portion of the state.

 

Many German farmers also settled in what is now Idaho. German settlers were primarily Lutheran across all of the midwest and west, including Idaho, however there were small numbers of Catholics amongst them as well. In parts of Northern Idaho, German remained the dominant language until World War I, when German-Americans were pressured to convert entirely to English. Today, Idahoans of German ancestry make up nearly one fifth of all Idahoans and make up the second largest ethnic group after Idahoans of English descent with people of German ancestry being 18.1% of the state and people of English ancestry being 20.1% of the state.

 

Irish Catholics worked in railroad centers such as Boise. Today, 10% of Idahoans self-identify as having Irish ancestry.

 

York, a slave owned by William Clark but considered a full member of Corps of Discovery during expedition to the Pacific, was the first recorded African American in Idaho. There is a significant African American population made up of those who came west after the abolition of slavery. Many settled near Pocatello and were ranchers, entertainers, and farmers. Although free, many blacks suffered discrimination in the early-to-mid-late 20th century. The black population of the state continues to grow as many come to the state because of educational opportunities, to serve in the military, and for other employment opportunities. There is a Black History Museum in Boise, Idaho, with an exhibit known as the "Invisible Idahoan", which chronicles the first African-Americans in the state. Blacks are the fourth largest ethnic group in Idaho according to the 2000 census. Mountain Home, Boise, and Garden City have significant African-American populations.

 

The Basque people from the Iberian peninsula in Spain and southern France were traditionally shepherds in Europe. They came to Idaho, offering hard work and perseverance in exchange for opportunity. One of the largest Basque communities in the US is in Boise, with a Basque museum and festival held annually in the city.

 

Chinese in the mid-19th century came to America through San Francisco to work on the railroad and open businesses. By 1870, there were over 4000 Chinese and they comprised almost 30% of the population. They suffered discrimination due to the Anti-Chinese League in the 19th century which sought to limit the rights and opportunities of Chinese emigrants. Today Asians are third in population demographically after Whites and Hispanics at less than 2%.

 

Main articles: Oregon boundary dispute, Provisional Government of Oregon, Oregon Treaty, Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Dakota Territory, Organic act § List of organic acts, and Idaho Territory

 

On March 4, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act creating Idaho Territory from portions of Washington Territory and Dakota Territory with its capital at Lewiston. The original Idaho Territory included most of the areas that later became the states of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, and had a population of under 17,000. Idaho Territory assumed the boundaries of the modern state in 1868 and was admitted as a state in 1890.

 

After Idaho became a territory, legislation was held in Lewiston, the capital of Idaho Territory at the time. There were many territories acts put into place, and then taken away during these early sessions, one act being the move of the capital city from Lewiston to Boise City. Boise was becoming a growing area after gold was found, so on December 24, 1864, Boise City was made the final destination of the capital for the Territory of Idaho.

 

However, moving the capital to Boise City created a lot of issues between the territory. This was especially true between the north and south areas in the territory, due to how far south Boise City was. Problems with communicating between the north and south contributed to some land in Idaho Territory being transferred to other territories and areas at the time. Idaho’s early boundary changes helped create the current boundaries of Washington, Wyoming, and Montana States as currently exist.

 

In a bid for statehood, Governor Edward A. Stevenson called for a constitutional convention in 1889. The convention approved a constitution on August 6, 1889, and voters approved the constitution on November 5, 1889.

 

When President Benjamin Harrison signed the law admitting Idaho as a U.S. state on July 3, 1890, the population was 88,548. George L. Shoup became the state's first governor, but resigned after only a few weeks in office to take a seat in the United States Senate. Willis Sweet, a Republican, was the first congressman, 1890 to 1895, representing the state at-large. He vigorously demanded "Free Silver" or the unrestricted coinage of silver into legal tender, in order to pour money into the large silver mining industry in the Mountain West, but he was defeated by supporters of the gold standard. In 1896 he, like many Republicans from silver mining districts, supported the Silver Republican Party instead of the regular Republican nominee William McKinley.

 

During its first years of statehood, Idaho was plagued by labor unrest in the mining district of Coeur d'Alene. In 1892, miners called a strike which developed into a shooting war between union miners and company guards. Each side accused the other of starting the fight. The first shots were exchanged at the Frisco mine in Frisco, in the Burke-Canyon north and east of Wallace. The Frisco mine was blown up, and company guards were taken prisoner. The violence soon spilled over into the nearby community of Gem, where union miners attempted to locate a Pinkerton spy who had infiltrated their union and was passing information to the mine operators. But agent Charlie Siringo escaped by cutting a hole in the floor of his room. Strikers forced the Gem mine to close, then traveled west to the Bunker Hill mining complex near Wardner, and closed down that facility as well. Several had been killed in the Burke-Canyon fighting. The Idaho National Guard and federal troops were dispatched to the area, and union miners and sympathizers were thrown into bullpens.

 

Hostilities would again erupt at the Bunker Hill facility in 1899, when seventeen union miners were fired for having joined the union. Other union miners were likewise ordered to draw their pay and leave. Angry members of the union converged on the area and blew up the Bunker Hill Mill, killing two company men.

