The Ancient Whispers Newsletter

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 other 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.

The Magician’s Companion
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0875428681/qid=10 94008666/sr=ka-1/ref=pd_ka_1/104-1037333-4019108
No matter what type of magick you practice or study, Bill Whitcomb’s book will provide you with symbols and correspondences from around the world.

Dictionary of Symbols
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393312364/qid=10 94008896/sr=ka-2/ref=pd_ka_2/104-1037333-4019108
This collection traces the origins of everyday and esoteric symbols through history, making it easier to find the archetypical symbols that appeal to our personal consciousness.

The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det ail/-/0062509233/qid=1094009407/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-1037333-4019108?v=glance&s=book s
Though the title would lead one to believe that this book is geared toward a female audience, nothing could be further from the truth. This book will help you interpret everyday objects in a new light.

Signs, Symbols & Omens
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/073870234X/104-1037333-4019108?v= glance
Though I rarely enjoy Raymond Buckland’s books, this one is the exception to the rule. He has gathered together a collection of symbols which can be used in a variety of traditions.

September acquired its name as the seventh month of the old Roman calendar. Pomona, patroness of fruit and fruit-trees, was tutelary goddess of this month in which autumn begins.

September was Meán Fómhair in Ireland or an t-Sultainn, the fat time. All these names refer to the ripening harvest. The September moon is gealach an abachaidh, moon of ripening. Haligmonath, "holy month," was the month of September among the Anglo-Saxons. The Franks called this month Witumanoth, "wood month," for this when the majority of wood was gathered for the coming cold months. September is Shedding among the Asatru.

The first Full Moon is called the Fruit or Grain Moon, a name it shares with August. It shares the name Harvest Moon with October and Sturgeon Moon with August. It has been called the Singing, Wine Moon, and the Moon When Deer Paw the Earth.

Libra takes over from Virgo around September 23rd. Those born this month have the aster for their birth flower. The stone for Virgo and those born in September is the sapphire. Chrysolite and sardonyx are also listed as stones for those born in Septmeber. Libra’s birthstone is opal or tourmaline, and Libra is also linked to aquamarine, emerald, kunzite, moonstone, opal, peridot, and pink tourmaline. Amazonite, amber, carnelian, chrysocolla, citrine, and sapphire are other stones associated with Virgo

Lunar Holy Days

The Chinese Moon festival, Chung-Ch'iu, falls on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon of the Chinese lunar calendar.

During Choyo-no-Sekku or the Kiku no Sekku, Chrysanthemum Day, chrysanthemum wine is drunk on the ninth day of the ninth moon to ensure long life.

The Horndance begins at dawn on the first Monday after Wake Sunday (the first Sunday after September 4th).

Radha and Krishna

Feast of Osiris

Akwambo, the Path Clearing Festival

Apache Sunrise ceremony

Ganesha Chaturthi/ Day of Nanda Devi

Ceremony of Raising the Djed Pillar

Situa

The Theosophical Society was founded

Zarathustra was born

Durga Puja begins in Bengal

Neith Goes forth

Weather today or tomorrow determines the weather for the next forty days.

Pinnhut festival

II Law of Attention:
The more one seeks to support a given law, conclusion, or worldview, the more evidence one will find. Worldviews have inertia. Since we create our world each moment (see I: Law of Worldviews), we are constantly maintaining our worldview. This is done by means of a recursive internal dialogue of words and symbols with which we constantly edit our perceptions. By rearranging our attention, we rearrange our worldview.

This law may be viewed as an extension of the Law of Worldviews, or something entirely separate. On the one hand, by seeking to validate your worldview, you may be creating the evidence you seek. Your subconscious provides the symbolism and signs to which your conscious mind responds. A kind of synchronicity occurs between you subconscious and conscious mind which results in coincidental observations. These observations make it seem that what you believe is true or increases your belief that something is true.

On the other hand, by simply desiring a worldview to be true, your mind begins to discard any illusions between you and its validation. In other words, you see more evidence because you are no longer disregarding it. The evidence may have existed all along, but until you were ready to accept it, it remained hidden from you.

In the long run, this Law is only good for strengthening your worldview. By stringing along events and symbols in a “logical” fashion, you can prove a worldview exists, and in doing so, make changing a previous worldview easier. What I mean is, if you are attempting to alter your current worldview to a new one, attempting to change your reality for something else, then use of the second Law will facilitate that change.

It is simple to apply the law of attention to whatever worldview you are shooting for. Just pay attention to everything around you. Signs and synchronic events will occur to validate any reality for which you are wishing.

If you have a good memory, you can keep a running tab of events which verify that your worldview is true. Depending upon what you have read (books of omens, signs, etc), you will be able to single out events and observances as more significant than others quite easily. You can also use symbolism to enact your new reality.

