The Holy Land

Many mysteries surround the antiquity of the Holy Land. Sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, it is the most fought over piece of land in the world! Where is Mount Sinai? Sir Colin Humphreys is a Cambridge University academic who questioned the position of Mount Sinai, the place where Exodus states that Moses heard the voice of God from the burning bush and was given the 10 Commandments.

First Force Field Analysis

Hello! The light in me bows to the light in you! Here are some life tips taken from my old diaries!

Be specific with the following questions. Write the answers down and refer back to them after 1 month:

What one thing would add to/improve/enhance your life?

What are you prepared to do to achieve this?

Is it within your control to get it? What might be the obstacles or not within your control?

How could you sabotage yourself from getting it? 

Will others know you want it?  Will they know when you get it?

Is it in keeping with your standards, judgments and ethics?

Introducing John Birch

Brother JOHN BIRCH developed an interesting method of raising money for charity! He embarked on a home-made retreat that included renunciation and self-sacrifice for a charitable cause. John has worked as a UK tutor for "An Introduction to Contemporary Spirituality - The Soul's Journey" by William Bloom and ran the Spiritual Path Network in the UK to help people discover their spiritual path. He has trained mediums and healers. 

John Birch developed an interesting method of raising money for charity! He embarked on a home-made retreat that included renunciation and self-sacrifice for a charitable cause. He restricted his environment by reducing general distractions and cutting out modern comforts and necessities, such as food, electricity, and contact with friends. With these indulgent pastimes out of the way, John went into solitary confinement in his home to raise awareness for the plight of the fast diminishing Amazonian rainforest. His retreat also had the added advantage that John could put the money that he saved during this time towards a cause that helps the world's largest endangered rainforest and the people that are dependent upon it.

The Amazon Cry Foundation is a registered charity that was founded to prevent illegal logging and mining in the Amazon region and also to provide a school, language lessons and a workers' co-operative for the people of the Amazonian basin. The Amazon is a natural temple and its destruction is a threat to the planet's future health. Throughout John's silent week, his feelings of emptiness and a connection with the struggling people of the Amazon surfaced. His solitary confinement became a vision quest. During his deep meditations, John, who is a visionary made spiritual contact with a native shaman, and clearly saw the man's face, with beads of sweat, tattoos and fish bone piercings. John feels his self-imposed week of hardship gave him an empathy and compassion towards the Rainforest people. He noticed that his sense of time slowed and he adopted a more natural pace of life. He also appreciated the solace and calmness of silence and heard bird-song and other natural sounds with new ears. 

John has worked as a UK tutor for "An Introduction to Contemporary Spirituality - The Soul's Journey" by William Bloom, and William provided the preface to John's book of his experience. John has worked with William Bloom on 'the Holistic Spiritual Project' which endorses the wonder of life and celebrates diversity, ecology and health.

John's intention is to challenge buying habits and to use purchasing power. He suggests we reduce the demand of the hardwood trees of the rainforest by avoiding buying hardwood furniture. We need to be aware that the Rainforest is being cleared to raise soya crops for animal food. This is an extravagant use of land for meat eaters and, if we reduce our meat consumption, we also reduce the loss of this extraordinary rainforest.

John ran the Spiritual Path Network in the UK to help people discover their spiritual path. He has trained mediums and healers.  

He worked as a Production Buyer for a Brewery in the North of England and in his spare time is dedicated to conserving the Amazonian Rain-forest and to protect the tribal people who are dependent on the forest for their livelihood. John has become an ordained brother with an interfaith fellowship that believes in leading by example and sowing the seeds of ecology, peace and kindness.

When I interviewed John, I asked: What country or place has had the greatest impact on you? And John replied "I think that the town of Glastonbury has had an enormous impact on me in recent years. I first went there several years ago to work with William Bloom on the final drafts of his course, 'An Introduction to Contemporary Spirituality: The Soul's Journey'. I then relayed it back to my teaching the course at the Blackpool & Fylde College. William and I became good friends and he kindly provided the narration for a spiritual film I made a few years later. I facilitated a Hand-fasting Ceremony in the Chalice Well Garden on the request of one of my former students. It was a very moving and memorable day. I have fond memories of Glastonbury when I sat with a friend in silence on a bench in the Chalice Well Garden for a period of two hours. Time seemed to disappear and we  both had tears of pleasure in our eyes. It was a special soul-enriching experience for both of us." John has also facilitated retreats and workshops in remote UK woodlands and has been involved with One World, a festival that has been running for 14 years on macrobiotic principles.

Asked to describe which books John would you like to recommend to readers and why, he describes several. "I moved away from reading books a few years ago because I more often found that the words and experiences of others did not synchronise with my experience or fit with my inner truth. If I were to recommend a few books, however, I would choose Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now and Ram Dass' One Liners. The first is a little difficult to get into, and the second, a 'dip in - dip out' coffee table book.  Both provide the reader with a way to consciously and compassionately engage in the world in a mode of acceptance and presence. Both carry transformative insights that are simple to grasp as the greatest of truths usually are."

John edited a monthly newsletter offering a variety of spiritual paths which has been read by thousands of people and published free of charge. This newsletter has been central to John's mission, to help to increase a 'collective' sense of planetary responsibility.  He is currently creating a retreat centre in France and is writing a book about his spiritual journey.

Wendy Stokes interviewer, columnist and author of The Lightworkers Circle Guide - A Workbook for Spiritual Groups' which raises awareness and funds for The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. H-H readers are welcome to join Wendy on Facebook.