 

In both disputes, the union's complaints included pay, hours of work, the right of miners to belong to the union, and the mine owners' use of informants and undercover agents. The violence committed by union miners was answered with a brutal response in 1892 and in 1899.

 

Through the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) union, the battles in the mining district became closely tied to a major miners' strike in Colorado. The struggle culminated in the December 1905 assassination of former Governor Frank Steunenberg by Harry Orchard (also known as Albert Horsley), a member of the WFM. Orchard was allegedly incensed by Steunenberg's efforts as governor to put down the 1899 miner uprising after being elected on a pro-labor platform.

 

Pinkerton detective James McParland conducted the investigation into the assassination. In 1907, WFM Secretary Treasurer "Big Bill" Haywood and two other WFM leaders were tried on a charge of conspiracy to murder Steunenberg, with Orchard testifying against them as part of a deal made with McParland. The nationally publicized trial featured Senator William E. Borah as prosecuting attorney and Clarence Darrow representing the defendants. The defense team presented evidence that Orchard had been a Pinkerton agent and had acted as a paid informant for the Cripple Creek Mine Owners' Association. Darrow argued that Orchard's real motive in the assassination had been revenge for a declaration of martial law by Steunenberg, which prompted Orchard to gamble away a share in the Hercules silver mine that would otherwise have made him wealthy.

 

Two of the WFM leaders were acquitted in two separate trials, and the third was released. Orchard was convicted and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted, and he spent the rest of his life in an Idaho prison.

 

Mining in Idaho was a major commercial venture, bringing a great deal of attention to the state. From 1860-1866 Idaho produced 19% of all gold in the United States, or 2.5 million ounces.

 

Most of Idaho's mining production, 1860–1969, has come from metals equating to $2.88 billion out of $3.42 billion, according to the best estimates. Of the metallic mining areas of Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene region has produced the most by far, and accounts for about 80% of the total Idaho yield.

 

Several others—Boise Basin, Wood River Valley, Stibnite, Blackbirg, and Owyhee—range considerably above the other big producers. Atlanta, Bear Valley, Bay Horse, Florence, Gilmore, Mackay, Patterson, and Yankee Fork all ran on the order of ten to twenty million dollars, and Elk City, Leesburg, Pierce, Rocky Bar, and Warren's make up the rest of the major Idaho mining areas that stand out in the sixty or so regions of production worthy of mention.

 

A number of small operations do not appear in this list of Idaho metallic mining areas: a small amount of gold was recovered from Goose Creek on Salmon Meadows; a mine near Cleveland was prospected in 1922 and produced a little manganese in 1926; a few tons of copper came from Fort Hall, and a few more tons of copper came from a mine near Montpelier. Similarly, a few tons of lead came from a property near Bear Lake, and lead-silver is known on Cassia Creek near Elba. Some gold quartz and lead-silver workings are on Ruby Creek west of Elk River, and there is a slightly developed copper operation on Deer Creek near Winchester. Molybdenum is known on Roaring River and on the east fork of the Salmon. Some scattered mining enterprises have been undertaken around Soldier Mountain and on Chief Eagle Eye Creek north of Montour.

 

Idaho proved to be one of the more receptive states to the progressive agenda of the late 19th century and early 20th century. The state embraced progressive policies such as women's suffrage (1896) and prohibition (1916) before they became federal law. Idahoans were also strongly supportive of Free Silver. The pro-bimetallism Populist and Silver Republican parties of the late 1890s were particularly successful in the state.

 

Eugenics was also a major part of the Progressive movement. In 1919, the Idaho legislature passed an Act legalizing the forced sterilization of some persons institutionalized in the state. The act was vetoed by governor D.W. Davis, who doubted its scientific merits and believed it likely violated the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution. In 1925, the Idaho legislature passed a revised eugenics act, now tailored to avoid Davis's earlier objections. The new law created a state board of eugenics, charged with: the sterilization of all feebleminded, insane, epileptics, habitual criminals, moral degenerates and sexual perverts who are a menace to society, and providing the means for ascertaining who are such persons.

The Eugenics board was eventually folded into the state's health commission; between 1932 and 1964, a total of 30 women and eight men in Idaho were sterilized under this law. The sterilization law was formally repealed in 1972.

 

After statehood, Idaho's economy began a gradual shift away from mining toward agriculture, particularly in the south. Older mining communities such as Silver City and Rocky Bar gave way to agricultural communities incorporated after statehood, such as Nampa and Twin Falls. Milner Dam on the Snake River, completed in 1905, allowed for the formation of many agricultural communities in the Magic Valley region which had previously been nearly unpopulated.

 

Meanwhile, some of the mining towns were able to reinvent themselves as resort communities, most notably in Blaine County, where the Sun Valley ski resort opened in 1936. Others, such as Silver City and Rocky Bar, became ghost towns.

