Deities and Ancestors in Early Oracle Inscriptions
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The History of Western Magic: Some Considerations
Dieter Harmening THE HISTORY OF WESTERN MAGIC: SOME CONSIDERATIONS This is a copy of the article from printed version of electronic journal Folklore Vol. 17 ISSN 1406-0957 Editors Mare Kõiva & Andres Kuperjanov Published by the Folk Belief and Media Group of ELM Electronic Journal of Folklore Electronic version ISSN 1406-0949 is available from http://haldjas.folklore.ee/folklore It’s free but do give us credit when you cite! © Folk Belief and Media Group of ELM, Andres Kuperjanov Tartu 2001 84 THE HISTORY OF WESTERN MAGIC: SOME CONSIDERATIONS Dieter Harmening The word ‘magic’ is a derivation from a Latin term magia (Gk. mageía, Iranian OPer. form magu[s]); the word is also related to the Greek notions méchos, mechané, the Gothic mahts, German Macht; the Indo-European verb stem *magh signifies ‘to be able to, to help’. Originally, the Latin noun magus (from the Greek mágos) desig- nated the members of the spiritualist-priest class, and later came to designate ‘clairvoyant, sorcerer’ and in a pejorative sense also ‘magician, trickster’. Thus the first meaning of the word ‘magic’ was the teachings of the Magi, i.e. the arts of acquiring supernatu- ral powers and force, while later it was also applied disparagingly to fraudulent witchcraft.1 The aforementioned etymological explana- tions indicate three important factors in the development of the notion ‘magic’: 1) magic as a science and the knowledge of divine forces in nature and in the process of creation (magia naturalis), 2) magic as the exercise of such knowledge in prophecies, oracles and conjuring, and 3) deceitful witchcraft. -
DIVINATION SYSTEMS Written by Nicole Yalsovac Additional Sections Contributed by Sean Michael Smith and Christine Breese, D.D
DIVINATION SYSTEMS Written by Nicole Yalsovac Additional sections contributed by Sean Michael Smith and Christine Breese, D.D. Ph.D. Introduction Nichole Yalsovac Prophetic revelation, or Divination, dates back to the earliest known times of human existence. The oldest of all Chinese texts, the I Ching, is a divination system older than recorded history. James Legge says in his translation of I Ching: Book Of Changes (1996), “The desire to seek answers and to predict the future is as old as civilization itself.” Mankind has always had a desire to know what the future holds. Evidence shows that methods of divination, also known as fortune telling, were used by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, Babylonians and the Sumerians (who resided in what is now Iraq) as early as six‐thousand years ago. Divination was originally a device of royalty and has often been an essential part of religion and medicine. Significant leaders and royalty often employed priests, doctors, soothsayers and astrologers as advisers and consultants on what the future held. Every civilization has held a belief in at least some type of divination. The point of divination in the ancient world was to ascertain the will of the gods. In fact, divination is so called because it is assumed to be a gift of the divine, a gift from the gods. This gift of obtaining knowledge of the unknown uses a wide range of tools and an enormous variety of techniques, as we will see in this course. No matter which method is used, the most imperative aspect is the interpretation and presentation of what is seen. -
The Adorabyssal Oracle
THE ADORABYSSAL ORACLE The Adorabyssal Oracle is an oracle deck featuring the cutest versions of mythological, supernatural, and cryptozoological creatures from around the world! Thirty-six spooky cuties come with associated elements and themes to help bring some introspection to your day-to-day divinations and meditations. If you’re looking for something a bit more playful, The Adorabyssal Oracle deck doubles as a card game featuring those same cute and spooky creatures. It is meant for 2-4 players and games typically take 5-10 minutes. If you’re interested mainly in the card game rules, you can skip past the next couple of sections. However you choose to use your Adorabyssal Deck, it is my hope that these darkly delightful creatures will bring some fun to your day! WHAT IS AN ORACLE DECK? An Oracle deck is similar to, but different from, a Tarot deck. Where a Tarot deck has specific symbolism, number of cards, and a distinct way of interpreting card meanings, Oracle decks are a bit more free-form and their structures are dependent on their creators. The Adorabyssal Oracle, like many oracle decks, provides general themes accompanying the artwork. The basic and most prominent structure for this deck is the grouping of cards based on elemental associations. My hope is that this deck can provide a simple way to read for new readers and grow in complexity from there. My previous Tarot decks have seen very specific interpretation and symbolism. This Oracle deck opens things up a bit. It can be used for more general or free-form readings, and it makes a delightful addition to your existing decks. -
Liber 4 - Liber ABA
