Welcome to the Ancient Whispers Newsletter, a multi-cultural newsletter with a little something for everyone of any creed or religion. Here you will find inspiring quotes, irreverent jokes, crafts, and most importantly, historical and/or religious scholarship. Every Wednesday a new edition should appear on this website with reminder emails sent out the night before to those who have opted to join one of the many forums and mailing lists to which I subscribe. If you wish to share this newsletter with others, please keep it intact with the original authors' names on all the articles. Any articles or sections, to which an author or URL is not affixed, were written by Candace (with the exception of the various jokes found herein).

Questions, comments, and topical requests are encouraged and should be posted to the AskCandace open forum at yahoogroups. I'd like to start a help column for the newsletter, so if you'd like to have your problem featured in a newsletter, let me know when you post.

June is the sixth month of the current Gregorian calendar and the first month of summer. It is the "door of the year," the gateway to the inner realms. The original name for this month was Junonius. It was named for the Roman goddess Juno, patron of the female sex, and so this month was considered an excellent month for marriages. As Juno Moneta, whose temple was located on the Capitoline hill in Rome, she was guardian of money and wealth. June is sacred to Juno and all gods and goddesses who preside over love, passion, and beauty.

The Irish call June Meitheamh or an t-Ogmios, the young month. The Anglo-Saxon name was Aerra Litha, "before Litha." The Franks called it Brachmanoth, "break month." June is called Fallow by the Asatru.

The first Full Moon of June is called the Hot or Strawberry Moon in parts of America. It is also referred to as the Strong Sun Moon, Lover's Moon, and Rose Moon, and it has been called the Moon of Making Fat and the Moon of Horses, and name similar to one of the names for May’s Moon. It shares the names Mead Moon and Honey Moon with July.

Cancer becomes dominant on June 21st as the sun passes from the constellation of Gemini. Roses are for those born this month. June plays host to many stones claiming to be its birthstone. Of them all, emerald is listed most, followed by agate, chalcedony, turquoise, pearl, cat’s eye, or alexandrite, in that order. Pearl and moss agate are also birthstones of Gemini, and moonstone or pearl is the birthstone of Cancer. Chrysoprase, sapphire, and topaz are also connected to Gemini, while albite, chrysoprase, emerald, green tourmaline, opal, pink tourmaline, and rhodochrosite are associated with Cancer.

Feast of Aine

law discouraging the burning of heretics

Pied Piper

Green Corn

Horus

Sun Dance

Initium Aestatis

Julian the Blessed

Rain means rain for the next seven weeks

Scott Cunningham

Hemera

Stewart Farrar

Ra Goes forth to propitiate Nun

Bawming of the Thorn

Petosiris of Hermopolis

best day to harvest herbs

Papa Legba

Aestas

Ceres, Changing Woman, Chicomecoatl, the Corn Mothers, Demeter, Gaia, Ge, Hestia, Iatiku, Oraea, Pachamama, Spider Woman, and Tonantzin.

Naga Panchami

Fuji

Rain means rain for the next four weeks

Tir Jashan

Nostradamus

Il Palio

Feast of Expectant Mothers

e Seminole Indian tribe of Florida

The Festival of Cerridwen, Witch of Gaeta, Athena

Sothis

Dog Days of Summer

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Humor: Top Ten Signs you Play too much Dungeons and Dragons

1. Someone says "Why do you have all those numbers tattooed on your hand?", and you reply "Those aren't tattoos, they're die imprints." 2. Your elven fighter has had sex within the last six years - and you haven't. 3. You decide to play a zombie, just so you and your character can have the same skin color. 4. You've been surviving so long on Doritos, Coke, and pizza that your body now contains more plastic than your dice. 5. You can recite, verbatim, every single rule from the DMG….but you can't remember how many kids you have. 6. You sign personal correspondences with your character's name. 7. After months of work, you have made up the entire dwarven language - words, rules of vocabulary, the whole lot. You are bilingual, and can now speak fluid dwarven. Your friends stare at you strangely, and no one will sit on the same side of the table as you. 8. Drug addict and alcoholic friends of yours often stop you to say "Dude, get a grip". 9. Your "If I won the lottery" plans involve creating: (a) a really cool AD&D room, or (b) hiring actors to play monsters so that you and your friends can play AD&D for real. 10. You'd rather get a natural 18 when rolling character statistics than win the lottery.

