Sweet stream that winds through yonder glade,

Apt emblem of a virtuous maid

Silent and chaste she steals along,

Far from the world's gay busy throng:

With gentle yet prevailing force,

Intent upon her destined course;

 

Graceful and useful all she does,

Blessing and blest where'er she goes;

Pure-bosom'd as that watery glass,

And Heaven reflected in her face.

~William Cowper (1731 – 1800)

 

IMG_3859

15 Apr 11

Season's Greetings to all my Flickr friends!

  

The goat dance appears in the habit of the New Year's Eve as a symbol of fertility and fecundity, connecting the Romanian territory to the Greek antiquity and to the Oriental civilizations.

 

Watching today the play of the Goat mask, in every area of the country, you'll recognize in the virtuous pantomime of the mask bearer, in the vitality of his movements but also in the death and rebirth of the Goat, the ancient symbol of vegetation. The goat dance is a frantic dance, which is executed for hundred of years in every carolled house.

Everything is extremely glittering and fascinating, reflecting the light and the relegation of the dark and the cold, which destroyed the vegetation. The body of the Goat is made of textile (carpets, red sail) on which other decorative elements are sewed.

 

A noisy children group accompanies the mask together with the country singers who accompany the goat dance. The goat jumps, jerks, turns round, and bends, clattering regularly the wooden jaws offering a remarkable authentic show.

 

The goat dance:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnza2iL2yQQ

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fyG1rJYCww

 

© Ioan C. Bacivarov

All the photos on this gallery are protected by copyright and they are not for being used on any site, blog or forum without the explicit permission from the author, Ioan Bacivarov. Thank you in advance

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Church of St. Michael and All Angels Diseworth Derbyshire built of local stone, in the centre of the village which has been inhabited since Roman times . It stands at St Clements Gate at the meeting of Lady Gate , Grimes Gate and Hall Gate, names which recall its Viking past .

Originally appropriated to nearby Langley Priory of Benedictine nuns who employed some of the villagers, In late 15c Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, purchased a considerable part of the village to found what became Christ's College, Cambridge.

The Priory dedicated to God and the Blessed Virgin described as small and in good repair, was dissolved n June 1536 . At that time there were 6 nuns as well as the prioress, who was very old and impotent. All the nuns desired to continue in religion, and all were virtuous, though one was over 80 and another was feeble-minded. There was a priest attached to the nunnery, and the lay servants consisted of 10 men and 4 women.

 

The church consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle, north porch and a western tower with dwarf spire, containing a clock, and 6 bells dating from 1626 to 1803:

The present building dates from the 13c, although it is known that a church existed here centuries earlier. It replaced a Saxon single cell church remains of which can been seen in the north wall of the nave.. The 2 blocked windows in the chancel are of Saxo-Norman type. Herringbone work can also be seen inside the building at the base of the old external nave wall in the south aisle chapel.

A large Anglo Saxon font also survives.

 

The added south aisle is not tied in to the main building but is simply butted up against the existing walls, with buttresses for stability. The original pent roof line can be seen in the east and west walls. On the parapet of the south wall and near the top of the west wall are 4 heads, much defaced by weathering. The east and south west windows in this aisle are early 13c. The taller early 14c window on the south wall, which cuts through the original roof line and into the added masonry, gives the date by which the roof was raised and pitched. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/74G74W The south doorway is 13c and much weathered.

 

The tower and spire may date from the 1300s. The tower has four triple-chamfered bell openings, their tracery and cusping now removed. The spire has tall broaches and one tier of lucarnes (dormers). The external west door under the tower was blocked and a new window created when the tower and spire were restored in 1896.

The building was originally thatched until the roof was leaded in c 1699, however the increased weight led to distortion of the chancel arch so the brick buttress on the north wall was built. Some of the sheets of 1699 lead have markings of shoe outlines, made with a sharp tool. Much of the stone coping from the parapet of the north wall is missing.

The church is entered through the north porch which was built in 1661. However, the outer heavily weathered arch is in the same style as that of the 13c north and south doors, and may be made from reused stone

the church was restored in 1840, and in 1885 the chancel was restored and fitted with oak and the floor relaid at a cost of £130: there are 150 sittings, 50 at that time being free

 

In the 19c the living was a vicarage, funded from 106 acres of glebe, with residence, in the alternate gift of the Haberdashers’ Company and Christ’s Hospital, The land belonged mostly to the Master and Fellows of Christ’s College, Cambridge and the owners of Langley Priory after its 16c dissolution, beginning with the Grays, the Cheslyns and ;ater the Shakepears. The college sold their interest in Diseworth in 1920

Two monuments to tragedy stand out - that of Anne Cheslyn who drowned herself in the Priory lake in 1823 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/03L204 ; and Trooper George Harris killed in action at Dewetsdorp, Orange River Colony in 1901 whose monument was erected "by Emily Lock in gratitude to his mother" www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/0HgCw7

The Lock family have 2 monuments of interest , one to young vicar Rev Herbert Lock 1902 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1RmX1r whose hope to erect a church in memory of his younger brother Joseph www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/775hP6 was thwarted by his own early death. - www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/470vh2 two windows inscribed the St Joseph Benefaction being given instead. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/N5pPK0 It may well be that Trooper Harris's mother nursed Rev Herbert Lock in his final year thus earning Emily Lock's gratitude (?) .

  

Picture with thanks - copyright Andrew H Jackson britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101068865-church-of-st-micha...

A virtuous woman, who has affection for her husband, should act in conformity with his wishes as if he were a divine being, and with his consent should take upon herself the whole care of his family. She should keep the whole house well cleaned, and arrange flowers of various kinds in different parts of it, and make the floor smooth and polished so as to give the whole a neat and becoming appearance. She should surround the house with a garden, and place ready in it all the materials required for the morning, noon and even sacrifices. Moreover she should herself revere the sanctuary of the Household Gods, for says Gonardiya, "nothing so much attracts the heart of a householder to his wife as a careful observance of the things mentioned above."

 

Towards the parents, relations, friends, sisters, and servants of her husband she should behave as they deserve. In the garden she should plant beds of green vegetables, bunches of the sugar cane, and clumps of the fig tree, the mustard plant, the parsley plant, the fennel plant, and the xanthochymus pictorius. Clusters of various flowers, such as the trapa bispinosa, the jasmine, the gasminum grandiflorum, the yellow amaranth, the wild jasmine, the tabernamontana coronaria, the nadyaworta, the china rose and others, should likewise be planted, together with the fragrant grass andropogon schænanthus, and the fragrant root of the plant andropogon miricatus. She should also have seats and arbours made in[98] the garden, in the middle of which a well, tank, or pool should be dug.

 

The wife should always avoid the company of female beggars, female buddish mendicants, unchaste and roguish women, female fortune tellers and witches. As regards meals she should always consider what her husband likes and dislikes, and what things are good for him, and what are injurious to him. When she hears the sounds of his footsteps coming home she should at once get up, and be ready to do whatever he may command her, and either order her female servant to wash his feet, or wash them herself. When going anywhere with her husband, she should put on her ornaments, and without his consent she should not either give or accept invitations, or attend marriages and sacrifices, or sit in the company of female friends, or visit the temples of the Gods. And if she wants to engage in any kind of games or sports, she should not do it against his will. In the same way she should always sit down after him, and get up before him, and should never awaken him when he is asleep. The kitchen should be situated in a quiet and retired place, so as not to be accessible to strangers, and should always look clean.

"People born in the Year of the Rabbit are articulate, talented, and ambitious. They are virtuous, reserved, and have excellent taste. Rabbit people are admired, trusted, and are often financially lucky. They are fond of gossip but are tactful and generally kind. Rabbit people seldom lose their temper. They are clever at business and being conscientious, never back out of a contract. They would make good gamblers for they have the uncanny gift of choosing the right thing. However, they seldom gamble, as they are conservative and wise. They are most compatible with those born in the years of the Sheep, Pig, and Dog." - Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco website

 

In the spirit of the season, even those of us who are not rabbits can strive to reach our inner rabbit and aspire to be a bit more rabbit-like this year... just be careful if you bring that rabbit to Malta because it may well end up on the menu with a nice garlic sauce... just sayin'. ;)

 

Happy week five!

  

German postcard by Verlag Herm. Leiser, Berlin-Wilm., no. 3237. Wanda Treumann in Das Teufelchen/The little devil (Rosa Porten, 1917).

 

Wanda Treumann (1883–1963) belonged to the most popular stars of German cinema before the first World War. Together with Viggo Larsen she also produced more than 80 films in the 1910s, in which she often played the female lead. As an actress, she played in nearly 90 films, but many of them were shorts.

 

Wanda Treumann was born Wanda Reich in Koclo (Koclin), Oberschlesien (Upper Silesia), Germany (now Koclin, Slaskie, Poland) in 1883 (some sources say 1888 or 1889). Wanda married Karl Treumann in 1903 in her native town. She came with him first to Leipzig and then to Berlin. In Berlin, she took acting lessons from Emanuel Reicher. She debuted on stage at the Trianon Theater in 1910 and performed as a stage actress on various Berlin stages, such as das Neue Theater and the Königgrätzer Theater. When performing at the Berliner Lustspielhaus, Wanda Treumann was discovered by the Danish actor and film pioneer Viggo Larsen. He introduced her to the cinema, where she would be his partner for years. From 1910 on, Treumann and Larsen performed together in films by the Vitascope-Gesellschaft such as the successful Sensation film Der Eid des Stephan Huller/The oath of Stephan Huller (Viggo Larsen, 1912). Many of these films were produced by Jules Greenbaum, scripted by Max Mack, and directed by either Walter Schmidthassler or Larsen himself. In 1912, together with Larsen and her husband, she founded her own production company Treumann-Larsen Film GmbH in Berlin. Officially, Wanda Treumann’s husband was indicated as the owner of the firm. As she said herself in Lichtbild-Theater, no. 41, 1912: "Then we – my master and partner in the film, Mr. Oberregisseur Viggo Larsen and me – became fully independent. And so we are now: for the production of our new 'Treumann-Larsen-series', we develop the negatives ourselves which we shoot in our own film studio with our own cast and crew."

 

From 1912 on, Wanda Treumann produced more than 20 films. Directors at Treumann-Larsen Film were a.o. Rosa Porten and Franz Eckstein. Distribution was taken care of by the Deutsche Kinematographen-Gesellschaft in Cologne. Examples of their films are Die Sumpfblume/The marsh flower (Viggo Larsen, 1913), Der Zirkusteufel/The Circus Devil (Viggo Larsen, 1913), and Die Ahnfrau/The ancestress (Viggo Larsen, 1914). After the outbreak of the First World War, production at Treumann-Larsen seems to have stopped. Larsen and Treumann performed in some films by the Messter Film company. From 1917 on, production at Treumann-Larsen was reactivated, with productions such as Wanda’s Trick (1918) and the four-part series film Die Frau mit den 10 Masken/The woman with 10 masks (Siegfried Dessauer, 1921) with Johannes Riemann. From the late 1910s on, Larsen solely focused on producing, leaving the male leads to such actors as Eugen Burg and Oscar Marion. When he left the company around 1921, Wanda Treumann continued on her own as producer and actress, keeping the name of the company. In 1921 she gave a guest performance as a witch in the Circus Busch in Hamburg. According to our sources, Die tugendhafte Tänzerin/The virtuous dancer (Robert Misch, 1922) was the last film in which Treumann performed and which was produced by the Treumann-Larsen Film GmbH. All in all, Wanda Treumann acted in over 80 films and (co-)produced some 24 films. Little was known about her death till recently. An editor of German Wikipedia recently added new information. After she retired from the film business in 1922, Wanda Treumann still appeared in plays for a while, for example in 1929 she played in 'Ein Geschlecht', but without achieving the broad impact of earlier years. After Karl Treumann's death in 1927, she married the publisher Hans Brenner in 1932, from whom she divorced again in 1937. In early 1938, Wanda Treumann, a Jew, emigrated with her son Herbert Treumann aboard the SS Esquilino via Port Said and Fremantle to Melbourne. She died in Melbourne in 1963 at the age of 79 and was buried in the Jewish sector of the Fawkner Memorial Park there.

 

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Elfgiva@web.de (IMDb), Filmportal.de (German), Wikipedia (German), and IMDb.

 

Tomorrrow, 18 October 2021, there will be an updated and revised blog on Wanda Treumann at European Film Star Postcards. Thank you, Elif Kaynakci, for drawing our attention to the new info!

Spanish postcard, no. 1012. Elissa Landi and Fredric March in The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. De Mille, 1932).

 

Austrian born actress and writer Elissa Landi (1904–1948) was (falsely) rumoured to be a descendant of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria. During the 1920s, she appeared in British, French, and German films before travelling to the United States. In Hollywood, she became a popular star of the 1930s.

 

According to several sources, Elissa Landi was born as Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt in Venice, Italy, in 1904. She was the daughter of an Austrian military officer and the stepdaughter of an Italian nobleman and she was the grand-daughter of Elizabeth of Bavaria, wife of the Emperor Franz Josef of Austria, according to her mother. This information was false. Marlene Pilaete at La Collectionneuse recently researched Landi's history and discovered new facts: "She was not Italian-born. In fact, her birth certificate states that she was born on the 6th of December 1904 in Hart, Austria and not in Venice. Her birth certificate also states that she was born as Maria Christina Emilia Antonia Carolina Francisca Anna Kühnelt. As you can see, there is no trace of the first name 'Elisabeth'. Regarding her mother, who claimed to be a daughter of Sissi and to be born in France in 1882, her birth certificate plainly states that she was born in Vienna in 1879 from Jewish parents." Elissa was raised in Austria and later she was privately educated in England and Canada. Her first ambition was to be a writer, and she wrote her first novel at the age of twenty. She took up the stage merely as a means to an end. She had always wanted to be a novelist and playwright, but she found the technique of the theatre a little difficult, so in order to overcome this joined a repertory company. She started with the 1924 London stage production The Storm. The play lasted for five months and she received rave reviews for her performances. This led to meaty leads in Lavendar Ladies and other plays. Film producers took notice of the photogenic beauty and Elissa starred in eight European films over the next two years. Her first film was the British production London (Herbert Wilcox, 1926), starring Dorothy Gish. Other films were the working-class love story Underground (Anthony Asquith, 1928) and the Swedish production Synd/Sin (Gustaf Molander, 1928). Her career didn't impress critics, though, until she played Anthea Dane in The Price of Things (Elinor Glyn, 1930).

 

Elissa Landi felt that she would make more headway in the USA, so in 1931 she travelled to New York to star in a Broadway production of A Farewell to Arms, written by Ernest Hemingway. Although the play flopped, Hollywood sat up and took notice of the young star. She was signed to a contract by Fox Film Corporation, and she soon appeared in Body and Soul (Alfred Santell, 1931) opposite Charles Farrell, and in Wicked (Alan Dwan, 1931), opposite Victor McLaglen. Next, she played the heroine in Cecil B. De Mille's biblical epic The Sign of the Cross (1932). The film was a smash hit but Elissa's ethereal, virtuous performance as the early-Christian heroine was overshadowed by Claudette Colbert who played the flashier role of the temptress Poppea. Elissa scored again in The Warrior's Husband (Walter Lang, 1933), a film about the intrigues and intricacies of the old Roman Empire. Charming was her comedy By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933) about a butler (Paul Lukas) who pretends to be a Lord to seduce a great lady (Landi), who is actually a maid. Hal Erickson writes at AllMovie: "Based on a play by Siegfried Geyer, By Candlelight is chock full of delightfully double-entendre pre-Code dialogue and dextrous directorial touches." In 1934 Landi co-starred with Robert Donat in the box office hit The Count of Monte Cristo (Rowland V. Lee, 1934). The next year saw her in an odd bit of casting as an Opera prima donna in Enter Madame (Elliott Nugent, 1935). The film follows the turbulent relationship between the Opera singer and a wealthy fan (Cary Grant) as her career frequently interferes with the quality of their off-again/on-again marriage. Then Landi's contract with Fox was abruptly cancelled in 1936 as a result of her refusal to accept a particular role. MGM signed her to a contract and after a couple of romantic dramas, she played the cousin of Myrna Loy in the very popular After the Thin Man (W.S. Van Dyke, 1936). Her screen career came to an end in 1937. She spent her last acting years on Broadway save for an unexpected return before the cameras in the low-budget war film Corregidor (William Nigh, 1943) for Poverty Row Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC). She became a naturalized US citizen in 1943, and dedicated herself to writing, producing six novels and a series of poems. In 1948 Elissa Landi died of cancer in New York, only 43 years old. She left behind her husband, Curtiss Thomas, and their four-year-old daughter, Carolyn.

 

Sources: Marlene Pilaete (La Collectionneuse - French), Operator99 (Allure), Hal Erickson (AllMovie), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Alchemy carries on a war against ignorance, intolerance and error. The chief stumbling blocks on the way to success in this crusade are the indifference of its own members and the world. Alchemy teaches that God is paternal, having concern for each individual, for each individual soul is an emanation from Him, made for good and not for evil. We must, therefore, persevere even as the ancient Brethren have done, notwithstanding all obstacles. We must resist temptation and be upright and virtuous, assisting in God's great plan for the eternal salvation of the universe. We must pass through the darkness to reach the Light.In alchemy, digestion is a-almost all the operations can be reduced to to the term digestion and to penetrate the metal bodies, and to render them similar them to herself- process in which gentle heat is applied to a substance over a period of several weeksThis is the first of the Philosophical Degrees which penetrate the inner mysteries of Alchemy. In all times truth has been concealed in symbols. At the time of John the Baptist, all the ancient philosophical and religious doctrines became intermingled on account of the various conquests which brought the nations together. John, who taught some creed older than Christianity, must have belonged to a sect of the Essenes, which was very similar to Christianity. It is from the Essenes that this Degree is sprung. The Essenes believed that Truth was scattered throughout the world among different sects. They believed it the duty of every man to gather these fragments of divine revelation into a harmonious whole to be used in spreading the right thinking and right living among mankind. Thus, they combine the thought of the Orient and the Occident, from which fact we draw the name of this Degree.The ceremonies of this Degree are interpreted by each individual according to his own faith for in no other way can Masonry retain its universal character. To all antiquity, Light was the type of Good while Darkness was Evil. Evil was a principle represented in demons and fallen angels, who first having fallen themselves, tempted others to do so, thus bringing sin into the world. The future life was to be obtained by purification and suffering, through the Redeemer who would overcome Evil. The belief was general that He was to be born of a virgin and suffer death. The Cross has been a sacred symbol of earliest antiquity among many nations, with various meanings. In this degree its interpretation was taken from the Egyptian hieroglyphic for life emananting from Deity, the eternal life for which we all hope. The Rose is the symbol of dawn, of the resurrection of life. Together the Rose and Cross represent the dawn of eternal life. In all religions there is a basis of Truth; in all there is a pure Morality. All that teaches the cardinal tenets of Alchemy we respect; all teachers and reformers of mankind we admire and revere. Alchemy also has her mission to perform. With her traditions reaching back to the earliest times, and her symbols dating further back than even the monumental history of Egypt extends, she invites all men of all religions to enlist under her banners and to war against evil, ignorance and wrong.

www.norfolkvalley.com/SitePages/Chapter%20of%20Rose%20Cro...