Affirmations are one of the best way to put the Law of Worldviews into effect, but the Law of Attention deals more with symbolism. If you are artistically inclined, you can draw, paint, or otherwise illustrate the ideas inherent in your world view, then watch for an echo of those symbols in your day to day reality. Sigils are another great way to reinforce your belief system.

The simplest way to create a sigil is to collect any words which apply to your reality. You can use the common alphabet or choose from any magickal alphabet which appeals to your senses. Reduce each word to one letter. Combine the letters, eliminating shared lines until you have one form. Draw this form on a clean sheet of parchment or paper, using whatever ink you feel appropriate. This will be your sigil once you empower it. It is a tool toward changing your reality and recognizing change. Once you put it to use, watch for the changes you desire in your reality. Acknowledgment of those changes will further validate your worldview.

Badessy of the Dahomey people of Africa, and also a voodoo god in Haiti, is a sky deity. He is a minor deity among the male gods generally referred to as hougouns (males) and mambos (females). He is a companion of Damballah.

Description: Being a mountain plant, the Chrysanthemum’s ideal environment is a dry, stony hillsides and lots of sun. An overly moist summer can kill the plants. Growing two to two and a half feet, the plants begin to flower at the end of May, and the buds should only be collected in dry weather. The insecticide properties of the buds are most active just before the flower is about to open. Only the flowers have insecticidal properties. The plant may continue to grow from six to twenty years.

Effects: strong
Planet: Sun, Mercury, Uranus
Element: fire
Associated Deities: T'ao Yuan-Ming

Traditions:
During China's Choyo-no-Sekku or the Kiku no Sekku, Chrysanthemum Day, chrysanthemum wine is drunk on the ninth day of the ninth moon to ensure long life. At the Chrysanthemum Doll Fete, lifelike clay figures are dressed in robes made of fresh chrysanthemums and arranged as parts of legendary and historical scenes. The celebration is also held to honor the poet T'ao Yuan-Ming who flavored the flower which only blooms in the autumn. After his death, he became the god of the flower.

Chung Yeung, the Festival of High Places, is a Chinese holiday held on the eighth of October to honor the legendary scholar, Huan Ching. Living in the village of Joo-an more than 2000 years ago, he was warned by a sage to take his family into the high hills to save them from a disaster that awaited everyone in the village below. After warning everyone, he took his family away and later returned to find every living thing in the village dead. The day is celebrated by hiking and kite flying which is thought to carry away impending evils. Kites often are flown in the form of bats, fish, and butterflies, creatures of good omen. Picnics include chrysanthemum wine and special cakes said to bring good luck and career advancement when eaten in high places.

The smell of Chrysanthemums in a dream is a sign of hopes fulfilled. Increased social activities are indicated if you picked colored ones, while picking white Chrysanthemums signifies loss and confusion. Giving them means an unexpected increase in status through influential friends.

According to the Victorian Language of Flowers, a red chrysanthemum indicates love, while a white one means truth, sincerity, or belief. Yellow flowers are a sign of slighted love, bronze means friendship, that the friendship is valued, or that romantic love is impossible. A Chinese chrysanthemum is a symbol of good cheer in adversity.

Magic:
An infusion of the flower is used as a cure for drunkenness. It is also said to promote mental health. Grown, the plant protects the home and garden from evil spirits. Wearing the flowers will ward off the wrath of the gods. It is also considered a flower for the dead and is used in rituals of death and dying.

Known Combinations:
none

Medical Indications: Parts Used: flower buds
Insecticide lotions can be made from infusions of the flower buds.

Nutrition:
Chrysanthemum leaves (shungiku) are quite edible. Unfortunately, these are a different plant than the ornamental Chrysanthemum. Edible Chrysanthemum comes from the Chrysanthemum coronarium. Choose lush green bunches that have thin stems. Avoid overcooking, as they become mushy easily. Chrysanthemum leaves are used in salads, soups and nabe. The flowers are also edible, but are used sparingly. The stems can be stir-fried, and the sprouted seeds used as a snack.

Mercantile Uses:
The Chrysanthemum is not called Insect Flower and Insect Plant because it attracts them. Rather, the flower buds were used in a powdered form to kill small pest insects on plants and crops. It is harmless to humans and so can also be made into an insecticide lotion. It is also a fumigant when burned.

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Cartoon

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Poem : Eskimo Song

The great sea has set me in motion.
Set me adrift,
And I move as a weed in the river.

The arch of sky
And mightiness of storms
Encompasses me,
And I am left
Trembling with joy.

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Quote : William Feather
A man must not deny his manifest abilities, for that is to evade his obligations.

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

For some reason gold has an affinity for the element tellurium. Calaverite is a crystalized gold ore, containing a bit of silver and tellurium. It is usually whitish, enhanced by varying shades of yellow. It is an uncommon mineral and much sought after by collectors. This is the most common gold bearing mineral besides native gold. Elemental gold is typically either found as gold, as an alloy with other metals such as silver and copper, and as trace amounts in a few minerals. To be an actual significant part of a non-alloyed mineral is very uncommon for gold and this makes calaverite a unique mineral.