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Article : Here be Dragons
Candace

Dragons of the West

Dragons were once rampant throughout the world, from Europe and China to North and South America. The word dragon comes from the Greek drakon, a word used for any large serpent. Immortalized in the northern constellation of Draco beneath the Ursas Major and Minor where it was placed after being slain by the hero Cadmus, its watchful eyes, the stars Alwaid and Eta’nin, never set. The earliest dragons were closely associated with water (especially Chinese storm dragons and Irish dragons). Tiamat, the chaos dragon, was a goddess of salt water. Only later did they come to be land dwelling fire breathers.

The blood of a dragon was either a deadly poison or a miracle cure. It and other body parts were used medically and magically. According to Scandinavian legend, eating the roasted heart of a dragon could endow a person with ancient knowledge. Pliny declared the fat of a dragon left to dry in the sun was a cure for 'creeping ulcers.' The head could help with eyesight. Boiling the tongue or gall in wine could keep incubi, succubi, and nightmares from harming sleepers.

Dragons often possessed keen eyesight and the ability to breathe fire and foul vapors, poisoning water in the European countries. Like the cobra, many dragons would spit their venom at their victims. One specimen was supposed to have been able to spit its poison approximately twenty-two yards. More than speedy healers, many of them could re-attach dismembered parts. Dragon intelligence grew with age, and dragon greed was also a chief characteristic with many dragons. The Scandinavians felt if a man were greedy enough, he might become a dragon.

While usually reptilian, there were many different types of dragon. Nearly all had some connection with water, controlled some large, fabulous treasure, were sharp sighted, and were of uncertain temperament though often possessing some great wisdom. Sometimes simply described as a huge snake comparable to a python, which could strangle an elephant, other forms possessed two or four legs and sometimes wings. Like snakes, they were thought to guard the secret of immortality through their ability to renew themselves by shedding.

In many ancient cultures, they were worshiped as gods. The Azhi Dahaka of ancient Persia was a three-headed serpent symbolic of destructive and creative forces. A dragon of Norse legend, Jormungandr son of Loki, had no limbs at all. He lay in the ocean, circling the earth and biting his tail. Ocean storms are his struggles to free himself from the depths. When he finally breaks free, Ragnarok, the end of the world, will come. Tiamat, the Babylonian chaos dragon, had the jaws of a crocodile, the teeth of a lion, bat wings, the legs of a lizard, an eagle's claws, the body of a python, and the horns of a bull. Slain by her son, Marduk, her body was used to fashion the Earth.

The amphiptere was a winged serpent alleged to live in Arabia and along the Nile, guarding frankincense trees. According to Herodotus, small, multicolored winged dragons hovered about frankincense trees. The insect-like females of the species would kill the male when mating. Larger winged dragons were sighted in nineteenth century Wales, sunning themselves on logan or rocking stones. Most dragons were estimated to be around twenty feet long, but some over-achievers grew to two hundred ten.

Most English and Celtic dragons were called worms like the Lambton worm or the Linton worm. These were extremely long, wingless dragons. Their breath was poisonous rather than fiery though there were a few exceptions. The Lambton worm was a self-joining worm, which is to say, when cut its separate parts would rejoin if they came in contact with one another. The French guivre could also be considered a worm. It resembled a very powerful serpent with a dragon's horned and bearded head. It favored shady forests and watery places.

