Brrr! It's cold outside and the snow is falling in Denver today, which makes it a perfect day to look at The Snowland Deck!Today I am here to offer an update to the previous review I did for The Snowland Deck : Life Themes Edition. In the ensuing years, husband and wife team Ron and Janet Boyer have finished the full version of the deck and brought so much more to the card reading table with it. Described as an Unbound Book, with whimsical wintry images suitable for all audiences, the Boyers have produced a masterful deck which closely follows tarot themes and structure, but has completely left out esoteric symbols and jargon, making this an accessible reading deck for most anyone.The Snowland Deck is self published and hand crafted at every step of production by Ron and Janet Boyer, and is available from their website. I have now received two decks from them, one the Life Themes Edition, which contained the 23 Life Theme Cards, correlating to the Major Arcana, and the full deck version, containing 82 cards, closely following the structure of a tarot deck, with a few surprises. Both decks were lovingly prepared and shipped, with an attention to detail that made each package a true delight to receive. The deck comes in a customizable hand sewn bag to protect it and a digital copy of the guidebook. A separate Snowland Intuitive Workbook is also available to augment your work with the deck.The cards are the same size as the Life Themes Edition, 3.5 inches by 5.5 inches, on a flippy, satin matte cardstock which shuffles easily and are printed in the USA. The backs are adorned with an "S" formed from snowflakes on a blue background and the cards are fully reversible. Janet has never been one to shy away from the shadow aspects of cards or life, so even though many of the images are whimsical, even sweet, they are also adaptable to expressing the myriad energies each of us experiences in life.There are 22 Life Theme Cards, which are easily recognizable to the tarot enthusiast as correlating to traditional Major Arcana, but most are renamed. The Fool has become Beginnings, The Emperor is now Commander, and The Devil is now Chains, to name a few of the changes. The Life Themes Cards bear their title in navy blue type on the bottom of the white bordered cards, but do not have any numbers on them, leaving each reader free to arrange them as each sees fit. There is an extra card called Chillaxin which is a moment caught in time, created by the Boyers' son Noah.The deck includes four cards which are referred to as the "Soul GPS significator cards", which come in handy so that you do not have to remove a card from the deck to use a significator, if that is the way you like to read. These cards correspond to each of the suits, which take on updated names of Energy, Emoting, Mental, and Material. These suit names will be easily recognizable to most readers, and have done away with the somewhat outdated traditional suits by transforming the theme of each suit into a language that the modern reader can easily relate to.The Court Cards are known as Approach Cards, and again they have done away with the feudal system of Page, Knight, Queen and King and replaced it with a more relatable Youth, Quester, Nurturer, and Director. This has the added benefit of erasing gender specific stereotypes and better allow the reader to embrace the concept of each card rather than getting hung up on, "What does a King mean?" The Approach Cards include many familiar characters expressing the archetypal energy of each card, and they really are a brilliant approach to the often tricky Court Cards! Snowland DeckThere are fourteen cards in each suit, simply numbered in a color which corresponds to their suit. Energy is red, Emoting is blue, Mental is grey, Material is green. There is nary a Wand or Pentacle or any esoteric symbol at all to be found in the deck, but the images have so succinctly distilled the meaning of each card that seasoned readers will have no trouble recognizing most cards, and new readers will also find the images easy to read and the energy recognizable. Snowland DeckThe Snowland Deck will appeal to lovers of winter, whimsical images, fairy tales, and the folksy art that pervades the deck. It is good for creatives, intuitives, children, teachers, parents, and anyone who likes to be delighted by thinking outside the box. It is not a great deck for people who are married to tradition or who are not interested in a different approach to the cards. While shadow energy is easily expressed in these cards, there is no darkness in them so people who prefer a gothic or darker edge to their cards may not enjoy the deck as a main reading deck. I have found my readings to be very true to life and not overly whitewashed, but as a whole there is a sweetness to the art that will not appeal to all readers, but there are plenty of different decks for each preference. Snowland DeckThe magical world of The Snowland Deck is open to all, and the Boyers have graciously posted all of their images to see and enjoy there. They also offer many other charming and whimsical divination and creative tools which are well worth a look!
Tuesday, 23 March 2010
It turns out more people would wear a sweater that was dropped in dog feces and cleaned than one that was worn by a murderer and then washed.
But why? How come we're disgusted by the idea of touching a killer's personal possession-especially when it's a sweater, something we normally associate with feelings of warmth and comfort? It's not like we can catch evil the way we can catch, say, the flu.
As Hood explains in his new book SuperSense (excerpted today in The Guardian):
"It is as if we treat evil as a physical contaminant that could be transmitted by touch. You can't wash away such contamination as though it were dirt. Most of us would treat the cardigan as if it were imbued with evil.
In the same way that some of us revere holy sites, priests, and sacred relics, we also shun places, people, and objects that are taboo. To do that, however, we have to attribute something more to them than just their physical properties. We may like to think of ourselves as rational people without superstitions, but this is just one area where we stray into the supernatural."The point of the sweater demonstration, he says, is to "illustrate to an educated, rational audience that sometimes our beliefs can be truly supernatural but have nothing to do with religious indoctrination. Atheists, too, tend to show revulsion at the idea of touching [the sweater]. If it's true that our beliefs can be supernatural but unconnected to religion, then it must also be true that humans will not necessarily evolve into a rational species, because a mind designed for generating natural explanations also generates supernatural ones."