 

In the north, mining continued to be an important industry for several more decades. The closure of the Bunker Hill Mine complex in Shoshone County in the early 1980s sent the region's economy into a tailspin. Since that time, a substantial increase in tourism in north Idaho has helped the region to recover. Coeur d'Alene, a lake-side resort town, is a destination for visitors in the area.

 

Beginning in the 1980s, there was a rise in North Idaho of a few right-wing extremist and "survivalist" political groups, most notably one holding Neo-Nazi views, the Aryan Nations. These groups were most heavily concentrated in the Panhandle region of the state, particularly in the vicinity of Coeur d'Alene.

 

In 1992 a stand-off occurred between U.S. Marshals, the F.B.I., and white separatist Randy Weaver and his family at their compound at Ruby Ridge, located near the small, northern Idaho town of Naples. The ensuing fire-fight and deaths of a U.S. Marshal, and Weaver's son and wife gained national attention, and raised a considerable amount of controversy regarding the nature of acceptable force by the federal government in such situations.

 

In 2001, the Aryan Nations compound, which had been located in Hayden Lake, Idaho, was confiscated as a result of a court case, and the organization moved out of state. About the same time Boise installed an impressive stone Human Rights Memorial featuring a bronze statue of Anne Frank and quotations from her and many other writers extolling human freedom and equality.

 

The demographics of the state have changed. Due to this growth in different groups, especially in Boise, the economic expansion surged wrong-economic growth followed the high standard of living and resulted in the "growth of different groups". The population of Idaho in the 21st Century has been described as sharply divided along geographic and cultural lines due to the center of the state being dominated by sparsely-populated national forests, mountain ranges and recreation sites: "unless you're willing to navigate a treacherous mountain pass, you can't even drive from the north to the south without leaving the state." The northern population gravitates towards Spokane, Washington, the heavily Mormon south-east population towards Utah, with an isolated Boise "[being] the closest thing to a city-state that you'll find in America."

 

On March 13, 2020, officials from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare announced the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 within the state of Idaho. A woman over the age of 50 from the southwestern part of the state was confirmed to have the coronavirus infection. She contracted the infection while attending a conference in New York City. Conference coordinators notified attendees that three individuals previously tested positive for the coronavirus. The Idahoan did not require hospitalization and was recovering from mild symptoms from her home. At the time of the announcement, there were 1,629 total cases and 41 deaths in the United States. Five days beforehand, on March 8, a man of age 54 had died of an unknown respiratory illness which his doctor had believed to be pneumonia. The disease was later suspected to be – but never confirmed as – COVID-19.

 

On March 14, state officials announced the second confirmed case within the state. The South Central Public Health District, announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection.[44] Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home. Later on in the day, three additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the state by three of the seven health districts in the state, which brought the confirmed total cases of coronavirus to five in Idaho. Officials from Central District Health announced their second confirmed case, which was a male from Ada County in his 50s. He was not hospitalized and was recovering at home. South Central Public Health reported their second confirmed case in a female that is over the age of 70 who was hospitalized. Eastern Idaho Public Health reported a confirmed positive case in a woman under the age of 60 in Teton County. She had contracted the coronavirus from contact with a confirmed case in a neighboring state; she was not hospitalized. The South Central Public Health District announced that a woman over the age of 50 that resides in Blaine County had contracted the infection. Like the first case, she did not require hospitalization and she was recovering from mild symptoms from home.

 

On March 17, two more confirmed cases of the infection were reported, bringing the total to seven. The first case on this date was by officials from Central District Health reported that a female under the age of 50 in Ada County was recovering at home and was not hospitalized. The second confirmed case was a female over the age of 50 as reported by South Central Public Health officials.

 

On March 18, two additional confirmed cases were announced by South Central Public Health District officials. One is a male from Blaine County in his 40s and the other a male in his 80s from Twin Falls County. These cases were the first known community spread transmission of the coronavirus in South Central Idaho.

 

Tower over the sity

subway, nyc

C-GRCI, a Bombardier CL-600-2B16 Challenger 650, heading north on taxiway "Echo" at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario.

 

Serial number 6147 is operated by Skyservice Business Aviation Inc. of Mississauga, Ontario.

 

RCI = Rogers Communications Inc. of Toronto, Ontario.

..an early start..lots of fog..some erratic navigation and then out of the gloom reared this…oh yeah baby !

 

Loved every minute of being here, such a stunning sunrise with the fog lifting..hard to get a good shot without other people getting in on the action! You get the idea though..yes?

 

Great start to a great day!

 

With the usual suspects !

 

more pics at www.facebook.com/urbanexploring

Place du Général de Gaulle

"back in the day" before computers, smartphones, and the internet - you needed one of these to communicate from afar!

 

I can't seem to go shoot without taking at least one selfie. LOL

[ENG] The Segovia Bridge is at the present the oldest of Madrid and his construction was realized between 1582 and 1584 for order of the king Philip II to the architect Juan de Herrera. It was communicating Madrid with the cities of the north of Spain. In November, 1936, during the Spanish Civil war, it was demolished by the republican decree to avoid the entry in Madrid of the pro-Franco troops, and on having finished the contest it was reconstructed introducing some variations that were including his widening and the construction of four skates and a pier. About 1960 it was reformed again to construct the M-30, first ring road of the city. At present it continues being in use for the rolled traffic and it has joined the Madrid Rio Park with the construction of four reservoirs independent from the riverbed of the Manzanares river, two adorned ones with monumental water fountain and other two with aquatic irises.