Knuckers inhabited deceptively shallow pools in the marshes and swamps of England. Called knucker holes, here they would lie in wait for their prey. Knucker pools did not freeze during the cold winters, remained cold in the summer, and released foul gasses into the air. According to a nineteenth century description, knuckers were fashioned much like horses with the heads of men and saucer-sized eyes. The word knucker is derived from the Anglo-Saxon Nicor and the Icelandic nykyr. Nicors were also considered fish tailed sea folk.

The lindwurm was a dragon with only two legs or none at all. A brilliant green-gold or green-silver serpent with wings, in German and Nordic poetry, the lindwurm was a guardian of hidden treasures and maidens in distress. While crossing the steppes, Marco Polo reported seeing one. Another Germanic dragon, which preyed on cattle and lost children, was called the tatzelwurm, “claw-worm.” Four legged and winged, it was described as a fire-breathing creature inhabiting the crags of the Alpine mountains of Austria, Bavaria, and Switzerland. It was also called the stollenwurm, “tunnel worm,” the bergstutzen, “mountain stump,” springwurm, “jumping worm,” daazelwurm, praatzelwurm, and arassa (in the French Alps).

Another Alpine dragon, similar to the French guivre, was named the vouivre. Guardian of vast and sumptuous treasures, it was itself bejeweled. Its scales sparkling like diamonds, and its head adorned with a crown of pearls, at the center of its forehead a single eye the color of a blood red carbuncle glowed so brightly that it made the creature seem to be wreathed in flame. One night a year, the vouivre was vulnerable when it left its subterranean lair to bathe and drink at a stream near its home, removing its ruby eye.

Like toads, dragons and serpents were thought to carry a jewel in their heads. The jewel might be called a toadstone, borax, stelon, craupaundina, or crapandina. Usually white, though it could be other colors, it was used to ward off venomous attacks and snakes. It also warned of the presence of poison by warming. Touched to a wound caused by a venomous animal, the swelling would go down and the pain would stop. Such a stone was also said to protect pregnant women from demons.

The number of heads a dragon might possess varied even more than the number of limbs. Dragons such as the Hydra of Lerna had several heads. Ladon was a multi-headed dragon who guarded the island at the end of the earth called the Gardens of Ocean. On that island grew the tree which bore the golden apples. If a mortal were to eat these apples, he would receive knowledge rightfully belonging to the Olympians.

Some dragons consisted of the combined forms of several. The Chimera could be considered a dragon. A monster of ancient Greece with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent, she was the child of Typhon and Echidna. Her siblings were Cerberus, the three headed hell-hound, and Hydra, the multi-headed dragon. She terrorized the country of Lycia and Caria until she was slain with an arrow from Bellerophon mounted on Pegasus, the winged horse. Hydra inhabited the marshes of Lena near Argos and was slain by Heracles and Ioaus. Like some dragons, its blood was a deadly poison. Their gigantic father Typhon was also a slap-dash monster with a hundred dragon heads which spit fire and rocks, a human body, and coiling snake bodies for legs. He was imprisoned by Zeus beneath the island of Sicilia, and Mount Etna was the ground that covered him.

Dragons of the East

The western dragon has come to be associated with negativity and the Devil, but the Eastern dragon, though dangerous, has long been considered a positive force and symbol of the yin-yang principle. One of four protective creatures representing yin-yang, it was included with the unicorn, king of hairy beasts, the phoenix, king of feathered creatures, and the tortoise, king of shelled animals.

The Chinese dragon had four toes on each of its four feet. Though able to fly, it usually possessed no wings. The traditional Chinese dragons were called Lung, “deaf,” because they could not hear, but they owned voices like "the jingling of copper pans." Portrayed with a camel's head, a deer's horns, a rabbit's eyes, a cow's ears, a snake's neck, a frog's belly, a carp's scales, a hawk's claws, and a tiger's paws, whiskers grew on either side of their mouths, and the scales of their throats jutted out twelve inches, sharp and deadly. A light, more intense in water, surrounded their bodies but contact with fire would extinguish it.

The more serpentine Japanese dragon was Tatsu. It was considered more of a sea-deity than one of the skies and became inextricably bound to the naga myths by way of China. The Japanese dragon had only three toes.