Here are links for John Birch 'Spiritual Paths'
http://happy-duck.co.uk/blog/?p=2204

http://leicestershire.thespiritguides.co.uk/Article_Spiritual_Path_Woodland_Retreat_5038.aspx

www.thespiritguides.co.uk/Article_Spiritual_Path_5033.aspx

Or search for Spiritual Paths Bro John Birch into youtube, to watch a series of his videos.

Interview - Les Fuller

 Each month for twenty years at Woodford Spiritualist church, Les Fuller, holds a very popular drop in group that is most easily called a 'shamanic workshop'. Many who attend are Spiritualists, though all are welcome, regardless of background or belief. It is an experiential meeting where we sing, drum, some dance, we smell scents, hear bells and rattles, and are uplifted by the community of friendly and caring attenders. Les asks if anyone needs 'healing' and invites them to sit in the centre of the room and relax while others attend in various ways to lay hands on their head or shoulders. Good attention and relaxation are known to heal many ills, especially those that are stress related. There is always a time of active meditation where Les tells us a story which we follow in our mind's eye. During this inner experience, we see, hear and speak to spirit guides, for inspiration, to understand our purpose, or to gain advice for our life's difficulties. Some of the spirit guides might be an animal, such as a dog, a bird or a fish. The directions of North East, South, West, and the Centre are honoured, and there are seasonal celebrations and duties, such as to give thanks, to clean or rest. 

Watkins Bookstore

During the Victorian era, the intelligentsia, rich and fashionable of London were fascinated by mysticism and spirituality. In this era of excitement, one of the leading lights of the day, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, encouraged her friend, John Watkins to open the first ever specialist esoteric bookshop. It bears the ‘Watkins’ name to this day.

Watkins is situated in the dignified elegance of Cecil Court, off Charing Cross Road, London. The shop’s logo depicts Thoth, Egyptian God of Wisdom in the act of writing with pen and paper. The store stocks the UK’s widest selection of esoteric information in 60,000 book titles, cards, CD’s, DVDs, talismans, artefacts and other interesting items. In its early years, customers included W B Yeats, Aleister Crowley, G R S Mead, Carl Jung, Aldous Huxley, Dion Fortune and the Society of the Inner Light, MacGregor Mathers and members of The Golden Dawn. 

Stephen Wollaston - An Interview

Introducing Stephen WOLLASTON

"What have I been doing... I recovered from a straightforward illness that became serious one night when hospital doctors informed me they needed to contact a member of my family. I remember being quite accepting of the situation and thinking "I won't have any bills to worry about now". Yet, through the quick actions of the doctors, I pulled through and here I am! It was an interesting time. I realised I'm not afraid of dying! 

Before this, in 2017 I co-edited a new title with Ian Mowll, the coordinator of GreenSpirit, in the low-cost GreenSpirit Book Series, ‘Dark Nights of the Green Soul’, which was expanded this year with four additional chapters. The book highlights wisdom about facing difficult times, alongside reflections on our interactive relationship with Nature. The second and largest section has particularly resonated with some readers, and includes personal stories of people who found new meaning and growth by either connecting with an animal friend or in Earth-centred spiritual awakenings and teachings.

John Birch - An Interview

Amazonian Rain-forest activist from the UK, John Birch, has developed an interesting method of raising money for charity! One morning whilst visiting Westminster Cathedral in Central London, John sensed the spirit of Jesus surrounding the entire building. Later that day, he attended an Eckhart Tolle seminar and was inspired to become a facilitator of an Eckhart Tolle Local Silent Group in his area of Blackburn, Lancashire. 

Jocelyn Chaplin - An Interview

Bettany Hughes acclaimed series 'Divine Women' on prime time TV offers a full appreciation of ancient goddess worship and the role of women in the ancient times. Many women writers and speakers are introducing her various paths and how their worship was practised. As a psychotherapist and artist, I have been bringing her into my work, as goddess in various forms and also as the abstract force of rhythmic equalizing flow.

“My first book ‘Feminist Counselling in Action’ was reviewed for the Guardian (15.11.88) as showing how 'the goddess can be an allegory giving shape and form to the feminine principle' and it can be used to empower women today. My most recent book (published in 2008 by O Books) is entitled 'Deep Equality - Living in the Flow of Natural Rhythm'. This is a tapestry of examples, quotes, exercises, thoughts and pictures on the subject of reducing hierarchical structures and replacing them with rhythmic ones, linked to the goddess as flow.

weight loss video

We are so often reminded about the need to watch our weight but it is surprising that just one portion too much each day can pile on more than a stone in weight each year – and every year! If we can’t get weight off during the summer, most people find the winter a more difficult time. Weight gain is exponential: the more weight we have, the less active our life, so the more weight we gain. This puts a strain on joints, increases our risk of fatty liver, heart disease and strokes, and is now said to increase our dementia risk also.

Avalon Oracle of the Day

Avalon Oracle of the Day - LOVE. "This love card relates to the relationship you have with yourself, lover, friend or your family."

Love is the ultimate creative power that lives within us all. It may be so often buried under pain, anger, jealousy and circumstances we have allowed to over shadow us, but ultimately, the flame of love is eternally burning inside us. We must learn to embrace Love for when we do, our relationship with ourselves improves and in so doing it automatically improves the ones we have with others around us.

We often look at relationships and see them as difficult, hard work, overpowering, unyielding, one sided, imperfect. We see idolized relationships on fictitious shows on TV and wish ours was the same. We want someone else to be more loving, outgoing, helpful, caring etc., etc.,. And so we must ask ourselves, are we all those things we want from someone else, to ourselves ? are we loving, caring, helpful towards ourselves ? Do we give time and effort to ourselves ? When we love ourselves unconditionally, this cultivates an unconditionally loving energy towards others.