 

[ESP] El Puente de Segovia es en la actualidad el más antiguo de Madrid y su construcción se realizó entre 1582 y 1584 por encargo del rey Felipe II al arquitecto Juan de Herrera. Comunicaba Madrid con las ciudades del norte de España. En noviembre de 1936, durante la Guerra Civil española, fue volado por el bando republicano para evitar la entrada en Madrid de las tropas franquistas, y al finalizar la contienda fue reconstruido introduciendo algunas variaciones que incluían su ensanche y la construcción de cuatro patines y un embarcadero. Hacia 1960 fue nuevamente reformado para construir la M-30, primer cinturón de circunvalación a la ciudad. En la actualidad sigue utilizándose para el tráfico rodado y se ha integrado en el Parque Madrid Río con la construcción de cuatro estanques independientes del cauce del Río Manzanares, dos adornados con fuentes monumentales y los otros dos con lirios acuáticos.

 

140229

Observe everything,

Communicate well.

-Frank Thomas (Disney's Animator)

 

We all should observe everything from above, so we can go dive into the deep, into the details.

 

I've decided to make another version of my previous artworks.

 

Part 1

Part 2

So hard to communicate in a photograph how nice this print looks in person!

 

"COMMUNITY" is a 16" x 20" color woodcut print on Ivory Somerset Paper. Edition of 200 prints. By Tugboat Printshop, 2014.

 

www.tugboatprintshop.com/woodcut_community.htm

©All photographs on this site are copyright: ©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2021 & GETTY IMAGES ®

  

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©DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams)

  

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Photograph taken at an altitude of Forty eight metres at 13:22pm on a beautiful summer afternoon on Tuesday 20th July 2021, off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.

  

Here we see a large adult Female Carrion crow (Corvus corone), a passerine bird of the family Corvidae and the genus Raven (Higher classification: Corvus), which is native to western Europe and eastern Asia.

 

AN IN DEPTH LOOK AT CORVUS CORONE

  

LEGEND AND MYTHOLOGY

By Paul Williams

  

Crows appear in the Bible where Noah uses one to search for dry land and to check on the recession of the flood. Crows supposedly saved the prophet, Elijah, from famine and are an Inuit deity. Legend has it that England and its monarchy will end when there are no more crows in the Tower of London. And some believe that the crows went to the Tower attracted by the regular corpses following executions with written accounts of their presence at the executions of Anne Boleyn and Jane Gray.

  

In Welsh mythology, unfortunately Crows are seen as symbolic of evilness and black magic thanks to many references to witches transforming into crows or ravens and escaping. Indian legend tells of Kakabhusandi, a crow who sits on the branches of a wish-fulfilling tree called Kalpataru and a crow in Ramayana where Lord Rama blessed the crow with the power to foresee future events and communicate with the souls.

  

In Native American first nation legend the crow is sometimes considered to be something of a trickster, though they are also viewed positively by some tribes as messengers between this world and the next where they carry messages from the living to those deceased, and even carry healing medicines between both worlds. There is a belief that crows can foresee the future. The Klamath tribe in Oregon believe that when we die, we fly up to heaven as a crow. The Crow can also signify wisdom to some tribes who believe crows had the power to talk and were therefore considered to be one of the wisest of birds. Tribes with Crow Clans include the Chippewa (whose Crow Clan and its totem are called Aandeg), the Hopi (whose Crow Clan is called Angwusngyam or Ungwish-wungwa), the Menominee, the Caddo, the Tlingit, and the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico.

  

The crow features in the Nanissáanah (Ghost dance), popularized by Jerome Crow Dog, a Brulé Lakota sub-chief and warrior born at Horse Stealing Creek in Montana Territory in 1833, the crow symbolizing wisdom and the past, when the crow had became a guide and acted as a pathfinder during hunting. The Ghost dance movement was originally created in 1870 by Wodziwob, or Gray Hair, a prophet and medicine man of the Paiute tribe in an area that became known as Nevada. Ghost dancers wore crow and eagle feathers in their clothes and hair, and the fact that the Crow could talk placed it as one of the sages of the animal kingdom. The five day dances seeking trance,prophecy and exhortations would eventually play a major part in the pathway towards the white man's broken treaties, the infamous battle at Wounded knee and the surrender of Matȟó Wanáȟtaka (Kicking Bear), after officials began to fear the ghost dancers and rituals which seemed to occur prior to battle.