Chinese dragons were typically depicted as guardians of treasures, both material and spiritual. They were especially attracted to jade. Rulers of the waters of the sky and the land as well, oriental dragons in general were extremely organized creatures. Their government, divided into various departments and ministries of the different aspects of dragon life, was used as a metaphor for the government of China. During autumn, they made their homes in the ocean, but come spring, their departure for the sky generated typhoons and hurricanes along the coast.

In order to mate, Chinese dragons took on the form of small snakes and deposited their jeweled eggs by the slopes of rivers. To humans, the eggs would seem to be very beautiful stones of five colors, which became moist in wet weather. The incubation period for such eggs was three thousand years long, one thousand years in water, one thousand in the mountains, and one thousand in the lands of men. When the time came for the infant dragon to be born, water would begin to stream from the egg. Hatching as a minuscule worm or snake, it would rapidly grow to full size within minutes. It would then cry to the wind twice, once to raise it and once to calm it, and take to the air via its magical crest or poh shan. Whirlwinds and waterspouts were infant dragons ascending to heaven. The infant dragon would still need to wait fifteen hundred years for maturity, and a thousand more for true wings.

While there was a primitive dragon form called the k'vei which contradicted greed, some authorities felt that there were only four types of dragon, the T'ien lung (Celestial Dragon), the Shen-lung (Spiritual Dragon), the Ti-lung (Coiling Dragon), and the Fu-ts'ang lung (Dragon of Hidden Treasures). The Celestial dragon protected and supported the mansions of the gods. The Spiritual Dragon made the wind and the rain for the benefit of mankind and was often depicted in art. The Coiling Dragon inhabited terrestrial waterways, and the Dragon of Hidden Treasure guarded over all treasure hidden from mankind. A Winged Dragon and a Horned Dragon were also mentioned.

Chinese dragons were classified according to color and type. During the course of their development, they went through four phases: serpentine, clawed, horned, and winged. When dragons were seen about, special note was taken of their coloring. Azure dragons foretold the onset of spring. Red and black dragons were bringers of devastating storms, but the greatest of all dragons was the solitary gold. Wily and intelligent, he was a symbol of perfection.

Nine noble dragons were depicted in art. P'u Lao would cry out loudly when attacked by its enemy the whale and so was carved onto bells and gongs. The image of Ch'iu-niu was placed on zithers for his musical ability. Pi Hsi loved words and was inscribed on tablets. Pa Hsia upheld all heavy monuments with his wings. The eaves of temples were protected by Chao Feng because he liked danger, and Chih Wen guarded bridges and rooftops from fire because he liked water and enjoyed watching things. Suan Ni was a meditative dragon depicted on the throne of Buddha. Yai Tzu was etched into the blades of swords due to his enjoyment of slaughter, and Pi Kan was incorporated into prison gates because he loved quarrels and using his energies.

Chinese dragons were capable of taking on the forms of humans with green eyes, as well as those of other animals. Yu Lung was a dragon who would occasionally transform itself into a carp, a symbol of aspirations. Like fairy folk in other lands, they lived beneath the water in palaces, occasionally inviting mortals to stay with them. They also feared some rather strange objects: iron, beeswax, centipedes, tigers, the wang plant (a type of grain), the leaves of the lien tree (melia azedarach), fire, and silk dyed in five different colors. Tigers were thought to possess a "soul recalling" hair which might have caused such ethereal beings problems. Members of virtually all fairy races feared iron. A single iron needle could kill a dragon. Lightning was thought to be heavenly fire sent to stop them from fighting in the sky.

There were several ways to encourage dragons to make rain. They might be enticed with the flesh of swallows or sparrows, or an iron rod could be used to stir a dragon's pond in order to scare it up into the heavens to start the rain. Gongs were struck to frighten the deaf dragon with the vibrations, and according to legend, they enjoyed teasing spiders.