London Spiritist Group

I was invited to attend a Brazilian Spiritist group and I arrived at the venue at 7pm when coffee and refreshments were being served. It was explained to me that this 'course in spirituality' is very popular in Brazil and has been brought to the UK along with books that are used as their source material. These are five books, codified by Allan Kardec. At 7.30pm, we entered a very pleasant room and gathered to enjoy some calm background music. Each member in turn read from a book of spiritual wisdom and was able to make comments and ask questions on the text. These books, written in question and answer format, provide spiritual knowledge. After this, there was a lecture by a Brazilian speaker on a matter relating to spiritual life. The lecture was delivered in Portuguese and there was a translator standing by. This section of the meeting offers a different subject each week though all are based ethical living and how to live a moral life by contributing to our communities by paying attention to relationships, communal considerations, green issues, etc. Then we were invited to receive spiritual healing by way of a prayer and small glass of water.

What is Spiritism?

In Poughkeepsie, New York State, in 1847 an uneducated faith healer and medical seer, Andrew Jackson Davis, wrote an autobiography entitled ‘The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations’. In this book, he described his very remarkable channelling mediumship abilities which he had discovered whilst experimenting with the techniques of Franz Mesmer whose early work, entitled ‘animal magnetism’ was being modified, resulting in the discovery of ‘intentional somnambulism’ an early word used for ‘trance’. He was in touch with intellectuals in the spirit world, such as Swedenborg and Galen and he went on to write fifty books on education, health, politics, psychology and philosophy. Within a short time, in Hydesville, a local town in New York State, two young sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox reported strange knockings and rappings. These developed into a code that revealed - it is said - that a peddler had been murdered and buried in the cellar of their home! An excavation revealed some bones and the previous owner of the property, Mr Bell, was accused of murder on account of this. 

Medicine & Spirituality Congress Review

I had the pleasure to attend the 2nd British Congress on Medicine and Spirituality and would like my readers to know about the conference.

Tim Wheater is a New Age musician and he delighted us with an enchanting opening to the conference.  The speakers came from many disciplines; psychologists, psychiatrists, psychotherapists, researchers, medical doctors and scientists. There were six from Brazil and three from the UK. The auditorium was filled with people from many nations, including Ireland, Switzerland, Denmark and Sweden. Many Spiritists attended because the Brazilian speakers are all practicing Spiritists, a faith aligned to Spiritualism. Spiritism is highly popular in Brazil where there are many automatic writing mediums and inspirational speakers. They have entire hospitals that are based on Spiritism, a religion that accepts life after death and that spirits want to contact us. It is based on channelled answers to questions which were posed and codified by Allan Kardec, a French educator of the mid eighteen hundreds. These teachings explain where we come from, what the purpose is of our existence, and where we go after physical death. Also explained are other factors, such as spirit possession and how to protect the self against psychic attack.

Spiritualism Part One

During Spiritualism’s heyday, philanthropists, political activists, (including vegetarians and animal welfare activists), and all kinds of intellectuals and Establishment figures believed that spirits in the Afterlife could be contacted to aid learning and help those in the physical world live a better life. Queen Victoria and the royal family are said to be ardent believers. Spiritualism’s ‘Pope’, the flamboyant socialist Hannen Swaffer (who opposed capital punishment and always wore a hat) was an ardent campaigner for Spiritualism. 

Spiritism and Conference Review

Spiritism	Spiritualism
Movement began in France and spread to Brazil	Movement began in US and UK
Mediums communicate with named spirits in the spirit world for moral guidance and spiritual instruction often received by ‘automatic writing’	Mediums communicates with family and friends in spirit world for ‘proof of survival’ often delivered by platform mediums to a church congregation
Uses non-contact healing	Uses contact healing
Believes in reincarnation	Does not believe in reincarnation
Mediumship training, healing and spirit release is offered to suitable applicants without cost	Frequently raises money for charities through psychic suppers and other fundraising activities

Beginnings of spirit contact: Contact with spirits, angels and demons are mentioned many times in the Old and New Testament. Most religious movements have started with a medium receiving a message from a deity, angel or spirit of some kind.

Spiritism and Spiritualism

In Poughkeepsie, New York State, in 1847 an uneducated faith healer and medical seer, Andrew Jackson Davis, wrote an autobiography entitled ‘The Principles of Nature, Her Divine Revelations’. In this book, he described his very remarkable channelling mediumship abilities which he had discovered whilst experimenting with the techniques of Franz Mesmer whose early work, entitled ‘animal magnetism’ was being modified, resulting in the discovery of ‘intentional somnambulism’ an early word used for ‘trance’. He was in touch with intellectuals in the spirit world, such as Swedenborg and Galen and he went on to write fifty books on education, health, politics, psychology and philosophy. Within a short time, in Hydesville, a local town in New York State, two young sisters, Margaret and Kate Fox reported strange knockings and rappings. These developed into a code that revealed that a peddler had been murdered and buried in the cellar of their home. An excavation revealed some bones and the previous owner of the property, Mr Bell, was accused of murder.

John the Baptist’s Story

“Repent for the Kingdom of God is at Hand!” John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus, proclaiming  “Make straight his Paths,” “There is one who will come after me, whose sandals I am not fit to lace.”