Liber 4 - Liber ABA MAGICK LIBER ABA ALEISTER CROWLEY WITH MARY DESTI AND LEILA WADDELL Book Four - Parts I-IV I - Mysticism. II - Magick (Elementary Theory) III - Magick in Theory and Practice IV - THELEMA: The Law Edited, annotated and introduced by HYMENAEUS BETA [From the Samuel Weiser edition] This first one-volume edition of Book Four is dedicated to the memory of the A.'. A.'. members who contributed to the creation and publication of the first editions of its four parts Soror Ouarda (Rose Edith Crowley, 1874-1932) Frater Per Ardua (Maj.-Gen. John Frederick Charles Fuller, 1878-1966) Soror Agatha (Leila Waddell, 1880-1932) Soror Virakam (Mary Desti, 1871-1931) Soror Rhodon (Mary Butts, 1890-1937) Soror Alostrael (Leah Hirsig, 1883-1951) and Frater Volo Intelligere (Gerald Joseph Yorke, 1901-1983) and to its principal author Frater Perdurabo (Aleister Crowley, 1875-1947) To see the elect most joyfully refreshed With every good thing and celestial manna... Such was the bargain. How praiseworthy he Who shall have persevered even to the end! - Rabelais, "A Prophetic Riddle," Gargantua and Pantagruel and blessing & worship to the prophet of the lovely Star! - Liber AL vel Legis II:79 http://www.hermetic.com/crowley/libers/lib4.htmlA Collection of Sac r[12/19/2001ed Magick 1:35:33| The E PM]soteric Library | www.sacred-magick.com Book Four - Part 1 Based on the Sangreal edition of 1969 e.v., with the "Interlude" restored (absent from the Sangreal edition). Diagrams noted but not described. Copyright (c) Ordo Templi Orientis BOOK 4 by FRATER PERDURABO (Aleister Crowley) and SOROR VIRAKAM (Mary d'Este Sturges) A NOTE THIS book is intentionally "not" the work of Frater Perdurabo. -
African Concepts of Energy and Their Manifestations Through Art
AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF ENERGY AND THEIR MANIFESTATIONS THROUGH ART A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Renée B. Waite August, 2016 Thesis written by Renée B. Waite B.A., Ohio University, 2012 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by ____________________________________________________ Fred Smith, Ph.D., Advisor ____________________________________________________ Michael Loderstedt, M.F.A., Interim Director, School of Art ____________________________________________________ John R. Crawford-Spinelli, D.Ed., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………….. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………… vi CHAPTERS I. Introduction ………………………………………………… 1 II. Terms and Art ……………………………………………... 4 III. Myths of Origin …………………………………………. 11 IV. Social Structure …………………………………………. 20 V. Divination Arts …………………………………………... 30 VI. Women as Vessels of Energy …………………………… 42 VII. Conclusion ……………………………………….…...... 56 VIII. Images ………………………………………………… 60 IX. Bibliography …………………………………………….. 84 X. Further Reading ………………………………………….. 86 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Porogun Quarter, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, 1992, Photograph by John Pemberton III http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/models.html. ……………………………………… 60 Figure 2: Yoruba Ifa Divination Tapper (Iroke Ifa) Nigeria; Ivory. 12in, Baltimore Museum of Art http://www.artbma.org/. ……………………………………………… 61 Figure 3.; Yoruba Opon Ifa (Divination Tray), Nigerian; carved wood 3/4 x 12 7/8 x 16 in. Smith College Museum of Art, http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/. ………………….. 62 Figure 4. Ifa Divination Vessel; Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa); Ivory, wood or coconut shell inlay. Nigeria, Guinea Coast The Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org. ……………………… 63 Figure 5. Beaded Crown of a Yoruba King. Nigerian; L.15 (crown), L.15 (fringe) in. -
D I V I N a T I O N Culture a N D the H a N D L I N G of The
Originalveröffentlichung in: G. Leick (Hrsg), The Babylonian World, New York/London, 2007, S. 361-372 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE DIVINATION CULTURE AND THE HANDLING OF THE FUTURE Stefan M. Maul n omen is a clearly defined perception understood as a sign pointing to future A events whenever it manifests itself under identical circumstances. The classification of a perception as ominous is based on an epistemological development which establishes a normative relationship between the perceived and the future. This classification process is preceded by a period of detailed examination and is thus initially built on empirical knowledge. Omina only cease to be detected empirically when a firm conceptual link has been established between the observed and the future which then allows omina to be construed by the application of regularities. In the Mesopotamian written sources from the first and second millennia BC, omina based on regularities far exceed those based on empirical data. Mesopotamian scholars generally collected data without formally expressing the fundamental principles behind their method. It was the composition of non-empirical omina as such which allowed students to detect the regularities on which they were based without this formulated orally or in writing. Modern attempts at a systematic investigation of such principles however, are still outstanding. It is interesting that there is no Sumerian or Akkadian equivalent for the terms 'oracle' or 'omen'. Assyriologists use the term omen for the sentence construction 'if x then y' which consists of a main clause beginning with summa ('if') describing the ominous occurence, and a second clause which spells out the predicted outcome. -