  

Historically the Vikings are the group who made so many references to the crow, and Ragnarr Loðbrók and his sons used this species in his banner as well as appearances in many flags and coats of arms. Also, it had some kind of association with Odin, one of their main deities. Norse legend tells us that Odin is accompanied by two crows. Hugin, who symbolizes thought, and Munin, who represents a memory. These two crows were sent out each dawn to fly the entire world, returning at breakfast where they informed the Lord of the Nordic gods of everything that went on in their kingdoms. Odin was also referred to as Rafnagud (raven-god). The raven appears in almost every skaldic poem describing warfare.Coins dating back to 940's minted by Olaf Cuaran depict the Viking war standard, the Raven and Viking war banners (Gonfalon) depicted the bird also.

  

In Scandinavian legends, crows are a representative of the Goddess of Death, known as Valkyrie (from old Norse 'Valkyrja'), one of the group of maidens who served the Norse deity Odin, visiting battlefields and sending him the souls of the slain worthy of a place in Valhalla. Odin ( also called Wodan, Woden, or Wotan), preferred that heroes be killed in battle and that the most valiant of souls be taken to Valhöll, the hall of slain warriors. It is the crow that provides the Valkyries with important information on who should go. In Hindu ceremonies that are associated to ancestors, the crow has an important place in Vedic rituals. They are seen as messengers of death in Indian culture too.

  

In Germanic legend, Crows are seen as psychonomes, meaning the act of guiding spirits to their final destination, and that the feathers of a crow could cure a victim who had been cursed. And yet, a lone black crow could symbolize impending death, whilst a group symbolizes a lucky omen! Vikings also saw good omens in the crow and would leave offerings of meat as a token.

  

The crow also has sacred and prophetic meaning within the Celtic civilization, where it stood for flesh ripped off due to combat and Morrighan, the warrior goddess, often appears in Celtic mythology as a raven or crow, or else is found to be in the company of the birds. Crow is sacred to Lugdnum, the Celtic god of creation who gave his name to the city of Lug

  

In Greek mythology according to Appolodorus, Apollo is supposedly responsible for the black feathers of the crow, turning them forever black from their pristine white original plumage as a punishment after they brought news that Κορωνις (Coronis) a princess of the Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis, Apollo's pregnant lover had left him to marry a mortal, Ischys. In one legend, Apollo burned the crows feathers and then burned Coronis to death, in another Coronis herself was turned into a black crow, and another that she was slain by the arrows of Αρτεμις (Artemis - twin to Apollo). Koronis was later set amongst the stars as the constellation Corvus ("the Crow"). Her name means "Curved One" from the Greek word korônis or "Crow" from the word korônê.A similar Muslim legend allegedly tells of Muhammad, founder of Islam and the last prophet sent by God to Earth, who's secret location was given away by a white crow to his seekers, as he hid in caves. The crow shouted 'Ghar Ghar' (Cave, cave) and thus as punishment, Muhammad turned the crow black and cursed it for eternity to utter only one phrase, 'Ghar, ghar). Native Indian legend where the once rainbow coloured crows became forever black after shedding their colourful plumage over the other animals of the world.

  

In China the Crow is represented in art as a three legged bird on a solar disk, being a creature that helps the sun in its journey. In Japan there are myths of Crow Tengu who were priests who became vain, and turned into this spirit to serve as messengers until they learn the lesson of humility as well as a great Crow who takes part in Shinto creation stories.

  

In animal spirit guides there are general perceptions of what sightings of numbers of crows actually mean:

  

1 Crow Meaning: To carry a message from your near one who died recently.

 

2 Crows Meaning: Two crows sitting near your home signifies some good news is on your way.

 

3 Crows Meaning: An upcoming wedding in your family.

 

4 Crows Meaning: Symbolizes wealth and prosperity.

 

5 Crows Meaning: Diseases or pain.

 

6 Crows Meaning: A theft in your house!

 

7 Crows Meaning: Denotes travel or moving from your house.

 

8 Crows Meaning: Sorrowful events

  

Crows are generally seen as the symbolism when alive for doom bringing, misfortune and bad omens, and yet a dead crow symbolises potentially bringing good news and positive change to those who see it. This wonderful bird certainly gets a mixed bag of contradictory mythology and legend over the centuries and in modern days is often seen as a bit of a nuisance, attacking and killing the babies of other birds such as Starlings, Pigeons and House Sparrows as well as plucking the eyes out of lambs in the field, being loud and noisy and violently attacking poor victims in a 'crow court'....

  

There is even a classic horror film called 'THE CROW' released in 1994 by Miramax Films, directed by Alex Proyas and starring Brandon Lee in his final film appearance as Eric Draven, who is revived by a Crow tapping on his gravestone a year after he and his fiancée are murdered in Detroit by a street gang. The crow becomes his guide as he sets out to avenge the murders. The only son of martial arts expert Bruce Lee, Brandon lee suffered fatal injuries on the set of the film when the crew failed to remove the primer from a cartridge that hit Lee in the abdomen with the same force as a normal bullet. Lee died that day, March 31st 1993 aged 28.

  

The symbolism of the Crow resurrecting the dead star and accompanying him on his quest for revenge was powerful, and in some part based on the history of the carrion crow itself and the original film grossed more than $94 Million dollars with three subsequent sequels following.