We do not know very much about the teachings of the Baptist, but it would have included a vow of extreme poverty and humility. The character of the Baptist is thought to be modelled on Elijah who gave his cloak- a symbol for his responsibility - to Elisha upon his death. As Elisha succeeded Elijah so Jesus succeeded the Baptist who was of the Levite caste, of the line of Aaron. They served as Rabbis/High Priests. The rabbis took turns to attend the Jerusalem Temple, burning incense, sacrificing animals, tending the lamps, renewing shewbread, all pertaining to the 23rd chapter of Leviticus. John could have continued the privileged work of the high priest, but he chose to baptise pilgrims in the name of forgiveness in the Jordan. This was another type of priestly work, unrelated to the purchase and burning of animals, so he was called a prophet, not a priest.

Just as Abraham and Sarah bore a son in their elderly years, and the hero Samson was born also of elderly parents, the Baptist was born of an angelic miracle. His elderly mother Elizabeth, a descendant of the high priest, Aaron, was too old to have the child she had always prayed for. Her husband, Zachariah was the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple, of the eighth class, that of Abia. 

Q : Were Templars Heretics?

Last words of Jacques de Molay: “I confess that I am indeed guilty of the greatest infamy. But the infamy is that I lied. I lied by admitting to disgusting charges laid against my Order. I declare that the Order is innocent. Its purity and saintliness have never been defiled. In truth, I have testified otherwise, but I did so from fear of horrible tortures.”

Adam of Murimouth and Christian Spinoza vouched for the Templars’ innocence and we have verbatim accounts of the court cases. 

Baptised and confirmed Catholics, the Templars took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and accepted further rules of restriction of aceticism that was not required of other monks. They honoured the Cistercian monastic rule from their founder St Bernard (which can be read online). They were monks and very few were priests, so therefore they had no initiation beyond the ordinary baptism, communion and confirmation rites. When they joined the Order, they gave up their ancestral lands, often placing female relatives in convents. Templars, like all monks, attended daily mass - a public event - and there they recited The Apostles Creed (which can be read online), so we know what these men of integrity believed without doubt. They heard the old and New Testament readings and exegesis, they gave public confessions where they would be humiliated for the least personal sins, and they received holy communion, wine and unleavened bread, celebrated in remembrance of the last supper before Jesus was betrayed, judged, tortured and crucified. They kept the canonical hours with prayer 8 times throughout day and night. 

The Story of Jesus

From the earliest written gospels, we have the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples. “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven, give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us, our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

The name Jesus is a corruption of Yeshuah; in the Old Testament name, it is Joshua. 

Jesus spoke the language of the people, Aramaic, he also read in the synagogue, so he knew Hebrew, and when interrogated by Pilate, the Roman governor, he may have spoken to him in the Latin language. 

Herod Antipas thought that Jesus was John the Baptist. The Baptist had been imprisoned on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in the Machaerus fortress. His martyrdom was by beheading. Jesus was, like John, a revolutionary spiritual teacher whom Herod also feared. It is likely that John and Jesus were of the true royal line, unlike the King (tetrach) Herod. We know a little about John, an ascetic who proclaimed the end of the world and who baptised all people without exception in the Jordan river in the name of forgiveness of sins. He also, like Jesus, had a miraculous birth and was a messiah in his own right. During his imprisonment, he asked if Jesus would step up to take his place, and Jesus accepted the role. We know far more about the life of Jesus, his birth, miracles, teaching, his disciples, his torture and death and resurrection. We know also that he fulfilled the Old Testament scriptures where the life of the messiah was foretold of a glorious king, a conqueror who would give sovereignty to the nation,  a suffering messiah, humble victim, whose destiny was sacrifice. 

Oracle Reading for April

For April, I have chosen the colour Amber as it reflects the gold of the sun which we anticipate is arriving in greater strength as the springtime progresses. This card is from Liquid Crystal Oracle by Justin Moikeha Asar and it carries the angel, Merbayel, and the anchor of laughter. Amber is fossilised pine tree resin and it often contains plant or insect material buried within its luminosity. If you feel trapped in life, the sunlight reflected within the amber will lift your spirits and will show you new paths, and give you the strength of endurance to remove yourself from any sticky situation. Amber is a link to the Egyptian God, Bes and also the Lord Buddha, both in their roles as laughing deities. Use the affirmation: I laugh; it is the voice of my true spirit!  

Next is from Ancient Feminine Wisdom of Goddesses and Heroines by Kay Steventon and is titled Hygieia, a nature goddess who honours the union between the natural and the supernatural worlds. This card is for Health and she is adorned in green cloth and her symbol is the snake, symbol of regeneration and divination. The ancients believed that a snake like energy inhabited the body and provided vitality, illumination and wellbeing. She is balanced and her body and soul, heart and mind are aligned for maximum health. She requests that we attend to the soul's deeper meaning and that this heralds greater wellbeing. When our soul is without nourishment, illness will follow. 

Lastly, I have chosen from Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup, a card of Fertility and Creativity which is subtitled, Hierarchy-v-Partnership. We are asked to look at the relationships we attract and whether we can share power with others in an equal way or is one person making the bulk of important decisions. A true partnership has equal value and equal power. Is there one person who always leads or who always follows? Working effectively together with others involves knowing when to give way, and when to be proactive. The person who assumes most responsibility also takes the most risks and makes the rules. Do we have power without responsibility, or responsibility without power? Mutuality is the best way forward.  Offer and seek out true equality. 