When dragons died, their bodies could sometimes be found on earth, and various body parts were valued as medicines. The spine was effective for gallstones, feverish children, paralysis, and the illnesses of pregnant women. A dragon's brain and liver could be used for dysentery. Their teeth might be used for madness and headaches. The hide of a dragon was said to glow in the dark, and the burning oil from their fat could be seen from hundreds of miles away. Dragon blood would turn to amber as soon as it touched the earth, and dragon saliva was used in the most rare perfumes and most durable dyes.

The pearl of those dragons who had dominion over hidden treasures was the most precious of all dragon possessions. It was usually carried in a dragon's mouth or in the folds beneath its chin and radiated its own fiery light. Anything which came in contact with it would multiply. Described as a spiral or a globe with a little nodule like a bean sprout, its color varied from red or gold to the normal blue-white of an oyster's pearl. According to one story, a mortal who swallowed the pearl would become a dragon.

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Quote : Mahatma Gandhi
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.

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Craft of the Week : Dragon Kite
From Family Fun.com; see their site for helpful diagrams and more crafts.

Plastic trash bags
Cellophane tape
Ruler
Pencil
String
Permanent markers
3/16-inch dowel (14 inches long)
Wire clothes hanger (light gauge)
Kite cord
Heavy needle
Large snap swivel

Slice open a trash bag lengthwise and tape down the plastic sheet. Draw a 14-inch-diameter circle with a centerline and squared-off bottom. (Tip: Use a foot-long loop of string as a compass. Anchor the loop in place with a pencil's eraser end, insert a marker, pull the loop taut, and draw the circle.) Draw a 1-inch margin around the top and sides for tabs. Decorate with markers, if desired. Cut out the pattern and the tabs. Tape the dowel to the centerline of the kite's back.

Straighten the hanger, bend it around the top of the dowel and then down along the perimeter of the kite. Use bricks or books to hold the wire in place. Starting at the top of the kite, tightly fold and tape the tabs around the wire, alternating from left to right. Trim the excess wire with wire cutters.

Place two pieces of tape (for reinforcement) across the centerline on the front of the kite, 1 inch down from the top and 3 1/2 inches up from the bottom. Use a needle to poke the bridle--a 3-foot length of cord--through the upper piece of tape, alongside the dowel. Loop the cord around the dowel, send the needle back through the plastic on the opposite side of the dowel, then thread the cord back through and around the dowel again. Secure the cord to itself with a triple knot. Repeat this process with the other end of the bridle at the lower taped point. Attach the snap swivel 1 1/4 inches above the bridle's midpoint. Use a lark's head knot: fold the cord and thread it through the swivel's non-opening end; draw the loop of cord over the entire swivel, then pull tight. Tie the kite cord to the swivel's clasp.

For the tail, tape together five plastic strips (2 inches by 4 bag lengths each), tape them to the kite's bottom and decorate.

Flying Tips: Despite that classic image from childhood, running is not the best way to launch a kite. Instead, release it from your hand as you slowly let out line or have a helper stand 100 feet downwind and release the kite as you reel in the line. (Be sure to be far away from power lines.) In strong winds, move the swivel up 1/2 inch on the bridle; in light, down 1/2 inch. If the kite spins and dives, lengthen the tail.