  

Psychopomps (from the Greek word ψυχοπομπός - psuchopompos, literally meaning the "guide of souls")[1] are creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife. Their role is not to judge the deceased, but simply to provide safe passage. Frequently depicted on funerary art, psychopomps have been associated at different times and in different cultures with horses, whip-poor-wills, ravens, dogs, crows, owls, sparrows, cuckoos, and harts. When seen as birds, they are often seen in huge masses, waiting outside the home of the dying.Classical examples of a psychopomp in Greek, Roman and Egyptian mythology are Charon,Vanth, Hermes, Hecate, Mercury and Anubis. In many beliefs, a spirit being taken to the underworld is violently ripped from its body.The most common contemporary example of a psychopomp appearing in popular culture is the Grim Reaper, which dates from 15th-century England and has been adopted into many other cultures around the world over the years; for instance, the shinigami in Japanese culture today[. In Jungian psychology, the psychopomp is a mediator between the unconscious and conscious realms. It is symbolically personified in dreams as a wise man or woman, or sometimes as a helpful animal. In many cultures, the shaman also fulfills the role of the psychopomp. This may include not only accompanying the soul of the dead, but also vice versa: to help at birth, to introduce the newborn child's soul to the world. This also accounts for the contemporary title of "midwife to the dying", or "End of Life Doula", which is another form of psychopomp work.In Filipino culture, dead relations function as psychopomps. When the dying call out to specific dead persons (e.g. parents, partners), the spirits of the latter are supposedly visible to the former. The spirits, who traditionally wait at the foot of the deathbed, fetch (Tagalog: sundô) the soul soon after death and escort it into the afterlife.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopomp

 

The “eternal return” is an idea for interpreting religious behavior proposed by the historian Mircea Eliade; it is a belief expressed through behavior (sometimes implicitly, but often explicitly) that one is able to become contemporary with or return to the “mythical age” – the time when the events described in one’s myths occurred.It should be distinguished from the philosophical concept of eternal return.According to Eliade,all the definitions given up till now of the religious phenomenon have one thing in common: Each has its own way of showing that the sacred and the religious life are the opposite of the profane and secular life.This concept had already been extensively formulated by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim in 1912,[3][improper synthesis?] Scholars such as Jack Goody gave evidence that it may not be universal.This sharp distinction between the sacred and the profane is Eliade’s trademark theory. According to Eliade, traditional man distinguishes two levels of existence: the Sacred, and the profane world. (Here "the Sacred" can be God, gods, mythical ancestors, or any other beings who established the world's structure.) To traditional man, things "acquire their reality, their identity, only to the extent of their participation in a transcendent reality".[6] Something in our world is only "real" to the extent that it conforms to the Sacred or the patterns established by the Sacred.

Hence, there is profane space, and there is sacred space. Sacred space is space where the Sacred manifests itself; unlike profane space, sacred space has a sense of direction:

In the homogeneous and infinite expanse, in which no point of reference is possible and hence no orientation is established, the hierophany [appearance of the Sacred] reveals an absolute fixed point, a center.Where the Sacred intersects our world, it appears in the form of ideal models (e.g., the actions and commandments of gods or mythical heroes). All things become truly "real" by imitating these models. Eliade claims: "For archaic man, reality is a function of the imitation of a celestial archetype."[8] As evidence for this view, in The Myth of the Eternal Return, he cites a belief of the Iranian Zurvanites. The Zurvanites believed that each thing on Earth corresponds to a sacred, celestial counterpart: for the physical sky, there is a sacred sky; for the physical Earth, there is a sacred Earth; actions are virtuous by conforming to a sacred pattern These are some other examples Eliade gives:"According to Mesopotamian beliefs, the Tigris has its model in the star Anunit and the Euphrates in the star of the Swallow. A Sumerian text tells of the 'place of the creation of the gods,' where 'the [divinity of] the flocks and grains' is to be found. For the Ural–Altaic peoples the mountains, in the same way, have an ideal archetype in the sky. In Egypt, places and nomes were named after the celestial 'fields': first the celestial fields were known, then they were identified in terrestrial geography."Further, there is profane time, and there is sacred time. According to Eliade, myths describe a time that is fundamentally different from historical time (what modern man would consider "normal" time). "In short," says Eliade, "myths describe breakthroughs of the sacred (or the ‘supernatural’) into the World".The mythical age is the time when the Sacred entered our world, giving it form and meaning: "The manifestation of the sacred ontologically founds the world".Thus, the mythical age is sacred time, the only time that has value for traditional man.According to Eliade, in the archaic worldview, the power of a thing resides in its origin, so that "knowing the origin of an object, an animal, a plant, and so on is equivalent to acquiring a magical power over them".The way a thing was created establishes that thing's nature, the pattern to which it should conform. By gaining control over the origin of a thing, one also gains control over the thing itself.Eliade concluded that, if origin and power are to be the same, "it is the first manifestation of a thing that is significant and valid".[The Sacred first manifested itself in the events of the mythical age; hence, traditional man sees the mythical age as the foundation of value.Eliade's theory implies that as the power of a thing lies in its origin, the entire world's power lies in the cosmogony. If the Sacred established all valid patterns in the beginning, during the time recorded in myth, then the mythical age is sacred time — the only time that contains any value. Man's life only has value to the extent that it conforms to the patterns of the mythical age.The religion of the Australian Aboriginals is supposed to contain many examples of the veneration paid to the mythical age. Just before the dawn of the first day, the Bagadjimbiri brothers emerged from the Earth in the form of dingos, and then turned into human giants whose heads touched the sky. Before the Bagadjimbiri came, nothing had existed. But when the sun rose, and the brothers began naming things, the "plants and animals began really to exist".[The brothers met a group of people and organized them into a civilized society. The people of this tribe — the Karadjeri of Australia — still imitate the two brothers in many ways:"One of the Bagadjimbiri stopped to urinate [...] That is the reason why the Australian Karadjeri stop and take up a special position in order to urinate. [...] The brothers stopped and ate a certain grain raw; but they immediately burst into laughter, because they knew that one ought not eat it so [...] and since then men imitate them whenever they have this grain cooked. The Bagadjimbiri threw a primal (a kind of large baton) at an animal and killed it—and this is how men have done it ever since. A great many myths describe the manner in which the brothers Bagadjimbiri founded all the customs of the Karadjeri, and even their behavior."The mythical age was the time when the Sacred appeared and established reality. For traditional man, Eliade argues, only the first appearance of something has value; (2) only the Sacred has value; and, therefore, (3) only the first appearance of the Sacred has value. Because the Sacred first appeared in the mythical age, only the mythical age has value. According to Eliade’s hypothesis, "primitive man was interested only in the beginnings … to him it mattered little what had happened to himself, or to others like him, in more or less distant times". Hence, traditional societies express a "nostalgia for the origins",a yearning to return to the mythical age. To traditional man, life only has value in sacred time.Eliade also explained how traditional man could find value for his own life (in a vision of where all events occurring after the mythical age cannot have value or reality); he indicated that, if the Sacred's essence lies only in its first appearance, then any later appearance must actually be the first appearance. Thus, an imitation of a mythical event is actually the mythical event itself, happening again — myths and rituals carry one back to the mythical age:"In imitating the exemplary acts of a god or of a mythic hero, or simply by recounting their adventures, the man of an archaic society detaches himself from profane time and magically re-enters the Great Time, the sacred time."Myth and ritual are vehicles of "eternal return" to the mythical age. Traditional man's myth- and ritual-filled life constantly unites him with sacred time, giving his existence value. As an example of this phenomenon, Eliade cites church services, by which churchgoers "return" to the sacred time of Scripture:

"Just as a church constitutes a break in plane in the profane space of a modern city, [so] the service celebrated inside [the church] marks a break in profane temporal duration. It is no longer today's historical time that is present—the time that is experienced, for example, in the adjacent streets—but the time in which the historical existence of Jesus Christ occurred, the time sanctified by his preaching, by his passion, death, and resurrection.Eliade attributes the well-known "cyclic" view of time in ancient thought to the eternal return. In many religions, a ritual cycle correlates certain parts of the year with mythical events, making each year a repetition of the mythical age. For instance, Australian Aboriginal peoples annually reenact the events of the "Dreamtime":"The animals and plants created in illo tempore by the Supernatural Beings are ritually re-created. In Kimberley the rock paintings, which are believed to have been painted by the Ancestors, are repainted in order to reactivate their creative force, as it was first manifested in the mythical times, at the beginning of the World."[18]

Every New Year, the people of Mesopotamia reenacted the Enuma Elish, a creation myth, in which the god Marduk slays Tiamat, the primordial monster, and creates the world from her body. They correlated the birth of the year with the mythical birth of the world.By periodically bringing man back to the mythical age, these liturgical cycles turn time itself into a circle. Those who perform an annual ritual return to the same point in time every 365 days: "With each periodical [ritual] festival, the participants find the same sacred time—the same that had been manifested in the festival of the previous year or in the festival of a century earlier."According to Eliade, some traditional societies express their cyclic experience of time by equating the world with the year:

"In a number of North American Indian languages the term world (= Cosmos) is also used in the sense of year. The Yokuts says 'the world has passed,' meaning 'a year has gone by.' For the Yuki, the year is expressed by the words for earth or world. [...] The cosmos is conceived [of] as a living unity that is born, develops, and dies on the last day of the year, to be reborn on New Year's Day. [...] At every New Year, time begins ab initio."The New Year ritual reenacts the mythical beginning of the cosmos. Therefore, by the logic of the eternal return, each New Year is the beginning of the cosmos. Thus, time flows in a closed circle, always returning to the sacred time celebrated during the New Year: the cosmos's entire duration is limited to one year, which repeats itself indefinitely.These ritual cycles do more than give humans a sense of value. Because traditional man identifies reality with the Sacred, he believes that the world can endure only if it remains in sacred time. He periodically revives sacred time through myths and rituals in order to keep the universe in existence. In many cultures, this belief appears to be consciously held and clearly stated. From the perspective of these societies, the world"must be periodically renewed or it may perish. The idea that the Cosmos is threatened with ruin if not annually re-created provides the inspiration for the chief festival of the California Karok, Hupa, and Yurok tribes. In the respective languages the ceremony is called 'repair' or 'fixing' of the world, and, in English, 'New Year'. Its purpose is to re-establish or strengthen the Earth for the following year or two .To some, the theory of the eternal return may suggest a view of traditional societies as stagnant and unimaginative, afraid to try anything new. However, Eliade argues that the eternal return does not lead to "a total cultural immobility". If it did, traditional societies would never have changed or evolved, and "ethnology knows of no single people that has not changed in the course of time". The mere fact that traditional societies have colonized new lands and invented new technologies proves that the eternal return hasn't suppressed their sense of initiative.Far from suppressing creativity, Eliade argues, the eternal return promotes it:"There is no reason to hesitate before setting out on a sea voyage, because the mythical Hero has already made [such a voyage] in the fabulous Time. All that is needed is to follow his example. Similarly, there is no reason to fear settling an unknown, wild territory, because one knows what to do. One has merely to repeat the cosmogonic ritual, whereupon the unknown territory (= 'Chaos') is transformed into 'Cosmos'."[According to Eliade, traditional man has endless creative possibilities because "the possibilities for applying the mythical model are endless".According to Eliade, this yearning to remain in the mythical age causes a "terror of history". Traditional man desires to escape the linear march of events, empty of any inherent value or sacrality. In Chapter 4 of The Myth of the Eternal Return (entitled "The Terror of History") and in the appendix to Myths, Dreams and Mysteries, Eliade suggests that the abandonment of mythical thought and the full acceptance of linear, historical time, with its "terror", is one of the reasons for modern man's anxieties. Traditional societies escape this anxiety to an extent, as they refuse to completely acknowledge historical time. Eliade describes the difference between ancient and modern man's reactions to history, as well as modern man's impotence before the terror of history, as follows:"In our day, when historical pressure no longer allows any escape, how can man tolerate the catastrophes and horrors of history—from collective deportations and massacres to atomic bombings—if beyond them he can glimpse no sign, no transhistorical meaning; if they are only the blind play of economic, social, or political forces, or, even worse, only the result of the 'liberties' that a minority takes and exercises directly on the stage of universal history?"We know how, in the past, humanity has been able to endure the sufferings we have enumerated: they were regarded as a punishment inflicted by God, the syndrome of the decline of the 'age,' and so on. And it was possible to accept them precisely because they had a metahistorical meaning [...] Every war rehearsed the struggle between good and evil, every fresh social injustice was identified with the sufferings of the Saviour (or, for example, in the pre-Christian world, with the passion of a divine messenger or vegetation god), each new massacre repeated the glorious end of the martyrs. [...] By virtue of this view, tens of millions of men were able, for century after century, to endure great historical pressures without despairing, without committing suicide or falling into that spiritual aridity that always brings with it a relativistic or nihilistic view of history".In general, according to Eliade, traditional man sees the eternal return as something positive, even necessary. However, in some religions, such as Buddhism and certain forms of Hinduism, the traditional cyclic view of time becomes a source of terror:

"In certain highly evolved societies, the intellectual élites progressively detach themselves from the patterns of traditional religion. The periodical resanctification of cosmic time then proves useless and without meaning. [...] But repetition emptied of its religious content necessarily leads to a pessimistic vision of existence. When it is no longer a vehicle for reintegrating a primordial situation [...] that is, when it is desacralized, cyclic time becomes terrifying; it is seen as a circle forever turning on itself, repeating itself to infinity."When the world becomes desacralized, the traditional cyclic view of time is too firmly entrenched to simply vanish. It survives, but in a profane form (such as the myth of reincarnation). Time is no longer static, as for the Karadjeri, for whom almost every action imitates a mythical model, keeping the world constantly in the mythical age. Nor is time cyclical but sacred, as for the ancient Mesopotamians, whose ritual calendar periodically returned the world to the mythical age. Rather, for some Dharmic religions, "time was homologized to the cosmic illusion (māyā)".For most of traditional humanity, linear history is profane, and sacredness lies in cyclic time. But, in Buddhism, Jainism, and some forms of Hinduism, even cyclic time has become profane. The Sacred cannot be found in the mythical age; it exists outside all ages. Thus, human fulfilment does not lie in returning to a sacred time, but in escaping from time altogether, in "a transcendence of the cosmos." In these religions, the "eternal return" is less like the eternal return in most traditional societies (for whom time has an objective beginning, to which one should return) and more like the philosophical concept of eternal return — an endless cosmic cycle, with no beginning and, thus, no inherently sacred time.

Although immensely influential in religious studies, the ideas behind Eliade's hypothesis of the eternal return are less well accepted in anthropology and sociology. According to the classicist G. S. Kirk, this is because Eliade overextends the application of his ideas: for example, Eliade claims that the modern myth of the "noble savage" results from the religious tendency to idealize the primordial, mythical age.Kirk claims that Eliade's relative unpopularity among anthropologists and sociologists also results from Eliade's assumption — essential for belief in the eternal return as Eliade formulates it — that primitive and archaic cultures had concepts such as "being" and "real", although they lacked words for them.Kirk thinks Eliade's theory of eternal return applies to some cultures. Specifically, he agrees that Australian Aborigines used myths and rituals "to bring the Dreamtime" (the Australian mythical age) "into the present with potent and fruitful results". However, Kirk argues, Eliade takes this Australian phenomenon and applies it to other cultures uncritically. In short, Kirk sees Eliade's theory of eternal return as a universalization of the Australian Dreamtime concept.As two counterexamples to the eternal return, Kirk cites Native American mythology and Greek mythology. The eternal return is nostalgic: by retelling and reenacting mythical events, Australian Aborigines aim to evoke and relive the Dreamtime. However, Kirk believes that Native American myths "are not evocative or nostalgic in tone, but tend to be detailed and severely practical".In many Native American mythologies, animals once acted like humans, during the mythical age; but they don't any longer: the division between animals and men is now a firm one, and according to Kirk, "that in itself reduces the effectiveness of myth-telling as a reconstitution" of the mythical age.As for Greek myths, many of them fall outside any sacred age of origins: this challenges Eliade's claim that almost all myths are about origins, and that people retell and reenact myths to return to the time of origins.Note that the classicist Kirk uses a much broader definition of "myth" than many professional folklorists. According to the classical definition used by folklorists, many Greek stories conventionally called "myths" are not myths, precisely because they fall outside a sacred age of origins.Even Wendy Doniger, a religious-studies scholar and Eliade's successor at the University of Chicago, claims (in the Introduction to Eliade's own Shamanism) that the eternal return does not apply to all myths and rituals, although it may apply to many of them.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_return_(Eliade)

A wingman is someone WINGMAN NEVER FLY ALONE. Meet people at your airport, on your flight, and at your destination.Make your trip worth remembering. Wingman is a role that a person may take when a friend needs support with approaching potential partners who is on the "inside" and is used to help someone with intimate relationships. In general, one person's wingman will help him or her avoid attention from undesirable prospective partners or attract desirable ones, or both

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingman_(social)

 

Attractive women rarely fly solo—or date men who do. Having a solid wingman by your side can mean the difference between the two of you sharing the night with a bevy of chicks or a basket of chicken wings.However, playing Goose to your buddy’s Maverick is about more than telling every woman he meets the highly exaggerated story about how he once rescued a nun from a burning building. (Because the building wasn’t actually on fire. And she wasn’t actually a nun. Though she did have a habit.) It’s also your job to entertain her friends while keeping your eyes peeled for potential rivals, whose wings might need to be clipped with a swift “Alpha Mike Foxtrot.” (Look it up.) Winging can also do wonders for your own confidence: It’s an opportunity to interact with women in a nothing-to-lose setting. Soar in your role, and you’ll gain a loyal wingman in return.Consider this your field-tested guide to being the ultimate wingman, forged from more than 2,000 nights at bars and clubs teaching men how to attract beautiful women. Abide by its rules the next time you’re out with your friends, and you’ll be armed and ready for any approach.

www.mensfitness.com/women/dating-advice/the-7-golden-rule...

 

getwingman.co/

Draguer avec un Wingman pour Closer plus Souvent.

www.artdeseduire.com/technique-de-drague/comment-draguer-...

Cemetery of Splendour (Thai: Rak Ti Khon Kaen) is a 2015 Thai drama film directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The plot revolves around a spreading epidemic of sleeping sickness. Spirits appear to the stricken and hallucination becomes indistinguishable from reality. The epidemic is used as a metaphor for personal and Thai societal issues.[1] It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3] It has been selected to be shown in the Masters section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival,[4] and will have its US premier at the 2015 New York Film Festival.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cemetery_of_Splendour

Unveiling the Badbea Monument 1912:

Speech by George Gunn, grandson of John Gunn of Badbea

 

EXTRACT No.1

(Transcribed from the John O'Groats Journal of 08/11/1912)

 

THE DONOR OF THE CAIRN

 

Mr Gunn said - Mr King, ladies and gentlemen, allow me on behalf of Donald Sutherland to return you his cordial thanks for your presence here today. You have come, as it were, "to add a stone to the cairn" of the people who once lived in Badbea. Over six years ago Mr Sutherland first visited this country. One of the special objects of his coming was to see the birthplace and scenes of the early days of his father, Alexander Sutherland, who was brought up in the home of John Sutherland, or "John 'Badbea'", as he was usally called, a man of exceptional piety and worth. Mr Alex. Sutherland afterwards emigrated to New Zealand in the ship "Oriental" in 1839, and prospered in the land of his adoption, but he never forgot the lessons he was taught at the knees of John Badbea, and was regarded as a man of strict religious views and a strong respecter of the Sabbath. He was honoured and respected while he lived, and deeply regretted when he died.