Readings by Wendy Stokes www.wendystokes.co.uk 

Get Your Oracle Cards Published

These are the key points of the Get Your Oracle Cards Published workshop :-

Sending your proposal to a publisher:  

If you have a name, a pen name, a website name, a Facebook name, an unregistered business name, etc. etc., I suggest you use one professional name only, and the best name is your real name as this is the only one you want on your royalty cheques. Put all your eggs in one basket under your real name where publishers and others can quickly find you! Publishers invest in their clients, and will research you! I heard of one case where a very good deck was turned down because the person had been working as a telephone line card reader at the same time as working the sex lines! 

Creating an Oracle Deck

A question often asked is about whether to publish in a pen name, but publishers prefer real names because there is less confusion with royalty payments, and tax offices also prefer it.

      A proposal to a publisher requires information on what qualifies you to write the deck (your journey), and why you have chosen your illustrator and what media the illustrator works in.

     Who is a typical purchaser or seeker for this deck? Why did you chose your particular theme? In what way will the cards help with life’s problems, what type of guidance is described, what type of direction or life path does your deck offer? 

Mother Mary’s Story

All saviour gods have virgin mothers! 

Mary and Joseph made a powerful team. Both of the royal line of David, the shepherd king, their first born son would have been a contender for the role of King of Judah. Like many female visionaries, Mary was around the time of her menarche when she became pregnant by an Angel. Angels at this time were not winged. They were always men and their meeting often resulted in a pregnancy. But this illegitimacy of Jesus may have caused him embarrassment. Joseph was not mentioned in the gospels after the childhood of Jesus. And what caused Jesus to be scathing and rude to his mother? She was a young mother, and maybe she was seduced and deceived  by one who presented himself as an ‘Angel’. It dashed his chances of a bid for the legitimate throne. 

Her correct name was Miriam and in legend, she was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. From the canonical gospels, we are told that Mary’s story begins when she was described as a virgin - a young girl before marriage. She would have been betrothed around the age of puberty and would have been living in an extended family in Galilee, such as the tribe of Ephrahim. She would have sat by the river bank, watching the water ripple as the breeze created waves. This Galilee sea is shaped like a harp - it’s a beautiful and romantic setting. Whilst engaged to be married to Joseph, the Angel Gabriel is said to have visited her and told her she would bear a son who would become the long prophesied messiah. Both she and her fiancé Joseph were of the royal line of Judah, and therefore their son would be the rightful royal heir. At that time, a ruthless puppet king, Herod the Great, sat on the throne who would do all he could to destroy the lives of Mary and Joseph.

Origin of divination cards

The origin of playing cards goes back more than a thousand years to ancient China. They were carried by traders and travellers, soldiers and pilgrims through Mongolia to the Middle East and then into Europe. Cards provided games of chance, skill and entertainment and they developed as they passed from one hand to another. The casting of lots with sticks, bones and dice was common throughout many cultures and cards became yet another way to give advice.

Playing cards with 4 suits and including court cards in each suit with the 10 pip cards, created a card deck of 52 cards. Some believe that the cards were used to represent the weeks of the year and the four weeks of the month or perhaps the seasons, so cards may have been an educational value. Playing cards came to Europe in late 1300s and by 1440 there is a letter from the Duke of Milan requesting several decks of playing cards for a game known as ‘triumph’ which was similar to bridge and included the playing card deck and 22 extra picture cards. Around 1530, in Italy, these cards were called ‘Tarocchi’ and in France ‘Tarot’. By 1781, they were used in England for divination. During the Victorian era in England, there was a revival of alternative spirituality and occult pastimes became popular. From that time to the present day, Tarot cards have been increasing in popularity; the market has grown and developed with new ideas and understanding for using the cards in sophisticated ways for fortune telling, personal development and meditation, and are now made in their thousands with creative focus far beyond the original images, such as animals, angels and fairies.

Labyrinths and Mazes

A labyrinth is a single route to a central place, such as one sees upon the floor of Chartres Cathedral, whereas a maze is a puzzle with many possibilities that lead to the centre, such as the hedge maze at Hampton Court. Labyrinths are dotted across the world, Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, some extremely ancient and many are modern. They can be made of turf, brick, tiles or anything to demarcate the route that one must travel.

Palm - Passion Sunday

The name of ‘Jesus’ is an English derivation of his true name. His Hebrew name was ‘Joshua’. In those days, son followed father in work and in disposition and we know that Joshua assisted Moses and succeeded Moses as leader of the tribes in the Promised Land. In some ancient sects, reincarnation was a firm belief as, on so many occasions, there are parallels over generations. 

Jesus came into his ministry when he was baptised by his cousin John in the Jordan River. John’s mother was Elizabeth, a close relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John’s father was the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple of which there was no higher religious authority and his son, John was a wandering ascetic, living on what he could find in the desert to eat and drink and wearing a garment of goat skin. He was extremely popular and bathed people in the river water and told them that their sins were forgiven. John was a radical preacher without thought of his own safety. He criticised the Roman governor for marrying his brother’s wife, and for that he was imprisoned. Within time, he was beheaded. Jesus began his teaching and healing ministry when he was around the age of 30 years old. He collected around him 12 men to represent, and to re-unite the twelve tribes that united the northern and southern provinces that had been torn apart during the Assyrian conquest 700 years previously. As Elisha was to Elijah, so Jesus was to John. 

Black Madonnas

I have long been fascinated with the wooden and stone statues and Byzantine-like paintings of the black and crowned Mary with the Christ child on her lap. They have a reputation for having mystical healing and miraculous powers. There are approx 500 of these images in Europe, mostly in France. They date back in to the mists of time, as far as we can discover to 12th century Pauline Fathers, beyond the time of Saint Augustine, and St Bernard, both of whom had a special devotion to her. Bernard had an awakening while meditating on the Black Madonna of Chattilon. She was the patroness of the Knights Templars and the Teutonic Order. She was symbolised as a dove and was associated with the Holy Spirit. Isis was known as the Gatekeeper of life's mysteries and many think of the black madonna as a continuation of the Goddess Isis, with the child Horus on her lap after Osiris had been murdered by his brother Set. 