Check out some of the other supernatural beliefs many people hold:
Heather Wax
Sunday, 21 March 2010
From the reforms of Peter the Solid until the Russian Riot, the Priestly was essentially renewed indoors a part of the implore, ensuring the Tsar the support of the fond. Having the status of Russia's tsarist splendor was overthrown the Priestly powerfully defended the old deliver a verdict. After the Bolsheviks came to power, they saw the Russian Organized Priestly as their competitor and straight away set about prevailing its power. The riot at the outset brought a to the point leg of distribution for the Priestly to the same degree an fair patriarchate was re-established momentarily in 1917. But the new Bolshevik splendor at full tilt affirmed the schism of the Priestly and implore. One of their zenith decrees affirmed leave go of of devout and anti-religious slouch. This led to a make weaker in the power and strength of the Priestly. Having the status of Russia's Civil War penniless out the Russian Organized Priestly supported the Silvery Navy, odious loan rage from the Bolsheviks, and in the end finding itself in the losing base. Such as the newly-founded Soviet Alliance lawfully claimed devout kind, in practice the splendor in low spirits organised religion and did a long way to remove devout command from Soviet alliance. A wave of persecutions wary the clergy erupted diagonally the federation. Diverse were tormented and executed and churches were confident to other uses. At zenith, Lenin theory that the Priestly would without demur lose strength in the wake of a come together nationalisation of all its lands and freight. But the symbol of flock didn't decline so other ways were tried. In the 1920s the Renovated Priestly or the Get-up-and-go Priestly, a skirmish supported by the Soviet splendor, was set up to bring rupture together with the clergy and fond. But the new church was emotionally resented and passed on in the 1930s. In 1927, to hard-wearing the relic of the Russian Organized Priestly, Public Sergius, its de facto cranium at the time, inhospitably uttered his dependability to the Soviet splendor, budding to withhold from criticising the implore in any way. But the move substandard to rest persecutions, fair odious conflicts within the Priestly itself. Previous REPORTS:Christianity: 1020 days of Russian faithKiev: the divan of Russian ChristianityMoscow becomes 'third Rome'Old Believers break from Russian Organized ChurchPeter the Great's reforms bring devout resurgence SOURCE: Open THE Previous Piece of work Related TO THIS STORY:
Source: asatru-religion.blogspot.com
cloudslike dragonsflyingin the night skyand at dawn
cloudslike angelsfloatingon bright blueand in moonlight
7/6/11
late sunon the silver riverred skyintensifyinghow quickly dark falls
14/6/11
wake in the morningopen the bedturn down the curtainsswitch on the catsfeed the computer...
"(Recycled last verse of an old poem that otherwise didn't work.)"
13/4/08 - 18/6/11
WINTER SOLSTICE TANKA
at Solstice my sister witchvisitingwanders outsidewaters my herbs
at Solsticewe eat muffinstalk Tarotno formal ritesimple sharing
at Solsticewe send our thoughtsto a friendin her gardenlighting her fire
21/6/11
winter sunshineripens the tomatoesto profusionas if growing wildI need do nothing
28/6/11
late nightI rememberold ghostssome of them deadsome still living
29/6/11
Origin: magick-keys.blogspot.com
Saturday, 20 March 2010
THE PAGAN ORIGIN OF ASH WEDNESDAY
By Craig Portwood
It's not mentioned in the Bible. None of the apostles observed it. Nowhere are Christians commanded to keep it. It was not even officially practiced until nearly 1000 years after Christ's resurrection. Like so many other non-biblical "Christian" customs, it has pagan roots. It's a sad fact that modern Christianity has appropriated so many customs from the practice of the heathens, that one might wonder if it should still be called Christianity.
THE EARLY PAGAN ORIGINS OF ASH WEDNESDAY
This ritual "imposition of the ashes" is purportedly in imitation of the repentant act of covering oneself in dust and ashes. The marking of believers on Ash Wednesday is done in combination of another extra-biblical routine called "Lent"." Despite Christ's command to his followers to abstain from the practice of disfiguring their faces during fasting, it has become a regular practice. He also told us to wash our faces during a fast.
The practice of putting ashes on one's forehead has been known from ancient times. In the "Nordic pagan religion", placing ashes above one's brow was believed to ensure the protection of the Norse god, "Odin". This practice spread to Europe during the Vikings conquests. This laying on of ashes was done on Wednesday, the day named for Odin, Odin's Day. Interestingly enough, according to Wikipedia, one of Odin's names is Ygg. The same is Norse for the World Ash. This name Ygg, closely resembles the Vedic name Agni in pronunciation.
The Norse practice which has become known as Ash Wednesday was itself, drawn from the Vedic Indian religion. Ashes were believed to be the seed Agni, the Indian fire god. It is from this name that the Latins used for fire, ignis. It is from this root word that the English language got the words, ignite, igneous and ignition. Agni was said to have the authority to forgive sins. Ashes were also believed to be symbolic for the purifying blood of the Vedic god Shiva, which it is said had "the power to cleanse sins."
LENT
Lent is a period of 40 days preceding the observance of "Easter", where the observers are expected to fast or cease from having the use of some other "luxury." Like the majority of modern, so-called Christian practices, its beginning can be traced to "heathen practices".
In his book "The Two Babylons", Alexander Hislop observed:
Let any one only read the atrocities that were commemorated during the 'sacred fast' or Pagan Lent, as described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus, and surely he must blush for the Christianity of those who, with the full knowledge of all these abominations, 'went down to Egypt for help' to stir up the languid devotion of the degenerate church, and who could find no more excellent way to 'revive' it, than by borrowing from so polluted a source; the absurdities and abominations connected with which the early Christian writers had held up to scorn. That Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstinence of Lent was a sign of evil; it showed how low they had sunk, and it was also a cause of evil; it inevitably led to deeper degradation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with the preceding revelries of the carnival, was entirely unknown....
In the early 19th century, German explorer Alexander von Humboldt noted the practice among the pagans in Mexico, being held in the spring. His account states:
Three days after the vernal equinox...began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun.
A Lent of forty days was also commemorated in Egypt. According to by English scholar John Landseer, in his Sabean Researches (1823), an Egyptian Lent of forty days was held in honor of Osiris.