 

THE LASTING MONUMENT

 

Being myself deeply interested in the locality, which was the home of my forefathers and of many relatives, I gladly undertook the duties. Plans were drawn and estimates got, and after due consideration this was the one selected. It was intended to be a substantial cairn rather than one of ornamental beauty, soon to crumble away.

 

EXTRACT No.2

(Transcribed from the Northern Ensign of 05/11/1912)

 

GATHERING OF THE NAMES

 

This cairn is intended to stand for centuries and from its nature I think you will agree with me that it is likely to do so. It was built solid all through and the stones are bedded in cement to insure strength and stability, and in this respect it is an emblem of the people who lived here. It is about 22 feet height and fully 10 feet square at the base. The undertaking of the duty of seeing to its erection seemed simple enough although the inaccessible nature of the district made it not an easy task. But it was when I set out to get the names of the residents that I found the great difficulty. I went north, west and south, and only the sea prevented my going east, to find who were the residents. I got valuable help from friends. Mr Wm Sutherland, Helmsdale, a former resident; Mr Andrew Little; Mrs Jas. Sutherland, Latheronwheel, who was born and brought up here; Mrs Wm. Gunn, formerly of Ballachly, Dunbeath, a rare genealogist, and many others. But a limit had to be drawn. Members of the young generations had to be omitted with the daughters of families. One of the natives who died some time ago had, I found, 125 descendants - 68 grandchildren and 46 great grandchildren! One name I regret is omitted that of Robert Grant to whom I have referred already and I also regret one or two others. But I hope it may be possible to get their names added yet.

 

AN OLD WORLD COMMUNITY

 

They were 12 families in all and averaging numbers at six to each there would be fully 72 people resident in the township. Being so much secluded they constituted a happy community among themselves, forming as it were one large family. When one was in trouble the others suffered with them. To the widow and the fatherless their portion from the produce of the sea was set aside and divided equally with them. One chief source of sustenance was from the small patches dug with the "chaib", a kind of spade, near the brink of the rocks for there were no ploughs, and there was only one horse in the whole township, and but one watch - owned by John Badbea. The next source was from the sea for the fishing was then most productive, as many as 800 haddocks might be found in a house at one time for there was no outlet for them. Another source of adding to their incomes was by working on the estate. They had to walk two miles to their work, and were paid at the rate of 1s a day, and those were not the days of 8 hours work. If any felt aggrieved and went to work elsewhere he was a marked man. Another source of small additions to the family purse was in making flails of birch, bread-baskets, potato-baskets, cogs, which they sold at the Dunbeath market and sometimes in Sutherlandshire. One other source of income was the making of malt and home-brewed whisky and ale. The cave in which they brewed is at the foot of that burn over there. The remains of the peats are still there, and even the planks put there, I am told, by my own grandfather and his sons.

 

SMUGGLING STORIES

 

The great danger was that they would be caught by the guagers. But John Dow, the good innkeeper at Berriedale, was always ready to give them the hint when danger was abroad. On one occasion my aunt, now living in Latheron, when at Berriedale as a little girl of seven or eight, was told that the gaugers were there. Being fully sensible of the danger, she hurried by a short cut and was at Badbea ten minutes before the enemy was in sight. There was consternation in the home. The malt was hurriedly carried out and scattered on the hillside, and every trace was removed from the house. The gaugers walked up the hillside and at length found the malt scattered about. In their baffled rage they kicked the stuff about. But as soon as they were away willing hands gathered up the malt, brewed it into whisky, and sold it to pay the fees of the children at school. You must remember that making malt and whisky at that time was thought to be not a whit more sinful than fishing for a trout in a mill stream is considered today, but drunkenness and profane swearing were unknown.

 

There is one scene I must not omit. The boats are on the stormy sea out from Badbea, going up the Firth. The gale rages fiercely, but the fishermen are not afraid. They say, "Let us not fear, for John is in the barn." They knew that at that hour John Badbea was in his sanctuary, and that he remembered them in his prayers.

 

THE DREAM OF A LIFE

 

Mr David Sutherland, though born in New Zealand, had heard so much about this locality that it was the dream of his life to see it. He was greatly impressed with the isolation and seclusion of the spot, and remarked to me that a person living here could hardly fail to be pious, and that of all the places he had seen since he left New Zealand, there was no place he thought more of than this secluded but now desolate locality. When he visited it there were only two tenants, Widow Sutherland, now of Ousdale, and John Gunn, now of Langwell Gardens.

 

MEMORIES OF OTHER DAYS

 

Mr Sutherland on coming to the house of John Sutherland, his father's house, was deeply impressed. Its very stones seemed sacred to him and we left him alone for a time in solemn reverie. There was the fireplace at which John Sutherland sat; there the recess where his religious books and his Bible were kept; there where he held his prayer meetings; there the barn where he prayed; down there the ground that he tilled. There was the spot where Robert Grant stood and prayed; there where John Gunn stood when he led the singing. Is it any wonder that my friend took chips of the very stones from the home of John Badbea and his father! There was the home of his uncle David Sutherland so ingenious in making all the principal implements of use for the locality. There was the home of John Gunn and Marion Sinclair his wife and their family of five sons and six daughters - there was the house of Christy Sutherland and her sons George and Jamie noted as the fiddlers of the township. There was the home of George Duncan. Over yonder was the home of Gordon Grant. Across on yonder steep slope was the home of "the weaver" where children had to be tethered for fear of them falling over the cliffs. There was the Badbea burn where his father had played with the other bairns of the locality. Down below was the cave where the smuggling took place, and where John Gunn senior, perished in his 84th year in climbing up to the top with a keg of whisky on his back. Yonder was the spot where George Duncan fell over and was killed, and down there where the young son of Widow Duncan was brought up by John Gunn with ropes after falling over the rocks. Such were the scenes that Mr D Sutherland often pictured to himself in New Zealand. In fact Mr Sutherland knew far more of the locality and the people than natives residing at Berriedale. On leaving, he said he would like to erect some cairn or memorial of the good people who had lived here. And so sometimes after he gave instructions to me that a memorial cairn or some monument solid and substantial should be erected with tablets on ...

 

SCATTERED FAR AND WIDE

 

The people of Badbea and their descendants are now scattered far and wide, carrying with them the memories of the lessons taught there. They loved their home, they loved their Sabbath. Though primitive in their habits and methods of living, they were high-principled people, fearing God and keeping His day holy, and going to His house. As a proof of this, I may say that my own grandfather had to leave for refusing so to work on the Sabbath. Of the descendants of the little community, one is a pastor of a large church in England. Another is a missionary in far off New Hebrides. Another was the physician of Helmsdale, when death cut him off in the prime of his youth. Another lies in a missionary's grave on the shores of Livingstonia. Another in a soldier's grave in Burmah. Others having served their generation have fallen on sleep. While others remain, and they with their descendants occupy places of honour and responsibility. It is not gold, it is not wealth that makes the man. It is a noble and virtuous life which is far better than a stone cenotaph, and while this monument will last for ages, the character of a good man will last when earth shall have passed away ...

 

[Source of text:- www.badbeafamilies.com]

Vishnu (/ˈvɪʃnuː/; Sanskrit: Viṣṇu) is a popular Hindu deity, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Lord Narayana and Lord Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.

 

In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand.

 

Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.

 

The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.

 

The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, preserver or protector and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.

 

Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The traditional explanation of the name Vishnu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle" (cognate with Latin vicus, English -wich "village," Slavic: vas -ves), or also (in the Rigveda) "to enter into, to pervade," glossing the name as "the All-Pervading One". Yaska, an early commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta, (etymological interpretation), defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, "one who enters everywhere". He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, "that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu".

 

Adi Shankara in his commentary on the Sahasranama states derivation from viś, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Vishnu"). Adi Shankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viś means 'enter into'." Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: "The root vis means to enter. The entire world of things and beings is pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra 'whatever that is there is the world of change.' Hence, it means that He is not limited by space, time or substance. Chinmayananda states that, that which pervades everything is Vishnu."

 

SACRET TEXTS - SHRUTI & SMRITI

Shruti is considered to be solely of divine origin. It is preserved as a whole, instead of verse by verse. It includes the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads with commentaries on them.

 

Smṛti refers to all the knowledge derived and inculcated after Shruti had been received. Smrti is not 'divine' in origin, but was 'remembered' by later Rishis (sages by insight, who were the scribes) by transcendental means and passed down through their followers. It includes the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana which are Sattva Puranas. These both declare Vishnu as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe.

 

SHRUTI

 

VAISHNAVA CANON

The Vaishnava canon presents Vishnu as the supreme being, rather than another name for the Sun God, who also bore the name Suryanarayana and is considered only as a form of Vishnu.

 

VEDAS

In the Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Aranyaka (10-13-1), Narayana suktam, Lord Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words "paramam padam", which literally mean "highest post" and may be understood as the "supreme abode for all souls". This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam, or Vaikuntha. Rig Veda 1:22:20a also mentions the same "paramam padam". This special status is not given to any deity in the Vedas apart from Lord Vishnu/Narayana.[citation needed] Narayana is one of the thousand names of Vishnu as mentioned in the Vishnu Sahasranama. It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of - and beyond - the past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. This illustrates the omnipresent characteristic of Vishnu. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called "Preserver of the universe".

 

Vishnu is the Supreme God who takes manifest forms or avatars across various ages or periods to save humanity from evil beings, demons or Asuras. According to the extant Hindu texts and traditions, Lord Vishnu is considered to be resident in the direction of the "Makara Rashi" (the "Shravana Nakshatra"), which is about coincident with the Capricorn constellation. In some of the extant Puranas, and Vaishnava traditions, Vishnu's eye is considered to be situated at the infinitely distant Southern Celestial Pole.

 

Following the defeat of Indra and his displacement as the Lord of Heaven or Swarga, Indra asks Lord Vishnu for help and thus Lord Vishnu takes his incarnations or avatars to Earth to save mankind, thus showing his position as Supreme God to all of creation.

 

In the Puranas, Indra frequently appears proud and haughty. These bad qualities are temporarily removed when Brahma and/or Shiva give boons to Asuras or Rakshasas such as Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu and Ravana, who are then able to defeat Indra in wars between Devas and Asuras. The received boons often made Asuras virtually indestructible.

 

Indra has no option but to seek help from Vishnu. Indra prays before Vishnu for protection and the Supreme Lord obliges him by taking avatars and generating himself on Earth in various forms, first as a water-dweller (Matsya, fish), then as an amphibious creature (Kurma avatar or Tortoise), then as a half-man-half-animal (Varaha the pig-faced, human-bodied Lord, and Narasimha the Lord with lion's face and claws and a human body). Later, Vishnu appears as human beings (Vamana the short-heighted person), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and finally as Kalki for performing his task of protecting his devotees from demons and anti-religious entities.

 

Vishnu's supremacy is attested by his victories over those very powerful entities. It is further attested by the accepted iconography and sculptures of Vishnu in reclining position as producing Brahma emerging from his navel. Brahma the creator is thus created in turn by Vishnu out of his own person. Instead Vishnu takes various avatars to slay or defeat those demons. But it is to be noted that Vishnu also provided boons to Akupresura, a bear faced demon who was destroyed by Lord Shiva.

 

Vishnu's actions lowered Indra's ranking among Hindu deities and led to the ascendancy of Vishnu.

 

Few temples are dedicated to the Sun or Suryanarayana, nor indeed Indra, nor does Indra figure largely in the Hindu religion.

 

Indra is almost completely absent from the deities considered as the chief or most important deity.

 

RIGVEDA

In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps in killing Vritra and with whom he drinks Soma. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 are dedicated to Vishnu. In 7.99, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra.

 

The Rig Veda describes Vishnu as younger brother to Indra as Vamana. In Vaishnava canon the 'Vishnu' who is younger brother to Indra is identified as Vamana, Avatar of Vishnu, hence referred to as Vishnu by Vaishnavites. Vishnu is the Supreme God who lives in the highest celestial region, contrasted against those who live in the atmospheric or terrestrial regions. Vishnu is content with mere prayer, unlike almost all of the other gods who receive sacrificial offerings such as Havis, which is given using clarified butter, or Soma. Later foreign translators have view that Vedas place Indra in a superior position to Vishnu's Avatar of Vamana but in fact Vamana helps Indra by restoring his Kingdom.

 

An alternate translation is provided by Wilson according to Sayana:

 

When Thy (younger brother) Viṣṇu (Vamana) by (his) strength stepped his three paces, then verily thy beloved horses bore thee. (Rigveda 8:12:27)

 

Wilson mentions Griffith's possible translation as a footnote. However the following verse from Rigveda renders the above translation by Wilson more probable.

 

Him whose three places that are filled with sweetness, imperishable, joy as it may list them, Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the earth, the heaven, and all living creatures. (Rig veda 1:154:4)

 

Wilson offers an alternate translation for Rigveda 10:113:2:

 

Viṣṇu offering the portion of Soma, glorifies by his own vigor that greatness of his. Indra, the lord of heaven, with the associated gods having slain Vritra, became deserving of honour. (Rigveda 10:113:2)

 

This verse sees Vishnu as one who is glorified by his own strength, while Indra became deserving of honor after having slain Vritra only in association with other gods.

 

However Vishnu's praise for other gods does not imply worship. Wilson translates:

 

Viṣṇu, the mighty giver of dwellings praises thee, and Mitra and Varuna; the company of Maruts imitates thee in exhilaration. (Rigveda 8:15:9) (page 280)

 

The following verses show categorically Vishnu as distinguished from other gods in Rigveda.

 

He who presents (offering) to Viṣṇu, the ancient, the creator, the recent, the self-born; he who celebrates the great birth of that mighty one; he verily possessed of abundance, attains (the station) that is to be sought (by all). (Rigveda 1:156:2) (page 98)

 

No being that is or that has been born, divine Viṣṇu, has attained the utmost limit of thy magnitude, by which thou hast upheld the vast and beautiful heaven, and sustained the eastern horizon of Earth.(Rigveda 7:99:2) (page 196)

 

The divine Viṣṇu, the best of the doers of good deeds, who came to the pious instituter of rite (Indra), to assist (at its celebration), knowing (the desires of the worshiper), and present at the three connected period (of worship), shows favor to the Arya, and admits the author of the ceremony to a share of the sacrifice. (Rigveda 1:156:5) (page 99)

 

Jan Gonda, the late Indologist, states that Vishnu, although remaining in the background of Indra's exploits, contributes by his presence, or is key to Indra's success. Vishnu is more than a mere companion, equal in rank or power to Indra, or sometime the one who made Indra's success possible.

 

Descriptions of Vishnu as younger to Indra are found in only the hymns to Indra, but in a kathenotheism religion like that of the Rigveda, each god, for a time, is supreme in the mind of the devotee.

 

In the Rig Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is the Sun God, who also bears the name 'Suryanarayana'. By contrast, the 'Vishnu' referred to in 'Vishnu Purana', 'Vishnu Sahasranamam' and 'Purusha Sooktham' is Lord Narayana, the Consort of Lakshmi. Vaishnavites make a further distinction by extolling the qualities of Vishnu by highlighting his differences from other deities such as Shiva,[citation needed] Brahma or Surya.

 

THREE STEPS

Hymn 7.100 refers to the celebrated 'three steps' of Vishnu (as Trivikrama) by which he strode over the universe and in three places planted his step. The 'Vishnu Suktam' (RV 1.154) says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to men and the third is in the heights of heaven (sky). This last place is described as Vishnu's supreme abode in RV 1.22.20:

 

The princes evermore behold / that loftiest place where Vishnu is / Laid as it were an eye in heaven.(trans. Griffith)

 

Griffith's "princes" are the sūri, either "inciters" or lords of a sacrifice, or priests charged with pressing the Soma. The verse is quoted as expressing Vishnu's supremacy by Vaishnavites.

 

Though such solar aspects have been associated with Vishnu by tradition as well as modern-scholarship, he was not just the representation of the sun, as he moves both vertically and horizontally.

 

In hymns 1.22.17, 1.154.3, 1.154.4 he strides across the earth with three steps, in 6.49.13, 7.100.3 strides across the earth three times and in 1.154.1, 1.155.5,7.29.7 he strides vertically, with the final step in the heavens. The same Veda also says he strode wide and created space in the cosmos for Indra to fight Vritra. By his stride he made dwelling for men possible, the three forming a symbolic representation of the dwelling's all-encompassing nature. This nature and benevolence to men were Vishnu's enduring attributes. As the triple-strider he is known as Trivikrama and as Urukrama, for the strides were wide.

 

BRAHMANAS

The Brahmanas are commentaries on the Vedas and form part of the Shruti literature. They are concerned with the detail of the proper performance of rituals. In the Rigveda, Shakala Shakha: Aitareya Brahmana Verse 1 declares: agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus, tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā - Agni is the lowest or youngest god and Vishnu is the greatest and the highest God.

 

The Brahmanas assert the supremacy of Lord Vishnu, addressing him as "Gajapati", the one whom all sacrifices are meant to please. Lord Vishnu accepts all sacrifices to the demigods and allots the respective fruits to the performer In one incident, a demonic person performs a sacrifice by abducting the Rishis (sages), who meditate by constantly chanting God's name. The sacrifice is meant to destroy Indra. But the rishis, who worship Indra as a demigod, alter one pronunciation of the Veda Mantra, reversing the purpose of the sacrifice. When the fruit of the sacrifice is given and the demon is on the verge of dying, he calls to Vishnu, whom he addresses as Supreme Godhead and "the father of all living entities including himself".

 

Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 mentions Vishnu as the Supreme God. But in the Vaishnava canon, in different ages, with Vishnu in different avatars, his relationship with the asuras or demons, was always adversarial. The asuras always caused harm, while the sages and devas or celestial beings, did penance and called to Vishnu for protection. Vishnu always obliged by taking an avatar to vanquish the asuras. In the Vaishnava canon, Vishnu never gave or granted any boons to the asuras, distinguishing him from the gods Shiva and Brahma, who did. He is the only God called upon to save good beings by defeating or killing the asuras.

 

Sayana writes that in Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 the declaration agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus,tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā does not indicate any hierarchy among gods. Even in Rigveda Samhita, avama and parama are not applied to denote rank and dignity, but only to mark place and locality.

 

In Rigveda 1:108:9,: yadindrāghnī avamasyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ madhyamasyāṃ paramasyāmuta sthaḥ | i.e., in the lowest place, the middle (place), and the highest (place). Agni, the fire, has, among the gods, the lowest place; for he resides with man on the earth; while the other gods are either in the air, or in the sky. Vishnu occupies the highest place. The words avama and parama are understood as 'First' and 'Last' respectively. To support this claim, Sayana adduces the mantra (1,4. As'val. Sr. S. 4, 2), agnir mukham prathamo devathanam samathanam uttamo vishnur asit, i.e., Agni was the first of the deities assembled, (and) Vishnu the last.

 

In the Kausitaki Brahmana (7.1) Agni is called Aaradhya (instead of avama), and Visnu parardha(instead of parama),i.e., belonging to the lower and higher halves (or forming the lower and higher halves). The Vishnu Purana gives tremendous importance to the worship of Vishnu and mentions that sacrifices are to begin only with both the lighting of fire or 'Agni', pouring of sacrificial offerings to Vishnu in 'Agni' so that those offerings reach and are accepted by Vishnu. Worship of Vishnu through Yajnas (or Homams) and other rituals, will not achieve the desired result if Agni's role is neglected.

 

Muller says "Although the gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers, and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."

 

However this notion is not completely correct as per the following verses, which shows Rigveda describe one or more gods as subject to other god(s).