  

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

  

So let's move away from legend, mythology and stories passed down from our parents and grandparents and look at these amazing birds in isolation.

  

Carrion crow are passerines in the family Corvidae a group of Oscine passerine birds including Crows, Ravens, Rooks, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies, Treepies, Choughs and Nutcrackers. Technically they are classed as Corvids, and the largest of passerine birds. Carrion crows are medium to large in size with rictal bristles and a single moult per year (most passerines moult twice). Carrion crow was one of the many species originally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (Carl Von Linne after his ennoblement) in his 1758 and 1759 editions of 'SYSTEMA NATURAE', and it still bears its original name of Corvus corone, derived from the Latin of Corvus, meaning Raven and the Greek κορώνη (korōnē), meaning crow.

  

Carrion crow are of the Animalia kingdom Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Corvidae Genus: Corvus and Species: Corvus corone

  

Corvus corone can reach 45-47cm in length with a 93-104cm wingspan and weigh between 370-650g. They are protected under The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in the United Kingdom with a Green UK conservation status which means they are of least concern with more than 1,000,000 territories. Breeding occurs in April with fledging of the chicks taking around twenty nine days following an incubation period of around twenty days with 3 to 4 eggs being the average norm. They are abundant in the UK apart from Northwest Scotland and Ireland where the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) was considered the same species until 2002. They have a lifespan of around four years, whilst Crow species can live to the age of Twenty years old, and the oldest known American crow in the wild was almost Thirty years old. The oldest documented captive crow died at age Fifty nine. They are smaller and have a shorter lifespan than the Raven, which again is used as a symbol in history to live life to the full and not waste a moment!

  

They are often mistaken for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), a similar bird, though in the UK, the Rook is actually technically smaller than the Carrion crow averaging 44-46cm in length, 81-99cm wingspan and weighing up to 340g. Rooks have white beaks compared to the black beaks of Carrion crow, a more steeply raked ratio from head to beak, and longer straighter beaks as well as a different plumage pattern. There are documented cases in the UK of singular and grouped Rooks attacking and killing Carrion crows in their territory. Rooks nest in colonies unlike Carrion crows. Carrion crows have only a few natural enemies including powerful raptors such as the northern goshawk, the peregrine falcon, the Eurasian eagle-owl and the golden eagle which will all readily hunt them.

  

Regarded as one of the most intelligent birds, indeed creatures on the planet, studies suggest that Corvids cognitive abilities can rival that of primates such as chimpanzees and gorillas and even provide clues to understanding human intelligence. Crows have relatively large brains for their body size, compared to other animals. Their encephalization quotient (EQ) a ratio of brain to body size, adjusted for size because there isn’t a linear relationship is 4.1. That is remarkably close to chimps at 4.2 whilst humans are 8.1. Corvids also have a very high neuronal density, the number of neurons per gram of brain, factoring in the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity shows that Corvids score high on this measure as well, with humans scoring the highest.

  

A corvid's pallium is packed with more neurons than a great ape's. Corvids have demonstrated the ability to use a combination of mental tools such as imagination, and anticipation of future events. They can craft tools from twigs and branches to hook grubs from deep recesses, they can solve puzzles and intricate methods of gaining access to food set by humans., and have even bent pieces of wire into hooks to obtain food. They have been proven to have a higher cognitive ability level than seven year old humans. Communications wise, their repertoire of wraw-wraw's is not fully understood, but the intensity, rhythm, and duration of caws seems to form the basis of a possible language. They also remember the faces of humans who have hindered or hurt them and pass that information on to their offspring.

  

Aesop's fable of 'The Crow and the Pitcher, tells of a thirsty crow which drops stones into a water pitcher to raise the water level and enable it to take a drink. Scientists have conducted tests to see whether crows really are this intelligent. They placed floating treats in a deep tube and observed the crows indeed dropping dense objects carefully selected into the water until the treat floated within reach. They had the intelligence to pick up, weigh and discount objects that would float in the water, they also did not select ones that were too large for the container.

  

Pet crows develop a unique call for their owners, in effect actually naming them. They also know to sunbathe for a dose of vitamin D, regularly settling on wooden garden fences, opening their mouths and wings and raising their heads to the sun. In groups they warn of danger and communicate vocally. They store a cache of food for later if in abundance and are clever enough to move it if they feel it has been discovered. They leave markers for their cache. They have even learned to place walnuts and similar hard food items under car tyres at traffic lights as a means of cracking them!

  

Crows regularly gather around a dead fellow corvid, almost like a funeral, and it is thought they somehow learn from each death. They can even remember human faces for decades.Crows group together to attack larger predators and even steal their food, and they have different dialects in different areas, with the ability to mimic the dialect of the alpha males when they enter their territory!

  

They have a twenty year life span, the oldest on record reaching the age of Fifty nine. Crows can leave gifts for those who feed them such as buttons or bright shiny objects as a thank you, and they even kiss and make up after an argument, having mated for life.