There is a spiritual signature which bears witness to the spirit of these traditions. It is called Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. It is the custom of living it up to get our fill of all the enjoyment the world has to offer before setting off to "Church" in mock repentance on Ash Wednesday. Such celebrations are an indication of the spirit behind the facade.
THE TRUTH
Christ made it plain in JOHN 4:23-24:
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
To be sure, those who observe modern "Christian" practices are religious. They may have personal conviction, but they are missing a vital element of the faith. They are lacking truth.
MARK 7:7
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
The Bible tells us in chapter 9 of the book of Hebrews, that we are made clean by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. No amount of ritual or work of the hand of man can accomplish this.
1ST PETER 1:13-16 tells us:
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
The word holy means set apart, different from the rest. If we keep traditions which are not of God, how can we be holy? From what then are we different if we do as they do?
Not everyone has the conviction nor the courage to be set apart from the rest of the world. The sad truth is that mainstream Christianity lost her way, having fallen into apostasy long ago. This apostate tradition is continued by priests, pastors and preachers, ordained not by God in the power of the Holy Spirit, but by men in the spirit of the world.
And their followers wouldn't have it any other way.
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Well, not exactly.The Bible says, "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." So there must be tears... in Heaven.Why? What would there be to cry about in a perfect place where there is no more sickness, no more death?Between the Rapture of the church and the physical return of Jesus to Earth, there's this little-preached-about thing called the Bema Seat - or the Judgment Seat of Christ. It's when we Christians will find out the true value of everything we have done (and not done) as Christians. We may even be surprised at who we see there! (if we even notice the presence of anyone else at all...)1 Corinthians 3:11-15 talks about this time of reckoning. It is NOT a time when we will find out who goes to Heaven and who goes to hell. This is "for Christians only."I believe it will be a time when many of us - I daresay most of us - will be very surprised at what awaits us. Those of us who think we have done well in this life may find that our reward was all down here in the praise of men or even in the satisfaction of doing good deeds ("it feels good to be good"), and therefore, little or no reward may await us. Those of us who don't think our lives have amounted to much on Earth may discover that our little dark corner where we have slogged away in obscurity, illuminates with far more lavish reward than we ever dreamed imaginable. The secret, the determining factor, is in the fire of God: the purifying, motive-revealing fire. Please understand that it is not PEOPLE who will pass through the fire, but WORKS. Our sins, past, present, and future, have already been placed under the Blood. There will be no "confession", no "repentance", no "redemption" needed. He will show us what really was, and what could have been. There will be nothing left for us but to accept His perfect plan for us, His decision on what rewards await us for the rest of eternity. Read with me the words of Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God:11For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.(NASV)What a day that will be! There are probably going to be lots of us who weep in remorse because of lost opportunities to reach out, wasted efforts in religious pursuits, and impure, selfish motives in what we may have considered "our ministry." There will be no escaping the truth, no rationalizing our behavior. "All things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." (Heb 4:13)Before we succumb to the temptation to say to ourselves, "Well then,... we'd better get busy!" that is not what this is about. This is about - as it always is with God - relationship. It's about being so busy doing the work of the Lord that we forget the Lord of the work. It's about Jesus waiting by the hearth of our lives, waiting to meet with us and spend time with us by the fireplace, enter our innermost dark corners and illuminate and warm them with Himself, free us from the chains of our pasts and cause us to realize how deeply He loves us. Once we realize this, our natural spiritual response will be to love Him back! That love will naturally spill over into our daily lives and touch the people with whom we come in contact - just like a beam of light pierces through the darkness. We will make a difference - for Him. Through Him. Because of Him.Not for reward. Not for crowns or jewels... or anything else except the constant awareness of His presence inside of us, transforming us, loving and working through us.He is desperate for us to let Him know us, to let Him into our innermost places and accept His love and His grace to live every day in His anointing. Not "for the rest of my life." Just every day, while it is still called Today.So the question that tells me if I am living progressively in that lifestyle is: am I looking forward to the Bema - the Judgment Seat of Christ - or not?
Credit: just-wicca.blogspot.com
Credit: just-wicca.blogspot.com
Friday, 19 March 2010
Source: christruth2008
Saturday, 13 March 2010
By Kim Rendfeld
In 750, Archbishop Boniface anointed the insignificant person Frankish Sovereign Pepin in Soisson. A Saxon in his 70s, he may possibly assertion had persuaded Frankish politics, or he may possibly assertion retired to a monastery. Then again, a few duration following, he embarked on a unsafe piece of work to sound off to the pagan Frisians.That's the huge thing about Saint Boniface. He may possibly assertion had an easy life, by to the front medieval morals, but once more and once more, he gave up power and the human rights that went with it to depress his supporter work.
Boniface is held to assertion been uneducated to a upright family in Saxon government of Wessex in the 670s - disc of his to the front life are hazy. He was called Winfrid until he took the Latinized typeset of his name, either in the role of he joined the Benedictine order or in the role of he was hallowed bishop in 722.
From An To The Front 20th Century Prayer Card
One time he was a child, supporter monks visited his family's home. Their stories necessary assertion finished instead an impression on the boy, ample to make him whim to be a priest. Did what they say about the pagans in Saxony redistribute him to dismay that thousands of man Saxons faced infinity in hell? Did he see himself rescuing them from that fate?
Regardless of the boy's motives, Boniface's create excluded his son from pursuing a committed life but relented after becoming faultily ill, held to be a sign from God to let his son go the monastery.
At age 13, he went to the abbey of Adescancastre (SITE OF TODAY'S EXETER) and seven duration following the abbey of Nhutscelle (AMONGST SOUTHHAMPTON AND WINCHESTER). Grant, he furthered his intellect, joined the Benedictine order, and was destined a priest at age 30. (The lines amongst priest and priest were shapeless in addition to.)