 

Him whose high law not Varuna nor Indra, not Mitra, Aryaman, nor Rudra breaketh, Nor evil-hearted fiends, here for my welfare him I invoke, God Savitar, with worship. (Rigveda 2.038.09)

 

I invite to this place, with reverential salutations, for my good, that divine Savita, whose functions neither Indra, nor Varun.a, nor Mitra nor Aryaman nor Rudra nor the enemies (of the gods), impede. (Rigveda 2.038.09)

 

SMRITI

 

VISHNU SMRITI

The Vishnu Smṛti, is one of the later books of the Dharmashastra tradition of Hinduism and the only one that focuses on the bhakti tradition and the required daily puja to Vishnu, rather than the means of knowing dharma. It is also known for its handling of the controversial subject of the practice of sati (self-immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre). The text was composed by an individual or group. The author(s) created a collection of the commonly known legal maxims that were attributed to Vishnu into one book, as Indian oral culture began to be recorded more formally.

 

BHAGAVATA PURANA

Vishnu is the only Bhagavan as declared in the Bhagavata 1:2:11 in the verse: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, translated as "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance as Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavan."

 

VISHNU PURANA

In the Vishnu Purana (6:5:79) the personality named Parashara Rishi defines six bhagas:

 

aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ

jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣannāḥ bhaga itīṇganā

 

Jiva Gosvami explains the verse in Gopala Champu (Pūrva 15:73) and Bhagavata Sandarbha 46:10:

 

jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejām.sy aśeṣataḥ

bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ

 

"The substantives of the word bhagavat (bhagavat-śabda-vācyāni) are unlimited (aśeṣataḥ) knowledge (jñāna), energies (śakti), strength (bala), opulence (aiśvarya), heroism (vīrya), splendor (tejas), without (vinā) objectionable (heyair) qualities (guṇādibhiḥ)."

 

SANGAM LITERATURE

Tamil Sangam literature (300BCE to 500CE) mentions mAyOn, or the dark one, as the supreme deity who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Paripadal 3 describes the glory of Thirumal in the most superlative terms.

 

Paripadal by kaduvan iLaveyinanAr:

 

"thIyinuL theRal nI poovinuL naaRRa nI kallinuL maNiyu nI sollinuL vaaymai aRaththinuL anbu nI maRaththinuL mainthu nI vEthaththu maRai nI boothaththu madhalu nI vencudar oLiyu nI thingaLuL aLiyu nI anaiththu nI anaiththinut poruLu nI"

 

The last line states that Lord Vishnu is the supreme deity who is the inner controller (Antaryamin) of the entire universe. This is one of the Lord's glories, which is first mentioned in Vedas and later propounded by Alwars in Prabhandams and Sri Vaishnavaite Acharyas in various commentaries

 

The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and Vishnu, Lakshmi is mentioned in Tamil works of literature of the Sangam era, including the epic Silapadikaram (book 11, lines 35–40):

 

āyiram viritteḻu talaiyuṭai aruntiṟaṟ

 

pāyaṟ paḷḷip palartoḻu tētta viritiraik kāviri viyaṉperu turuttit tiruvamar mārpaṉ kiṭanta vaṇṇamum

 

On a magnificent cot having a thousand heads spread out, worshipped and praised by many, in an islet surrounded by Kaveri with bellowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who has Lakshmi sitting in his chest.

 

THEOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES

The actual number of Vishnu's auspicious qualities is countless, although his six most-important "divine glories" are:

 

Jnana (Omniscience); defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;

Aishvarya (Sovereignty), derived from the word Ishvara which means unchallenged rule over all;

Shakti (Power or Energy), the capacity to make the impossible possible;

Bala (Strength), the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;

Virya (Vigour), the power to retain immateriality as the Supreme Spirit or Being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations;

Tejas (Splendor), which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by spiritual effulgence.

 

Other important qualities attributed to Vishnu are Gambhirya (inestimatable grandeur), Audarya (generosity), and Karunya (compassion). Natya Shastra lists Vishnu as the presiding deity of the Sṛngara rasa.

 

The Rigveda says: Vishnu can travel in three strides. The first stride is the Earth. The second stride is the visible sky. The third stride cannot be seen by men and is the heaven where the gods and the righteous dead live. (This feature of three strides also appears in the story of his avatar Vamana/Trivikrama.) The Sanskrit for "to stride" is the root kram; its reduplicated perfect is chakram (guņa grade) or chakra (zero-grade), and in the Rigveda he is called by epithets such as vi-chakra-māņas = "he who has made 3 strides". The Sanskrit word chakra also means "wheel". That may have suggested the idea of Vishnu carrying a chakra.

 

FIVE FORMS

In Shree Vaishnavism, another school dating from around the 10th century AD, Vishnu assumes five forms:

 

In the Para Form, Para is the highest form of Vishnu found only in Sri Vaikunta also called Moksha, along with his consort Lakshmi, (and Bhumi Devi and Nila devi, avatars of Lakshmi) and surrounded by liberated souls like Ananta, Garuda, and a host of Muktas (liberated souls).

In the Vyuha form, Vishnu assumes four forms, which exercise different cosmic functions and controls activities of living beings.

In the Vibhava form, Vishnu assumes various manifestations, called Vibhavas, more popularly known as Avataras from time to time, to protect the virtuous, punish evil-doers and re-establish righteousness.

In the Antaryami; "Dwelling within" or "Suksma Vasudeva" form, Vishnu exists within the souls of all living beings and in every substance.

In the Arcavatara or Image manifestation, Vishnu is visible and therefore easily approachable by devotees since Para, Vyuha, Vibhava and Antaryami forms can only be imagined or meditated upon because they are beyond our reach. Such images can be

Revealed by Vishnu, for example, a self-manifested (Swayambhu) icon (murti), e.g. The Mahavishnu Temple at Tirunelli, The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, The Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple, etc.; or

Installed by Devas or celestial beings such as such as Guruvayur Temple installed by Vayu; or

Installed by humans, and consecrated according to Vaishnava Agama shastras or scriptures such as Lord Jagannatha of Jagannath Temple (Puri) at Puri.

 

RELATIONS WITH OTHER DEITIES

 

SHIVA

The three gods of the Trimurti clan are inseparable and in harmony in view of their common vision and universal good. They are perfectly ideal in all respects.

 

Both Asuras and Devas played supportive roles in this story by keeping company with Vishnu in his incarnated forms. Hanuman is a vanara who is completely dedicated to Rama. He gives Vishnu company and obeys his command, while playing an important part in Rama's life. He is regarded in Vaishnava canon because it is through blessings that Hanuman is born. Thus, Hanuman, Vishnu's constant companion, with his idol appearing temples of Rama, Krishna and Narasimha, i.e. all of Vishnu's avatars, is considered by Vaishnavas.

 

Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.

 

LAKSHMI

Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth (also known as Maya). The Samvit (the primary intelligence/dark matter) of the universe is Vishnu, while the other five attributes emerge from this samvit and hence Maya or dark energy of the universe is Lakshmee is his ahamata, activity, or Vishnu's Power. This power of God, Maya or Shakti, is personified and has multiple names: Shree, Lakshmi, Maya, Vishnumaya or Mahamaya. She is said to manifest as Kriyashakti, (Creative Activity) and Bhutishakti (Creation). This world requires Vishnu's creativity. He therefore needs Lakshmi to always be with Him. Her various avatars as Lord Vishnu's consorts are Varahavatar (Bhoodevi) or Bhoomi, Ramavatar Seeta, Krishnavatar Rukmini)

 

SARASWATI & GANGA

According to Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Lord Vishnu had three wives Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga. Due to their constant quarrelsome nature among them. Once Ganga tried to be close with Vishnu, this rebuked Saraswati but Lakshmi tried to pacify them but faced a curse rather. As per the curse, Lakshmi to appear as Tulasi. Sarawati cursed Ganga to run as a river in the world and Saraswati was cursed to run as a river in the netherworld. After this, Lord Vishnu transformed and became Brahma and Shiva to pacify Saraswati and Ganga.

 

GARUDA

Vishnu's mount (Vahana) is Garuda, the eagle. Vishnu is commonly depicted as riding on his shoulders.

 

ICONOGRAPHY

According to various Puranas, Vishnu is the ultimate omnipresent reality and is shapeless and omnipresent. However, a strict iconography governs his representation, whether in pictures, icons, or idols:

 

He has four arms and is male: The four arms indicate his all-powerful and all-pervasive nature. His physical existence is represented by the two arms in the front, while the two arms at the back represent his presence in the spiritual world. The Upanishad Gopal Uttartapani describes the four arms.

The Shreevatsa mark is on his chest, symbolizing his consort Lakshmi.

He wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel around his neck and a garland of vaijayanti flowers (Vanamala). Lakshmi dwells in this jewel, on Vishnu's chest.

A crown adorns his head: The crown symbolizes his supreme authority. This crown sometimes includes a peacock feather, borrowing from his Krishna-avatar.

He wears two earrings: The earrings represent inherent opposites in creation — knowledge and ignorance; happiness and unhappiness; pleasure and pain.

He rests on Ananta, the immortal and infinite snake.

 

Vishnu is always to be depicted holding four attributes:

 

A conch shell or Shankha, named Panchajanya, is held by the upper left hand. It represents Vishnu's power to create and maintain the universe. Panchajanya represents the five elements or Panchabhoota – water, fire, air, earth and sky or space. It also represents the five airs or Pranas that are within the body and mind. The conch symbolizes that Vishnu is the primeval Divine sound of creation and continuity. It also represented as Om. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna avatara states that of sound vibrations, 'He is Om'.

The Chakra, a sharp, spinning, discus-like weapon, named "Sudarshana", is held by the upper right hand. It symbolizes the purified spiritualized mind. The name Sudarshana is derived from two words – Su, which means good, superior, and Darshana, which means vision or sight; together. The Chakra represents destruction of ego in the awakening and realization of the soul's original nature and god, burning away spiritual ignorance and illusion, and developing higher spiritual vision and insight to realize god.

A mace or Gada, named "Kaumodaki", is held by the lower right hand. It symbolizes that Vishnu's divine power is the source of all spiritual, mental and physical strength. It also signifies Vishnu's power to destroy materialistic or demonic tendencies (Anarthas) that prevent people from reaching god. Vishnu's mace is the power of the Divine within us to spiritually purify and uplift us from our materialistic bonds.

A lotus flower or Padma is held by the lower left hand. It represents spiritual liberation, Divine perfection, purity and the unfolding of Spiritual consciousness within the individual. The lotus opening its petals in the light of the Sun is indicative of the expansion and awakening of our long dormant, original spiritual consciousness in the light of god. The lotus symbolizes that god is the power and source from which the universe and the individual soul emerges. It also represents Divine Truth or Satya, the originator of the rules of conduct or Dharma, and Divine Vedic knowledge or Jnana. The lotus also symbolizes that Vishnu is the embodiment of spiritual perfection and purity and that He is the wellspring of these qualities and that the individual soul must seek to awaken these intrinsic Divine qualities from Vishnu by surrendering to and linking with Him.

 

To this may be added, conventionally, the vanamaala flower garland, Vishnu's bow (Shaarnga/Kodand) and his sword Nandaka. A verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama stotram states;vanamālī gadhī shārngī shanki chakri cha nandaki / shrīmān nārāyaņo vişņo vāsudevo abhirakşatu//; translation: Protect us Oh Lord Narayana who wears the forest garland,who has the mace, conch, sword and the wheel. And who is called Vishnu and the Vasudeva.

 

In general, Vishnu's body is depicted in one of the following three ways:

 

Standing on a lotus flower, often with Lakshmi, his consort, beside him on a similar pedestal.

Reclining on the coiled-up thousand-hooded Shesha Naga, with Lakshmi seated at his feet; the assemblage rests on the "Kshira Sagar" (ocean of milk). In this representation, Brahma is depicted as sitting on a lotus that grows out of Vishnu's navel.

Riding on the back of his eagle mount, known as Garuda. Another name for Garuda is "Veda atma"; Soul of the Vedas. The flapping of his wings symbolizes the power of the Divine Truth of Vedic wisdom. Also the eagle represents the soul. Garuda carrying Vishnu symbolizes the soul or jiva atma carrying the Super soul or Param atma within it.

 

AVATARS

Ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu are the most prominent: Apart from the most prominent incarnations there are believed to more.

 

The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:

 

Matsya, the fish that kills Damanaka to save the vedas and also saves Manu from a great flood that submerges the entire Earth.

Kurma, the turtle that helps the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality.

Varaha, the boar that rescues the Earth and kills Hiranyaksha.

Narasimha, the half-lion half human, who defeats the demon Hiranyakashipu.

Vamana, the dwarf that grows into a giant to save the world from King Bali.

Parashurama, "Rama of the battle axe", a sage who appeared in the Treta Yuga. He killed Kartavirya Arjuna's army and clan and then killed all the kshatriyas 21 times.

Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed the Demon King Raavan.

Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who takes part in the Mahabharata epic. Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme Avatar of Vishnu (Supreme Personality of Godhead) in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy.

Buddha, the ninth avatar of Vishnu.

Kalki, the tenth Avatar of Vishnu and said to be the harbinger of the end Kali Yuga. This avatar of Vishnu is yet to come.

 

Some versions of the above list include Hayagreeva among the Dashavataras while some include Buddha as ninth avatar of Vishnu. Another 22 avatars are given in Chapter 3, Canto 1 of the Bhagavata Purana, although it states that "the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water".

 

BEYOND HINDUISM

 

SIKHISM

Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism mentions Vishnu, one verse goes:

 

The true Vaishnaav, the devotee of Vishnu, is the one with whom God is thoroughly pleased. He dwells apart from Maya. Performing good deeds, he does not seek rewards. Spotlessly pure is the religion of such a Vaishnaav; he has no desire for the fruits of his labors. He is absorbed in devotional worship and the singing of Kirtan, the songs of the Lords Glory. Within his mind and body, he meditates in remembrance on the Lord of the Universe. He is kind to all creatures. He holds fast to the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. O Nanak, such a Vaishnaav obtains the supreme status.

 

BUDDHISM

While some Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate Vishnu as the custodian deity of Sri Lanka and protector of Buddhism. Lord Vishnu is also known as upulvan, or uthpala varna, meaning "Blue Lotus coloured". Some postulates that Uthpala varna was a local deity who later merged with Vishnu while another belief is that Uthpala Varna was an early form of Vishnu before he became a supreme deity in Puranic Hinduism. According to Chronicles "Mahawamsa", "Chulawamsa" and folklore in Sri Lanka, Buddha himself handed over the custodianship to Vishnu. Others believe that Buddha entrusted this task to Sakra(Indra) and Sakra delegated this task of custodianship to god Vishnu. In contrary to vedic Hinduism, in assimilation of Hindu god Vishnu into Sinhalese Buddhism, Vishnu becomes a mortal being and a Bodhisattva aspiring Buddhahood. Additionally, Vishnu is considered as the god of home and hearth representing mercy, goodness, order and stability. Many Buddhist and Hindu shrines are dedicated to Vishnu in Sri Lanka. In addition to specific Vishnu "Kovils" or "devalayas", all Buddhist temples necessarily house shrine rooms (Devalayas) closer to the main Buddhist shrine dedicated to Vishnu. John Holt in his groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Vishnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. According to Holt the veneration of Vishnu in Sri Lanka is evidence of a remarkable ability, over many centuries, to reiterate and reinvent culture as other ethnicities have been absorbed into their own. Though the Vishnu cult in Ceylon was formally endorsed by Kandyan kings in early 1700s, Holt states that vishnu images and shrines are among conspicuous ruins in the medieval capital Polonnaruwa. In Buddhist mythology, when Vishnu failed to traverse the universe in three steps, he was given the title "Ardha Vishnu (Half-Vishnu)" and when Vishnu banished demons from the Vaishali (Vishala)in India, he became "Mulu Vishnu or Whole Vishnu". The extreme significance of god Vishnu in Sinhala society is reflected in recitals of the traditional "Offerings to dwarfs and crossing the door frame (bahirwayanta dola pideem saha uluwahu peneema)" that starts with Sri Vishnu invocation.In the recitals,mentioning of the aspiring Buddhahood of Vishnu which is of prime importance to Buddhists and wishes for him to live five thousand and more years highlight the central role of Vishnu in the psyche of Sri Lankan Buddhists.

 

OTHERS

James Freeman Clarke, Richard Leviton, James Cowles Prichard, and others have noted the similarities between Vishnu and Ancient Egyptian God Horus.

 

During an excavation in an abandoned village of Russia in the Volga region, archaeologist Alexander Kozhevin excavated an ancient idol of Vishnu. The idol dates from between the 7th and 10th centuries. In the interview Kozhevin, stated that, "We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research"

 

THOUSAND NAMES OF VISHNU

Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the Vishnu Sahasranama, (Vishnu's thousand names) from within the larger work Mahabharata. The character Bheeshma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising him (Vishnu) as the supreme god. These Sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama results in spiritual well-being and a greater awareness of God.

 

The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes).

 

According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are

 

Vasudeva

Sankarshana

Pradyumna

Anirudha

Keshava

Narayana

Madhava

Govinda

Vishnu

Madhusudana

Trivikrama

Vamana

Sridhara

Hrishikesha

Padmanabha

Damodara

Purushottama

Achyuta

Narasimha

Janardana

Hari

Krishna

Adhokshaja

 

Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)

 

WIKIPEDIA

"Chinese socialism is founded upon Darwin and the theory of evolution." Mao Tse-tung (1893 – 1976). Kampf um Mao's Erbe (1977.)

 

To people who hate the truth, the truth looks like hate...

 

Atheism and its humanist ethics.

 

Atheism proved itself, in the 20th century, to be the most horrendous, barbaric, murderous and criminal ideology the world has ever experienced. Many millions suffered and died at the hands of this hideous ideology, they must never be forgotten.

 

The promised atheist/socialist utopia ... the idea of an atheist Heaven on Earth resulted in a diabolical Hell on Earth.

 

Who, but a complete idiot would want to resurrect such a monstrous, no-hope philosophy?

 

The so-called 'new' (improved?) atheists try to disassociate themselves from the disastrous record of the world's first ever, official, atheist states of the 20th century's, great, atheist experiment.

But there is no other example to go by.

 

They even try to blame the persecution and brutality on communism, and claim it had nothing to do with atheism.

But communism, per se, is an economic system, there is no compelling reason why it should be brutal, or why it should hate religion, or why it should destroy churches and persecute and murder millions of Christians and people of other faiths.

That is the hallmark of atheism, not communism.

 

Of course communism is a fatally flawed, economic system which thrives on envy and class hatred, but that is not the same as specifically hating God and religion. That is the unique trait of atheism.

If the communists weren't also atheists, why would they have outlawed and attacked all religion?

 

Lenin was a self-declared atheist who, together with his Soviet Bloc, atheist successors, tried to eliminate religion with brutal repression and wholesale murder.

 

Thus, history tells us that the atheist experiment has been tried and, from beginning to end, was a brutal and diabolical failure. The new atheists may say: “it's nothing to do with us gov.”

But who wants to risk such devastation again, by giving the atheist ideology another chance? Only a complete fool would want to take that gamble.

 

However, it was only to be expected and it could easily have been predicted beforehand, that the inevitable result of atheism's lack of an absolute ethical or moral yardstick would be to wreak havoc on the world - and that is exactly what it did. .

 

Atheism hasn't changed at all in that respect, because it can't.

Atheism and secular humanism categorically reject the concept of intrinsic right and wrong. Therefore, the ephemeral values, moral relativism and situational ethics of atheism are the ideal recipe for abuse.