Home Ecology

Sharing top tips for Home Ecology Students:

Eat vegetables and fruit, pasta, potatoes, rice and other not meat staples - organically grown if possible.

Switch to an ecologically sustainable renewable energy supplier, avoiding fossil fuels.

Templars Story Four

The story of Pope Sylvester II (Gerbert of Aurillac) who lived 940-1003 was the first Frenchman to be Pope in 999. His life story begins as a poor shepherd boy (like King David) in the rich Aquitaine in France, and he became the first Christian alchemist. He was born in Aurillac with its black Madonna and golden statue of Saint Gerard. The area of his birth was noted for its golden fleeces, as sheepskins left in the river Jordan attracted particles of gold and were transported across the pilgrim routes. The area had strong links with Compostela where he studied mathematics in the universities of Cordoba and Toledo under the Arabs. He introduced Arabic numbers to the west, and he invented the astrolabe, a hydraulic organ and a clock. Prior to being made Pope, he was Bishop of Rheims and Archbishop of Ravenna.  Most interestingly, he kept a head that talked! 

Helinand, a popular medieval author on the Grail, was greatly influenced by Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) who had been personally responsible for obtaining the Papal rule for the Knights Templar. There were deep connections between Bernard’s monastic order, the Cistercians, and the Nazoreans, who fought and died for Jerusalem in 70AD. The Cistercians wore white robes, as did theNazoreans, and so did the Knights Templar before adding the red cross. 

Templars Story

The Templar Order was founded in 1119 after 300 pilgrims were killed the previous year at Madeley. It was a white robe with red cross mantle, a monastic order under Cistercian monastic rule with dedicated contemplation and prayer, and with additional responsibilities to protect religious tourism to holy sites, handle the pilgrims’ valuables, and fight for possession of the Holy Land, and to bring back relics for the new cathedrals! 

Templar monks were the elite fighting groups of the Crusades, that involved many fighting Orders of monks. Monks were the lowest ranks in the hierarchy of the Church. They were often lacking education, but were highly principled, ascetics who made money fir the. Hutch, but were allowed no personal wealth. 

On the long and arduous route, by land and sometimes sea, and whilst at their destinations, many pilgrims were in poor health, so caring for the disabled, their animals and often their own Templar band, was part of their many serious responsibilities. Israel, Syria, Turkey, and Jordan, and cities such as Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, and Tyre were in their sights. Jerusalem was the main destination, and source of revenue. King Baldwin I of Jerusalem was the Christian head of the city under an Egyptian authority who gave permission for pilgrimages. The Hospitallers, with white crosses on their black robes and under Benedictine monastic rule, were already established in the region on a site previously owned by the seventh century bishop of Alexandria, St John the Almsgiver. 

From the Champagne region of France, Hughes of Payens developed a small coterie of knights under oaths of poverty, chastity and obedience, and they were invited by King Baldwin II and were installed in a wing of the Kings Palace in the Temple area. In 1120 Fulk, the Count of Anjou, and future King of Jerusalem (and also the grandfather of King Henry II of England) stayed with the knights. In 1126, Hugh and Andrew of Montbard and a small number of others, travelled back to Champagne. This was an important visit. There they met with Count Thibault and Cistercian Abbot Bernard of Clairvaux.

The Temple Church, London

A baptismal invocation survives in the Bible of the Temple Church in Holborn, London. It  reads: 

Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light!

The prayer of this church states: 

“Most gracious God, we give you the most hearty thanks for all such liberties and rights as are held well and peacefully, freely and quietly. Most gracious God, we give you the most hearty thanks for all such liberties and rights as are held well and peacefully, freely and quietly, fully and completely by ourselves and all in our land. We pray for all who serve in the maintenance of our laws, that they shall serve faithfully to your glory and to the present and future welfare of our nation, shall truly and indifferently minister justice, and shall so order all things brought to their care that peace and happiness, truth and justice shall be established among us for ourselves and for generations yet to come. All this we ask through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who shall return to judge all humankind.” Amen. 

Templars Story Two

The Setting: 

1095 Pope Urban preaches for the first Crusade. 1099 Crusaders capture Jerusalem. 1128 the Order of the Poor Fellow Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon was founded. 1180 Pope Alexander III condemns the Waldensians. 1187 Saladin captures Jerusalem. 1204 Third Crusade sacks Constantinople. 1305 The Papacy moves to Avignon. 

Siege Perilous: 

One can hardly imagine the privations of those who had entered the Order of the Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon. After giving up their lands, their freedom and their family and friends, they took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience to the Church and Pope -  a vow was a vow and they pledged their life to the most difficult of tasks for as long as they might live, by the grace of God! They ate little, prayed much, and were religious ascetics in all their behaviour. When not enduring extremely dangerous battles and sieges in heavy metal armour, they were facilitating sea crossings, avoiding piracy and shipwreck dangers, and travelling with baggage trains through arduous and perilous countryside with responsibility for often sick animals, and for unprepared pilgrims who I suggest might well have felt very disillusioned on reaching the destiny of their many months of immensely strenuous efforts. Pilgrimages were immense hardships but battles were even harder. The mortality rate was high as was the sickness, accident and disease rate. Any crimes were dealt with with brutality. They were thrown into a body of water? If they sank they were innocent. If they floated, they were guilty. Did they spit on a crucifix, one wonders! Their lives were of little importance. Their soul had an immense price. They lived each hour, maintaining the purity of the soul so when they died, which could be at any moment, their soul would be welcomed into heaven. Every deed was closely examined, the smallest omission of commission could mean hell fires for eternity. 