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Humor : Dragon Q & A

Q: Why did the dragon spit out the court jester? A: He tasted funny! Q: When can you tell that there's a dragon under your bed? A: When your nose touches the ceiling! Q: What do you call someone with a dragon on their head? A: Squashed! Q: What did the grape say after it was stepped on by a dragon? A: Nothing, he just gave out a little wine! Q: What weighs 4 tons and is bright red? A: A dragon holding its breath! Q: What weighs 4 tons, breathes fire and bounces up and down? A: A dragon on a trampoline! Q: Can a dragon jump higher than a castle? A: Of course! Castles can't jump. Q: What kind of a dragon lives in Antarctica? A: A very, cold one! Q: Where do dragons sleep? A: Just about anywhere they want to. Q: Why do dragons sleep during the day? A: So they can fight knights. Q: And why do dragons go hungry all day? A: So they can eat knights! Q: What did the dragon say when he saw a knight in shining armor? A: Oh, no, not canned food again tonight! Q: What did the dragon nibble on before bedtime? A: A mid-knight snack! Q: What do dragons call knights after they catch them? A: Bites in shining armor! Q: What did the dragon say after gulping down the knight? A: Good knight! Q: What is worse than raining cats and dogs? A: Hailing dragons! Q: What do you give a dragon with an upset stomach? A: Plenty of room! Q: If storks bring human babies, what brings baby dragons? A: Cranes! Q: What's wrong if you see a talking dragon? A: You're probably just having Disney spells! Q: How does a dragon see at night? A: With a knight light! Q: What happened when the wizard crossed a dragon with a snowman? A: He got frostbite! Q: What always follows a dragon around? A: His tail! Q: Where did knights learn to kill dragons ? A: At knight school! Q: Why do dragons have hoards? A: Where can they spend it?

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Who's Who in World Mythology : Ask and Embla
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Who’s Who Archive.

According to the Nordic creation myth, Ask (Aske, Askr) and Embla were the first humans. While walking along the seashore, the sons of Bor- Odin and his brothers Vili and Vé (or Hoenir and Lothur- Lothur sometimes consider synonymous with Loki)- found two trees, an ash and an elm. From them, they created a man and a woman.

Odin gave the man and the woman spirit and life. Vili gave them understanding and the power of movement. Vé gave them clothing and names. From Ask and Embla sprang the races of men who lived in Midgard.

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Quote: Cherie Carter-Scott
Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.

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The Magi's Garden: Blackberry
For past featured foliage and the bibliography, please go to the
The Magi’s Garden Archive.

Blackberry (Rubus villosus, R alleghaniensis)

Description: Blackberry is a member of the rose family. It is a trailing perennial, preferring dry, sandy soil. Though blackberries grow practically anywhere throughout the world, they grow most luxuriantly in Australian habitats. Opinions differ as to whether there is one blackberry with many aberrant forms or if there are many different species.

Blackberry propagates by seed and runners. The root survives for many years, sending up slender arches covered in sharp, recurved prickles. Each shoot grows alternates between growing one year and fruiting the next. The palmately compound leaves are up to eight inches long, and finely hairy. They are pinnate, with three to five ovate, doubly serrate leaflets. The upper leaves are sometimes simple and palmately lobed. White five-petal flowers appear from June to September, and the fruit is an aggregate of reddish-black drupelets maturing in mid to late summer. The fruit is differentiated from the raspberry by the thick core to which the drupelets adhere. In raspberries, the fruit detaches from the core when picked. Blackberries retain the core.

Effects: gentle
Planet: Venus Zodiac: Aries
Element: water
Associated Deities: Brigit

Traditions:
According to folklore, it is unlucky to eat or pick blackberries after October 11th. Other traditions say they must not be eaten after Michealmas, September 29th. This was due to a belief that after a certain time, the devil or a Puca would pass over the blackberries, making them unfit for consumption. Some said they had been spat upon, or that he had dragged his tail over the bush. Others said that he had merely waived his club over them. Of course, I dare anyone to find any blackberries left on the vine by October. If I don’t pick as many as I can by the end of July, there aren’t going to be any there for me at all.

While it was sacred to many European deities and used in their worship, it is mainly recalled as sacred to Brigit and was baked in pies on Lughnasadh (August 2) in honor of the harvest.

Magic:
A bramble forming a natural arch was often used for healing. On a sunny day, crawl through backward and forward three times, as nearly east to west as possible, for the treatment of boils, rheumatism, whooping cough, and even blackheads. A bramble arch could also cure lamed livestock. The young leaves were eaten in salad to relieve loose teeth, bleeding gums, and rheumatism. Chewing the leaves was also considered a treatment for snakebite, though I would assume the resultant paste was applied to the wound.