REJECTING Sway AND Prestige
A service to Boniface in Fritzlar
He may possibly assertion basked in the applause of his admit and preaching, but that's not what he comfortable. He comfortable to sound off to the Continental Saxons, pagans who lived in today's Germany and power assertion qualified mortal disbursement as a charity after a leading raid. At this become, he was reasonably in his after the event 30s or to the front 40s.
He finished a maneuver into Frisia but found the devotee position too not to be trusted and returned to Britain. On the subject of a day following, near the end of 717, the abbot of Nhutscelle died, and the monks elected Boniface the abbot. Abbots on a regular basis had devotee power, and even with the abbot at Nhutscelle chose an bleak lifestyle, numerous lived as goodness. Boniface rejected the abbacy and instead sure the bishop of Winchester to assertion the monks hand over someone as well.
He in addition to traveled to Rome to give somebody no option but to the pope's blessing for his piece of work to the Continent. One time the pope unwavering Boniface had the respectable ideals and wish, he sent him to lands in today's Germany.
Passion ON THE CONTINENT
At all Boniface found was that legitimately Christian countries had lapsed, on a regular basis considering a mix of Christianity and paganism. Plus the protection of a tie of visits to Rome, he no more the after that decade preaching, converting pagans, the system monasteries and appointing abbesses. Reliable of his campaign give pester a resigned 21st century become. He felled a tree sacred to the pagans and finished a chapel from its plant, and he dispirited an idol. His appear and piece of work continued to flower.
In 732, he was towering to archbishop and continued to found monasteries and build churches and company reforms. He comfortable to pitch his archbishopric in 738 and return to piece of work work, but the pope would not let him. For numerous duration, he whispered synods, affected canons, expert monks, and led prayers and meditation.
An 11th Century Protest From The Sacramentary Of Fulda
On the subject of 753, he quitter the archbishopric of Mainz and went to Frisia with his army. He positively knew that it was not dense. Having lived longer than upper limit medieval folk, most likely he did not scare death. All the same he set for keep details means for converts on the Conduit Bornes in 754, his celebration was attacked by pagans, seemingly aim on purse-snatch. He told his army not to revolt. His life was found strict a bloodstained version of Saint Ambrose's "THE MILD OF TEMPORARY".
He was finally occupied to Fulda, whose world he had supervised, and his canonization in a while followed (SNAPPISH IN THE ROLE OF IS UNCLEAR). In 778, ultra than 20 duration after Boniface's death, the monks at Fulda went to effective lengths to protect his what's left. All the same pagan Saxons warriors blocked in, they fled for their lives, despoil the saint's bones with them. The monks were astute to return to Fulda, where Boniface's tomb armor today.
Sources: "THE CATHOLIC REGISTER" (1907), daily by Francis Mershman
Rev. Alban Butler's "The Lives of Saints "
"Carolingian Chronicles: Imperial Frankish Annals and Nithard's Histories", translated by Bernhard Walter Scholz with Barbara Rogers
"Charlemagne: Translated Sources", P.D. Sovereign
Kingdom manor images via Wikimedia Eatery.
"Kim Rendfeld is the author of two books set in Carolingian Francia, where Boniface was revered: The Sever and the Dragon", published by Fireship Press, and the yet-to-be published "THE EMBER OF HEAVEN'S CORROBORATE". For ultra about Kim and her story, stumble kimrendfeld.com or her blog, Outtakes. You can in addition catch with her on Facebook and Squeak.
Thursday, 11 March 2010
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Letter to Shri M Karunanidhi, Chief Minister of Tamil NaduBy
Krishan Bhatnagar
Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 5:33 AM,
Subject: Temple Lands under trusteeship of Hindu religious and Charitable Endowments belong to Hindus and their usage must be decided by the Hindu community representatives, their Religious leaders and Organizations.
Honble Chief Minister Karunanidhi,
We would like to bring the following extremely serious issue to your attention and for immediate action:
According to a recent report various state and Central Govt. departments have requested allotment of temple lands, currently under the trusteeship and management of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) Board in Chennai. The Endowment lands asked for belong to: a) Somanatha Swamy Temple at Kolathur, b) Varadaraja Perumal Temple, c) Dhandeeswarar Temple, d) the Vedapureeswarar Temple, e) Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore; and f) Venkatesa Perumal Temple at Sowcarpet, for which the Board is planning to issue a public notice calling for objections from the people (Attachment A).
Such a procedure of issuing a public notice for acquisition would imply as if the lands are abandoned with no one to claim their ownership. The Govt. must realize that the temples and their endowments have been built over centuries by our forefathers and it is the community which is the real owner and which must have the final say through its representatives and religious leaders in the management and utilization of temple resources. The endowments are basically intended for use for Hindu causes and for sustenance of temples in perpetuity.
Your Govt. will notice that such autonomy is exercised by the minority communities and is permissible under the provisions of the Secular Constitution of India.
1) Govt. Control of Temples violates Laws of the Land: The Govt. is charged with the responsibility of upholding the law. But in the present case the state violates the national constitution by robbing the Hindus of their freedom and Religious Rights as guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.
The Supreme Court of India on Friday (August 14, 2009) directed that the Karnataka Govt. may not take over the management of any temple in the State under a law enacted in 1997. A Bench headed by Justice R V Raveendran stayed Section 25 of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, that empowered the State Govt. to take over the management of temples. "Section 25 of the Act is stayed,' the Bench said after the State Govt. failed to defend itself with reasoned arguments (Attachments B, C).
In September 2006, a Karnataka High Court Division Bench comprising Justices Gururajan and C R Kumaraswamy struck down the entire Act as unconstitutional. The Bench found the Act as arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order on April 2, 2007, following a special leave petition (SLP) by the State Government.
Earlier, the Allahabad High Court had directed the Central and Uttar Pradesh authorities to prepare a scheme for establishing a Board for Hindu religious organizations on the pattern of the UP Muslim Waqf Board.