  

In mythology they are associated with good and bad luck, being the bringers of omens and even witchcraft and are generally reviled for their attacks on baby birds and small mammals. They have an attack method of to stunning smaller birds before consuming them, tearing violently at smaller, less aggressive birds, which is simply down to the fact that they are so highly intelligent, and also the top of the food chain. Their diet includes over a thousand different items: Dead animals (as their name suggests), invertebrates, grain, as well as stealing eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, worms, insects, fruit, seeds, kitchen scraps. They are highly adaptable when food sources grow scarce. I absolutely love them, they are magnificent, bold, beautiful and incredibly interesting to watch and though at times it is hard to witness attacks made by them, I cannot help but adore them for so many other and more important reasons.

  

OBSERVATIONS ON THE PAIR IN MY GARDEN

  

Crows have been in the area for a while, but rarely had strayed into my garden, leaving the Magpies to own the territory. Things changed towards the end of May when a beautiful female Carrion crow appeared and began to take some of the food that I put down for the other birds. Within a few days she began to appear regularly, on occasions stocking up on food, whilst other times placing pieces in the birdbath to soften them. She would stand on the birdbath and eat and drink and come back over the course of the day to eat the softened food.

  

Shortly afterwards she brought along her mate, a tall and handsome fella, much larger than her who was also very vocal if he felt she was getting a little too close to me. By now I had moved from a seated position from the patio as an observer, to laying on a mat just five feet from the birdbath with my Nikon so that I could photograph the pair as they landed, scavenged and fed. She was now confident enough to let me be very close, and she even tolerated and recognized the clicking of the camera. At first I used silent mode to reduce the noise but this only allowed two shooting frame rates of single frame or continuous low frame which meant I was missing shots. I reverted back to normal continuous high frames and she soon got used to the whirring of the mechanisms as the mirror slapped back and forth.

  

The big fella would bark orders at her from the safety of the fence or the rear of the garden, whilst she rarely made a sound. That was until one day when in the sweltering heat she kept opening her beak and sunning on the grass, panting slightly in the heat. I placed the circular water sprayer nearby and had it rotating so that the birdbath and grass was bathed in gentle water droplets and she soon came back, landed and seemed to really like the cooling effect on offer. She then climbed onto the birdbath and opened her wings slightly and made some gentle purring, cooing noises....

  

I swear she was expressing happiness, joy....

  

On another blisteringly hot day when the sprayer was on, she came down, walked towards it and opened her wings up running into the water spray. Not once, but many times.

  

A further revelation into the unseen sides to these beautiful birds came with the male and female on the rear garden fence. They sat together, locked beaks like a kiss and then the male took his time gently preening her head feathers and the back of her neck as she made tiny happy sounds. They stayed together like that for several minutes, showing a gentle, softer side to their nature and demonstrating the deep bond between them. Into July and the pair started to bring their three youngsters to my garden, the nippers learning to use the birdbath for bathing and dipping food, the parents attentive as ever. Two of the youngsters headed off once large enough and strong enough.

  

I was privileged to be in close attendance as the last juvenile was brought down by the pair, taught to take food and then on a night in July, to soar and fly with it's mother in the evening sky as the light faded. She would swoop and twirl, and at regular intervals just touch the juvenile in flight with her wing tip feathers, as if to reassure it that she was close in attendance. What an amazing experience to view. A few days later, the juvenile, though now gaining independence and more than capable of tackling food scraps in the garden, was still on occasions demand feeding from it's mother who was now teaching him to take chicken breast, hotdogs or digestive biscuits and bury them in the garden beds for later delectation. The juvenile also liked to gather up peanuts and bury them in the grass. On one occasion I witnessed a pair of rumbunctious Pica Pica (Magpies), chasing the young crow on rooftops, leaping at him no matter how hard he tried to get away. He defended himself well and survived the attacks, much to my relief.

  

Into August and the last youngster remained with the adults, though now was very independent even though he still spent time with his parents on rooftops, and shared food gathering duties with his mum.Hotdog sausages were their favourite choice, followed by fish fingers and digestive biscuits which the adult male would gather up three at a time. In October, the three Crows were still kings of the area, but my time observing them was pretty much over as I will only put food out now for the birds in the winter months. The two adults are still here in December and now taking the food that I put out to help all birds survive in the winter months. They also have a pair of Magpies to compete with now.

Late February 2022 and Cheryl and Russell and their youngster are still with me, still dominant in the area and still taking raw chicken, hotdogs, biscuits and fatballs that I put out for them. Today I saw them mating for the first time this year in the tree and the cycle continues.

  

Corvus Corone.... magnificently misunderstood by some!

  

Paul Williams June 4th 2021 (Updated in April 2022)

  

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Nikon D850 Focal length 500mm Shutter speed: 1/200s Electronic front-curtain enabled Aperture f/7.1 iso320 Hand held with Tamron VC Vibration control set to ON in position 1 14 Bit uncompressed RAW NEF file size L (8256 x 5504 pixels) FX (36 x 24) Focus mode: AF-C AF-Area mode: 3D-tracking AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points Exposure mode: Manual exposure mode Metering mode: Matrix metering White balance on: Auto1, 0, 0 (4680k) Colour space: RGB Picture control: Neutral (Sharpening +2)

  

Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2. Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Lee SW150 MKII filter holder. Lee SW150 95mm screw in adapter ring. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Black Rapid Curve Breathe strap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.