Dip nine leaves in spring water and lay them gently on an inflamed wound, burn, or scald, saying three times to each leaf:

Three ladies came from the east,
One with fire and two with frost
Out with fire, in with frost

Leaves and blackberries were added to wealth spells.

The vines are protective when purposely grown, and may be gathered and woven into protective symbols or wreaths. Bramble may be gathered during a waning moon to ward off evil magic.

Known Combinations:
To treat dysentery, an old folk cure called for brambles, mugwort, and everlasting. Taking a bramble arch, which had both ends embedded in the earth, the healer was instructed to find the newer of the two roots, and cut it up into nine chips in the left hand. These were boiled in milk with the mugwort and everlasting. The milk was given to the sufferer to sip at over night.

Medical Indications: Parts Used : roots and leaves
Blackberry is an astringent and tonic. The berries are a good source of carbohydrates, iron, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C. The leaves and roots have been used as a diarrhea remedy for centuries. Prolonged use of blackberry leaf tea has been suggested for enteritis, chronic appendicitis, and leucorrhoea. Tea from the dried root was used to treat dropsy. The Greeks used the berry as a treatment for gout.

Nutrition:
The fruit is used in jams, jellies, preserves, pies, and cakes. Young leaves are also edible, though not particularly appealing. Blackberry wine may be made by crushing the fruit and adding one quart of boiling water to each gallon of fruit. This is allowed to stand for twenty-four hours, stirring occasionally. Strain off the liquid and add two pounds of sugar to every gallon and keep corked until the following October. For a blackberry cordial, you can also press out the juice, adding two pounds of sugar to every quart along with a half ounce of nutmeg and cloves.

Mercantile Uses:
The young shoots mixed with alum make a light gray dye. The berries mixed with a mordant can create a rose, pink, or purple dye.

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Cartoon

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Poem : Fire and Rope, Bullet and Axe
by Nikolay Tikhonov (b.1896)

Fire and rope, bullet and axe –
These faithful servants at our backs.
In every drop there slept a flood,
From every stone a mountain lloomed.
And in each trampled twig
Black-handed forests sighed and moaned.

Falsehood gorged itself from our plates,
Bells sounded only out of habit,
Weightless coins lost their ring,
And children had no fear of corpses…
Only then did we learn
Words beautiful – bitter and cruel.

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Quote : JRR Tolkien
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

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The Power of Stones : Antimony
For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Power of Stones Archive.

Antimony is light gray with a metallic luster and in some cases is nearly indistinguishable from arsenic. There is some conjecture on whether it was one of the stones included in the breastplates of Semitic high priests, but archeologists are sure it was known and used in Biblical times as a medicine and cosmetic. Tenacity in all areas of interest is enhanced by antimony. It dispels opposition so long as your goal is not detrimental to others, and encourages and stimulates access to instinctive knowledge.

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Humor : Why dragons don't make good pets

Those nasty hair-balls-of-fire are always getting in the way. Allergy season! Explaining all the suits of armor buried in the back yard to the FBI. It takes forever for him to blow out the candles on his birthday cake. You keep having to put out the damn cat! Letterman wants it for his Stupid Pet Tricks segment. The smoke alarm keeps going off. You try to neuter your pet male dragon! What do you do in the mating season? PetSmart doesn't carry Dragon Kibble. It becomes too helpful when visitors want to light up a cigarette. There just isn't a pooper-scooper large enough. Insurance premiums skyrocket during hay fever season. It's a burden taking care of all the princesses he is dragging home. Try explaining all the missing neighborhood pets. How about a filthy hot smoldering litter box? The local fire department wants you to pay extra taxes because they're over at your place so much. Two words: Dentist Visits. Playing tug-of-war isn't so much fun anymore. Try finding someone brave enough to walk it! He always wants to play AD&D.

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A Dreamer's Guide : Khaki to Kitten

For past articles and the bibliography, please go to the
Dreamer's Guide Archive.