Anticipating possible abusive and/or dishonorable designs in various administrations the Indian Parliament adopted a law in 1991 specifically requiring that -"the status of religious places, as on August 15, 1947 shall be retained". The state Govt. is duty bound to uphold this commitment made by a national law and let the religious places remain outside Govt. Control as they were in 1947. In case of conflicts or contradictions between the state and national laws the national law enjoys the precedence.
Despite such valid judicial decrees the State authorities have grossly misused and abused the powers delegated to them under the Concurrent List (Article 246 (2), Seventh Schedule) on religious institutions. Instead they went ahead and made unwarranted acquisition of temples and squarely discriminated against Hindu religious institutions, while leaving the liberty and freedom of other religionists in managing their institutions untouched and unhindered. No explanation was ever provided for this illegal discrimination against the majority community's religious institutions and their estates.
2) Only dharma Acharyas and saints have the religious and spiritual background and authority to guide religious shrines. Here are some basic questions the state govt. must ponder upon in public interest: What authority, background and special training the Govt. operatives' posses for controlling every aspect of the Hindu cultural ">
3) Govt. denies Vital Functions of temples: The temples are not just for rituals by purohits and objects of tourism as the endowments department would have us believe, but also the centers of communitys socio-cultural and religious life, a place of learning with Acharya, about community sewa e.g. augmenting educational and health facilities in public interest for the needy with the temple resources by the donors as the missionaries do, dharma prachar and for character building and sense of public service that eradicates corruption.
The exposition of the grandeur of Hinduism - its Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, the Bhagwad Geeta - its glorious ancient culture, spirituality and values that the community would like to project and propagate - are not only be denied by state control, but the deliberate and irreversible Govt. actions in liquidating resources of endowments, leading to the decimation of Hindu religious infrastructure, are unacceptable to the billion strong Hindu community worldwide.
4) The Govt. must restore community's role in temple management through Hindu Advisory Councils: Such Councils could play a role in oversight and decision making process of the endowments department and temple Trusts. Additionally these Councils elected or nominated by the Community, state and national religious leaders could shoulder these responsibilities. They could also stop desecration and decimation of the religious infrastructure taking place under Govt. control, pending denationalization, and till autonomous Boards are constituted for taking over the charge.
5) Honble Chief Minister, may we suggest the following for your kind attention and urgent action to rectify the injustices inflicted upon Hindus:
a) Freeze all plans and actions, in the domain of temples and endowments except for their routine maintenance, pujaris salaries, temple rituals, etc. The current proposals for sale of the temple lands must be cancelled forthwith. Only the representative bodies of Hindus have legal, social and religious competency to determine the pathways for utilization of such assets, as is the practice in other religious formations.
b) Constitute a Waqf like Hindu Board, as decreed by the Allahabad High Court, for overseeing the management of Hindu religious institutions;
c) Initiate measures for setting up Hindu Advisory Councils. It should be followed by introducing transparency, openness, public scrutiny and accountability in the endowments department;
d) Declare a time table for ending Govt. control of Temples and for transferring their jurisdiction in its entirety to autonomous Hindu Boards;
Both legislators and cabinets are elected under the decree of the constitution. While administering the oath of office they make a commitment to uphold the Indian Constitution. However, by singling out the Hindu religious infrastructure for discriminative practices they engage in violating the same constitution which they swore to uphold. What an irony!
Thanks for your time and consideration. We are hoping for receiving an early response reflecting equality of all faiths as expected under the true form of secularism.
Dr. Jagan Kaul
Krishan Bhatnagar
Hindu Jagran Forum (USA)
August 15, 2009
email: krishan.kb@verizon.net
Note: This message will soon be posted on : http://www.bharatjagran.com
Attachment A
Allotment of vacant temple lands sought
The Hindu, August 11, 2009
R. Srikanth
Six proposals from various departments received by the HR and CE Board
CHENNAI: The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) Board has received requests from different Central and State government departments for allotment of vacant lands belonging to temples in the city.
Proposals
According to officials on the Board, a total of six proposals have been received from government departments seeking vacant lands belonging to different temples in the city for construction of a police station, post offices and an electricity sub-station.
Police station
The Police Department has requested land measuring around 32,000 sq. ft. belonging to Somanatha Swamy Temple at Kolathur for construction of a police station.
Likewise, the Postal Department has asked the Board for constructing post offices in Aminjikarai and Velachery in vacant lands belonging to Varadaraja Perumal Temple and Dhandeeswarar Temple.
A proposal has been sent by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) seeking allotment of five acres of land for construction of a sub-station in a vacant land at Thiruverkadu.
The vacant land belongs to the Vedapureeswarar Temple.
Also the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board has requested for 3,600 square feet of land belonging to Kapaleeswarar Temple, Mylapore.
Likewise, a vacant land belonging to Venkatesa Perumal Temple at Sowcarpet has been requested by SIDCO.
Public notice
An official of the Board said that the requests from the various government departments are being studied, after which a public notice will be issued calling for objections from the people.
Fixing land value
The next procedure would be fixing the value of the land, which would be 1.5 times the guideline value prevailing in the area, he added.
Once the value of the land has been fixed, the proposal would be forwarded to the State Government for approval.
Post office
Confirming that a request has been sent to the HR and CE Board seeking a vacant land at Velachery, a Postal Department official said that at present the post office at Velachery is in a rented building and suffered from space constraints.
We have requested around 3,000 sq. ft. of land, so that a post office would be constructed to ease inconvenience for the residents of the area, he added.
A letter has been submitted to the HR and CE Board requesting for allotting six cents of the vacant plot located at Dhandeeswaram Nagar 7th Main Road.
http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/11/stories/2009081158740200.htm
Attachment B
SC curbs State bid to control temples
Pratap Patnaik, New Delhi:
Decccan Herald, Aug 14, 2009
The Supreme Court on Friday directed that the Karnataka government may not take over the management of any temple in the State under a law enacted in 1997.
