The Blind Spot Oracle Cards

Mind Body  & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review:The Blind Spot Oracle Cards by Teal Swan, boxed set of 78 cards and guidebook, published by Watkins.

These quality cards are packed in a sturdy container with a comprehensive instruction book. Also in the pack are 49 non toxic, removable tattoos. The cards carry a design, described as a sigil, that was hand drawn and painted whilst undergoing a trance state. The artist and author of this deck has created each card to be a doorway and a manifestation of the required energy and to have magical powers. The design on these cards is a living entity in itself and each design influences the user as a teacher or guide would influence. 

The information on how to prepare for a reading, how to use this oracle, what might be missing, and the meaning of each card is of interest. Spreads offered are: The Conflict 2 cards, Time 3 cards, Responsibility 8 cards and Sector 4 cards. Titles are: Bypassing, Denial, Not seeing Signs, Blinding Optimism, Projection, Superiority, Enabling, Gaslighting, etc., etc.

 

What I like about these cards are that they highlight a very important part of the decision making process, that is, our patterns get in the way of us seeing reality, which we need a particular times in our life. There are many times when a balanced approach is vital and being too positive can lead us into difficulty.

Review by Wendy Stokes  https://wendystokes.co.uk

Free Healing Meditation

Free healing meditation written by Wendy Stokes

  

Spotlight on the Vatican

The Pope takes his status in an alleged apostolic line directly from Saint Peter, who is described as the first Pope, though this is unlikely. Sts. Peter and Paul are thought to have been martyred in Rome. But Peter was not the only contender for the description of head of the Christian Church. James the Less, probably a close relative of Jesus, maybe even his brother, was head of the Jerusalem Church which had an extremely high status, as did Antioch and Alexandria. In the second century, the Bishop of Lyon in Gaul decided Rome was the dominant centre of Christianity. Emperor Constantine sealed the situation and the Council of Nicaea was oppressive of other Christian religious groups. Many Popes were extremely corrupt as were the Cardinals and priests. 

The Roman Catholic Church has archives in the Vatican that are said to date back to the Eighth Century. There would be alternative gospels, heretical manuscripts, and a history of oppression, corruption and cover ups, most currently conveniently denied or ignored. We know, in the New Testament, that Mary Magdalene and several other women, such as Joanna, paid from her own purse for Jesus and his disciples to conduct their ministry, so the long years of treating women as second class citizens has been both cruel and demeaning to more than fifty per cent of the Roman Catholic congregation. 

Meditation - A Free YouTube Video

Please enjoy this free YouTube Past Life Meditation, presented by Jade Melany and written text by Wendy Stokes. Do not drive as this will make you sleepy. Keep warm, comfortable and do not be interrupted for 20 minutes. 

/Xam extinct tribe

The /Xam bushmen once occupied the whole central interior of South Africa. Their paintings are dated to 10,000 years and maybe back as far as 50,000 years. The tribe itself died out around 1920 and since then ancestral lands south of the Orange River have been taken and those few remaining elderly members have been denied the right to speak. Their cultural memories would have been lost were it not for Wilhelm Bleek and Lucy Lloyd, 150 years ago. He learned their language from a handful of men who were being held prisoner in the city jail and he invited them to stay in his house. When Wilhelm died in 1875, Lucy continued with a task for the next 39 years until her own death in 1914. The /Xam were considered to be the lowest form of humanity and were looked upon as vermin. They were exterminated and many were shot. In some places, the massacre of several hundred was recorded and they suffered with starvation from civil punishments, such as theft and murder. They were accused of cattle rustling and the punishment was imprisonment for two years of hard labour Their lives were overcrowded and brutal tand they supplied the labour for new roads and railway lines in Cape Province. They were sent out every day in chain gangs. They were left with the poorest areas and found the lowest paid work in farming. 

London - The Novel - An Extract

The armour of the Warriors of Anglo-Saxon England was the same as that used all over Europe: the coat of chain mail. Known probably since the Bronze Age, the principle of chain mail was simple and convenient. Small, riveted rings of metal, usually about 4/10 of an inch in diameter, were linked together to form a long shirt that reached past the knees. Being loose and flexible – unlike later suits of plate armour – a coat of chainmail could be altered to fit different wearers. Many of the coats Alfred saw had belonged to the wearers’ fathers. They were valuable – ordinary foot soldiers could seldom afford them – and treasured accordingly.

But they had two disadvantages. They became worn and torn, and above all, the large surface area of so many links made them very prone to rust. As the most junior apprentice, Alfred was given the tedious job of cleaning them, so that soon, whenever the owners of these garments appeared, a cheerful cry would go up from the other apprentices: “Alfred! Rust!” 

The Calling! - A Story

Clearing a relative’s house after their death, I found an old tape player with a single cassette inside. There were no others. Intrigued, I found some batteries in a drawer of insulating tape, drawing pins, plasters and spare buttons and put them in the old tape-player, inserted the cassette, and pressed the play button down with a clunk. I was wondering whether it might be an audio diary with an interesting revelation into this old recluse.

The tape disappointed me! It was just a series of gentle tones, high in pitch, not sounding like anything in particular. I flipped It over but more of the same! How strange!

I shrugged, and got on with clearing the house. When I left at the end of the day, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the rooflines of the houses were full of birds, on ridge tiles, on chimney pots and swaying on aerials - bird after bird after bird!