Anxiety surrounds you if you saw Khaki cloth. Khaki uniforms augur frivolity, and army men in khaki means some rival may steal your sweetheart. If you bought a uniform, good times are approaching.

Being Kicked is an indication of anxiety caused through strong competition. If you kicked at someone or something, expect an improvement in your condition or position. Financial gain is predicted by kicking an enemy, and if you kicked a friend, one is trying to help you.

You will likely bring grief to someone of a loving heart if you dreamt of a Kid (young goat). You will not be overly scrupulous in your morals or pleasures.

The company you have been keeping may cause you embarrassment if you dreamt of being Kidnapped. Guard your valuables against theft and loss if you did the kidnapping however, and if you cannot, be sure your insurance is in order. Dreaming of a kidnapping which did not involve you is a sign of important changes.

Ill health threatens if you dreamt of you Kidneys, and there may be marital troubles. If you have over active kidneys, you will be a witness to some racy intrigue, and if they do not work, there will be scandal to your reputation. Pain in your kidneys means you trust yourself too much, and a kidney operation indicates loss of money.

If you ate kidney stew, some official with cause you disgust through their not so secret love affair. Eating, cooking, or serving kidneys is a warning against speculation. Buying kidneys is a sign of unhappiness, and eating them means an unwanted person will visit you. You will receive good news if anyone refused to eat it.

Killing a defenseless person foretells sorrow and failure. Killing in self-defense or killing a ferocious animal indicates victory and a rise in position. If you witnessed a murder, changes are in the air which may not be to your liking.

Seeing people kill animals or insects is an augury of help from friendly sources, while killing them yourself indicates obstacles overcome through your own hard work. Separation is foretold if you killed a snake, while slaying birds or bees is damaging to business.

You may take an unexpected trip if you saw a Highlander in a Kilt. Satisfying work and good news is augured if you wore a kilt.

Kindergarten is generally a good omen.

Dreaming of a King means you are struggling with all your might to fulfill your ambitions. If you were crowned king, you will rise above your friends and coworkers, but if you were criticized by a king, you will be reprimanded for some neglected duty.

The Kingfisher is a symbol of great good luck. Several presage a financial gain, and seeing one fly over water means you will regain lost money.

Children Kissing denotes happy reunions and satisfactory work. You will be very successful if you kissed you mother, and kissing a sibling means much pleasure and good in your life. Kissing your sweetheart in the light signifies honorable intentions, but kissing in the dark indicates immoral and dangerous meetings. You are in danger of losing the esteem of your lover if you saw him or her kissing your rival. If you kissed a stranger, be careful of your morals and integrity. Kissing someone on the neck is a sign of a passionate inclination but weak mastery of the self. You will make an attempt to reconcile with an angry friend of you dreamt of kissing an enemy.

You will be forced to meet emergencies which will depress your spirits if you saw a Kitchen. A clean and orderly kitchen signifies interesting fortunes. A messy, rundown, or bare kitchen is a warning to perhaps get a medical checkup. A chief in a kitchen means you may soon receive an invitation to dinner.

If you dreamt of flying a Kite, do no trust in a show of wealth or business for it is only a show. A kite thrown on the ground foretells disappointment and failure. If you made a kite, you will speculate largely with little to show for it and you may seek to win the one you love through misrepresentation. Children flying kites denotes pleasant and light occupations. If the kite rose to a position beyond your vision, high hopes and aspirations will come to nothing but loss and disappointment.

A beautiful, fat, white Kitten represents artful deception which can be overcome through good sense and judgment. A dirty, colored, or lean kitten indicates glaring indiscretions. A newborn kitten means you will recover from illness. Playful kittens are a signs of a pleasant but unimportant love affair; otherwise a dream of kittens augurs annoying small troubles. Killing a kitten means you will overcome your troubles. If you saw a snake kill a kitten, enemies seeking to harm you will do an injury to themselves.

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Quote : Edmund Burke
No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.

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