Templars - Story One

“I would rather die than be dishonoured” motto of Hughes de Payens. 

There was no higher calling that to be - not a knight - but a ”poor fellow soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon” the name of the Order, for whom these brave knights fought and died. 

This military Order was of a highly trained, mounted cavalry. The 'poor' part of their title involved  commitment not to be tempted by the great riches they handled on behalf of the Church as the earliest of international bankers. They answered and honoured the Pope, whom they were totally beholden to as their spiritual and practical leader, and they would no more steal from the Church than steal from one another.       

Most monks were pledged never to take life, even that of a Saracen, but this was a special force of warriors who fought for places within Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli, Tortorsa, Tyre and especially Jerusalem, Bethlehem and the route through the desert to the river Jordan. They were hardy fighting men who provided safe passage for pilgrims through dangerous lands on perilous journeys to the sacred sites of Christendom, and they also pledged to get these pilgrims safely back home again! In 1118 three hundred pilgrims were murdered. As religious tourism was a lucrative source of revenue, pilgrims needed to be protected and looked after along the hazardous routes. If they contracted leprosy, which was endemic, they would transfer to the Order of the Knights of St Lazarus and continue to fight until they were incapacitated. King Baldwin IV was a leprosy victim. 

Story of the Dead Sea Scrolls

In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd was looking for a lost goat, and went into a cave at Qumran, just outside of Jerusalem, and found some old, sealed jars containing leather bound rolls. Inside were old scrolls. One jar he sold to his friend the cobbler for a pair of sandals! When others heard they contained ancient texts, they went searching and found 400 more rolls hidden in caves nearby. Until the discovery of these 2000 year Old Testament scrolls, the oldest texts were 1000 years more recent. They show that the text remained true to the more ancient versions. 

Women's Day article for Psychic News

We will celebrate International Women’s Day on 8th March. This year’s theme is ‘Embrace Equality’. Some Psychic News readers will ask whether those that 'think' like a woman, 'feel' like a woman, or have the 'physical' attributes of a woman, can be included in this category! We hope by sharing our ideas and knowledge, that we can shed some light on this - or will we perhaps make the topic even more confusing! 

Women collectively come together for mutual support every International Women’s Day. Women across the world have needed to fight hard for equality and despite legal equality in many modern countries, women are still not equal to men in many ways. They still suffer discrimination and have poorer life choices. They don’t earn equal pay, and they don’t reach positions of power as easily, or as often, as men. Their life is sometimes arduous, their health not taken so seriously, and they can be at major risk of being a victim of crime from those who they have loved. They usually accept caring duties that involve looking after their partner, their children and their elderly or disabled relatives. 

What is Oneiromancy?

The study of dreams and their divinatory interpretation. From ‘oneiros’ a Greek word meaning dreams and ‘mancy’ meaning divination. The Oneiroi were winged spirits of the realms of sleep. They lived in Erebos, Land of Darkness, and contacted sleepers through one of two gates. One gate was made of horn, the other of ivory. Prophecy and prediction came through the horn gate, fantasy and delusion through the ivory gate.

Quote: I do not hesitate to affirm at the outset that occurrence of dreams foretelling a future event with accuracy must be accepted as certain. Camille Flammarion. Premonitory Dreams and Divination of the Future. 

Quote: Why does the eye see a thing more clearly in dreams than in the imagination while awake? Leonardo da Vinci.

Quote: Man is a genius while he is dreaming. Akira Kurosawa.

The Man Who Planted Trees

"Conservators have documented more than 60,000 different species of trees on the planet; of these more than 10,000 are under threat of extinction."
Some time ago, I read a novel titled ‘The Man Who Planted Trees’. Many years later it was made into an award winning not-for-profit film. The story begins when the narrator visits Provence in France during the early years of the twentieth century - a journey that led him into the foothills of the Alps. There, in a lonely and desolate place, a meeting takes place with a shepherd who is planting the acorns from the single oak tree that grows in the area. After the First World War, the war-weary narrator returns to this place and discovers a remarkable oak forest. The old man is in a home for the elderly but described his satisfaction and contentment that his contribution to posterity has a beneficial one.

Lourdes - Pilgrimage

Lourdes is a tiny riverside town that lies in the foothills of the magnificent French Pyrenees. Two thousand years ago, it was a Roman military base, and a Gothic castle stands in the centre of the town affording wonderful views. It is floodlit in the evenings. But this is more than just another historic town. It was a place of refuge during the Inquisition for fleeing Cathars and also for Templar Knights, and it provided sanctuary for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in World War II. Franz Werfel was one of these Jews and he pledged to write the life story of Bernadette Soubirous if he and his wife survived the journey over the Pyrenees mountains to safety in Spain. His book was titled the ‘Song of Bernadette’ which was written when he reached safety and this book was made into a film of the same name. This town feels like sacred ground to many who come here and it is where a fourteen year old peasant girl had an incredible experience.  

Your Gift Meditation

With thanks to Erica Longdon for the voice over and video creation

Love! A Time of Connection

Love.... 

Our lives changed significantly due to the pandemic. Many people lost jobs, homes, friendships, some lost their health, others suffered from bereavements or think their futures were radically changed. We spent long hours at home, working or caring for family members, some were caring for and educating children, many were alone and missed social occasions. 