And Corpse-Divination in the Paris Magical Papyri (Pgm Iv 1928-2144)
necromancy goes underground 255 NECROMANCY GOES UNDERGROUND: THE DISGUISE OF SKULL- AND CORPSE-DIVINATION IN THE PARIS MAGICAL PAPYRI (PGM IV 1928-2144) Christopher A. Faraone The practice of consulting the dead for divinatory purposes is widely practiced cross-culturally and firmly attested in the Greek world.1 Poets, for example, speak of the underworld journeys of heroes, like Odys- seus and Aeneas, to learn crucial information about the past, present or future, and elsewhere we hear about rituals of psychagogia designed to lead souls or ghosts up from the underworld for similar purposes. These are usually performed at the tomb of the dead person, as in the famous scene in Aeschylus’ Persians, or at other places where the Greeks believed there was an entrance to the underworld. Herodotus tells us, for instance, that the Corinthian tyrant Periander visited an “oracle of the dead” (nekromanteion) in Ephyra to consult his dead wife (5.92) and that Croesus, when he performed his famous comparative testing of Greek oracles, sent questions to the tombs of Amphiaraus at Oropus and Trophonius at Lebedeia (1.46.2-3). Since Herodotus is heavily dependent on Delphic informants for most of Croesus’ story, modern readers are apt to forget that there were, in fact, two oracles that correctly answered the Lydian king’s riddle: the oracle of Apollo at Delphi and that of the dead hero Amphiaraus. The popularity of such oracular hero-shrines increased steadily in Hel- lenistic and Roman times, although divination by dreams gradually seems to take center stage.2 It is clear, however, that the more personal and private forms of necromancy—especially consultations at the grave—fell into disfavor, especially with the Romans, whose poets repeatedly depict horrible 1 For a general overview of the Greek practices and discussions of the specific sites mentioned in this paragraph, see A. -
Conquest of Elysium 4 Manual 4.01B Table of Contents 1 Introduction
Conquest of Elysium 4 Manual 4.01b Table of Contents 1 Introduction........................................................1 9-4 Preliminary Combat Actions.....................33 1-1 Game Conventions....................................1 9-5 Combat Sequence...................................34 1-2 Winning and Losing...................................1 9-6 On the Battlefield.....................................35 1-3 Terminology................................................1 10 Weapons, Damage and Death......................36 2 Main Menu.........................................................2 10-1 Weapons................................................36 2-1 Start New Game........................................2 10-2 Death.....................................................37 2-2 Load Game & Save Game.........................5 10-3 Damage Display....................................37 2-3 Network......................................................5 10-4 Damage Mechanics...............................38 2-4 Preferences...............................................7 10-5 Special Damage....................................39 3 Game Interface..................................................8 10-6 Healing...................................................40 3-1 Keyboard Shortcuts...................................8 10-7 Resistance Mechanics...........................40 3-2 Overviews & Menus...................................9 11 Magic..............................................................41 4 The World.........................................................12 -
The Soteriological Context of a Tibetan Oracle
HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies Volume 39 Number 1 Article 8 July 2019 The Soteriological Context of a Tibetan Oracle Katarina Turpeinen University of California, Berkeley, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya Recommended Citation Turpeinen, Katarina. 2019. The Soteriological Context of a Tibetan Oracle. HIMALAYA 39(1). Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol39/iss1/8 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License. This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by the DigitalCommons@Macalester College at DigitalCommons@Macalester College. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Macalester College. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Soteriological Context of a Tibetan Oracle Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Lhamo Pema Khandro for patiently answering her questions in a series of interviews and allowing her to witness the possession rituals. She is also grateful to the nuns of Tsho Pema, especially Ani Yangtsen Drolma for guiding her in the social dynamics of the village, as well as Prof. Jacob Dalton for offering many helpful suggestions that shaped her writing. This research article is available in HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol39/iss1/8 The Soteriological Context of a Tibetan Oracle Katarina Turpeinen This paper contributes to the study of Tibetan which is a practice of a village oracle often oracles by analyzing a distinctive case of a regarded as involving mainly mundane and contemporary Tibetan oracle living in exile pragmatic ends, is conspicuously integrated in India. -