 

We can see from the belligerent, intolerant, rabble rousing rhetoric and anti-religious ranting of today's militant, new atheist zealots, that the leopard hasn't really changed its spots. Let no one doubt it - atheism has an horrendous and hideously, barbaric record... we must never let it happen again.

 

Moreover, it is a singularly perverse ideology that motivates its adherents to waste so much time of the only life they believe they have, trying to convince everyone else that they are doomed to eternal oblivion. The ultimate reward for atheists is to never know if they got it right, only if they got it wrong.

 

There is certainly no moral, rational or scientific defence for the atheist cult, past or present.

 

But what do atheists themselves say about their ethical and moral values?

 

They claim that they DO have an ethical and moral yardstick, and cite the Humanist Manifesto as representing the ethics and moral code of atheism.

 

So is it really true?

 

The Humanist Manifesto may look good at first glance, but like most proposals atheists have come up with, when examined closely, it is full of holes.

 

Problems, problems ....

 

1. You don’t have to sign up to the Humanist Manifesto to be an atheist.

 

2. Even if you do sign up to it, there is no incentive to follow it. No reward for following it, and no penalty for not following it. You are not going to be barred from being an atheist because you reject or break the rules of the Humanist Manifesto. It is not enforced in any way.

 

3. It borrows any desirable ethics, it may appear to have, from Judeo-Christian values, there is no atheist, moral code per se.

 

Atheism is the ideology of naturalism. Genuine, naturalist, ethical values are basically the Darwinian, ‘law of the jungle’. Progressive evolution and improvement through the survival of the fittest/strongest, and the elimination of any who are weaker or unable to adapt - nature red in tooth and claw, In societal terms - the most powerful, wealthiest, most influential, most cunning, dominate and rule for their own benefit. Anything else in the Humanist Manifesto is actually a contradiction of social Darwinism and naturalism. Any socially desirable or compassionate ethics, which may be included in the H.M, are wholly inconsistent with atheist, materialist, naturalist, and evolutionist ideology.

 

4. By far the biggest flaw in the Humanist Manifesto is the fact that it is entirely ephemeral. It advocates 'situational ethics' and 'moral relativism'. And that major flaw makes it a worthless scrap of paper.

 

Why?

 

Because .....

 

Situational ethics is based on what people want or find desirable, not on any adherence to what is intrinsically right or wrong.

 

A good, example of humanist style, situational ethics in practice, is the gender selection abortions now being blatantly carried out in abortion clinics in Britain. It primarily discriminates against female babies, who are especially targeted for killing, because most of the parents who want it, prefer to have boys for cultural reasons.

 

The abortion clinics openly admit to it happening, and claim it is legal.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/pro-choice-aborti...

The abortion act of 1967 certainly did not intend that, and the Government admits it was not intended.

 

So we have a Government that knows it is going on, it also knows it is not what the abortion law intended, yet it is still reluctant to do anything about it.

Why?

Because it is wedded to the secularist concept of situational ethics, i.e. whatever people want, people get. Any concept of intrinsic right and wrong takes a back seat, to whatever is the spirit of the times. And that is an example happening right now, in a so-called democracy.

 

The Nazi persecution of the Jews and other races they considered ‘inferior’ became popular through brainwashing of the public, and was eventually supported by a good proportion of the public.

 

So, Hitler cleverly used situational ethics to do what he had persuaded people was right and good.

 

All in all, the Humanist Manifesto and its purported ethical values, is a very dangerous document.

 

It gives carte blanche to any so-called, ethical values, if they become the fashionable or consensus opinion. Whatever people want, people get, or even worse, what a government decides the people want, they can claim they are justified in giving them.

 

And for that reason it would not stop; a Lenin, a Stalin, a Hitler, a Mao, or a Pol Pot, even if they had signed up 100% to abide by the Humanist Manifesto.

 

In fact, the 20th century, atheist tyrants even called their regimes ... Democratic People's Republics. They claimed they were representing people's wishes, and were carrying out their 'situational ethics' on behalf of the people.

 

What about the common, atheist tactic of highlighting alleged crimes and wrongdoing committed by Christians?

 

The point is ....

 

Christians who do wrong, go against the teachings of Christianity. If they blatantly and deliberately go against the intrinsic moral values and teaching of Christianity, they have no right to continue to call themselves Christian. And they can even be excommunicated by the Church, if they fail to admit their actions are wrong.

And, without sincere repentance, they don't get to go to the Christian Heaven.

 

End of story!

 

Atheists who do wrong, go against nothing, unless it is against the law of the land.

You cannot be chucked out of atheism for doing wrong, you cannot even be censored by atheism for doing wrong, it is a complete free for all, you can simply act with impunity according to your own desires and opinion.

 

The atheist 'heaven' is right here on earth, and far from being a 'heaven' it is an horrendous nightmare. Anyone with any sense would call it a hell.

 

And even the law of the land need not stop atheists .....

 

Whenever, atheists get into a position of power they change the law to suit their situational ethics. Then they can do whatever they want.

 

That is what Stalin and all the other atheist tyrants did in their people's DEMOCRATIC republics.

 

And the atheist thirst for blood does not cease when they live in the so-called 'real' democracies, it is simply sanitised by atheist inspired, situational ethics.

 

They use their 'humanist' ethics to change the law, accompanied by 'newspeak' and propaganda.

 

So that what was once considered evil, is not only made legal, it is actually turned around so it is considered a virtue.

 

The wholesale and brutal slaughter, of the most vulnerable in society ... millions of unborn babies, is callously shrugged off as necessary, for 'free choice'.

 

Of course murder is always a free choice for the killer, only the dangerous, warped, atheist style, situational ethics could value a killer's free choice to kill, above the victim's right not to be killed, and make murder legal.

 

The callous slaughter of the unborn, which in most cases, was not even put to the people democratically (it was imposed on them by a handful of secularist politicians, lawyers and bureaucrats), is accompanied by the usual atheist lies and devious propaganda.

 

Doctors acting illegally over abortions get off scot-free ....

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2609950/Scandal-doctors-...

 

So the secularists simply laugh off democracy, it doesn't stop them, if it gets in the way of their ideology, they just ignore it, like they do with science.

 

"Democratic societies" how do they impact on situational ethics?

We see, in practice, that democracy is treated with utter contempt .....

Why ask the people? They are apparently not qualified to consider such difficult matters of right and wrong, like whether babies should live or die? You can't give those ignorant peasants, plebs and rednecks a vote on it, ... leave it to the secularist EXPERTS and their wonderful, situational ethics based on 'reason' and 'science'.

 

Contrary to the scientific facts, we are told by atheist moralists that the unborn baby is not fully human, it is only a blob of jelly, which has, and deserves, NO rights.

 

And we are also told, anyone who supports the rights of the unborn babies not to be brutally ripped limb from limb is evil, because they are interfering with free CHOICE.

 

So the atheist leopard certainly hasn't changed its lying, devious, brutal and murderous spots, even in so-called 'real' democratic societies. It simply legalises and sanitises evil and murder and makes it appear good.

 

Then it can claim atheism is extremely ethical and virtuous, with its own, beautiful, humanist code of morals and conduct .... Yeah Right!

Remind you of anyone?

Some even have the barefaced audacity to describe their situational ethics with the slogan “Good without God”.

 

Always remember ....

Atheist/humanist so-called ethics and morals depend entirely on OPINION, and that is why they are so extremely dangerous.

Atheism has no moral or ethical yardstick, no concept of God-given, human rights ... only OPINION.

But WHOSE opinion?

My opinion?

Your opinion?

Maybe Richard Dawkins’ opinion?

Or Christopher Hitchens’ opinion?

Or Sam Harris's opinion?

Or how about Barrack Obama's opinion?

Or why not STALIN'S or POL POT'S opinion?

So don't be fooled by the relentless chorus from the 'new' atheists and humanists, that atheism has its own code of ethics and morals, their code of ethics is based on the OPINION of one or more of the following ... whoever (singly, or as a pressure group or lobby) is: the most vociferous, the most charismatic, the most cunning, the most influential, the most powerful, the most devious, the wealthiest, the most successful propagandist, the most persuasive, or the most brutal.

www.flickr.com/photos/101536517@N06/14797003191

_________________________________________

…civil law cannot contradict right reason without losing its binding force on conscience. Every humanly-created law is legitimate insofar as it is consistent with the natural moral law, recognized by right reason, and insofar as it respects the inalienable rights of every person. —St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 95, a. 2.

 

EUbabel. The shocking occult symbolism of the European Union.

peuplesobservateursblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/23/togo-all...

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with Fast Company Contributor E.B. "Liza" Boyd about Internet policy - during a swing through Silicon Valley - during the Virtuous Circle Conference on October 10, 2016, at the Rosewood Sandhill Hotel in Menlo Park, California. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Phnom Penh - Blessed Bird Vendor at the Riverfront Shrine in Phnom Penh.

 

She holds a cage of birds (sparrows and similar). For a dollar you can purchase two and perhaps make a wish then you let the birds go. It is also considered virtuous to purchase an animal and then set it free.

Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.

Aristotle

British postcard in the Film Partners Series, London, no. P 199. Photo: Universal. James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan in Next Time We Love (Edward H. Griffith, 1936).

 

American actor James Stewart (1908-1997) is among the most honoured and popular stars in film history. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart had a film career that spanned over 55 years and 80 films.

 

James Maitland Stewart was born in 1908, in Indiana, Pennsylvania. Stewart started acting while studying at Princeton University. After graduating in 1932, he began a career as a stage actor, appearing on Broadway and in summer stock productions. In 1935, he signed a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The studio did not see leading man material in Stewart, but after three years of supporting roles and being loaned out to other studios, he had his big breakthrough in Frank Capra's ensemble comedy You Can't Take It with You (1938). Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, the film is about a man (Stewart) from a family of rich snobs who becomes engaged to a woman (Jean Arthur) from a good-natured but decidedly eccentric family. The following year, Stewart got his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an idealised and virtuous man who becomes a senator in Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939), again opposite Jean Arthur. He won the Academy Award for his work in the screwball comedy The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940), which also starred Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. A licensed amateur pilot, Stewart enlisted as a private in the Army Air Corps as soon as he could after the United States entered the Second World War in 1941. Although still an MGM star, his only public and film appearances in 1941—1945 were scheduled by the Air Corps. After fighting in the European theater of war, he had attained the rank of colonel and had received several awards for his service. He remained in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and was promoted to brigadier general in 1959. He retired in 1968 and was awarded the United States Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

 

After the war, James Stewart had difficulties in adapting to changing Hollywood and even thought about ending his acting career. He became a freelancer, and had his first postwar role was as George Bailey in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) with Donna Reed. Although it earned him an Oscar nomination, the film was not a big success at first. It has gained in popularity in the decades since its release and is considered a Christmas classic and one of Stewart's most famous performances. In the 1950s, Stewart experienced a career revival by playing darker, more morally ambiguous characters in Westerns and thrillers. Some of his most important collaborations during this period were with directors Anthony Mann, with whom he made eight films including Winchester '73 (1950), The Glenn Miller Story (1954) and The Naked Spur (1953), and Alfred Hitchcock, with whom he collaborated on Rope (1948), Rear Window (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), and Vertigo (1958) with Kim Novak. Vertigo was ignored by critics at its time of release, but has since been reevaluated and recognised as an American cinematic masterpiece. His other films in the 1950s included the Broadway adaptation Harvey (Henry Koster, 1950) and the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959), both of which landed him Oscar nominations. He was one of the most popular film stars of the decade, with most of his films becoming box office successes. Stewart's later Westerns included The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Cheyenne Autumn (1964), both directed by John Ford. He signed a lucrative multi-movie deal with 20th Century-Fox in 1962 and appeared in many popular family comedies during the decade. After a brief venture into television acting, Stewart semi-retired by the 1980s, although he remained a public figure due to the renewed interest in his films with Capra and Hitchcock and his appearances at President Reagan's White House. He received many honorary awards, including an honorary Academy Honorary Award and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, both in 1985. Stewart remained unmarried until his 40s and was dubbed "The Great American Bachelor" by the press. In 1949, he married former model Gloria Hatrick McLean. They had twin daughters, and he adopted her two sons from her previous marriage. The marriage lasted until McLean's death in 1994. James Stewart died of a pulmonary embolism three years later in Beverly Hills.

 

Source: Wikipedia.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

2 Thessalonians 2:7-12: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

premier test de modélisation 3D combiné avec PS

"As Jesus was walking on he saw a man named Matthew sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.

While he was at dinner in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’"

– Matthew 9:9-13.

 

Mural from the Cathedral of St Matthew in Washington DC.

Frank Bernard Dicksee (1853-1928),

 

A brave medieval knight saves his fair, imperiled maiden in this virtuously illustrative tale executed with textural fluidity and rich orchestrations of color. A British painter and illustrator who studied in the studio of his father, Thomas Francis Dicksee is a well-regarded artist belonged to London's Royal Academy.

 

It is quite possibly that this story is connected to Lady Morgan le Fay. In one of the Arthurian Tales evolving around her, she sends one of her Maids” ( a half-sister?, or possibly Lady Bertilak? ) with a letter warning the King of an impending attack. The maids” Carriage is ambushed by Highwaymen who tie up and strip the lady of her valuable jewelry and heavy purse. The highwaymen are actually in the service of the green knight, who is after the letter she carries, not wishing the king to be alerted. Sir Gawain, sent to follow the emissary’s carriage, comes upon the green knight searching the haplessly bound lady, for the message and an epic battle ensues.

 

***************************

All rights and copyrights observed by Chatwick University, Its contributors, associates and Agents

No Part of this can reprinted, duplicated, or copied be without the express written permission and approval of Chatwick University.

 

I was going to be virtuous! No new dolls until I sorted! No more fabric until I had sewn 5 cuts of fabric. Literally 2 hours later....

Up betimes to catch the dawn, always feels virtuous!

V. 50

 

GOD IS NOT VIRTUOUS

 

God is not virtuous. Out of Him virtue streams,

As water from the Sea and from the Sun sun-beams.

 

---

from The Cherubinic Wanderer by Angelus Silesius

 

--

Halberstadt, Triumphkreuzgruppe

I remembered very little at Penshurst.

 

A painted font, lots of places named Leicester.

 

A nice pub.

 

The Leicester Arms, of course.

 

So, a day trip to the area and so a revisit. I checked the website to see if it would be open, it assured me it would be open though all daylight hours.

 

A bold claim.

 

Anyway, it was.

 

I came back because my thinking if the landed gentry were rich enough to have their own chapel, there were probably monuments and tombs worth looking at.

 

I was right, and indeed the tombs and memorials were of the highest quality.

 

I was the only person here, having walked through Leicester Square, under the alms houses into the churchyard.

 

The painted font is still here, but so much more to enjoy.

 

-----------------------------------------------

 

A large sandstone church of nave, aisles, chancel and chapels that was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1864. It stands in an excellent position set back from the street in a large well-kept churchyard. The tower is of three stages with four pinnacles strangely set well back from the corners. Inside it is obvious that there have been many rebuildings and repairs, leaving a general character of the Victorian period. The good chancel screen is by Bodley and Garner and dates from 1897. Whilst it is well carved the florid design is more suited to a West Country church than to the Garden of England. The fifteenth-century font has been painted in bold colours in a way that can never have been imagined when it was new! Nearby is the Becket window designed by Lawrence Lee in 1970. It is quite unlike any other window in Kent and has an emphasis on heraldry - the figure of Becket and three knights are almost lost in the patchwork effect. Under the tower is the famous Albigensian Cross, a portion of thirteenth-century coffin lid with the effigy of a woman at prayer. The south chapel, which belongs to Penshurst Place, was rebuilt by Rebecca in 1820 and has a lovely painted ceiling. It contains some fine monuments including Sir Stephen de Pencester, a damaged thirteenth-century knight. Nearby is the large standing monument to the 4th Earl of Leicester (d. 1704) designed by William Stanton. It is a large urn flanked by two angels, above which are the heads of the earls children's floating in the clouds!

 

www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Penshurst

 

-------------------------------------------

 

PENSHURST.

THE next parish eastward from Chidingstone is Penhurst, called in the Textus Roffenfis, Pennesherst. It takes its name from the old British word Pen, the height or top of any thing, and byrst, a wood. (fn. 1) It is called in some antient records, Pen cestre, and more vulgarly, Penchester, from some sortified camp or fortress antiently situated here.

 

There is a district in this parish, called Hallborough, which is within the lowy of Tunbridge, the manerial rights of which belong to Thomas Streatfeild, esq. and there is another part of it, comprehending the estate of Chafford, which is within the jurisdiction of the duchy court of Lancaster.

 

THIS PARISH lies in the Weald, about four miles Southward from the foot of the sand hills, and the same distance from Tunbridge town, and the high London road from Sevenoke. The face of the country is much the same as in those parishes last described, as is the soil, for the most part a stiff clay, being well adapted to the large growth of timber for which this parish is remarkable; one of these trees, as an instance of it, having been cut down here, about twenty years ago, in the park, called, from its spreading branches, Broad Oak, had twenty-one ton, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber in it. The parish is watered by the river Eden, which runs through the centre of it, and here taking a circular course, and having separated into two smaller streams, joins the river Medway, which flows by the southern part of the park towards Tunbridge. At a small distance northward stands the noble mansion of Penshurst-place, at the south west corner of the park, which, till within these few years, was of much larger extent, the further part of it, called North, alias Lyghe, and South parks, having been alienated from it, on the grounds of the latter of which the late Mr. Alnutt built his seat of that name, from whence the ground rises northward towards the parish of Lyghe. Close to the north west corner of Penshurst-park is the seat of Redleaf, and at the south west corner of it, very near to the Place, is the village of Penshurst, with the church and parsonage. At a small distance, on the other side the river, southward, is Ford-place, and here the country becomes more low, and being watered by the several streams, becomes wet, the roads miry and bad, and the grounds much covered with coppice wood; whence, about a mile southward from the river, is New House, and the boroughs of Frendings and Kingsborough; half a mile southward from which is the river Medway; and on the further side of it the estate of Chafford, a little beyond which it joins the parish of Ashurst, at Stone cross. In a deep hole, in the Medway, near the lower end of Penshurst-park, called Tapner's-hole, there arises a spring, which produces a visible and strong ebullition on the surface of the river; and above Well-place, which is a farm house, near the south-east corner of the park, there is a fine spring, called Kidder's-well, which, having been chemically analized, is found to be a stronger chalybeate than those called Tunbridge-wells; there is a stone bason for the spring to rise in, and run to waste, which was placed here by one of the earls of Leicester many years ago. This parish, as well as the neighbouring ones, abounds with iron ore, and most of the springs in them are more or less chalybeate. In the losty beeches, near the keeper's lodge, in Penshurst-park, is a noted beronry; which, since the destruction of that in lord Dacre's park, at Aveley, in Effex, is, I believe, the only one in this part of England. A fair is held here on July I, for pedlary, &c.