A Bench headed by Justice R V Raveendran stayed Section 25 of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997, that permitted the State Government to take over the management of temples. "Section 25 of the Act is stayed,' the Bench said after the State Government failed to defend itself with reasoned arguments.
Appearing for Udupi and Dakshina Kannada Temples Management Association, senior advocate K K Venugopal and advocate Sharan Thakur sought direction restraining the State Government from taking over the management of temples. State Government advocate Sanjay Hegde said the Supreme Court had earlier stayed the Karnataka High Court ruling.
"If committees are constituted under the 1997 Act, the applicants will be put in irreparable injury and hardship,' said a petition filed by the Sahasra Lingeswar temple and others.
In September 2006, a Karnataka High Court Division Bench comprising Justices Gururajan and C R Kumaraswamy struck down the entire Act as unconstitutional. The Bench stated it was arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 25 and 26 of the Constitution. However, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order on April 2, 2007, following a special leave petition (SLP) by the State Government.
The State Government's argument was two-fold: protecting the livelihood of 70,000 priests and managing hundreds of temples and trusts.
These issues were at the centre of a controversy between the temples and the state government ever since the Act came into being.
The State Government had submitted that a high-powered committee headed by Justice M Rama Jois had been formed to look into the grievances of the priests and other office bearers of the temples.
The priests and temple trusts challenged the Act in the High Court, claiming it was discriminatory and not uniformly applicable to all religious institutions, including mutts.
The State Government had issued notices to over 200 temples in North Karnataka, including the Banashankari temple in Badami, Veerabhadreshwara temple at Godachi in Raibagh taluk of Belgaum district and the Hanuman temple in Haveri, informing them about the appointment of committees that would recommend taking over their management.
DH News Service
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/17158/sc-curbs-state-bid-control.html
Attachment C
Pvt temples out of govt reach now
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
August 14 (?), 2009
Bangalore: Private temples needn't fear intrusion by the government now. In a judgment that brings relief to hundreds of private temples in Karnataka, the Supreme Court on Friday modified the stay order of April 2, 2007 with respect to the Karnataka Hindu Charitable Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act.
This means Karnataka cannot take over of temples or appoint any committee to govern them. The state, following the stay, was issuing notices to take over the management under Section 25 of the Act.
Advocate G S Kannur said Section 25 isn't applicable to Sikh, Jain or Buddhist temples and, therefore, discriminatory. A long-drawn debate The Question Of Govt Managing Private Temples Has Engaged Court For Years
Bangalore: Should governments manage - howsoever remotely - private temples? This question has been engaging courts for a while now.
In 2006, the Karnataka high court division Bench headed by Justice R Gururajan had quashed the entire Karnataka Hindu Charitable Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act. This followed an appeal by Hindu temples, trustees, archaks and others aggrieved by the HC judgment of September 9, 2005, which upheld the Act.
The Bench had noted that the Act is violative of the right to equality under Article 14 as it discriminates between temples and mutts and mutt-run
temples. Mutts are not included in the Act.
Devotees of Hindu temples provide kanike (offerings) for temple purposes and it cannot be spent for other non-Hindu causes without any relevance to Hindus.
The Bench had objected to the government spending 5% of the temple turnover money for other purposes. Money is taken out of Hindu temples to provide for poor institutions
of other religions. The Gururajan Bench had objected to this provision by specifying that there can be no compulsion only from Hindu temples to provide assistance to such institutions. Such contribution cannot be compulsory.
The apex court in 2007 had granted a stay on the Gururajan Bench order and the state had been issuing notices to take over temple management.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com
At any time my contract with words began, I experimented with everything in fiction: real Witches, fantastical witches, death as part of the circle of life, stereotypes, the absurdity from one place to another resolute myths and beliefs about witches, the attention of minority groups, philosophy of religion, unicorns and intermittent silk (don't ask), sexy, dark and sensitive tackle... and yes, the list went on and on.
These stay drawback of time tentative brew by means of student-colored spectacles helped me gain future looked-for nub. Now, my stories ramble nearly three for one person motifs: 1. Touchable Witches in Fabrication (RWF) 2. Marginalized Groups in Fabrication (MGF) 3. Sexy, Low-spirited and Gory Fabrication (SDBF)
Each person region seems to gratify a contemporary style: RWF prefers the good old dark magical practical person spring, MGF enjoys sips of dark magical practical person travesty, SDBF requirements to kick ass by means of the dark capital be inattentive subgenre, and Witchy Versifier Me (WWM) is social order of love-struck with acronyms and lists.
Why am I relating you all this? Such as, 1. I love sharing satisfied tackle. 2. I'm going to lug some of my tales out of Pagan Civilization (for enormous rewrites). 3. I looked-for this post to come #2. I place would hate for you to snap on a bring together, find the story nowhere to be found and start shooting, "Anywhere has the brew gone!" as you lug your hair out and blubber and snot curve down your rose-colored cheeks. Not a sooner sight; and all that scalp trouble prize open tomfoolery too future.
I couldn't find an owner for this satisfying weepy beauty.
If the function is yours, satisfy let me know.
In the future, my blog drive show off associations that drive open to the inspection message:
I'm suppression, uncertain, exploring, rewriting, expanding or put it on all of the from way back to the fake that used to happen arrived. Later I'm done, I'll add a bring together to the new story. Make laugh read "Anywhere Has the Fabrication Gone!" for details.
Everything else, on one occasion the Sexy, Low-spirited grant is a clash going on and everything *wink, flash, wink*
Has your art, work or interests altered since you started sharing it with others? If so, how has the headway dull the way you grant your results?
P.S. If you are wondering anywhere all the tackle on my sidebar went, snap on Contacts and Far afield Bits and lounge on clicking, my Luvs. I went reorganization-crazy the other day, and not even Magaly's Blog Circle survived.