Then Apply the Ancient African IFA Oracle (And Its Subset the I Ching) to Describe History, Including the Future History of Global Finance
Abstract Dan Brown in his 2009 book "The Lost Symbol" said "... The ancients possessed profound scientific wisdom. ... Mankind ... had once grasped the true nature of the universe ... but had let go ... and forgotten. ... Modern physics can help us remember! ... the world need[s] this understanding ... now more than ever. ...", but the rest of his book fails to provide convincing support for that statement, although it does provide a clue: "... The secret hides within the Order Eight Franklin Square ... of the numbers 1 through 64 ...". The purpose of this paper is to support that statement in enough detail to convince a diligent reader that following that clue can show that the statement is true. To follow the clue: begin with the "Order Eight" Clifford Algebra Cl(8) whose 2^8 = 256 dimensions represent the 256 elements of the Ancient African IFA Oracle and the 256 Elementary Cellular Automata, so that the True Lost Symbol is the 8-dimensional HyperCube with 256 vertices as shown on the cover of this paper; then multiply (by tensor product) 8 copies of Cl(8) to produce Cl(64) whose 2^64 dimensions represent the first 10^(-34) seconds of the Zizzi Inflation Phase of our Conscious Universe and an event of Penrose-Hameroff Human Conscious Thought; then analyze the details of the 256 Cellular Automata and the E8 Lattices containing 256-vertex 8-dimensional HyperCubes to construct a realistic unified theoretical model of the Standard Model plus Gravity; then analyze the Fractal Structure of the Ancient African IFA Oracle; then apply the Ancient African IFA Oracle (and its subset the I Ching) to describe History, including the Future History of Global Finance. -
A List of Other Psychic Arts
List of Psychic Arts - Compiled by Gary L. Wimmer - www.garywimmer.com/psychic PSYCHIC ART DEFINITION 1 Abacomancy The art of foretelling future events by the observation of patterns of dust 2 Aeromancy Divination from the air and sky, cloud patterns, comets and other phenomena not normally visible in the sky 3 Alchemy Transmutation, dissolving or combining of base metals to form gold though chemical or supernatural processes 4 Alectryomancy Divination by means of a bird picking grains of corn from a circle of letters 5 Aleuromancy Divination with flour and baked goods such as fortune cookies 6 Alomancy A form of divination by using salt 7 Alphitomancy Divination using barley or cakes digestible by persons with a clear conscience but are unpleasant to others 8 Amniomancy Divination by using a caul or membrane which sometimes envelopes a child's head at birth 9 Anthropomancy Divination using human entrails, often from human sacrifices 10 Anththroposcopy Divination by observing facial features 11 Apantomancy Divination of an object, but usually an animal, which presents itself by chance 12 Arithmancy Divination by numbers 13 Aromatherapy Holistic health practice of seeking to heal certain diseases or illnesses by inhaling scented steam or fragrances 14 Ashagalomancy A system of divination of casting small bones or dice, also known as Astraglomancy or Astragyromancy 15 Astrology Ancient system of divination based on the position of the planets and the Zodiac 16 Augury Divination by studying the behaviour and flights of birds 17 Aura reading -
Why Explaining Religion Is Not Sufficient to Explain Away Religion
Why Explaining Religion Is Not Sufficient to Explain Away Religion An argumentative exploration of the leading evolutionary explanatory accounts of religion to demonstrate the inability of science to explain away religious belief Author: Vipusaayini Sivanesanathan Edited by: Ko-Lun Liu 1. Introduction While science continues to make significant progressive strides, religion has yet to add to its historically established doctrines. Not only has the rapid expansion of science brought into question the validity and necessity of religion, part of scientific inquiry now focuses on how ‘counterintuitive’ notions of religion came to be. ‘Counterintuitive’ ideas of religion posit religious beliefs to go against or violate empirically verified facts or knowledge. Some argue that we can utilize the knowledge attained from advancements in science to explain away religion. One particular aspect of science that is used to explain away religion are evolutionary theories. In this paper, I will argue that while evolutionary accounts can explain our affinity towards religion, it has yet to explain away religion. I will explicate and refute the three different argument for evolutionary accounts of religion, including the socio-evolutionary, bio-evolutionary and cultural-evolutionary, to demonstrate how science has not succeeded in explaining away religion. 2. Why Does Science Try to Explain Away Religion? There is a prominent assumption in academia that science and religion are two separate and distinct fields which fundamentally do not, and (for some) cannot overlap. Both science and theism attempt to answer the central questions concerning the design and function of natural phenomena (i.e., evolution, questions of the universe, life etc).