This mineral can be used to eliminate compulsive behavior, promoting thought before action. The stone is also useful in rectifying money concerns, prompting you to make the most beneficial action available. It brings a positive and lasting influence to its environment and can be carried or left stationary in the home or ritual area. The tellurium causes this mineral to be slightly protective, while the silver and gold content allows you to make use of opportunities.

Warning, calaverite should not be used in making elixirs due to the presence of tellurium.

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Humor : The very least

Four guys were out on the golf course. As one of them was teeing off at the 10th hole, which was next to the highway, they saw a funeral precession go by. Instead of teeing off, the guy removed his cap and placed it on his chest until the funeral had passed. At this point, the other three said, "You know, the was the most touching thing I've ever seen." And the guy said, "Well, I was married to her for fifteen years. It was the least I could do!"

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A Dreamer's Guide : Pests to Physician

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

Pests signify honor and dignity. In the house, the indicate plenty of money, though if you had garden pests, your prosperity will be smaller. Pests in your bed foretell prosperity beyond your fondest hopes. Seeing pests in someone else’s home may be a sign of a broken friendship. Worry over any pests warns of disturbing elements in control of your immediate future. Others distressed over pests augurs that you will be distressed over some unpleasant development.

Be wary of revealing your personal plans if you dreamt of a Pestilence. You will undertake a tiresome task if you were the cause of the pestilence. If you friends caused a plague, your fortune will be squandered. Rely on your own judgement if anyone besides yourself caused an epidemic.

Flower Petals pulled from a flower or falling suggest a broken friendship or relationship.

Petroleum is a warning of trouble. If you had some, there is danger of dispute with a business associate, and buying it is an omen of family dispute. Using it is a warning of a double cross.

A Petticoat means you will have many amusements, but if you wore it, guard against conceit and waste. Changing your petticoat foretells your fondest desires will meet with disaster. If you owned some, you will soon be in love, and mending one is a sign that you will change your love. Buying one is a warning to be more judicious in your spending. Losing a petticoat suggests difficulties in marriage or a love affair. You will receive a beautiful gift if you dreamt of a white petticoat, while colored petticoats indicate a marriage proposal. If you saw a torn or dirties petticoat, you will be unhappy for a long time. Perhaps someone will impinge upon your reputation. Embroidered petticoats are a warning of contagious disease. A new petticoat suggests that pride in your possessions will cause unrest among your friends.

A Petunia grown outside signifies friendly social affairs, but grown indoors is an omen of a period of boredom.

Pewter augurs contentment and joy. Pewter utensils means you will be comfortable, but not wealthy. Good times are coming if you bought any pewter utensils. Using dishes or pots of pewter promises all difficulties will be overcome.

Disappointment is the message if you dreamt of a Phantom, though there will be consolation and joy if it was in white. Avoid temptation if it was in black. You will experience a period of desperation if you saw many phantoms. If you were chased by a specter, you will have a strange and disquieting experience. A ghost which ran from you augurs marginal troubles.

A Pharmacist is a sign of a successful investment though it will cause a bit of gossip.

Prosperity beyond your dreams will be yours if you saw a Pheasant, and eating pheasant means everything good will be yours. Happiness is foretold if you cooked this bird. Holding a pheasant in your hand indicates profit and joy, and having it sit on your shoulder is a sign of excellent health. Abundance is presaged by a dream of killing one, though if you shot it, you will fail to sacrifice a selfish pleasure for the good of friends.

You will be unable to manage your time if you dreamt of Philosophy. If you studied it, you will undertake a foolish plan. The more effort you made to understand philosophy, the more you will have to struggle to make money, and if you were a philosopher, you will have very little money at all.

Phosphorous predicts unrivaled joys.

A Photograph of yourself predicts misfortune in love, though pictures of others indicates dignity and distinction. You will lose in any form of speculation if others took a photo of you, an dif you took pictures of others, a rival may steal your love away. Taking photos of relatives means joy though little profit. Your friends are deceiving you if you took their pictures. Taking the picture of a dead person foretells happiness. Carrying the picture of someone near to your heart around your neck is a sign of prosperity. Receiving or giving a photograph is a warning of treason. Looking through pictures augurs the renewal of an old friendship. Receipt of the photo of a lover is a warning not to give him or her your undivided attention as they try to impress you.

You will have control over many matters if you dreamt of a Physician. If you were one, you will have joy and profit. Calling one for a child predicts new interests and surroundings, and calling one for yourself indicates a suitable time for courtship. If you had cause to call one for a relative, any illness will be short lived. Trouble lies ahead if anyone else called a doctor, though if the physician was called on your behalf, you will have a long life. Wealth is promised if you observed a doctor visiting patients.

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Quote : Sydney Smith
A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men whose timidity prevented them from making a first effort.

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