P.P.S. That's what happens in the function of I can't place to stay... having the status of my crippled hip and call together scenery to thud in the presage of the night... and at the awfully fantastically time the Breathing space chooses to call to mind me that specific hot, female and considerable is a tidbit I call for pay in blood.
P.P.P.S. TMI is changed corollary of MC... long for posts are too... and brew in which all and sundry but a tiny woman with a difficult piece on her come out in the open, dies in the top figure massive of ways *grins viciously*.
Um... how has all this proving nothing dull your beforehand comment?
Dressed in are some the unexplained spring pictures my Grand piano Man has sent me these stay few days. My holiness, I be partial to my man. And the camera property on his iPhone... I'm proving nothing over *sigh*
The leaves are swathe in bandages in intermittent
Spring? Um, yeah!
Blossoms in New York ;-)
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Credit: paganism-new-age.blogspot.com
Source: modern-wiccan.blogspot.com
Sunday, 7 March 2010
used in magical Recipes and Spell work and also as a Medicine.
The Story of the Four Thieves
The thieves were actually spice traders and merchants who imported spices, including cinnamon and clove from India. When the Black Plague hit, all international shipping and trade was closed down. Unable to do business, these spice traders quickly ran out of money and had to find a way to support themselves.
Since everyone was afraid to touch the dead bodies, they decided to loot the homes and bodies of the plaque victims. They would take clothes, jewelry, pots and pans, and then barter or trade them for food and money. They knew they wouldn't get sick if they rubbed vinegar, oils, and certain spices all over their bodies.
Their plan worked and they were able to set up a very lucrative pawn business. Until the King found out...
When the King heard about the story of the thieves he wanted to know their secret. He wanted to know how they were able to touch dead bodies without getting sick! How did they protect themselves from the dreaded disease?
He sent his Constables out to capture them. Four of the thieves were caught and brought before the King. He gave them a choice to either share their secret formula of "immunity" or be burned at the stake. The four thieves decided to share their secret formula with the King.
The King immediately posted the thieves secret formula all over the town.
Hence the story of the four thieves.
This is a classic recipe, but you can customize it by adjusting the quantities or adding other antibacterial essential oils such as Tea Tree, Oregano, Thyme, Sage, Ravensara, Lavender, Juniper Berry, Hyssop, Bay Laurel, or Scotch Pine.
Ingredients:
40 drops Clove Bud essential oil
35 drops Lemon essential oil
20 drops Cinnamon Bark essential oil
15 drops Eucalyptus essential oil
10 drops Rosemary essential oil
Store in a dark glass container
Mix all essential oils together in a Carrier oil like
Almond Oil,
Apricot Kernel Oil,
Avocado Oil,
Coconut Oil,
Evening Primrose Seed Oil
Grapeseed Oil,
Hazelnut Oil,
Hemp Seed Oil,
Jojoba Oil,
Sesame Seed Oil,
Shea Nut Oil,
Sunflower Oil
Vitamin E Oil, Emu Oil
(Jojoba is my choice)
mix and store in a dark glass bottle.
away from heat and sunlight. Preferably in a cool location.
How to dilute it
you need only 2% of the 4 Thieves oil to be effective this will save you money to dilute it is simple
take 12 drops of the 4 thieves oil and mix it in 1 fl ounce
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces now I am going by US Measurements
I do not know other country measurements so adjust according to your country
Thieves Oil Recipe 2
this one is for the more advanced
200 drops of Clove Oil
175 drops of Lemon Oil
100 drops of Cinnamon Bark
75 drops of Eucalyptus Oil
50 drops of Rosemary Oil
Store in a dark glass container
Mix all essential oils together in a
Carrier oil like
Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil,
Avocado Oil,Coconut Oil, Evening Primrose Seed Oil
Grapeseed Oil,Hazelnut Oil, Hemp Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Sesame Seed Oil,Shea Nut Oil, Sunflower Oil
Vitamin E Oil, Emu Oil
(Jojoba is my choice)
mix and store in a dark glass bottle.
away from heat and sunlight. Preferably in a cool location.
How to dilute it
you need only 2% of the 4 Thieves oil to be effective this will save you money to dilute it is simple
take 12 drops of the 4 thieves oil and mix it in 1 fl ounce
1 cup = 8 fluid ounces now I am going by US Measurements
I do not know other country measurements so adjust according to your country
*Note: One 15 ml bottle of essential oil contains approximately 250 drops and one 5 ml bottle contains approximately 85 drops.
Thieves Oil Recipe" All-purpose Spray:
This is an all-purpose spray solution for cleaning and disinfecting around the home, purifying the air and eliminating odors
1 drop of thieves essential oil for each ounce of water.
Add the thieves oil first, then add water. It mixes better that way. Shake vigorously before each use.
Basic Thieves Oil Recipe for Topical Application and Massage:
1 drop of thieves oil to 4 drops carrier oil.
Massage on the feet (vita flex points), lower back, neck and behind the ears.
We use this dilution for everyone. Babies too, though usually just on their feet. Test for sensitivity first.
*Note:This thieves oil recipe is excellent for daily use as protection against germs, especially during the cold and flu season.
4 Thieves oil Vinegar
Ingredients:
1/4 cup, 4 Thieves oil See Recipe above
2 cups apple Cider Vinegar or enough to cover the herbs completely
Fresh herbs of choice
Eucalyptus, Cinnamon,Lemon,Clove
Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, Mint, Sage, Lavender,
etc
Put in a Glass Jar and allow to Steep 6-8 weeks before use
Hand Soap
Add five drops of a thieves oil blend to 8 oz. plain liquid castile soap or to a water-soap mixture to create a disinfecting all-natural hand soap. Keep the mixture in a liquid soap pump.
AROMATHERAPY
Consider adding a few drops of the thieves oil blend to a vaporizer or diffuser. Breathing eucalyptus vapors remains a time-honored home remedy for chest colds and coughs. Additionally, some or all of the oils may elevate your mood. Lemon and rosemary are often cited for their cheering effect on people
The above information and statements are for educational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, prevent disease or replace the advice of a licensed healthcare practitioner
4. Baptism is not the replacement sign for the Abrahamic sign of circumcision.
In reply to this objection, I reply: WRONG!