 

The GREATEST PART of this parish is within the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford, a subordinate limb to which is the MANOR of PENSHURST HALIMOTE, alias OTFORD WEALD, extending likewise over parts of the adjoining parishes of Chidingstone, Hever, and Cowden. As a limb of that of honour, it was formerly part of the possessions of the see of Canterbury, and was held for a long time in lease of the archbishops, by the successive owners of Penhurst manor, till the death of the duke of Buckingham, in the 13th year of king Henry VIII. in the 29th year of which reign, Thomas Cranmer, archbishop of Canterbury, exchanging Otford with the crown, this, as an appendage, passed with it, and it remained in the hands of the crown till the death of king Charles I. 1648; after which the powers then in being, having seised on the royal estates, passed an ordinance to vest them in trustees, to be sold, to supply the necessities of the state; when, on a survey made of this manor, in 1650, it appeared that the quit-rents due to the lord, from the freeholders in free socage tenure, were 16l. 18s. 3½d. and that they paid a heriot of the best living thing, or in want thereof, 3s. 4d. in money. That there were copyholders holding of it, within this parish, by rent and fine certain; that there was a common fine due from the township or borough of Halebury, and a like from the township of Penshurst, a like from the townships or boroughts of Chidingstone, Standford, and Cowden; and that there was a court baron and a court leet. The total rents, profits, &c. of all which amounted to 23l. and upwards. (fn. 2) After this the manor was sold by the state to colonel Robert Gibbon, with whom it remained till the restoration of king Charles II. when the possession and inheritance of it returned to the crown, where it remains, as well as the honour of Otford, at this time, his grace the duke of Dorset being high steward of both; but the see farm rents of it, with those of other manors belonging to the above mentioned honour, were alienated from the crown in king Charles II.'s reign, and afterwards became the property of Sir James Dashwood, bart. in whose family they still continue.

 

SOON AFTER the reign of William the Conqueror Penshurst was become the residence of a family, who took their name from it, and were possessed of the manor then called the manor of Peneshurste; and it appears by a deed in the Registrum Roffense, that Sir John Belemeyns, canon of St. Paul, London, was in possession of this manor, as uncle and trustee, in the latter part of king Henry III.'s reign, to Stephen de Peneshurste or Penchester, who possessed it in the beginning of the reign of king Edward I. He had been knighted, and made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports by Henry III. in which posts he continued after the accession of king Edward I. (fn. 3) He died without issue male, and was buried in the south chancel of this church, under an altar tomb, on which lay his figure in armour, reclining on a cushion. He left Margery, his second wife, surviving, who held this manor at her death, in the 2d year of king Edward II. and two daughters and coheirs; Joane, married to Henry de Cobham of Rundale, second son of John de Cobham, of Cobham, in this county, by his first wife, daughter of Warine Fitz Benedict; (fn. 4) and Alice to John de Columbers, as appears by an inquisition, taken in the 3d year of king Edward II. His arms, being Sable, a bend or, a label of three points argent, still remain on the roof of the cloisters of Canterbury cathedral. Alice, above mentioned, had this manor, with that of Lyghe adjoining, assigned to her for her proportion of their inheritance; soon after which these manors were conveyed to Sir John de Pulteney, son of Adam de Pulteney of Misterton, in Leicestershire, by Maud his wife. In the 15th year of that reign he had licence to embattle his mansion houses of Penshurst, Chenle in Cambridgeshire, and in London. (fn. 5) In the 11th year of king Edward III. Thomas, son of Sir John de Columbers of Somersetshire, released to him all his right to this manor and the advowson of the chapel of Penshurst; (fn. 6) and the year following Stephen de Columbers, clerk, brother of Sir Philip, released to him likewise all his right in that manor and Yenesfeld, (fn. 7) and that same year he obtained a grant for free warren within his demesne lands within the former. He was a person greatly esteemed by that king, in whose reign he was four times lord mayor of London, and is noticed by our historians for his piety, wisdom, large possessions, and magnificent housekeeping. In his life time he performed several acts of public charity and munificence; and among others he founded a college in the church of St. Laurence, since from him named Poultney, in London. He built the church of Little Allhallows, in Thamesstreet, and the Carmelites church, and the gate to their monastery, in Coventry; and a chapel or chantry in St. Paul's, London. Besides which, by his will, he left many charitable legacies, and directed to be buried in the church of St. Laurence above mentioned. He bore for his arms, Argent a fess dancette gules, in chief three leopards heads sable.

 

By the inquisition taken after his death, it appears, that he died in the 23d year of that reign, being then possessed of this manor, with the advowson of the chapel, Lyghe, South-park, and Orbiston woods, with lands in Lyghe and Tappenash, and others in this county. He left Margaret his wife surviving, who married, secondly, Sir Nicholas Lovaine; and he, in her right, became possessed of a life estate in this manor and the others above mentioned, in which they seem afterwards jointly to have had the see; for Sir William Pulteney, her son, in his life time, vested his interest in these manors and estates in trustees, and died without issue in the 40th year of the same reign, when Robert de Pulteney was found to be his kinsman and next heir, who was ancestor to the late earl of Bath. The trustees afterwards, in the 48th year of it, conveyed them, together with all the other estates of which Sir John Pulteney died possessed, to Sir Nicholas Lovaine and Margaret his wife, and their heirs for ever. Sir Nicholas Lovaine above mentioned was a descendant of the noble family of Lovaine, a younger branch of the duke of Lorraine. Godfrey de Lovaine, having that surname from the place of his birth, possessed lands in England in right of his mother, grand daughter of king Stephen, of whose descendants this Nicholas was a younger branch. He bore for his arms, Gules, a fess argent between fourteen billets or; which arms were quartered by Bourchier earl of Bath, and Devereux earl of Essex. (fn. 8) He died possessed of this manor, leaving one son, Nicholas, who having married Margaret, eldest daughter of John de Vere, earl of Oxford, widow of Henry lord Beaumont, died without issue, and a daughter Margaret, who at length became her brother's heir.

 

Margaret, the widow of Nicholas the son, on his death, possessed this manor for her life, and was afterwards re-married to Sir John Devereux, who in her right held it. He was descended from a family which had their surname from Eureux, a town of note in Normandy, and there were several generations of them in England before they were peers of this realm, the first of them summoned to parliament being this Sir John Devereux, who being bred a soldier, was much employed in the wars both of king Edward III. and king Richard II. and had many important trusts conferred on him. In the 11th year of the latter reign, being then a knight banneret, he was made constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports. In the 16th year of that reign, he had licence to fortify and embattle his mansion house at Penshurst, the year after which he died, leaving Margaret his wife, surviving, who had an assignation of this manor as part of her dower. She died possessed of it, with Yensfield, and other lands, about the 10th year of king Henry IV. and was succeeded in them by Margaret, sister and heir of her husband, Nicholas Lovaine, who was twice married, first to Rich. Chamberlayn, esq. of Sherburn, in Oxfordshire; and secondly to Sir Philip St. Clere, of Aldham, St. Clere, in Ightham. (fn. 9) Both of these, in right of their wife, seem to have possessed this manor, which descended to John St. Clere, son of the latter, who conveyed it by sale to John duke of Bedford, third son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, Essex, and Northampton.

 

The duke of Bedford was the great support and glory of this kingdom in the beginning of the reign of his infant nephew, king Henry VI. his courage was unequalled, and was followed by such rapid success in his wars in France, where he was regent, and commanded the English army in person, that he struck the greatest terror into his enemies. The victories he acquired so humbled the French, that he crowned king Henry VI. at Paris, in which city he died greatly lamented, in the 14th year of that reign, (fn. 10) and was buried in the cathedral church of Roan. He was twice married, but left issue by neither of his wives. He died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, as was then found by inquisition; in which he was succeeded by his next brother, Humphry duke of Gloucester, fourth son of king Henry IV. by Mary his wife, daughter and coheir of Humphry de Bohun, earl of Hereford, &c. who in the 4th year of king Henry V. had had the offices of constable of Dover castle and warden of the cinque ports, granted to him for the term of his life; and in the 1st year of king Henry VI. was, by parliament, made protector of England, during the king's minority; and the same year he was constituted chamberlain of England, at the coronation of that prince was appointed high steward of England.

 

The duke was, for his virtuous endowments, surnamed the Good, and for his justice was esteemed the father of his country, notwithstanding which, after he had, under king Henry VI. his nephew, governed this kingdom twenty-five years, with great applause, he was, by the means of Margaret of Aujou, his nephew's queen, who envied his power, arrested at the parliament held at St. Edmundsbury, by John lord Beaumont, then high constable of England, accompanied by the duke of Buckingham and others; and the night following, being the last of February, anno 25 king Henry VI. he was found dead in his bed, it being the general opinion that he was strangled; though his body was shewn to the lords and commons, with an account of his having died of an apoplexy or imposthume; after which he was buried in the abbey of St. Alban, near the shrine of that proto-martyr, and a stately monument was erected to his memory.

 

This duke married two wives; first Jaqueline, daughter and heir of William duke of Bavaria, to whom belonged the earldoms of Holand, Zeland, and Henault, and many other rich seignories in the Netherlands; after which he used these titles, Humphrey, by the grace of God, son, brother, and uncle to kings; duke of Gloucester; earl of Henault, Holand, Zeland, and Pembroke; lord of Friesland; great chamberlain of the kingdom of England; and protector and defender of the kingdom and church of England. But she having already been married to John duke of Brabant, and a suit of divorce being still depending between them, and the Pope having pronounced her marriage with the duke of Brabant lawful, the duke of Gloucester resigned his right to her, and forthwith, after this, married Eleanor Cobham, daughter of Reginald, lord Cobham of Sterborough, who had formerly been his concubine. A few years before the duke's death she was accused of witchcrast, and of conspiring the king's death; for which she was condemned to solemn pennance in London, for three several days, and afterwards committed to perpetual imprisonment in the isle of Man. He built the divinity schools at Oxford, and laid the foundation of that famous library over them, since increased by Sir Thomas Bodley, enriching it with a choice collection of manuscripts out of France and Italy. He bore for his arms, Quarterly, France and England, a berdure argent. (fn. 11)

 

By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears, that he died possessed of the manors of Penshurst, Havenden-court, and Yensfield, in this county, and that dying, without issue, king Henry VI. was his cousin and next heir.

 

¶The manor of Penshurst thus coming into the hands of the crown, was granted that year to Humphrey Stafford, who, in consideration of his near alliance in blood to king Henry VI. being the son of Edmund earl of Stafford, by Anne, eldest daughter of Thomas of Woodstock, duke of Gloucester, sixth and youngest son of king Edward III. Mary, the other daughter and coheir, having married Henry of Bullingbroke, afterwards king Henry IV. and grandfather of king Henry VI. (fn. 12) as well as for his eminent services to his country, had been, in the 23d year of that reign, created duke of Buckingham. He was afterwards slain in the battle of Northampton, sighting valiantly there on the king's part. By the inquisition, taken after his death, it appears that he died in the 38th year of that reign possessed of this manor of Penshurst, among others in this county and elsewhere; which afterwards descended down to his great grandson, Edward duke of Buckingham, but in the 13th year of Henry VIII. this duke being accused of conspiring the king's death, he was brought to his trial, and being found guilty, was beheaded on Tower-hill that year. In the par liament begun April 15, next year, this duke, though there passed an act for his attainder, yet there was one likewise for the restitution in blood of Henry his eldest son, but not to his honors or lands, so that this manor, among his other estates, became forseited to the crown, after which the king seems to have kept it in his own hands, for in his 36th year, he purchased different parcels of land to enlarge his park here, among which was Well-place, and one hundred and seventy acres of land, belonging to it, then the estate of John and William Fry, all which he inclosed within the pale of it, though the purchase of the latter was not completed till the 1st year of king Edward VI. (fn. 13) who seems to have granted the park of Penshurst to John, earl of Warwick, for that earl, in the 4th year of that reign, granted this park to that king again in exchange for other premises. In which year the king granted the manor of Penshurst, with its members and appurtenances, late parcel of the possessions of the duke of Buckingham, to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's service, being the grandson of Henry Vane, alias Fane, of Hilsden Tunbridge, esq. but in the 6th year of that reign, having zealously espoused the interests of the duke of Somersee, he was accused of being an accomplice with him, and being found guilty, was hanged on Tower-hill that year.

  

PENSHURST is within the ECCLESIASTICAL JURISDICTION of the diocese of Rochester, and being a peculiar of the archbishop of Canterbury, is as such within the deanry of Shoreham.

 

The church, which is a large handsome building, is dedicated to St. John Baptist. It consists of three isles, a cross isle, and three chancels, having a tower steeple at the west end.

 

Among other monuments and inscriptions in this church are the following:—In the middle isle, a grave-stone, with the figure of a man and his two wives, now torn off, but the inscription remains in black letter, for Watur Draynowtt, and Johanna and Anne his wives, obt. 1507; beneath are the figures of four boys and three girls, at top, arms, two lions passant, impaling or, on a chief, two lions heads erased; a memorial for Oliver Combridge, and Elizabeth his wife, obt. 1698. In the chancel, memorials on brass for Bulman and Paire; within the rails of the altar a gravestone for William Egerton, LL. D. grandon of John, earl of Bridgwater, rector of Penshurst and Allhallows, Lombard-street, chancellor and prebendary of Hereford, and prebendary of Can terbury, he left two daughters and one son, by Anne, daughter of Sir Francis Head, obt. Feb. 26, 1737; on the south side of the altar, a memorial in brass for John Bust, God's painful minister in this place for twenty-one years; on the north side a mural monument for Gilbert Spencer, esq. of Redleafe-house, obt. 1709, arms, Spencer, an escutcheon of pretence for Combridge; underneath is another stone, with a brass plate, and inscription for William Darkenol, parson of this parish, obt. July 12, 1596; on grave-stones are these shields in brass, the figures and inscriptions on which are lost, parted per fess, in chief two lions passant guardant in base, two wolves heads erased; on another, the same arms, impaling a chevron between three padlocks; another, a lion rampant, charged on the shoulder with an annulet, and another, three lions passant impaling parted per chevron, the rest defaced. In the south chancel, on a stone, the figures of a man and woman in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Pawle Yden, gent. and Agnes his wife, son of Thomas Yden, esq. obt. 1564, beneath is the figure of a girl, arms, four shields at the corner of the stone, the first, Yden, a fess between three helmets; two others, with inscriptions on brass for infant children of the Sidney family; a small grave-stone, on which is a cross gradated in brass, and inscription in black letter, for Thomas Bullayen, son of Sir Thomas Bullayen; here was lately a monument for lady Mary . . . . . . eldest daughter of the famous John, duke of Northumberland, and sister to Ambrose, earl of Warwick, Robert, earl of Leicester, and Catharine, countess of Huntingdon, wife of the right hon. Sir Henry Sidney, knight of the garter, &c. at the west end of the chancel, a mural monument for Sir William Coventry, youngest son of Thomas, lord Coventry, he died at Tunbridge-wells, 1686; on the south side a fine old monument of stone, under which is an altar tomb, and on the wall above it a brass plate, with inscription in black letter, for Sir William Sidney, knightbanneret, chamberlain and steward to king Edward VI. and the first of the name, lord of the manor, of Penshurst, obt. 1553; on the front are these names, Sir William Dormer, and Mary Sidney, Sir William Fitzwilliam, Sir James Haninngton, Anne Sidney, and Lucy Sidney; on the south side a handsome monument, with the arms and quarterings of the Sidney family, and inscription for lord Philip Sidney, fifth earl of Leicester, &c. obt. 1705, and was succeeded by John, his brother and heir; for John, sixth earl of Leicester, cosin and heir of Henry Sidney, earl of Romney, &c. obt. 1737, his heirs Mary and Elizabeth Sidney, daughters and heirs of his brother the hon. Thomas Sidney, third surviving son of Robert, earl of Leicester, became his joint heirs, for Josceline, seventh earl of Leicester, youngest brother and heir male of earl John, died s. p. in 1743, with whom the title of earl of Leicester expired; the aforesaid Mary and Elizabeth, his nieces, being his heirs, of whom the former married Sir Brownlow Sherard, bart. and Elizabeth, William Perry, esq. on the monument is an account of the several personages of this noble family, their descent, marriages and issue, too long by far to insert here; on the north side is a fine monument for several of the infant children of this family, and beneath is an urn and inscriptions for Frances Sidney, fourth daughter, obt. 1692, æt. 6; for Robert Sidney, earl of Leicester, &c. fourth earl of this family, who married lady Elizabeth Egerton, by whom he had fifteen children, of whom nine died young, whose figures, as cherubims, are placed above, obt. 1702; Robert, the eldest son, obt. 1680, æt. 6; Elizabeth, countess of Leicester, obt. 1709, and buried here in the same vault with her lord. In the same chancel is a very antient figure in stone of a knight in armour, being for Sir Stephen de Penchester, lord warden and constable of Dover-castle in the reign of king Edward I. It was formerly laid on an altar tomb in the chancel, but is now placed erect against the door on the south side, with these words painted on the wall above it, SIR STEPHEN DE PENCHESTER. In the fourth window of the north isle, are these arms, very antient, within the garter argent a fess gules in chief, three roundels of the second, being those of Sir John Devereux, K. G. lord warden and constable, and steward of the king's house in king Richard II's reign; near the former was another coat, nothing of which now remains but the garter. In the same windows are the arms of Sidney; in the second window is this crest, a griffin rampant or. In the east window of the great chancel are the arms of England. In the east window of the south chancel are the arms of the Sidney family, with all the quarterings; there were also, though now destroyed, the arms of Sir Thomas Ratcliff, earl of Sussex, and lady Frances Sidney.

 

This church was of the antient patronage of the see of Canterbury, and continued so till the 3d year of queen Elizabeth, when Matthew, archbishop of Canterbury, granted it to that queen in exchange for the parsonage of Earde, alias Crayford; and though in the queen's letters patent dated that year, confirming this exchange, there is no value expressed, yet in a roll in the queen's office, it is there set down, the tenth deducted, at the clear yearly value of 32l. 1s. 9d. (fn. 24)

 

¶Soon after which the queen granted the church of Penshurst to Sir Henry Sidney, whose descendants, earls of Leicester, afterwards possessed it; from whom it passed, in like manner as Penshurst manor and place, to William Perry, esq. who died possessed of it in 1757, leaving Elizabeth his wife surviving, who continued proprietor of the advowson of this church at the time of her death in 1783; she by her last will devised it to trustees for the use of her eldest grandson, John Shelley, esq who has since taken the name of Sidney, and is the present owner of it.

 

In the 15th year of king Edward I. this church was valued at thirty marcs. By virtue of the commission of enquiry into the value of ecclesiastical livings, taken in 1650, issuing out of chancery, it was returned that the tithes belonging to the parsonage of Penshurst were one hundred and ten pounds per annum, and the parsonage house and glebe lands about fifty pounds per annum, the earl of Leicester being patron, and master Mawdell, minister, who received the profits for his salary. (fn. 25)

 

The annual value of it is now esteemed to be four hundred pounds and upwards. The rectory of Penshurst is valued in the king's books at 30l. 6s. 0½d. and the yearly tenths at 3l. 0s. 7½d. (fn. 26)

 

John Acton, rector of this parish, in 1429, granted a lease for ninety-nine years, of a parcel of his glebe land, lying in Berecroft, opposite the gate of the rectory, containing one acre one rood and twelve perches, to Thomas Berkley, clerk, Richard Hammond, and Richard Crundewell, of Penshurst, for the purpose of building on, at the yearly rent of two shillings, and upon deaths and alienations, one shilling to be paid for an heriot, which lease was confirmed by the archbishop and by the dean and chapter of Canterbury. (fn. 27)

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-kent/vol3/pp227-257

Tomb of the ‘truly virtuous and religious’ Elihonor Sadler, who lived in the Close and who died aged 80 in 1622. She was a ‘Cosen [cousin] German to Lady Walsingham…who was mother to the Countess of Essex’. The tomb was presumably erected by her second husband, Thomas Sadler, whose initials appear at the top.