     

LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 27.97s

LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.51s

ALTITUDE: 48.00m

  

RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF FILE: 90.9MB

PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 53.60MB

      

PROCESSING POWER:

  

Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00

  

HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.

   

Another Toastmasters manual done!

 

I’ve earned my Advanced Communicator Bronze designation in Toastmasters. With tonight’s speech, I’ve completed two advanced manuals: Storytelling and The Entertaining Speaker. (Each manual has five speeches.)

 

My final project in the Toastmasters Entertaining Speaker manual was the toughest. Project #2 (you don’t have to do them in order) requires that the speaker incorporate material from a source other than herself. As I rarely use non-personal experiences in my speaking, this was a challenge, until I remembered how much I enjoyed Pam Flowers’ story on The Moth podcast: Alone Across the Arctic. I’m confident I entertained by sharing the story of Pam Flowers’ sled dog team encounter with a mama polar bear and her cub.

 

(To be honest, I’m more of a Risk than a Moth story podcast fan, these days. But most of the Risk stories are inappropriate for Toastmasters.)

 

Jacket, Jessica Simpson (thrifted). Shirt, The Limited. Skirt, Plenty by Tracy Reese. Tights, We Love Colors. Boots, Fergie. Bandana, Mono Lake Visitor Center.

emerald crystals grown on blackberry.

MDDE a Shortline I have wanted to shoot for a long time will be retiring these Alco RS2M locomotives that have been running for various railroads for 70 years. I finally got myself out to the eastern shore of the state to shoot the 1203 out of Federalsburg Maryland on MDDE’s Seaford Line. Here they are seen just south of Hurlock trying to drop off some cars to Perdu Agribusiness and pick up some cars from the grain elevator.. The engine is pulled right up past the crossing which signifies the end of MDDE’s active rail line due to an issue on one of the cars being picked up. The conductor and engine are constantly communicating to figure out a solution.

On Black

 

He's gotta sign the model release form somehow... ;)

www.AimishBoy.com

Die Zeche Zollern ist ein 1955/66 stillgelegtes Steinkohlebergwerk in Dortmund- Bövinghausen. Sie bestand aus zwei unter Tage verbundenen Schachtanlagen

 

The Westpahlian State Museum researches and communicates the culture of the industrial era from its beginnings to the present day.

 

The Westpahlian State Museum researches and communicates the culture of the industrial era from its beginnings to the present day.

#MTron Comm. Bracelet

(Scroll through for Video and features)

 

The new #LEGO #DOTS are #AMAZING & with so much more #durability and #clutchpower than I imagined (but certainly hoped for!)

 

Thank you @BrickmasterAmy and the @LEGO team for designing a cool new #WearableLEGO line, I am so excited to build more #MOCs with these sweet bracelets!

 

Special thanks to my daughter for helping me with the photos and video!!! She loves the DOTS, too and we have been using them as communicators and wearing them all day!

 

didn't even see this crow until passing under - it made a loud call and startled us

Communicate

Communications towers atop Sandia Crest. This location at 10,678' is nearly dead-ccenter in the State, allowing signals to be received from almost any location in New Mexico. Radio interference from the towers often interferes with keyless entry systems in visiting cars. Visibility can extend to 100 miles on a clear day!

Communicators...

"What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate!"

Ashwika Kapur at WIldscreen Festival 2022 in Bangalore

 

She is a qualified Science Communicator and an award-winning Natural History Filmmaker. She was recognized for having become India’s youngest and only woman to win the Panda Award or The Green Oscar in a Global Category. She won Best Emerging Filmmaker for a quirky, rags-to- riches film about a celebrity Kakapo – Sirocco.

 

In the words of the Jury – “This category brought together hundreds of entries from 42 countries. But in the end we chose her film ('Sirocco') as it had all the hallmarks of a strong storyteller”

 

It looks like the man is giving instruction to one of the buffalos

Vietnam

Self portrait 17/52

Seen in an antique shop

February2025.Along Main Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.RolleiRetro80s@200.CanonF1n.CanonFD-50f1.4@f11.YellowFilter. First attempt at developing in Caffenol-CH for this film. Pre- soaked for two minutes at 20°C agitating at least twice. Developed in Caffenol-CH developer @ 20°C for 30 minutes agitating for the first full minute and then three rotations every minute. Stopped in tapwater at 20°C for two minutes agitating at least twice. Fixed in Ilford rapid fixer at 20°C for five minutes agitating the first 30 seconds and one more time halfway in. Washed in tapwater using the Ilford method. Final wash in distilled water for two minutes.FilmScan:FujifilmXH1

Teddy said he was going to contact his folks ..... I thought he meant Email or phone, I never expected this.

But then with Teddy you should always expect the unexpected.

Street Photography

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