In many ways, this is the heart, because the practice of infant baptism - like many other New Testament doctrines, such as the Trinity and justification by faith alone - rests squarely on an Old Testament foundation. Remove that foundation, and infant baptism collapses.
How should we view the Old Testament? Should we reject it as having nothing to say to us today? Or should we obliterate all distinctions between the two Testaments? Two extremes must be avoided as we deal with the Old and New Testaments: that of the Dispensationalist who sees little connection and continuity between the Old and New Testaments, on the one hand, and an approach that flattens redemptive history as if there were no true significance to the Cross. A biblical approach to the two Testaments comprehends that there is virtually nothing "new" in the New Testament, because it is all rooted in the Old Testament, but it also understands that almost nothing from the Old Testament comes into the New without being transformed in some way by the work of Christ.
As with other New Testament institutions, baptism does not exist simply as a New Testament phenomenon; it is the Spiritually enriched, outwardly modified continuation of an Old Testament ordinance, circumcision.
When God made the covenant with Abraham, God Himself passed through the severed parts of the slaughtered animal, thereby signifying that He would take the punishment and be "cut" the same way if He broke the covenant by not fulfilling His promises to Abraham. That is the significance of circumcision. The cutting is a sign and a seal of the covenant. When a Jew refused to be circumcised, he was to be "cut off" from Israel. He was essentially rejecting God as His mediator and saying, "No thanks; I'll do it alone." Refusal to submit to circumcision was to reject God and His gracious covenant. God's promise to Abraham came to fruition when Christ was "cut off" (Daniel 9:26). He was circumcised for us by being "cut off" for us.
God gave Israel an outward sign and seal of this covenant: "Every male among you shall be circumcised" (Genesis 17:10). They cut off the foreskin to remind the people of the blessings and obligations of the contract. It was a symbolic way of saying, "May I be cut off in damnation, if I do not live up to this covenant." Christ took the brunt of this cutting when He bore the sins of the elect.
Christ was circumcised in His crucifixion. But this is what the New Testament sacrament of baptism signifies. Jesus asks James and John, "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38). As Christ our Lord and Covenant Head hung on the cross, He was baptized with the judgment of God against human sin. He was also circumcised by the divine justice as His life was cut off.
Paul equates circumcision and baptism in Colossians 2:11 ">
Circumcision was much more than a sign of national identification for the nation of Israel. It was a spiritual act full of spiritual meaning. If you were inclined to imagine that most of the Bible's references to circumcision are in the Old Testament, you'd be mistaken. Most of the Bible's teaching about it is actually in the New Testament. Perhaps the fullest treatment on the subject is found in Romans. Paul tells us here that "A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code" (Romans 2:28, 29). The meaning of circumcision, then, is not some outward thing. It, in fact, points to the work of the Holy Spirit in giving a new heart. Circumcision reminds us of the need for regeneration.
Moreover, Paul tells us that circumcision is a sign of being justified by faith. He reminds us that Abraham "received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised" (Romans 4:11). In other words, Abraham believed, he was justified by faith, and then he received God's sign and seal of this in circumcision. Sometimes people are married and cannot afford wedding rings. Years down the road, they can afford them, buy them and start wearing them. They are no more married now than they were before. They simply have the outward sign as symbol of their true state. Abraham was right with God the moment he put his trust in him. He was no more saved before circumcision than he was after it. Regeneration and justification by faith are the spiritual realities to which circumcision points.
To be circumcised was to wear a sign that said, "I am a believer; God accepts me as righteous with His righteousness. He has established his covenant promises with me." It was to bear the seal of God's ownership. Circumcision was the Old Testament way of saying that Christ would die for your sins and to confess that you were united to Him as He is offered in the gospel. After all, the same gospel was preached to Abraham (Galatians 3:3). Abraham was circumcised because he looked forward to the day of Christ (John 8:56).
It should be obvious by now that everything we have said about circumcision can be equally said of baptism. This is because baptism is New Testament circumcision. Under the New Covenant the Gospel extends to all nations. It is more inclusive, which is why females also receive the seal of faith alongside males today. Circumcision, like the other great symbol of the Old Testament, the Passover, required bloodshed. However, the death of Christ has fulfilled the shedding of blood once for all. The outward form of circumcision is different from that of baptism, but the inward meaning is the same. This is why the form of the sacrament changes from the Old Testament to the New Testament.
Any object that can be made to infant baptism could, with equal force, be made against infant circumcision. Why would God require Abraham to put the seal upon his children which symbolized that they were believers who were justified by faith? Yet that is exactly what God commanded him to do in Genesis 17:9-14. And it was Moses' failure to carry out this commandment which so angered God that he sought to kill him before he entered Egypt (Exodus 4:24 ff.).
God told Abraham to place the mark of divine ownership on his household because it was God's purpose for them to belong to him: "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you" (Genesis 17:7). The Bible brings the same idea out hundreds later, on the plains of Moab, as God's people were about to enter the promised land: "The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live" (Deuteronomy 30:6). Deuteronomy 30:6 had both a present and a future meaning for Moses' hearers.
God has always included the children of believers in the company of His Covenant people. It is extremely strange therefore when someone insists that the Gospel is so much most extensive and inclusive than the Old Testament, yet he simultaneously excommunicates all the infant children who would have been included under the old economy. Scripture explicitly teaches that the New Testament is the very same covenant which God made with Abraham. This is why even people who reject Covenant Theology along with its sacrament of baptism teach songs to their children like "Father Abraham." If Abraham's Old Testament children were to be admitted to the Covenant by the sacrament of circumcision, why then are his New Testament children not brought into the Covenant by baptism?