In one particular garden at the cemetery, rows of stone statues of children represent unborn children, including miscarried, aborted, and stillborn children. Parents can choose a statue in the garden and decorate it with small clothing and toys. Usually the statues are accompanied by a small gift for Jizō, the guardian of unborn children, to ensure that they are brought to the afterlife. Occasionally stones are piled by the statue; this is meant to ease the journey to the afterlife.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C5%8Dj%C5%8D-ji

 

En un jardín en particular en el cementerio, filas de estatuas de piedra de niños representan a los niños por nacer, incluidos los niños abortados, abortados y nacidos muertos. Los padres pueden elegir una estatua en el jardín y decorarla con ropa y juguetes pequeños. Por lo general, las estatuas van acompañadas de un pequeño obsequio para Jizō, el guardián de los niños por nacer, para asegurarse de que sean llevados al más allá. Ocasionalmente, la estatua amontona piedras; esto está destinado a facilitar el viaje a la otra vida.

 

Mizuko kuyo (水子供養 Mizuko kuyō, "servicio memorial para un feto abortado") es una ceremonia japonesa para las mujeres que han sufrido un aborto espontáneo, aborto inducido o mortinato. Esta práctica es más evidente desde la creación de santuarios en la década de 1970 para tal ritual, con el fin de la tranquilidad de la gestante, descanso del alma del feto y evitar la venganza del espíritu del bebé. Originalmente el mizuko kuyo fue usado para ofrendar a Jizo (Ksitigarbha), un Bodhisattva supuesto protector de los niños. Durante el Período Edo, cuando una embarazada era empujada a cometer aborto o infanticidio por su pobreza, la práctica era adaptada para satisfacer la situación. Hoy día, la práctica del mizuko kuyo continúa en Japón, aunque no es claro su autenticidad histórica en las prácticas del budismo en Japón. La ceremonia varía entre templos, escuelas e individuos. Es común que en los templos budistas se ofrezcan estatuillas de Jizo vestidas a lo largo de los pasillos para este propósito. Algunos de estos servicios han sido criticados por aprovecharse y abusar de las creencias que los japoneses tienen acerca de la posible venganza de los espíritus de los bebés abortados.

 

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuko_kuy%C5%8D

www.kirainet.com/jizo/

 

Mizuko kuyō (水子供養) meaning "water child memorial service", is a Japanese ceremony for those who have had a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion. This practice has become particularly visible since the 1970s with the creation of shrines devoted solely to this ritual. Reasons for the performance of these rites can include parental grief, desire to comfort the soul of the fetus, guilt for an abortion, or even fear of retribution from a vengeful ghost.

Mizuko (水子), literally "water child", is a Japanese term for an aborted, stillborn or miscarried baby, and archaically for a dead baby or infant. Kuyō (供養) refers to a memorial service. Previously read suiji, the Sino-Japanese on'yomi reading of the same characters, the term was originally a kaimyō or dharma name given after death.The mizuko kuyō, typically performed by Buddhist priests, was used to make offerings to Jizō, a bodhisattva who is believed to protect children. In the Edo period, when famine sometimes led the poverty-stricken to infanticide and abortion, the practice was adapted to cover these situations as well.

Today, the practice of mizuko kuyō continues in Japan, although it is unclear whether it is a historically authentic Buddhist practice. Specific elements of the ceremony vary from temple to temple, school to school, and individual to individual. It is common for temples to offer Jizō statues for a fee, which are then dressed in red bibs and caps, and displayed in the temple yard. Though the practice has been performed since the 1970s, there are still doubts surrounding the ritual. Some view the memorial service as the temples' way of benefiting from the misfortune of women who have miscarried or had to abort a pregnancy. American religious scholars have criticized the temples for allegedly abusing the Japanese belief that the spirits of the dead retaliate for their mistreatment, but other scholars believe the temples are only answering the needs of the people.

The ceremony is attended by both parents or by one, not necessarily the mother. The service can vary from a single event to one that repeats monthly or annually. Though the service varies, common aspects resemble the ceremony for the recent dead, the senzo kuyō (先祖供養). The priest faces the altar and evokes the names of various Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Mantras, often the Heart Sutra and the 25th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, known as the "Avalokiteśvara Sutra", are performed, as are calls of praise to Jizō. Gifts are offered to the Buddha on behalf of the mourned, typically food, drink, incense or flowers. A kaimyō is given to the deceased, and a statue of Jizō is often placed on temple grounds upon completion of the ceremony.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuko_kuy%C5%8D

 

Los seis Jizō es una antigua leyenda japonesa perteneciente al budismo, cuyo protagonista es el bodhisattva Jizō (地蔵) o Ksitigarbha (地蔵菩薩), tal como se le conoce en Japón. Jizō es el encargado de proteger las almas de los bebés que no han nacido y de los niños que han muerto siendo muy pequeños, a los que se les llama mizuko (水子) o niños del agua. Jizō es el protector de las mujeres embarazadas y de los niños, así como también de los bomberos y viajeros.

De acuerdo con la leyenda, una pareja de ancianos vivía en un hogar humilde y pasaban por muchas necesidades. Se ganaban la vida vendiendo sombreros de paja que fabricaban con sus propias manos. Sin embargo, eran tan pobres que al llegar el día de Fin de Año no tenían dinero para comprar algo especial para cenar y celebrar dicha fecha. El anciano entonces le prometió a su esposa que iría al pueblo, vendería los sombreros y le compraría algo para cenar. El anciano había llevado consigo cinco sombreros de paja, pero al no conseguir venderlos se propuso a regresar a su hogar. Una gran nevada le sorprendió durante el camino de vuelta y divisó a lo lejos seis estatuas de Jizō, de las cuales sintió pena al estar cubiertas de nieve. El anciano quitó la nieve de las estatuas y les ofreció los sombreros que venía cargando con él. A ver que faltaba un sombrero para una de las estatuas, el anciano se quitó su propio sombrero y se lo colocó al sexto Jizō. Más tarde esa noche, la pareja oyó ruidos fuera de su casa y al salir se encontraron con arroz, mochi, pescado y monedas de oro en su puerta. Posteriormente vieron a las estatuas de Jizō con los sombreros en sus cabezas, quienes agradecieron a la pareja por su bondad.

es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_seis_Jiz%C5%8D

 

Kasa Jizō (笠地蔵) is a Japanese folk tale about an old couple whose generosity is rewarded by the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, whose name is Jizō in Japanese. The story is commonly handed down by parents to their children in order to instill moral values, as it is grounded in Buddhist thought. An alternative title, Kasako Jizō can be found in Iwate and Fukushima Prefectures. Its origins belong in the Tōhoku and Niigata regions, with the oldest dispensations coming from Hokuriku, as well as areas of Western Japan such as Hiroshima and Kumamoto Prefectures. Its precise origin, however, remains unknown.

One day in the snowy country there lived an incredibly impoverished elderly couple. On New Year's Day, the couple realized that they were unable to afford mochi (a staple form of rice eaten during the New Year). The old man decided to go into town to sell his home-made kasa, but his endeavors proved unsuccessful. Due to the horrible weather conditions, the old man gave up the task and made his trek back home. In the blizzard, the old man came across a line of Jizō statues, to whom he decided to give his kasa as an offering, as well to keep their heads clear of snow. However, he only had enough kasa on hand to give to all but one statue. He gave the remaining statue his tenugui and went on his way. Upon returning home, he relayed the scenario to his wife, who praised him for his virtuous deed, without criticizing his inability to purchase any New Year mochi. That evening, while the couple was asleep, there came a heavy thumping sound from outside the house. They opened the door to find a great pile of treasures, consisting of such goods as rice, vegetables, gold coins, and mochi. The old couple watched on as the Jizō statues marched off into the snowy distance. Having repaid the old man for his selflessness, the couple was able to celebrate the New Year.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kasa_Jiz%C5%8D

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with Fast Company Contributor E.B. "Liza" Boyd about Internet policy - during a swing through Silicon Valley - during the Virtuous Circle Conference on October 10, 2016, at the Rosewood Sandhill Hotel in Menlo Park, California. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

"See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I am going to fulfil the promise I made to the House of Israel and the House of Judah:

‘In those days and at that time,

I will make a virtuous Branch grow for David,

who shall practise honesty and integrity in the land.

In those days Judah shall be saved

and Israel shall dwell in confidence.

And this is the name the city will be called:

The-Lord-our-integrity.’"

– Jeremiah 33:14-16, which is today's 1st reading at Mass.

 

Stained glass window from the church of Notre-Dame-de-la-Chapelle in Brussels.

Within the witch’s craft many apparently mundane objects are considered to have both magical and mystical virtue, one example being the humble nail. Although some, on basis of morphology, ascribe to nails a phallic virtue, they also have a fixative power, i.e. the ability to bind one thing to another, for good or bane. Nails also partake in no small measure of the powers ascribed to their material, which is normally iron, that heavenly metal linked in the occult mind with blood and the virtues of redness.

 

When a thing is brought into contact with another it makes an alligation. The basis of alligation is that all things created, whether by the hands of man or nature, are bestowed by the Soul of the World with virtue, which is harnessed by bringing the virtuous object into contact with people/places/objects. Included in this is the binding of two things together in alligation by a nail, so that one might influence the other.

 

The thing or power being fixed by the nail to person, place or object can be manifold; even celestial powers corresponding to the time at which the nail was struck into its medium can be bound into workings. Herein we understand the basis of hammering various amulets into the lintel above the threshold, such as the apotropaic images of the sun, open hand or ubiquitous horseshoe.

 

Contrary to popular belief, nails are as protective as the horseshoes they affix. Indeed, Pliny the Elder advised hammering three iron nails, not horseshoes, into the threshold’s lintel to protect the home, likewise Paul Huson in Mastering Witchcraft advocated driving three iron coffin nails into the door, one above and two below in triangular formation. Similarly, protective enclosures are fashioned by striking nails into their four corners and wandering spirits are stopped by hammering nails into their coffins, whilst Romans averted plague and misfortune by driving nails into house walls. Thus is it axiomatic that the number of nails found within a horseshoe affects its potency, the more nails the greater the luck, although some hold true to the custom of fixing the shoe with three nails by means of three blows, alluding to the kinship betwixt nails and the number three.

 

Horseshoe nails have long been held to possess an array of powers, e.g. the crooked horseshoe nails hung as amulets about the necks of Irish children, and the horseshoe nails driven into the hearth by Teutonic peoples to draw back stolen property. Traditional witch Robert Cochrane recounted that “a horseshoe nail dipped in spring water was considered a prime remedy to use against the ‘little people’ when they grew bothersome”, which relies also on the well-known enmity betwixt the Fair Folk & iron.

 

Horseshoe nails were sometimes fashioned into rings, and in medieval France these were worn by the bride to draw favourable auspices. Elsewhere, they were deemed as protective against evil & ill luck as the horseshoe itself, and Cochrane alluded that such rings were known of & used within the witch cult.

Another type of circular ring fashioned by the bent nail is the cramp ring, said to cure cramp, epilepsy, rheumatism & palsy. Before the Reformation these were wrought of gold & silver and blessed by the Monarch on Good Friday. But when Queen Elizabeth abolished this practice, people still sought out such rings, and in Shropshire & Devonshire they made them from old coffin nails, “three nails taken from three coffins from three several churchyards” the old charm went.

 

The use of cramp rings to ward fits recalls Pliny’s assertion that “thrusting an iron nail into the spot where a person’s head lay at the moment he was seized with a fit of epilepsy, is said to have the effect of curing him of that disease” (Natural History). This practice is known of in my home county of Sussex, where it is recorded how an Isfield farm worker cured one his workmates in this very manner in the early 1900’s.

 

Thrusting iron nails into the ground is not confined to the curing of epilepsy, indeed it finds its way into a diverse array of folk practices, all of which work the principle of a nail’s insertion being an application of its force & virtue. Accordingly have nails been rubbed onto gums & hammered into trees to alleviate toothache, and stoked across warts before being driven into roads & stiles to be magically ‘picked up’ by passers-by; these examples working the principle of magical transference or ‘law of contagion’.

 

Some witches use a similar practice to fix celestial powers, especially that of the Polestar, into the earth by hammering a nail into the working site’s centre, thereby bringing the powers above to the world below. Scandinavians anciently knew the Polestar as “God’s Nail”, and others have called it the ‘Nail of the North’, referring to the old belief that the heavens are fixed into place by a jewel-headed nail, about whose axis they revolve. In remembrance of this the Scandinavians would hammer nails dedicated to Thor into the top of the central pillar supporting their house, in the same way witches hammer a nail into the stang’s foot, creating an underworld reflection of the Heavenly Nail.

 

In Siberian mythology the Nail of the North is atop a golden pole (the polar axis), which drives a giant mill grinding out riches, happiness & other worldly goods; this being evoked by the witches’ Mill that is danced about a central point. The Lapps also have an old legend that says when the Heavenly Nail is shot down by the bow of Arcturus, the heavens will fall & crush the earth, resulting in a fiery inferno.

 

The most familiar witch tradition concerning nails is their use to pierce the witch’s manikin with benevolent or malevolent intent, yet there is equal tradition in using blackthorn spines, which like nails have an innate warding virtue. Thorns are often used alongside or in place of nails in the magical arts, e.g. in the famed witch-bottle or being tied into the end of the curse cord in place of a rusty nail. We might thus consider them as ‘wooden nails’ fashioned by the green hand of the Faerie Smith, to which Schulke alludes in Viridarium Umbris when he says, “the Thorn is both punitive & binding, the Holy Nail of the Greenwood executing the grim sentence of Crucifixion at once harnessing the forces of binding & torment”; it is in the crucifixion that we discover the nail’s apotheosis.

 

Crucifixion & sacrifice by hanging upon a tree is not a motif exclusive to the Christian mythos, rather it is a fate met by many deathless mortals so as to grant eternal life, including “Prometheus, Adonis, Apollo, Arys, Bacchus, Buddha, Christna, Horus, Indra, Ixion, Mithras, Osiris, Pythagoras, Quetzalcoatl, Semiramis and Jupiter”4. We might add to this Odin, who by hanging from Yggdrasill died & entered the Underworlds so as to learn of otherworldly wisdom that could be mediated to the world of man.

 

The cross has been defined by Schulke as “the supreme magical formula of incarnation-sacrifice-apotheosis arising from the fixation of spirit into the four ways of matter”. Herein we might understand crucifixion as the binding of heavenly spirit to earthly flesh, or Light to Matter. The Cross of Matter in this instance signifies the material world’s four-fold division, whether into compass points, seasons, elements or similar. This is the underlying meaning of the Light-bearing, normally solar, god pinioned to the Cross, thereby fixing the Heavenly Fire into the flesh yet at the same time liberating it through Death.

 

Tradition has long held that the Light was fastened to the Cross by means of the binding & fixative nail. In Christian tradition the exact number of nails used has long been a matter of debate, one school of thought numbering them as four and another as three; within this simple article of belief resides a deep esoteric philosophy.

 

The Four Nails Of The Crucifixion

The commonest belief is that the Lightbearer was pinned to the cross by four nails, one in each palm & one in each sole. This belief is depicted in the “Coptic Cross”, which shows the Four Nails and the Cross itself, the centre being the Lightbearer’s Heart. In conflating the cross with the four primal directions we come to understand how the Heart is to be identified with the centre of the worlds; this being also the centre of the witch’s compass. Here we are reminded of the four rivers of blood that emanate from the four wounds, flowing to the corners of the world, and in this we find some similarity to the philosophy that informed the drawing & quartering of the hanged King, the four parts being buried at the corners of the sacred enclosure.

 

However, the total wounds are not four in number, but five, the fifth being the wound in his “side”, or more probably genitals, akin to that suffered by the Fisher King, which made him ‘lame’ & his land barren. Intriguingly, some depictions of the crucifixion show Jesus seated upon a sedile, which is a small seat attached halfway down the cross’s front to allow the genitals to be impaled by a nail, further confirming Jesus as an avatar of the Wounded or Sacrificial King of Light.

 

The Fisher King’s wound is made by the Bleeding Lance, identified by some with the Spear of Lugh, whereas Christ’s is given by the Spear of Longinus, which esoteric lore attests was forged by Tubal-Cain, avatar of the witch master. In piercing the Lightbearer’s Heart, the spear also pierces that of the heavens, revealing it as a simulacrum of the Heavenly Nail wrought by the hand of the gypsy fire god Tubalo.

 

The Three Nails Of The Crucifixion

The belief that Jesus was crucified by only three nails is known as triclavianism, which properly means “Three Keys”. The nails were struck one through each palm & one through both feet, forming a downwards-pointing triangle. But three nails or four, the wounds remain the same, and outstretched personify the crucified man-god impressed in Space, represented in the crossroads.

 

As an emblem of Jesus’ suffering, these nails represent ordeal & the acceptance of fate, i.e. the choice to accept what must be done, & the evolution resulting from engagement of life’s trials; it is in ordeal & sacrifice that spirit becomes liberated from flesh. This relates to the “removal of the Rose from the Cross”, for that which fixes spirit to the body can also be removed. Such is achieved through three alchemical initiations that work to ‘draw out’ the Nails, thereby allowing man’s divine nature to come down from its cross; the third & final initiation being the finding of the philosopher’s stone.

This ‘Christian’ symbol, sometimes appearing as three wooden spears, also occurs on amulets of solar deities. The arrangement is that of the Awen, i.e. Inspiration falling from the Heavens to Earth, equating the Nails with the Elemental Queens who pre-ordained the Sacrificial King’s death. This symbol thereby comes to represent not only the three-fold nature of the Awen & the three essences sacred to the Fate Queen, but also the IAO formula, the alchemical elements, the parts of the moon & so forth.

 

Some witches make this sign in their rites by holding high three splayed fingers. As the letter Shin, meaning “tooth”, it stands for Shaddai & is made by the priest’s hands during the Yom Kippur blessing (relating to the sacrificial scapegoat). Hargrave Jennings remarks that the English ‘broad-arrow’ (), which marks out royal property, is also symbolic of the Three Nails, the prominent middle arrow signifying the “Second (with feminine meanings) Person of the Trinity”. Such a symbol is also found in the Indian Trishul, the gypsy Trushul, the Algiz rune, the trident & the three-pronged rake used by some witches as a tool of ‘the Goddess’.

 

These Three Nails also codify a downward-pointing triangle upon the Four-fold Cross, alluding to the relationship betwixt the forces represented in the Triangle & Cross / Square. Also revealed is the pattern of the Tau, and we might here ruminate upon the altar of the stang, which Evan John Jones describes as “the symbolic altar of sacrifice, the old Tau cross of the kerm oak from which hung the dying body of the God / King sacrifice”. In its forked top & base we observe the nail-pierced hands & feet, and by hammering a nail into the butt we allude to the Fourth Nail of Romany myth, the hammer itself being redolent of the Tau Cross.

 

In the doctrine of triclavianism, the Heart of the Lightbearer is wounded by a Fourth Nail, bringing the total stigmata to five. This Fourth Nail, forged in Romany mythology by a gypsy smith, refused to temper, and on discovering its fate was to impale Christ’s heart the Smith fled with it, his reward being eternal life within the body of the Moon. This red-hot ‘wandering’ nail is emblematic of Fire, the one element given to man, and the Blacksmith God; it is the Fourth Nail as the knife/ sword/ spear piercing the Heart of the man-god who hangs by Three Nails upon the Tau Cross, thereby slaying him.