Love is even more important now than ever before! We need to concentrate on giving love in order to receive it. This is achieved through empathy, which is being able to feel what others can feel, to laugh with them when they laugh and grieve with them when they grieve. Love gives us a wonderfully energising feeling of connection, wonder and excitement. Love boosts our confidence and it has been found to be exceptionally good for our mental and physical health. Yet, it is full of difficulties because human beings are complex and we need to listen carefully and become aware of how the other is feeling, and be understanding. 

Bernadette Soubirous

The Casterot family lived in the Boly Mill in the poor town of Lourdes which lies in the foothills of the Pyrenees. When Father Casterot died, he left his wife and daughters with their home within this working flour mill. Mother Casterot was keen to marry her eldest daughter to a man who would maintain the family wealth by taking care of the mill, home and entire family - including her - and take her husband's place as head of the household. Francois Soubirous, a local mill worker was chosen to wed the eldest Casterot daughter, Bernarde. However, he refused her in favour of her younger sister, Louise, and despite the large age gap of 18 years, Mother Casterot agreed to the marriage though Bernarde had been groomed to be the matriarch of the family was slighted to be refused by this illiterate workman which lost her inheritance and power base. Bernarde owned a tavern and lived with Francois, who had rejected her, and her youngest sister, Louise, who had been chosen over her, and her mother, who had endorsed the marriage! Within an exact year, in 1843, a little girl was born, named Marie Bernarde, known as Bernardette. Within a few months of her birth, Louise burned herself so Bernadette was sent to a wet nurse in Bartres, a considerable journey from Lourdes. 

Valentine’s Day

How do we know that we are loved and how can we best express our love to those closest to us? Because love and loving, in all its many forms, is not taught in schools while we are growing up. We imbibe from our parents and extended family many ideas about love which might not be healthy and usually we don’t have good role models. Romantic films, books and popular songs do not help our understanding either. When two complex people come together to communicate their love for each other, there is often a mismatch. In life partnerships, one might want move to the country, the other might want to stay in the city; one might want a busy social life, the other might be more solitary; one might be very ambitious, the other laid back. How are these conflicts to be resolved? Does one partner always get their own way and the other acquiesces? Does one manipulate while the other becomes angry? Does one partner have staying power while the other is prepared to leave? Many of these questions are hard to answer but talking about needs for affection, attention, caring and thoughtful consideration and co-operation are part of a good and wholesome loving relationship. Negotiation is usually the answer, where both parties receive some of what they want whilst honouring the equality of the needs of the other person. 

Wm of Hastings

William of Hastings (steward to Henry II) granted meadowland (marsh) near the river Lea on the West Ham boundary to the Knights Templar Order to build two wooden water mills. Temple Mills was established in the 11^th century to mill crops, such as beans, wheat, oats and barley. The Temple Mills were used mainly for grinding from their extensive lands in Homerton and the marsh land of the River Lea. Other water mills were developed in the areas of Hackney and West Ham, one dated approx 1185 on meadow by St. Mary Hope in Leyton. Their water mill on Leyton land was dated 1278.

Chartres Cathedral

Notre Dame de Chartres is the finest example of gothic cathedral architecture. 1194-1260 It is dedicated to Mary, mother of Jesus. 

Usually cathedrals took 25 to 50 years to build, and many had additions over the centuries. The towers of Chartress have tall taper spires. The south tower is the oldest. The north tower is slimmer, more complex and intricate. Portals of the west are elaborately decorated, have symmetry and clarity. The nave is 130 feet long, 53 feet wide, and 122 feet high. There are 175 glass panels from the Middle Ages dedicated to the Queen of Heaven. Mary is the multi foliate rose of the rose window. She sits enthroned in Majesty on the high altar. The skull of Saint Anne and the veil of Mary were given to Charlemagne by the Byzantine Empress Irene and are said to have been the greatest treasures of this cathedral. In the north tympanum, the magi are seen lying asleep under a cover. 

The Card of Love

Today, I have chosen the Ace of Hearts because we all need to experience the feeling of new love - love that is creative and inspiring! A love that is a muse, to love deities and a love that is on a new level, a deeper, richer and more vital love. And you need to give and receive unconditional love, that is love that is fully accepting, fully engaging, fully real and open, without criticism or judgment. If we want to receive love, we must be lovable; we must show we are worthy of long lasting, sincere and love that has sweetness and beauty, that is healing and motivating. A heady excitement can occur in an existing relationship providing there is a fresh response and a will to please. 

The Dream: A purple winged heart from a vase filled to the brim with the supreme magical power of love. Love takes form within the vessel and can be poured into the cupped hand of one that is open. Never a closed fist! in the centre of the winged heart is a smaller vibrant heart that is open and receptive. This heart nurtures and overflows with caring and happiness. Unconditional love is embedded within the soft velvet petals of a deliciously fragrant rose, as roses have always been a favourite of Cupid's messengers. The universal symbolism of the heart represents the human hearts role as a beating muscle that is vital to life. Like the beginning of a love affair, everything in this dream is enhanced by love's transcendant glow. 

My Soul has a Hat - A Poem

 MY SOUL HAS A HAT

I counted my years & realized that I have

Less time to live by, Than I have lived so far.

I feel like a child who won a pack of candies: at first he ate them with pleasure,

But when he realized that there was little left, he began to taste them intensely.

I have no time for endless meetings where the statutes, rules, procedures & internal regulations are discussed,

knowing that nothing will be done.

I no longer have the patience To stand absurd people who,

despite their chronological age, have not grown up.

My time is too short: I want the essence, my spirit is in a hurry.