It was early in the year for starlings to gather, and because I was preoccupied with loading the car, I didn't notice that there were crows and blackbirds and dunnocks and finches and jackdaws and pigeons and gulls and starlings and robins and tits and rooks and jays, and even snipes and lapwings and oystercatchers and hawks and kittiwakes and sanderlings - and further not noticed by me, herons stood still on gateposts like statues!

I drove away, my mind on other things. I did not know that if I kept playing the tape, every bird for miles around would have heard it and been called!

London Hangings

Tyburn was the chief place of London’s public executions from about 1150 to 1759 (near where Marble Arch now stands). Other execution sites were West Smithfield, Red Lion Square, Lincolns Inn Fields, Charing Cross and Saint Giles in the Fields. It was regarded as a privilege to be executed within The Tower precincts, since the public were not admitted. You were spared the indignity of the headsman holding your head aloft for all to see, and announcing “behold the head of a traitor”. Most prisoners however were executed outside The Tower at the scaffolding Tower Hill. The site of the scaffold is clearly marked to the west of the gardens. Altogether, the hanging of over 125 people took place between 1388 and 1747. The scaffold was about 5 feet high and made of rough planks with a railing surrounding it. The whole structure was draped in black. Sawdust was scattered over the surface to soak up any blood. A basket stood beside the block for the head. Access was by means of a short wooden staircase that was apparently unsteady. Sir Thomas Moore on his way to the execution said to the assistant “See me safely up - as for my coming down, I will shift for myself. 

Beside the Town of Ramsgate pub a narrow alleyway leads to Wapping Old Stairs which gives access to the riverbank. A short distance downstream was Execution Dock - a gallows under Admiralty jurisdiction for crimes committed on the high seas. The condemned man would be brought in a cart from Newgate jail with his executioner seated behind him. In front was the Marshall of the Admiralty in his carriage with two city marshals following on horseback as escort. The procession would pass pass along Wapping High Street and down the old stairs to the gallows at the execution dock. Here the unfortunate man would be left to hang by his neck while the river washed over his body three times at high tide. Of all those who suffered this plight, the best known as Captain Kidd who was convicted in 1701 for killing a seaman on his own ship by banging him over the head with a bucket. It was frequently asserted at the time that kid was a victim of a frame up.

The Guru’s Dhoti - A Story

 A guru and his student lived in a small countryside hut with only their begging bowl and dhoti as possessions. Each morning they would take their begging bowl to the village, and each evening wash their dhoti and hang it out to dry. One day, the guru announced to his student that he was embarking on a pilgrimage. His greatest worry was that the student would starve! 

That day, the student begged and received generously for his needs. He washed and hung out his dhoti to dry. But in the morning, he discovered the rats had chewed the edge of his dhoti. He asked the villagers for another piece of cloth, which he was kindly given, but he also needed a cat, which they also provided him with. When the cat needed milk, they gave him a cow. Then the cow needed pasture, so they gave him land. Soon, he wanted an assistant to help with the extra work and adopted a young man. A wife and children were soon occupying the small hut so a large house was needed. One summer’s day, the master guru returned. He was shocked! “what’s all this” he said. The student replied “I needed all this to keep my dhoti clean! 

The White Ship

The White Ship was extraordinary for its time, as usually ships were waterproofed with black pitch and this one might have been limed to distinguish it as the most prestigious royal vessel that sailed the seas. It was certainly the largest, with a massive 50 of the very best oarsmen, so when it set sail on a calm November day in 1120, it sought to out rival the Ming’s ship that had set sail a few hours previously from Barflour in Normandy and heading to Southampton. 

The day began with Captain FitzStephen of the White Ship requesting King Henry I to honour him on the White Ship for the voyage across the Channel, but King Henry decided to leave earlier but offered his son, the Prince and his entourage to accompany the Captain. Prince William, upon boarding and his men immediately got drunk and very rowdy, commanding the oarsmen to out strip the King in making it Southampton first. 

When the White Ship hit the rocks of Quillebeuf, the Prince was placed in a boat for safety, but his half sister, Countess Matilda, cried for him to save her and his boat returned and was upturned by drowning men. There was only one survivor, Bertold from whom the story was told. 

A Healing Meditation

With thanks to Jo Bernard for the voice over and video creation

 

Spiritualism

Spiritualism has an illustrious past! It was once the religion of the elite, promoted by prominent intellectuals, such as those who supported women’s rights and animal welfare. We want to be friendly, open and kind, especially to those who attend meetings for the first time and might be nervous. As people approach a religious centre, they expect to meet with those who walk a spiritual path and practice spiritual values. Religious institutions must be at the centre of eliminating discrimination and victimisation. Most of all people must be able to expect the law to protect them!

Each centre should have an equality, a diversity, a complaints and a disciplinary procedure that includes an anti-bullying policy that insists on the equality of gender, race, religion, orientation, age, ability and colour. The Committee has the responsibility to ensure that safe and fair behaviour takes place on their church premises. 

Prejudice and bullying is unacceptable and must be reported and dealt with promptly by the Committee. Prejudices are illegal as are threats, demands, intimidation, exclusions, slander, circulating untrue or unverified rumours, blackmail and harassment. Anyone witnessing victimisation should record it and report it because often the victim is too traumatised to deal with it and avoids the church and the church members in future.