 

Related to this is an old Neapolitan tradition of sorcerous evocation employing a triangle of nails about a fire & a black-handled knife. The triangle signifies “the crystallisation of Form out of Chaos”1 & denotes the three-fold Elemental Mothers, whereas the Knife as Fourth Nail represents the Goat-Footed Fire God. This may be rendered as a three-sided edifice spinning without motion upon a central axis, the middle point being the Knife, Spear, Sword or Heavenly Nail.

 

When discussing the St Duzac stone, Robert Cochrane specifies it featuring “what the archaeologists describe as three nails…they can be either nails or knives since three nails or three knives are used in certain forms of magical practice”. Some claim this a rite of cursing, but in truth it’s a remembrance of an old pagan custom for gaining the Fate’s blessings, thus inscribed next to the nails are three squares representing “three moons, which mean power over fate”; this custom is borne out by the following:

 

“Have you done as some women do, at certain times of the year spread a table with meat and drink and three knives, so that if those Three Sisters come, which the descendants of Antiquity and old foolishness called the Fates, they can regale themselves? Do you believe that those called the Sisters can help you now or in the future?”

 

—From the Confessor’s Manual (circa 900 CE)

 

“She who lays a table with three knives for the service of the Fates, that They may predestinate good things to those who are born there, shall do penance for two years.”

 

—From the Penitential of Bartholomew Iscanus, Of Magic (circa 1161-84).

 

The ‘Table of Fortune’ is traditionally held annually on the night of the calends, the table being set with food and Three Knives placed upon it as invitation to the Fates is made. Intriguingly, a similar boon is secured by hammering three nails into the earth to summon Three Kings, reified as those of biblical tradition, although some suggest this is a later gloss on an earlier pagan tradition. Of course, the Three Knives may be worked for retribution; the Fates spin many destinies. One old curse working this principle involves hammering three iron nails into a tree’s north face in triangular formation, naming the victim at each blow.

 

Although used to call up the Fates, nails paradoxically have tradition in warding their kin, the witches & faeries. Folklore holds that an iron nail or knife is especially repellent to faeries, and for protection can be carried upon the person when awake & driven into the bed-head when asleep. Bent nails in witch-bottles ward witches, nails driven into their footprints break their enchantments and scratching them with a nail deprives them of their power. Also, a nail-struck pig heart hung in the chimney, points outward, prevents witches from descending the flue, whilst a heart pierced with hawthorn barbs & nails is hung as a charm against witchery.

 

The nail-filled heart has further tradition as a malevolent charm, the nails placed to make the shape of the victim’s initials & hung to roast in the chimney, or placed in a pot besides the fire. Cuts of meat are similarly employed, using the old “tis not this meat that I mean to prick/burn” formula, just as poppets of wax & cloth are pierced by virtue of thorn and nail, reminding us of the ordeal engendered by the Nails of the Crucifixion.

 

The most potent nails, which old Somerset lore stipulates “twas never touched by hand or twas no good”, are those fashioned by the god-like blacksmith, master of the heavenly fire, and waters in which such nails are tempered (‘forge water’) have long been regarded as potent philtres. Some became wary of the Blacksmith’s magical reputation, with a corpus of folklore asserting him in league with the Devil, whose symbol is the first work of the Blacksmith, the nail.

 

Having been forged by a gypsy smith, and having pierced Christ, it comes as little surprise that the crucifixion nails were said to have great power. Far more than three or four nails have surfaced through the years, and many tales have become attached to them, such as the one Gregory of Tours claimed was cast into the Adriatic to calm a storm & that fashioned into a bridle by St Helen for Constantine’s horse.

 

In this we have charted something of the humble nail from its mundane use as a charm binder to its apotheosis as the fixative binding the Lightbearer to the Cross of Time & Space. Yet it would be remiss to conclude this article without mentioning the Passion Flower, which recapitulates the mythos; the leaves recalling the lance piercing the Lightbearer’s side, the three stigma the nails of his crucifixion and the five anthers as the resulting five wounds. In working with this plant through the arts of philtre, suffumigation & charm we may come to further access the powers & mysteries traditionally hidden within these arcane symbols.

 

threehandspress.com/concerning-the-use-symbolism-of-nails...

St Basil "was born in 330 at Caesarea in Cappadocia, of a Christian family. A brilliant scholar and a virtuous man, he started by becoming a hermit but was made bishop of Caesarea in 370. He fought against the Arians and wrote many notable works, in particular the monastic rule that bears his name and which many monks in the East follow to this day. He was also generous to the poor. He died on 1 January 379."

 

Stained glass window from Covington Cathedral.

Austrian postcard by B.K.W.I. (Brüder Kohn, Wien). Photo: Ludwig Gutmann, Wien, 1909. Max Pallenberg and Louise Kartousch in the stage operetta 'Ein Herbstmanöver' (1909). Caption: "Ist auch schön die Uniform, Drückt sie manchmal ganz enorm." (Is also nice the uniform, Sometimes pushes her enormously). 'Ein Herbstmanöver' was the Viennese title of Emmerich Kalman’s first operetta hit, 'Tatájárás' which also launched his Austrian operetta career at Theater an der Wien. 'The Gay Hussars' was the title of the 1909 Broadway version. In 2003, it was recorded at the Ohio Light Opera and released on Albany Records, rechristened 'Autumn Maneuvers'.

 

Max Pallenberg (1877-1934) was an Austrian singer, actor and comedian. He was one of the most important comedians of his time and often played under the direction of Max Reinhardt. Although Pallenberg was successful as a stage comedian, he only incidentally accepted roles in films.

 

Max Pallenberg was born as Max Pollack in 1877 in Vienna, Austria. Max was the son of Markus Pallenberg, who immigrated to Galicia from Vienna, and his wife Kressel (also Therese) born Korsower. Pallenberg's career started in 1904 and he played in provincial theatres and with touring companies. In 1908, he joined the then famous Theater an der Wien as an operetta comedian and sang, inter alia, in the world premiere of Franz Lehár's operetta 'Der Graf von Luxemburg' (The Count of Luxembourg. He played in 1910-1911 at the Volkstheater in Vienna. From 1911 on, Pallenberg played in Munich at the Deutsches Theater. In 1914 he was committed by Max Reinhardt to the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. There he achieved his artistic breakthrough. Under the direction of Max Reinhardt, he played brilliant roles such as Schluck in Gerhart Hauptmann's 'Schluck and Jau' and as Peachum in the 'Dreigroschenoper' (Threepenny Opera). Soon he became one of the most famous character comedians of his time. Pallenberg's stellar role was in Erwin Piscator's dramatic adaptation of Jaroslav Hašek's novel 'Der brave Soldat Schwejk' (The Good Soldier Švejk). In 1917 he married Fritzi Massary who became one of the operetta divas of the German stage of the 1920s. His first wife was Betty Franke (1903-1917). They had one child. Pallenberg's most important roles at the Salzburg Festival include Mephisto in Faust, Argan in Mollière's 'Der eingebildet Kranke' (The Imaginary Invalid), the Devil in Jedermann (Everyman), and Truffaldino in Turandot, all directed by Max Reinhardt.

 

Max Pallenberg also starred in several silent and sound films. He made his film debut in the German short Der fidele Bauer - Ich hab mein Zipfelhaubn/The Merry Farmer - I have my Zipfel hood (Franz Glawatsch, 1908) with Wilhelm Binder and Luise Kartousch. In the early 1910s, he had great success in the cinema with his figure Pampulik and appeared in such Austrian films as Pampulik als Affe/Pampulik as Ape (Alexander Kolowrat, 1912), Pampulik kriegt ein Kind/Pampulik gets a child (Alexander Kolowrat, 1912) and Pampulik hat Hunger/Pampulik is hungry (Alexander Kolowrat, 1913). During World War I followed such films as Max und seine zwei Frauen/Max and his two wives (Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers, 1915) with Martha Novelly, Der rasende Roland/The Racing Roland (Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers, 1915) and Kapellmeister Pflegekind/Conductor Pflegekind (1915). After the war he appeared in Die Nacht und der Leichnam/The night and the corpse (Adolf Abter, 1921) with Ria Jende. Pallenberg also appered in sound films. In Der brave Sünder/The Virtuous Sinner (Fritz Kortner, 1931), he co-starred with Heinz Rühmann. The film is based on the play The Embezzlers which was in turn based on a novel by the Soviet writer Valentin Kataev. Pallenberg had previously rejected all offers to appear in films based on his theatre appearances. He was finally convinced by the producer Arnold Pressburger to try and film one of his stage successes. The film also offered Kortner a chance to fulfill his ambitions to become a director. In the 1930s, Max Pallenberg and Fritzi Massary became a butt of the anti-Semitic propaganda of the upcoming Nazis. The Jewish couple went into exile in Austria. A year later Max died in an airplane crash near Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad) in today's Czech Republic. He had changed his ticket for the five o'clock flight against a ticket which left Prague already at three o'clock. The five o'clock flight arrived on time, Pallenberg's flight however crashed few minutes after the takeoff. He was 56. Pallenberg was cremated at Feuerhalle Simmering, where his ashes are also buried.

 

Sources: Kevin Clarke (Operetta Research Center), Wikipedia (English and German) and IMDb.

 

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

“If one's life is simple, contentment has to come. Simplicity is extremely important for happiness. Having few desires, feeling satisfied with what you have, is very vital: satisfaction with just enough food, clothing, and shelter to protect yourself from the elements. And finally, there is an intense delight in abandoning faulty states of mind and in cultivating helpful ones in meditation.” ~ Dalai Lama ~

 

“If from the top of a long cold barren hill I hear the distant whistle of a thrush which seems to come up from some warm woody shelter beyond the edge of the hill, this sound coming faint over the rocks with a mingled feeling of strangeness and joy, the idea of the place about me, and the imaginary one beyond will all be combined together in such a manner in my mind as to become inseparable.” ~ William Hazlitt ~

 

“There are certain things that are fundamental to human fulfillment. The essence of these needs is captured in the phrase 'to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy'. The need to live is our physical need for such things as food, clothing, shelter, economical well-being, health. The need to love is our social need to relate to other people, to belong, to love and to be loved. The need to learn is our mental need to develop and to grow. And the need to leave a legacy is our spiritual need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, personal congruence, and contribution.” ~ Stephen R. Covey ~

 

“On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.” ~ Buddha ~

 

“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”

~ St. Francis of Assisi ~

 

“Seek His Shelter, O my mind; there is no other as Great as He. Remembering Him in meditation, a profound peace is obtained. Pain and suffering will not touch you at all.”

~ Sri Guru Granth Sahib ~

  

Confucius believed that green jade had eleven virtues, one of which was wisdom :o)

 

For Macro Monday's theme "Wisdom" - HMM!

The Holy Spirit - (Poetry)

 

Wings of loving freedom—

soaring peacefully into harmony with hymns of faith

encircling earth in search of virtuous souls

encountering scores of compassionate hearts

in tunes of praise and glory—

the gospel music of salvation.

 

Our Heavenly Father

aggrieved by turbulent winds

and clouds of fury

that displace innocent lives,

humanity is gifted with prayer to mitigate ominous storms,

protecting God’s children from misfortune.

 

The outpouring of divine love

thawing humanity’s chilled heart,

shadowed in moments of indifference,

blessed and thoughtfully forgiven by grace.

 

In unified prayer of mercy,

Jesus pardons our sins,

wipes away tears—

prepares our soul to embrace the Holy Spirit.

 

Behold the Light of Resurrection—

the Choir of Heaven in symphony with the Book of Life

recording all who believe in God’s providence!

 

By Loci B. Lenar

  

The stained glass window detail was photographed inside Saint Mary's Church, Denville, New Jersey.

 

Poetry © 2005 Loci B. Lenar

Registration Number TXU1-286-432

 

Photograph Copyright 2009 Loci B. Lenar

www.christian-miracles.com

The Gangi Valguarnera Palace was built in the first half of the 17th Century and finished around 1780 by prince Pietro di Valguarnera. Due to the vastness of its architectural layout, the quality and richness of the decorations, and the fact of it having arrived to the 21st century practically intact, palazzo Valguarnera is not only a unicum in the Sicilian scene, but also one of the highest moments of Italian Rococo.

 

Within, one may admire: the Hall of Honour, with its ceiling painted by Elia Interguglielmi in 1792 showing the “Glory of the virtuous prince”; the Gallery of mirrors, with its double ceiling, allowing the large central fresco to be seen through the openings in the lower false ceiling; the Yellow Hall with the “Triumph of the virtues necessary to the prince” fresco, painted by Gaspare Serenario in 1754.

 

The palace inspired director Luchino Visconti for the setting of the famous scene of the great dance in his film Il Gattopardo, from the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa.

Its all up now here

 

slurl.com/secondlife/Virtuous Estates/53/92/21

Church of St. James, Bondleigh Devon stands next to Bondleigh Barton farmhouse

Originally a 12c Norman church, it was rebuilt in 15c .

Before the Reformation it was dedicated to St Mary.

It consists of chancel, nave, north aisle, south porch, and three stage crenellated west tower with 4 bells, built of local stone slate and sandstone rubble walls with some granite ashlar to the tower.

 

The earliest part is the 12c Norman south doorway www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/KBq2M7U0RD with a carved tympanum showing the Agnus Dei between two birds www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/h6dzRTT129 - the nave may also incorporate some Norman fabric.

The bowl of the Norman font survives, resting on a central and four smaller shafts of a later date. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/tFzsCCM6aL

At the east end of the north aisle, built into the wall, are some remains of Norman work apparently the capitals of two pillars, in a remarkably good state of preservation. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/2J43qw0X10

The chancel was probably rebuilt or remodelled in the 15c when the Easter sepulchre was built on the north wall in which lies the effigy of a priest, wearing a surplice and pointed chasuble. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/h39Rv38bSR On each side of the chancel windows are two niches for lost saints with canopies much mutilated.

The tower and south porch are also probably 15c

The north aisle is considerably later and might even be post-reformation late 16c One window has some ancient glass surviving. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/qT2WG8y045

The old wagon roofs survive with moulded purlins and carved bosses - larger and more elaborate to the aisle which also has running foliage carved wall-plates.

The belfry screen contains some portions of the old chancel screen.

 

There are two windows on the south side of the nave, one containing some old glass showing the Annunciation. www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/92yE0zKaFv

 

Over the porch is a sundial inscribed "Sensum sini Sensu Anno Dom 1706. Dial's the name that all men call me by, I measure time and time sweeps all away." www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/39659VyGbh

 

The west door has for security, four openings for two bars, one at the top the other at the bottom.

 

All restored in 1890 when a number of the windows were renewed.

 

A slate tablet enclosed in wood is inscribed:

"Sacred to the Memory of Mary wife of Joseph Goss of this Parish who from her husband and eight dear children was in the prime of a virtuous well spent life summoned to meet her God that gave her existence, Feb. 6th 1798. Aged 37 years - Beneath this table rests the mortal part

Of her who once delighted every heart

How good she was and what her virtues were

Her Guardian angel can alone declare

The Friend that now this little tribute pays

Too exquisitely feels to speak her praise

Yet would'st thou know ye pious life she spent

How many from her hands received content

How many Breasts that poverty had chilled

Her charity with Peace, with rapture filled

The village nigh shall gratify thy ears

And tell thee some with words but most with tears

Also to the Memory of Mary Ann Daughter of ye said Joseph and Mary Goss who at ye period of 15 years of Her age was summoned to meet her God that gave her existance, April 9th 1798 - Like Birds of Prey, Death snatch'd away this tender Harmless Dove whose soul's so pure and now secure we hope in Heaven above."

 

The registers date are dated: baptisms, 1813; marriages, 1754; burials, 1813

 

Picture with thanks - copyright Liz Mary britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101326420-church-of-st-james...

The ingénue /ˈænʒənuː/ is a stock character in literature, film, and a role type in the theatre; generally a girl or a young woman who is endearingly innocent and wholesome. The term comes from the feminine form of the French adjective ingénu meaning "ingenuous" or innocent, virtuous, and candid.

 

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Relief from Florence, c. 1470/80. London, Victori and Albert Museum. Afb. 4 in: PANOFSKY, Erwin (1930). Hercules am Scheidewege und andere antike Bildstoffe in der neueren Kunst. B.G. Teubner, Leipzig/Berlin.

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Prudence (Latin: prudentia, contracted from providentia meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four Cardinal virtues (which are, with the three theological virtues, part of the seven virtues). Prudentia is an allegorical female personification of the virtue, whose attributes are a mirror and snake, who is frequently depicted as a pair with Justitia, the Roman goddess of Justice.

 

The word derives from the 14th-century Old French word prudence, which, in turn, derives from the Latin prudentia meaning "foresight, sagacity". It is often associated with wisdom, insight, and knowledge. In this case, the virtue is the ability to judge between virtuous and vicious actions, not only in a general sense, but with regard to appropriate actions at a given time and place. Although prudence itself does not perform any actions, and is concerned solely with knowledge, all virtues had to be regulated by it. Distinguishing when acts are courageous, as opposed to reckless or cowardly, for instance, is an act of prudence, and for this reason it is classified as a cardinal (pivotal) virtue.

 

In modern English, the word has become increasingly synonymous with cautiousness. In this sense, prudence names a reluctance to take risks, which remains a virtue with respect to unnecessary risks, but, when unreasonably extended into over-cautiousness, can become the vice of cowardice.

 

In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle gives a lengthy account of the virtue phronesis (Ancient Greek: ϕρονησιϛ), traditionally translated as "prudence", although this has become increasingly problematic as the word has fallen out of common usage. More recently ϕρονησιϛ has been translated by such terms as "practical wisdom", "practical judgment" or "rational choice" (Wikipedia).

Details from a Guthrie/Mann/Gauld? window. The window depicts 4 joyless women, 2 despondent angels, some dour looking bairns, lots of cobwebs and the glummest possible cherub .... perhaps something to do with this interpretation of the inscription on the window of the proverb "She layeth her hands to the spindle and her hands on the distaff".

  

Represents the virtuous woman. She is very careful to recommend herself to her husband's esteem and affection, to know his mind, and is willing that he rule over her. 1. And she makes it her constant business to do him good. 2. She is one that takes pains in her duties, and takes pleasure in them. She is careful to fill up time, that none be lost. She rises early. She applies herself to the business proper for her, to women's business. She does what she does, with all her power, and trifles not.... 10. She shall reflect with comfort when she comes to be old, that she was not idle or useless when young. Repair. www.rdwglass.com

Blessed Mannes (ca. 1170-1235), an older brother of Dominic, was contemplative and holy. He placed himself under his brothers guidance at least from the foundation of the Dominican Order and perhaps even much earlier. Mannes joined the Order and was known as a fervent preacher, virtuous in his habits, meek, humble, and kind. He later helped establish the priory of St. Jacques in Paris in 1217, and in 1219 he was entrusted with the care of the Dominican nuns at Madrid. After his death many miracles were attributed to his intercession. More is known about Mannes than Dominic’s other siblings. It is believed that St Dominic's parents, Blessed Felix de Guzman and Blessed Jane of Aza had three sons and perhaps one daughter. Two of Dominic’s nephews also joined the Order. Dominic’s oldest brother, Anthony, was a diocesan priest in a hospice and devoted himself unreservedly to works of mercy in the service of the poor.

 

This stained glass window is in the church of St Dominic in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles.

"See, the days are coming – it is the Lord who speaks – when I will raise a virtuous Branch for David, who will reign as true king and be wise, practising honesty and integrity in the land."

– Jeremiah 23:5f.

 

Stained glass detail from the Jesse tree window in Canterbury Cathedral.